Okay, the pic really don't do justice for my pie and the title of this post. If you ask me what was the hardest part to make on this article, the answer would be taking the photo. Seriously, no matter which angle I shoot from, my pie just didn't look Tastespotting worthy. But although my pie was not that photogenic, it did taste gloriously good and ridiculously easy to make.  

Yesterday was Canada day, the day where eating chicken wings, drinking beer, and lighting up fireworks were not only allowed, but its mandatory. To celebrate this joyful day and to demonstrate that I am a spirited team player, I too, would like to participate in this unhealthy diet party.

The thing is, I was not prepared for it. I was supposed to fast since it is Ramadhan after all, so my fridge was pretty empty apart from a bowl of rice, left over from my early breakfast (sahur). And since it was a statutory holiday, shops were closed. The only thing that opens was the 24 hours gas pump convenience stores, like the one near my corner. You see, that place is only good for three things: overpriced milk, 101 varieties of chips, and cheap alcohol. Perhaps according to their logic, people need milk for their breakfast, bags of chips to survive the day, and a bottle of alcohol before bed. I am not proud of this, but I kinda approve this logic.

I was oozing disappointment here, ladies and gentlemen. Exactly on the day when junk food binge was celebrated, I was left out. It was the culmination of my unreliableness.

I went through my (half empty) kitchen, looking for something to whip into an unhealthy snack to compensate. I found a bag of shelled pistachio, a sachet of flan with due date in a month, a jug of milk, and a half eaten chocolate bar. Unforgivable. 

So I proceeded the day cooking another good but easy recipe using pistachio for dessert. Pistachio is definitely my favorite nut. Its has distinctive flavor and texture, and also it has so many health benefit. Do you know that this nut actually can improve erectile dysfunction? Truly nut for the nuts. 

Lets begin, shall we!

Pie crust:
Actually any pie crust recipe will do, even the store bought one. The flaky one or the rather crumbly one, free to choose as you like.


Pie filling: 
1 sachet of your instant vanilla flan mix (I used Alsan brand)
1/4 cup shelled pistachio (to grind)
2 cups of milk (as instructed for Alsan brand, follow the liquid measurement according the flan mix you use)
3/4 tsp of freshly ground cardamom (about 10 pods), remove the shell and only ground (finely) the seeds
sugar (optional, check if your flan mix is already has sugar in it)
shelled pistachio for decoration


Cooking step:

1. I assume you already have your favorite pie crust baked and ready, set aside,
2. Put 1/4 cup pistachio in a food processor, spice grinder or blender and grind them finely. Dump the nuts into a sieve or sifter once they look like they are ground finely enough. Sift the ground pistachio into a pan. Keep anything that is left in the sieve or sifter aside for sprinkle,
3. Add 1 sachet of instant flan mix, 2 cups of milk, freshly ground cardamom into the pan. Mix thoroughly and slowly bring to boil, 
4. Once the flan is boil, turn off the heat and set aside for three minutes,
5. Meanwhile, brush the surface of the pie crust with butter or margarine, this is to prevent the crust from becoming soggy,
6. Gently pour the flan on the pie crust and sprinkle the left over ground pistachio and the shelled pistachio on top for decoration, 
7. Set aside to cool,
8. Once the pie filling is set and completely cool, gently slice it into slivers and serve it with a cup of hot tea. 

Happy baking!

Today's recipe is about the latest trendy snack in Indonesia. Its known under many names; Egg Pie (Pai Telur), Egg Tart (Tar Telur), and Custard Tart (Pai Susu). It is similar with Portuguese tart pastry, Pasteis de Nata. I have never tasted the Portuguese one, but I heard it tastes pretty similar. The difference only lies on the pastry itself, Portuguese one uses puff pastry while Egg Pie uses (obviously) pie crust. 

There are particular places that are known to be the best producers of this pie in Indonesia. Bali is one of them. It is so popular that people are willing to line up for hours to get their turn to buy this delicious pastry. I am lucky enough to have tasted Bali Egg Pie without having the hassle of waiting in line. I got it from a one of my family that lives there. What a perk to have a big family :)

The recipe I'm writing is NOT Bali Egg Pie tho, but I guarantee it is a great recipe to make a simple yet awesome snack to accompany your tea-break time. Just like any other pie, the key of its success lies on the quality of the crust. My recipe doesn't meant for making pies with long shelf-life since I use all natural and fresh ingredients. Its so good it won't last till the next day anyway before all got eaten up :)

Usually egg pie has a very vibrant yellow color but mine today is a bit pale because I toned down the yolk since my cousin (who is allergic to yolk) is coming to have a taste. 

Here is a recipe for those cold fall days , when you dream of hot summer beaches. The smell of this comforting pot pie will remind you of the sea. Its a modified version of the classical pot pie, that is easily modified. Have fun eating !

October has arrived, it means the pumpkin-frenzy season is here. Its all about pumpkin yet honestly I have never tasted a pumpkin before. This is my first pumpkin cooking and tasting experience, it turned out pretty good. Who ever thought you can make such a nice dessert from a vegetable?! 

I love avocados, it is such a versatile ingredients with rich flavor. It is good for salad, condiments, even desserts! This avocado pie is very easy, I didn't even have to cook the pie filling!

Ingredients: 
For the skin:
1½ cup flour
½ cup vegetable shortening (you can use butter or lard)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
a pinch of salt
½ cup ice cold water

1. In electric mixer, put the flour, vegetable shortening, Italian seasoning and salt. Pulse together until the dough starts to clump together. Reduce the pulse power and drizzle the water. Stop the mixer when  a ball begins to form. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Meanwhile you can prepare the filling


The filling:
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 chayote, diced (labu siam) or beansprout or potato
1½ tsp nutmeg powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp beef broth powder
4 links of your fav sausages (or you can use ground meat, shredded chicken etc) cut into coins
½ can corn kernel, drained
2 tbsp water (optional)
100 gr vermicelli, blanched with boiling water
2 boiled egg, each cut into 8
1 scallion, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter or olive oil for saute
1 egg

1. On a big skillet, saute onion and garlic with butter or olive oil until fragrant on medium heat, toss in chayote and carrot. Cover the skillet for about 5 minutes for the chayote and carrot to tender.
2. Add nutmeg, coriander, beef broth, sausage and corn. Stir well. If you find the filling mixture too dry, add water. Keep in mind that we don't want to have a very wet mixture because we it will make the pie skin soggy. Cover the skillet for another 5 minutes or until the carrot gets the perfect tenderness.
3. Add vermicelli, mix well, turn off the stove and set aside
4. Take out the skin dough from the refrigerator, the dough works best when it is still cold. Divide the dough into two balls. When you are working on one half of the dough, make sure to wrap the other half back to prevent it from drying.
5. Flour a work surface and roll out each ball of dough into a square with ¼cm thickness. Using a big glass, press the mouth of the glass on the dough to form circle sheets. Roll each circle until it become a thin sheet but not transparent and fill with adequate amount of filling and a tiny sprinkle of scallion, fold the dough over to cover the filling and press the edges using a fork. Arrange on a baking pan.
6. Now work on the other half of dough on floured work surface. Roll the dough into a thin square sheet. Carefully transfer the thin sheet dough on to a baking pan. Make slits on the left and right side of the dough­. Pour the rest of the filling in the middle.

7. Fold the very top side of the dough then start briding the sides. Right side of the dough fold in then left side dough fold in on top of the left side.

8. Slightly beat the egg and brush it on top of the pies.
9. Bake on 375 F for 45 minutes or until the skin is golden brown and flaky.

I love love love this pie. It tastes as pretty as it looks, plus its easy to make.