Monday inspirations

Today's cooking inspiration is specifically for all the foreigners in Korea.
When I first arrived in Korea I found it very difficult to figure out what I could cook (because it can be really difficult/impossible to find certain ingredients) AND I was ....ovenless, as most foreigners over here are. My friend Lindsey helped me soooo much, and I will be FOREVER grateful.
So here is the blog that she started to help us all out.
This is what Lindsey has to say:
"My name is Lindsey, I am a stay home mom living in South Korea. Like Gabi, I too am a blogger. In creating Ovenless Chef, I had the vision of sharing my successes in making some of my favorite "baked goods" without the use of an oven. The blog boasts recipes such as Steamed Dinner Rolls, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles, and One Pot Chili... just to name a few. The blog has now evolved into a form of ministry for me, in that I am able to share yummy recipes with other foreigners who lack an oven or need to spice up thier menu. I have found that many people, including singles, are intimidated by preparing tasty meals without an oven. I myself was overwhelmed when we first moved to Korea. I must admit that our family of three ate a LOT of fried rice and stir frys the first month. Slowly I felt more comfortable with the packaging of Korean food, and familiar with the ingredients available to me. I try to incorporate easy to find ingredients in my recipes as well as notes for finding the more "rare" additions. I feel blessed to have the time at home to be able to minister to others through thier tummies! I hope the site is of some help to those adjusting to and living in Korea... or anywhere else without an oven!

P.S. I am not an actual chef, but hey... it was a catchy title! ;)
http://ovenlesschef.blogspot.com/ ~ Enjoy."

 

Todays Sewing blog is a gem - its called Sew,Mama,Sew! Not only does it have lots of great sewing projects it also has a lot of instructions on basic sewing techniques (for those of us that are learning as we go :)

Here is a tutorial on how to line a bag: (and the bag is super cute)

And here is one on quick piece squares for quilting:

Go and find the ones that interest you - there are tons!!!

Happy Monday everyone (and happy white day to those of you in Korea)

Monday Inspirations

Today I am not doing a baking inspiration (I'm VERY sorry)- just because I want you to understand or process the following website. If you are a parent you might never need to google another sewing website ever again.
This website consumed about a week of my life and it still gets special attention, often.

Its called prudent baby - click on it, but just promise me that after you have lost yourself in it, that you will come back...

Look through it carefully, there are MANY treasures...

The one to the left might not be beautiful - BUT MAN its SUPER handy - make your own body shape, dress form. I'm definitely doing it!!
And here are some of their dress tuts (for little ones of course). If you have a daughter please make some so that I can live vicariously through you :)


Have fun, and I hope you've had a good start to your week!

Inspiration Monday (or Wednesday)

I'm sorry that this post is late - I have just moved and am currently internetless...

Cooking/Baking
I AM EXTREMELY EXCITED ABOUT TODAYS BAKING POST (hence the caps)
I might just scream out of pure excitement. One of my many weaknesses is cake - and particularly decorating them. Not that I am ANY good at it, but I love trying.
So below is an AMAZING website that I will probably try and make my homepage from today onwards...

These two cakes are just some of the many tutorials that this site has to offer. The first cake is a Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake, and wait for it.... its COVERED in crushed oreos!!! The second cake is a Rose Cake.
So if you are in need of some inspiration, this is where you will get it : I am baker.

Sewing:

At the moment I am on a good handbag, pattern hunt. I need a new one. Mine has served its time and I think it deserves a rest - or to be recycled into something else.

Todays sewing blog is called U-Handbag - Below is one of the bags that you can make if you use Lisa Lam's tutorials.



Have fun sewing and baking :)

The cushionless pin.

The tired pin wandered the streets looking for a home to rest its weary head... But it found none, instead it found my bare feet while lying on the floor and my bum while hiding in the sofa.

I must confess - I am one of those people that, up until recently, have thought of pin cushions as silly and definitely not on my list of 'things-I'm-dying-to-make'. But due to the fact that I have lost MANY pins over the last year, and that I've had too many cases of pins and needles - I quickly adjusted my list title to 'things-that-might-cause-me-to-die-if-I-don't-make-it' and so a pin cushion magically appeared on the top of my list.

At the end of this story the pin finds a home and I can walk fearlessly through my apartment again.

Inspirations :)

The past few mondays I have posted some websites that I like and look at for inspiration, so I figure I'll just keep doing it until I run out of amazing websites - it might take a long time.

Baking:
This past week my husband and I celebrated our '1 year in Korea' anniversary, SO naturally I wanted to bake a cake.  A friend told me about this fun website called bakeitinacake.com. The lady who started the website wanted to make something for http://www.thisiswhyyourefat.com/ and people just loved it.
So in honor of the fun and craziness that Korea has brought into my life I decided to "bake it into a cake"
I have to mention that we are moving in a week and I'm currently busy with a 'eat what we have' project to clean out the cupboards - so that is why my cake is so healthy :) (I already cleaned out the chocolates)

Custard, Pecan, Banana, Cinnamon Cake containing a Custard Tart

I have to admit the following photo looks less appetizing, seeing as it collapsed a little when I cut it, BUT that didn't stop it from being devoured.

Go check out the website. You won't be sorry!

Sewing:

This blog is by Kelly, a crafty mom. She has quite a few tutorials which you can check out here. AND this wednesday hex-along that she has joined in on, maybe I will too, I have a lot of fabric scraps. You can see it here at hearting hexies.

This is where the project originated - Wednesday hex-along.

Another story that might be TMI :)

I have only had two sewing classes in my life. One was in grade 4 and the other in grade 8. In grade 4 my teacher tried to teach me how to make hexies for a cushion - she ended up leaving the school , I have no proof but I am sure my hexagonal scrap heap influenced this decision/ possibe change in career choice.  The other lesson was in embroidery. I was convinced I had found my calling, but for some reason no one else shared my enthusiasm. And because I can't find any of these aforementioned art works, I will forever be convinced that they were LEGENDARY!!

So here's to looking forward (to my perfectly aligned hexagonal thingy majig) and forgetting what lies behind (wasted fabric scraps and missing masterpieces - somethings are better left in the past)!

Cookies and fudge ;)

My husband and I are coming to the end of our 1st year in South Korea and we are changing schools. So we thought it would be good to give some small thank you gifts to our teachers. AND what better gift to receive, other than cookies and fudge (Koreans have NO idea what fudge is.)

I found this really good cocoa fudge cookie recipe.
Here is what mine looked like:

The fudge recipe's origin is a bit of a mystery. I'd like to say I made it up - BUT I didn't. I might have found it in an Afrikaans recipe book or maybe my Home Economics teacher gave it to me (which she probably found in an Afrikaans recipe book;)
Although I don't really post recipes on this blog, I just link to them, I'm going to share this INCREDILICIOUS recipe with you. 
Here is its review, given by my favourite food connoisseur, with a refined palate:
         
"Best fudge I've ever eaten."
-Greg Boy (holder of the title : Most amazing husband in the universe)

Condensed Milk Fudge

800g (3 1/2 cups) white sugar

250g (1 cup) butter

1 cup milk

1 cup condensed milk

10ml vanilla essence

In a large pot: simmer the sugar, butter and milk until the sugar dissolves.

Stir in the cond. milk and boil for about 40minutes.

Stir continually.

Remove from stove and stir in vanilla.

Pour into a shallow baking tray (aprox. 30cm by 25cm)

Just a quick fudge story - when I was in grade 5 there was this girl called Amelda and she used to make fudge and sell it at school. It was the BEST fudge. At breaktime it would cause a stampede. Some other kids started selling stuff too and so the school brought the hawking to an abrupt stop - along with abolishing my fudge supplier. I was left with withdrawal symptoms and a fudge shaped hole in my heart. SOOO I have dreamt of that fudge often and I compare all fudge with Amelda's fudge.  I think the recipe above would make Amelda proud.
Enjoy!

Baby booties tutorial

Yes, can you believe it?  I finally did it. I would like to say that I have been super busy the last few months (since I promised this tut) but I haven't been - its my archnemesis' fault - but I overcame you, dreaded procrastination, and I will live to fight another day.

Ok so lets do this!