Tuesday, June 30, 2009

CORNSTARCH BEADS

I read of this on wikiHow and and it had the feature to copy code so the entire article could be easily embedded in a blog - how cool!

I want to try this sometime, but not sure about leaving them outside for week to dry...wonder if they can be baked to speed up the process.


How to Make Cornstarch Beads


from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

These beads mimic clay and are easy and fun to work with. They are perfect for preschoolers to make and play with, teaching them patterning, or sequencing, which helps lay the groundwork for reading and science.

Steps


  1. Combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Mix a little bit of tempura paint powder into the warm water and add it a little bit at a time to the dry mix, until it forms a sticky dough. The consistency should be similar to clay.
  2. Roll the dough into small balls (these will be your beads) and poke a hole into each one with a pencil, knitting needle, or toothpick. Make sure to make the hole big enough for yarn or string to pass through.
  3. Put the clay beads on a covered cookie sheet and allow them to dry outside on a sunny day. Depending on the weather, this can take up to a week. (Note: If you’d rather not go through the work of dividing the dough into multiple bowls for coloring, you can make this recipe with plain water, without the tempura powder, and allow your child to color the beads by hand once they’re dry, using ready-made paint.)
  4. When the clay is dry, it’s ready for beading. Cut a piece of yarn into the appropriate length for your child’s necklace or bracelet, wrap a piece of masking tape around one end to make stringing easier, knot the other end, and set them to work!


Tips


  • This recipe is enough to make one color of bead. Double or triple it for each additional color.


Things You'll Need


  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • Tempura paint powder in at least two colors
  • Warm water
  • Several mixing bowls
  • Pencil, knitting needles, or toothpicks
  • Yarn
  • Scissors
  • Masking tape


Related wikiHows




Sources and Citations


  • Original source of article, Our Art in the Park Ideas, Home Made Beads. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license.



Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make Cornstarch Beads. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

ANTHROPOLOGIE INSPIRED TANK TOP


I love the above Anthropologie inspired summer top at the following and she even has a tutorial.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

ROASTED CORN QUESADILLAS

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/roasted-corn-quesadillas-recipe/index.html

"Times:
Prep 20 min
Inactive Prep
1 hr 0 min
Cook 25 min
Total:
1 hr 45 min


SNI.Food.CookTime.init();

Ingredients
1/4 cup chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
1/2
lime, juiced
1 cup sour cream
3 ears white corn on the cob
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 cup black beans
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons diced roasted red bell peppers
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly
ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
6 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves, divided
6 ounces Jack
cheese, shredded
6 ounces Cheddar, shredded
8 medium flour tortillas
5 tablespoons, sliced scallions

Directions
Preheat grill to high. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix diced chipotle, lime juice and sour cream, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Over medium flame or on a grill pan, roast corn. Let cool and cut kernels off cob.

In a medium saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil, jalapenos, red onions, and black beans. Saute until the onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes, corn kernels and roasted bell pepper. Stir and saute for 3 minutes and add salt, pepper, cumin and 3 tablespoons of cilantro. Remove the pan from heat and let rest.

Evenly distribute mixture, the remaining cilantro and cheeses among 4 tortillas. Top with remaining tortillas.

Place tortillas on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Cook for about 10 minutes, until cheeses have melted and the quesadillas are warmed through.

Cut each into 6 pieces.


Serve with chipotle sour cream garnished with scallions. "