Lamb Meatballs and Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad

Dinner cooking adventures: lamb meatballs and a healthy but hearty lemon quinoa cilantro chickpea salad.

Spicy Thai Noodles

An easy cold noodle meal to make!

Spicy Thai Noodles

Boiling the chili flakes in oil, and added some peanut butter in it.

Mix the sauce with noodles (we used spaghetti). We weren't fancy and didn't add shredded carrots or crushed peanuts or herbs, but this was still yummy! The simpler version is good for a lazy whip-up.

Also baked some kobacha to go with our noodles.

Spaghetti Squash + Sesame Noodles Combo

Finally, after about 2 months of buying my spaghetti squash, I finally make use of it!

Roasting Spaghetti Squash:
So I muster all my strength and manage to successfully cut my spaghetti squash in half (little cheers for me!) (and yes, I cut them uneven, but I'm only a small Asian girl, who is quite weak haha.) (I've read you can also cook it whole, but I just decided to cut it in half.) Scoop out the seeds and insides. I decided to save mine in a bowl; I haven't decided if I want to try roasting the seeds yet. 
For the rest, I kind of eyeballed and didn't measure out anything. I poured some extra virgin olive oil in both halves of the squash and spread it around. Then I sprinkled kosher salt and crushed black pepper in each half. 
I preheated the oven to 375° F and stuck my squash in for 45 min

Let the squash cool for a few minutes until it's cool enough to handle and then run a fork through it to get the strings of squash that are like spaghetti noodles! :D

I wasn't sure how I wanted to eat the pasta, but I found this easy sesame noodle recipe that I've been wanting to try, so I decide to try it with the spaghetti squash. Not sure if Asian is the best route to go with the noodles, but we'll see! (At some point I definitely want to try it with pesto, tomato sauce, with just Parmesan cheese, and maybe just plain with some olive oil and herbs!)

This was the amount of noodles that came out with one squash. The amount of sauce I made was actually okay for the amount of noodles from the whole squash. And the noodles came out yummy! (It didn't seem as much of sesame noodles as just the gan mian my parents used to make. But yummy nonetheless! And don't let the amount of noodles deceive you (it definitely deceived me), the noodles are much denser and I was full from eating about half of it!

Yummy Lunch: Sesame Spaghetti Squash Noodles and some warm apple cider!

Crochet Coasters

Made an easy coaster from this pattern:Crochet Ombre Coaster

Ta-da. 

This time I made the coaster using acrylic yarn: Caron One Pound- Pale Green, which was medium worsted and I used an I hook. Next time, I think a cotton yarn or something a little stiffer may be better.

Crochet Headband/Earwarmer + bow

Found this cute headband and I had to give it a try! It was actually pretty quick to whip up, so if you want a quick and easy project, you can totally make this! This person that I found who made the headband actually got the pattern from here. 

I first used and acrylic medium (4) worsted yarn and an H hook.

For the pattern rows, to make ~ 12 inches, I crocheted 44 rows of the pattern row. It ended up being slightly big for me, but maybe I also could have made the loop for the button a tiny bit smaller. I think I should make 43 rows though.

Added the button and chained a few to make a loop for the button.

Instead of the flower, I also happened to stumble across a pattern for a cute bow, so I made a bow instead because it was late and the pattern was much easier to follow and make instead of the flower. 

I used a different yarn: Martha Stewart Crafts with Lionbrand Yarn: Lemon Chiffon, Medium (4) worsted yarn. Apparently it's a extra soft wool blend of a little bit of wool and acrylic. I actually really like this yarn!

Isn't it a super cute bow? :D

The site I found the bow pattern from apparently is no longer available, but it was pretty simple to make.

1. Chain 20 (or however big you want the bow width)

2. HDC in the 3rd chain from the hook, and HDC across, Ch1 and turn

3. HDC in the first stitch and across.

4. Repeat #3 until you have the desired length of the bow.

4. Sew the shorter ends of the rectangle together so you make a loop

5. wrap yarn across the middle of the loop you made and weave in ends or attach the bow to whatever project you want.

Crochet Mini Pumpkin Applique

I meant to post this earlier (like last month when I made them), but better late than never.

These were cute things to make to get into the Halloween spirit.

You can download the free pattern off Ravelry: Tiny Pumpkin Applique

I worked my pumpkins off the PDF, and completely forgot about the correction the author noted on the ravelry site, so next time I'll have to try making them with the correct instructions.

Corrected Pattern Instructions:

Pumpkin:

1. Make magic circle

2. Make 10 SC in magic circle

3. Sl st to beginning SC

4. (2 DC) in each of the next 4 sts

5. Sl St in next st

6. 2 DC in each of the next 4 sts

7. Sl st in last st 

Stem: 

1. Attach brown or green yarn to top of pumpkin and Ch 3, turn

2. Sl st in sceond chain from hook, the next ch, and through the top of the pumpkin again.

3. Weave in ends.

Crochet Knee High Boot Socks!

I stumbled across the pattern for these socks from Ball Hank n' Skein. I thought these looked cute and warm and would be a perfect solution for my always cold feet during the winter :D.

Yarn: Loops&Threads Country Loom super bulky (6) yarn in lavender blues. My friend bought the yarn for me as a secret santa present last year, and I'm finally putting it to use!

Hook: K (6 MM)

For my first sock I actually used a J hook, and I was worried that I wouldn't have enough yarn so I was pretty conservative with the number of rows I made for the height of the sock (luckily, I have smaller feet and am pretty short so I probably need less rows anyways). I tried to follow the pattern exactly for the first sock because I didn't want to deviate and then get confused as to how to complete the rest of the sock. The first sock was also the hardest also just because I had to get used to using this yarn. It was bulky and kind of wavy, and was really hard for me to figure out where the stitches were so I had to take it apart and start over numerous times.

For the second sock, I realized that I could make the sock smaller in general,  and I randomly decided to switch to a K hook (can you tell, I'm not really consistent..that's probably why I can never make two identical things.) I decreased the number of stitches after round 17 to 20 instead of 24, and worked up the sock size size however I saw fit. This is one of the advantages I like aboutcrocheting over knitting in that I can try on the sock and adjust for size as I go. But I've only worked with standard needles and not with double pointed needles or circular needles for knitting, so that may be why.) My second sock was definitely a lot prettier than the first. 

I'm not sure if I'd be able to fit these socks under my boots, but I'm definitely happy with them and I will wear them around the house all winter long as my feet are always cold when I'm just sitting in my room :D I definitely feel like I want to try and make another pair at some  point, maybe with medium or chunky weighted yarn instead of super bulky.

Apple Pie

Here goes my first attempt at making apple pie and making any kind of pastry crust all by myself.

There are a plethora of pie crust recipes out there. I think many pie crust recipes I've come across use shortening, and swear it's a secret ingredient to make the flakiest crust. Well, I never have shortening on hand, and I'm not sure whether I really want to go try buying it so I made my crust using all butter. 

I followed this pie crust by smitten kitchen. She has her own opinions on ingredients and supplies and methods, and I found them rather entertaining and informative to read. As a novice baker, I think she provided thorough and easy instructions to follow :D (and that's saying a lot because I tend to get very confused on even the simplist of instructions. You don't realize what you take for granted when you already know how to do things and are writing instructions down. Some people, namely me, really need every little thing described and explained.)

Pie Crust:
 **makes enough crust for a double crust pie (or 2 single crust pies)
-2 sticks (1 cup) of butter (KEEP COLD) (dice into 1/2 inch cubes)
-2 ½ cups AP flour + extra for dusting
-1 tsp salt
-1 tblsp sugar
~3/4 cup ice cold water   (I ended up using ~ 1/2 cup + 3 tblsp water)

I didn't have a pastry blender, so I mixed the flour and butter together using a fork until it was about pea-sized. At first I thought I messed up and added too much flour because the butter wasn't incorporating like the pictures from Smitten Kitchen, but as I kept mashing the butter into the flour, the more it looked right; it just took a lot longer than I thought it would, so be patient if you're also using a fork. Let's just say this experience definitely persuaded me to get a pastry blender for future baking endeavors (even if I don't bake that often); I think it will be worth the money. We'll just put pastry blender on my Christmas wishlist, and maybe I'll treat myself during the holidays. 

Following Smitten Kitchen's instructions, I added 1/2 cup of ice cold water to my flour+butter mix and mixed with my spatula. I then added water 1 tblsp at a time, and ended up adding 3 tblsp. However, I will say that I think 3 tblsp was too much in my case and my dough ended up being super sticky and wet. I ended up dusting the outside with some flour to make it a little drier, but the rest of the dough is still pretty wet. Just be aware and keep checking the dough with your fingers to see if it sticks before adding more water. How much water you need may depend on the humidity of the day, and just a bunch of other factors. Split the dough in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour (they say preferably 2 + hours)

Apple Pie Filling:
So, I mostly used a combination of recipes as a guideline, mainly smitten kitchen's. (I didn't use this crust because it required shortening and vodka). This is what I used:

-5 apples (2 smaller Lady Pink apples, 3 larger Fuji apples) peeled and sliced
-2 Tbsp lemon juice
-1/4 +1/8 cup white sugar (I thought that most of the recipes used sooo much sugar, so I decided to cut the amount of sugar back a lot, especially since I thought my apples were pretty sweet.
-2 tsp AP flour
-1/4 tbsp salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 tsp nutmeg
-1/4 tsp allspice
-1 egg beaten lightly

After I peeled and sliced my apples, I mixed them with the 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Then I mixed the flour, salt, sugar, spices together in a separate bowl and added it to the apples. Toss and mix these well. I put this mixture in the fridge while I waited for my dough to chill.

Rolled out the dough via these instructions. I placed one half of my crust in my pie plate (the bottom crust) and refrigerated the dough in the plate as I rolled out and cut the other half of my crust dough into strips for my lattice. 

Baked my pie at 425 F for ~ 20 min and then at 375 for another 30 min.

Successful baking adventure all by myself! As a baking novice, I'm quite pleased with myself. It actually came out pretty well (some of my bottom crust stuck to the plate, but I guess i didn't butter my pie plate well enough in those areas. Personally, I thought that it was still on the sweet side, so I might actually cut down the sugar even more next time. Personal preference though, I think my mom said that sweetness wise she thought it was okay.  

Who knew, this wasn't enough pie to go around! I have been portioning out pieces for family and friends and there isn't much left. I'll have to make another one sometime!