Showing posts with label easy. Show all posts

Saturday, November 9, 2019

15 Easy to Prepare Platter Salads for Dinner Time

The weather is warming up, it’s time to drag the barbecue out and start grilling that meat. Summer time is here. There’s pasta salad, potato salad and coleslaw to make but no time, right? These easy to prepare platter salads are great to prepare ahead of time and make the perfect accompaniment to any family dinner.

Easy to Prepare Platter Salads for Dinner Time Domesblissity.com

There are no hard or fast rules with these recipes. In fact they are a great way to use up vegetables and/or fruits that are getting near their use by date.

It’s best to keep a good supply of pantry staples like oils, vinegar, herbs and spices, nuts, canned pulses etc to throw together these one platter salads so everyone can help themselves and, most importantly, you aren’t spending a lot of time in the kitchen preparing a variety of salads.

If you’re looking for platters, I love this three (3) piece porcelain set from Kovot.

Meal Suggestions

Dinner can comprise grilled, poached, fried, baked meats, for example, with one of these salads. Serve with bread rolls, pita bread, Lebanese bread, garlic bread and you’ve got an easy meal on the table.

Add the grilled meat to the salad or just have another protein like canned pulses, boiled eggs or cheese for a meat free dinner.

Ingredients List

Vegetables

Tomato, cucumber, onion (red, spring, white, brown), cabbage, leftover roast vegetables, avocado, corn, capsicum (peppers), lettuce (iceberg, gem, cos), broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, snow peas, olives, pumpkin, sweet potato, frozen vegetables

Fruit

Pears, pomegranate, lime, orange, apples, melon, pineapple, berries, lemon

Herbs (Fresh or Dried)

Parsley, coriander (cilantro), mint, oregano, basil

Spices

Salt, pepper, dried coriander, cayenne pepper, sumac, Dijon mustard, cumin, paprika, onion powder, fennel seeds

Other

Extra virgin olive oil, eggs, canned pulses (chickpeas, lentils, black beans), nuts (any kind), sugar, vinegar (white wine, red white, white, apple cider, rice wine), pasta (any kind), cheese (goat’s cheese, feta, cheddar, mozzarella), fruit juices, Greek yoghurt, mayonnaise, honey, sesame oil, seeds (sesame, pumpkin, chia), soy sauce, maple syrup, garlic (fresh or crushed), ginger (fresh or crushed), pesto, tahini, grains (couscous, quinoa)

Platter Salads

Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpea, & Arugula (Rocket) Salad

Grilled Peach & Sweet Potato Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

Chopped Thai Salad with Sesame Garlic Dressing

Of course, you are not limited to the ingredients in these recipes. They really only serve as a guide. It’s all about using the fresh vegetables you have plus any canned pulses you’d like to add for more protein or even to eat as is as a whole meal.

Check out the ingredients list and keep a few different oils, nuts, seeds, vinegars etc in your pantry so you can make any or all of these platter salads for your next dinner or barbecue. I trust it makes meal times more easy and enjoyable for you and your family.

15 Easy to Prepare Platter Salads to make Dinner Time Easier Domesblissity.com

Thursday, May 3, 2018

22 Easy & Useful Crochet Projects for Beginners

Have you ever thought about trying a new craft? Crochet is one of those crafts that is easy and produces results quickly. The best part is you can create useful items for around the home or even fashionable items to complement your wardrobe. Here are 22 easy and useful crochet projects for beginners plus a few supplies that you will need.

22 easy and useful crochet projects for beginners www.domesblissity.com

Besides being able to create useful items for yourself like beanies, scarves and sweaters, you can make the kid’s clothes or baby booties if you are expecting or know of someone having a baby. There are also so many useful projects to make for around the home. Dish cloths, hand towel toppers, cushion covers, blankets, throws, rugs and so much more.

Once you get the ‘hang’ of the basic stitches, you’ll be trying new patterns, different types of thread and creating more complex patterns but it really isn’t all that difficult once you can read a pattern.

The best part about crochet is that you’re making something useful and it’s very, very relaxing. You can do it in front of the television, on the bus, when you’re waiting for the kids at soccer practice, on your lunch break at work or whenever.

What You Need to Begin

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Crochet hooks come in all shapes and sizes. The finer the hook, the finer the crochet thread you’ll need for intricate work like edges of handkerchiefs or doilies. The larger the hook, the more loose the crochet pattern is and you can get some really chunky, open projects like throw rugs, shawls or scarves.

Thread comes in all forms. You can use the finest silk thread or something like baker’s twine to create something like a plant hanger, a scourer for pots and pans in the kitchen or a door mat. I like to use crochet cotton for edges on face washers and woolen yarn for larger projects like ‘granny squares’ or knee rugs.

Crocheted items make perfect DIY gifts too. Imagine a dish cloth, made by you with a bottle of nice smelling dishwashing detergent for a housewarming gift or a crocheted baby blanket for a newborn. A crocheted edge on a brand new face washer with a gorgeous cake of soap makes a perfect gift.

When you’re starting out, there is always a wide variety of thread available from the thrift shops for not a lot of money.

Until you get the basics covered, there are patterns galore in stores and online to create wonderful projects and designs. The basic stitches are easy to follow in these patterns so never think that the project isn’t achievable. I’ve made intricate doilies and edges on handkerchiefs that I thought I could never do. It’s the same basic stitches and a bit of counting.

The Basic Stitches

There are really only four (4) basic stitches you need to know to begin crocheting. They are:

slip knot: to create the first loop to begin and to join onto the next stitch when you’re finishing a row
chain stitch (CH): this is the most basic of all the crochet stitches and allows you to join clusters of patterns and continue your project
single crochet (SC): with the single crochet stitch you are now forming the basis of your design by pulling the thread through, creating what looks like a vertical stitch
double crochet (DC): like the single crochet but you are now creating two loops to draw the thread through and it creates a longer vertical stitch.

Here is a video tutorial of me showing how to start, how to master the basic stitches and produce a simple crocheted dish cloth which also forms the pattern for many different, simple projects that are useful and practical.

Once you master these, you’ll be well on your way to creating your own wonderful, useful projects. Below are 22 easy and useful projects I have put together that anyone at any age can do.

Beginner Projects

Matching Beanie & Scarf

Modern Crochet Granny Square Blanket

Beginner Baby Blanket

Crochet Slipper Socks

Simple Crochet Blanket

Crochet Knit Like Sweater

Chunky Crochet Pillow

Easy Infinity Scarf

Easy Dish Cloth

Cupcake Kitchen Towel

Crochet Hot Pad

Hand Towel Topper

I hope you have fun trying some of these easy and useful crochet projects for beginners.

Friday, April 27, 2018

Easy Thai Food at Home

Of all the Asian cuisines, I think Thai food has to be my favourite. That combination of sweet, salty, sour, bitter and hot. The aroma of steamed jasmine rice and coconut milk based sauces gets me every time. But Thai takeaway is a thing of the past for me. I’d much rather make it at home. It may not taste exactly the same as the restaurant but it’s still good. Here’s what you need to stock in your pantry to make easy Thai food at home.

Easy Thai food at home www.domesblissity.com

To make an authentic Thai flavoured dish, you need a lot of fresh herbs and vegetables. Some may not be as easily accessible to most of us but there are some amazing supermarket products on the market now that replicate a good Thai dish. Most ingredients are available from the supermarket but try your local farmer’s market for authentic Thai herbs and vegetables.

You’ll also have to try and balance the 5 tastes of Thai food, as mentioned above. You can do that with the following ingredients:

Sweet – cane or coconut palm sugar, pineapple
Sour – lemon, lime, tamarind, paw paw/papaya, raw mango, sour pineapple or other sour fruits
Salty – sea salt, soy sauce, fish sauce or sardine and other fish pastes
Bitter – bitter melon or raw leaves from various plants and trees (either wild or cultivated)
Hot – different chili peppers, fresh and dried, and peppercorns, fresh, pickled or dried, and ground peppers

In the Pantry

Jasmine rice, noodles (egg or rice), Thai pastes (red curry, yellow curry, Massamun curry etc), fish sauce, soy sauce, chilli (powder, paste or sauce), nuts (cashews, peanuts etc), powdered ginger, coconut milk, coconut cream, oil (for frying paste and/or meat), cinnamon, sesame seeds, sesame oil, nutmeg, curry powder, five spice powder, dried chillies, rice flour, salt and pepper

In the Fridge

Meat (chicken, fish, beef, seafood, pork, tofu etc), Thai pastes (after opening), shrimp paste, lime juice (or fresh limes), tamarind paste (the bitter flavour), crushed ginger (or fresh ginger)

Vegetables

Capsicum (bell peppers), fresh chili, cucumber, beans, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, salad vegetables, bean sprouts, cabbage, green onions (shallots), eggplant, bamboo shoots, asparagus, spinach, bok choy (and other Asian green vegetables), sweet potato, cassava, lotus root, taro, mushrooms