Glow-in-the-Dark Badminton Date

We recently decided that we’d like to add another hobby to our lives, and we settled on giving badminton a try. We decided we might try playing on the roof of our building to give us a little more privacy. So I decided to plan a badminton night for us. The only issue was that night can be a little dark, so I thought, What about GLOW-IN-THE-DARK badminton?

It was so much fun! This was a fun and easy date to put together and execute. Here’s what to do:

• You will obviously need badminton rackets.
• Tell your date to dress in black and/ or fluorescent clothes.
• Get some light up badminton birdies. I got mine from this Taobao site. I got the option that was a set of 4 for 18 yuan with free shipping, and they all work great.
• To make it extra fun, get a pack of glow sticks and make jewelry/ headbands/ anything else to dress up with. I bought mine from this Taobao site. I ordered the set of 50 glow sticks in 5 different colors for 10 yuan with free shipping. Also worked great.
• Then head outside and play, play, play! It was fun to just see flashes of light flying around as we swung our glowstick-adorned arms and watched the birdie fly.

Greek Date

 

On November 12, it was 6 years since Austin and I got engaged. So for this month’s Date-Around-The-World date, I cooked some of the same food I’d cooked for Austin that evening 6 years ago before he proposed– Greek food. I dug up some old recipes that I’d stored away from that night and managed to make them again– China style. They turned out great, and we had a fun evening.

Here are some ideas for creating your own Greek adventure:

• Listen to Greek music (and dance if you like!).  
• For food, keep it simple with lots of options for creating your own pita pockets with different combinations of meats, sauces, and spreads. Here are some things we ate:
  • Homemade pitas
  • White bean hummus
  • Stir-fried lamb slices- I bought the ones that they sell in the winter for Chinese hot pot. They’re really thinly sliced and are great on sandwiches or in pitas. I just stir-fried them in a touch of olive oil for a few minutes until barely browned and sprinkled with salt.
  • Lamb skewers- These are another thing conveniently ready-to-go in Chinese markets. They sell them for barbecuing. They taste like they’re already lightly seasoned, so I just popped them into the oven on a wire rack for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Alternately, you can slide the lamb off of the skewers and stir-fry it in a little olive oil so it’s ready to slide right into a pita.
  • Tzatziki
  • Hot pepper cheese dip
  • Pork souvlaki
  • Roasted asparagus
  • Grapes
  • For dessert, we went for something pretty non-authentic. We used pita halves, which we stuffed with dark chocolate chips, homemade peanut butter, and marshmallows and then microwaved until they were melty and warm.
• Decorate simply. I used a simple piece of white fabric and bought a string of leaves from a local flower shop to lay down the center of the table.
• Make it a toga party. We grabbed a blanket and a scarf and made something toga-like to wear. For women, wear gold or bronze jewelry/ head wraps. For men, try making some kind of vine/ leafy crown.
• Watch a Greek movie. Of course, there’s always “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” or “My Life in Ruins.” Six years ago, on the night we got engaged, after we ate our Greek meal, we’d watched the cartoon movie Hercules, so for this month’s Greece date, we watched the new Hercules movie that came out this year.

 

Rooftop Campfire Date

Last weekend Austin told me he wanted to plan a date for us. He did a great job and I wanted to share his idea!

He planned a rooftop campfire for us, and here’s how it went down:

• For the fire: We used one of the little Chinese barbecue grills that you can get at in the local markets for around 12 or 13 RMB in our town. Austin went to a wood shop and asked them for small pieces of scrap wood, which they gave to him for free. We used scrap paper from our apartment to help get the bigger pieces burning. Our camp site was right on top of our apartment building, one of those things you wouldn’t be allowed to do in America but is totally okay here in our little town!
• For the food: Austin made a spice mix and then went to the market, bought some meat and some intestines and took it all to the sausage lady who turned out some fabulous sausage links for us. We roasted those over our little fire and put them inside some bread I made. For dessert, we roasted marshmallows and had s’mores, of course!

This date was fun and cheap with not too much prep time. Two thumbs up, Austin!

More information on the whole sausage-making process to come… with a recipe!

Italy-Themed Date

In June this year we visited Italy, once again from the comfort of our own home. Here are some ideas to create your very own Italian date night!

Ideas:

• Decorate with red, white, and green. I used red, white, and green poster board to make a big Italian flag behind our food table.
• Do a make-your-own-calzone or make-your-own-pizza bar. This kept preparation to a minimum and made for a fun date activity. See Calzone Dough Recipe below.

• Or make bruschetta… Recipe here.
• Dress up as Italian mobsters. As usual, we had no idea what we were doing but winged it with whatever we could find in our closets.

• Enjoy Italian music playing in the background during your dining experience. We enjoyed  a little bit of Andrea Bocelli whose music can be heard here or here.
• Have an Italian soda bar. Instructions and printables can be found for free over at Our Best Bites.

• Watch an Italy-themed movie. Some ideas: The Italian Job, Life is Beautiful, Under the Tuscan Sun, Roman Holiday, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Angels & Demons, Much Ado About Nothing. Life Is Beautiful.

 

Calzone Dough Recipe

1 c. warm water

1 T. yeast

1 t. salt

1 t. sugar

1 T. oil

2 ½ c. flour

Combine yeast and water. Mix till dissolved and bubbles. Add salt, sugar, and oil. Add flour, stirring until dough pulls away from bowl. Turn onto floured surface and knead in remainder of flour. Form ball and place in greased bowl. Let rise till double in size. Roll dough out. Cover half the dough with sauce and desired toppings. Fold over dough, seal edges, and place on baking sheet. Bake in 375 degree oven for 15-18 minutes.

Filling… pepperoni, olives, peppers, mushrooms, cheese, and sauce.

Recipe from The Dating Divas.

Cinco de Mayo/ Mexican Fiesta Date

In May we “traveled” to Mexico for a little Cinco de Mayo. Here are some ideas for a fun Mexico-themed date, any time of year!

Ideas:

• Make some form of piña coladas or Mexican hot chocolate.
• Make big plates of nachos, or make taco bowls. We had a taco bowl bar using taco bowl molds. They were so fun to make and eat with!

• Dress up in whatever you think someone might wear in Mexico. Austin cracked me up with his makeshift poncho-scarf. I wore big earrings & bright colors.

• Learn to dance the Salsa together. There are some links on YouTube with easy-to-follow instructions. There are lots of them out there; here are to different links to try if you don’t have time to browse for yourself: Link 1 and Link 2.
• Decorate with red, white, and green. I used green and white tissue paper to make fringes around our food table. Here’s another website with some free printables for decorating. That’s where I got my “Fiesta” sign in the pictures.

• Watch a Mexican sporting event. We watched a Mexico soccer game, but anything will do.
• Watch a movie set in Mexico like Three Amigos or Man on Fire.
• Set up the house like a Mexican resort with beach towels and umbrellas. Listen to Mexican music while sipping on fun drinks.

Brazil-Themed Date

In March we continued our Travel-Around-The-World {From Your Very Own Living Room} Dating Series, and we visited Brazil. Once your traveling partner has his/ her passport and plane ticket, you’re ready to take off!

I used this fake airplane ticket generator website to generate all the tickets for this year’s dates.

Ideas:

• Use a Carnival theme. Carnival took place in March this year, so March was the month we chose to visit Brazil.
• Decorate with Brazilian flags, gold (candy) coins, Carnival/ Mardi Gras beads.

• Wear masks and whatever you imagine is good clothing for Carnival, or dress in Brazil soccer uniforms or Brazil national colors.

• Enjoy a Brazilian dish. We made a VERY heavily adapted version of Brazilian Feijodora, which was delicious—you can check out our own China-friendly version of that recipe here.

• Dance the Samba or another fun dance. We can’t dance, but we’ll watch Dance Central or Just Dance videos from YouTube and follow along.
• If you’re interested (like I was since my husband is a local soccer star :)), learn the rules of soccer so you can be a more informed spectator. (And yes– we had a mid-date outfit change so we could wear Brazilian soccer team uniforms for the soccer portion of the date.

• Watch a Brazil-themed movie like Rio.

Switzerland-Themed Date

In February this year we went to Switzerland, once again traveling across the world in our very own living room. The Switzerland date was more or less a combination of last year’s Spa Date and the Fondue Date.

Ideas:

• Make cheese, broth, and chocolate fondues to make up dinner and dessert. These were simple to put together. {See fondue recipes below.}
• • Chocolate Fondue: Dipping foods: mangoes, pears, strawberries, bananas, pineapple, apples, angel food cake, pound cake, sweet crackers, marshmallows. For the chocolate fondue, I just melted some dark chocolate with 1-2 Tablespoons of oil until the chocolate reached a consistency I liked.
  • Broth Fondue: Dipping foods: meatballs, pre-cooked bite-sized meats, shrimp, scallops, mushrooms, vegetables, potato pieces, sauces for dipping. The recipe I used is below.
  • Cheese Fondue: Dipping foods: cubed french/Italian bread, homemade croutons, veggie pieces, mushrooms. florets of broccoli and cauliflower, bite-sized cooked chicken or mini chicken legs, beef & pork slices (pre-cooked), roasted potatoes. The recipe I used is below.

• If your date to Switzerland is an overnight affair, serve Muesli in the morning for breakfast.
• Watch a Switzerland-themed movie or a movie made in Switzerland.
• To decorate, print Swiss maps to use as place mats at dinner, and use a red tablecloth or scarf with white printer paper to make a Swiss flag.
• During dinner, watch a short documentary on Swiss food or a short video about Swiss cheesemaking.
• Stream or download some Swiss music to play during dinner or dessert.
• After dinner, visit a Swiss spa. Soak your feet, give each other massages… anything relaxing for the two of you.
• Oh, and as usual when we travel around the world from our living room, there was a dress code! In his invitation, Austin was told to use what was already in his closet (or mine) to dress as a Swiss cheese maker. He got an “A” for creativity, enthusiasm, and holding nothing back!

Fondue Recipes:

Cheese Fondue Recipe

Ingredients: 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 cup cheddar cheese, 2 teaspoons flour, up to 1 cup liquid of choice such as milk, cream, or chicken or vegetable broth (play with these or combinations of these according to your desired taste), 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Mix the flour and cheeses in a medium bowl and set aside. Heat 3/4 cups of the liquid and garlic powder over low heat. Stir in the cheese a little at a time. Continue adding cheese until the desired consistency is reached. Add more liquid if it becomes too thick. I like to use my rice cooker set on “warm” to serve this because it keeps it soft and dip-able.

Oil/ Broth Fondue

Ingredients: 2 bay leaves, 4-5 garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons dried parsley or Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper, 3 cups water, about 3 cups of beef broth, 1 package French onion soup mix, salt, pepper, other seasonings to taste

Directions: Mix all of these ingredients together in a fondue pan or electric pan & allow to simmer together for about an hour. This recipe is really flexible… I start here and then play with it until it tastes just the way I like.

Wasabi Dip

Mix about 1/4 teaspoon wasabi with about 3 Tablespoons soy sauce in a small dish. Add more wasabi if desired.

Garlic Chili Dip

In a small dish, mix 3 Tablespoons soy sauce and 1 Tablespoon garlic/ chili sauce. Add more garlic/ chili sauce to taste.

Cocktail Sauce

In a small bowl, combine 3/4 cup ketchup, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon horseradish, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.

Honey Mustard Dip

In a small dish, combine 1/4 cup honey, 2 Tablespoons of dijon mustard (or regular mustard), and salt and pepper to taste.

Sweet and Sour Dip

In a small dish, combine 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar, 2 Tablespoons of ketchup, and 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Stir to combine and add salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

 

 

At-Home Melting Pot Fondue Dinner Date

Cheese & Chocolate… any date that involves large quantities of these two is definitely to be enjoyed!

Ideas:

• Set up a fondue bar with a few different fondues, several meats, vegetables, fruits, and grains for dipping, and dipping sauces.
• Make the dining area really fancy with a tablecloth, cloth napkins, fancy glasses and nice plates.
• Send a fun invitation to your date the day of the dinner.

• Play soft dinner music in the background.
• Eat at the table or sit on the floor around a low coffee table.
• Chocolate Fondue: Dipping foods: mangoes, pears, strawberries, bananas, pineapple, apples, angel food cake, pound cake, sweet crackers, marshmallows. For the chocolate fondue, I just melted some dark chocolate with 1-2 Tablespoons of oil until the chocolate reached a consistency I liked.
• Broth Fondue: Dipping foods: meatballs, pre-cooked bite-sized meats, shrimp, scallops, mushrooms, vegetables, potato pieces, sauces for dipping. The recipe I used is below.
• Cheese Fondue: Dipping foods: cubed french/Italian bread, homemade croutons, veggie pieces, mushrooms. florets of broccoli and cauliflower, bite-sized cooked chicken or mini chicken legs, beef & pork slices (pre-cooked), roasted potatoes. The recipe I used is below.
• Serve all of the fondues at the same time or one by one.

Cheese Fondue Recipe

Ingredients: 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 cup cheddar cheese, 2 teaspoons flour, up to 1 cup liquid of choice such as milk, cream, or chicken or vegetable broth (play with these or combinations of these according to your desired taste), 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Mix the flour and cheeses in a medium bowl and set aside. Heat 3/4 cups of the liquid and garlic powder over low heat. Stir in the cheese a little at a time. Continue adding cheese until the desired consistency is reached. Add more liquid if it becomes too thick. I like to use my rice cooker set on “warm” to serve this because it keeps it soft and dip-able.

Oil/ Broth Fondue

Ingredients: 2 bay leaves, 4-5 garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons dried parsley or Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper, 3 cups water, about 3 cups of beef broth, 1 package French onion soup mix, salt, pepper, other seasonings to taste

Directions: Mix all of these ingredients together in a fondue pan or electric pan & allow to simmer together for about an hour. This recipe is really flexible… I start here and then play with it until it tastes just the way I like.

Wasabi Dip

Mix about 1/4 teaspoon wasabi with about 3 Tablespoons soy sauce in a small dish. Add more wasabi if desired.

Garlic Chili Dip

In a small dish, mix 3 Tablespoons soy sauce and 1 Tablespoon garlic/ chili sauce. Add more garlic/ chili sauce to taste.

Cocktail Sauce

In a small bowl, combine 3/4 cup ketchup, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon horseradish, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.

Honey Mustard Dip

In a small dish, combine 1/4 cup honey, 2 Tablespoons of dijon mustard (or regular mustard), and salt and pepper to taste.

Sweet and Sour Dip

In a small dish, combine 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar, 2 Tablespoons of ketchup, and 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Stir to combine and add salt and pepper to taste.

Indian Buffet & Double-Feature Movie Night

We love Indian food, so one evening we had a really fun Indian buffet. I went crazy making tons of Indian food, but it was well worth the work. We ate until we were going to burst! Highly recommended!

Ideas:

• Send a fun India-themed invitation a day or two in advance.

• Print an India-themed banner and cards for the different buffet dishes. If you’d like edit-able versions of the invite, banner, or food label cards, just let me know.

• Decorate a sitting area with big, colorful pillows, an elephant-themed banner, colorful scarves, mirrors & candles, etc. Just use what you have or borrow some scarves and pillows from a friend.

• Play some Indian music such as this Indian Lounge Music or this Bollywood songs collection.
• Enjoy some pre-meal couples yoga. I made a PPT with some moves that I thought were do-able. :) I’m happy to pass it along if anyone’s interested. Just comment and I can e-mail it to you.
• During the buffet, enjoy a double-feature of movies that are set in, partially set in, about, or somehow otherwise related to India. We watched “Bride and Prejudice” and “Eat, Pray, Love,” part of which takes place in India.
• Make some fun recipes, as many or few as you like. I made a ton of them, and it was a while back. I know I had to adjust some ingredients because of what’s available where I live, but there’s a list below of links to some that I remember being really good starting points.

Some India-Themed Recipes on This Blog:

Indian Cabbage Curry

Indian Chole (Chickpea Curry)

Indian-Style Beef Kabobs with Cilantro Sauce

Naan

Paneer

Potato Bhurta

Saag Paneer

Tandoori Chicken Legs

Tandoori Spice Mix

 

Enjoy!!!

Home Spa Date

This was a great stay-at-home date that involved a whole lot of relaxation. Basically, we just set up a home spa using mostly whatever we had.

Ideas:

• Gather lots of materials from around the house and then do a little extra shopping until you have everything you think would make for a good spa experience. This may include: big bucket for foot soaking, massage oils, soft towel, bathrobe, sponge for exfoliating, various washcloths, face masks & peels, lotions, slippers, lip balms, etc.
• The week before the date, start giving your date “Spa Bucks” for little things he/she does around the house and sometimes for no reason at all. (Our spa was called “La Sirle Spa” and the spa bucks were marked accordingly.)
  
• The day of the spa, set up a waiting room with a poetry book, spa clothes for your date to change into, and lots of ambiance with “spa music” from youtube and candles. Here are some links I used: Spa Music Sample 1, Spa Music Sample 2. The waiting room can also contain a list of all the spa offerings available including hand massages, foot massages, head massages, full body massage, and face and lip massage. Of course, make sure your date has made all the money he/she’d need by this point.

• While your date waits in the waiting room, make sure the ambiance is set inside the spa itself, and when you’re ready, invite your date in and allow them to choose which order they want their spa experience to happen in.
• The home spa is great in the evening, but we also enjoyed doing it in the late afternoon and then having dinner at the “Oasis,” yet another room of the spa with a relaxing atmosphere.
• Finish by watching a movie, reading together, going for a walk, or something else relaxing.

If you’d like any of the printables, feel free to e-mail me: bethany.sirles@zoho.com … I’m happy to pass them along!