FAST & FRESH

FAST & FRESH

By EdySutio, adapted from JPlus august 31, 2014, original words by Theodora Hurustiati

ENTERTAINING friends does not mean you have to get stressed out by slaving over a slave for days or remain stuck in the kitchen while your guests have fun in the living room without you. Cook a dish ahead of time, like this yoghurt mousse, which is the ideal sweet climax to spicy Indonesian fare (the dairy will neutralize all the hot chilis).

Serves 3-4

200 g whipping / fresh cream

250 g vanilla / strawberry yoghurt

50 ml milk

1 tablespoon caster sugar

2 g natural agar-agar powder

½ ripe mango

150 g strawberries

Mint leaves and flowers, for garnish (optional).

Beat cream until stiff in a clean glass or metal bowl. Make sure it’s fridge cold or you’ll have a hard time whipping it. Refrigerate while you prepare the next steps.

Mix milk with sugar and agar-agar in a saucepan and place over a low heat. Cook until the mixture comes to boil.

Transfer yoghurt to a large bowl, make sure it’s not too cold. Pour agar-agar and amalgamate into the yoghurt quickly and energetically with a whisker. This part is quite tricky since you’ll have to move fast or the agar-agar will start to coagulate and creates lumps. I suggest whisking with one hand while pouring the agar-agar with the other at the same time. Alternatively, have someone pour the agar-agar for you while you whisk.

Incorporate the whipped cream delicately into the yoghurt mix, in 2-3 batches, using a spatula. Divide the obtained mousse into 3-4 glasses or ceramic pots. Refrigerate for about 2-3 hours to set.

Meanwhile, peel and cut mango flesh into 0.5-cubes and cut the strawberries into quarters. Distribute them evenly on top of the set mousses. Garnish with mint leaves and flowers if you wish.

Serve immediately or cover with cling film and refrigerate for no more than 24 hours or the fruits will start to deteriorate and release some liquid.

Amsterdam by the book

A novel approach to travel

By Edysutio

YOU COULD SAY I VACATION FOR A LIVING. But apart from escapes with my family, the truth is I’m either busy reporting or diving in and out of destinations while on business. And the idea of taking time off for myself-forget it.

Last December, though, I took a vacation, in Antigua. Five days alone. To do what I wanted, when I wanted. I sailed, visited historic Nelson’s Docyard, and drove up to Shirley Heights, where the views are the best on the island.

I rarely get to lose myself in novels, but that’s how I spent the rest of my time. It was pure luxury. When I travel, I look for a book that evokes the spot I’m visiting. On this trip I took Jamaica Kinccaid’s A Small Place, with her Antiguan perspective on an island she believes has been treated unkindly by tourism. “And so you must devote your self,” she writes, “to puzzling out how much of what your are told is really, really true. (Is ground-up bottle glass in peanut sauce really a delicacy around here, or will it do just what you think ground-up bottle glass will do? is this rare, multicolored, snout-mouthed fish really an aphrodisiac, or will it cause you to fall asleep permanently?)”

I also reread The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, set in the Belgian Congo-my birthplace. I was almost four when my family left, in the 1950s, to escape the riots that would lead to the nation’s independence from Belgium in 1960. I had only family lore and faint memories of what happened; Kingsolver’s novel took me home. It brought the Congo alive, creating a context and a visual landscape that might have been lost to me forever. Such books conjure a strong sense of place and give insights beyond a guidebook. That is the point of “Around the World in 80 Books,” on page 75, our selection of narratives that we hope will inspire and inform your next trip.

THE JAPANESE GARDEN

By EdySutio

A RESPONSE TO NATURE: Introduces the Japanese concept of the garden, the major styles and ways to adapt these styles to your own garden

DESIGNING YOUR GARDEN: Provides step-by-step guidance in analyzing your site and needs and developing a design using essential Japanese principles to create a garden that suits you best.

GARDEN COMPONENTS: In a Japanese garden, earth, provides the matrix for the basic elements: stone, water, and plants. These natural elements, in various forms and combinations, make the garden.

PLANTS : Most Japanese gardens have plants as basic components, but their functions often differ from those in occidental gardens. This chapter offers some basics about plant selection and use.

PROFILE OF A JAPANESE GARDEN : The owners of the garden featured in this chapter have built a sanctuary that is thoroughly Japanese and yet thoughtfully adapted to an American setting and to the homeowner’s needs.

Where the Turtle Actually Won the Race

Where the Turtle Actually Won the Race

By EdySutio

LAST SPRING Puerto Rico bucked a decades-long trend by protecting 3,000 acres of pristine beaches and mangroves along the Northeast Ecological Corridor. A new law marks an unexpectedly happy ending to a 15-year battle fought by environmental activists to wrest this portion of the Caribean island’s coast-which includes a vital nesting area for the endangered leatherback turtle-from the construction cranes of developers. 

A microcosm of Puerto Rico, this swath of land encompasses all types of coastal wetlands found on the island and is home to nearly 900 other species, including ones struggling to survive such as the endangered West Indian manatee. “Its scale of ecosystem diversity is extremely rare in any location around the world,” says Camilla Feibelman, a former field organizer for the Sierra Club, which offers tours of the region. 

Day-trippers from San Juan, less than five miles to the west, already head to eastern Puerto Rico for El Yungque rain forest and the bioluminescent Fajardo lagoon. yet the corridor is even easier to access-public bus is one option-and the recent legislation promises to encourage ecotourism in this unique habitat. Soon travelers can expect expanded hiking and biking trails as well as the introduction of interpretive experiences, guided tours, and kayak rentals.

Visit the coastal village of Loiza, known as the cradle of afro-Puerto Rican culture and for its rhythmic music.

Brilliant College Courses in Your Home or Car!

Brilliant College Courses in Your Home or Car!

By EdySutio

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