Garden Chef's Needle and Pen

Hello everyone! My last craft post was three weeks ago! That doesn't mean though that I haven't crafted anything since then. I made this Pocket Tissue Pouch from kusine.com which I haven't posted until now. I fell in love with the color and its design. So here's what I made. Did I choose a nice color? I placed the smallest pack of tissue inside The source of this pattern mentioned that the stitch used is the "Spaced Arches" stitch from The Crochet Stitch Bible by Betty Barnden,  ©2004. Photo taken from Amazon.com  It's my first time to use this material ever since it was given to me by Aunt Marly. The label reads Unger Dolly, made in France. Thanks to Aunt Marly for all these materials in my stash! It looks like a special "dotted" fiber. I don't know how to describe it. It has some kind of luster, too! Credits to Ayana Grace for the photos   I would like to make a few more of this...for gifts... Oh my, that...

I accompanied my husband to see his doctor for his regular check-up last week in the cardiac hospital where I work. Our hospital celebrates Nutrition Month for this whole month of July.  Part of the month-long celebration is the putting up of a Food Gallery at the ground lobby where various food entrepreneurs get to showcase their products. So now, let me share this mushroom recipe I got from one of the stalls when I bought a pack of mushroom. I bought this pack of organically grown mushrooms for P 100.00. After asking the saleslady about the lifespan of the product which she comprehensively answered (2-3 days at room temperature, 2 weeks when refrigerated, months in the freezer), she voluntarily handed me a list of mushroom dishes with recipes by their company, CMAR Mushroom World , located at Jala Jala, Rizal. Here they are... Fresh Oyster Mushrooms in Oyster Sauce Ingredients: 1/2 kilo mushrooms 2 tbsps cooking oil 1 cup water 6 tbsps oyster sauce 1/...

Inspired by the Tropical Spinach Salad posted by Lemon Tree Dwelling,  I made this salad for dinner tonight. Guacamole-Spinach Salad Ingredients:  Salad: 1 avocado, diced 1 slice pineapple, cut into chunks 1 piece pear, diced 1 bunch of spinach 1/2 small red onion, thinly diced 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese Dressing: juice of 1/2 lemon 1 tsp olive oil 2 tbsps vinegar Steps: 1. Mix all ingredients for the salad. 2. Mix all ingredients for the dressing.  3. Pour dressing over the salad. Serve and enjoy. My Guacamole-Spinach Salad with Ham-Egg-Cheese Cup and Papaya slices Just perfect with the Ham-Egg-Cheese Cups made by Ayana Grace! I love it! My husband liked it too and said that it's quite different from what he usually eats.  Have a blessed week ahead! ============ Linking to: Back to Basics Tuesdays with a Twist

I don't know her personally. I just saw her face on my Facebook newsfeed last week when a friend posted about the sad news. Ayana Grace, my daughter who is a nail arts lover, asked me today something about blog link ups and as we exchanged thoughts about the topic, she opened a blog post that features about how bloggers unite in tribute to this very popular girl who has become a You Tube makeup guru sensation and CoverGirl's Honorary Model. Photo from Google Talia Joy Castellano is her name. And just today, I read that this beautiful and talented girl from Orlando, Florida, who has fought with cancer since she was 7 years old, passed away at age 13 last week, July 16, 2013.   "...diagnosed with stage-four neuroblastoma when she was just 7 years old,  started using makeup 'as a wig' shortly after she found out she was sick.  In July 2011, she began filming makeup tutorials in her bedroom —  short, how-to videos for the glam, colorful looks she inve...

I have already featured this fish before.  In my post entitled, " Of Little Pigs and Silver Fishes ," I described how I came to discover white pompano. From then on, this has become a frequent dish on our table. Just as I said in my previous post, it's very tasty and everyone in the family loves it. For today, we enjoyed a very simple pompano dish. Ingredients: 1 medium size pompano salt and ground pepper 6 pieces okra (lady's fingers or bhindi or gumbo), steamed and cut into 1-inch chunks 3 pieces salted eggs, sliced 2 pieces large tomatoes, sliced Steps: 1. Sprinkle salt and ground pepper to both sides of pompano.  2. Heat oil in pan. Fry pompano.  3. While waiting for pompano to cook, steam okra for 2-3 minutes. Drain and cut into 1-inch chunks. 4. Remove salted eggs from shell and slice into 6 pieces each. 5. Once pompano is cooked, place in a serving dish. 6. Garnish with steamed okra, salted eggs and tomatoes. Fried Pompan...

I found this Round Makeup Case pattern by Candace from Crochet Spot . The description says that this makeup purse can hold separately mascara and lipstick that would be handy and easy to find in one's bag. I must have been attracted to the color of the item as featured in Crochet Spot that I didn't waste any time. After reviewing the pattern, I had it printed and the journey began.  Here is my finished product. Do you like it?   I really wanted exactly the same shade of pink Candace used in her post but I didn't have any in my stash. For my version, I used a combination of plain pink yarn and variegated purple cotton. I was already working on the second half of the pattern (Row 13) when I realized I would like to have a smaller version that can accommodate 1 or 2 lipsticks instead of longer items like mascara. I had to unravel the yarn all the way back to Row 4. I shortened the process by 8 rounds (Rows 4-6 instead of 4-10, and Rows 12-15 instead of 12-...

While choosing vegetables for the week's supply at my favorite vegetable stall in the market today, I saw a bunch of kamias (Averrhoa bilimbi fruits) so I went back to the fish vendor to buy medium-sized talakitok (Trevally) as the vendor suggested and I, too, imagined they would be perfect together! Kamias (bilimbi) (photo from Google ) This might sound weird for many of you but talakitok which is very common in the local market is a good choice for this dish which is also a common favorite in my country.   Ingredients: 1/2 kilo small talakitok (trevally) Salt and ground pepper 1 cup kamias (bilimbi fruits) 1 thumb-size ginger, sliced 1 medium onion, sliced thinly 2 tbsps fish sauce 2 tbsps soy sauce Pinch of sugar 2 tbsps leeks Steps: Clean talakitok , drain and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Wash kamias , remove both ends and slice diagonally half-inch thick. Line bottom of pan with a layer of kamias slices.  Place tala...