yum! pandan muffins

One of my top 10 favorite things about living in Asia has to be pandan. i love the green stuff and so do the kiddies. i have been buying pandan cakes and pandan muffins, pandan toasts and other goodies, but then i decided that i better make the small green cakes myself. has to be better, knowing what's in there, plus bibs absolutely loves baking - well as long as her hands are kept clean!

we have made them a couple of times, but i wasn't completely satisfied, i think i have nailed it this time, so i'll share the recipe!

pandan muffin recipe

3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup sugar
2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp pandan extract (or 6 fresh leaves soaked in the water and then strained)

mix the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and the salt. in another ball mix the egg, coconut milk, pandan extract, water and oil. add half the wet to the dry and mix, then add the rest till you get a nice and smooth matter - do not mix too much or your muffins end up being very heavy. cook 20-25 mins @ 180c. 

Shame! Shame on you Ace Hardware Indonesia!

let me tell you what happened as I visited one of the ace hardware stores in Bali today.

my friend had told me that they had received a toy I had been looking for for my little boy and today I decided to make the trip. 

i get to the store, after a while i also manage to find what i came for. gIve it to my son to try, he loves it, doesn't want to leave it alone. great! my bonus of the day: 20% off the nearly 315k. son happy, mummy happy! except I don't stay happy very long. 

i get a sales rep who tells me it's the last one and comes back with the item and the price tag. Well half the price tag, the 20% off tag has disappeared. i ask him where is it gone? well it was a mistake. sorry, not really my problem, I reply! and he really tries to talk himself out of it - which only annoys me more. then he says, that the member of staff is new, i reply then he is obviously not ready to be by himself. and then it comes: well the staff member will have to pay! i was shocked. i think i didn't understand well, but no... even if the guys english wasn't very good, he got that across. YES! if an employee at ace hardware makes a mistake he pays for it! i cannot take money from a kid who makes a mistake, i will not take his money. so i made my way to the cashier and pay full price for my son to be happy. and then i thought i can't leave this alone. i go to customer service and ask for the manager. very nice lady came and listened to me. she could only say that i had understood well and that is ace hardware's policy. she checked my story out - the item had been on sales till the 4th september and the tag hadn't been taken off. she then told me that she would take it off her salary. what is this? i don't ask for charity! i know she means well and I am not offended she proposed it but i don't want her money either. so because of ace hardware's unfair, idiotic, i-can't-find-a-word-for-it policy and me being a normal human, with a heart, i cannot have my consumer's right respected or protected. 

i know others probably would think, tough for the kid, he will learn. but no! it's so wrong. i could just see it happen in France, the unions could milk that one - and for once i would agree with them. poor kid. this kind of policy is from another time, a time where employees were not respected or trusted. a time where employers did what they wanted to. 

shame, shame on you ace hardware Indonesia! 

from Petitenget to Seminyak square

walking in Amman wasn't an easy job. walking in Seminyak isn't either. the only difference is that here the roads take you somewhere: to a shop, to a cafe, to a restaurant or to the beach! in Amman, i could walk in my neighbourhood and apart from my little corner shop there was nothing to look at! so yes i have to brave the cars and the scooters and the beeping taxis - but at least i walk into a shop, buy a dress or have a coffee on the way.

and here are a few pics of my first walk into Seminyak...

bought a dress there

bikes and petrol in an Absolut bottle! everywhere in Bali... big drinkers of Absolut?

love this little alley - full of authentic Balinese houses

 

a little bookshop - exchange, sell, buy

a hidden temple

my first walk on the beach

we have mostly been spending our days at the pool and recovering from the jet lag... however a couple of days ago we took a stroll on the beach here in Semyniak. Bibs absolutely loved it - Bobsy was just enjoying himself in the pushchair, listening to the waves and having the wind in his face.

no swimming here, but the sea is absolutely beautiful.

view of the beach 

...but surfing yes! beginners out for a lesson

even the crabs are artists in Bali

the tides are huge here, which make the beach an amazing place to walk late afternoons

Bibs enjoying herself playing with the sand

Bibs doing yoga - my first mission is to find her a yoga teacher. she is in the right place i believe

goodbye to Amman

tomorrow we are off to a new life. a new country. a new home. meet new people, some will become our new friends. it is always strange to leave a place, travel and settle somewhere else. it is so exciting to think about all the new adventures!

to say goodbye to Jordan, here are a few shots of some of my favorite places.

Hercules Temple @ the Citadel in Amman

view of Amman (from the Citadel)

another view of Amman (taken from Wild Jordan Cafe) 

Hot Springs in Ma'in

The Sanctuary, Petra

entry to the Siq of the Little Petra

Umm Qais

Cardo Maximus in Jerash