Monday 31 December 2012

Art of the Month- Crafting!!

A very happy new year!!!

So lets talk about the Art of the new month now.....
This month we have Crafting as our Art of Month!!!


Lets learn so many new crafts and decorate our home,office,surroundings.....and make them look more beautiful.....By using our Art of the Month and that is Crafting...

Monday 17 December 2012

Chocolate raspberry brownies

Ingredients:
  • 200g dark chocolate , broken into chunks
  • 100g milk chocolate , broken into chunks
  • 250g pack salted butter
  • 400g soft light brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 140g plain flour
  • 50g cocoa powder
  • 200g raspberries
Procedure:
  1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a 20 x 30cm baking tray tin with baking parchment. Put the chocolate, butter and sugar in a pan and gently melt, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat.
  2. Stir the eggs, one by one, into the melted chocolate mixture. Sieve over the flour and cocoa, and stir in. Stir in half the raspberries, scrape into the tray, then scatter over the remaining raspberries. Bake on the middle shelf for 30 mins or, if you prefer a firmer texture, for 5 mins more. Cool before slicing into squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Basic Kitchen Checklist

This checklist has all the essential equipment needed to outfit a kitchen.

Setting up your first kitchen, or even editing the kitchen equipment in your home to make sure you have the essentials, this checklist includes everything you'll need for most basic cooking tasks.

Cutlery

Don't be lured by big knife sets, even if they seem to be a great value. You really only need a few pieces of cutlery for the majority of tasks. The most essential kitchen knives are:
  • Chef's knife or Santoku knife: Choose the size that's most comfortable for you (between 6 and 8 inches is the most popular). A Chef's or Santoku knife (which is basically a Japanese-style chef's knife) can be used for chopping vegetables, cutting up or slicing raw or cooked meat, mincing garlic and herbs, among other tasks.
  • Paring knife: With a blade of 2 to 4 inches, the paring knife is good for smaller mincing and slicing tasks, such as cutting up a small amount of herbs or a clove of garlic or slicing cheese, or for hand-peeling fruit.

  • Serrated knife: Pick a straight, longish blade (8 to 10 inches) and use this knife for slicing meats, bread and soft fruits and vegetables like tomatoes or melons.




  • Kitchen shears: A pair of scissors dedicated to the kitchen is a must. Choose a pair of shears specifically designed for the kitchen; it comes apart for easy cleaning and often has added features like a nut cracker or a bottle opener. You can use kitchen shears for snipping herbs, cutting open food packages, snipping string, trimming fat from meat and chicken, even cutting pizza into slices.

Cookware

As with cutlery, it's better to buy a few basic pieces of cookware and build from there as you determine what else you need. Choose the best-quality cookware you can afford so that it'll perform beautifully and will last a long time. The most versatile choice is uncoated (not nonstick) stainless steel cookware that is oven-safe. That way you can use it both to cook on the stove but also in place of, say, a roasting pan or a casserole dish for oven recipes.
  • Nonstick Skillet: Essential for making egg dishes and stir-frying. Try to find an oven-safe version so that you can use it for frittatas or tarte tatins. A 10-inch diameter is a versatile size for households of 2 to 4 people. A good alternative to a nonstick skillet is a seasoned cast iron skillet.
  • 2- or 3-quart saucepan with lid: Use this for heating soup, cooking vegetables and grains and making sauces or custards.
  • Large pot or Dutch oven with lid: A size of 7 to 9 quarts is just right for boiling pasta or potatoes, making soup, stews and stocks, and braising meats.

Cutting Board

Epicurean
Choose one large cutting board for all your chopping needs; a good rule is for the board to be at least 3 inches wider than your longest knife. Wood or bamboo is the least damaging to knives, but plastic can go in the dishwasher. Another good option is the Epicurean line of cutting boards, which are sturdy, lightweight and dishwasher safe.

Wooden Spoon

A wooden spoon (or two or three) can be used for stirring just about anything. As an alternative, look for a bamboo, heatproof plastic or silicone spoon. A spoon with a deeper bowl can be used for scooping up food.
 
Ladle
Essential for scooping liquids, whether it's portioning pancake batter onto the griddle, serving up soup or stew, or spooning stock into risotto. The most useful ladle are ones whose bowls measure a specific amount, such as 4 ounces (half a cup), because then you can also use the ladle to roughly measure ingredients or portions. If you can't find this type of ladle in a kitchenware store, look for one in a restaurant supply store.

Whisk

Used for mixing thin batters, beating eggs, emulsifying vinaigrettes, stirring sauces or custards. It is also handy for stirring dry ingredients together for a baked good – because it can break up big chunks and aerate the dry mixture, it is a quick (though not as thorough) substitute for sifting. Metal balloon whisks are the most classic, although silicone coated versions are nice if you think you'll be making sauces or custards in a nonstick pan.

Vegetable Peeler

Most chefs and experienced home cooks like the Y-shaped peelers, which are comfortable to hold and give good leverage for the most efficient peeling.
 
Measuring Cups
Pick a sturdy set made of metal or hard plastic, with a flat bottom so that they can stand on their own. Some sets have a line marking the halfway, so that you can use a one-cup measuring cup to also measure half a cup. Basic sets include 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup and 1 cup sizes; some sets also include 3/4 cup and 2 cup sizes, both of which will come in surprisingly handy.
 
Set of Mixing Bowls
Choose a nesting set of at least three mixing bowls that are attractive enough to double as serving bowls. Bowls that come with lids are even more useful because they can also be used to store leftovers or transport salads and other dishes to a picnic or party. While mixing bowls come in a variety of materials, you can't go wrong with stainless steel bowls, which are inexpensive, lightweight and virtually indestructible.
 
Multi-sided cheese grater
A box grater will let you make fine or thick shreds, and some even have a rasp side ideal for grating garlic, nutmeg or chocolate. Another helpful feature is a grater with a built-in compartment at the base which collects and measures the grated food.
 
Baking Pan
For casseroles, sheet cakes, lasagna, and roasts. If you only buy one, tempered glass is probably a more versatile option as it will cook thick, saucy dishes like casseroles more evenly than thin metal. The classic size that's most common in recipes is 9 by 13 inches. You'll need one for making brownies, cornbread or smaller casserole recipes. An 8- by 8-inch pan in metal will suffice.

Can Opener

Find a handheld version that is sturdily made and easy and intuitive to use. Many can openers have a magnet on them, which makes lifting the lid easier. A bottle opener on the handle is a bonus.

How to Store Leftover Cooked Pasta

To store cooked pasta:


  • While pasta is still warm, toss with 1-3 teaspoons of plain vegetable oil so the strands don't stick together when they cool.
  • Place the pasta in a food storage bag and set it, unsealed, in the refrigerator.
  • When the pasta is cool, seal the bag and lightly toss the bag to make sure the pasta is not sticking together.
  • Use the pasta cold if the recipe calls for it. You can also reheat the pasta by dropping into a pot of rapidly boiling water for 30-60 seconds, just until hot. Do not leave the pasta in the water for longer than one minute! Continue with the recipe.

Cooking at High Altitude

Cooking at High Altitude

Cooking at high altitudes is different from cooking at sea level. Recipes that are otherwise reliable may not turn out properly when prepared at high altitudes. The reason for this has to do with differences in atmospheric pressures.

Higher Altitude, Lower Boiling Point

The higher the altitude, the lower the atmospheric pressure. Lower pressure in turn causes water to evaporate more quickly, and water actually boils at a lower temperature.

If it's hard to grasp the fact that boiling water is actually cooler at high altitudes than at sea level, that's because it's really, really weird. In theory, if you were high enough, a glass of water would boil at room temperature. So "boiling" — where we see the steam and rolling bubbles normally associated with the word, is really more a function of air pressure than temperature.

The effects are incremental, if not actually noticeable. In general, each 500-foot increase in elevation translates into a 1°F decrease in water's boiling temperature. So at 500 feet above sea level, water will boil at 211°F instead of 212°F. But the difference is so slight, you'll never notice it.


High Altitudes: 3,000 Feet and Higher

Where you will start to notice it is at elevations higher than about 3,000 feet. There, water will boil at around 207°F instead of 212°F. At 5,000 feet it will boil at around 203°F, and at 7,500 feet, it boils at 198°F. That's a significant enough difference where it will definitely affect how long it takes to cook something.

Remember, too, that at any given altitude, the boiling temperature of water is as hot as water will get. You can't get it hotter by turning up the flame beneath the pot. So at 7,500 feet, you can't get water any hotter than 198°F.

What that means, then, is that you're going to have to cook foods a little bit longer than you would at sea level. Cooking pasta, for instance, which might take seven minutes at sea level, could take nine or 10 minutes at 3,000 feet.


Keep the Lid On

In addition to adjusting cooking times, you should also make sure that you keep a tight-fitting lid on the pot when you're cooking at high altitudes. This is standard procedure when preparing braised dishes, but it's a good rule to follow at high altitudes because water evaporates so much more quickly.

High Altitudes, Dry Air

Because the reduced atmospheric pressure of high altitudes affects the boiling point of water, it's moist-heat cooking techniques that are affected the most. Dry-heat cooking techniques like roasting or grilling are not affected in the same way because high altitudes don't alter the way air is heated. So a roasted chicken recipe shouldn't require any adjustment at higher elevations.

On the other hand, since water evaporates more quickly at high altitudes, meats cooked on the grill will tend to dry out more quickly than when cooked at sea level. Note that the temperature isn't affected, just the moisture content of the food. So a grilled steak might be more dry at high altitude than at sea level — even if it's not overcooked temperaturewise.

There's not much you can do about that, other than to make sure that you give grilled and roasted meats a chance to rest before serving them.


Cooking Eggs at High Altitudes

You'll also find that eggs will take a bit longer to cook at high altitudes, because they naturally have a lot of water in them. But since fried eggs or scrambled eggs are cooked with dry heat rather than moist, take care that you don't compensate by using a hotter pan. That will just result in burnt eggs. When it comes to eggs, cook longer, not hotter.

Baking at High Altitudes

Another difference caused by the lower atmospheric pressure is that leavening agents such as yeast, baking powder or baking soda will have more rising power. That's because the thinner air offers less resistance to the gases created by the leavening agent. Therefore, you should use less leavening (about 20 percent less at 5,000 feet) as your elevation increases.

And because of the faster evaporation described earlier, you may need to increase the amount of liquid in batters and doughs. You can do this by adding an extra egg, or using extra-large eggs in place of large.


Microwaves and High Altitudes

You may also notice a difference in how microwave ovens work at higher altitudes. That's because microwaves cook by exciting the water molecules in food. Therefore, when using a microwave oven you'll likely want to allow extra cooking time as well.

Pasta Salad with Greek Yogurt Dressing

A fresh and colorful pasta salad that is brightened by the addition of a tangy Greek yogurt dressing.

Ingredients:
For the salad:
  • 1 kg. pasta, (your choice, I used Rotini) cooked, drained, and cooled
  • 2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
  • 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
  • 1 kg. cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in halves or quarters depending on size
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
  • 2 medium carrots, grated
  • 1/2 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • 1 tsp. chopped fresh mint
  • 1/2 kg. Feta cheese, cut into bite sized cubes
  • 1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives (optional)
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dressing:
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, drained
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tsp. dill pickle relish
  • 1 tsp. sugar
Preparation:
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
  2. Cook the pasta according to package directions. While it is cooking, you can chop the vegetables and herbs.
  3. Combine all the salad ingredients except for the pasta and Feta cheese in a large bowl. Toss lightly and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  4. When pasta is cooked, drain well and rinse under cold water to cool.
  5. Add the pasta to the salad ingredients and mix in the dressing.
  6. Lightly toss the pasta until nicely coated with dressing and ingredients are well distributed. (Use as much dressing as you enjoy). Add the Feta cubes last and toss lightly to avoid crumbling.
  7. Refrigerate until ready to serve
Seves 8

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Low fat Winter Vegetable Soup

For people who want to resist the temptation to indulge in high-fat, high-calorie fare.

Ingredients:
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped leeks, white parts only
  • 3/4 cup chopped celery
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced
  • 1 cup rutabaga or turnips, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 medium russet potato, peeled, cut into pieces
  • 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 4 cups fat-free, low sodium chicken broth, divided
  • Salt and pepper as desired
Preparation:
  1. Heat oil on medium heat in a large pot. Sauté garlic, celery, leeks and carrots for 5 minutes.
  2. Add chopped rutabaga, and potatoes, followed by canned tomatoes and 3 cups of broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 40 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
  3. In two or three batches, puree soup with in a blender , or use an immersion blender. Add extra cup of broth to thin the soup a little.
Serves 6-8

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Per 1 ½ cup serving: Calories 113, Calories from Fat 16, Total Fat 1.8g (sat0.2g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 168mg, Carbohydrate 20.2g, Fiber 4.1g, Protein 4.1g

Sunday 16 December 2012

Aloo Palak Methi - A healthy Recipe

Aloo Palak Methi:

Ingredients:

Potatoes,boiled, peeled and diced - 2 medium
Spinach leaves (palak) - 1/2 medium bunch
Fenugreek leaves (methi),chopped - 1 medium bunch
Oil - 2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Onions,finely chopped - 2 medium
Ginger,chopped - 1 inch piece
Garlic,chopped - 1 tablespoon
Salt- to taste
Green chillies,chopped - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Spinach puree - 1/4 cup
Yogurt - 3 tablespoon + for garnishing

Procedure:


  1. Chop spinach leaves.
  2. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add cumin seeds and onions. Sauté till onions are soft
  3. Add ginger and garlic. Mix well. Add chopped spinach and fenugreek leaves. Mix well.
  4. Add salt, green chillies, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
  5. Add spinach puree and mix well. Add 1/4 cup of water and potatoes. Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes
  6. Whisk yogurt and add to pan. Mix well and cook till done.
  7. Serve garnished with yogurt.
You can use this recipe for everyday use...and it is really a healthy recipe. 

Saturday 15 December 2012

Cheesy Macaroni Recipe

Macaroni in cheesy white sauce:


Ingredients:


Macaroni - 300 Gm
Processed cheese,grated - 1 Cup
Butter - 2 tablespoons
Refined flour (maida) - 2 tablespoons
Milk - 2 cups
Salt - to taste
White pepper powder - to taste
Fresh parsley,chopped - 1 tablespoon



Procedure:

  1. Boil macaroni in sufficient water. Drain and refresh under running water. Drain and set aside. 
  2. Heat butter in a pan. 
  3. Add maida and sauté lightly, taking care that it does not change colour. 
  4. Add milk, gradually, stirring continuously so that there are no lumps formed. 
  5. Add grated cheese and keep stirring. After adding cheese the sauce will thicken further, so add more milk to adjust the consistency. 
  6. Add salt, white pepper powder and mix. 
  7. Heat some butter in another pan. Add macaroni. Toss. Strain the sauce into this pan and mix gently.
  8. Add some more cheese. 

At this stage if you want to bake you can do so till the cheese at the top becomes a light golden. Or serve it just like that. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.

Thursday 13 December 2012

The Anatomy of a Chef's Knife

Chef's Knife Overview

The chef's knife is probably a cook's most important tool. And given the amount of time it spends in your hand, it's definitely worth making sure you have a good one.

A lot of people suggest purchasing "the best knife you can afford." But that's not much help unless you know what makes one knife better than another. Otherwise, you're just buying the most expensive knife you can afford.

The best knives are forged from a single piece of steel that runs the entire length of the knife. Read on for a quick tutorial on the various parts of a chef's knife, what they do and why they're important.


Chef's Knife Blade

The best chef's knives are made of high-carbon stainless steel, which is a very hard metal that keeps its edge for a long time and won't discolor or rust like ordinary carbon steel.

To be sure, knives made from ordinary carbon steel aren't necessarily inferior. Some chefs love them, because the relatively softer metal makes them easier to sharpen. Of course, they go dull more easily, too. Chef's knives are measured in inches, and lengths of 8" to 12" are common. A longer blade lets you make longer single-stroke cuts when slicing. The so-called "German" style of chef's knife tends to have a more curved section at the front of the blade, good for chopping in an up-and-down "rocking" motion.

The "French" style is straighter, and more triangular, which is good for a "slicing" type of motion where the knife is drawn straight back toward you.

In this picture we see the edge of a Japanese-style santoku knife. The hollow, beveled indentations ground into the blade are designed to create tiny pockets of air between the knife and the product being sliced, reducing friction and minimizing sticking.


Chef's Knife Handle

the part of a chef's knife you'll have the most contact with is the handle. So you'll want to make sure it's comfortable and fits your hand. It shouldn't feel slippery or cause you to have to grip excessively hard.

Chef's knife handles have traditionally been made of wood, but wooden handles present certain problems. For one, because wood is porous, knife handles made of wood can harbor bacteria that cause food-related illness. Many local health departments prohibit the use of wooden-handled knives in commercial foodservice.

For these reasons, knives with plastic or rubber handles (as pictured above) are increasingly popular. Additionally, some handles are made from a composite material consisting of wood that has been treated with plastic resin. That gives them the traditional appearance of wood, which many people find appealing, while avoiding the sanitation concerns associated with wooden handles.


Chef's Knife Heel

The heel is the widest part of the knife, located at the rear of the blade where it meets the handle. This section of the cutting edge is used for chopping hard items like carrots, nuts or even chicken bones.

Knives with longer blades produce greater leverage, thus generating greater cutting force at the heel of the blade. A heavier knife also increases cutting force, but it's more tiring to use, too.

Chef's Knife Tang

As mentioned earlier, the best knives are forged from a single piece of steel that runs the entire length of the knife. That means the steel extends all the way into the handle. The section of steel inside the handle is called the tang, and if it goes all the way to the end of the handle, it's called a "full tang."

In addition to providing strength, full-tang construction offers better balance, making a knife easier to use. "Partial-tang" or "half-tang" knives are barely worth talking about, let alone buying. I wouldn't use one if it was given to me for free.

This picture shows the tang sandwiched between the two halves of the wooden handle. In knives with synthetic handles, the tang may not be visible.



Chef's Knife Rivets

Rivets are the raised, cylindrical studs that keep the handle securely attached to the tang portion of the knife. This type of construction is typical of knives with wooden handles. If rivets are present, make sure that their tops are smooth and that they don't protrude from the handle at all.
In addition to showing the rivets, the photo above also shows the tang sandwiched between the two halves of the handle


Chef's Knife Bolster

The bolster is the thick shoulder of heavy steel located at the front of the handle where it meets the spine, or the top (non-cutting) edge of the blade. In addition to balancing the knife, the bolster also helps keeps your fingers from slipping while you work, thus preventing hand fatigue and blisters.

Not every chef's knife will have a bolster. A bolster indicates that a knife has been forged from a single chunk of steel, as opposed to being stamped out of a roll of sheet metal. These stamped knives are generally inferior to forged knives. The thickness of a bolster shows how thick the original chunk of steel was — and the thicker, the better.

How to Make French Fries

The technique for making great French fries is actually pretty simple
 
So much of what goes into making the perfect French fries has to do with ensuring that the center of the fries are fully cooked before the outsides get too brown. The way we achieve that is by cooking the fries twice. We'll describe the technique below, but first let's talk about what kind of potatoes to use.

High starch potatoes like Idaho potatoes (also called Russet potatoes) are best because they're denser and have the least amount of moisture in them. Waxy potatoes will actually hollow out when you fry them, because they have more water in them and the water evaporates while they cook.

As soon as you cut the fries, you're going to transfer them to a bowl of cold water with a tablespoon of lemon juice added. Cut potatoes will start to discolor if they're exposed to oxygen for too long — even if they're in water. (There's oxygen in water, after all.) But a little bit of acid in the water helps keep the potatoes nice and white.
Procedure:
  1. Peel the potatoes, and remove any eyes.
  2. Square off the potato with your knife and slice it into ¼-inch slabs. Now cut each slab into ¼-inch strips. The fries should be about 3 inches long. Transfer them to the cold water as you go.
  3. When the fries are cut, rinse them under cold water into the bowl until the water turns clear. The idea is to rinse off any excess starch.
  4. Add another tablespoon of lemon juice, and then a few cups of ice — enough to chill the water thoroughly. Transfer to the fridge for about 30 minutes. We chill the potatoes because we want to keep the outside of the french fries from getting too brown too quickly. Chilling them helps the inside of the French fries cook all the way through before the outsides get too dark.
  5. Now would be a good time to talk about oil. If you want the short version of the story, here you go: Refined peanut oil is the best oil to use for making French fries. You can also use canola or safflower oil.
  6. Next we come to the the actual cooking. We want to fry the French fries twice: once at a lower temperature, so that the inside of the potato gets cooked; and then a second time at a higher temperature, which is when the fries turn golden brown and crispy.
  7. Drain the fries and dry them in a clean kitchen towel. Adding wet potatoes to the hot oil could cause it to spatter. You're also going to want to set up a couple of sheet pans lined with brown paper nearby.
  8. First, heat the oil over medium-low heat to 325°F. Cook the potatoes in the oil for 6 to 8 minutes, or until they're soft and they've taken on a slightly golden color.
  9. Remove the fries from the oil using a wire mesh skimmer (sometimes called a spider spoon) and transfer them to the paper-lined pans to drain.Remember to turn off the heat under the oil during this time.
  10. Now heat the oil to 375°F. Return the fries to the oil and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the fries are golden brown and crispy. Drain on clean paper, then salt generously and serve right away.
And Ur crispy french fries are ready
:)

Art of the Month!!!!!!


So thats how my blog will keep you informed and make you learn about so many arts....
Now lets concentrate on each art independently...
Thats why we will have one art focused for each month...n dats ART OF THE MONTH.....

So here I declare Art of The Month December....n dat s Cooking!!!!!

You will get so many recipes here.....right from bread to pizzas....



Lets enjoy culinary ART!!!
:)

Catch the Moon!!!

Who doesn't love moon!!
Its one of the most beautiful things God has created....
Everyone thinks to capture its beauty in our camera......but its a really difficult task!
Either we get a blurry image or just a little spot in dark background...:(
Here is the technique to get the perfect and beautiful moon photo...
So what are you waiting for!!
Lets catch the Moon...... 

Moon Photography:
      Getting great moon pictures is simple once you know a few tricks to the subject. Many photographers already have the equipment to successfully take great moon photos. To reliably get good moon photographs you will need: a camera that lets you control shutter speed and aperture, and a zoom capability to about 300mm (this is 10x zoom on some point and shoot type cameras). That’s it, no tripods, no $5000 lenses, no super-human powers.

      The main problem most people have with moon photography is that they think of the moon as a “night subject”. Because of this they turn their cameras to the night preset or automatically start at a slow shutter speed to increase light. The moon, however, is so bright that the opposite is true. It is basically like taking a photo of an illuminated light bulb in a dark room. If you use the exposure reading your camera gives you with its built-in light meter, the image will be overexposed and a bright dot without any detail. To get a clear, detailed photograph of the moon you will need to underexpose the image by 1/2 stop to 1 stop. It is fine to use a small F-stop (large aperture) for this application as the distance between us and the moon increases the effective depth of field considerably.


When to Shoot:
        Contrary to what you may expect, nighttime is not always the best time to shoot the moon. Just after sunset and just before sunrise often yield the best moon images. Look for a time of day when the sky still has just a hint of blue to it and you can see where you are walking without a flashlight. Because of the timing of the moon cycle, there will be several days each month when the moon rises or sets before dark night. Also, because of atmospheric conditions, the moon appears largest just after rising. The first 30 minutes after moon rise is the best time to get close-up images of the moon as it appear much larger in the sky than later in its arc.

Dazzling Dance

Dance seems to be everywhere these days. If you are thinking of trying out a new dance style, there may be a few genres you haven't even considered.
Check out this list of dance genres and see which one appeals to you. There are so many fun types of dance, you may need to try a few classes to find your favorite.



Ballet
Ballet serves as a backbone for many other styles of dance, as many other dance genres are based on ballet. Ballet is based on techniques that have been developed over centuries. Ballet uses music and dance to tell stories. Ballet dancers have the ability to transport an audience to another world.


 
Hip-Hop
Hip-hop is a dance style, usually danced to hip-hop music,
that evolved from the hip-hop culture.
 Hip-hop includes various moves such as breaking, popping, locking and krumping, and even house dance. Improvisation and personal interpretation are essential to hip-hop dancing.




Belly Dance
Belly dance is a unique form of dance characterized by sharp,
rolling movements of the hips and abdomen.
The true origins of belly dancing are debated among enthusiasts.



 


Jazz
Jazz is a fun dance style that relies heavily on originality and improvisation. Many jazz dancers mix different styles into their dancing, incorporating their own expression. Jazz dancing often uses bold, dramatic body movements, including body isolations and contractions.



Modern
Modern dance is a dance style that rejects many of the strict rules of classical ballet, focusing instead on the expression of inner feelings. Modern dance was created as a rebellion against classical ballet, emphasizing creativity in choreography and performance.

 

Contra Dance
Contra dance is a form of American folk dance in which the dancers form two parallel lines and perform a sequence of dance movements with different partners down the length of the line. Contra dances are relaxed with family-like
atmospheres. The dancing is excellent exercise, and dancers can set their own pace. Contra dancers are usually friendly, active people with a love of dance.

Tap
Tap dancing is an exciting form of dance in which dancers wear special shoes equipped with metal taps. Tap dancers use their feet like drums to create rhythmic patterns and timely beats.


 


Country and Western
Country and western dance includes several dance forms, usually danced to country-western music. If you've ever been to a country and western club or tavern, you've probably seen a few cowboy boot-wearing dancers twirling around the dance floor with big smiles on their faces.

Flamenco
Flamenco dance is an expressive dance form that mixes percussive footwork with intricate hand, arm and body movements. Flamenco is a Spanish art consisting of three forms: Cante, the song, Baile, the dance, and Guitarra, guitar playing.



 



Latin Dance
Latin dance is a fast-paced, often sensual, partner dance characterized by sexy hip movements. However, hip movements are not intentional in any of the Latin dances. The hip motion is a natural consequence of changing weight from one foot to the other.

 
Folk Dance
Folk dance refers to a variety of dances developed by groups or communities, as opposed to being made up by a choreographer. There are several types of folk dance including clogging, English country dance, international folk dance, Irish dance, Maypole dance, Morris dance, Nordic polska dance, square dance, and many more. Folk dances are often performed at social events.