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Wednesday 28 September 2016

A Summary with References of Blogs 551-600

A number of people have mentioned that they find it difficult to find specific blogs among the growing list of published blogs. This gave me the idea of publishing a summary of previously published blogs, with links and photo references. This way you only need to save a handful of blogs which can easily be accessed to navigate to the blogs you are looking for. This is the twelfth of these Index Blogs.
Follow these links to the Index Blogs:
Blogs 1-50
Blogs 51-100
Blogs 101-150
Blogs 151-200
Blogs 201-250
Blogs 251-300
Blogs 301-350
Blogs 351-400
Blogs 451-500
Blogs 501-550
Blogs 551-600

Blog 551 - Make A Bracelet Using Glass Beads
"My niece is growing up fast and the other day she came upon my beads and jewelry making kit. This promptly led to her asking for assistance in making jewelry for herself. While working with her, I suddenly realized that I have never shared any blogs on jewelry making. This oversight needed immediate correction and I start off with a very easy blog on making a bracelet using memory wire."


Blog 552 - Make A Pair of Earrings Using Glass Beads
"Having made a bracelet in the previous blog, I decided that I simply had to make a pair of earrings to match it. The result of this decision is that I show you how to make some very simple, but cute earrings for yourself in today's blog."


Blog 553 - A Summary with References of Blogs 501-550
"A number of people have mentioned that they find it difficult to find specific blogs among the growing list of published blogs. This gave me the idea of publishing a summary of previously published blogs, with links and photo references. This way you only need to save a handful of blogs which can easily be accessed to navigate to the blogs you are looking for. This is the eleventh of these Index Blogs."


Blog 554 - Sourdough Women
"I have done a number of blogs on sourdough and using your own sourdough starter in your baking. Today's blog overlaps these previous blogs to a degree, but it has a completely different aim. I once again start off by showing you how to grow your own sourdough starter, but the intention of the blog is slightly more inspirational than practical. In my travels and dealings with people, I continue to cross paths with women who I refer to as sourdough women. These are women, who on a small scale, have a huge impact on their community. Just like a little bit of sourdough has the ability to leaven a whole batch of dough, these women have the ability to transform their own communities. This blog is a tribute to those women."


Blog 555 - Baking A Bread Loaf Using Baking Powder As Raising Agent
"The norm is certainly to bake bread with yeast or a sourdough starter as raising agent. Equally, the norm is to bake cake using baking soda or baking powder as raising agent. This has not always been the case. Before the arrival of baking powder and baking soda, yeast and sourdough starters were commonly used to give rise to cakes. Today we turn the tables on bread when we bake a loaf using baking powder as the raising agent. Quite delicious, I might tell you!"


Blog 556 - Landscape In Oil Colours
"I use every opportunity to travel as an equal opportunity to take photos of the myriads of interesting and beautiful places in the world. When I recently got to travel the Northern and Western Capes, it was no different. Finding subject matter to paint, was not difficult. What was difficult, was deciding where to start. In today's blog I show you how to convert your stunning photos into interesting paintings."


Blog 557 - Painting a Nautical Themed Tray With Chalk Paint & Stenciling
"I love it when people pass items on to me that they no longer have any use for. This is exactly what happened when I was given an old wooden tray. The original intent was to paint this tray, but the owner never got around to it. Thus, it finally made its way to me. I decided that I wanted to use this tray in the bathroom. Chalk Paint can withstand the wet bathroom conditions brilliantly and would be the ideal medium to use for the project. I show you how to paint and treat the tray for these conditions in today's blog. I also demonstrate how to stencil with chalk paint."


Blog 558 - School Holiday Project 35 - Stringing Bracelets
"It is a great exercise in fine motor development to give a child the opportunity to string beads. Stringing beads also allows the child to develop patterns and to work with the rhythm of the pattern, another great educational and developmental opportunity. That is why I jumped at the opportunity to teach the little ones how to string bracelets after they showed interest in doing so, having seen what I've done for a previous project. Let me show you how to tackle this task with smaller children in today's blog."


Blog 559 - Baking A Georgian Beer Bread
"Today's bread is completely different from what we have become accustomed to. This time we do not use any yeast or sourdough to make the bread rise. We do not even bake the bread with a dough! Instead, we mix a batter with baking powder as its raising agent. This lovely light and very flavourful bread hails from Georgia and is traditionally baked with beer as the added liquid."


Blog 560 - School Holiday Project 36: Spray-Painting A Star Monster
"The little ones came over for a quick visit and my nephew, looking at me with longing eyes, asked if we could please do some art. My heart simply melted. I quickly looked around for inspiration and found it in an odd place. We had been cutting sale stars from laminated sheets and all of a sudden it occurred to me that these were perfect shapes to use for monsters. And monsters are what we made."


Blog 561 - Baking A Sourdough Double Cheese Pizza
"I have shared a couple of blogs about making homemade pizza using your sourdough starter. The truth is that we have become quite spoiled by this and find store-bought pizza lacking in taste. It is not so much the toppings, as it is the dough itself. Even the crusts get eaten! I share another of these great pizza recipes with you in today's blog. This time I use a double cheese topping to make it a little more special."


Blog 562 - School Holiday Project 37: Making A Pipe Cleaner & Hanky Doll
"It was my nephew's birthday and I as helping him build something with the tool set he received as a gift from his grandparents. His little sister got a little jealous of all the attention he was receiving and I had no option but to do a little project with her on the side. She loved making this cute doll out of an old handkerchief and pipe cleaners."


Blog 563 - Baking A Sourdough Garlic Loaf
"If you like the taste of pizza, then today's loaf is for you. It has all the flavours of Italy captured in one loaf. We use the traditional Italian spices, garlic and polenta  to make today's loaf. It goes without saying that we once again use our lovely sourdough starter to give rise to this treat."


Blog 564 - School Holiday Project 38: Making A Wooden Car
"My little nephew had his birthday and received a set of real tools from his grandparents as well as a set off wooden blocks from his parents. This meant that the little man was ready to start building. Unfortunately, the adults were all busy with their own things and he sought me out for assistance. This aunt loves a new set of tools as much as any boy and it wasn't long before we started constructing the idea for a wooden car that came with the block set. I liked this concept so much that I decided to blog it, as it is very easy to saw your own blocks and do something similar with your own kids."


Blog 565 - School Holiday Project 39: Making A Wooden Truck Bed Lamp
"Having helped my little nephew to use his new tool set and wooden blocks to build a car, we both were inspired to try our hand at our own design. I figured we'd go one step better and include some electrification in the new project as well. The little boy was very keen to learn about yet another new dimension in life and that is how it came to be that we built him a wooden truck that would serve as a bed light! I show you step by step how to attach the electrical components. You won't believe how easy this is to do yourself."


Blog 566 - Baking A Wholewheat Soda Bread
"Soda Bread is a little known type of bread that uses no sourdough or yeast to rise. Instead, baking soda is added as raising agent. This is the ideal bread to bake when you have zero time to wait for yeast to react, as you simply mix the dough and pop the loaf in the oven, just as you would do with a cake. It will never be my favourite bread as it lacks somewhat in elasticity and flavour, but it certainly is very handy to know this recipe when you suddenly find yourself in a pinch and need to produce bread in next to no time."


Blog 567 - Making 1st Birthday Hello Kitty Cards For Twin Girls
"My friend's twin girls are turning 1! Every time a little girl has a birthday, it is an excuse to indulge in an overload of pink. I consulted with the two little girls in my life, my nieces, and they both agreed that I could not go wrong with Hello Kitty. That is why I show you how to draw two Hello Kitty designs in today's blog, before we turn them into birthday cards."


Blog 568 - Baking A Pumpkin Bread With A Sourdough Starter In A Kettle Braai
"This blog covers two things we have not done with bread yet. We add a vegetable, namely pumpkin, to the dough. I'll share some more recipes for these delicious options in the future. What is even more extraordinary though, is that we then bake the loaf inside a Kettle Braai over the fire. I'll share the info for traditional oven baking as well, but it does open up new possibilities, doesn't it?"


Blog 569 - Painting Tatty Teddies In Oil Colours Part 1 of 2
"My friends twins are having their very first birthday. I wanted to give them something special and decided that it would be a great idea to paint each of them a picture of the ever popular Tatty Teddies to decorate their room. I went online to search for images with two teddies and found quite a few that I liked. Let me show you how easy it is to do an oil painting for decorative purposes over the following two blogs."


Blog 570 - Painting Tatty Teddies In Oil Colours Part 2 of 2
"I started with a blog in two parts yesterday in which I show you how to paint oil paintings for decorative purposes. We are using the ever popular Tatty Teddies as subject matter and in today's blog I allow the background to be a little bit more prominent than was the case with the first blog."


Blog 571 - Baking A Moroccan Ksra With A Sourdough Starter In A Kettle Braai
"Ksra is a flat bread traditionally baked in Morocco. I have adapted the recipe ever so slightly to accommodate our lovely sourdough starter, although I am quite sure that there will be a traditional recipe out there that already makes use of a sourdough starter. Ksra is a wonderfully flavoured bread with a distinct aroma of aniseed. It is slightly chewy and is traditionally torn off and dipped into a stew made in a tajine. It goes just as well with cheese and tomato, or accompanying a soup. I baked my Ksra in a kettle braai over the fire, but I will give you directions for conventional oven baking as well."


Blog 572 - Baking Greek Honey & Lemon Cake
"When asked to bring something to eat to an afternoon tea party, I was unsure whether it had to be sweet or savoury. A non-committal answer to the question did not clarify it either. This is a good time to bring Greek Honey and Lemon Cake. This lovely cake is not overly sweet, is definitely not savoury, yet leaves a very fresh after taste in the mouth due to the use of lemons. It is also a slightly healthier alternative to most cakes as it does not have any refined sugar added, and a large part of its starch is made up of semolina. This certainly makes it the perfect cake for an afternoon tea."


Blog 573 - Cardmaking: Welcoming A Baby Girl
"Friends of mine recently welcomed their first little baby into the world. This was the ideal opportunity for me to make this newcomer a special card for her memory box. I love giving cards to babies, even though they can't read them. When they are older, they can discover them for themselves and know that they were a joy and blessing right from the start. I took the design for this card from my book filled with 50 great designs for arts and crafts projects, aptly titled Designs by Miekie 1. Simply click on the title to hop over to Amazon.com, where the book is available for download as an e-book. Or stay right where you are and let me show you how to create this cute card."


Blog 574 - Painting A Modern Bunny in Oils and Acrylics
"Yesterday I told you about the special little girl that was born to friends of mine. This little girl's mommy is a modern lady who loves doing things a little differently. She is also fascinated by an enchanted forest. This inspired me to paint a bunny for the baby room, but with a bit of a twist on the background. I show you step by step how to do the background and the textures on this painting in today's blog."


Blog 575 - Slow-Cooked Mediterranean Beef Stew
"It is not always possible to make a wholesome meal when we are living such rushed lives. This is when a slow-cooker comes in very handy. I share a lovely recipe for making a slow-cooked beef stew with tastes reminiscent of the Mediterranean, in today's blog. The beauty of this dish is that you can put it in the slow-cooker before you leave for work, and will be ready to serve when you walk back in the door."


Blog 576 - Homegrown Stirfry
"There are some veggies that are truly South African and probably available in every house at just about any give time. In today's blog, I show you how to make a delicious stirfry with these everyday vegetables, without compromising anything on the quality or taste of the dish."


Blog 577 - Cheesy Bacon Muffins
"I was visiting a friend recently to assist her in launching a huge fund raising function. On the day before the event, we were to join the decor team at the venue to oversee the setup. The sound team, and various other parties were also scheduled to drop by. As the venue was a little removed from the town and ready access to shops, we decided that we would prepare a refreshment station with snacks for the different role players. I volunteered to bake some muffins. The problem was that I did not have any recipe books with me. This simply meant that I had to experiment a little and that is how these muffins came to be late at night during a very busy week. I am very happy to report that they met with everyone's satisfaction and turned out quite delicious. The cheese and bacon ensured that they were lovely and moist, as well as flavorful, the ideal snack for people on the go."


Blog 578 - Flapjacks With Baking Soda
"Today's experiment is actually the result of a kitchen mishap. A friend of mine inadvertently filled her cocoa container up with baking soda. She was convinced that she would have to dump the odd mixture when I happened upon her. I asked permission to experiment a little and she left the mixture in my care. As the ratio of baking soda to cocoa was only about 2:1, I figured I did not even have to take the cocoa into too much consideration. An effortless batter to mix would be flapjacks and I quickly came up with this recipe that proved quite delicious. Happily, as always, I took photos of the process and can share the results with you in today's blog."


Blog 579 - Summary Of A Pretty Talent's Bread Recipes
"I have shared a number of lovely bread recipes with you over the course of the past couple of months. Included in these are sweet and savory varieties, some rusks and even some tea cakes. While most of the recipes make use of yeast or sourdough, some use baking powder or baking soda as raising agent. These recipes have been conveniently collected in this one summarizing blog so you could have a quick and ready access to these blogs. Happy baking!"


Blog 580 - Baking A Herb Loaf With A Sourdough Starter
"When visiting a friend recently, I took my bottle of sourdough starter along. To be completely honest, I tend to always do this when going away for an lengthy time. My friend was happy to turn her kitchen over to me and I rummaged through her cupboards to see what I had to work with. I found a great selection of dried herbs in this kitchen and promptly decided to bake a Herb Loaf. Unfortunately the oven was somewhat less than reliable. However, my friend had a handy tabletop convection oven and I decided to try this out. It would be my first time baking a loaf in an oven like this and I was curious to see how well it performed. I share this, as well as conventional oven methods in the blog today."


Blog 581 - Baking Chili & Tomato Flatbread With A Sourdough Starter
"Today's loaf is a wonderful accompaniment to any meat dish and especially with a braai (barbecue). The delectable flavors that go both into and on top of the bread makes this a popular one with most of the family. Adding the chili sauce could be considered optional, but I highly recommend it. The fact that it is a flatbread hastens the time it takes for the bread to rise and it could very well be ready under two hours on a hot day."


Blog 582 - Making Braai (Barbecue) Bread On An Open Fire
"I have never come across a South African who does not like a braai. To my international friends, this is what is commonly known as a barbecue. Braai is central to our heritage and it spans all of the diverse cultures that constitute our nation. Today I prepare a dough specially to be braai-ed on the open fire as the perfect accompaniment for the meat. As usual, I use the sourdough starter in the dough, but discuss alternative raising agents as well. I will even give tips for baking the bread in a conventional oven, as well, though I strenuously recommend doing this over the coals."


Blog 583 - Baking A Honeymoon Loaf With A Sourdough Starter
"Today's Loaf is a very interesting one. We actually prepare both a white bread and a brown bread dough, seasoned with some sweet spices. The dough is then rolled into two 'strings', which are twisted into each other, before being rolled up in a pan.. It is exactly this intertwining of two individual components, combined with the sweet spices, that led to the name of the loaf."


Blog 584 - Beef Short Rib Stew In The Slow Cooker
"In the previous blog I shared the recipe for the aromatic Honeymoon loaf that has been flavored with sweet spices. This tear and share loaf is the perfect accompaniment for a spicy meat dish. In today's blog I share the recipe for Beef Short Rib Stew prepared in a slow cooker. When done, the meat will literally fall from the bone and the dish will be lovely and hot. How hot, depends entirely on how generous you are with the addition of hot sauce. However you prefer it, I recommend you put this large pot in the middle of the table along with the Honeymoon Loaf, allowing everyone to tear a piece of the bread off and dip it in the stew."


Blog 585 - Bake A Wholegrain Curry Loaf With A Sourdough Starter
"We are busy with all sorts of flavoured breads and I am having a great time, as I like my food a little hot and spicy. Today's loaf is filled with flavour. It has a combination of three flours, sour milk, and the sourdough starter at its heart. And then, as if that is not enough, we add a dash of curry powder to boot! The flavours in this bread will actually increase with time, although it may prove a challenge to keep any for the next day!"


Blog 586 - Bake A Coconut Wheel
"Today's bread is a delicious blend of all the flavours I love in my favourite crunchy cookies. The bread is semi-sweet and filled with coconut. A hint of peanuts adds a whole new dimension to the taste experience. This bread wheel is delicious on the tea table, or as an accompaniment with a meal."


Blog 587 - Potato Salad With Homemade Mayo
"Potato salad is nothing new, but it remains eternally popular with potato lovers the world over. We were well on our way with making a potato salad today when we suddenly realized that there was no mayo in the house! No problem. It takes only a few minutes to make your own delicious homemade mayo. I show these easy steps in today's blog."


Blog 588 - Strawberry & Coconut Scones
"A young teenage girl came to visit and expressed the desire for scones. I told her we could whip it up in next to no time and we moved to the kitchen to do just that, when she suggested we add coconut and jam. I liked this idea and turned on my heel to grab the camera in case it turned out to be a winner. It was! We did not have any cream handy, but I can just imagine how great that addition would make it!"


Blog 589 - Making Green-pepper & Onion Flapjacks
"I was still away from home, visiting a friend who was going through a rough patch. One slow Saturday morning, we awoke a little later than usual and it was well passed breakfast time before we finally made our way to the kitchen. Supplies were running low and it was time to hit the shops. I scrounged around before coming up with the idea to use our last egg to make us some flapjacks for brunch. We had one green-pepper and a few onions left. I decided to add this to the batter and quite accidentally developed a very delicious variation on this trusted favorite. Of course I photographed the whole process for possible blogging purposes!"


Blog 590 - Baking A Pepper Ring Using A Sourdough Starter
"Today's bread is so filled with flavour that it is hard to summarize it in a few short sentences. We add three different peppers to the dough, and add beef stock as a liquid. Then pack it with green-peppers, onion and tomato to boot. This is indeed a must-have loaf!"


Blog 591 - Baking Split Rolls With A Sourdough Starter
"Today we are baking very simple rolls. There isn't much to the ingredients, as they are very plain in taste, but we dandy them up a little by giving them a double split on top. These very neutral tasting rolls are a guaranteed hit with everyone and very easy to include in a lunchbox. I sprinkle some flour on before baking them, but if you are baking these for smaller kids, you may prefer to leave this off, as it could become a little messy when they eat it."


Blog 592 - Cardmaking: Allowing The Paper To Dictate The Occasion
"Sometimes, though rarely, you just seem to have the perfect paper for a specific occasion. These times call for restraint. You should allow the paper to speak for itself, instead of crowding its message with all sorts of additions. I show you how to highlight the message of the 'perfect' paper in today's blog."


Blog 593 - Cardmaking: For A Gardener
"We all have gardeners in our lives. They are those people who love to tinker around in the garden regardless of whether their preference is for flowers, succulents, veggies, herbs, or all of the above. These are the people I love to give plants to for their birthdays, and when I do, I want the card to accentuate the gift. I show you how to make just such a simple, yet friendly, card in today's blog."


Blog 594 - Cardmaking: Invite To An Arranged Party
"Do you also have friends who adamantly refuse to celebrate their birthdays? I like to treat these friends to a party, arranged by myself and other friends we have in common. These special birthday friends then end up receiving an invite to their own birthday parties. We make just such a card in today's blog."


Blog 595 - Making Paper Cup Wrappers For A Party
"I love the idea of using paper or plastic cups at a children's party. It means that there is no running around, trying to save glasses from breaking and children from getting cut, and it reduces the amount of dishes that need to be washed at the end of the day. You get wonderful paper products these days, but what do you do if you can't find the perfect cup for the theme of your party? Simple. You buy a couple of plain cups and make some cute cup wrappers. I show you how easy this is in today's blog."


Blog 596 - Painting Miniature Figures in Acrylics
"Miniature paintings are all the rage these days and you see them making an appearance in more and more houses on all those small walls that every house seem to have. Miniature paintings make it possible to own an original art work (or possibly even more!) by your favorite artist, without breaking the bank. Another fun concept in decorating, is to collect a number of small paintings by a variety of artists and to hang them on one wall. This makes for a very interesting conversations when visitors come over. We paint a set of two miniature paintings in today's blog. I used acrylics and ink, leaving a lot of the detail out of the painting, 'forcing' the viewers to involve themselves in the paintings and to complete the illusion of figures."


Blog 597 - Baking An Aniseed Rye Loaf Using A Sourdough Starter
"I arrived home after an extended trip to find my mom in agony with her digestive system acting up. With me being absent, they had reverted back to eating store-bought bread and it was telling on her. I fed my sourdough starter and set about baking a flavorful bread for everyday use. I decided on a light rye loaf with my mom's favorite aniseed added for extra flavor. I share this lovely recipe in today's blog. Relief was not instantaneous for my mom, but in a few days, we had her digestive track in a much healthier state once again."


Blog 598 - Painting Naive Flowers On A Background Using Primary Colours
"Spring is in the air and the days are turning wonderfully warm. It is time to reflect this joyous time of the year on canvas as well. I paint a pot of lovely spring flowers in a naive style in today's blog, starting with primary colours for my background. The painting is a mixed media work of acrylic and pen."


Blog 599 - Painting Naive Flowers On A Background Using Secondary Colours
"For the previous blog, we painted a lovely pot of flowers in acrylics and pen. We paint a matching canvas in today's blog, but this time we start the background with secondary colours. By the time we are done, you will have a lovely set of two bright and vibrant paintings to liven up any room in the house."


Blog 600 - Baking A Magnesium Replenishment Fish Pie
"A tummy bug had been doing the rounds and, though we were all better, we were still feeling lethargic and weak. Pilchards are rich in magnesium and a quick pick-me-up after such an event, or even after severe blood loss. I decided to make a quick fish pie that would not require too much effort. I share this surprisingly delicious recipe in today's blog."


Melette Els (Clinical Social Work) can be contacted via the webpage www.m-e.co.za, or by email at melette.els@gmail.com, or by phone at 082 776 1536.
Melette Els B.A. (SocSc) M. (Th) 
BHF Pr Nr.: 089 000 00 28754 SACSSP Reg.Nr.: 10-17310


Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy the books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.
Jy kan Kom Ons Kleur Tuinstories In hier koop.
Jy kan Tuinstories hier koop.
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