Problem: Article: In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of granulated sugar with 1/4 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat so the mixture simmers. Cook the syrup until the sugar dissolves. Refrigerate this syrup till it's cold.  It will only take a few minutes for the sugar to dissolve and create a syrup. This should make about 1/4 cup of simple syrup. Always be careful when handling hot sugar syrup since it could burn you. Wash 1 1/4 cups of strawberries and cut off the stems. Put them in a blender with 2 tablespoons of your cold simple syrup. Blend the berries and syrup until you have a smooth strawberry puree. If you'd like to leave a few chunks of strawberry for your drinks, simply pulse the berries and syrup until you have the consistency you'd like. Transfer the strawberry puree to a tall serving pitcher. Add 2 1/2 ounces of freshly squeezed lime juice, 1 ounce of orange liqueur (like Triple Sec) and 2 ounces of tequila. Stir this mixture to combine it. Taste the mixture and add more simple syrup if you'd like it sweeter. Add ice to the pitcher and stir the margaritas to chill them. Or you can pour the margarita mixture into a martini shaker. Add ice to the shaker and shake the margaritas until the sides of the shaker are cold. Avoid letting the margaritas sit in the shakers with the ice too long. The ice will begin to melt and will dilute your drinks. Fill your glasses with crushed ice or ice cubes. Pour the margaritas into your glasses. This recipe should make two margaritas. Garnish the margaritas with thinly sliced limes or strawberries and serve them immediately. Have straws available for serving. Choose thin cocktail straws since this will make the drink last longer than if you use large smoothie-sized straws.
Summary: Make a simple syrup. Make a strawberry puree. Combine the puree with your other ingredients. Shake or stir the margaritas. Serve the margaritas.

Problem: Article: Using a sharp knife, slice a piece of ginger of approximately 4 inches (10 cm) off your larger ginger root. Cut off any small nubs with a paring knife so you have a relatively uniform piece.
Summary: Cut your ginger into a 4 inch (10 cm) piece.

Problem: Article: Your number one priority should be to pay off all debt so you can start to save. While diverting funds to debt repayment instead of other necessary purchases may be difficult, it can pay off in the long run. Keep some funds in the bank as an emergency fund and pay off your creditors.  If you get a big tax return or a sudden rebate from the government, always pay your debts off before you buy anything for yourself. If you don’t have any debt and suddenly come into some extra money, bank at least half of it for emergencies or another time when you are not as flush. Debt repayment can represent a significant monthly cost. By reducing your debt, you can in-turn free up extra cash for saving or to go towards your monthly expenses. Consider balance transfer credit cards. These cards often have a 0% interest rate for a period for balances transferred from other credit cards. By transferring your balance, you can enjoy low or even interest free payments for a period, which allows you to reduce your debt quicker through 100% of your payment being applied to principle. Note that the low interest rate period often lasts for only 12-24 months, so make sure you use this period to eliminate as much debt as possible. Afterwards, a higher interest rate will apply. Literally. Put your small change in a jar. Once the coins start to pile up, roll up the coins and deposit them into your savings account. Even $10 or $20 in small change can mean more money towards food or extra expenses. Every expense you charge on your credit card will need to be repaid, with interest. If you’re earning $8 an hour, repaying thousands of dollars may feel like a huge and impossible challenge. Piling up credit card debt will only make it more difficult to cover all your expenses, plus your debt payments.  Outstanding debt can also make it difficult to negotiate for a down payment for a house or car down the line. While it may be difficult, if you have a large credit card debt, consider stopping credit card use all together and cutting up your credit cards. Assume if you can't afford something without a credit card, that you should not be purchasing it at all. To assist in this, use your monthly budget as described above to make sure all your essential expenses are covered by the payments from your job. If your salary is insufficient to cover your basic expenses, you can attempt some of the above tips to reduce your monthly expenses to a level that can be covered by your income. Leave your credit card at home when you depart for the day to reduce impulse purchases.
Summary:
Pay off your debt before you buy anything new. Save your pennies. Avoid using credit cards.