Category Archives: Info

What the heck is tatting?

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I was in Toronto visiting family and naturally my mom and I were bonding over yarn crafts. She brought out her bags of yarn and her boxes of tools. “Look how many hooks you have!” I said to her as I ogled her collection of at least twenty crochet hooks…and those were just her small ones ranging from size 1.00mm to 2.50mm. She showed me some of her creations, which include pretty, delicate lace stars and angels and even a tiny baby crib made with fine cotton thread. Jay looked at the miniature crocheted baskets and said, “I’m getting a headache just looking at this.” I also can’t imagine crocheting anything that tiny.

Isn’t this cute? But look how tiny the stitches are!

My mom continued to show me her projects when suddenly we came across this weird-looking gadget that at first glance I wondered if it was used for oral hygiene  My mom said, “That’s used for tatting.” Naturally my next thought was that it is somehow related to tattoos :P

Tatting is yet another form of thread/yarn craft that is basically made up of knots, kind of like friendship bracelets. Who remembers those? The tatting tool, called a shuttle, looks intimidating and I clumsily gave it a try but the instructions that came with it are really confusing. Thank god for the interweb! I was able to find this incredibly helpful page with video tutorials and now I’m looking for ways to use this craft.

Tatting is ideal for making lace projects and naturally all I can think of are doilies and old school table cloths. But we don’t have to be restricted to making old-fashioned table runners and doilies. I think in this day and age we have become much more creative with what we can do with yarn and thread (I’m thinking of a pretty Peter Pan collar necklace). Or seeing as Christmas is coming up I could make a star garland. I will try to keep you updated as I venture into the world of tatting…though it may take a while as I am still also learning to knit hehe.

Make that stew thick!

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Ever try to make a nice thick stew and in the end all you have are vegetables and beef floating around a watery pool? Don’t fret and don’t even think about casually saying, “Did I say we were having stew? I meant soup, we’re having soup for dinner.”

Just when everything is perfectly cooked and the beef is so tender it breaks apart with the slightest nudge of your spoon, take a small bowl and put about a table spoon of flour and about a cup of the watery broth from the stew into the bowl and whisk until thick. Add more flour or stock depending on how thick/thin you want it. When it’s the right consistency, incorporate it into the entire pot of stew and stir until everything is nice and thick. Let the stew simmer, uncovered, for another 10 minutes or so and you’ll be glad you didn’t turn your stew dinner into soup.

Can’t Get Enough of Frank

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I think I’ve developed an addiction to Frank’s Redhot sauce. Last night, as I devoured my skewered shrimp, basted with crushed garlic and Frank’s Redhot sauce, I momentarily thought that maybe I would get an ulcer from eating too much hot sauce. Apparently this is not true. According to my research, eating hot peppers or hot sauce or just spicy food in general is very good for you. Here are some hot sauce and chile pepper facts. Of course, if you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome it’s probably best to lay off the spice since chili peppers are believed to act as laxatives. Always use in moderation.

Again, this morning I added a few drops of hot sauce to my egg whites (it just tastes so good!) and I did notice that I didn’t feel as hungry as other times. As the article says, Capsaicin (the substance that gives peppers their kick) improves digestion and suppresses hunger. Normally when I have breakfast I wolf down the egg whites and then cram pineapple chunks in my mouth because I feel like I’m starving. But yesterday morning and today I actually didn’t want to eat my pineapple chunks because my stomach felt satisfied after eating the egg whites. Last night’s dinner had the same effect. I was not able to finish my spicy rice and vegetables and I struggled to finish my shrimp near the end of the meal. Could it be because of the spice?

“He who controls the Spice, controls the universe!” Dune, anyone?

Mmm…delicious shrimp served over a bed of basmati rice with mixed vegetables. I spiced the rice with pickled jalapeño peppers, cloves, grated ginger and cracked cardamom seeds.

Is this a weightloss infomercial?

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In about a month, I will need an amazing beach body. I will need a Slim in 6/Turbo Jam/Power 90 type body. Two reasons:

1. My dear friend is getting married and I’m her maid of honour, so I must look hot
2. I’m going on holiday to a tropical country

And, of course, just because I want to get in shape (I’ve got some knee problems my doctor attributes to weak inner thigh muscles). We all know that if you work hard and if you really want something, you’ll get it…eventually. Well, I must not REALLY want to have a fit body since I’ve been trying to get in shape for nearly 8 years now haha. I can’t help it though, I just love food too much. Exercise you say? Yea, that’s for people who don’t cringe at the thought of jogging for 5 minutes.
Ok, Ok, I do workout and I do enjoy it. I also try to jog every now and then because I love the feel of the wind in my face. But my body can’t handle jogs and I usually end up doubled over after 10 minutes wheezing and coughing.

I started a workout routine last month and I was pretty consistent about it. I actually did workout for a whole month and I noticed a difference in certain parts of my body (my thighs mostly…rock hard, oh yea…) but overall I didn’t lose any weight at all. Was I doing the exercises all wrong? Was I not working out long enough?

Well, the answer is that diet plays a massive role in weight loss. Everyone knows that but I figured that since my metabolism was super fast back in high school then I wouldn’t have a problem dropping pounds. If you’re trying to get fit or lose weight or whatever then you have to eat super healthy and exercise. I’ve learned that you can’t do one without the other. If you want to see rapid results then you need to adjust your diet to include foods that will help you lose weight faster and you also need to eat 5 to 6 times a day (small portions of course). For breakfast, I eat an egg white (instead of a whole egg since the yolk contains all the egg’s fat and cholesterol) and half a cup of pineapple or a banana along with my coffee. I know the coffee should be black but this is where I cheat and I add a splash of milk. Since the beginning of this month, I have started to eat healthier foods. I’ve cut out salt and sugar and less cooking oil. And, as of this week, I’ve cut out bread. Bread! It’s pretty hard since I live with Jay, who loves eating “man-wiches” (huge sandwiches with nice, thick, chewy bread…Mmm bread…)

Anyway, my challenge is to play around with recipes to make them healthy, yet delicious, and combine that with my workout routine. I know I won’t look like Jessica Alba in a month but I’ll feel way better! Let’s see what happens. I will post info as I travel through this challenge.