10 Italian Spices That Will Spike Up Your Meals!

Italian food has become so common in American households that one of our classic, lazy-person American meals is to boil pre-made, packaged pasta and pick up any of dozens of varieties of pasta sauces available at the supermarket. While it is certainly easy, comforting, and filling to eat this meal, try your hand at whipping up some unique, homemade dishes featuring the tastes of Italy. Here are 10 Italian spices that will spike up your meals:

1. Anise

Anise is widely used to flavor pastries and desserts. Use just 1 tablespoon of anise seeds in these Chocolate Chip Cookies with Grapefruit and Anise.

2. Basil

Basil adds a lovely pop of fresh flavor to meals. Try using fresh basil in this Creamy Green Avocado Basil Dip, which is a perfect dip to layout with veggies during a summer backyard party.

3. Bay Leaves

Bay leaves add a great taste to stews and soups, and you can toss them in the pan for flavor when sauteeing veggies. Use bay leaves to sautee onions for Mayim Bialik’s Vegan Reuben Sandwich.

4. Chamomile

Chamomile tea is great to help you refresh and relax, and it has an apple-like aroma.  It can be used in cookies and bars; try these Chamomile Ginger Lemon Raw Energy Bars.

5. Crushed Red Pepper

It’s good to have crushed red pepper on hand whenever you want to kick up your pasta meals, but you can also use it for spicy vegan cheese. Use it to make these Vegan Pepper Jack Cashew Cheese.

6. Garlic

With the exception of desserts and energy bars, garlic can be added to just about any dish for some extra oomph. Use it to make a spice rub for these Braised Seitan Short Ribs in Spicy Chile Sauce.

7. Italian Seasoning

Italian seasoning features several different types of spices like basil, parsley, and oregano, which adds a deep flavor to your dish and gets rid of the need to use each spice separately. Use it in this Gluten-Free Italian Focaccia Bread.

8. Oregano

If your sandwich seems a bit blasé, sprinkle some oregano on there for some delicious flavor. This spice pairs well with tomato and basil. Use it for these Vegan Puttanesca Panzarottis.

9. Parsley

Parsley does not have a strong flavor, so it is great as a garnish for plant-based meals. Use it for this Lemon-Butter Fettuccine with Parsley and Pine Nuts.

10. Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Sun-dried tomatoes have a deep flavor that adds a tangy taste to pasta, sandwiches, and a host of other plant-based dishes. Try this Sun-Dried Tomato Tart with Zucchini Hummus.

10 Delicious Fast Food Items You Can Only Order in Malaysia

Nasi Lemak Burger

Malaysia’s national dish is a Southeast Asian favourite found in both Malaysia and Singapore. Fast-food giant McDonald’s has expanded on this delicious treat by creating the Nasi Lemak Burger. Rather than serving it on a banana leaf vendor-style, they’ve transformed the dish into a burger. The burger includes a succulent chicken thigh and a fried egg with spicy sambal sauce inside a crispy chilli bun.

Pulut Hitam Pie

For a local-style dessert, order Pulut Hitam Pie from almost any branch of McDonald’s in Malaysia. The sticky black glutinous rice popular with street vendors is used as a filling inside a crispy pie. Instead of coming in a bowl, Pulut Hitam Pie has an aromatic crust promising an explosion of flavours after taking the first bite.

Cendol-Flavoured Ice Cream

Malaysia and Singapore have an obsession with the green, jelly-like cendol. With several types in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, it can sometimes be challenging to choose which one to have. As a tourist looking to sample as many local delicacies as possible, we recommend ordering the cendol-flavoured ice cream as an introduction before trying other variations.

Bandung McFizz

The pink Bandung drink found in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei consists of either condensed or evaporated milk mixed with rose cordial syrup. A favourite among the Malay communities and popular during Ramadan, Bandung has made its way onto the menu of some of Malaysia’s fast food chains. McDonald’s Bandung McFizz goes down well with a Nasi Lemak Burger.

Easy to Make Wooden Table!

Tools required:- Wood cutting machine, wooden lathe, sander, router, drill machine, jigsaw machine

Step 1: Table Top

1. Draw the tabletop dimensions (42 inches x 26 inches) on the plywood board.

2. Cut it out using a wood cutting machine or saw.

3. This would become the tabletop.

Step 2: Adapter Access Lid

1. Cut out a filleted rectangle (10 inches x 3 inches) from the plywood board using a hand jigsaw or the jigsaw machine.
2. Cut out another filleted rectangle of the same dimensions from a teak wood plank with thickness the same as the plywood board.
3. Ensure that the teak wood rectangle block fits easily inside the cutout space created on the plywood board.
4. Make a small ergonomic groove on one of the longer sides of the teak wood plank as shown in the picture.

Step 3: 4 Holes on the Table Top

1. Drill 4 holes halfway through the plywood thickness of radius 15mm each using a drill machine at 4 different places as shown in the picture.
2. Again drill 4 holes completely through the plywood plank of radius 8mm over the same 4 places as shown in the picture.

Step 4: Legs of the Table

1. Print out the actual size (1:1 size) CAD drawing (side view) of the legs of the table.
2. Cut out 4 teak wood planks of dimensions as shown in the pictures.
3. Paste the 4 printed out CAD drawings of the legs each on one teak wood plank.
4. Cut out the 4 table legs according to the CAD drawings.

Step 5: Support Between the Table Top and the Legs

1. Take 2 teak wood pieces of dimensions as shown in the pictures (or cut them out)
2. Make joinery cut-outs on 3 surfaces of the wood piece with dimensions as shown in the picture.
3. Make such joinery cut-outs at two places on each wooden piece at a distance of 2 inches from the two ends as shown in the picture.
4. Do the same with the 2nd wooden piece.
5. Drill holes of diameter 15mm at two places on each one of the wooden blocks in a way that the holes align with the earlier made 15mm holes on the tabletop plywood plank (see picture).

Step 6: Adapter Placing Rack

1. Cut out the adapter rack from a plywood plank (thickness 15mm) of dimensions as shown in the picture.

Step 7: Round Plugs

1. Make 4 cylindrical plugs out of teak wood with dimensions as shown in the pictures.

Step 8: Lid Resting Support

1. Take a 5mm plywood board and cut out a ‘U’ shaped form with dimensions as shown in the picture.

Step 9: Finishes

1. Give fillet of radius 5mm to the tabletop edges using a router.
2. Give fillet of radius 5mm to the four long edges of the legs using a router.
3. Give fillet of radius 5mm to the four long edges of the leg supporting cuboidal blocks.
4. Mildly sand the tabletop plywood surface using sandpaper and hand sanding machine.
5. Sand the table components using sandpaper to give that proper finish.
6. Apply two coats of walnut dye on the tabletop plywood surface.
7. Apply 2 coats of linseed oil to all other teak wood components of the table. Once dry, wipe them smooth using a clean, dry cloth.

Step 10: Assembling the Table

Step 11: Assembly (Part 1)

1. Join the legs to the cuboidal support blocks using the joinery made on them earlier.

Step 12: Assembly (Part 2)

1. Drill through the joinery carefully in order to fix threaded screws (as shown in the picture) so that the structure becomes more stable.

Step 13: Assembly (Part 3)

1. Turn the tabletop plywood plank upside down and fix the adapter keeping rack around the cut-out fillet rectangular space as shown in the picture using threaded screws.

Step 14: Assembly (Part 4)

1. Keeping the tabletop in the upside-down position, insert the cylindrical plugs into the plank from below.

Step 15: Assembly (Part 5)

1. Align the leg apparatus with the plugs and join them as shown in the picture.

Step 16: Assembly (Part 6)

1. Use screws to fix the leg apparatus to the tabletop plank.

Step 17: Assembly (part 7)

1. Attach the adapter holding rack to the groove made on two of the adjacent legs.

Step 18: The Complete Table

Woman creates replica of huge KFC pizza at home!

Ingredients

• 400g strong white bread flour
• 225ml warm water
• 1 sachet dried yeast
• 1 tsp sugar 
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 bag of value chicken nuggets
• Mild cheddar
• Mayflower Southern Style Gravy

Directions

1. Mix the water, oil, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and leave for about 10 minutes. Add flour and salt, bring to a dough and knead for five to ten minutes until smooth. Leave to rest for 1 hour.
2. Make one portion of gravy as per the instructions on the box and leave to cool.
3. Cook one bag of breaded chicken nuggets and chop into quarters.
4. Once the dough has proved, roll it out and put it in a baking tin. You can make a stuffed crust using cheese strings around the edge with the dough folded over the top.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at gas mark 8 for 15 minutes without toppings to make sure it bakes evenly.
6. Then add cooled gravy, half the cheese, the nuggets, and top with the rest of the cheese. Put it back in the oven until the cheese is golden, slice and enjoy.