Cross-Stitch Projects

Last spring and summer I did a lot of nothing while Al finished up his 1L year at NYU.  Well, a lot of nothing actually can be quite exhausting--I cooked, did laundry, watched youtube videos, and cross-stitched.  These are the two cross-stitch kits that I completed and I just love the summery feel of them!  I've also finished VERY few cross-stitch projects in the past, so I'm really happy to have completed these to the very end.  The kits are from Dimensions Crafts, and I will definitely do more in the future.  Cross-stitch kits have already come such a long way since the first one I received when I was 10!  They have presorted string, more elaborate designs, clearer instructions...haha I predict a very few people I know can actually appreciate this like me since you all lead more exciting lives than me =)

Seaside Cottages:

Cafe by the Sea:

I like the cafe picture especially because I think it would be so cool to have a cafe by the sea!

Pork and Hominy Stew

On Wednesday, I made a stew that reminded me of this Simpson's episode:

Lisa:     I’m going to become a vegetarian.
Homer: Does that mean you’re not going to eat any pork?
Lisa:     Yes
Homer: Bacon?
Lisa:     Yes Dad
Homer: Ham?
Lisa:     Dad all those meats come from the same animal
Homer: Right Lisa, some wonderful, magical animal!

This wonderful, magical animal provided the pork, bacon, and ham that went into this Pork and Hominy Stew recipe from Bon Appetit!

• Pork and Hominy Stew 

•  Green Onion-Jalapeno Cornbread

 This picture doesn't really show much, but again this is just for record keeping purposes because I will want to remember to make this stew again!  According to wikipedia, hominy is "is dried maize kernels which have been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization."  To me, hominy is just big corn kernels that I buy in a can. =) 

Anyways, this stew was really delicious without having to add very many spices.  I used a combination of my regular chili powder (whatever is 50-cent kind is from Wal-Mart) and ancho chili powder, and doubled the vegetables as I usually do just to try to make our dinners slightly healthier.  Serve with a side of cornbread--yum!

Surprise Wallpaper

Maybe I'm too obsessed with North and South?  When I came home from work today, Al left this wonderful image on my desktop.  LOL

Move over Colin Firth, you are old news!

P.S. Al, you're still No. 1!!!!!

My Favorite Things: North and South

It has just dawned on me that this blog is the perfect place to gush over all of my current likes and....just likes.  Perhaps there will be another label for pets peeves and dislikes.  (Oh my, the list is already feeling really long for that one)  The down side to gushing over my favorite things, though, is that I'll probably end up hyping everything up and ruining it for you (lone reader)--but I don't care because I still think the thing is awesome enough that it doesn't matter!

Favorite Thing #1:

So last year, I went through a phase of watching many, many, BBC-produced period dramas.  I saw bad ones, old ones, boring ones, and, occasionally, good ones.  North and South, based on the book by Elizabeth Gaskell, was a GREAT one!  Al might be afraid that I'm a little too infatuated with Richard Armitage due to my love of this mini-series (I've already lost track of how many times I've watched it).  Just for the record, he is only a small reason for why I like this mini-series so much =)

If you watch a lot of other period dramas based on books, you would might appreciate this mini-series a little better if you can compare it to something else.  That's as much of a disclaimer as I'll give for talking up this mini-series.  The screenwriter, Sandy Welch, did an FANTASTIC job--in my book, she is now in second place for adapting books into movies after Andrew Davies.  Furthermore, each of the characters was well acted, the soundtrack was really moving, and I loved the balance of romance, social commentary, and other conflicts that were resolved over the four episodes.

I like what I like because I like it.  So just watch it and thank me later. =)

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.