Homemade Buttermilk

Ok, I'm putting this homemade buttermilk recipe in here so I don't forget! :)  Also, I'd like to share some info that might useful for all of us who like to cook!

1 cup buttermilk = 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon vinegar.

Since I only use 1/4 cup buttermilk in my homemade banana bread, I'll just use 1 teaspoon vinegar in 1/4 cup milk.  Sometimes we have few too-ripe bananas, so I end up always making "accidental" banana bread.  Just like last week.  For variety, I've incorporated cheddar cheese.  (Jadinya roti pisang keju dech!)

That's it for now, see you in my next blog!

12 Basic Human Needs vs Maslow's Hierarchy of Motives

Growing up, I've been taught that there are 3 basic human needs (food, clothes, house), 3 secondary human needs (I forgot what are them), and 3 tertiary human needs (luxury, stuff that you don't really need to live on but nice to have).

But recently,  I came across an article that detailed 12 basic human needs, which somewhat similar to what my elementary teacher taught me, and yet there are some different factors tied to it.

The 12 basic human needs - today's modern version - are:
1. Family/Kinship
2. Health & Well-Being (Nutrition, Diet, etc)
3. Home/Shelter
4. Economic Security (Income, Savings, Budget, Retirement, etc)
5. Work/Career
6. Learning
7. Spirituality (Religion, Arts, etc)
8. Environment safety
9. Transportation/mobility
10. Community
11. Social Relationships
12. Leisure (Travel, Vacation, etc)

This make me think back of Maslow's pyramid of human needs.  In this theory, basically the basic needs must be fulfilled first before we can progress to the next one on top of it.  I think it's true.

So I can't help but wonder if the modern 12 basic needs illustrated in a web figure could really be declared as basic needs?  You can't have leisure if you don't have any food at all (let's say in a case of war or famine).  But you still can skip leisure (okay, not altogether, but perhaps just a little bit.  Just an hour of TV time) as long as you're healthy, safe, and secure.

I think all of this is just interesting to ponder. :)

Baked Mustard Chicken

I've been making breadcrumbs chicken (Indonesian translation : ayam goreng panir) since I was 13, and normally I use eggs as the binder between the flour and the breadcrumbs parts.  But when I came across this recipe last night on an app in Kindle, I thought it was clever to replace the "eggs" part with "mustard"!  This one doesn't even use flour as the first step, so it's kinda a healthier version of the breadcrumbs chicken.  No frying too, so you can avoid the negative aspect of saturated oil!

I've tweaked the recipe a little bit and settle with this one below.  Putting it here so next time I can make it again and again and again! :)  Hope you will give it a try and enjoy it too!

Ingredients:
Chicken:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts.
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
Salt, Pepper
Paprika powder
Dried Basil

Mustard Sauce:
1/4 cup Dijon mustard (or any of your fave's mustard brand)
2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
Dash of hot sauce

How to make it:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for mustard sauce.  Set aside.
3. In another bowl, mix Panko breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, dried basil.
4. Prep the chicken: I use 2 large chicken breasts and halve them horizontally, so I end up with 4 pieces of thinner chicken.  Season both sides with salt, pepper, and paprika powder.
5. Add chicken to mustard sauce, turn to coat.  Then dredge chicken through breadcrumbs.  Place it in cookie sheet covered by aluminium foil and sprayed with cooking spray.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Closer to Finish Line

February.  Ah, the month we've been waiting for.  This is the month when my husband and I will finish one of our financial goal - being debt free except the house.  It's so great to be so close at the finish line!

On July 2014, 7 months ago, we've made a commitment to be more disciplined with our financial situation.  We have lived like the Joneses, buying this and that emotionally, and try to justify it logically.  Such a human nature, isn't it?

But after reading Dave Ramsey's book, The Total Money Makeover, we've decided to follow his baby steps to get out of debt and handle our financial better.  We're not irresponsible, we still pay our bills on time, and try to live within our means.  But without a written goal and budget, we were just running in place, with no finish line to aim.  We lived too comfortably by going out once or twice a week, and spending too much in birthday gifts here and there, in the name of love.  Travel every year just because we saw other people do it too in Facebook and think it's a normal thing to do.

Well this time, it's called tough love!!  We committed to not buy each other birthday gifts anymore, not until we debt-free!  You can't get out from a hole by digging the bottom.  So to be one step ahead, we HAVE TO make sacrifices for now, so we can live better later.  I'm sure our future self will thank us!

I thought it will take us longer than 7-8 months to be debt-free except the house.  But with such an extreme discipline, we did get it faster.   Somehow once we crunch the numbers and stop the "bleeding" of our budget, we are getting closer to our goal.  Sure it would be much faster if we win a lottery or have a huge significant raise or promotion.  Well, it's not happening (we stop buying lottery ticket and instead focus on increasing paying debt fast and stop unnecessary spending), and really in life, sometimes you just have to play the bad hands well (quote by Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island).

Discipline.  Sometimes it's hard to stick to the rule we've made, but one of the good thing of doing it together with your spouse, is that your spouse can remind the commitment we've made, and the goal we aim to reach.  We can be our each other's check partner.

Well, the momentum is going, and I can't wait to scratch this one task of my list.   Because as soon as this baby step done, our eyes are onto the next one!  Bumping up savings like nobody else!  So we can live like no one else later on. :)

For those of you who also in this financial journey with us, I wish you the best and may we be in a better financial state very soon. Keep it going!  Have a great day!

PS: Dave Ramsey's website is a great source!  Check it out!