Malam Tahun Baru - New Year's Eve

kembang api di Manado, Sulawesi Utara
Fireworks in Manado, North Sulawesi,Indonesia
Photo Courtesy of Kompas.com

Pagi ini sangat sangat dingin 19F( sekitar -7C) dan menjelang siang naik jadi 27F (-2C),..udara bener bener 'frosty air'...salju tipis yang turun kemaren belum meleleh semua, saking dingin-nya temperature, tapi matahari bersinar cerah ceria bahkan sangat silau. Hari terakhir di tahun 2010, meskipun waktu nulis ini, banyak bagian laen di dunia sudah berpesta kembang api, semua sudah 'say' Happy New Year, sedang waktu aku nulis ini baru jam 1:25 siang tgl 31,...emang tinggal di bagian Pantai Barat Amerika, membuat kita jadi yang terakhir memasuki Tahun Baru. Banyak 'status' di Facebook yang udah 'meriah' menulis Happy New Year...dan semua harapan yang kita harapkan tentunya.

Chao Tom - The Art of Vietnamese Culinary

Ini photo 'menggiurkan' masakan Vietnam bernama Chao Tom, yang bahan utamanya kepiting dan udang cacah, dibumbui bawang dan merica kemudian di lilitkan di batang kecil tebu..(waduuh jadi inget sate buntel nich..!) kemudian digoreng sampai matang, disajikan dengan kacang tanah sangrai, rasanya gurih dan manis, ini menurut penuturan Ms. Rania Moda yang pertengahan Oktober kemarin berkunjung ke Saigon, Vietnam.
Photo diatas adalah salah satu menu yang disajikan di restaurant 'Quan 94',..dien tien Hoang Q1, Saigon.

These fragrant grilled savory-sweet morsels are a classic Vietnamese appetizer/party food. Perfect for noshing with friends along with a cold beer or dry white wine, well for Indonesian, maybe with warm tea. For Chao Tom, a garlicky shrimp or combination with crab paste is wrapped around a stick of sugarcane, briefly steamed to set the paste and shape, and then grilled to finish. Pieces of the shrimp are typically wrapped in lettuce with herbs and dipped in some nuoc cham dipping sauce. The delicate flavors of Chao Tom  are a wonderful mouthful. And, the sugarcane stick functions both as a great skewer that doesn’t easily burn up and after the shrimp has been removed from the sugarcane, you can chew on the sugarcane for a chase of refreshing sweet sugarcane juice. How cool is that?

Chao tom is a central Vietnamese specialty (there are many kinds of chao from that region but this one is most popular in Vietnam) and you may have encountered it on restaurant menus. .

Central Vietnam or Central (Vietnamese: Miền Trung), formerly also known as Trung phần by Republic of Vietnam, Trung kỳ and Annam under French Indochina) is one of the three regions of Vietnam (Northern Vietnam, Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam). Highlands or Tây Nguyên are often included in the Central. Sometimes the Central and the Highlands are collectively referred to as Central-Highlands. Name of Trung Bộ was used by the king Bảo Đại when he established administrative level higher than the province in 1945, instead of the Trung Kỳ which recalled the French occupation. This name was officially used by government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and is popularly used today.
Salah satu kota terkenal di Central Vietnam adalah Da Nang..(kalo ini sich kayak temen jaman SMA namanya Danang..he..he..)
(Source: VietWorldKitchen, Wilkipedia and the lovely Ms. Rania Moda, mom of two teenage boys from Java, Indonesia)

Winter Solstice

banjir di Silverado Canyon,
Orange County, California
photo courtesy MSNBC

Tanggal 21 December kemaren, tepat dimulainya 'Winter Season' di 'Northern Hemisphere'..negara negara di Amerika Serikat, Canada dan Eropa yang mengalami mulainya musim dingin bersamaan. Winter Solstice ini terjadi ketika 'Bumi' berada pada garis paling jauh dari Matahari, sehingga 'siang hari' menjadi lebih pendek dari malam hari.
Di Amerika Serikat, Winter kali ini, bahkan sebelum Winter resmi dimulai, ditandai dengan salju lebat di beberapa negara bagian di Pantai Timur (East Coast),..sedangkan di West Coast terutama di California bagian selatan, hujan deras tanpa henti menyebabkan banjir dan tanah longsor atau lebih tepat lumpur longsor, akibat tanah yang bercampur hujan.

 The winter solstice occurs exactly when the Earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'. Though the winter solstice lasts only a moment in time, the term is also a turning point to midwinter or the first day of winter to refer to the day on which it occurs. More evident to those in high latitudes, this occurs on the shortest day and longest night, when the sun's daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest.
(Source:Wilkipedia)

Natalan di Amerika - Christmas Party in America

Well, yang aku maksud disini Natalan di kantor-nya suamiku, ini kali kedua aku ikut berpartisipasi...aku udah lupa kapan terakhir ikut Natalan di kantor di Solo di mana aku bekerja, but 'yes' sedikit berbeda tentunya.
This was the second time I attended Office Christmas Party, I forgot when was the last time I had Office Christmas Party when I lived in Indonesia, but 'yes' certainly a little bit difference.
Berhubung tahun ini suamiku jadi panitia, jadi aku ya ikut ikutan jadi 'ibu' panitia, datang awal dan pulang terakhir..hiks!,..ga apa, buat pengalaman.
This year, my hubby was one of the among fellow co-workers who arrange the party, so we came early and back home late,..it's okay for me, once in while.Yang bikin aku tersenyum, soalnya ada acara 'karaokenan'...jadi inget di Indonesia,