Purple Lace Cut Out Back T-shirt & Paleo Asparagus Pesto Sauce

My white tee has become over sized and not worn much so I decided to spice it up a bit by adding purple lace to the back.

You will need: a t-shirt, scissors, 1 inch lace/trim, needle, and thread

Lay your shirt flat and cut about 3 inch sections on back of your shirt

Wrap each lace around each section and sew with needle and thread.

The finish product:

Paleo Asparagus Pesto Sauce

bunch of asparagus
12 tbsp olive oil
8 tbsp chopped walnuts
salt and pepper for taste

1. Chop asparagus (remove white ends)
2. Bring water to boil and add in asparagus. Cook for about 2 mins. Remove from heat and cool the asparagus with ice cold water to stop asparagus from cooking.
3. Blend asparagus, olive oil, and walnuts in blender. Add salt and pepper for taste.

I put some of the pesto sauce over some baked salmon. Yum!

P.S. Thank you so much for reading our blog. Happy 1st birthday to our baby F.L.A.N! :)

<3, phu

A Bowl of Rice and a Cup of Tea

My style of cooking consists of digging through the fridge/pantry and throwing everything together. So fried rice is a go-to, all-in-one meal at my place. This time I made fried rice with bacon, shiitake, asparagus, and garlic.

 

Some Tips:

• Day-old rice is best (it's not as moist so it won't get mushy on you)
• Sautee everything separately since they cook at different speeds
• Preheat the rice and fry with sesame oil and/or peanut oil
• Add oyster sauce and soy sauce in conservative amounts to taste
• Add a little chili oil at the end for a subtle kick or pickled veggies for a refreshing bite
• Try white pepper instead of black
• Pack the finished fried rice in a bowl, place a plate on top, flip it over, and top with a fried egg for a pretty presentation

My D.I.Y. approach is similar to my cooking style in that I rummage through accumulated odds and ends, throw something together, and hope it's palatable. As I was walking through SF Chinatown one rainy afternoon, I stumbled upon a little shop of crocheted oddities and various christening paraphernalia. I picked up two cotton doilies for $2.50. They sat in my fabric scrap bin until last night, when I realized I had been wearing the same blue, raw-edge sweater from Urban Outfitters for the last six years! Time for an update.

Instructions:

1. Tea/coffee dye the doilies - This works best on 100% cotton or silk
• Place the items in a small cup (like I did in my My Dear Darling mug)
• Add multiple tea bags or satchels of coffee grinds wrapped in cheese cloth - Tea stains more orange and coffee stains more brown
• Cover with boiling water and leave until satisfied with color
• Rinse in cold water and dry
• Note: The finished product will dry lighter
2. Use pins to hold the doilies in place and sew by hand or on the machine (I just ran a simple stitch around each doily but let the scalloped edge creep into the neckline)
3. Turn inside out and carefully cut away the sleeve to show a little bit of skin

What do you think? The manfriend was afraid I might look like a 1920's football player, but he approved of the finished project ;)

<3 C

asparagus quinoa salad

asparagus is probably one of my top veggies. it's so easy to prepare.  my most common go to is lightly boiling it, and mixing mayo and lemon together for a dip.  or i'll lightly salt with sea salt and bake it off a little bit.

today, i thought i'd try something different for all of you.  i've been eating quinoa like nobodies business lately, and needed to change it up so that it wasn't just a side of grains.

i grabbed half a bunch of asparagus, snapped off the bottoms

chopped them up in about 1/4" pieces, set them aside, took some basil, roughly chopped them, set them aside
took my pan, lightly oiled it, and heated it to medium high, threw in the aspragus to get them tender, and a spoonful of minced garlic (i like garlic)

tossed in the quinoa and halved grape tomatoes, and mixed it all together to heat through. take it off the heat

salt & pepper to taste. top it with fresh basil.
squeezed some lemon over the top. add spoon.

tada, a filling and healthy asparagus quinoa salad

Asparagus & Quinoa Salad [servings 4]

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (prepare according to package)
• 1/2 bunch of asparagus
• 1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic
• cup of halved grape tomatoes
• 2 leaves of fresh basil, cut to your desire
• salt & pepper to taste
• squeeze of half a lemon, squeeze as desired, don't need to squeeze the whole lemon

1. prepare quinoa according to package, set aside
2. wash and chop asparagus to about 1/4" rounds
3. lightly oil your pan, toss the asparagus and garlic in pan, and saute for about 4 mins
4. add the quinoa and grape tomatoes, heat through
5. salt & peper to taste
6. plate, and top with basil and squeeze of lemon
7. add spoon. enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all enjoy this quick, healthy, and tasty meal.  Let me know how it works out for you!

<3 roe [a roesy life]

DIY: t-shirt to dolman top

i've been feeling super burned out lately.  maybe i need a vacation from vacation.  this past weekend, i finally had a weekend of nothing, i mean no birthdays, baby showers, weddings, dinners.  it was really all about me, and it felt good.  so i used this time to clean up, do loads of laundry, and catch up on crafting.

i got this Warriors t-shirt back in 2008-2009 season.. when I went to the opening game with the homies! for the past 6 years it's served as a great sleeping tee, but i thought it was time i refashioned and let this shirt hit the streets.

i found this great and easy tutorial from the beautiful and talented, Laura, over at Trash to Couture.

With some snips here...

Blue Dots: Cut and then sew together
Red dots: Sew only
sorry it's difficult to see.. note to self for later posts

and some running through a sewing machine here, and cutting off the excess side fabric after you sewed up the red dots...

i got this new casual shirt that i can wear in public and represent.

Perfect time since they are now playoff bound!!

Hope you all enjoyed this tutorial! i can't wait to do more.

thanks for reading!

<3 roe [a roesy life]

beer bacon mac & cheese

As a surprise, I cooked this beer bacon mac and cheese for the birthday boy. He loves mac and cheese and beer so I found this recipe that incorporated the two. I added bacon to it since I love bacon (and I think he does too haha). :)

8 oz elbow macaroni
4 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup of stout beer (or any beer)
8 ounces (2 cups) of shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
4 slices of bacon

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease a baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta to al dente according to package. Cook bacon according to package and cut into pieces.

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt, garlic powder, mustard, and black pepper until smooth. Add milk and beer until thick and simmering. Stir in cheese and cook until all cheese is melted.

Combine cheese mixture with macaroni until fully coated. Pour into greased baking dish and top with bacon. Bake for 25 mins.

I think he enjoyed this dish as much as I did, I hope you do too! :)


<3, phu