Pain

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If you are in pain, remember this,
this is the same pain your friends went through, and they survived,
this is the same pain your parents had to endure during their youth days, and probably still,
this is the same pain your little sister cried about, and came in the morning with puffy eyes,
this is the same pain your older brother put aside, and acted like he was fine,
this is the same pain someone you pass by in the street tried to shake off, and yet still gave you smile,
this is the same pain your favorite singer sung about in their songs, and you memorized the lyrics cause you know how it feels,
this is the same pain someone next to you in the mosque prayed for strength, and they still carried on with their days,
and remember,
this is the same pain that you caused for someone, and they will never forget.

Kitchen War: Kolak Pisang 3 Ingredients

Buat gue, kolak pisang itu comfort food, aside from ayam kecap, sop ayam, dan udang saos mentega. Kolak pisang bukan cuma sekedar puasa, tapi bisa literally tiap minggu dibuat di rumah. So imagine, ketika gue pindah ke Manchester, skill masak literally mendekati 0, bedain pisang aja ga bisa (sampe sekarang masih ga bisa sih but well), ga ada gula merah, gue absen makan kolak pisang hampir setengah tahun, sampe akhirnya puasa tiba. Gue. Ga. Kuat. Gue butuh kolak pisang.

Jadi dimulailah pencarian gue akan pisang di segala penjuru kota Manchester ini. Gue pernah nemu pisang, yang gue gatau apa jenisnya, tapi pas gue goreng, meleleh. MELELEH. Ini mentega apa pisang gue juga bingung. Tapi yang namanya disayang Allah, ternyata di city center ada yang jual pisang tanduk. Sedeket itu ternyata tapi gue ga pernah tau. Emang yang namanya jodoh ga pernah kemana. Gula merah gue impor langsung dari Jakarta, tapi ternyata di toko Asia sekitar ada yang jual, meskipun ga sehitam punya Indonesia. Ketika gue bilang ini bahannya cuma tiga, percayalah, gue ga becanda. Gue yang ada di benua lain dengan akses terbatas aja bisa bikin, apalagi kalian yang di Indonesia. So, here's the recipe:

Kolak Pisang 3 Bahan ala Keluarga Adi Suardi (karena resep ini turun dari emak gue, I guess)

Serving: 3 kali makan (gue ga bilang berapa orang, gue bilang 3 kali makan ya) (karena gue makan ini sendirian)

Lama Penyajian: 15 menit (iya, gue bikin ini jam setengah 12 malem, cuma butuh 15 menit)

Bahan:

2 buah pisang tanduk/plantain 

(sebenernya gue tau ada pisang lain yang lebih enak buat kolak, tapi gue lupa namanya apa, mungkin pisang Bangka) (jangan pake pisang Sunpride!!!) (gatau sih jujur kalo pisang Sunpride bakal jadi gimana tapi jangan deh)

1 bongkah gula merah 

(ini masalah kita, ga pernah ada satuan internasional sebesar apakah 1 bongkah gula merah itu, tapi sementara 1 bongkah dulu aja, entar pas lo cicipin baru tentuin udah cukup apa perlu ditambah)

400 ml santan

(kalo lo tinggal di luar negeri dan santannya kalengan, udah, masukin aja semua sekaleng kaleng itu) (kalo lo tinggal di Indonesia dan santannya Kara, cairin, tapi jangan sampe secair air, soalnya itu bakal jadi kekentalan kuah, kecuali lo emang pengen kuahnya secair air) (kalo lo pake santan peres... gatau gue ga pernah nyoba bye)

Penyajian:

1. Iris-iris gula merah sampe jadi kayak tipis gitu, udah ga bentuk bongkahan lagi ya, macem ngiris bawang lah. Abis itu, panasin gulanya di dalem panci pake api sedang sampe meleleh. Kalo ga meleleh-meleleh, tambahin air dikiiiiit aja, cem cem 1-2 sendok makan, yang penting basah. Kalo ga meleleh-meleleh, ya gedein aja lah dikit apinya tapi jangan sampe gosong.

2. Sambil nunggu gulanya meleleh, potong-potong pisang. Jangan lupa kulitnya dibuang di tempat sampah, bukan di jalanan. Terserah pisangnya mau setebel apa, potong lurus atau pendek, bebas. Mau lo ukir juga bebas. Makin kecil potongannya, ya makin banyak juga piecesnya (kalo lo kikir terus ada temen yang mau minta, makin kecil potongan makin banyak yang bisa dibagi, keliatannya aja banyak padahal kali setengah pisang juga ga sampe). Gue ya biasanya normal normal aja ketebelannya, ga setipis kertas, tapi ga setebel pisang goreng abang abang juga. Bebas lah.

3. Pas gulanya udah meleleh, masukin pisangnya ke dalam panci. Iya, ga pake air atau santan dulu. Kayak ngegoreng pisanganya pake gula gitu lho. Biarin kayak gitu sampe pisangnya berubah jadi agak coklat karena ketempelan gula, atau sampe ada wangi pisang kegoreng gitu. Makin lama makin baik sih sebenernya, tapi kalo laper ya dipersingkat juga gapapa. Apinya jangan gede gede banget ya.

4. Kalo pisangnya udah "mateng", baru deh, masukin santan. Udah. Kelar.

5. Ga deng, ya biarin aja sampe agak mendidih. Apinya jangan kegedean ya, nanti santannya pecah. Abis santannya udah panas agak mendidih, baru cicipin lagi, kira kira butuh gula lagi apa nggak. Kalo butuh, kecilin apinya dikit, terus masukin gula merah lagi.

6. Selesai!

Ini gue tambahin kolang kaling, setelah akhirnya restock di toko Asia langganan

Maafin ya resepnya rasanya banyak tulisan ga penting. Kabarin ya kalo nyobain bikin! :*

In Between

In between blossoming petals and spring breezes,
I found you laying on the grass with eyes closed,
I wished for the sun to set longer.

In between corner stops and brick sidewalks,
I saw you waving at me with the tired smile,
I craved for luck to be in my favor.

In between fountain splashes and light beams,
I noticed you staring at the emitted laughter,
I yearned for our life to be that easy.

In between cigarette smokes and billiard balls,
I spotted you standing still with hands on the table,
I longed for time to stay still.

In between freezing nights and dimming stars,
I felt your warmth next to me,
I hoped for morning to come late.

In between tacky riddles and messy puzzles,
I stared at you cracking codes,
I dreamed for never ending adventures.

In between grey clouds and rain drops,
I looked at you,
and for once, I wanted nothing.

Home

Home is a weird concept. I used to think home is a place where you live. Your address. A building.

But when you are constantly moving from a place to another, where is your home?

And so, there came another concept, home is where your people are. It is not a building, it is not an address. Home is anywhere, as long as you are with your people.

And so, again, when someone leaves, one by one, and you're left alone, are you still home? How do you rebuild a broken home? When it gives you nothing but sadness, can you leave? When there's nothing left for you anymore, should you stay?