Archive for June, 2008

Bread and Olive Tapas

Sunday, June 22nd, 2008

By Sara Gray Delicious and satisfying tapas to make are simply chunks of bread with marinated olives. This is an authentic Spanish small plate. Here’s what you’ll need: Bread The best bread to use for bread and olive tapas, in my humble opinion, is any fresh baguette - easily found at your local supermarket or favorite specialty bread store. My favorite bread comes from Le Boulanger, here in the USA. They make wonderful fresh breads that come in lots of great flavors. If you want to get fancy and have the time, read this delicious recipe for a wonderful olive bread that you can make yourself with a bread-making machine. Bread is a staple of many tapas recipes. Making bread for tapas can be done well in advance and will taste great when you serve it with the olive marinade in these bread and olive tapas - yummy! Olives A couple of facts about olives. They come in all shapes and sizes (kinda like my friends and me!) and the color is determined by the ripeness rather than the type (they turn black as they ripen). Spain is the world’s largest producer of olives and tends to export them in brine, which does little for the taste unless you are in love with salt. The best way to handle that is to soak the olives to get rid of the brine, and then keep them in an olive oil marinade (see the recipe for Marinated Olives below). They’ll keep for up to 6 months in your refrigerator. Another solution, particularly if you are short for time, is to go to your favorite deli that does marinated olives and pick up a jar or two. Having said that, it’s hard to beat making your own marinade. Marinated Olives Soak the olives in water for about a half hour to get rid of the brine. Dry them on paper towels. The amount of marinade you make up depends on the quantity of olives. Here’s a guide to help you figure that out. What you’ll need: - 12 oz olives - Zest of a lemon - 1 tbsp fresh oregano - 1 tbsp fresh thyme - 1 tbsp fresh rosemary - 2 cloves crushed garlic- Black pepper - Olive oil Mix up the above ingredients with a couple of spoonfuls of virgin olive oil, then add the olives and coat them. Next, leave them for an hour or two before transferring to a sterilized storage jar. Then top the olives with your favorite olive oil to cover all of them. Pop them in the refrigerator for at least a week, and serve at room temperature. This is one of those recipes you can definitely make ahead to serve at any time. Some tips for the marinade: Use as much or as little garlic as you like. Use whatever herbs you wantAdd honey or orange juice for variationAdd 4 fl oz Vermouth to make something a bit differentDon’t add salt - the residue of the brine adds enough saltiness Serve your torn chunks of baquette or other bread on a pretty plate along with your marinated olives. Too delicious for words! Enjoy! Sara Gray is an avid lover of appetizers and has created a great website called Easy Appetizer Recipes where you can find delicious ideas for all kinds of hot and cold appetizers, raclette grilling, tapas small plates, snacks, chips and dip ideas, and appetizer soups. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sara_Gray http://EzineArticles.com/?Bread-and-Olive-Tapas&id=320617 hard money smell the roses no credit check saugus ma payday loan virginia unsecured loans bankruptcy bad-credit-personal-loan-source

Rock Painting, Fun and Easy!

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

By Catherine Pulsifer There are tons of rocks on our property. Different sizes and shapes. We started collecting these and started using acrylic paint to paint them. Our favorite rocks to paint are “lady bugs”. This is a very simple craft to do, simple, fun, and easy for both children and adults. You need: - rocks - acrylic paint (which usually costs no more than $1.50, one bottle will paint a lot of rocks) - clear varnish Steps in painting: - We first paint the entire rock black. - We then paint the sides of the rock (in half circles) red or yellow (or whatever color you have) - Once the sides are dry, we then go back and put a few black circles on the color portion. - We then paint in some eyes and a smile. - In addition, we usually write a saying on the bottom, for example, smile, be happy, live life, have fun, etc. - Once we have completed we put a coat of clear varnish on them to protect them. Total cost to make is less than $.50 (depending on the size of the rock) We have found both adults and children love these rocks. Children love to play with them. Adults use them to put in their gardens, or just to have as an ornament. Let your imagination soar, you can paint literally anything on rocks, from your favorite sayings to pictures. Let your imagination go with these rocks! Happy Painting! Catherine Pulsifer is one of the editors of Stress Relief by a Simple Life Where you will find stories, thoughts, poems and inspirational quotes on simplicity, frugal living, free craft projects, stress and more. Note to publishers - please use the text “Stress Relief by a Simple Life” when linking to http://www.stresslesscountry.com Thanks! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Catherine_Pulsifer http://EzineArticles.com/?Rock-Painting,-Fun-and-Easy!&id=136864 fake paycheck software christmas no faxing cash advance apartment private money loans unsecured personal loan australia

Herbal Remedies Do Have Risks

Sunday, June 15th, 2008

By Eric Hartwell Contrary to current thought, herbal remedies do have associated risks attached to them. The first risk is that the remedy that you are given or the one that you are taking may not be the one that is best for your condition. This can lead to a lost opportunity and a loss of money. However, just because herbal remedies are derived from plant materials that are natural, this does not mean that they are free from all risks. Even plants that are consumed without modification can be a risksome are poisonous! There have been many cases of plant material causing disease, disability, and death. Luckily herbalist will avoid these types of medications where possible, and if they do have to use them, they will be in a formulation that is safe and adequate for your needs. There are many types of preparations that exist that have not been studied fully to fully evaluate the extent of their side effects and dangers. Herbal remedies contain chemicals just like other medications. These chemicals may react in your own body or with any other medications or chemicals that you are taking. In addition, it is possible that the preparation that your herbal remedy is mixed with [the vehicle by which the herbal remedy is given to you] can have additional chemical composition and this itself may be dangerous to you. Luckily most countries have regulatory bodies that prevent herbal remedies, and other remedies, from containing dangerous materials. As long as you get your herbal remedies from a reputable and established source, there should be very little issue with the contents and composition of the remedy itself and the type of problems it might cause you. Herbalists are well trained and reputable online sites should be able to give you information that is up to date, safe, and correct. Visit us or share your opinions at the worlds best homepage or free content resource.Do you want to quit smoking? Visit Smokefree England for further information. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Hartwell http://EzineArticles.com/?Herbal-Remedies-Do-Have-Risks&id=474472 el paso refinance car loan bad credit greensboro apartments no credit check cash advance redding ca no faxing notelecheck cash advances

Depression… Effecting 20 Million Women And Counting

Saturday, June 7th, 2008

By Ryan Puusaari Depression is very common, particularly in women. In fact, about 15% of women will take antidepressants at some point in their lifetimes, with an unknown number of women who never seek help for their depression. Some women simply feel that they can handle it on their own, without the help of a counselor or medication- and others may not realize that the symptoms they are experiencing are depression. Many people wrongly believe that depression is just the feeling of sadness, or crying all the time. Other symptoms of depression in women include losing interest in the activities that you used to enjoy, difficulty sleeping, weight loss or weight gain, difficulty concentrating and/or sleeping, and social isolation as well as having a lack of energy. Any of these symptoms, either experienced alone or in combination with more than one of the symptoms, can indicate depression. When a woman begins to experience depression symptoms, they are faced with many complications. Women who are the primary childcare providers of their children will have special challenges related to depression and childcare. What happens to the children when the mom is experiencing periods of crying, or out of control mood swings for example? It adds additional stress to the women, which can contribute to the depression symptoms. The good news is that most depression is easily treated with a combination of medical treatment and psychotherapy treatment. While there are some minor side effects with most antidepressant medication, most are easier to deal with than the depression symptoms. The most difficult challenge for most women who begin taking antidepressants is that it takes a good month before the medication is effective- but during that time you may experience the side effects. So a woman may feel like the medication isnt helping, and only adding new problems and concerns. Giving medication a chance to work is a must in order to help overcome feelings of depression. Ryan Puusaari writes for the blog at http://www.ConquerDepression.net …Stop by and read more of Ryan’s Articles about Depression. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ryan_Puusaari http://EzineArticles.com/?Depression…-Effecting-20-Million-Women-And-Counting&id=399284 short-term loan providers same day second paycheck advance stop social security withholding paycheck kansas bad credit car loan

Coupons that Work

Sunday, June 1st, 2008

By Bette Daoust, Ph.D. Turn a coupon into a business card (or vice versa). Coupons are seen everywhere; you clip them from the newspaper to save on groceries, you get them in the mail to save on brand name items, you even get packages in the form of booklets delivered to your door. Almost everyone believes in doing coupons. I always look to see if a restaurant I love is having a promotion and if my favorite ice cream is on sale at the grocery store, and I imagine that most people are the same. I am driven to using the coupons because I regularly purchase the item whether on sale or not. Restaurants use coupons to bring new people into the establishment. Some people even have a filing system for coupons and make a hobby of collecting coupons and making money in the process. I am not suggesting you go that far, but you can use a business card for a coupon. If you want a customer to purchase your product for the first time and you happen to know that they are already interested, offer them a coupon on their first purchase. Retailers that want new customers for their credit cards do the same thing. Once they have the card in their hands, it is more likely that they will spend at the store. The same is true for any business that wants new customers and also wants to form new business relationships. Hand them a discount coupon for either your products or services, or you can make arrangements with a local restaurant to purchase coupons for a free meal. Coupons are an excellent additional way to keep a business relationship alive. When I worked in a marketing department, my favorite thing was when our suppliers gave us tickets or coupons for special events. Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get peoples attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the Networking Queen. Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bette_Daoust,_Ph.D. http://EzineArticles.com/?Coupons-that-Work&id=47147 christmas cash advance payday loan law student loan bad or poor credit high risk money lenders cash thru payday shoob