photo by Howard Hsueh

handmade by friends will be moving~! soon to a new web host. also handmade by friends will be renamed…  i have been thinking about couple of names in mind, but i am open to suggestions. will post the new web address and the name soon~!!! =)

SEE YOU SOON!

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made risotto for lunch…

olive oil, leek, fennel, red pepper, three types of mushroom, chicken (optional), chicken stock, white wine, Arborio rice, cream or parmesan cheese .

yummy yum yum~

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ingredients:

boiled quail eggs, usually comes in 18.

1 bag 떡볶이 떡 (duk bok ki, rice cake). can buy then in a asian/ korean market.

3 cup water

2 tbsp for mild/ 3 tbsp for spicy korean chili paste (go chu zang)

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 1/2 tbsp sugar. if you like it sweeter you can add more.

roughly chopped cabbage about 1 1/12 cup

1/2 cup thinly chopped carrots

3 green onions chopped in about 1 inch

1 cup fish cake roughly chopped. can buy this in asian/ korean market.

in a deep frying pan pour the water in and add chili paste, soy sauce, sugar, and mix it well. then add the duk, rice cake, quail eggs, cabbage, carrot, green onion, and fish cake. stir then all together and let it boil until the duk is soft and cooked , keep stirring so the duk wont stick the the pan and until the liquid is thick.

*i added peanut butter for nuttiness, just a hint of makes it yummy, about 1 -1/2 TBSP.

yum yum~!

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ingredients

Topping:

1 cup flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons melted butter
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cheesecake:

2 packages cream cheese (room temperature)

1/3 cup of creme fraiche or if you can’t find it, heavy cream 1/4 cup

1 1/2 tsp corn starch
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

blueberry:

1 1/2 cup of blueberries

1/3 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Make the topping.  Melt the butter and add dry ingredients to the butter and mix well.  Set aside.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time until well incorporated.  Add the zest, lemon juice and vanilla.  Beat well.

fill the muffin tins 3/4 of the way.  fill the top with the crumb topping.  Bake for about 25 minutes.

pour 1 cup of blueberries in a blender and puree until smooth. then transfer the pureed blueberries to a small sauce pot and add the sugar. bring it to boil until sugar is dissolved then add the rest of 1/2 cup of blueberries, simmer it for about 5 mins and let it cool.  drizzle over the cool cheese cake cupcakes.

TADA~!

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one of my favorites… KIMBOP. it’s a roll with meat, egg, spinach, pickled radish, seasoned burdock (what it is), carrot, and crab meat… well thats what i put in this roll. =) i also made duk-bok-gi with it. dukbokgi is rice cake with spicy sauce. this is one of my favorite street foods in korea. it’s soooo yummy~!

HOW TO MAKE KIMBOP:

ingredients

for seasoning: soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seed, black pepper, brown sugar, crushed and mince garlic, minced green onion, and rice vinegar.

filling: beef rib eye (bulgogi), spinach, carrot, cucumber, pickled radish, seasoned burdock, crab meat, egg, rice, and nori (what it is), and sushi rice.

tools: bamboo sushi roller

for bulgogi –  soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seed, black pepper, brown sugar, crushed and minced garlic, and very-finely minced green onion… mix the ingredients and pour over the beef rib eye. let it sit in the refrigerator for about an hour. and pan cook it.

*you can sub the meat with hot dog. make sure you strip it in half  or even in quarters, and cook it.

spinach - blanch the spinach in boiling water, then squeeze the water out (don’t throw away the water). season the spinach with sesame oil, sesame seed, and salt.

carrot - cut the carrot into long strips, a quarter-inch wide. blanch them in the saved spinach water.

cucumber - cut the cucumber into half (length-wise) and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. then cut it into quarter-inch strips.

egg - scramble five eggs in a bowl and season it with salt. cook the egg in a wide frying pan, evenly. let it cool and cut it into strips.

pickled radish and seasoned burdock – if you go to a korean supermarket, you can buy pickled radish and seasoned burdock for kimbop thats already cut into strips.

crab meat – if it’s watery, squeeze out the water. strip the crab meat in half, so it won’t be too big.

put the prepared fillings on a tray, neatly. =)

rice – let the rice cool and then season the rice with rice vinegar, sesame seed, and sesame oil. make sure you use sushi rice.

*i used mixed grain, but it’s easier to use white sushi rice. but, if you do use mixed grain, make sure you soak  in water for about 15 mins; put enough water so the the rice will be nice and moist. using a pressure cooker helps alot.

prepare your station. make sure all the ingredients are within reach. you will need a bowl of water to wet your fingers in and to wet the ends of the nori when you roll the kimbop. use extra sesame oil to brush onto the finished kimbop.

place the nori on top of the sushi roller and scoop about one cup of rice for every roll. place it on top of the nori. wet your fingers and using the tips of your fingers, spread the rice evenly covering about 2/3 of the nori. then place the fillings – i usually put the spinach first, then the meat… then everything else follows. leave about 1& 1/2 inch of rice so you can cover the fillings when you roll (as you see in the pictures above).

using the sushi roller, cover the fillings with the nori, bringing the end of the nori and covering the filling. gently squeeze the end to where the filling ends. then hold the end of the sushi roller, lift it up with one hand, and use your other hand (palm) to push gently to the end. to get the ends to stick, lightly wet the ends of the nori with your hand. drop about 1/4 teasp  of sesame oil on top of the rolled kimbop and brush it across with your hand.

cut them into half-inch pieces (bite-size) and they are ready to eat! yummy!

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i made the bag with canvas that i hand silkscreened. the weird looking animal was drawn by kristen when she was 5. i made the image into a design. the inside fabric is from mozambique. i brought a bunch of fabrics from the missions trip.

LABOR OF LOVE…

=)

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recently, i went to purl soho (it’s a wonderful fabric and yarn shop). it was the first time since they moved. i kind of miss the old tiny store. =)  i love going there and i can stay there for hours picking out what i want and just feeding my eyes. this time i went and i fell in love with a fabric, but i couldn’t get myself to make the purchase because it was just too expensive – $35/yard. plus, it didn’t go with anything that i had picked out. but i can’t stop thinking about that textile. the sad thing is, i can’t find it on their website now even if i wanted to buy it. i’m hoping that when i go back next time it’ll still be there. i’ll get it then.

i went through my fabric basket and i still have the fabrics that i bought a while back in purl. i didn’t know what to do with them, and i still kind of don’t… but i borrowed some books from the library and also bought a book while i was visiting korea. looking through them, hopefully i’ll get inspired to create something.

fabrics from all over the world… africa, china, japan, and US. i’ve had these fabrics for about 2 years now. i think with the african fabrics im going to try to make a dress, or some sort of clothing.  i wore some of the mozambican fabrics while i was there. wish i had bought more…

Oh i miss mozambique~! the kids!

if you are interested in missions or sponsoring a child click here.

as for the fabrics, i’ll post what i create with them as soon as i do.

=)

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my prints on canvas…

i love the process of hand silkscreen. from creating the image to shooting the image on the screen and to the print. it is a long process but the result is so satisfying and you end up with a beautiful product.

there are different printing solutions for different designs and materials. for example, the flying girl, i had to print the outline of the girl out first in black and then add the colors using translucent ink. for the unicorn i printed the color first with opaque ink and then the black outline with the words. i feel like key to a good print is patience and preparation.

making things with these prints are fun and no one out there will have the same one. i have already made a tote bag for a friends birthday and i also have these prints on t-shirts. i will post the bag and tees soon.

this entry is making me want to find if there is a silkscreen studio nearby. i want to print!

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pink peonies one of my favorites…

iris. colors are amazing…

i think this is also in the peonies family.

my little garden on our balcony.

strawberry, golden raspberry, and regular raspberry.

calla lily, another one of my fav flower.

growing strawberries… super easy to maintain and  they are yummy.

my tomatoes… these are going to take a while to grow.

basil… the ones in the tomato can are growing faster for some reason. i think it might be the soil.

cant wait for my little plants to grow. trying to make a habit of growing my own food even if i have small space and i can grow only few things.

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