Asian Salmon Cakes!

This is the best recipe I've created to-date, I'm proud to say & it's SUPER SIMPLE just how Vlad likes it...

The photo's not the best... I got too excited & took a bite before I remembered to snap the pic, but you get the idea - guess I'm no food stylist.

I never actually measure things out, so these are all estimations:

2 -6 oz cans of salmon
2 large eggs
1/3 c. chopped green onion
1/2 red pepper
2 tbs fresh grated ginger
2 tbs wasabi
2 1/2 tbs miso
1/2 c. plain bread crumbs
2 cloves grated garlic
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, form your patties & fry 'em up in some veggie oil.  Delish!  Makes about 4 salmon cakes.

I'm also dying to try this with some beans & make Asian Veggie Cakes too :)

Crocheted Patchwork Blanket

This is a blanket I crocheted for my cousin's son.  It's made of hand-dyed alpaca.  I started by crocheting all the little blue & green squares then I attached them using a chain stitch.  Finally I made rows repeating the pattern dc, ch of the brown/grey color.
I love the way this turned out & the alpaca is so soft & warm.

It's the little things that count.

It's amazing how simple little things can make all the difference.  I made this little colored pencil holder out of an old oatmeal container.

It took me about 10 minutes to make this.  I pulled the paper wrapper off the container & used it as a pattern then I tacky glued the fabric on to the container at the seam & around the edges so the fabric doesn't fray.

And the lid still fits on with my colored pencils inside!

Finger Crochet!

This is a scarf that I made out of alpaca ribbon that was hand-dyed by a local alpaca yarn shop.  It took me less than an hour to hand crochet this scarf.  I repeated a simple pattern of ch 5 then dc 1.  I love the chunkyness of hand crocheting a thick ribbon like this.  The yarn is so beautifully made that it makes the scarf look like a piece of jewelry.

DIY top!

I really liked this top I saw on anthropologie

So I decided to try a little DingIY.
Have you ever been convinced to buy something by a friend & never end up wearing it?  This dress was one of those buys.

It's a jersey knit, so I didn't even sew any hems after I cut the fabric.
First, I cut up the seam to the desired length & then cut around the diameter of the dress.

I ended up with one long piece of fabric, so I cut along the other seam, to separate the front piece & back piece of the dress.  Next I sewed the pieces back onto the shirt.

I sewed the fabric pieces just behind the original seam, so when I pull them forward to make the knot you wont notice the fabric edge.  Finally, I rounded the tips of the fabric for the knot & here's the finished product.

It took me about 1.5 hours to fix this $6 dress up into a cute, fun shirt that I'll actually wear now and it beats spending $68 for it at anthro!

Cran-pom Pork Medallions

Last night I made this yummy pork tenderloin with a sweet & tangy cranberry-pomegranate sauce.  It took about 5 mins to make & tasted incredible!  I was in the mood for simple (as you can see from the easy sides) & this hit the spot.

Place the tenderloin (TL) in your roaster & then fill the roaster with cranberry-pomegranate juice so the juice comes up about halfway to the top of your TL.  Salt & pepper the TL then put a hefty layer of brown sugar on top of it (approx. 2 TBS/lb).  Then cook, serve & enjoy!  I cut the TL right in the roaster & rubbed the pieces in the syrup that the juice reduced in to.  So scrumptious, so simple.

Ginger Squash Spring Rolls

Ginger Yellow Squash Spring Rolls

2 Shredded yellow squash (skin them first)
1 1/2 tsp ginger
6 Tbs brown sugar
salt & pepper to taste
1 package spring rolls

Cook squash, ginger, brown sugar, salt & pepper in a pot.  Simmer until most of the liquid from the squash has cooked off.  Wrap the filling in the spring roll wrappers & cook as directed.

These delicious rolls are a perfect finger-food, party treat!  And so simple to make.