essssssssspresso

Zeric got another birthday present.. from the Breslars (and those who used to be Breslars and are now something else.. both of which are far harder to pronounce).

 

He has been wanting a REAL espresso machine for about five years.  I'm now consulting for the World Bank (and eight people went in on it with me), so this year.. he got it.

 

 

Ta da!!

 

and loooooooooook what I got!!  Yippeeeee :))

Come on over and have one.. he loves making them!

One last party with Pammi and Jules

So you might have heard that our good good friends Pammi and Julian (and their girls Kaede and Indie) have left Jakarta for good.  As Jaffa pointed out before bed, tonight is our first night without them.  We met them our third day in Jakarta, so this is going to be a very different world for us now.  For sure it won't be as fun.  I loved hearing Pammi's daily stories of the drama that only she could have in her life: musong in the roof keeping them up all night.. maintenance guys borrowing her good knives to go find the musong in the roof.. the move to a new house that only she would be brave enought o live in.. the skinny dipping (and the gardner, but not WITH the gardner).. and all of the other things that she did/were done to her that made the texts and the calls a belly laugh most of the time.  And she was always always up for another gin fizz at FJs. And Julian who loves whisky, my desserts (only MINE) and my challah, and a good oyster. Or 48 of them.

 

So we had a going away party for them on Saturday night.  There were some pictures that cannot be shared, but here is the bunch of us.. in case you wanted to match names to the faces that I often talk about.

 

Here we are, looking unusually tame.

Front row: Pammi, Zoey, Phil, Stephen, Becky

Second row: Zeric, Julian

Third row: Sean, Natalie, Emma, Colin

Back row: Charlie, Merrin, Daco, Caroline

The boys

The girls

(I couldn't help it, I just had to grab Pam's boob..

..after all, it's our last picture together for a little while)

 

We'll miss you, Pam and Jules and Kaede and Indie, but we will be sure to see you soon!!

Move over Le Caprice!

Charles, you can come to Indonesia now!!  Move over Le Caprice.. here is the Authentic French Bakery just outside of our compound on Jalan (road) Kemang Selatan.  It's run by Sophie the French lady who likes dogs and kinda likes kids.  Remember a loooong time ago, I did a post about French pastry delivery on weekend mornings?  Yup, same people.. same lovely food.. and now a great spot to hang out!

On Saturday, Zeric was still in Papua so I couldn't send him and Eben down on the Vespa to pickup yummy things as usual.. so the three of us bundled up in our sundresses (not Eben) and sandals and toodled down the street.  And ate canneles, beignets, croissants and eclairs.  It was a nice breakfast :)

 

I'm starting to not be able to complain too much about Jakarta.  Thanks, Sophie!!

Brewin'

So after eating FIVE cakes and still in his birthday shirt (not birthday suit, Reuben, stop getting excited), Zeric decided to brew beer.  He only had about 3 hours before getting on a plane to Papua, so why not?  My mom had sent him a kit for Hanukkah and he had been meaning to get to it.. and then he "activated" the yeast packet (uh hem) so he HAD to get on with the rest of the process.  And so he boiled and cooled and did all kinds of things with water and tubes all over the kitchen... then put it in a bucket and put it in Mom's room for a week.  So Mom's room smells like beer.  But don't tell her.  It'll be gone by the time she gets here IN TWO WEEKS (!!!), and she'll love that there will be home brew for her to enjoy! :)

Tooth fairy did a U-turn

...and came back, because Eben lost his second bottom tooth!

Thankfully, there are no other loose ones at the moment..

Zeric turns 50, part 2

 A few days before the big day, two things had converged to make me realize that I needed to have a second celebration for Zeric: 1) Mom had sent really fun 50th birthday party stuff, and 2) I learned that Zeric was leaving for a weeklong trip to Papua at 5am Monday morning, and not Sunday afternoon.  And so, I invited a bunch of friends to join us for cake around 4pm. 

 

And when people emailed back that they were coming.. I realized how many I had invited.  About 50.

 

So... (after I panicked) I decided that I would make him a cake for each decade of his life.  And I did:

 

chocolate with raspberries

pineapple upside-down

flan

German chocolate - his request
 

vanilla cheesecake with chocolate crust and peanut butter topping

Somewhere around lunch, Eben spied the scones from breakfast on the table and asked, "Are those for the big surprise party for Daddy?"  Oooooooops!!  Jaffa's eyes got really big and she yelled, "Eben!!!!", then his eyes got really big and he clapped his hand over his mouth. Then Jaffa asked, "Daddy, did you hear that?"  Zeric answered (while giving me a big eyeball), "Hear what?!"  Jaffa wiped her forehead with her arm and said, "PHEW!".  Eben wiped his forehead with his arm and said, "PHEW!"

 

But really, with five cakes going on in the kitchen.. he had a hunch something was up. Before Eben's scone question, when Zeric asked what all the baking was for I told him it was around that time of the month when I was craving chocolate and he needed to leave me alone.  He didn't buy it.

 

But, as is usual for Zeric, he was a great sport about a sudden change in plans. He even put on the t-shirt that memere send for him.. and solicited signatures!! The house got fuller and fuller and finally, it was time to light ALL of the candles. Good thing we had five cakes! We recruited five people an five lighters to help..

 

 

Ta da!

 

And then he had to huff and puff

 

 

and huff and puff

and huff and puff

 

and huff and puff (face is getting red)

 

and huff and puff



 

and... blew them all out!

 

In the end, he was pretty happy about the celebration.

He helped clean up, and then brewed beer.

And then got in a cab to the airport at 3am.

Happy Birthday, Zeric, and cheers to many more!!

 

Zeric turns 50, part 1

 

It was my job to do it up for Zeric's 50th.. and I did :)

 

First was the dinner out.. the "romantic" dinner at a French restaurant that ended up being us and a dozen of our closest friends at Cassis (http://www.cassis-gourmand.com/).  I had him believing that it was just the two of us until we got into the car and I had a magnum of wine in my hand.  Me, who drinks about a half glass on a Saturday night (and three sips on a week night). Oops. 

 

 

So we got there.. and SURPRISE!!  Everyone had gotten there before us, and it was really, really nice to have them there all together and ready to celebrate him.  And everyone did a good job of keeping it hush. Here is two minutes after the surprise.. someone was even ready to hand him a martini when we walked in!

 

 

Lou, Celine, me, Lisette (imagine us without red eyes, we are really cute!!)

The meal and the service and the space was all fantastic.. we told the stories that people sent about Zeric, and laughed and told stories of our own.  There as foie gras and filet mignon and shrimp and lamb and all kinds of fun things to eat.  The menu was one where you just wanted to stay for a few days to try everything.. and honestly, that doesn't happen to me often here in Jakarta.  It was a really nice evening.. and yum!

mushroom 'cappucino' and mushroom millefeuilles

He got some great presents.. here's one of an Indonesian wayang puppet, the clowns are some of the most important characters in the plays, and this is a good one.  Doesn't look a thing like Zeric, though, right??

And then we had cake that Jaffa and all of her friends would be jealous of.. pink and purple and sprinkles!!!  Wooohooo!!

 

Stay tuned to this page for photo updates as I get them in from friends..

...and see part 2 of the birthday surprise.

How Jaffa was feeling

Perhaps a bit undecided.. or maybe not.

a new way of understanding chocolate

Okay, so maybe you know it.. but I have never before seen chocolate sweetened condensed milk.

Didn't try it.  Ain't gonna either.

 

If you didn't know, Indonesians have a tight relationship with sugar.

Ebs' first lost tooth

My baby lost his first tooth.  It's a milestone, and I'm just so glad that he's still a snuggle bunny and doesn't have BO yet.  Jeez do they grow up fast!

 

Where it was

there it is!

 

Daddy helping to pull

 

Jaffa being supportive/squeamish

 

High five!!  It's out! 

Surprise sushi

After eating angel cake, Zeric and I headed off for a surprise dinner for my birthday -- it was SUSHI.

And it was amazing!!

 

Tatemukai was hidden in a mall, and the deal is.. you go, you sit, and the sushi chef feeds you until you yell for mercy.  He feeds you what he wants.. and only tells you what it is if you ask. This was the beset sushi experience I've had so far...

 

First up, tuna.

Then--and this was my favorite--tuna seared with a metal rod,

and loaded with other delicious sauces and flakes..

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Then some choice piece of fish on ice..

yummmmmmmmmmmmm

and sparkling sake too

more yummmmmmm

check out my earrings.. made by Aunt Tirzie

 

and check out the monster-sized scallop, perfectly seared

this was the only one I couldn't eat.. it had a face.

 

but the whole evening was just incredible.. and I was so so so full when we left. 

But very happily so!  Thanks for the perfect birthday dinner, Zeric :)

Angel cake celebration

I turned 41 on Monday.. it wasn't traumatic or dramatic, thankfully.  I've had a year to get used to the 40 decade, and I've decided that it's okay.

 

As is the tradition for some birthdays in our house, we made an angel food cake--aka (according to Eben) "angel" cake .  Chef Eben helped..

 

 

 

Then Zeric, Jaffa and Eben sang..

 

.. and Jaffa and Eben helped me blow out the candles!!

 

YUM!!