kaliandra: a hidden sanctuary of pasuruan

remembering dagpo rinpoche, i forgot to post about this place: kaliandra. beside having my first tibetan teaching here last december, i found an amazing sanctuary in the middle of pasuruan. pasuruan for goodness sake, in east java! it’s a vast 17 hectare of land at mount arjuna, organic farming, an amazing paladeo buildings and beautiful garden (or forest?) that makes you literally time travel to another world. it’s a little absurd experience but it’s completely unforgettable. the next pictures would speak for themselves.

walking path in kaliandra | the hidden paledeo with beautiful lotus pond | yeap, complete with the pool at the back | wooden villa | the outdoor bathroom | italian paledeo | view of arjuna mountain at the main garden| buddha statue in the middle of the pond

local findings #1

there are a lot of reason for me to stay and live in yogyakarta. one of them is the growing availability of fantastic local products.

kejora natural body products

i’ve continuing using this organic shampoo, apple and jasmine, they’re fantastic with my short hair. i can’t stand not to wash my hair everyday. but using chemical shampoo, i found that my hair becoming too dry. this one is perfect and no harm to my scalp. i want to try their organic clear soap too. more review on this later on.

actually there is one brand i particularly like, i really love their organic soap and other green products. would take more pictures and review them next time. always run out and used before i had the chance to photograph them.

gudeg-in-can bu tjitro

one day my friend, gentur, bring this gudeg-in-can for me. i was in disbelief founding such local product. i tried it the next day. it was okay, pretty convenient for people going overseas and longing for gudeg. one can for one portion. cause i’m living in yogya, i prefer the real one :D

the “monggo” belgian chocolate & boyolali mozarella cheese

you just have to love chocolate and cheese. the most exciting and best quality of these products are that they’re locally made:) and to add it: affordable. “monggo” chocolate is made from kotagede, had been around for ages and have a great taste:) i haven’t try the cheese, but it’s cheaper and less carbon foot print. would make a pizza then:)

more too come XD i love living in yogya :)

mie sahabat – yun sin

i always love noodles. especially this type of noodle. and bogor, where i grew up had some specialities in this type of noodle. many people called it just mie ayam/mie ayam jakarta/mie yamin. i remember when i was still vegetarian, i even crave this and made the topping from silken tofu with lots of green onions, you can check the recipe here.

anyway, i grew up eating this mie yun sin. it was located near my school, so it was such a treat when my parents picked me up from school and have lunch there. now they modified they marketing technique, packaging and opening branches in our local malls in the city. i was excited to have it close by in the nearest mall near my place in bogor. you could pick a salty noodles (regular) or sweet noodles). their fish meatballs are also very good. i also like their meatball tofu soup. their tauco sambal are one of the best in the world. please do visit them when you’re in town. you’ll never regret it.

we found our little garden

i’ve been having regular baking session at the house especially on the weekends. i’ve been falling in love with baking and enjoying great times eating what we baked with my best friends. this baking things has been happening for quiet some time and yes, i do start selling my baked goods. thought i’m still looking for prospective cafe’s or friends place/events to sell them.

one day, my friend megan found a cool new cafe. it’s called garden juice. we fall in love with the place from the beginning and had a baking session together at my place with the owner of the place. we made some cheddar and onions scones plus the famous cookie monster cheesecake. it turn out good!

the juice in this place is measured perfectly and with great healthy combination. it’s one of the place in yogya that have such a nice concept, vision and mission to have a better way of living. they’re very open with changes and also opinions from customers. so no wonder we always be back again. there is always like a new spirit or some renew feeling every time i visit this place.

garden juice is such a nice place and a little sanctuary in the middle of city hecticness of yogyakarta northern area. it’s our place to escape. very nice crew they have there and when i’m back from jakarta at the end of november, we’ll start to support to do some baking for them. so please, check out their place or follow them @gardenjuice

bring your friends and loves one, bring your own food and have a nice picnic in the garden:)

note: my favorite above is not too late (mix of fresh orange, locally picked, yoghurt and milk, with extra pulpy texture, great stuff!)

review #2: the cloth diaper issue

i always forgot to write on this again. practically cause i’m chasing after my son here and there now. i’m getting some doubt that i can finalized my thesis by the end of the year, because i nearly passed out every night when my son is also sleeping. so hard to be in the *begadang mood* again. anyway, back in yogya, the internet connection running pretty allrite (it’s okay but it’s on XP, huhuhu, i’m still browsing online to find some way to get my modem work on the new mac os leopard snow, which i love it soo), so yeah, i’m back commiting to blog again.

bhumy is 15 months old now, i only put him in his cloth diaper if we are going out and at night when he’s sleeping, but sometimes not, depends on the weather situation. his cloth diaper is really useful if we’re at bogor, where the weather is much cooler. but in yogya, sometimes i just put cotton singlet and cotton shorts because it’s hot. i rarely put him in his pajama either. just t-shirt mostly at night, depends on the weather. he rarely pee while sleeping at night when the weather is hot either and manage not peeing on the bed in the morning when he wakes up (well, most of the time:P).

but yeah, using the cloth diaper for like 10 months now really really save money. i never buy disposable ever again and not planning to use them ever again. we have like 8 diapers currently, i don’t know if i wanna add more or buy training pants. for now it’s enough for daily uses.

the brand that i haven’t reviewed yet are his happy heiney and his bum genius.

Happy Heiney Velcro – Monkey Print
i love the print, material so thin. thin insert also, the problem started when bhumy likes to pull his velcro. only that really. no leak so far. i like to put in loopy doo insert for this one too.

Bum Genius Velcro
a thin fitting one. great absorbent. loopy doo insert work with this one too.

the two brands are my most favorite so far, i love loopy doo insert too (it’s rather expensive but, it’s hemp so it’s organic and yes very thin but very absorbent). i might have to change to snap because bhumy likes pulling his velcro tab. but velcro tab is very convenient and easiest to use in adjusting your cloth diaper to your baby. i’m really considering to buy training pants soon, my son is practically running around now (planning to potty train him soon too).

because of frequent uses, some of them may leak (to the detergent residue built up), if this happen i just do some diaper stripping, put them in a bucket of hot water and using dishwasher soap. i never experience smelly diaper problem so far, i hand wash mine daily with regular rinso or so klin higinis.

the only bad thing using cloth diaper is that they come in those cute prints, various brands and looks so nice, hahaha, it’s addictive, so far manage to hold myself for not tempted buying more and more. ideally for everyday used you should have around 15-20. we manage to survive until now for just 8. hehehe.

“chicken” noodle jakarta style

if you ever visit jakarta or live in jakarta you must know mie ayam jakarta (chicken noddles jakarta sytle). i know it for all my life, that mie ayam jakarta is the one of the best oriental food existed. i practically cannot live without it. i know it first as mie ayam, when i went outside bogor and jakarta, this type of noodles style is known as mie ayam jakarta or mie yamin (mostly know in bandung/west java), it’s different of course than the central java ones, that i found in yogyakarta where i spend most of the last few years of my life there.

well, it is basically chinese style noodles (the good ones are mostly homemade but you could also used your regular factory ones), the only different thing is that you take the broth out or separated in a different bowl. read the history of bakmi here. my mother used to tell me that this style first came up in jakarta back in 1960-1970s, where bakmi gadjahmada (it’s one of the best in jakarta if not the world), just selling their noddles in the sidewalk not fancy chain restaurants (only in jakarta) like nowadays. then in bogor she said, the ones starting selling them is bakmi yung sin/sahabat, with the best tauco sambals and fish balls ever.

throughout my life i had some of my favorites, in bogor are:
1. bakmi yun sin/sahabat
2. mie kita (just been up the last few years, but they are great)
3. bakmi dorea
4. bakmi gaya tunggal
5. bakmi restoran baru
6. bakmi tasik
7. the one selling in front of my old junior high, exactly in front of regina pacis bogor high school (the guy even made his version like the yung sin version, with salty and sweet option)

in jakarta are:
1. bakmi gadjah mada
2. bakmi gang kelinci
3. bakmi naga

haven’t really found good ones in bandung or even in yogyakarta (which had branch from jakarta), i’m still searching.

the real problem started when i decided to become vegetarian in the end of 2006. like i said i cannot live without mie ayam. my only solution then was to take off the chicken topping, if they have it with mushroom, i ask only mushroom and add a lot of fresh green onions. it’s still great and refreshing.

i came up with the idea of making my own “chicken noodles”, my styles of course. i was looking on a couple recipes online and trying to figure out the ingredients they put in the process (when you deal with everyday cooking, your tounge got more sensitive). so i basically i try to change the chicken with mince tofu (silk or regular ones). and damn they are great, i even haven’t try with homemade noodles, just using the store bought ones (the dry ones, that you have to boiled first). i used this recipe as a reference. after the third try, i confidently share this modified recipe:

“chicken” noodle jakarta style

ingredients
noodles:
1 pack of ready noodles (wet or dry, for the wet one you just have to wash them in hot water, the dry one you have to boil them first then drain them), i used dry store brought ones “mie telur cap ayam” brand 200 gram size make around 3 bowl of noodles
chinese soy sauce
garlic oil replacement for chicken oil

garlic oil:
5 clove garlic, crack them
1 cm ginger slice
2 green onions, cut into two
100ml vegetable oil
2 tbsp sesame oil

broth:
1 litre of vegetable broth (from garlic, green onions, sesame oil, add ginger if you like or other kind of green chinese vegetables)
2 green onions, slice thinly

“chicken topping”:
1 pack of silken tofu
50 gram of mushroom (any kind)
3 clove of garlic, mince them
3 cm ginger, crack them
1 tbsp sweet soya sauce, bango brand recommended
1 tbsp chinese soya sauce/vegetarian oyster sauce
75 gram vegetable broth
salt and pepper, add as you feel like

condiments:
fried red onions
yue choy, blanched
fresh slices green onions

methods:
stir fry tofu and mushroom
1. saute garlic and ginger until fragrant. add mushroom and tofu, stir evenly.

2. add vegetable broth, sweet soy sauce, soy sauce, salt and ground white pepper. cook until all spices is absorbed and mushroom is done. keep a small amount of broth in the mixture. set aside.

homemade garlic oil:
heat the oil in a pan/wok until hot. add ginger and garlic, then turn off the stove and add green onions. let them cool, drain and add sesame oil in. transfer into a container and cover with the lid, you can keep the oil till a month.

serving:
1. in a pot, add water and bring to a boil. add dried noodles, cook until done and drain. combine cooked noodles with 2 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp garlic oil, ground white pepper, and salt as desired; toss well.

2. place the noodles in a serving bowl. add the tofu and mushroom stir fry, and blanced yuey choy over. sprinkle fried red onions and sliced green onions over.

3. serve immediately with vegetable broth added with fresh green onions in a bowl.

results:
they’re real great. using silken tofu make the topping stick along with the noodles. my son who really loves noddles and pasta, love them so much, he ate all his noddles in his small bowl. my brother is loving them as well. i’m getting him eating vegetarian food, while living with me the last couple of months, so it’s tofu and tempe, haha.

6 bulan asi eksklusif

tanggal 14 januari 2009 kemarin, bhumy dan tentu saja kami secara sukses berhasil melewati 6 bulan masa ASI eksklusif:D it seems so long, it seem so short. but what i know is, it’s one hard job to do as a mom:)

kebayang hari pertama setelah IMD ga berhasil, khawatir ASI ga keluar sampai sore. dan ketika malamnya berhasil-setelah dipijet paksa sama bapak kadek sampai kolostrumnya keluar, senang sekaligus kecapean sampai pagi. karena begadang lagi, setelah begadang melahirkan. masih sakit jahitan, jadi ga bisa nyusuin duduk. dada bengkak dan lecet di hari-hari pertama. sebelom lewat 40 hari, rasanya cape melulu dan merasa bersalah aga-aga kena baby blues (yang emang ternyata sangat wajar:P). like i always say, after giving birth, my body feels like it had been hit by a truck. baru udah lewat 40 hari jadi terbiasa dengan intensitas menyusui bhumy yang luar biasa. melihat fotonya bhumy lagi hari-hari itu, ga kebayang sekarang dia udah segede gini. 8 kilogram lebih and keep growing and ga tau udah sepanjang apa karena lagi-lagi celananya dah mulai kependekan. and because of ASI he’s like supersehat (ga pernah sakit) dan supergumbiraaaa:D

orang pertama yang paling berjasa adalah tentu saja, bapak kadek dedy sumantra yasa, atas segala kesabaran dan ketabahan mendampingi istri yang suka bete ga jelas (karena hormon yang naek turun selama kehamilan dan juga menyusui dan masih masih berlanjut sampai menyusui selesai – yang rencananya sampai bhumy 2 tahun), yang suka gantiin masak kalo lagi kecapean, yang sering minta dibikinin minum ini itu, yang sukanya nyetrika dan ga suka nyuci baju (untung dianya OCD dan hobi cuci mencuci), yang sering tewas bareng bhumy kalau lagi nyusuin (yeah, bawaannya pengen tidur mlulu jadi sering ga ngapa2in), yang juga selalu menjaga bhumy dengan senang hati ketika ibunya harus melakukan hal lain (mandi cepat, makan cepat, dsb). he’s a blessing husband to be honest:D i love u, hun:*

selanjutnya adalah tante bertha dan ibu (kadek’s mom), yang mendampingi merawat bhumy di minggu-minggu awal. yang memaksa saya untuk makan agar tidak habis tenaganya. dan memasakkan masakan favorit pengundang selera. lalu tentu saja yang kemudian mengajarkan bagaimana mengurus bayi di hari-hari awal bhumy. dan juga doanya serta kasih sayangnya hingga sekarang yang mendukung kami semua membesarkan bhumy.

lalu rskia bhakti ibu yogya, yang nanya dulu apakah si bayi mau disusuin secara eksklusif atau tidak dan ngga maen dikasih susu formula di hari pertama kaya di rumah sakit lainnya. bhumy cuma dikasih air putih aja sampai sore waktu itu. dan juga sama dokter anak sempet langsung konsultasi klo misalnya secara historis orangtua bayi punya alergi sama susu sapi ga (aku lactose intolerance soalnya waktu bayi), jadi waktu itu kalo misalnya harus pakai susu formula udah dikasih pilihan yang soya based (thank god, we don’t have too).

lalu, sepasang bra menyusui yang selalu mendampingi saya, merk mark and spencer dan merupakan sepasang bra termahal yang pernah saya beli (waktu masih hamil 5 bulan dan udah ga ada bh yang muat, bh kain 10ribuan di beringharjo juga udah ga memadai). bra yang paling nyaman dipakai dari hamil sampai sekarang dan makenya garing dinggo (dipake cuci kering dipake gantian). 500 IDR worth of investment. now i have another pair from mothercare (MODA, 2 pieces a pack for 389 IDR), but yes, M&S are better really (i’m really picky with bra coz i hate underwire bra from the beginning and i’m sensitive with rubber).

and of course washable breast pad (used gerber-3 pieces a pack and another one piece-forgot what brand), they’re the best. sangat ekonomis. i hate one time use breast pad, selain mereka menumpuk sampah di bumi ini, makenya juga ga enak, malah jadi gatel2. they’re very usefull for the many leaks i have.

my nursing summer dresses, great to wear outside the house and nice to wear in a hot weather. wear them with jackets now, in this rain season.

sekarang lagi nyari baju buat menyusui, baru liat-liat di website mom’s in mind, their nursing shirt are nice (s’pore, huh:(), belum nemu and hunting di tempat lain. kemungkinan mau nyolong ide minta dibikinin baju sama bapak kadek. walaupun memang kebanyakan sih kalo nyusuin bhumy aku suka cuek aja, soalnya bagiku menyusui adalah salah satu hal paling alamiah di dunia ini. apalagi with the stupid porn bill being passed here, kenikmatan menyusui bayi di bawah pohon gede di kebon raya bogor itu salah satu kesenangan yang tidak boleh dilewatkan.

ga tau kenapa ga terlalu tertarik pake nursing apron, soalnya koq kayanya bhumynya ketutupan gitu, kesian kaya susah nafas ajah:P

despite, intensitas menyusui bhumy yang tetap aja tinggi sampai sekarang dan dia mulai makan MP-ASI (makanan pendamping ASI) secara perlahan, target berikutnya adalah menyusui bhumy sampai dua tahun:) yang mana berarti akan melewati masa-masa dimana kami berpindah-pindah kaya keluarga nomaden (bogor-yogyakarta-bali), lalu juga mulai bulan juli’09 saya harus segera merampungkan skripsi yang sudah ketunda nyaris 3 tahun:P so, give me your prayer people (and semesta of course for it’s blessing) and i’ll do my hardwork from now:)

oya, untuk merayakan itu semua, kami membelikan bhumy meja makan and boy, he’s so excited already:) (finally getting the antilop IKEA table for 489 IDR in superhome, best review on the internet so far, best price too)

review #1: cloth diaper versus disposable diaper

when it comes to the baby stuff, it’s all about the diaper issue. since bhumy is like a day old, we basically just used cloth diaper. not the old linen fold ones. but the cloth string one they made this days. it’s useful until he is like 2 months old, and bhumy start outgrow them. he basically kicking them off and pissed all over us sometimes in the morning, haha:D kadek as usual likes to wash them and i’m with the iron.

bhumy wear his disposable diaper first time when he’s a week old and basically when we go out with him afterward. things are okay like that after 3 months when bhumy start wearing his cotton pants, but the next months, we’re in trouble when bhumy is always on the move so he couldn’t stay on his rubber matt. but i don’t want him to wear disposable 24-7. but like now, he even start to put his rubber matt into his mouth which made us have to keep it out of the way for good. luckily i solved them one day when i’m browsing the internet, where i accidentally found all size cloth pocket diaper. they totally rock. i’m totally converting to cloth diaper now, although i have to buy them one at a time coz they do seem cost a lot the first time and yeah, i only can buy them online. i got six of them right now (from racheline.com), which already cut the cost of buying disposable by half monthly. i’m looking to try other brand too, saving money to buy them for now. i need around 15-20 diaper to used them fulltime. each of them cost nearly 300,000 IDR, that’s why i have to save money for them, but for the long run they really really save money. considering that i can spend nearly 500,000 IDR for disposable diaper a month lately (one pack a week, jeez).

anyway, this is the disposable diaper review which i hope to say bye to them in the next 2 months. and yeah of course celebrating the cloth diaper comeback review:D

DISPOSABLE DIAPER:

Pampers Baby Dry
this is basically the disposable that fit bhumy right first time. they’re the thinnest in the market available (until i found goon diaper). they’re okay.

Pamper Active Baby
they’re the new stuff from Pampers, turn out bad, they gave Bhumy diaper rash in his back. even though they are thinner than the pampers baby dry.

Goon Diaper
they’re the best disposable diaper so far, with wetness indicator too. the thinnest ever. no problem with rash or anything. the downside is that i have to buy them in a baby shop.

Goon Diaper Pull Up Pants
the best pull up pants, very thin, no bulky thing in the middle when it’s full. breathable too.

Huggies Baby Dry
i don’t like them, my baby don’t like them. they become really bulky from the first wetting.

Mamy Poko
they’re allright, but for me sometimes they’re too bulky. and rather expensive too.

CLOTH DIAPER:

The Regular String Cloth Diaper
they’re only usefull until bhumy 2 months old. after that they just don’t work and a lot of laundry.

Cotton Pants
they’re okay until bhumy 4 months old, but after that, they just too thin for the increasing wetness and mass of bhumy.

Wonderoos One Size Pocket Diaper
they’re great, never leak. although it might fit bhumy when he’s larger, seems a bit bulky for now and their insert are big (good to wear for an all night diaper), but they take time to dry. nice colour.

Bumwear One Size Pocket Diaper
never leak. better size insert, quick drying too. they fit bhumy the nicest so far and seems to be more breathable compare to wonderoos, maybe because they’re design for the tropical weather, great color and design. totally love them, buying them some more later.

BEST STUFF SO FAR:

bhumy, 6 months wearing his favorite green turtle bumwear cloth diaper