Hello 2015

Hello Everyone,

It's been a while
and within a blink of eyes, we have arrived in year 2015
In fact, today is almost the last day in January. Oh, no...

I've been busy - once again - with usual work
but managed to have one bento for Christmas day.
Alright... it is better late than never, I know...

Our family and Baymax wish you a happy holiday

This bento is eaten by my hubby.

Inside the box:

* White steamed rice, topped with tofu skin

* Baymax was made from fish meatballs, his hat made from halved cherry tomato

* The Christmas tree made from some stalks of blanched broccoli, sprinkled with furikake and topped with cheese star

* Beneath the broccoli is chicken nuggets, store bought and I just deep fried them

* Cherry tomatoes 

* An mandarin bowl of jelly 

I also put a piece of Christmas-themed mini Reese peanut butter cup, for extra sweetness.

A news flash.

Started January 2015, I've moved to a new office.

I am still adapting myself to new working environment, new colleagues including new commuting time. LOL. Previously I only need a 45 minutes to one way drive. It takes me now about 2.5 hrs at the fastest to reach office from home and almost the same amount of hours to get back. Don't ask me how many hours that I ever spent during traffic jam. Trust me, you don't wanna know about it :D I will get use to it someway and somehow.

On the bright side, I become a super morning person.

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise (Benjamin Franklin)

On the tricky part, I couldn't yet get myself to make morning bento for my kids' lunches. 
I will need to delegate the task to our nanny.

But, when I miss bento making, I will make one during weekend.

Just like this one

Basically, it is a duck onigiri swimming in a curry (Kare Raisu/カレーライス)
At that time, my kids requested curry for dinner.
I had the curry based on this recipe

What else can I say...

The menu is suitable for rainy days.

It is so yummy, I already received a note from my kids, that they would love to have it again VERY soon :D

Until next time

read more “Hello 2015”

Happy Birthday Indonesia

Hello...

It was 17 August again...and every year we celebrate our Independence day ^,^ 

This time, this is the bento that I made 

What is inside:

* Wheat bread filled with butter and rice chocolate

Decorated with kani on top, which represented our red and white national flag 

* Cheddar cheese in dark and pale yellow of flowers

* Mixed veggie salad with mayo, salt and pepper

* Pan fried sausages, with cute faces of puppy and kitty

* Colorful jellies in a cup

* Boiled quail eggs, decorated with nori, to represent our kids

Aside of jelly cup, I inserted rolled-kani, just to fill the empty gap.

We had fun in participating into some races within our neighbourhood to celebrate the event, such as eating crackers (makan kerupuk), fashion shows, running from one point to another, in a very short distance, while carrying a marble onto a spoon, catching baby eels, and others. The best part was, everyone got a prize! Well, winning the race was not as important as being together in our local community.

Catch you later!

read more “Happy Birthday Indonesia”

Happy Easter, Olaf..

That greeting is for you, too...

Yeap, all of you..

Happy Easter!
Hope you had a great Easter holidays :)

On the Easter day, kids wanted to go swimming.

Knowing by heart that they must be very pretty hungry when coming out from the pool :b

So, I made this bento.

Inside the box:

* Inarizushi

some of them, formed as in a brown bunny while some others as rice-bags stuffed with different kind of toppings such as chicken floss, chopped ham and edamame.

His cute brown face, completed with color-matching long ears :) Well, I just stuffed everything with white rice. Yes, including the both ears.

* Pink Kamaboko. Love the bright color and I just feeling playful with the cutting.

* Pan-fried ham, store-bought frozen ham

* Onion rings, store-bought too, just deep fried them

* Edamame

* Blanched broccoli

* Strawberries

* Kani 

* Mini tamagoyaki

* White bunny, from white rice onigiri, with her partly-pinkish-long-ears thanks to Kani sheet, of course. She is smiling pretty with blue ribbon foodpick and holding a "decorated Easter egg" This egg was actually a furikake-sprinkled-onigiri.

I spent an hour making this bento from scratch, from blanching the inari pouches bla-bla-bla I do not have to mention all the cooking, right?..yawn :D.... until assembling them into the box. 

Three kids finished them in less than 15 minutes. 

Straight. 

Hm.....lucky me *wide grin*

Everyone...... meet Olaf..

He is made from rounded white bread filled with strawberry jam.

The button is from halved chocolate chips, this is store bought.

I used Pokky as his hands 

The eyes are from cheese and nori sheets

The nose comes from a steamed carrot

The hair and mouth are from nori sheet

Again, I use cheese sheet for his single teeth.

He has two cheese-rolled bread, edamame, blanched broccoli, strawberries and steamed egg mixture with frozen vegetables inside a paper cup.

My daughter excitedly imagining the comments from her classmates.

...Kids... {^,^}
She loves Frozen the movie. All of my kids do.

Until next time.

read more “Happy Easter, Olaf..”

Happy birthday to you!

Yeaaa...today is his birthday!!
My other half...
Wishing you all the great and wonderful things in life.

Here is a bento for you.

Koi Bento

He loves the fish so much and we have a pool of Koi or Nishikigoi inside our home.

His fondness made him taking well maintenance from designing the pool (yeaa, including those complicated pump and filtration system to keep the water clear...) until caring the health of those fishes. And some Koi's championship trophies are within his possession too.

I do not share the same passion but rather enjoy only for the beauty of the Koi.

One thing amazed me and I quote this from Wikipedia "Koi will recognize the persons feeding them and gather around them at feeding times. They can be trained to take food from one's hand"

Cool, eh..?

 

So for those of you whom are thinking to get this as a hobby (although I do not encourage you to ... Hahaha!) you can talk to my husband. Believe me, he can talk about it for hours and hours {^,^}

Back to my bento, inside the box, he has:

* Koi's onigiri, decorated with kani for red-markings and nori for eyes.

I just made the onigiri by hand, not in bad-shape at all, I guess... :D The tricky part is to do the curved tail.

Put some chicken floss underneath onigiri, just to give some color contrast. 

* Sauteed green beans with toasted white sesame seeds, boiled quail eggs and chopped ham.

* Chocolate pudding

* Chicken teriyaki in separate green bowl. I do not want to "push my luck" by include this into the box and spoil the whole appearance. However, just in case he needs something more fulfilling, he can finish the chicken, of course.

So...what are you waiting for...? Yuuummmm!!

See ya next time

read more “Happy birthday to you!”

Our story during Christmas time

Hai hai...

Udah lama banget ga update for blog

Terkadang ada beberapa draft yang 'jatuhnya' jadi 'basi' pas mau di upload :-D *alesandotcom*

So, kalau mau blogging, harus tuntas deh hahaha...

Mau cerita acara Natal kemarin, dari misa malam Natal 24 Desember, sampai dinner celebration di rumah mertua.

Misa malam Natal biasa aja, pergi tanpa anak-anak. Mereka ada acara misa anak-anak tgl 25 Desember jam 9 pagi. Senang deh acaranya. Setelah misa, ada sesi foto bersama Santa. Hmm..antri nya itu dong yang engga tahan. Hubby ngajak cari breakfast dulu deh di seputaran gereja, nanti baru balik lagi setelah antriannya surut. Akhirnya, makan dekat rumah. Sudah bisa ditebak, males lah balik lagi ke gereja, jadi batal foto hahaha!!

Mereka jadi excited buka kado

kado Bastian

kado Jovann

kado Luna

Luna yang langsung anteng bikin-bikin 'bento' 

Sementara cowok-cowok lebay malah deketin hubby dan minta daddy nya yang buatin *tepok jidat*

Dapet cookies...!

Sementara gue langsung lanjut bikin strawberry cheesecake... Yummm... *tahan dulu..belum selesai kuenya* Sudah bikin cheesecake dari tgl 24 malam. Udah anteng di kulkas, tinggal dikasi garnish.

strawberries are ready....

Sejujurnya, pengen bikin strawberry santa. Ternyata belum nemu resep yang pas untuk bikin adonan cream cheese nya. Maunya strawberry dibelah horizontal, dilubangi tengahnya, diisi krim dan ditutup dengan potongan strawberry tadi. Jadi mirip strawberry santa... Tapiii...saat krim dah ready di pipping bag, begitu disemprot ke atas strawberry, krim nya meleleh Xb Belum lagi pas ditaruh potongan strawberry (topi) nya, tambah lumerlah dia. Duh...jadi bingung... bikin cake nya jadi kelamaan bereksperimen. Alhasil juga agak-agak kenyang karena beberapa strawberry yang kena lelehan krim, jadi masuk ke mulut...hap! 

Nanti cari dulu deh resep krim yang pas ya

Padahal uda sempet di-akali...krim yang di pipping bag, sampe uda gue masukkin ke kulkas sebentar. Ngarep dia akan kaku sedikit *ngawurrrr*

Pas buka kulkas, nemu ini....  Apa ini...??!!?!?

there is an elephant in my fridge!

Udah kedinginan tu gajah. Sedetik gue melongo di depan kulkas, Jovann nyelinap dan bilang "hai mommy...! gajah-ku udahan ya..uda boleh dikeluarin dari kulkas?" *tambah bingung beneran*

Soal kue, gue langsung ngambil jalan pintas, taruh strawberry di atas cake dan disiram dikit dengan selai strawberry sebelum dimasukkin lagi ke kulkas sebentar.

So...here is the final look

*Pfiuhhh..* langsung buru-buru mandi karena acara dinner mulai jam 5 sore

Di hari libur, jalanan Jakarta emang enak banget ya...relatif lancar..

Whoops..kecepetan ngomong...! Sempet macet walau uda dekat rumah mertua. Ternyata karena arus kendaraan yang padat ke arah mall. Waduuuhh... 

Untuk menghilangkan rasa bosen, kita ber-selfie ria

Ketauan lah ya siapa yang demen foto. 

Bas lagi bobo, Luna lagi duduk anteng pangku cheesecake.... hihihihi, thanks dear!

Sampai deh di rumah mertua...

Sebagian makanan beli *ketauan lah ya mana yang beli* sebagian bikin.

Mama mertua emang tob..bikin pastel tutup ada versi non-meat buat gue hahaha..jadi isinya soun, sayur2an dan jamur ajah..tanpa sosis. Trus tumis fumak dan tahu sutra goreng. Selebihnya, ada bakmi goreng, ayam goreng, shabu-shabu, empek-empek.

Sedap banget deh...

Selfie lagi bareng new niece, baby Mikaela...

ehm...masi cocok gak gue nimang2 bayi?

Sudah makan, jadi acara bebas deh...termasuk bagi-bagi kado dan goody bags

boys.....!!

mau dong dapet kado...

ada yang gak sabar buka kado...

dek...bagi dong...

I am cute...

hello, pretty..

kita pinjem dulu yaaa...

rebutan apa nihhh... ikutan dong...!

ini toh yang direbutin.... ice cream mochi..!

undertable discussion

yummm...aku bisa buka sendiri...

Cakes....
Start counting my calories....

one..

...two...

three...

bungkus aja deh...nanti dihabisin pelan-pelan dan diam-diam ..hahaha!

Whew... I see what you are up to...

I can do it...!

happy kids of Kentjanadjaja

Thank you for the great dinner party \>,</

P.S:
My breakfast for morning after

I'll tell about it in separate post

Happy holiday all... {^.^}

read more “Our story during Christmas time”

Compilation

Hello...

I am so so busy lately (it is a lame excuse, I know...) but it was genuinely tricky to find some time for me to sit down and update this blog.

About a week ago, all 3 of our angels fell ill at the same time. They got stomach flu. A kind of disease that many kids have recently. They slowly get well now, while one kid has faster recovery speed than another. However, I find bento-making is really help me to ease the tension. 

So, here they are

I being told about a bakery that sells white bread in cute form aside from regular bread and cakes. They have in form of Mickey Mouse's face, Winnie the Pooh's (the one that I bought) and Hello Kitty's. That's what I saw. I don't know if they are making something else. The shop is nearby my house so I just looked around and purchased one pack. 

I just smeared one piece with mayonnaise after buttered-pan-fried for few minutes, then to put chicken floss, before to sandwiched it with the second piece. Kids just love it. I am not sure if they love the shape of bread or my choice for bread's filling. I hope it is both :)

 

The plan to do bibimbap was stored quite some time in my agenda, I meant for adult. Because in previous time, I made bento bibimbap for kids.

So, my hubby is lucky enough to get this for his lunch.

I made it with all quick sauteed of beef minced, bean sprout, string beans, carrots, baby corn and red bell pepper on top of white rice. They are nicely covered with sunny side up fried egg. He definitely love it and to eat it with gochujang.

I just forgot to sprinkle sesame seed for final touch >,<

Another bakery that I found in my house's area, is selling purple and green toast bread. They are made from purple sweet potato and pandan leaves.

Whenever, I passed it by, I like to buy them. During one hot afternoon, while everyone is taking a nap, I made this for my big boy. 

The bread is stuffed with chicken floss. From purple bread, I made a cute bear, while from green one, I made a silly frog. The rest of the facial expressions are using cheese sheet and nori. On their side is a couple of gyoza and halved of quail egg.

Get well soon, my angel *kiss kiss*

--I blame my shaky hand for the blurred picture--

It is time to return to school after the sick leave.

Since I still have some purple and green bread left, I just add some tamagoyaki (I love making tamagoyaki, don't know why..), cherry tomatoes and grapes.

Wish you a nice day in school.

read more “Compilation”

Long Holiday in August 2013

Hai hai...di bulan Agustus, ada long holiday karena lebaran tgl 8-9 Agustus 2013

Kantor gue uda mulai libur di tgl 5-9 Agustus. Semingguan full lah libur cuti masalnya.

Kantor hubby baru libur hari Rabu 7 Agustus, sama seperti anak-anak yang baru libur sekolah di tanggal itu.

Hubby nanti baru masuk lagi di tgl 19 Agustus (hiks enaknya libur lama) sedangkan anak-anak balik ke kelas hari Kamis 15 Agustus.

Kita engga punya planning keluar kota sih. Kebanyakan memang kita selalu nunggu moment lebaran di dalam kota. Kapan lagi ngerasain Jakarta yang sepi kalo engga saat libur lebaran hahaha. So, kita cuma keliling dari mall ke mall.

Di tanggal 4 Agustus, si kembar Luna and Jovann ulangtahun ke-8

Cepet banget ya rasanya mereka udah umur segitu. Happy birthday, kiddos...mommy and daddy love you so much, always!

 

 

Mereka engga minta dirayain tahun ini. Cuma minta kado ajah...hihihi sama aje ya.

Hubby pilihin kado mainan hot wheels buat Jov and boneka Barbie buat Luna. Sementara gue kasi dompet dan kaos kaki. 

 

Mereka sudah mulai dapat uang saku mingguan sejak 2 minggu yang lalu. Jadi gue pikir, dompet adalah hadiah yang sesuai. Gue kasi uang saku sepuluh ribu per minggu untuk masing-masing anak. Mereka masih dibawain bekal juga koq. Jadi uang saku itu cuma untuk berlatih punya dan atur uang sendiri. Karena gue juga kasi syarat, kalo mereka harus bikin catatan pemasukan dan pengeluaran. Walau catatannya "lucu-lucu" formatnya, engga apa...mereka sambil belajar.

Gara-gara dikasi uang saku, mereka menunggu-nunggu hari Jum'at (harinya uang saku) dan inget banget lagi kalo belum dikasi. hahaha...

Karena mbaknya sudah pulang di tgl 4, jadilah gue yang masak sekaligus siapin dan antar bekal ke sekolah untuk hari Senin dan Selasa nya.

Pakai mbak infal sih 1 orang aja, karena teler rasanya kalau harus nyuci baju dan setrika sekaligus hehehe...

Anyway, sementara juga stop nge-bento, tetap bekalnya menu komplit seimbang tapi engga dihias lucu :) jadi engga difoto juga.

Tapi beberapa hari off nge-bento juga bisa kangen. So, untuk bekal last day, gue hias dikiiit.

Itu untuk bekal siang dan gue antar sekitar jam setengah 12 gitu.

Isinya: onigiri (nasi kepal bentuk segitiga dengan nori), tempura sayuran, tempura jamur, brokoli kukus, chikuwa rebus dengan isi kani.

Diam-diam, gue foto ini

 

Luna selama ini memang suka cerita kalau teman-temannya demen ngeliatin isi kotaknya. Beberapa malah sampai minta nyomot. Dasar Luna keseringan 'diembat' makanannya sama Jov, dia engga keberatan kalo makanannya dicomot temennya :b

Besoknya, Luna gue ajak main ice skating.

Sebelumnya dah pernah sih, trus dia suka

Main ice skating memang enakan pagi sekalian. Jam 9an gitu lah sudah sampai. Kalo siangan, pasti rame. Apalagi udah masuk masa liburan ya. Tiket masuknya 58 ribu untuk 2 jam dan sewa loker 10 ribu. Kalau mau beli sarung tangan 8 ribu. Kelebihan waktu dari 2 jam, dihitung 8 ribu. Luna jadi demen banget skating karena lama-lama dia bisa engga berpegangan. Jatuh-jatuh juga sih, mungkin sekitar 8 kali gitu lah. Tapi 8 kali jatuh dari 4 jam bermain ya not bad deh. 

Selama kita main, Jov dan Bas muter-muter mall sama daddynya. Jov waktu diajakin gak mau. Kata dia, skating kan buat cewek... Jiahhh... :)

three minions

Besok-besoknya keliling mall ajah

 

Sempet pergi berenang juga ...

  

Masak-masak yang sempet kefoto

chicken karaage

tahu crispy

nasi goreng.... penyelamat saat kehabisan ide :)

iseng manfaatin cookies jar yang uda rusak tutupnya

kenapa gak ada yang senyum yak...?? hihi

Happy Eid Mubarak for friends whom celebrate it. 
Mohon maaf lahir dan batin yaaaa... :) 

read more “Long Holiday in August 2013”