BOREDOM RELIEF.

What to do when you’re bored. That’s something we have all googled in our lives at least once. Or at least in this quarantine. We watch videos, read articles, add things to our boards in Pinterest, etc.

You’ve probably seen the things below many, many times, but maybe you haven’t. If not, then this article is for you!

One thing I have done during quarantine is baking.
Baking is a hobby I do in two circumstances.
1) I’m hungry.
2) I’m bored so I’ll eat something to try and cure it.

My personal favorite things to cook are chocolate chip cookies. Me being the generic person I am, loved Rosanna Pansino’s (the youtuber) recipe. You can either watch it on YouTube, or she has a website where she has written recipes. Tasty also has good 2 ingredient, 3 ingredient recipes to do when you’re bored. Usually in a short amount of time.

Another thing you can do is working out. We see it everywhere these days, youtubers, instagramers, and others working out during quarantine. If you have no idea where to start, Dr. LA Thoma Gustin does live workouts on YouTube and for The Flash fans, Grant Gustin pops up once in a while. Pinterest also has a ton of workouts that are usually easy to maintain.

For all of the writers out there, write something. Anything. If you’re a Wattpad writer, write a chapter for one of your books. Or write something completely unrelated and is going to be just for you to read. It’s up to you. You could also, if you’re willing, collaborate with other Wattpad writers. Make a new friend that way.

If you’re not a writer, which is totally fine, be a reader. Wattpad, the place where you’re reading this article, is home to a few truly amazing stories. Ones that you can immerse yourself into. Reading brings you into a different world, one where you can disappear into and one that’s different from our own lives.

If you prefer published books, a few good series are:
-The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
-The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner
-Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
-The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainai

No one should be pressured into “being productive” during quarantine. It’s a time for some to reflect on their lives and figure out how to move forward from this hectic time in all of our lives.

Article by; Healer9999

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THE SHIMMER KITCHEN.

EASY RECIPE FOR A MEAN SERVE OF SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS!

One of the common things a lot of people are doing at this time is eating.
To be honest, not everyone is enjoying this as some don't have access to a good meal due to the loss of jobs and other detriments that followed the world's recent pandemic.
Others are quite frustrated at the current boredom they face and the absence of the good days when you can go to the closest vendor for a perfect cheeseburger, taco or walnut cake.
Its okay all. We'll survive.
Well one of the easiest ways to keep yourself this period is cooking.
Just a few minutes in the kitchen will get your mind of the stress.
Also you and your folks or kids or partner or friend will have the pleasure of remembering a classic meal prepared by you.
Their satisfaction and praises will bring you pleasure as well.
So for this first issue of the SHIMMER MAGAZINE, we'll give you a little tutoring on how to make a perfect and commonly made spaghetti and meat balls.
It's common yes, but not this recipe.

Okay so one important thing to note is that there are two styles to do this and whichever one you pick depends on you, the Chef.
We have the AMERICAN style and the ITALIAN style.

They're almost the same thing but quite different.
For the American style the meatballs are drowned in the sauce and placed on top of the plain pasta.
For the ITALIAN style, the spaghetti and sauce are mixed with other ingredients to create a juicy almost red and rich pasta. Then, the meatballs are sometimes placed on top or mixed in the pasta as well.
For the first style, all you have to do is follow the recipe for the sauce, and the meatballs, then place it all on top the pasta, which is obviously instant.
But we'll be sticking to the Italian style.

Now, we'd want to prepare a mini sauce if you will for the meatballs. It's best to let it simmer before the meatballs are all done.
Get a small skillet for the mini sauce and a medium sized pot for the norm sauce.

So first;

THE MINI SAUCE!

Ingredients;

-2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
14.z oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced finely
1/2 - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste.

MAKING THE MINI SAUCE.

Since this tomato sauce has so few ingredients, it's good to splurge a little on the tomatoes. I suggest buying organic at the very least.

You can add in Italian seasoning, basil, oregano and garlic, too - but I love the flavor without any of that!

Also, make sure you use a smooth olive oil you enjoy all by itself! If you use a really bitter or sour olive oil, the flavor will really come through and throw off the balance of the sauce. I made that mistake once and it took waaaaaay too much sugar to come close to correcting it.

You'll want a wide shallow pan to cook the sauce in as well.

Step 1: Saute the Onion

Heat up a large skillet (I'm using a 12 inch pan) over medium heat and add in your olive oil.

Saute the onions until they begin to turn translucent and shrink a little, and then add in the bay leaves and red pepper flakes. Stir this for a minute or so.

Step 2: Simmering!

Add in the tomatoes to the hot pan and stir them around. Because we've used so much olive oil, it will slightly fry the tomatoes and bring out tons more flavor!

Once the sauce is brought to a bubble, lower the heat so the sauce is simmering. Either cover with a splatter screen or with a tilted lid that's left mostly open. If you're brave enough you can leave it totally uncovered, but I prefer to keep my kitchen not red. ;) (We're simmering it uncovered so it reduces a bit!)

Simmer it for at least 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

Step 3: Season and You're Done!

Once it's simmered for 30 minutes, taste and then decide how much salt and pepper you'd like to add! You can also add a little sugar if you like, but I normally don't need to. :)

The finished tomato sauce is nice and thick - perfect for just about anything. So far I've had it on pasta, rice and pizza!

It's also a perfect compliment to homemade meatballs.

Its important to note that at this time, before you cook the mini sauce, your pasta should be on the fire or you'll be making a simple meal for hours!

It's the norm, get your pasta in boiling water and add salt. Be generous with the salt.
Also we recommend dicing half an onion and adding a little oil as well.

Now by the your pasta will be done even before you're done with the mini sauce.
Takes 15 mins max.
Once the pasta is done, don't leave it to settle in the pot with the water. NO!!

Drain it in a seive.
Leave the drive covered and move on to the NEXT ;

THE MEATBALLS!

Ingredients:

-2 large eggs
1/4 cup water
1 small onion, finely chopped
1-1/3 cups soft bread crumbs
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds ground beef.

MAKING THE MEATBALLS;

Put the ground beef into a medium sized bowl and add in everything else listed in the meatball ingredients. Mix this together using your hands until well combined.

Make sure to not overmix - it will make the meatballs tough! As soon as it's looking nicely mixed, stop.

Step 2: Roll the Mix Into Meatballs

Roll the meatballs between your hands - try to make them no larger than 2 inches wide or so. Also try your best to keep them uniform - that way they'll cook nice and even!

Once you've rolled the mix out, toss the meatballs in a little all purpose flour. This will help them brown.

Step 3: Brown the Meatballs

Heat a pan over medium/high heat. Once it's nice and hot, add in enough olive oil to coat the bottom.

Add the meatballs in batches and turn them often, so they become golden brown on all sides. As soon as a meatball is browned, add it to the tomato sauce pan.

Continue, adding more oil as necessary, until all the meatballs are browned and in the tomato sauce.

Step 4: Simmer the Meatballs

Stir the meatballs into the sauce. If the sauce is looking super thick right now, you can add 1/4 cup of water to help thin it out and give the meatballs more liquid to cook in. (Or more water as needed - your call!)

Cover the meatballs and turn the burner down to low - you just want to simmer these for a half hour or so. Just until there's no pink left in the middle. Stir them every few minutes just to make sure they cook evenly.

THE FINALE: MAIN SAUCE/STEW

Ingredients

10-12 Tomatoes
Tomato paste
One or two onions
One garlic clove
Ground chili pepper (three spoons)
Olive oil and salt and seasoning cubes to taste.

MAKING THE FINALE!

Alright, so as you can see from the ingredients, its pretty much the same as the mini sauce but a bit different. For perfection, you'd want to follow each step carefully.

Step 1: Blend.

For this step its basically blending your ingredients but not all your ingredients.
Place all the tomatoes, except two or three in a blender.
Cut an onion in four depending on its size. It can be cut in half. Put it in the blender as well.
If you've got raw pepper put it in but we do not recommend this if chili pepper (ground) is already available. We're not preparing a tears feast.
Here's a little secret, you might want to cut in a bit of ginger there as well. Say half the size of your pinkie.
Blend them all.
You'll see something similar to a pink or reddish juice. Set it aside.

Step 2: The main dish.

This is the major part of everything. So be very careful here.
Before you start, you would've diced up the other onion or half depending on how much pasta you cooked. Also dice a single piece from the garlic clove.
We don't want to ruin the meal with a war between spices.
Remember the tomato you left unblended, dice it up too.
Heat up your pot for a minute.
Pour in the olive oil.
Add the diced onion, garlic and tomato.
Only add this when you're sure the oil is hot. To know this, add a pinch of salt to your oil. It'll definitely give off a sizzle if hot.

After a minute or two  you'll smell an aroma from the onion and oil heated up.
At that point pour pour the blend of tomatoes and other ingredients.
Let it cook for five to seven minutes.

Step 3: Finishing touch.

This next part is easy.
All you have to do is add salt, your tomato paste and yes, your seasoning cubes.
Let it all cook for three more minutes.

Step 4: Pasta Invasion.

So yeah its basically adding the drained of pasta to the main sauce.
The most important utensil in this part, is your spatula. You'll need it.
Its best to add in your pasta bit by bit. Say a handful at a time. But be sure to lower the heat of your cooker when doing this.
Once the pasta is all in, begin to mix immediately.
Do not mix like you'll do with tea or eggs. It's more of a deep cut, then a single swirl. Deep cut, single swirl. Like you'll do with a dough.
After three to five minutes, the whole pasta gets that red color.
Leave for a minute and then serve.

FOR THE PERFECT SERVING!

Alright so take a spoon or two of the pasta and set on a dish.
Then place the meatballs on top and yes the mini sauce.
You might want to serve this with some cheese and preferably, orange juice by the side.
Get a taste.
See? We told you.

Now if you do prepare this at home eventually, leave a comment on the comment section and tell us how well you did.
Also this is a special recipe given by one of our general admin. If you want more inquires from the chef, let us know in the comment section as well.
See you next time on the Shimmer Kitchen.
We do hope you enjoy this meal.
Stay safe and Shimmer On!

Article by ; TheShimmerCommunity

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