3 WAYS: Sapodilla Soy Dessert Jar

If you don't know, sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) is a fruit native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbeans. It got introduced to the Philippines during the Spanish colonisation and has since spread all across South and Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, specifically, you might know it better as sawo. It is best known in the phrase 'sawo matang' that compares the fruit's colour to the deeply-tanned skin colour of typical Indonesian. It shapes like a kiwi—minus the hairy peel—and the flesh is similar to that of figs. And—guess what?—it tastes like chocolate! No, not cocoa, but actual fully processed chocolate. Not going to lie: this recipe didn't actually pan out the way I wanted it to—it was supposed to be a mousse. However, the taste—in my opinion—is still pretty good and I don't see why I should scrape this recipe. Also, mousse is a European dessert, which is no way to treat a tropical fruit. So dessert jar it is! Here are 3 ways how you may customise it to your own taste.

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Sorghum Cookies

Remember this post where I talked about eating locally-grown food? Well, it's actually been a while since I got incredibly intrigued by sorghum, in particular. When I spotted one in a local bulk grocery store—both in flour and grain form—I felt challenged to use it in a recipe. It wasn't instant, of course, as I scoured the nooks and crannies of Pinterest for months before I actually picked up the whisk and created this magic. I've been excited to try sorghum the whole time, however. You know, sorghum has so many amazing benefits: it's gluten-free, low in sugar level (which makes it diabetes-friendly) and requires very little water to grow—perhaps even cook? I'll have to test this, though. Not only that, sorghum can also be processed in numerous ways, including cooked (like rice), baked (like wheat) and even boiled (like porridge). I love that it can be baked without eggs, yet still come out either really nice and moist, or sturdy and crunchy. This recipe, in particular, is incredibly easy to make and I definitely see myself making it more regularly. It's also highly customisable to suit your individual tastes. Without further ado, enjoy!

Quick Breakfast Bowl

Wow, it's been a long while since the last time I posted a recipe on this blog. The truth is, I haven't planned on doing it anymore, but this week I was somewhat beat and haven't had the time to come up with more well-thought-out content. So here you go! I actually posted about this breakfast—although in a less aesthetically pleasing way—on my Instagram story on Tuesday. One of my uni friends commented that she thought it looked really good, despite the fact that I thought it didn't look appealing at all. (Half-)jokingly, she asked for the recipe, although I'm not sure anyone would really need one, since it's really exceedingly quick and simple—plus, highly customisable. It has, in fact, been my go-to breakfast menu lately when I'm feeling lazy or rushed or have nothing else on hand. Also, I'd like to say that this recipe is vegan. You can obviously substitute some of the ingredients with non-vegan ones, but I prefer the vegan version. Without further ado, enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp. oatmeal
• 6 tbsp. soy milk
• 1 tbsp. peanut butter
• 1 tsp. basil seeds
• 1/2 large avocado
• leftover mangoes (optional)

1. Put the oatmeal in a bowl, add in basil seeds and soy milk and mix well
2. Pop the bowl in the microwave and heat it up for approx. 1 minute
3. Take out the bowl, add in peanut butter and mix well
4. Add avocado and mangoes on top
5. Serve while it's warm!

Tips: You can use any kind of milk you like—soy milk is a personal favourite. Basil seeds are much easier to find in Indonesia, but if chia or flax seeds—or any others—are easier to source locally for you, feel free to substitute them. Basil seeds don't have to be soaked beforehand, once they are mixed, they expand quickly. The avocado I had on hand are of the super variety—significantly bigger than regular avocados—so half is more than sufficient. I also happen to have leftover mangoes on hand, but feel free to omit or substitute it with other fruits—I usually use grapes, persimmon or strawberries. My soy milk is stored in the fridge, so it's pretty cold when I just take it out. That's why I heat it up in the microwave—unfortunately, I'm not sure about the temperature of my oven—but feel free to skip this part if you prefer it a bit chilly.  Lass es euch schmecken!

Apple Ring Fritters

One of the last winter memory I had of Germany was its Christmas Market, particularly the one in Kassel. There is one dish there that I quite enjoyed, although I've only ever bought it once. It was this Apfelringe—translated to Appel Rings. It was very simple, quite warming and rather good. This time of year just always reminds me of Germany's variety of Christmas Market and how much I miss trying out different kind of food in different towns/cities. The smell of mulled wine in the air really signifies Christmas and the ending of the year—honestly, nostalgic! Since, unfortunately, I can't experience it again myself for the foreseeable future, I thought I'd reimagine the recipe that I found rather fitting for the season. However, before we proceed, there are a few things you need to know. First of all, this is actually my Stepmom's recipe for good ol' banana fritters—she would add egg too sometimes, depending on what kind batter she was looking for. Second of all, this is a vegan recipe, so if you want something meat-free and festive, you've come to the right place. But, if you want fluffier, non-vegan variety, please scroll down below for tips.

Ingredients

• 3 apples
• 3-4 tbsp. flour
• 200 ml water
• a pinch of salt
• 2 tsp. pumpkin spice (optional)
• cooking oil for frying
• 1 tsp. icing sugar (topping)
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (topping)

1. Slice the apples and remove the core, creating ring-shaped slices
2. In a bowl, mix the flour and water together until there are no clumps
3. Add in the salt and pumpkin spice, mix well
4. On the stove, heat up a frying pan/wok then pour oil accordingly
5. Dip each apple slice into the batter, make sure each surface is coated
6. Put each slice into the hot oil, fry for 2-3 minutes in medium heat
7. Once each side is already golden, take out the slice and strain the excess oil
8. Put them on a plate and sprinkle with icing sugar and ground cinnamon
9. Serve them while they're hot!

Tips: First of all, you can choose to peel the skin or not, according to your preference. People would usually discard of the top and bottom part, but I don't like to be wasteful, so I use them all. To remove the core and create a hole, I think you can use a corer or—if you're poor like me—a knife, both are just as good and easy. The batter should be liquid enough to drip freely, but thick enough to stick. To test if the oil is ready, you can use a small piece of the apples. When it floats, you can put your slices in. If you live in Indonesia, pumpkin spice is basically what we know as "Bumbu Spekoek," which is available in most supermarkets and ingredients stores. If you want thicker/fluffier batter, feel free to add eggs. If you add eggs, mix the eggs with the water first and then add the flour in. Lass es euch schmecken!

Cinnamon Hot Toddy

Since it's rainy season out here and happens to be autumn in the northern hemisphere as well, I thought I'd do a simple warm beverage for your cozy needs. At home, I seem to have hoarded quite a number of lemons, so I thought it would be perfect to try and make a warm drink out of them, for a change. Unlike this recipe—which you can add lemons to—I'd like to make a Western-friendly drink this time, so my friends in other countries can easily recreate this drink to snuggle up to at home. When I was roaming the internet, looking for inspiration, I stumbled upon a recipe for Hot Toddy. Maybe some of you know of it, it's usually a warm beverage used to help soothe sore throat—which sometimes contain bourbon/whiskey. As I don't drink, this one will definitely be alcohol-free, although you may add any liquor of choice, if you like. If you're vegan, please scroll down to see how to substitute some of the ingredients. Coincidentally, my sister was down with a sore throat when I made this.

Ingredients

(original recipe via Tablespoon, makes two glasses)

• 1/2 lemon, sliced
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 500 ml water
• 3 medium cinnamon sticks
• 15-20 cloves
• 2-3 tbsp. honey

1. In a saucepan, boil the water, cinnamon and cloves together
2. Meanwhile, place the lemon slices in 2 separate glasses and pour in the juice
3. Once it's boiled, remove the saucepan from heat and pour the mixture into the glasses
4. Add half the honey to each glass and stir well
5. Drink while hot!

Tips: To get the most juice, make sure you get the lemon out of the fridge at least an hour prior. If you only have ground cinnamon and clove, probably use around 1-3 tea spoon each and stir well. I would recommend letting the cinnamon mixture simmer a bit on the stove before pouring, to really let the flavour ooze out. If I were better prepared, I'd add a bit of nutmeg and ginger perhaps. If you're vegan, you can substitute the honey with maple or caramel or fruit syrup—I was planning on using date syrup myself. I'm not sure if you can heat this up, but it's best to just drink it straight away, instead of storing it for a rainy day. Speaking of which, even if you don't have a sore throat, this is a perfect rainy day remedy. Lass es euch schmecken!

Mini Pink Pearl Pudding

Okay, I'll be honest with you: this recipe was actually a fail that I prepared last month. I wasn't going to post it, but I seriously can't be bothered with creating a new recipe for this month—usually I would be reminded to cook and be able to think of something, but lately I'm just not in the mood to create food, except the really simple variety not worth of a recipe. While we're at it, let me just share a few things on this cooking experience. First thing's first: this recipe was actually taken from my Stepmom's recipe book, ... . The instructions weren't...correct, though, for some reason—despite the beautiful photo of the food—so I ended having this really...err, gooey thing, in the end. I tried making it a second time but it also didn't pan out very well—I think I was being impatient, though—so I technically don't have the correct photo of the successful food, but will try my best to give the correct recipe to you all. In the spirit of Halloween, we could just pretend these are tiny edible brains. Whatever the shape, though, it still tastes rather good.

Ingredients

(original recipe via Kue Klasik Favorit 2)

For the pudding

• 150 gr sago pearls
• 700 ml water

1. Boil the water and add in the sago pearls
2. Cook until the pearls are translucent and expanding
3. Strain the pearls, put it in little moulds and let cool
4. Transfer the pudding to a plate/bowl to eat

For the kinca sauce

• 200 gr palm sugar
• 200 ml water
• 3 pandanus leaves
• 5 jackfruits (optional)

1. Boil the palm sugar and pandanus leaf in water, until the sugar melts
2. Strain the sugar and leaves from the pan
3. Remove pan from heat and transfer to a bowl

For the coconut milk sauce

• 450 ml thick coconut milk (from 1/2 coconut)
• 1 pandanus leaf
• a pinch of salt, to taste
• 1 tbsp. rice flour, diluted

1. Boil the coconut milk and pandanus leaf
2. Add the salt and rice flour, stir occasionally
3. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl

To eat the pudding, pour both the sauces on top of the pudding and dig in!

Tips:  The coconut milk used in this recipe is the one for cooking—which is quite thick—and definitely not one you can have as a beverage. To dilute the rice flour, add enough water to the mixture until it turns into somewhat thick liquid. To create the gooey texture in these photos, soak the sago pearls before boiling in 1000ml water. To make it hold its pearly shape, this recipe might do, but it'll be a bit too sticky on the pan to be transferred to the moulds, so be extra patient. The gooey version will be much easier to transfer. Let it cool for 2-3 minutes before transferring for the best outcome. Lass es euch schmecken!

Coconut Rice Peanut Butter Porridge

Lately, I've really been thinking a lot about taking care of myself. When I say that, I mean not just mentally, but also physically, financially and professionally. Ever since I moved back home, I've been pretty much hanging the fate of my meals in the hands of my Stepmom—who cooks food for us at home everyday—except when eating out. Although her food is great, sometimes it's not in keeping with my taste and/or nutritional needs. So, I've decided last week to start meal planning every week. Since I don't always have the time to cook my food or the money to buy excess ingredients, I thought I'd start with planning my own breakfast first. On the look out for breakfast ideas online, I was met with a barrage of breakfast bowls, using oats and chia seeds all the time. Unfortunately, those two are either hard to find or significantly expensive to get on this part of the world—especially the latter. Now, in keeping with my desire to use more local ingredients and recipes, I thought I'd put a twist on our Bubur Sumsum a.k.a. Coconut Rice Porridge instead. Researching other food that may be a good substitute to the trending chia seeds, I thought this would be a good choice for fellow Indonesians.

Ingredients

• 65 ml thick coconut milk, diluted
• 4 tbsp. rice flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 pandanus leaf (optional)
• 2 tbsp. peanut butter
• 2 bananas, sliced
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
• 4 grapes

1. Boil half of the coconut milk (with the pandanus leaf) in a saucepan on low heat
2. Add rice flour to the other half and mix well
3. Sprinkle the salt and pour the rice flour mixture into the saucepan
4. Stir the mixture well until it thickens
5. Turn up the heat to medium and let it boil, while keep stirring
6. Remove from heat and let cool
7. Transfer the porridge into a bowl
8. Add the peanut butter and mix well
9. Garnish with banana and sesame seeds
10. Dig in!

Tips:  The coconut milk used in this recipe is the one for cooking—which is quite thick—and definitely not one you can have as a beverage. If you want to be cautious, add the flour little by little after boiling, because only then is the thickness apparent. But, if you want to add more flour after boiling, make sure you dilute it with water. The pandanus leaf is only for aroma, so not using it is okay as well. If you're in a hurry in the mornings, it is best to make the porridge the night before, stick it in the fridge and microwave it for 30 seconds the next morning. If you don't want to use peanut butter, you can have the porridge with its usual kinca sauce—which is literally melted palm sugar—but the peanut butter is for your early-morning protein intake. Originally, I used only one banana and 3 table spoons peanut butter, but I've adjusted the recipe more to how I think it should be. Obviously, like any breakfast bowls, you can switch up the garnish with whatever fruit is available to you—I would trade the grapes for cherries, if they were easier to find. Lastly, I think it's best to divide this recipe for two servings. Lass es euch schmecken!

Lemongrass Ginger "Tea"

Just once this summer—at least for my friends in the northern hemisphere—I want to post a recipe that is refreshing to fight off the heat. At the same time, I want to really accommodate local ingredients and local taste. There is a recipe—albeit not exactly local, but using ingredients quite easily acquired here—that I've been wanting to try out for years. I feel like it's refreshing, especially served chilled, and I find very tasty and healthy. It's the Vietnamese lemongrass tea. But, me being me, I feel like adding a twist into the recipe and turning into something that might become my future comfort drink. In the title I call it "tea," because it's not actually using tea leaves—as is what we Asians normally feel qualify as tea—but I've been told that in certain parts of the world drinks are called tea nonetheless—pure sacrilegious for me, to be honest. It's also sugar-free, with vegan alternatives listed down below. Hope this would refresh your summer!

Ingredients

(original recipe via The Wanderlust Kitchen)

• 8 cups water
• 2 stalks lemongrass, chopped
• 1 cm ginger, chopped finely
• 1/2 cup honey
• sliced lemon/lime for garnish (optional)

1. Boil the water in a medium sauce pan on high heat
2. Add the lemongrass and ginger and boil rapidly for 5 minutes
3. Let it simmer on low heat for another 5 minutes
4. Strain the stalks and ginger
5. Add honey and stir well to let it dissolve
6. Serve warm or chill in refrigerator and serve with ice
7. Enjoy!

Tips:  Be careful with cutting those lemongrass stalks, they are tricky to chop! It's okay to just shell and dump them in the boiling water, if that's easier for you. Obviously, peel the ginger before you chop them—but be careful. Grated gingers are also all right. The water might reduce significantly in the process, so add more than what you think you need. Add the honey little by little to make sure it suits your taste. If you're vegan or don't like honey, you can use maple or fruit syrup of choice. You can obviously also use sugar, but I would advise against it. You can also add in the sliced lemon/lime into the concoction at the end—it adds a subtle zest! If you want to make it into an actual tea, you can also add tea leaves during boiling. Feel free to reduce or add the ingredients to suit your taste—personally, I feel like I'd use less ginger next time. Lass es euch schmecken!