Saturday, May 4, 2013

Have a picnic Tables - Steps to make an easy Lazy Susan For The Have a picnic Table

How big is your picnic table? Can you seat 16 people? The new popular octagonal and hexagonal picnic tables these days can be very large. This is fantastic because you can seat so many of your family and friends. And big is beautiful!

There is one small drawback however to large tables and that is you can't reach the food or drinks in the centre or the other side of the table without having to stand up and stretch over everything else.

The solution: A Lazy Susan! The Chinese use them extensively in their banquet rooms where the tables are also large. It is a simple answer to a frustrating challenge.

They can be purchased but it may not match up with the table that you have, especially if you have made the table yourself. If you have made yourself a large octagonal picnic table with octagonal segments in the table top, it would be great to have a matching Lazy Susan.

The following is a plan to match an octagonal picnic table with a table top measuring around 6'8" across to the parallel sides.

Materials required for a large octagonal picnic table

Lumber

1/2" Plywood 50"*50" square suitable for exterior use.

6*1 1/2 32' dry pressure treated pine

2"*4" 13' 2*4" dry treated pine

Nails / Screws

3" gal nails 32

1 1/2" screws 128

Turntable swivel A 12" to 14"

Tools Required

1) A power compound miter saw.

2) A circular saw

3) A drill and hole saw to make the hole for the umbrella.

4) Hammer.

5) Tape measure. Small hand plane. Adjustable square. Pencil.

6) Battery drill to screw all the screws in.

Step by step construction

Step 1

Cut the 2*4 accurately in half with the circular saw. This now gives you 2 pieces 2"*2".If you have an electric plane, smooth the saw cut. Now cut the 8 pieces to 19" with 45 degree angles. This is the outside frame.

Make sure that the cut side is down so that the saw cutting is not visible.

Step 2

Arrange the pieces on a flat surface in an octagon shape and nail them together.

Step 3

Place the frame onto the plywood board and accurately measure corner to corner until you get the frame perfectly "square". When you have it exactly right draw a pencil line right around the inside of the frame onto the plywood. (Note. If there are any gaps in the outside corners of your frame you may need to do some slight adjustments because this is what you are going to see.)

Step 4

Shift the plywood onto a bench and cut accurately along the line with the circular saw. Tidy up with the hand plane. You now have a perfect octagon to fit exactly inside the 2*2 frame. Place it inside the frame on a flat surface and rule lines between the opposite corners onto the plywood

Step 5

Now measure each board, cut and fit the outside row of 6*1 1/2. Plane the cut edge to give it a bevel. Don't nail anything. When the outside row is complete start on the next row and then the next until all the centre is filled. You will need to be accurate with cuts to make sure it all fits with no gaps.

Step 6

Nail 2 nails through each section of frame into the outside row of 6*1 1/2. Now turn the Lazy Susan over. Draw lines between the corners. Take a piece of 6*1 1/2 to use as a guide and draw where the boards would be on the other side. Do each board in turn because this gives you a guide as to where to put the screws.

When you know where all the screws go, screw the plywood tightly to the Lazy Susan top. In this way there are no nails or screws showing on the Lazy Susan top.

Step 7

Turn it over so that it is right way up. You should clearly see where the centre of the umbrella hole goes. Use the hole saw to make the umbrella hole.

Step 8

Centre the turntable swivel accurately and screw into place.

You now have a Lazy Susan to transport your food and drinks effortlessly around your large octagonal table.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

How to Make Cottage Cheese

As far as the cottage cheese is concerned it is definitely quite delicious. You can make it at home as well. In fact it is delicious and healthy form of cheese. The cottage cheese has derived its name from cottage itself where it can be made with quite an ease. You just cannot compare the rich taste of cottage cheese with the cheese brought from the stores. It is simply superb. In this article I will be explaining you the steps with the help of which you can build your own cheese at home.

The process goes like this:

Things required:

1. Stainless steel pan

2. A dairy thermometer

3. A large pan larger than your stainless steel pan to act as a double boiler.

4. A long spoon

5. Measuring cups and spoons.

6. A long handled knife

7. A colander

8. Cheese cloth

9. A mixing bowl

10. Four table spoon of unflavored yogurt.

Steps:

The first step is to pour a gallon of milk into the stainless steel pan. Heat the milk to 80 degree fareneheit using the double boiler method. Now you should add four tablespoon of unflavored yogurt to the milk and mix thoroughly. Now allow the mixture to sit at 80 degree farhenheit until the milk is clabbered. This whole process will take around twelve hours to complete. Allow the air to flow through it and hence use thin covering. When the milk is fully clabbered then you will say curd and a thin cheese material at the bottom of the pan. The top of the bowl will be filled with watery material.

Now use your long handled knife to cut the curd into small inch cubes. Then allow the cubes to settle for 15 minutes. And then stir them gently with hands.

Use the double boiler method to heat the curd at 115 degree farhenheit. Do not exceed the temperature to get the good quality cheese. Now your curd will be firm to touch.

Now line your colander with the cheese cloth. Pour the curd into it and then allow the curd to drain. Now lift the colander out of the cheese cloth. Then rinse the curd that remains that is left out with the cold water.

Now take out the strained curd and then mix some salt to it. You can also add skimmed milk or fresh cream to make it softer. In this way your cheese is ready and you can now enjoy your home made cheese in your own style.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Paella, The Favourite The spanish language Dish

First of all, paella is not exactly the dish but the recipient this typical plate is cooked in. We all have seen the paella pan before when visiting Spain or browsing the net for paella recipes

The typical paella a la valenciana was "invented" in a small village called El Perelló close to the city of Valencia. The unique situation of the village between a natural lake with sweet water and the sea provided to the habitants of the area all they needed to make a complete dish with many of the most important vitamins and minerals in a balanced combination.

With farmlands at hand where they grew rice and beans, the sea for shellfish and the lake for ducks together with their chickens gave the people of the area all they needed to make 2 different versions of the paella a la valenciana.

The first one is the paella made of meat. This paella is a combination of chicken and duck together with rice, lemon, olive oil, beans and saffron. But nowadays the duck is most of the times substituted by rabbit which is a lot easier to get and cheaper.

This type of paella is still very popular amongst the people of Valencia and it is very common to hear people say: "Sunday I am going to eat paella with my parents".

In the old days the paella was served in the paella pan and all who joined in at the table ate from the same pan with wooden spoons. Today most people prefer to have their portion on a plate.

Another typical paella was the one made of seafood, Paella de marisco. This paella is made of rice and seafood. The used ingredients are: sepia, calamares, lobster, mejillón o clotxina, garlic, lemon, rice, saffron, olive oil and beans ( octopus, squid and mussel) Clotxina is a smaller variation of the regular mussel.

The Recipe of the paella Valenciana

The quantities are /person

o Chicken (150 grs.)

o Rabit (150 grs.)

o Red paprika powder.

o Saffron

o 3 table spoons of natural tomato

o Green beans (70 grs.).

o Garrofón (a type of bean typical to Valencia (25 grs.)

o Haricot bean (25 grs.).

o water

o Olive oil (5 table spoons).

o Rice (125 grs.)

o Salt

o If you like it: half artichoke

Preparing the ingredients and the paella pan

The traditional way to prepare a paella is on a campfire but this is difficult to achieve at home so there is a very good alternative for this which is the double gas ring on a tripod with a bottle of gas.

The most important points according my mother in law when preparing the paella are: the fire below the paella pan must be the same on every part of the pan, you must be able to adjust the fire in 2 rings an outer and an inner ring and the paella must be completely in balance so that when you add water the level should be the same everywhere on the paella pan.

Preparing the paella Valenciana

Step one: 12 hours before starting to prepare the paella put the garrofón (a type of bean typical to Valencia) in water.

Step 2: Put the olive oil in the pan and when the oil is hot put in the chicken and rabbit and fry them until they have this golden look. We should try to distribute the pieces of meat evenly in the paella pan.

Step 3: Now we put in the different beans and the garrofón and fry them. If we want to add alcachofa (artichoke) we can add it now also. Make sure the fire is not very intense but neither to low.

Step 4: Add to the paella the red paprika powder and the natural tomato and mix them with the other ingredients.

Step 5: After a few minutes we add water to the paella. This is another crucial step in preparing a tasteful paella. If we add to much water, the paella will be to weak and if we add to little the rice will not be boiled sufficiently. But there is a small insiders trick to know what the right level is. On the outside of the paella pan there are 2 grips attached. They are attached to the pan with rivets who are clearly visible on the inside of the pan. This is the level of the water that must be added. Don't add more or less water it will ruin your paella.

Step 6: Put the fire intensity on high but not to high. We leave the paella now boiling for 3 - 5 minutes and then we lower the intensity of the fire to medium. Try the paella and if needed add salt to it. Leave the paella this way for about 13 - 17 minutes depending on the type of rice you used.

Step 7: A step that is forgotten by most people, turn out the fire and cover the paella with kitchen paper and leave the paella alone for another 5 - 10 minutes.

In the meanwhile cut a lemon in 4 and when the 5 or 10 minutes have passed you can put the lemon on the outside of the paella.

Serve separately with onion (my father in law and myself like to eat the paella with raw onion in one hand and the spoon in the other)

Preferred drink to go with the paella : a red wine from Valencia especially from the area of Utiel / Requena. (other Spanish wines will do also of course).

Enjoy this typical plate of Valencia

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Preschool Wacky Walk and Obstacle Course

Perhaps on a Wednesday:
Suggest that the children wear mismatched shoes and their clothes backwards Have lunch for breakfast-perhaps peanut butter and jelly and watermelon Have breakfast for lunch-sausage and waffles with fruit and milk Read Wacky Wednesday by Theo LeSeig (Dr. Seuss) For a snack, maybe a glass of milk with a gummy worm on a sandwich (I know gummy worms aren't nutritious; how about using whole wheat bread?:) Go for a wacky walk
Start out walking backwards for a short distance Then try walking sideways Walk wobbly Stomp Tip Toe Walk part of the way home going very slow Speed it up and walk fast Last of all, run the rest of the way home!
Preschool Obstacle Course

Groups of preschool children enjoy the fun of an obstacle course. Be creative with what you have available when setting it up. Equipment might include:
Sturdy picnic table to climb over or under Barrels or boxes with open ends to crawl through like a tunnel A 2x4 to use like a balance beam to walk across Hoola hoops to step through A jungle gym to climb over Tie a rope about 12"-18" off the ground between two patio supports or other objects for the children to crawl under on their stomach or limbo-style on their backs without touching the rope A step ladder laid down on the ground to step in each square A slide to slide down On a hot day, add a wading pool to slide down into or a sprinkler to run through. (An adult must be always at attention when a pool of water is used.)

Monday, April 22, 2013

Step2 Fun Fold Jr Picnic Table (New Colors) from Step2

Step2 Fun Fold Jr Picnic Table (New Colors)
List Price : $59.99

You Save : Check Cheap Price

  Check Offer listing

Turning the imagination to a actual life manufacture it may possibly take long occasions to full. But with the best skill of our production design team and professional specialists had been attempting to impress all consumer by spend attention to every customer's require and combine with our outstanding method to create Step2 Fun Fold Jr Picnic Table (New Colors) and It truly is include the future of fine living with technologies beautifully together.

Step2 in no way quit developing a greater idea to put together our best consequence for you. Step2 Fun Fold Jr Picnic Table (New Colors) come with spectacular design and extremely durability. We have an excellent feeling that in every utility that We have built into this newest product will make you gratify. We are able to provide you with a rational truth that we're specially give attention to all of the process of the manufacturing to create our product is really a reasonable item for a consumer like you. Step2 aim towards the requiring of consumer about how much they are able to afford for our excellent product. So we'll be sure that this newest item is in a reasonable value for every person.

High competitions on the web market place are making you a difficult choice. However with our intelligent qualification and appropriate value of Step2 Fun Fold Jr Picnic Table (New Colors) will make an less difficult way for you to pick our product to your home.

For more information Step2 Fun Fold Jr Picnic Table (New Colors) full review & compare prices

Step2 Fun Fold Jr Picnic Table (New Colors)

About Step2 The Step2 company began in 1991 with just five employees. Former founder of Little Tikes Company Thomas Murdough, Jr., founded Step2 on the basic values of quality and customer service. Headquartered in Streetsboro, Ohio, the company proudly creates their products in the USA and remains dedicated to designing products for helping kids thrive, learn, and grow.

Folds for storage. Cleans easily. Accommodates up to 4 children. Max weight 200 lbs.. Proudly made in the USA.

Feature

  • Picnic table folds for easy storage and wipes clean easily
  • Table top can accommodate an umbrella (not included)
  • Seats four children comfortably

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Step2 Play and Shade Patio Set from Step2

Know You Will Be Excited About Our Latest Step2 Play and Shade Patio Set

Though there are many items similar to our latest Step2 Play and Shade Patio Set previously on the market, we recognized that not one of them have had the characteristics that we have built in ours. The strategy driving our latest product is that rather than giving you yet another common model which does not do quite what it is advertised as carrying out, we wished to provide you with a product which went very far further than this.

Step2 Play and Shade Patio Set

The concept driving every new product isn't to only make another model of the identical ones that are previously on the market, no one wants that and also you'll find a lot of corporations currently doing this. At Step2 we started actually transform the Step2 Play and Shade Patio Set. Our technicians returned to the drawing board and began from the very beginning. We looked at what our original product had and then set out to make it better.

By being attentive to what our consumers wanted to state about what they loved and did not enjoy about the other Step2 Play and Shade Patio Set on the market, we labored very hard to include every one of the functions you have been asking for in our newest product. With these extra features and a few additional awesome modest touches that we added we Know that you're destined to be totally happy with this our newest offering. In order to make the bargain best of all we are bringing it to you at a super low introductory value that gives you serious bang for your buck.

Step2 Play and Shade Patio Set
List Price : $59.99

You Save : Check Price Now

  Check Offer listing

Durable indoor/outdoor table and chairs set is perfect for outdoor dining, games, projects and more. Table and chair legs feature unique "X" design base to provide superior durability and stability. Features fun, bright colors and a large 30" x 30" (76.2 x 76.2 cm) tabletop. Includes 40" (101.6 cm) adjustable-height umbrella, one table and two chairs.

Feature

  • Table and chair legs feature unique "X" design base to provide superior durability and stability
  • Fun, bright colors
  • Large 30" x 30" (76.2 x 76.2 cm) tabletop
  • Includes 40" (101.6 cm) adjustable-height umbrella, one table and two chairs
  • Seat height 11" (27.9 cm)

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Step2 Naturally Playful Sand & Water Center by Step2

Step2 Naturally Playful Sand & Water Center
List Price : $99.99

You Save : Check Lower Price

  Check Offer listing

If you are thinking that this can be the right time to give one thing unique for yourself such as acquire one thing fantastic for yourself or bring one thing fantastic into your property, normally you are going to constantly go for one thing that really good and inexpensive. Nevertheless it should be a valuable item for the main cause. And it ought to be far better if the item come from a dependable brand that is well-known everywhere. Step2 is giving you and every person the very best remedy with Step2 Naturally Playful Sand & Water Center. Our newest item which will full fill your need and it is launching now.

There's only our consumers that can comprehend clearly that how good of this modern day product apparatus. the very best technologies and newest condition that our specialist employed to operate this clever item will make Step2 Naturally Playful Sand & Water Center excellent for you and your property a lot more than any other related items inside the market place. And you are going to be understood that why there are numerous consumers extremely content with this item following they became one with the owners.

Furthermore, using the most reasonable price for this exceptional product will make Step2 Naturally Playful Sand & Water Center be one with the most common items on the global web marketing. And in the end of everyday you come property you are going to by no means really feel like exactly the same as ahead of.

Click here to read Step2 Naturally Playful Sand & Water Center full review & compare prices

Step2 Naturally Playful Sand & Water Center

2 years & up. This sand and water table is loaded with action, including two bridges, ramps, cups, and boats. The included umbrella keeps the play table safely shaded from the sun, and the cover fastens on securely at night for protection against the elements. The lid also doubles as an exciting track for cars! Assembly required. 21"H x 26"W x 46"D.

Feature

  • Features two sides of play - one for water and one for sand
  • Wood crafted styling blends well with natural landscapes
  • Includes 8-piece accessory kit: umbrella, 2 bridges, 2 boats, 2 pots and 1 shovel
  • Umbrella designed to provide your children protection from the sun
  • Elastic tie-downs keep lid secure and legs are detachable for easy storage