Re: It's the Economy Stupid

Just ran across this article, at Kitchens.com. It's a synopsis of a discussion by a group of economists at the 2009 International Builders Show.

One paragraph caught my eye:

• Getting a home equity line of credit (HELOC) for a remodel is tough, Nothaft (Frank E. Nothaft, chief economist of Freddie Mac) said, because banks don’t want to offer what amounts to a second mortgage. Depending on when you bought your home, you may want to consider a cash-out refinance of your first mortgage instead.

This says it all for homeowners who plan to remodel but don't have all the cash they need to accomplish the task.

Peggy

Palakkai Kootu (Tender jack fruit gravy) for RCI:Chettinad

When RCI-Chettinad was announced, I didn't do much googling, since I knew where to head, to get some authentic Chettinad recipes. On googling, I found more of non-veg recipes. At Solai Achi's kitchen there are wonderful choices of vegetarian recipes. I tried Kathirkkai mallipachadi from there. It too, was tasty, but could not take pictures. Its the season of tender jack fruit or idichakkai as it is called, here. Normally it is cooked as stir fry at home and occasional as semi-gravy with black eyed peas called 'puzhukku'. When I saw a sambhar like recipe using jack fruit, I wanted to try it. Though the ingredients look similar to sambhar, the taste is unique, probably because of the jack fruit in it. Above all, this a one dish gravy and can be cooked in less than 20 minutes. The only pull back factor is chopping the tender jackfruit which is quite a messy job. For those of you who have the option of buying chopped, frozen packets, then this gravy can be cooked in a jiffy.

Ingredients
Tender jackfruit chopped into small pieces - 1 cup
tuvar dal 1/2 cup
turmeric a pinch
sambar powder - 2 tspn
Onion - 1
tomato -1
water - 2 cups
slit green chilly -1 nos

Method

Chop onion and tomato into small pieces. Take the tender jackfruit pieces, chopped onion and tomato, green chilly,tuvar dal, turmeric powder and sambhar powder in a vessl. Add water to cover the ingredients. Pressure cook for one whistle and cook for 10 minutes on low flame.

When the pressure is fully released, take out the vessel. Stir well. Add salt. You can add some chilly powder if you want it spicier. I did not add any. Bring to a boil and simmer for few minutes. Season with mustard, cumin seeds, red chilly and urad dal. Garnish with curry leaves and coriander.

Serve with rice. It can make a good side for rotis too.

This is my entry to RCI-Chettinad Vegetarian hosted by Srimathi at Few Minute Wonders.

New GE Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb

This just in from from LightNOW.

GE has created a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) shaped exactly like an incandescent light bulb. The first one is 15 watts (60 watt equivalent).

They did it by covering the spiral with a glass bulb. They say it was a real "ship in a bottle" trick.

Here's a picture:

















They are already available at Target, and expected at Ace Hardware this month. Broader availability is expected by Earth Day (April 22, 2009).

Between April and June 2009, GE plans to introduce 9W and 20W versions as 40W and 75W equivalents, respectively. The 20W CFL will have a slightly taller profile that mirrors a standard incandescent 3-way bulb. A 100W equivalent, meanwhile, could be introduced as early as 2010.

Peggy