Sunday, October 26, 2014

Marinades: Italian Salad Dressing

Yes, that's right. Italian Salad Dressing.

It makes a great emergency dressing when you have under an hour to marinate the meat. The only drawback? It's not all that great on red meats. My best results have been with pork and chicken. Chicken in particular takes to Italian dressing very well, but I have also successfully used this dressing on white fishes and shrimp.

Get the full recipe.

Meats vs Veggies: The Adventure that got it All Started

Check out the original meats vs veggies argument that stirs up so much creativity in the kitchen around here:

Make Your Own Journal Part 1: Homemade Paper


To launch this project you really want to start at the base and work your way up. So, you'll need to make your own paper. Oh, don't groan like that, this is actually a fun process and since paper is so versatile you can make whole sections of your journal different. Just trust me on this one: it involves sparkles and dye. 
Try it out here.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Holiday History: Columbus Day

Anyone know anything about this holiday? Anyone? For most modern citizens Columbus Day is known mostly for the fact that all the banks and government offices will have an excuse to close all day. Oh, and for Christopher Columbus; the man who discovered America, right?

Well, no actually, that's wrong. Columbus never got as far north as modern American boundaries. He stayed mostly in the Caribbean and Central Americas. It was his exploits though that discovered the American Continents existed and allowed for further exploration of the Northern Continent at a later date. Therefore, Columbus Day is named for the man that allowed for the future colonization of modern day America by explorers following in his wake. To put it nicely.

video made by: Choice and Truth

For a great History lesson by the History Channel, check out the history.com link below: 
(Really you should check out the link. Their video is much better than mine)

Friday, October 10, 2014

Make Your Own Game: Paper Airplane, Part 1


Most of you all remember painstakingly folding a square of paper into some semblance of a plane only to launch it with expectation and sadly watch it fall only a few feet from where your fingers let it go. 

SOMETIMES you could fold a good plane that could make it a room-length or so, but really, I was never very satisfied with my flight patterns.

So, well into my adult life, I decided to do a little paper plane research. Needless to say...I had a lot of fun and my house was littered with the remnants of the Paper Age of Flight. Here's my favorites and a few challenge planes I couldn't quite get right. When you complete them send in your pictures or videos!







Here's the pretty basic Jet template. Just print out the picture and fold following the numbers. Line 1 folds in first, then line 2, etc. Make sure to fold the plane with the printed side of the paper down, otherwise the folded paper will block your instructions ;)






Here's another original basic to get you warmed up; the Snub Nose. This little plane tends to be heavy and falls out the sky fairly easily, but it's a good tool to teach beginners the wrist action used in launching planes. It's a sturdier model so you can launch it over and over without too much damage done to the plane. Also good for children, the heavier weight will give them something to hold on to as they learn.



This one feels more like a Star Cruiser model, it'll be a fun project for the space fan in your family. Keep in mind that all paper planes can be decorated as well. Tip: fold the plane first, then unfold it and color with markers or colored pencils. Crayons are too heavy and will pull the plane down. Pencils are my favorite.




The Best Paper Airplane in the World





Despite the audacity of awesomeness that this model plane claims to be...I'm going to have to back them up on this one. 







The folds are thicker and stronger than normal paper planes so the creases don't come undone in flight. Furthermore, the design is more like a light balsam wood model plane than a paper one.







 This plane can get some serious air! It's one drawback? Not very good with turns or choppy wind. Give this plane a clear path and smooth wind and it can coast for hundreds of meters!














Images 24 - 28 show the making of the tail. The tail is important to add weight to the back end of the plane, counterbalancing the heavier nose and pulling back on the wings allowing them the maximum amount of draft.



The tail is folded by using the last inch or so (depending on your preferences you can play with the amount you use and try out the differences) of the wings and back-end of the plane. 




Start the tail by folding the paper up to the bottom of the wings. Unfold. From that crease you are supposed to cut (That's right! You get to CUT this paper plane!) the remaining piece back. This piece is then used to fold the tail.





Challenge Paper Airplane
Watch the video below and fold the Willow paper plane. The challenge here lies not in the difficulty of the fold, this plane is only medium in difficulty, but in the tricks you can do with this design. My challenge to you? See if you can do a complete loop-de-loop. What other tricks can you complete? Send me your success videos and pictures!