My crafts are being featured

Delighted again! Haha......... surprised to see my craft work being feature in cut out + keep. Not just one, but two - my completely reversible tote bag and carry all apron.

Cut out + keep is a website which gathers all craftsters and showcase all sort of craft work. Many with instructions and how to. I think this is a good site to share my occassional crafts work and to pick up some if not many tips for crafting, not to mention it showcase some good recipe too. Definitely a site worth visiting.

Another tote bag

I make another tote bag again. And yes, this is completely hand sewn again as mentioned in my earlier post - i don't have a working sewing machine at home.

This is actually recycle from the jeans leg. And yes, it's the same pair of jeans that i use to make my "carry all apron".

I managed to find this piece of nice print cloth among my old sewing which i used to do many years ago. Some how, my recent browsing on the internet have re-ignite my passions for doing craft work and sewing again.

Isn't this cute?


A closer look

Lay flat on the floor.

A closer look at my yo-yo embellishment on the tote.

Oh! did i mentioned that this tote is completely reversible. The reason why i'm doing a completely reversible one is because since i don't have a sewing machine, anything visible by hand sewing may not be as neat and i also need to keep away the frillings from the jeans.

So i have one tote but two style of carrying it.

This is the other reverse version of my same tote.

I'm actually quite please with my completed tote - something new from something old - isn't it that i'm doing my part for being eco-friendly? Two different design too, hurray!!!

My simplicity lunch

Mmm......... i think some people is going to call me crazy. What so fantastic about this? Well, nothing actually - it's just one of my family favourite dish - sesame oil chicken.

I have decided to write down this recipe in my recipe cabinet. Who knows, my descedant may just want it somedays.

I did it again....

Yes, i did it again. Oops! not in not working over time neither in losing those extra pound.

I did this steam cake again. But it's a such a frustration that i still couldn't get that perfect "spider web" design. I guess i still needs lots of practice to avoid that shaking hand. Oh, no use in avoiding that chicken feets which the older folks claimed may be the cause of shaking hand, hahaha........because i don't eat that dish.

Fusion Recipe

Recently i have been quite lazy and i'm always thinking of cooking a meal which can be prepare in one go. As such, i tested this fusion recipe - combination of glutinuous rice with herbal chicken. So now i can have a complete meal in just i dish. Lolz.

Just incase you may wonder how does the herbs used in this recipe looks like, here's a picture which i labelled it accordingly.

And this is how i wrapped the chicken for steaming.

My completed steamed stuffed glutinuous rice herbal chicken

Recycle that old pair of Jeans

Due to my job scope, every month end i have a task of auditing and ageing the inventory in two warehouses. And this is what i dread most in my job. Every month end, i wish i could turn into an octopus with multiple hands to hold all my stuff for doing this task. Well, for years, i have been making do with a silly sling pouch that doesn't even match my outfit nor serving my purpose of carrying all my stuffs. Every time, i would find myself fishing into the pouch trying to locate what i needed thus scratching my mobile phone which i always carry with me just incase anyone who would want to reach me, (but was unable to do so as the warehouses is not equip with phones at all corners).



Luck just struck me when i was browsing the internet and came across this post on converting an old pair of jeans to an apron by craftsters - betz white. Oh yeah, i found this very innovative. This would just solve my years of struggling with a silly pouch. With the idea in mind, i set myself scouting into my pile of old clothes and i found this pair of old jeans - just what i needed. However, because i don't have a sewing machine at home, whatever sewing that is needed to be done will have to be hand sewn. Therefore, i try to minimized as much sewing as possible.

First, i trimmed off the legs so that the jeans turn into a short.

As i'm trying to have more pockets, i used the back pocket of the jeans so that i don't have to sewn the pockets again. I also wanted to retain the waistband so that i don't have to sewn any tieback for the apron. I also retained the metal button and button hole of the waistband so that i can turn it around to hook behind my back and no extention is needed for tying. I also have to unpick the top of the front loop so that i can cut away the zipper front portion of the jeans. As i'm trying to minimize the sewing needed, i retained the side seam of the jeans which is aready machine seal/hemmed. This part, you have to be very careful when cutting - you have to cut as close to the edge of the seam as possible while retaining the machines hemmed portion so that there will be less frills from the cutting as time goes by.
The reverse side of the apron. Note the uncutted side seam.

This is how the front of the apron looks after cutting off the front portion of the jeans. Notice the protruding crotch area?

Therefore, i have unpicked this portion.

Allow it to overlap and lied flat

Trim further the bottom portion so that it becomes a straight line at the bottom,

Sew back the overlap flatten crotch area again

Next, i folded the bottom portion and securef it with pins before hemming the bottom with blind stitch. This is to prevent frillings from all these cuttings.

My completed apron which i think looks plain.

As such, figuring that i would need additional pocket specially for my mobile phone alone (so that i could keep all the rest of the things away from it to prevent scratching it), i decided to use left over fabric to add the additional mobile phone pocket and some emblishment to the apron to make it more interesting.

I cutted out a double folded piece of fabric enough for the size of my mobile phone. With right side facing right side, i hand sewn with back stitch round the corners, leaving a small gap so i can turn it inside out. Next, using the iron to flatten the edges, I set it onto the centre of the apron and hand sew it with applique stitch. Using the same method, i hand sewn 2 little bow and attached it to the original jeans pocket to act as emblishment.

This is how my bow looks.

My completed apron which is no longer boring.

A closer look at my stock auditing apron.

Viola! An apron that holds all my stuff.

One dish meal - Pork Ball Congee

When it come to simplicity for meal, what could be more convenient than to prepare a one dish meal. What do i mean by one dish meal? Well, it simply must incoporate the food pyramid - that is it must consist of carbohydrate, protein as well as vitamins.

Today, i prepared a one dish meal - pork ball congee.

The carbohydrate is the rice, protein comes from the pork and vitamins from the carrot.


See, my pork ball congee - convenient and delicious. Recipe in my bon appetite blog.

This is how i shape my pork ball.

One of the ingredient i used is called tao tow chai - literally translate as big head vegetable. It is actuall a kind of dried preserved vegetable. This is quite salty, so when using this ingredient, one must remember to wash thoroughly to clean away the salt used to preserved it. Here's a picture of it:

I guessed, it must have got its name from the way it look - a big head. Wahaha.......

Surprise

I'm really suprised today when i visited FOODbuzz, as my cashew nut slices picture was being feature under daily special today. Elated! ;P

Thanks FOODbuzz team!

Oh yes, btw, for this recipe, please refer to my bon appetite blog.

Who is more stress?

WHO IS MORE STRESS?

YOU OR THE FISH?

Join my blogging train...

Today i managed to embark another friend to join my blogging train wagon. So i would have another blog to visit and that is DDneo's blog. She's just started her blog today and for a start, you can find so many different style of cooking crabs -OO.....yummy. Although there's no picture to the crab recipe yet, but trust me, visit often and you may just find surprises for she's will be embarking on preparing these crabs delicacies and would probably snap the photograph to share real soon. For another thing, as her hobbies is golfing and diving, so you may also expect pictures of the underwater world. So stay tune at DDneo's blog.

New update

STsn had asked me, how often do i update my blog, frankly, i never observed. I update whenever i feel like it or whenever i have something to show. I'm such a lazy bum. lolz. I guessed i needs alot of motivation to update my blog daily. Obviously, i can't make a living out of it. And that's probably the reason why i don't have any advertisement bar in my blog. Well, i should say, even if i do, not many visit my blog and i would probably died before i could even see the cheque reaching me. Lolz. Anyway, if one day, should i decide to put up the advertisement bar, please don't forget to click whenever you visit. And btw, if you do visit any other blog with advertisement bar, please CLICK CLICK CLICK as many time as possible. It's a good deed. lolz.




Make this last week. Ayam pongteh - a nonya dish. Although the picture don't look appetizing, but i could assure you that this dish is pretty tasty.


And i have been crazy over this indian bread call CHAPATTI. OO........ yummy.


You just need to pan fried it, no oil is needed for the frying. After which, you can eat it with whatever fillings you like. Or even dip it in curry. The texture is crispy yet not oily at all. I have make this as a snack a couple of time already. My filling is ham, dice tomato and cheddar cheese melt. Oops! sorry no picture because i was too busy dugging into it while it is still hot from the wok. Haha.....


This is my winning from an instant lucky dip when i bought some health supplement from GNC. Yes, yes this item is from OSIM. I don't know how is GNC related to OSIM. But i was given this coupon to the instant dip in OSIM. According to the sales representative, this weigher cost $99.
Not a bad win afterall.


I make this this morning for brunch. Heehee..... yes, brunch because we are heading somewhere else in the early afternoon.

Do you like this view?


Or you prefer this?

Or this?

Haha.... i like them all. Therefore a collage is done.

As i never like frozen peas, i have replaced the frozen peas normally use in fried rice with red and green pepper and carrots which is a healthier choice.

My attempt to do the egg crepe is not very successful. I know the egg is not well beaten and i have make it too thick. I guessed, i still needs lots of practices. Anyway, just to share the trick:

To make this egg wrapped fried rice, you need:

Ingredients: (good for 2 crepe)

3 eggs

Pinch of pepper

Pinch of salt

Utensils:

a shallow bowl

a non-stick frying pan (circumference must double the circumference of bowl)

Method:

Beat egg well with salt and pepper

Heat up frying pan
Pour well beaten egg into pan, twist and turn pan so that egg is spread thinly and evenly round pan.

When egg crepe is set, slide it on the shallow bowl

Put pre-fried rice into it, wrapped up

Overturn onto a plate, slit open the crepe and serve.

Oh, for my version of fried rice, please refer to my recipe cabinet - bon appetite