Radio interview of Indonesian craft/recipe book

Selamat datang!

Welcome to the land of Indonesia!

After my daughter, Amanda, moved to Indonesia to teach in 2008, she began bringing home beautiful crafts from this country in Southeast Asia. She also cooked delicious recipes of food dishes that are eaten in Indonesia. When my children’s book editor at Mitchell Lane asked for ideas of countries for a recipe and craft guide, it seemed natural to suggest this fascinating archipelago with 17,000 islands.

The result is Recipe and Craft Guide to Indonesia, published in 2010. Ten crafts reflective of Indonesia, including weaving, batik, musical instruments, and a shadow puppet, are explained with full-color photography inside. Ten recipes of foods in the Indonesian diet are also included. I think one of the best parts of the book are the photos I took of kids in Grades 4-8 who helped me create these foods and crafts in my kitchen. We had a great time working together!

Lynne Ford from WBCL Radio Network will interview me about the book on Monday, December 20, as part of her Mid-morning show at 9:00am. We will talk about crafts and recipes from the book. I plan to offer her and the crew one of my favorite recipes from the book — Sate Ajam (strips of chicken grilled on a skewer, along with veggies) with peanut sauce for dipping.

If you’d like to listen to the interview at WBCL FM-90.3, but are outside of the listening area, here is the station’s website: www.wbcl.org.

They stream each show and store them in archives.

Here is the Peanut Sauce recipe from the book. Merry Christmas!

**

Adult supervision recommended.

Spicy Peanut Sauce (Katjang Saos)

Sauces, especially spicy ones, are an important part of the Indonesia cuisine. The Spanish are credited for bringing chilis to Indonesia. Today, these ingredients and other hot spices like pepper flakes are added to nearly every dish, including this peanut sauce. Since these tastes are frequently too hot for the American palate, the recipe can be modified to taste.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

3-4 servings

Ingredients:

½ c. smooth peanut butter

3 T. soy sauce

½ c. coconut cream, canned

Red pepper flakes– start with a few-these are hot!

Equipment:

mixing spoon

blender

1. Using blender, combine peanut butter, coconut cream, and soy sauce until mixed. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Sauce can be served warm and is good over rice, mixed vegetables, or meat.

Fun food note:

Spicy food would be served at a special event in Indonesia called Selamatan. The word means ‘blessing or celebration of achievement’. Selamatan originated as a religious occasion. Today families hold a Selamatan for everything. The announcement of a baby; birthdays; a successful rice harvest; and weddings all warrant a Selamatan.