Bali Cooking Class Day: The Cooking Lesson

After breakfast, Arik told us to take a walk around the hotel grounds. "The lesson will begin in one hour, at 10 o'clock."

We had received two emails last night. The first from our cousin Joanie to announce that they had purchased a house in Scottsdale Arizona. The second from Agapi Gerongiatakis from Agios Efstratios island in Greece that she had NOT been elected to the Greek parliament. But, she said that she had joined the Greek National Sailing Team getting ready for the Olympics. Wow. Life's Surprises.

 We finished breakfast and took a stroll around the hotel grounds, just as Arik had suggested.

 This is the small worship pool at the bottom of the garden. There is a shrine behind the tall reeds. It is supposed to inspire tranquility.

This is the rice paddy which is overlooked by the villa apartments on the left. (I'm sure that mosquitoes are a problem here, but no one speaks about them.) Lotus plants are there in the pool. Lotus is the important Buddhist flower, so this is important. Lotus position and all that.

The cooking lesson classroom is the shed at the end of the stone pathway. The organic herb gardens are lining the path on both sides. Our lunch table is hidden behind the trees at the right of the shed. It is beautiful. The whole thing is peaceful and serene. Funny, but the Balinese really truly believe in maintaining happiness and good karma, it is not just words, but a way of life.

The hotle, Waka di Ume itself has terraced fields, only 21 cabins, a yoga room, a wedding chapel, rafting, biking AND a spa. We met Arik at the top of the stone pathway and she slowly guided us through the herb garden, pointing out each plant and saying how it was used, letting us taste the leaves of some of them and explaining the use of local herbs in her cooking. Then we entered the cooking shed to shake hands with the actual chef from the hotel kitchen, who was helping Arik. They tied black long aprons on us and gave us a towel to clean our hands.

Arik and the chef had prepared the various ingredients for the menu, and you can see some of them on the black platter on the counter top on the left. Arik gave us the menu for the lunch in a small booklet, which gave the menus (there were two choices) and the recipes.

 This is the hand-tied booklet we got from Arik. It was a wooden case with the name of the hotel on it.

 This is Menu A and we decided to cook the Kare Ayam. Arik told us, "I hope you choose BOTH menus so that you can try many foods." Of course, we (good students) took her advice and she laughed and said, "That's a good choice, now I can have fun also."

 In Menu B we chose to make the Sate Lilit.

 This is an example of the menu that Arik gave us. This is for the Wong Soup.
Judy told Arik that it was very difficult to find Pinda Sauce in Miami, so Arik said, "It is very easy to make. I'll write down the recipe and you can make your own Peanut Sauce." She wrote down the ingredients and the method of cooking and added it to our Cook Book.

Then the actual lesson began. We placed all the ingredients that Arik and the chef had prepared into a huge stone mortar and they handed us a pestle and told us to bash away. While we were doing that, they made photographs, and we thought that was cute, but we didn't know why they were making photos. We thought they would put them on a wall in the kitchen. Arik constantly told us what we were doing and why. She explained very carefully each of the ingredients. The chef saw that we were sort of afraid to bang with the pestle, so he took over and in a few moments had a very nice fish paste in the mortar. We had used shrimps, tuna and squid as the basis of the fish paste along with the basic Balinese ingredients: shallots, garlic, lazer galengal, tumeric, ginger, macadamian nuts, coriander, red chilis, lemon grass, salam leaves and nutmeg. The aroma of this fresh paste was very rich and reminded us of the Indonesian cooking we were used to.

Here are the vegetables chopped up, waiting for the cooking to begin.

Judy bashing away with the mortar. You can see the chef's hand with surgical glove on the right, holding the curtain string. Since the cooking shed was open, they had to keep lowering and raising the bamboo curtains to keep the hot sunlight out of space.

These are the ingredients for the shrimp, tuna and squid used in the seafood soup we ate today.

 Here are all the ingredients for the Balinese basic sauce used in preparation of the main dishes we cooked.

 This is the preparation area in the outdoor kitchen. Judy and Arik are preparing food, while the chef starts the cooking.

 This is the luncheon table where we ate. We had never expected such a fancy arrangement. But, in fact, Arik made it so pleasant for us, that we felt completely at ease. She would sit in the kitchen and talk with the chef while we ate. She never rushed us. Never mind that the food we "cooked" was delicious. The sun was hot, but the shade inside the dining hut made it perfect weather. And we ate slowly, enjoying every bite.

 This is Judy enjoying cleaning vegetables inside the kitchen hut. I stood outside for the photo.

 We have just begun with the soup course.I have the Seafood Soup: Prawns, Tuna, and Squid in a ginger and clove flavor broth. Judy is eating the Wong Soup: Spicy Clear mushrrom and fair lime.

 A photo over Judy's shoulder at the hotel garden. You can see how bright and hot the sun is outside.

 Arik is fanning the fish paste sate (Sate Lilit: Grilled skewer minced shrimp and fish paste), which is served with vegetables and pinda (peanut) sauce. We actually made the sate by our own hands. The paste was made from the mortar and pestle. We picked up a small handful of the paste and shaped it into a ball, then we placed the stick inside the ball. Slowly we shaped the ball into a long shape. The chef made the first one and then we did the rest. This was a lot of fun.

 Arik and the chef watch Judy who is frying up the garlic and other spices for the soup. You can see the small basket of offerings next to her.

There are the ingredients for the soup being prepared. She is a very happy cook!

 This is the main course. The Sate Lilit and the white rice with pinda sauce. The colors are important in Balinese cooking and the well-balanced vegetables to make the plate have good karma.

 Arik is carrying our food to us while the chef prepares the next part of the meal. Arik told us that sometimes she has groups of 10 people, which makes the cooking less interesting. Each person then has just a little bit to do and the service is harder.

 This is the Braised chicken in coconut milk from Menu A.  Even looking at it, makes my mouth water.

 These are the baking bananas frying.

At the end of the meal, we had dessert, which included ice cream: Judy had strawberry and I, of course, had mango. This is the student cook who brought the ice cream out from the hotel freezer. She was sort of scared to be with English speakers, but she spoke good simple English and told us she planned to become a chef one day.

Everything was very quiet. Quiet. No rush. No music. No noise. We ate alone in the covered open hut at the fancy table. They taught us some techniques, but the best was the constant explanation of what ingredients were used and why. Arik was a good teacher. They prepared a lot of the food after we had done the basic preparation. We ate on fancy black plates. They insist of putting  three colors on each plate and making the plate "balanced" so that the "eater" takes in positive karma. So, Arik gave Judy Two balls of strawberry ice cream with her coconut crepe. "I eat want one," Judy said. "Take two for balance." "Okay, I'll take two." Then, Judy said to me, "You ate it all?" (and so she--ha, ha).

When we had finished, Arik walked us back to the hotel front door and we waited for the van that would take us to our hotel. We had a few moments to talk and she told us of her dreams for her daughters. Obviously, having the baby was putting an economic strain on the family, but she considered it good karma, and hoped for a son anyway. We gave her a tip and thanked her for her good teaching. Then, into the van and this part of the day was over. We were full of food and full of Balinese philosophy.

We took a two hour nap and just stayed in the room, loafing, and watching HBO and National Geographic Channel. It was five o'clock and we napped and rested and packed and showered. The next day we would leave early for the flight to Yokyokarta in Surabaya Island.

At 8 PM we went up the bar for a drink. And then to the reception to arrange the final bill. They organized a "box breakfast". We paid the final bill and ordered a 3:15 AM wake up call. We slept until the call(I watched the opening scene of GLADIATOR, with the "open the doors of hell" line and fell asleep. The total bill was: RPH 820, 020 (or $80) on top of the pre-paid bill. This had been a fantastic first experience in Bali. We were very happy.

 Judy's proof of her cooking skill!

My proof of my eating skills.

Bali Cooking Class Day Shopping at Market

This was going to be one very exciting day for us. Judy loved to cook Indonesian food and we had a small restaurant on our street: MIRASA, a tiny place where the owner's wife was the cook. So, we had Indonesian food in our blood. The plan was to spend the morning shopping for the food with the teacher/chef and then cook our own lunch.

Wayan and the driver met us at 7 at the hotel lobby and drove us to the Waka di Ume resort where we met our teacher Arik. They left us with her and she had the resort van drive us downtown to the local market to shop. She told us that the market started at about 4 in the morning and was closed at 9, so that the tourist art market could be set up. 

Arik talking with Judy just as we began our shopping in the market. Two things are quite obvious: Arik is pregnant AND she is quite professional in appearance. Arik was a charming, well-informed lady, with a quiet voice, who slowly explained every little detail of the market to us. They are standing in front of a large basket of offerings that will be placed at the door of a temple where a wedding is taking place. She talked openly of "Bali stomachs" versus "foreigners' stomachs." She would offer us fruit to try, but she would handle the fruit and peel it and let us eat the sweet inside. Of course, there were fruits that were strange to us, but Arik knew their names. She was a teacher, in fact. 

 This is a typical "stall" at the market. We have seen these kinds of shops in every country in the East. This lady is selling woven baskets, beaded bags, and towels.

 This is a spice seller, with ground pepper, cardoman, eggs, and some very small fruits, like limes. There are beans also. She is set up on wooden crates away from the stone floor.

 Onions, peppers, ginger and potatoes. She is a farmer's wife, Arik told us, and comes to the market every day.

 This lady makes and sells the small woven baskets placed at every door in Bali. These are not yet complete and she is about to place the small red flowers on each one.

 Dried fish, beans and potatoes for sale.

 This is a fruit stall, selling grapes, oranges, apples, and plantain.

 This stall sells the woven offering baskets. Next to her is the egg lady. The Balinese market is fly-ridden, dirty, with farmers and their families selling produce. "Open from 3AM to 9AM for the Balinese," Arik told us, "Then it is cleaned and it becomes an art market for tourists." Yes, we understand that, but what it means is that the farmers have to be there right after midnight to set up and then don't finish until 9. That is nine hours AT NIGHT. So, when do they work? It must mean that the husbands are at home on the farm working while their wives, mothers and aunts are at the market. Amazing how hard they work and for so little.

 Since religion is so important to the Balinese, every day and every ceremony is honored with an offering. This lady sells the flowers that go into the offering baskets.

 These long beans, called "kousebonen" in Holland, are important ingredients in Indonesian cooking. There are also bean sprouts for sale.

 Well, it is obvious what is for sale here. The first fish we saw, galengal, coconuts, banana leaves AND durian, the famous stinky fruit that orangutuans love.

 Just a simple shop, but the lady on the right is wearing a traditional Bali lady's sarong.

Judy walking down to the basement level of the market. Every centimeter is filled with shops. The lovely smells and sounds of the market filled the air and made us hungry for cooking.

 We finally arrived at the meat section of the market. Just like China, these people lay the slaughtered pieces of meat on plates for sale. There is no attempt at all for keeping meat cool or protected from flies. But, the chicken looked fresh. Arik told us that she does not buy meat for the kitchen here, but it is delivered right from the farmers.

 This is pork, because the Balinese do not eat cow meat.

 Judy's favorite: tomatoes.

The VERY pregnant Arik picking up a piece of fruit (what kind?) and telling us: "I will peel this and you try it. It is sweet."

 As we left the market to take the van to the cooking lesson, we saw this little girl. She reminded us of Manami, our 3 year old granddaughter. So cute, so still. Sort of afraid of us, the strangers, but still a quiet pretty girl, so well dressed. At that moment, we told Arik we wanted to buy clothing for Manami.

Arik brought us to this shop, and Judy had a LOT of fun buying a pair of Balinese girls' pants and a top for Manami.

Here they are.

 The little Batik dress will be CUTE.

And, what do you think of these beautiful pants? Judy was very pleased (and with the price, too).

The Market shopping was over and the hotel van took the three of us to the cooking class. It was now just about 8:30 and the market was beginning to close down. Somehow, a large open truck was backed into the ground floor, right between all the shops. Men with shovels, brooms and wicker baskets, swept and cleaned the floor and threw the baskets of garbage into the truck, where another man emptied the baskets and threw them back. It was noisy AND dirty, A zillion flies and a zillion shouts. All the garbage was dumped into a central walled area for pick up later, I guess. I couldn't see tourists enjoying the smells.

At Waka di Ume Hotel and Spa, Arik sat us at a table and offered us breakfast. Tea or coffee and Balinese sticky white and black rice; baked banana; croissant, toast, muffin ("all fresh today"); watermelon jam, papaya jam, mango jam "All made fresh every day." Arik said, "You can't keep it, so people who want to take it home, we must say NO".

We sat quietly talking, absolutely in love with our morning adventure. The hotel guests looked so....so Western and clean. We laughed: little did they know that we had just been in the local market , where they would never go unless they took a cooking class (OR, got up very early). Arik bustled around talking with the kitchen staff and "planning the daily menu". She also trained the young trainees and taught the cooking lesson. A busy (pregnant) lady. She told us," I have two daughters, but (shrugs her shoulders) my husband.....well. I am 38 years old and did not want any more children. I come from a poor family. My mother gave me nothing and I want to give more to my daughters. I went to university to learn Hospitality and to be a chef. My daughters are 16 and 10 and now......I have worked in the hotel for 14 years. I cook, run the kitchen AND teach Balinese cooking in the traditional outdoor wood fired Balinese kitchen. I want to give my daughters what my mother did not give me. We were poor. I took contraception from the doctor, but I got headaches. I went to the doctor and he said I was pregnant. I was sad, but my philosophy is to be happy. With happiness, life goes better. Now, I am satisfied. My daughters can take care of the baby. The hotel gives me 3 months leave. I drive a motorscooter the 12 kilometers home and back every day even though I am almost 8 months pregenant . I take my girls to school, one in the front, one in the back and (laughs) one and a half in the middle. I hope it is a son. I must work because my husband works in the rice filed. It is enough to feed our family, but none to sell.

 Arik with a lemon seller behind her. Arik told us that her name is "Arik. ARAK makes you drunk, my name makes you smile."