Bake Lasagna using Slow Cooker

Ever since I'm pregnant with baby Joel, I love to cook... I'm not sure why. Cooking or baking is kind of craft too... Don't you think so? A kind of hobby, involves patience & creativity... :)

My dear SIL passed me her slow cooker the other day cos she has no patience using the slow cooker, it's too SLOW to COOK... Excited of having the slow cooker, I started to search for slow cooker recipes... Hundreds of recipes can be found. However, I was kinda confused with those cooking terms, until I came across this wonderful site: http://recipetips.com! Not only sharing about recipes, it also shares pictorial cooking guides using slow cooker!

Best of all, they have my favorite dish recipe, LASAGNA! Well, for those who wonders what is Lasagna, a dish with layers of pasta & beef bakes at high temp. and it's Garfield's favorite dish too... =P

http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--1279/slow-cooking-whole-meal-recipes.asp

Now then I know, how easy it is to cook Lasagna. Following the ingredients on the site, I went for groceries shopping on Friday night. To bake lasagna using slow cooker requires 4 to 5 hours to cook, that is how SLOW COOKER gets its name. Of cos you can bake it using oven... :) The preparation and cooking method are the same.

On Friday night, I prepared & cooked the fillings: Simple ingredients - Onions, garlic, beef, tomatoes, spaghettis sauces and lots of cheese... Let it cooled down, then put into the fridge.

On Saturday morning, around 10am, I started with soften the lasagne noodle in boiling water. I used around 6 pcs of lasagna noodles.

1stly, I spread one layer of fillings at the bottom of the slow cooker.

Then followed by lasagne noodle.

Lastly, spread 'KRAFT' grated parmesan cheese on top of lasagna noodle.

Repeat the steps from spreading filling to spreading cheese for 3 times.

Once done, it's time to cook using SLOW cooker. Set to HIGH knob and cook for 1 hour. Then, set to AUTO knob and cook for another 3 hours.

.......After 3 hours

Well, a bit soggy but the taste is good... Not bad for first timer... =P

Draw String Pouch for a friend...

A close friend of mine is celebrating her birthday today. I've made this string pouch for her so she can use it during lunch time. :) I hope she'll like it.

*Getting ML to hold the pouch for me.... Thanks, Ger*

Making Bean Sprout Husk Pillow for Tong Tong...

Bean Sprout Husk Pillow is for babies & toddlers. According to the older generation, husk pillow is used to calm babies and made them feel more secure. According to my own study, babies like to have something pressing on their back or stomach, as the husk pillow has a certain weight. The husk is pretty light weight and it will not cause any discomfort. At the same time, it is porous, so, baby still feel cooling while using it.

The most challenging part of making the husk pillow is CLEANING the husk.

Initially, it was pretty hard to find the husk. My mother-in-law was telling me that I need to get it from the bean sprout supplier. Well, consider myself very fortunate, I managed to find bean sprout husk at a market near my place. :) The uncle was very kind to give me a big plastic bag full of husk at NO CHARGE! =D

Like I've mentioned, CLEANING the husk is very tedious. Thank GOD my Mom-in-law is pretty experience in the cleaning process. First of all, she had to pick all sprouts out from the husk. Then later, she washed it in hot water because it's kind of smelly... AND, she had to do a few times to get rid of the smell. Then, the husk MUST be dried under an optimum sunlight. Unfortunately, during that past few weeks, the weather was cloudy. If it's not dry enough, it will start to rot & smell. So, she had to wash it again. :( Took her 3 weeks to finally clean the husks. Big thanks to my mom in law.... :)

See the end result?? The husk has to be very very dry....

The size of the pillow case that I've made was around 30cm by 20cm. It was a bit too big. The ideal size would be 30cm by 15cm.

Then, I rolled up a paper like a cone to assist in pouring the husk into the pillow case.

Once completed, I've made a pillow cover because husk pillow is not suppose to be washed.

I've made this specially for my dear niece, Tong Tong....

Wedding Couple for Suz

Suz has ordered a wedding couple for her friend since March! I don't have any wedding picture for reference. So have to use my imagination to create this couple.

I've made a pair of white suit & pants for the bridegroom. As for the bride, I've made a simple gown decorated with crystals.

Mmm... After I've completed this couple, there's something wrong... So, I seek some advises from my friends as well as Suz. It was the bride. She looked quite plain. So I redo the gown for her.

"Ta-da"

I've crocheted a violet dress for her. This is the first time making a gown in other colours than white.... Initially, I was quite worried about the turn-out. After decorated with lace & beads ribbon... Hey, the bride looked very pretty... Thank God Suz likes it to.... :)

Doily Exchange for Irma

A doily for Irma... :)

Wedding Couple for EP

A sweet lovely bride-to-be, EP, has ordered a wedding couple from me few months back... Due to my sickness, I was unable to complete it earlier... :( Thank GOD she LOVES them...

Decorated the bride with paper flowers that I've bought from Bangkok and also crystal paste-on beads...

Well, EP has a special request... :) She will like the groom to wear a pair of specs... So, I've bought this pair from Spotlight. Fit just nice...

Calla Lilies for SY

SY is getting married this coming Saturday... Congratulation!!

She ordered 10 calla lilies from me to give to her loved ones... I'm glad she like it very much. But I apologize for not able to do more than 10 as I've not been feeling too well lately...

Wedding couples for YH

My aunt specially order this pair of wedding couples for her best friend YH who is getting married in June... =D

Few customized wedding couples to rush 'till end of this year... First of all, I'll like to thank all of you for your supports. =D More room for improvement and I'm working hard to improve my workmanship... :)

Jerry, the mouse

I've made this little mouse for my nephew, Jun Ming...

Without looking at any pattern, I managed to get Jerry out within 5 HOURS!!! That's super long...

Jerry was made of organic baby cotton.. Since it's for baby, I sewn the eyes instead...

My friend suggested that I make a pair of boxing gloves for him. So I decided to make a new one. By the time I wanted to make another Jerry, I've forgotten how I did the first one... Sigh.... Here GOES my 5 HOURS!

Day 2 - Ultimate STASHING Experience @ Chatuchak Weekend Market

All crafter friends will love this....

Chatuchak Weekend Market is a MUST GO PLACE for all crafter friends... Even how humid, hot & smelly the place is, it's a worthy place to go!!!

I was well-prepared, I wore a sleeveless T-shirt with short pants & a pair of slippers to Chatuchak (A.K.A JJ market to the Thais)... Getting off from Mok Chi station, I went to hunt for money changer.. It was so convenient, you will find one money changer in every BTS Station... The rate was pretty good too...

When I was in the market, I went to look for a map... This time, it was more convenient compared to last time, every store will keep maps of JJ market.. You just ask them for one, they are obliged to give to you... The map was very very informative and colorful... All stores were categorized by numbers and colors... Stores selling crafting materials & supplies were found from row 17 - 19... You can find number coding on every store. So, you'll not get lost easily.. But I did get lost la, maybe too tired... :p

I was so excited when I saw sooo many interesting crafting supplies... You can find colorful craft papers for scrap books... Miniature items for decoration & charms... Ribbons & fake flowers, fabrics, and lots, lots, more!!!!

Miniature plants for decoration

Miniature dishes for decoration & charms

Paper flowers & ribbons supply store...

Store that sells patch works & dolls..

Store that sells phone charm & key charm...

I bought a lot of thing from the market... I've bought few packets of paper flowers, packaging material, souvenirs & gifts for friends, nice fabrics, bags & shirts... I had spend whole day in JJ....

Day 2 - BIG KNIT CAFE

Big Knit cafe is a casual meeting place for everyone who wants to learn and share their passion in crochet & knitting... This concept is what most of my crafter friends and myself dream to have...

Betsy was the one who encouraged me to find out more about Big Knit, cos we had intention to open such shop in Singapore. The day before I asked the hotel staffs, they told me that this place is very far from hotel. It's better to take train than taxi... The nearest BTS is Thong Lor. I was contemplating to go or not to go since it's so far and my time was limited too...

I woke up very early on the 2nd day. After having my breakfast, I finally decided to explore BIG KNIT... Before taking BTS @ Chi Lom station, I made a phone call to check what time they open. Nobody pick up my call.. Started to get worry, not sure whether they have opened or not. Heck care, I just took BTS to Thong Lor... Alighted at Thong Lor, I showed the map to an officer. He told me that it was quite far inside and I might need to take a cab.

Then I took this small little lorry where you can sit behind the lorry... Something like a tuk-tuk car... The driver charged 20 bahts for the ride (which less than S$2)...

WOW! Apparently, BIG KNIT cafe is located in the middle of a PRIME AREA! Something like River Valley or Holland Village in Singapore... There were many interesting shops along the way and big mansions & classy condos too... Finally, I had reached BIG KNIT cafe. THANK GOD THE CAFE WAS OPENED!

BIG KNIT cafe occupied two units of shop. Quite a big and spacious place... I saw few people chit chatting & knitting... Then I was greeted by this lovely lady called Yin. She seems to be the person in-charge of the cafe. But she's not the owner... Thank GOD, she could speak fluent English... Unfortunately, the owners were not around. They were overseas sourcing for new yarns. So, I asked her few questions about the cafe... More than willing she told me most of what I wanted to know...

Something about Big Knit Cafe:

It was opened by a middle aged lady and passed down to her daughter, who just turn 24 this year. Both mother and daughter LOVE to knit & crochet... Few years ago they set up a yarn shop on 3rd floor that occupied only one small unit, their customer base grew bigger and they also started to stay longer in the shop... As a result the shop was always very crowded. Then, they decided to shift down to ground floor and took up 2 units... Besides that, they also had an intention to change mind set of most people about knitting and crochet that crochet & knitting are not for elderly people only (your ang ma and auntie).... I TOTALLY AGREED!!

They had put in a huge one-time investment in this new set up which combined cafe, workshop & yarn supply into one... The new concept had portrayed an image of modern & funky, cosy & homely feeling to people. Hence, they attracts quite a large group of youngsters, young adults and executives.

Well, as most business, they didn't make any profit for the first few months... But after awhile, thing started to pick up especially after, they did some publicity on national TV and paper too.. Create more awareness...

Note: Picture contributed by Nice, the owner of Big Knit Cafe

All their yarns are imported because local yarns are quite limited. The yarns are range from 170 bahts (S$7) - 680 bahts (S$30)... Huge variety of yarns... I bought three types of yarns, yarns that cannot be found in Singapore... According to Yin, next month, they will be bringing in few 100 types of yarns from over the place...

This is Yin... I think she's the store manager...

Besides that, they do sell crochet needles, books & finished products... They also conduct workshops and they invite a Japanese lady who knows how to speak Thai to teach in their workshops too... So, they have a pool of Japanese customers...

If any of you will like to visit Big Knit Cafe @ Bangkok, please visit this site: http://www.bigknit49.com... It opens at 9am everyday... The nearest BTS will be Thong Lor... In few months time, they will open a spa next door for their customer to relax after long hours of knitting and crocheting... COOL RITE!?

After my visit at Big Knit cafe, I made my way to Chatuchak... To be continued.....

Day 2 - Discovering the Ultimate SHOPPING EXPERIENCE!

After I had checked in to the hotel, I took a 10 mins walk down to the PLATINUM with the help of a map...

While walking, I came across two crafting shops... Very old and run down crafting shops that were selling mostly buttons, threads & also yarns... I had problem communicating with the shop's assistants as they don't really speak English... :( They were selling mostly local yarns and were very cheap!! One ball of acrylic 50g yarn cost from S$.80 to S$1.20! But the quality of the yarns was very bad! It's something like ORION yarn... I only bought a few to show to my crafting friends...

Finally, I reached Platinum!!! GOSH!! HUGE Shopping Complex with 7 floors of shops!!!

Shopping in Platinum was an experience! They were selling almost everything, from t-shirt to dress, office wear to shoes, accessories to bags & etc, etc, etc....

Whenever I asked: "How much"...

The shop-keeper would say "XXX bahts"....

Then I would frowned and asked: "Cheaper?"

Followed by her saying, "How many you want? If you buy many many, then I give your YYY bahts"

"But I only want to buy one"

She would think for awhile and offered, "for you special, at ZZZ bahts"....

But I would bargain for a bit more, knowing the whole-sell price was YYY bahts. So, I'll tell them that I wanted to bring sample back and if my buyers like, I'll buy more... Normally, they would ask a little bit higher than whole-sell but definitely lower than retail pricing.... Done deal....

I prefer bargaining @ shopping ctr than market... Cos, at the market, they would start with a ridiculous price and lowered down to a bargain price... My bargaining power is very bad and I don't like to be offended or offend them either... So, normally I would not ask unless I wanted to buy...

Shops in the Platinum....

Shop that sells T-shirts in a container...

Shop that sells phone charms such as Voodo Dolls....

Shop that sells beads supply

Shop that sells accessories

However, this shopping centre closed @ 7pm.... I started my shopping spree @ 2pm and barely covered 5 floors!! Each floor has over 100 units of shops.... I saw a lot of youngsters & some S'poreans dragging huge canvas bags to fill up supplies!