The making of the perfect pickle

Pickled radish must be my favorite pickle and I used to gobble it all up when it was served along side spring rolls in Vietnamese restaurants. A few years ago I found out that it's really not difficult to make at all - and it's totally worth the twenty minutes to cut up the daikon radish and the carrot to have pickle whenever you want.


In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup white vinegar and 1 cup sugar over low heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Make sure this is done in a well-ventilated area because the smell could really get to you. While the vinegar is cooling, take a daikon radish about a pound and a half to two pounds, a small carrot and cut them into sticks - the daikon radish about 1cm x 1cm x 5cm; and the carrot into matchstick size. Then slice a bird eye chili pepper open to remove the seeds and cut into rings, and chop up a handful of coriander.


After the vinegar has cooled, pour into glass container and throw in everything else.


Leave container in fridge overnight, then enjoy by itself as a snack/side/app, in a Vietnamese sandwich, or in rice paper rolls.

Fluffy scarf

My ADHD manifested as the intense urge to start a new project when I found among my stash a ball of novelty yarn that I had picked up in Hong Kong a few years back, despite the numerous work-in-progress nearing their two-year mark. I had high hopes and many different ideas for this "yarn", which is basically a rope with fuzzy pom-poms along its length.












The pastel color combination had me at first sight - I was gonna take it home with me even though I couldn't exactly decide what I was gonna do with it.


After looking up patterns featuring similar yarns available in North America such as the Pom-a-doodle by Red Heart and experimenting with several of the more interesting ones, I took the basic concept from the loopy scarf pattern but made my own modifications, resulting in a scarf that is bulkier along the body and longer to suit my height.










It was done within three hours since it is basically two rows of crochet, and somehow it really reminds me of an Easter bunny. Plus I still have a small ball of left-over yarn to play with! Next time I come across this yarn I am going to have to stock up!

Some TLC for my eyes

Just picked up the Vitamin C eye reviver duo from the Body Shop with their 3 for $30 promo - I had been on the lookout for a rollerball- type eye care product after seeing the one from Clinique and after Michelle told me about the one from Garnier - I was curious and really wanted to try it out for myself what the buzz is all about.






On one end is the gel applied with the rollerball to "refresh around the eye" - the gel was very light weight and the cold metal felt really nice against the skin. The skin under my eye felt a little bit tighter, although it is not visually noticeable.




On the other end is a cream to "revive under the eye" but I am not too crazy about the wand applicator and the cream didn't seem to do much. I know I can't expect results after just one application but I'm still a wee bit disappointed when B couldn't notice the difference between my left eye which I tested the product on and my right eye which i had left bare.

Stuck...

Got stuck at phase 3 for what seemed like forever in our game of Phase 10 tonight... sort of like how I'm stuck now at a certain phase in life for the longest time and no matter how I try I just can't break through to the next phase, while everyone else is getting ahead...

Yummy healthy snack

For a quick and healthy snack that satisfy both the tummy and the palate, try this yummy yogurt parfait:






Cut up fruit - in this case, strawberries - and place into serving dish.




Spoon yogurt over fruit.




Top with muesli and dried fruit - viola!


Packed with fiber, protein and calcium, it makes for a great breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack minus the guilt. And the possibilities are endless - mix it up with different combinations of fruit and yogurt!

Let's celebrate with green beer!

New Gears for Tremblant

Since B's binding lost a strap when we went snowboarding on Thursday and the end-of-season sales are starting, we had all the excuses we needed to check out Corbett's in Oakville.


We learnt our lesson last time when we didn't go check it out early enough and missed the deals. (quantities limited - and the best deals are often what they have low inventory) So this time we made a point to be there soon as it opened, but even so the store was already packed with fellow bargain hunters. We had clear goals - bindings for him, boots for me ( I can't stand my old boots anymore since they are too big that my heels lift when carving and they take so much efforts just to be laced up properly.). B had also been eyeing the new style of goggles - the ones without the bulky frames. We had to fight for the attention if the staff to get what we wanted, and the lineup weaving through the store took us over an hour to get through, but in the end it was worth it. Everything was half off, so we afforded to splurge a little and picked up more than what we aimed for.


Here are my loots:




B got what he wanted: