When the first heat advisories of the summer start being released, it can be hard, and even dangerous, to maintain an active lifestyle. Peering out the window at the baking grass from the comfort of your air conditioned home doesn’t exactly make you want to go outside and run around the block, but deep down, you know that all of those sugary, frozen treats you’ve been enjoying won’t stay off your hips forever. Fortunately, there are ways to exercise around the heat, without sweating yourself to the brink of dehydration. It is possible to cool off with a sweet, indulgent daiquiri by the pool and look great while doing so! Continue reading
Author: Melissa Harrison
A Woman’s Wardrobe
The most difficult part of building a respectable, adult wardrobe, aside from the cost, is developing your own cohesive style without accumulating too many pattern, colour or structure doubles. I, for one, would have a closet full of polka dots if I brought home every garment that caught my eye. Through the many years of building a classic, timeless wardrobe on a budget, I have found that the best way to avoid saying, “I have nothing to wear” while staring eagerly at an overstuffed dresser, hoping that if you look at it just the right way, all of those rainy summer afternoons you spent with those Magic Eye books as a child would not have been in vain and you might be able to see something that wasn’t there before, is to shop by colour. Continue reading
How to Get Along with Other Women
I have always had a hard time making friends within my own gender. I see myself as a fairly feminine person, but, for some reason, I just feel more at ease and free to be myself around masculine people. I always thought that this was the key to forging bonds with other humans, feeling comfortable enough to let down your guard and be yourself, your horrible, horrible self, so you can see why I am more able to make man friends than girl friends – but it goes deeper than that. In my years long, twelve dollar, comprehensive study, I have discovered that the secret to the initial stage of making a female friend is to not be yourself, at least until you’ve tricked her into thinking you are a little bit normal. Continue reading
Picnic Menu Planning
Menu One: Lunch in the Park with Family:
Fried Chicken
– click for Alton Brown’s recipe at foodnetwork.com
Potato-Egg Salad
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs waxy potatoes
- 1 rib of celery, diced
- 2 tbsp onion or green onion, minced
- (¼ parsley, minced)
- 3 hard boiled eggs, diced
- 1/3 cup light sour cream
- 1/3 cup light, real mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- (1 tbsp grainy mustard)
- (1 tbsp sweet pickle relish)
- Salt, to taste
- ½ tsp freshly ground pepper, or to taste
- 3 tbsp chives, chopped
Procedure:
- Boil potatoes (with skins on) in salted water until just tender.
- Drain, peel if you wish and cut into bite-size pieces.
- With all other ingredients, prepare dressing in a large mixing bowl.
- Add still warm potatoes to the mixing bowl and toss to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate. Serve chilled.
Cheesecake Brownies
Ingredients:
- 2 ¼ cups white sugar
- 2/3 cup cocoa
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- 1 tsp baking power
- ¾ cup butter, melted
- 4 eggs, beaten slightly
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- 1 (250g) package cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tbsp butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp flour
- Handful of chocolate chips
Procedure:
- Brownie base (first group of ingredients)
- Preheat oven to 350̊F
- Mix dry ingredients
- Add butter and eggs and blend well.
- Spread in 9 x 13 inch baking pan and bake for 30 minutes.
- Cheesecake top (second group of ingredients)
- Beat cream cheese, sugar and butter until creamy.
- Beat in eggs, milk and flour.
- Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
- Pour over cooked brownie base and bake at 350̊F for 40 minutes.
- Cool completely then drizzle with melted chocolate . Continue reading