After completing my baby blanket project I had some yarn left over. I felt empowered by my success at this blanket, so I decided to once again attempt a hat.
Now hats are apparently and issue for me. I tried making one for myself as a trial for making one for my husband. It turned out all wonky and WAY too big, which is saying something since I come from a big-headed family. Other attempts failed as well, I never could really follow the tutorials as a rookie crocheter.
Until this one!
She walks through it perfectly and slowly. I FINALLY got a lovely little hat! And the simple flower was a bonus from this tutorial.
A lovely little addition to my blanket project for our baby girl!
I had some free time waiting for baby # 2 to show up so I decided to do a little crochet.
Now I'm not a knitter. A relative tried to teach me when I was younger and it never stuck. Recently I've tried a few crochet projects which have turned into misshapen hats and headbands. Then I found this - a seemingly super simple baby blanket project. I added the hat on afterwards when I had extra yarn.
I ordered 3 different colours of yarn in worst and bulky weight. Tip - check how big each skein is, I had to dig around and find 2 more skeins when I realized one colour came with less yarn.
The project is simple - pick different colours and weights if you like, and single chain a blanket as big as you like!
My blanket measured about 35" by 35" and is SUPER thick and soft. It's a little big to use for the car seat but it's lovely for tummy time or just warm cuddles. Next time I may use Sport weight yarn and make a lighter blanket, and maybe just a smaller version that fits better in the stroller or car seat.
Overall the project took me a couple weeks to finish, only really working in the evenings and the delay for finding extra yarn. This is a definite win project. Awesome for your self, your baby, or as a gift!
Back after a very long break. Pregnancy nausea and cooking don't really go well together :)
This was one of the first recipes I tried as I entered back into the kitchen. I've now made it twice and it was a huge hit both times. Takes about 10 minutes to make, even if you decide to add some protein to it!
Simple Sesame Noodles (with revisions)
12 ounces, fluid thin noodles, cooked and drained (Japanese noodles, linguini, angel hair, or spaghetti - which is what I used.)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar (I used brown sugar)
4 garlic cloves (I only used 3 - they were huge)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp pure sesame oil
1/2 tsp hot chili oil (replaced with 1/4 tsp chili powder)
4 tbsp canola oil (reduced to 1tbsp only)
4 whole green onions, sliced thin (Omitted - I didn't have any)
ADDITION TO ORIGINAL RECIPE - cooked shrimp or 1 inch chunks of cooked chicken, no seasoning added, cooked in sesame/canola oil (1/2 tbsp total)
Whisk together ingredients in a bowl (except noodles and green onion). Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss.
Sprinkle with green onion, toss if you wish
Serve!
This recipe is fantastic cause it fast, easy, and versatile. Again total cooking / prep time is about 10-15 minutes so this is the perfect weeknight dinner. You can easily add chicken, shrimp, or tofu plus a variety of vegetables to this recipe to round it out as a full meal. Personally I find a bowl of noodles a little unsatisfying. Pasta could be swapped for gluten free as well.
I found the amount of oil used to be WAY too much and I never used the maximum. Next time I may eliminate the canola oil totally, or do two and two of sesame and canola oil. Cutting the oil still provided enough sauce to cover the noodles with a lovely taste. I may swap the sugar for honey next time to see if it adds to the flavour. The onion would be a great addition, so I'll plan to have it on hand next time. This time I simply garnished with sesame seeds for visual appeal.
Not totally toddler approved - the garlic and sesame is quite potent, but I got a few bites in.
Overall a definite win and it'll be in our regular menu!
