Hi, Friends! Welcome to Eat Simple Extraordinary

By Tedje Rose

The original idea started some years ago when I wanted to write down all the recipes of the dishes my mother used to make and I still make. In addition to recipes of my favorite dishes. Normally I write ingredients down on a piece of paper that later gets accidentally thrown away. I remember recipes by heart or I have to contact a family member or friend to ask for a recipe. 

I love cooking and from my experience with cookbooks and online recipes, not all of them work. Therefore you have to try things out. Make your own measurements and cook the dish several times to have it taste just perfect.

A chef told me once that most recipe instructions are confusing and most people don’t really measure the ingredients exactly.

I asked an aunt once, whose food always taste delicious, on how much of a particular spice goes in the dish. The answer was, I take the spice container and sprinkle the spice into the dish 2 times. This is hard to explain in teaspoons.  

Therefore in these recipes we offer, all measurements are correct. The recipes we share are tested and eaten many times before, making sure it does taste extra ordinary. 

As a digital designer, putting it all together in a food blog makes sense. I am proud to present talented home cooks such as my sister Marlôt and my niece Saar. I hope you will enjoy making and eating these dishes.

Read our story below:

Two sisters from different continents of the world come together to share their best and favorite dishes. We love to eat and have a passion for food. Healthy and delicious food that is easy to make and most of all made from scratch. We are no professional chefs. Our experience comes from cooking everyday and enjoying it. Not only for ourselves, family and children, but for friends and neighbors, for parties big and small, for events, for birthdays, for schools and charities.

We love traveling and we cook with organic ingredients. We find our produce on markets, special grocery stores, farms, gardens, and the organic section of mainstream supermarkets.

We believe everyone should be able to eat good and healthy food. That is why our recipes are made low budget. With a conscious mind of choosing quality ingredients within the seasons, we find places that sell affordable produce.

We invite you to try and enjoy the recipes we post every week. Our roots are from Indonesia, growing up in the Netherlands. We are Indo (Indisch). Therefore part of our recipes will have a Dutch-Indonesian influence.

Why extraordinary? Because our recipes are made from scratch, not premade or frozen. Nothing ultra processed. In addition, food is beautiful when prepared with care and love. There is a joy in setting the table and serve self made wonderful, extraordinary dishes.

Marlôt lives in Nijmegen, the Netherlands and she organizes Indonesian cooking workshops. She cooks gluten-free and a variety of International foods.

Tedje lives in Los Angeles and her experience is with sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan dishes.

You will find a variety of vegan and vegetarian dishes but we also share fish and meat dishes, from the traditional Indonesian kitchen.

You will find some notes at the bottom of the recipes, about certain ingredients that are best to use when in Europe. For instance tofu and tempeh. It is well known that soya beans in the United States are  94% genetically engineered and contain residues of glyphosate. Therefore we recommend to only use certified organic soy. Due to environmental contamination, we do recommend to avoid eating soy based products in the US and enjoy it in countries where the soy is not contaminated.

Vegan
In addition to our staff, we introduce Sarhea, a special niece, who is well experienced in making vegan dishes.  We heard many compliments from family and friends about her extra ordinary and delicious meals she makes not only for herself but for her children.  You will find her recipes under vegan and healthy kids meals.

Special Guests:
Our special guest is tante Emma. She is the best Indo cook we know. She adds a special touch to her dishes. We know exactly when a dish is made by here. The Roti Kukus is unbelievably delicious. 

Our biggest influence is our mother who cooked everyday for 8 children. Her meals were simple and delicious. Eating together around a big table everyday gave us wonderful  memories of a happy and “gezellig” home.

This blog is dedicated to her.

Dank je lieve mama.

*There is no english translation for the Dutch word “gezellig” other than it is a pleasant atmosphere with the feeling of togetherness.