start of a new project

supposed to be bright yellow yarn but my camera phone is not very keen on color.

above is the beginning of a new project... new in it's kind for me too.

in somewhat of an ode to Agata Olek, i'm making a crochet caution tape that says "shut the **** up"(phrase is in request of a friend.).

pattern for actual crocheting of it is very very easy cause it's single crochet... what is confusing is the patter for the letters. graph paper seems as tho it will help very much, so i will be going out to get some. lol.

i'll keep posting progress reports.

also, if any of you have something out of the ordinary to want to see crochet let me kno! i'm always up for the challenge! <3

Turkey Chili with Maple Bacon & Bourbon

So here it is! :)

slowcooked, homemade, turkey chili with maple bacon & bourbon. delish!

it was my made up own recipe. (got the idea from a friend of mine!)

ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey meat
1 green pepper
1 sweet onion
1 jalapeno
3 garlic cloves
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can of kidney beans
4 strips of thick cut maple bacon
1 1/2 shots of bourbon
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp butter or margarine (optional)
salt & pepper accordingly (i usually salt and pepper the veggies)

i heated up a frying pan on the stove then i went ahead and chopped up the bacon, green pepper, onion, jalapeno, and garlic. first, i cooked up the bacon with added maple syrup (optional) and then placed the cook bacon pieces into the slowcooker. then in the bacon "oil" i sauteed the green peppers, onions, jalapeno, and garlic along with the spices (cumin & chili powder) and the butter/margarine (again, this is optional too. i believe it gives a smoother finish to the taste.). after the onions have cooked down a little before translucency, transfer them into the slowcooker with the bacon.

then in the same pan, cook the ground turkey meat with fennel till meat is almost cooked through then add the bourbon. then transfer to the slowcooker.

in the slowcooker i added brown sugar, the diced tomatoes and the kidney beans (rinse with water first). i mix up the chili and put the slowcooker on high for the first two hours and then low for the next three. i ate mine with chopped onions, corn chips, shredded cheddar & sour cream. lol. not exactly figure friendly, but definitely delicious. (also if you wanted more of a bourbon flavor, you can add another shot towards the end of cooking. an hour before it's done or so.)


*i used 2 cans of diced tomatoes, but wasn't happy with the color of the chili. so, if you want a more deeper red color, i suggest maybe one can diced and one can sauce. i will try this the next time i make it. lol. if any you others try it with the sauce before i do let me know how it turns out! :)

happy eats! <3

latest accomplishment...

chad modeling again! :)

i just finished this 15 minutes ago and i love the way it turned out!

this was somewhat of a thought process and luckily it all panned out well. my first thought was to make a slouchy hat that formed into a skull, but after testing it out i decided to take it in a new direction. since it was my first attempt and wanted to make sure it fit a friend's head i had to do an actual fitting with him to make sure his dreads all fit. so after finishing the slouchy hat, i took time out to search thru the internet to find a nice skull pattern. and voila! slouchy hat with a skull decal.

here are the links i used to make this hat... slouchy hat ... skull ... hope u like! :)

baby jellyfish!

so, perhaps, about 2 months ago i started to crochet again and found that the patterns that i chose came to me more easily than they used to.

i began crocheting little things like hearts, four-leaf clovers, flowers, and stars. then i found this awesome pattern for a tiny jellyfish that you could hang from your car's rear view mirror.

the pattern was great! i embellished with some of my own touch like using some of the dangling excess string to braid and strung thru a piece of hemp to make it able to hang up somewhere.

here's the link to the pattern... jellyfish

hope you enjoy making it like i did. :)

new beginnings...

first post.

hi. i'm alice. it's actually been a while since i've blogged and mainly i blogged before as a teenager, so you can only imagine what i may have talked about. today, i come back with a different agenda and to share more creative ideas and interesting experiences.

i cook. i LOVE to cook. ever since my first sushi experience at my parents' restaurant, i haven't been able to pass on any new or creative ways to cook foods.

i crochet. a little bit of knitting on the side. skeins of endless amounts of different colored yarn excites me! :)

and finally... i have fun. i try and keep it young and enjoy the simple things in life.

so these three things i shall hopefully begin to blog about.

i hope you all enjoy. :)