Hot Sambal

My original javanese sambal was very simple. My mom, my grandmother, and our neighbors on the island of Java used only chili peppers, terasi, and salt. They use the javanese/indonesian mortar and pestle we call 'cobek' (pronounced: chop beck) to crush the peppers. The act of crushing peppers on cobek is 'ulek' or the Dutch Indonesians spell it 'oelek', which means grind by hand. Later on as I grew up, I experienced diversities of sambal, especially as I travelled the Indonesian archipelago.

Every island in Indonesia has its own traditional recipe of sambal. Sambal Bali .... sambal Manado ...... Just type sambal and the name of the island/city and google it.

But my recipe, which has won 'hugs and kisses' from my friends the past 30 years has not changed, it consists of 7 ingredients:

Red hot peppers 1/2 lb. (.2 kg)
Shallots 2 lb (.8 kg)
Garlic 1/4 lb (.1 kg)
Pre baked terasi about 1 Tablespoon
Salt 2 teaspoon
Sugar 2 teaspoon
Vegetable oil 1/4 cup

I have used different types of peppers, and sometimes substituting shallots with other types of onions, depending on availability in the market. In fact, because of this reason, I have had fun experimenting different tastes and "heat levels" of peppers. Not all my guests like it hot. So, I modify my sambal by putting more shallots/onions when all I have is super hot chili peppers. Since fresh chili peppers are not always available in some countries, especially during the winter time. I have decided that the best way to always have sambal ready in my home, without going through the chores each time, is to make it in big batches, store them in tiny plastic containers and freeze them.

Here is my 30 minute sambal:

Wash the peppers, remove the stems. Big peppers may require removal of the seeds.
Peel the skin of garlic and shallots then coarsely chop.
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan, sautee the above ingredients until limp for about 5 minutes.
Let it cool off then put it in a blender adding the remaining ingredients and blend it till desired consistency. If the terasi comes in soft paste form, I prefer grind it coarsely. But if you get the prebaked terasi, it's generally hard, so I use 'blend' till it's smooth. The oil, sugar, and salt will function as natural preservatives.

And..... voila ! Your sambal is ready to enjoy with your meal.

Buy some tiny plastic containers to store them in the freezer, and take one out as you need.

The Vikingsholm at Lake Tahoe, California

IT'S A CASTLE IN A JUNGLE ..

The Vikingsholm.

The house we are renting in Lake Tahoe was magnificent, though not as pretty as The Vikingsholm, surprisingly well appointed like a model home, comfortable and has everything we need for a weekend getaway. It sleeps 12 people, 5 beautiful bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, plus a sofa sleeper downstairs for 2 extra guests..... Four of us took a walk around the neighborhood, smell the pines while checking out other cabins from outside....a wooden bear hanging outside on the second floor peeking in the window. There are 9 of us on this trip. Andre and Cameron drove off to get us breakfast the first morning.

They came back with bags of sausage-egg-muffin. They didn't last very long for the moment the bags landed on the marble top kitchen counter, we were ready to eat. The day before I had made a pot of pork rendang, strawberry and nectarine cobblers. Mason had brought his home-made cake (banana with poppy seed). Everyone agreed we'll save them for dinner tonight. We had brought so much food for dinner that night that we were able to use the leftovers for breakfast and a picnic lunch for 9 of us on our second day.

About 10 am we were heading out for a hike. Destination: Emerald Bay..... a beautiful section of Lake Tahoe. It's also famous because of the historic tea house that was once used to entertain the guests at the Vikingsholm. The teahouse sits on top of a little island in the bay across the water from the Vikingsholm castle which was built in 1929. Unfortunately, the tea house got burned down by fire. This unique home is worth visiting when you are in Tahoe.

For the story of Vikingsholm please click here.

Don't forget to bring $7 in cash (exact change only) for the parking fee. There is an envelope on site where you can deposit the money. The hike down to the Emerald Bay is about 2 miles. You will find some mountain springs along the hike where you can have a splash to cool off. There weren't that many people in the park, for the hike can be tasking for some people. The Vikingsholm is sitting beautifully on the beach of the Emerald Bay, facing it's its little friend tea house, a canoe away.....

Tahoe Queen.


There was a few boaters near the teahouse island. It's very pleasant sitting by the daisy field watching boats passing by....... including the famous Tahoe Queen that stops in front of the Vikingsholm every 30 minutes or so.

Chili Peppers ....... the secret ingredient !

How many kinds of chili peppers are you familiar with ? Which one/s have you used or do you use any at all? Being born and raised on Java, I consume these hot spicy fruits all my life. I use them as one of the ingredients in my cooking, as the main ingredient in the famous Indonesian hot sauce sambal, or eat them wholy with my lumpia.

In my first year of living in the United States (1982), I didn't know where to buy fresh chili peppers (the hot ones). So I had bought dried mexican peppers (the only one available in the store at that time), crushed them, separated the seeds and planted them in pots. Didn't have much luck. For a year, I 'suffered' the taste of preservatives in the sambal made and imported from ......... Holland ! Yeah... Indonesian Sambal, made in Holland, exported to the United States, consumed by a javanese woman who now lived in California.

SUNDAY FARMERS MARKET IN SACRAMENTO

Life got better on my second year when I discovered a farmers market in Sacramento on one Sunday morning. There under Highway 50, between Broadway and X streets, on block 8th through 10. Huge gathering of the Sacramento Valley farmers, all here forming a unique Sunday morning community. About 3 blocks away, occupying a smaller lot is a separate section of the Asian farmers market. The vendors, the shoppers, and the merchandise ..... are from Asia. The place I had been longing for. The market where I find 7 different varieties of peppers, hot, mild, and sweet types...

The green or yellow small peppers are the ones I usually consume direct, bite a bit with my lumpia. The red hot ones are for making sambal. The long red and sweet I use to make dishes with.

In the summer, these peppers are sold for $1 per pound (0.4 kg). Sometimes I buy the whole plants that are loaded with chilis. The farmers don't have time to pick them? They also cost $1 per plant and I get two or three times the chilis ... and I get to enjoy picking them off the stem while watching wild turkeys in my backyard.

Today I must have bought about 20 pounds of chili peppers. Summer time is the time to get these chilis. It's like having a harvest season and store them to use for long the winter. Chilis freeze well without losing their flavor or its 'heat' intensity. I leave the stems on when freezing, it helps protecting the flavor and heat intensity.

Angora Lake ....... a secret destination.

ANGORA LAKE

It's a quiet secluded area with no signs to get there.
A lake like no others.
No motor boats, not very many visitors.
Must hike 20 minutes up the hill
There is a small no-name lake along the way... just as tranquil.... and no less pretty.

Click on directions to get there. Once you get up there you will find mini cabins which are most likely booked a year in advance. Don't forget a swim suit, a towel, a mat for the beach. Oh.. and a picnic basket too. You wouldn't have to carry your food basket along the 2 miles hike to have a picnic, since there are nice picnic spots near where the parking area is. Parking fee of $7/car per day applies. Bring exact amount. There is an envelope you can pick up at the parking site where you can put the money in, seal it and deposit in the pay box.

Owners of the cabins at Angora Lake have a paddle board for rent for $16/hr. I didn't see anybody on one, but I did see a tiny one-person sailing canoe in the middle of the lake ..... sailing quietly .... and the only moving thing on the still tranquil lake.......

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Folsom Lake .....My Last Summer Splash ............

FOLSOM LAKE

My husband and I had the pleasure of entertaining our friends at the Ballard Group Sacramento, its CEO, Marini Ballard, and her family from Jakarta, Arthur and Sada, over the past couple of weeks.

10:00am Saturday .... got a phone call from Marini saying the "Indonesian Delegation" is still jet lagging after flying 25 hours, so will be late. One hour later, Andre, Cameron, and Randy (engineers at the Ballard Group) started showing up at our house. My husband, Mitch, has been busy getting the boat ready to launch on the lake today. I am ( some people call me 'the mama') finally finished packing 2 ice chests filled with drinks, sandwiches, and munchies. Finally Ed, Marini, Sada, and Arthur showed up ..... and more goodies aboard the boat.....mmm... hot panini sandwich ....yumm.

I don't remember having 9 people on board our boat, but Mitch says will be no problem. Legal capacity is 12. Okay, fine. Destination: Folsom Lake. The water level has never been this high .... nice ! and I love it ! Launching the boat had never been easier. Five photographers are on board. I took the driving seat to pass the 5 Miles Zone, after which Mitch took over. And after that no one speaks for we can't hear each other. When Mitch takes over the driving position, voices are gone with the wind ! ........

Marini wants to go to the cove where we found bay leaves.... I had picked some bay leaves in the wild the weeks before and actually used it in my rendang. We found the cove where we had found the wild bay leaves and dropped the anchor. We saw some kids doing cliff jumping. There was another boat by the cliff, besides us. The people on that boat were watching too. One boy was standing too long on the edge of the cliff when some girls began shouting go! go! Naturally, the guys on our boat want to challenge each other to climb on the cliff and jump in. Ed lead, jumping off the boat and swam to the cliff ...followed by Randy, Cameron, and Andre. Watching Randy standing on the edge of the cliff for 10 long minutes was quite amusing. While the other guys were ready for the second round, Randy was still 'nailed' on the cliff edge !

Marini and I just watched.... because we are 'shy' ..... we are more 'tubers' than cliff jumpers. Tubing is a lot of fun. It is the goal to shake the rider off the tube and watch him/her fall in the wake. Marini and I had a better plan. We both rode together in one big tube, more stable and harder to flip...... and were successfully intact to the end of the tubing session. It was so much fun that we didn't realize we were almost out of fuel and was still far from the dock. We barely made it !

Next adventures: Angora Lake, no name lake, and .... the majestic Lake Tahoe

... all in one weekend.

I can live anywhere .....
I can work anywhere .......
I will go anywhere ..... JUST ADD WATERRR !!!

Heavenly Hole

Summer in California..... mmmmm... I just love it!

My husband and I decided to take a mini trip a couple of weeks ago. We began in Sacramento ( by the way... it is the capital of California)...... Los Angeles is not the capital.

On Interstate 80, we drove east towards Reno, about 40 minutes from Sacramento to the historic town of Auburn. Took the first exit, i.e. Maple street, and stopped by the historic court house. It is a beautiful building that you can't miss when you drive along Interstate 80 ..... the landmark of Auburn, the building that stores much of the history of Placer County. Taking half of its ground floor, the Placer County Museum offers an amazing history of this part of California. Anything from the American Indian Heritage to the historic Gold Rush. A history that has put California on the map with its popular name, The Gold Country. If you are interested enough in the history of this gold country, I will be happy to show you where all the gold mines are. But first, I'd like to take you to where we found this Heavenly Hole.

From the town of Auburn, we drove north on California highway 49 for 28 miles to a town called Nevada City ..... another historic gold town.

We exited just to check out the old town (which we have visited a few times before), drove around a few blocks and got back into the highway. There is something about highway 49 in California, that gives me a feeling of mixed emotion when driving on it. Perhaps because of the history that has something to do with the gold mines, and how the American people have traveled from the east coast to the west coast for months in hope to find gold.

From Nevada City, on highway 49 we drove to Newtown / Bitney Springs road about 10 miles to Pleasant Valley Road and drove north to Bridgeport. We stopped in a parking area full of cars.
Two park rangers were chatting under a tree. There is a small table near them. There were some papers on the table. We walked by them and said hello! mmmmm... no parking fee..... no visitors fee...... and there are park rangers ? and so many visitors ? ...... a little unsual. The air was definitely hot. Summer in California .... when it's hot, IT IS HOT !

We walked towards the bridge and saw so many people in the river .... swimming, sunbathing on the beach and on the floats. We are now on the bridge and came to a full view of the beautiful and historic South Yuba River.

Looking on my left is the spectacular curve of the river with huge rocks cropping here and there..... then down below the bridge there is a swim hole that looks like somebody's private pool in their own backyard .... we saw a couple enjoying each other's company..... away from the crowd, in a cool and crystal clear heavenly hole !

Please click on South Yuba River State Park to watch the video of this marvelous river.

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