Lollipop Flower Favors

Here is another DIY project that we did for Grace's wedding!  Again looking for something budget-friendly, we turned dum-dum lollipops into pretty flowers with scissors, tissue paper, and masking tape.  I really like the idea of edible favors--they seem to be the most "useful" because everyone can eat them.  Dum-dum lollipops are just about the cheapest lollipops you can find out there.  If you are willing to spend more on lollipops, you can also look for lollipops that have solid-colored wrappers or lollipops that bring back special memories for you.  I saw the gold-wrapped lollipops from See's Candies and thought that they would also make great wedding favors.

Materials:
- lollipops
- tissue paper
- scissors
- tape (any kind will do, you can even use floral tape if you like)

Steps:
1. Cut tissue paper into squares of 6-7 inches.  (for See's lollipops.  For smaller lollipops, cut smaller squares--around 3-4 inches).  Layer six squares of tissue paper together.

 

2. Fold the stack in half and draw flower petals.

 3.  Cut out traced flower.

4.  Cut a small slit in the center of the folded flower.

5.  Unfold the flowers and insert a lollipop through the slit in the center of all six layers.

6.  Stagger each layer so that the petals do not directly overlap.  This will create a fuller-looking flower.

7.  Pinch and gather together the center of the tissue paper around the lollipop stick.  Since the See's lollipops are rather large, pinch about halfway down the stick to make sure that the flower "petals" will surround the lollipop at the right height.

8.  Adjust the petals as you like and secure the tissue paper by wrapping a piece of tape around the base of the flower.

9.  If desired, wrap green tissue paper or floral tape around the lollipop stick.

You can place each lollipop flower by itself, or place them in mini-pots or vases at each guest's seat.  You can even insert all the flower lollipops per table into a large piece of styrofoam or floral foam and place it in the middle of each table to double as a centerpiece.  You can also add silk leaves to complete the floral effect.

 Have fun!

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving was a busy day for the Hos!  We had a wonderful visit from the newly-engaged Dan and Yuan Yuan in the morning who were in town.  Again, congratulations to the adorable couple!  So meal number one consisted of pancakes with strawberries, turkey sausage, and balsamic-onion omelettes with salsa.  (sorry, breakfast, no more details about you because turkey dinner steals the show)

While I missed having a big Thanksgiving dinner with our families back home, I was still excited to cook a big meal here for (originally) two.  Then we more than doubled our size with the wonderful addition of three friends to our party.  Here is this year's menu--I was so ready to eat that only one picture is from me, but everything turned out just as awesome as it looks in the magazine pictures anyway (please note the totally serious tone of that statement).

The Recipes:

• Roasted Turkey Roulade

• Three-Mushroom Dressing with Prosciutto

• French's Green Bean Casserole

• Roasted Sweet Potato Spears with Bacon Vinaigrette

• Black Pepper Biscuits

• Wayne's Cranberry Sauce

• Pear, Apple, and Cranberry Crisp

 

 I've always liked the idea of a turkey roulade because I think it looks cool and fancy.  However, I'm not sure that stuffing a turkey breast really changes the flavors in anyway--I think next time if I don't want to do a whole turkey, I'd rather just roast a turkey breast and make the stuffing separately.  (I was a big fan of this sausage stuffing!)  Also, not pictured is the Jell-O that we had for dessert =P  I don't have a mold, but I basically made the same Jell-O mold that we used to make for holidays at my house (involving canned whole cranberry sauce, canned fruit, nuts, and red jell-o).

This is a terrible picture, but it is evidence of our meal. =)  Already looking forward to next year's Thanksgiving!!!

Needless to say, I am thankful for stretchy sweatpants with plenty of elastic.

Rice Burgers

World travelers~did you ever eat rice burgers in Taiwan (or other Asian country?)  I was reminiscing about the rice burgers we tried at Mos and at Mcdonald's in Taiwan recently and had a craving to try to make some.  So, I pressed some sticky rice into a patty, fried it up, and sandwiched chicken tempura, homemade teriyaki sauce, and asian coleslaw between two rice patties to make my own version.  It was a bit messier than buying it in Taiwan, but still fun enough that I think I will do it again!

I think the pictures are pretty self-explanatory~

Yum!  Also, for reference, I like to use this recipe for teriyaki sauce from allrecipes.com.  The only change I make is that I add honey to sweeten the sauce and tone down the acidity from the vinegar.

Pranked

On Saturday morning, I open my eyes to a pretty gray and wet day.  As I'm trying to decide whether I'm still sleepy enough to fall back asleep, I ask Al (who is apparently just woke up and is lying there playing with his iphone) what time it is.  He tells me it is already noon.  Wow, I must have been really sleepy.

So I get up, brush my teeth, ask Al if he wants the leftover Thai food for lunch (he says yes), and I heat up everything in the microwave.  We sit down at the table, Al says grace, and we start to eat.  I pick up my phone to check messages, etc. when I see the time.  It is 9:30 AM!!!!

My mouth drops, Al is laughing, and I can't believe it took me so long to figure out the real time.

+1 for Al.

However, the result of his prank was no lunch when noon actually rolled around!

Now it's my turn to get him back.

Planet Granite Bloc Party

Rock climbing comp!  Planet Granite's Bloc Party Series Final was on Friday night.  Al climbed hard and we had a good time.  I mostly wanted the free t-shirt =P  It's been a long time since we've participated in a comp and I glad to be there even though my climbing still has a long way to go to get back to pre-injury shape.

Here are some pics!

From our grainy pictures, the gym looks deceptively empty.  It was actually REALLY crowded, but not completely annoying since comps always have such a great energy.  PG is starting to feel more familiar, but we still miss Sportrock!

Watermelon Smoothies

The Problem:
Two thirsty people have half of one big watermelon and are too lazy to slice the watermelon to eat it.

The Solution:
Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out watermelon.  Place in blender with ice, a dash of sugar, and a squeeze of lime.  Result: Watermelon Smoothies! =)

Al got really good at making these.  The proportions are about 2 cups of watermelon, 1 cup of ice, 1 tbsp. of sugar, and the juice of half a lime.  In retrospect, maybe these weren't really less work than just cutting up the watermelon and eating it (maybe about the same?) but they were definitely more refreshing!

Country Captain Chicken

Recipes:

• Throwdown's Country Captain Chicken
• Roasted Red Onions with Pomegranate, Orange, and Parsley Gremolata 

I still don't know what exactly country captain chicken means, but based on the recipe we used I'm assuming it means something yummy and delicious!  The curry mix was a little annoying to make in the recipe because you had to grind a lot of spices, but I thought it was worth it.  I also used boneless chicken breast (on sale!) cut into bite size pieces because Al likes easy-to-eat meals.  I was really surprised by just how tender the meat became when it finished baking in the oven!  The coconut rice was also really good, and it just makes me sad that the coconut milk has to add fat to our meal.  (Again, worth it).  I will definitely make coconut rice again for any other curry-like dishes.

The red onions had a wonderful sweet flavor from the pomegranate molasses.  Now that I finally bought a jar of pomegranate molasses, I can't wait to go back and look for recipes that I've skipped over in the past since I never felt like buying it.  In my opinion, the gremolata did not enhance the dish at all (I think it was the orange zest) and I would rather just sprinke some parsley and fresh pomegranate seeds over the onions instead.

Disclaimer:  I did not originally mean to post so many pictures of food and recipes, but we love to eat so here they are!