For The Love Of Baking

January 20, 2008

Another Paradox

I‘ve been wanting to try this recipe for so long! Am I so glad I finally did it!

Lemon Meringue Pie. Classic indeed. The first time I heard about this dessert, I have to admit, I –a liiiitle bit– underestimated it. Ok, it has a crust, then lemon cream, then meringue. It is surely sweet and nice, but heck, no surprises. Little did I know I was gonna get one spoonful of surprises in my mouth.

It was oooooh so good! Remember the first time you tried a Pavlova? You thought the combination was just okay, but then, wow! Anna Pavlova had to be a very very wonderful person to have her name immortalized by this wonderful dessert. This is a similar case. You wouldn’t guess what the combination of this three classic regular layers will do to your day. Color it happy, baby. So happy indeed.

The cream was smooth and tangy, the buttery crust was nicely crumbles, the topping was crunchy on the outside, soft and cottony on the inside. Sweet, comforting, surprising. How can a surprise be comforting? Hm. Another paradox.

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December 26, 2007

Not Really An Update

One of my good friends texted me a few weeks ago:

“Check out the latest AJ, page 16. It’s small, I almost didn’t notice.”

Well, it was like 2 weeks later that I finally had time to go to Mangkok Putih, had a very nice lunch (Agadashi Tofu, my favorite! Yea, baby!), and opened the sacred page 16. There it was, small lines correcting that the credit title of Roti Gambang on their previous edition should read pennylanekitchen.blogsome.com. No kidding.

Hey, I’m not mad or anything. I’m not flying above the clouds either. I’ve forgiven this already. But that doesn’t stop things to be done the way they should be.

And ow, about the accusation that said I’ve done the same crime in the past to somebody else, that’s totally cheap shot. First, I personally did not do that, and I challenge anybody—who has the guts saying it to me face to face instead of leaving some fake identity, which by the way, only showed how bad you were raised— to actually prove your lame accusation. Second, the matter involved the community I happened to be one of the moderators of, and it was settled long time ago in a good and respectable manner. Third, I did not do that, and the challenge is on.

PS:
Some descent people texted me and emailed me suggesting that I should respond to that cheap shot. To them, I deeply apologize for my lateness. I hope I have enough time to read every comment, follow up every development on other blogs, but I don’t. I hope this not-so-an-up-date post can be considered as a response. I promise to eventually take a picture of page 16 showing the correction, just to be fair. (I did. Updated a few days later)

December 10, 2007

Meet The Thief: Appetite Journey

Appetite Journey, November 2007, Page 16
www.appetitejourney.com

I‘m not sure where to start. I don’t like dealing with this, but I have to.

The magazine is Appetite Journey. Surprise, surprise.
They refused to pay the amount I want. If you think gigantic amount, you’re wrong. If you think I’m laying a get-rich-quick scheme, you’re crazy. I want one million Rupiah, negotiable. But not negotiable to 200 thousand Rupiahs! Yes, that’s the amount they think they are accountable for stealing my photo.

Appetite Journey, November 2007, Page 16
www.appetitejourney.com

I‘ve written to a national newspaper about this. I hope it would be published. But if not, I will keep writing.

And I am looking at the possibility to press legal charge on this. I am so ready.

I never thought I would be the next victim of this series of stealing. Mbak Rieke, Mas Budi, and my two other blogger friends who refuse to reveal their names; they were once the victims of such crimes, and nothing was done. Nothing. The thieves never even apologized.

I have to do all this, although I hate it. At least I’ll then be able to say that I’ve done the right thing, that I’ve done what was necessary. And I will pass on the unfinished job to the next warrior.

‘Nuff said.

Previous chapter
Next Update

November 15, 2007

Update on Illegal Photo Publication

The story began when one of my foodie friend texted me:

I saw your photo of roti gambang in the latest edition of ******** *******,
but there’s no attribution whatsoever. Are you aware of this?

I was in Surabaya, and quite in shock. Because it’s a high profile magazine, the one whose market is upper class society, A-class readers, presented in glamorous look, on premium paper, the one you can’t just randomly find at the newsstand, for they are exclusively distributed at certain pickup points such as cafes, hotels, lounges and fancy restaurants. It has its own reader’s club –yes, with all the fancy member card and all–, mailing list and an impressive website.

Arriving in Jakarta 2 days later, I immediately headed off to Mangkok Putih in Citos (Cilandak Town Square) to get one of the magazines. And there it was, on page 16.

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November 13, 2007

Eventually Comes My Day

We become very familiar with piracy. It’s everywhere. On the net, off the net. I initially believed that since my photos posted on the net were all in low-res, worst comes to worst, they would probably only be hijacked on the net (and they were, twice so far). They wouldn’t be good printed.

Obviously I was wrong.

The above photo was published in a food magazine just last week.
Yes, without my consent, without attribution whatsoever. Whereas my terms clearly stated (check out my sidebar):

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

It’s a high profile magazine, actually. Surprise, surprise.

I’ll keep you all posted.

Note:
The photo originally appeared in this post and this post.

Update on this matter

November 8, 2007

The Sexiest Fruit: Gedong Gincu!

Mangga gedong. Or gedong mango? For me, it is like the perfect fruit. Gedong Gincu is even better. What you call something that is better than perfect? Gincu means lipstick. Gedong Gincu is the reddish gedong mango. Very fragrant, very vibrant in color, extremely luscious, super delicious!

Mango is now in its peak season in Jakarta. Harum Manis, specially, the primadona of the business. But, still mangga gedong is the one I prefer, the one I consider as luxury.

As they are now in season, it brings the price to the lowest in a year. They sell Harum Manis at Rp 10,000 per 3 kilos! This Mangga Gedong Gincu, at Rp 14 thousand something per kilo. Lot cheaper than the normal price, which could reach twice as high.

I just can’t help myself bagging these babies like crazy this morning. Now two of them had settled down in my happy stomach.

Happy mango season

November 1, 2007

Things That Make You Go ‘Mmmm’

When it comes to salad, I am pretty much adventurous. By that, I mean sometimes I got a plate of heaven freshy, other times a bowl of garbage. Organic garbage, though

But this one, I think you can eat. And like, actually. The secret duo are: pecel sauce and cilantro. They unsurprisingly love each other, by the way.

Pecel spice is a spice mix popular in Indonesia, that is used to make the sauce in Pecel dish — an orchestra of steamed veggies that you have to try once in your lifetime because it’s oh-so-good.

Cilantro, well, you know it’s the magic thing that brought Thailand to the glamor world of international food realm. Cilantro is one of God’s exceptional gifts to the world. World with palates like you and me. It turns simple dishes to extravaganza. Making it special, making it expensive.