Are you thinking about having a tankless water heater installed in your home?
There are some definite benefits to having a tankless water heater installed, not the least of which is the savings on your gas bill. You should use noticeably less gas with a tankless water heater than with a standard “tank” water heater. How?
If you have a 50 gallon gas water heater in your home, you are essentially keeping a 50 gallon tank of water heated to between 115 – 120 F. It will depend on where you have the thermostat on your water heater set, but you are heating this water all day and all night. If you go on vacation, you are heating this water. If you spend the weekend in Vegas, you are heating this water. This uses a lot of gas
When you install a tankless water heater, you only heat water when you open the faucet.
A tankless water heater has a device in it called a flow switch. This senses when water is flowing through the heater and turns on the gas to the burner. If you open a hot faucet somewhere in your house, the tankless water heater will immediately turn on and make 120 F hot water. When you turn off the faucet, the tankless water heater senses the flow has stopped and stops making hot water. This means you only use gas while you are using water!
This could mean a substantial savings on your gas bill. What’s more, there are rebates available from the federal government, and maybe from your gas company. Check the Noritz website and click on “Click Here For Local Utility Rebates” in the lower left corner. There is a rebate from the federal government ($300.00) and there may be one from your local gas company (up to $525.00!).
AB&R Plumbing has a lot of experience installing tankless water heaters. These can be installed in your home, office, RV, wherever you currently have a standard water heater. They can run on natural gas or propane, so you can really put them anywhere. Contact us and find out how you can start saving money on your gas bill today.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Microwave Chocolate Pudding
I am not a big fan of puddings. But when I announced the theme for MEC, I was reminded of the pudding recipe in the book that came along with the microwave. So decided to give a try. It was very easy to make and got pretty decent result too. The original recipe has gelatin in it. I replaced it with china grass. You can whip up a pudding with very few ingredients and in less time.
You need
1 cup milk
2 tspn cocoa powder
1 tbspn china grass
1/2 tspn vanilla essence
2 tbspn powdered sugar
1/4 cup water
Garnish
1 tblspn Sweet cream
few glazed cherries
Method
In 1/4 cup of warm water, mix china grass and keep aside to dissolve. In a microwave safe bowl, mix milk,vanilla essence, powdered sugar. Microwave at 100% power for 5 minutes. Make sure your bowl is big enough that milk doesn't overflow on boiling. Now add the dissolved china grass to the bowl. Mix and microwave at 60% power for 3 minutes.
Transfer it to the serving dish. Leave it, till it reaches room temperature. Refrigerate and serve chilled. Garnish with sweet cream and cherries/strawberries.
This is the entry to MEC:Puddings guest hosted right here, an event started by Srivalli.
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Mavillaku or Tambittu - Rice Jaggery Lamp
Mavillaku or Tambittu
-A lamp made of Rice and Jaggery
As the distant drum beats got nearer and nearer, we ran out of the house and stood near the compound to witness the procession. When the drum beats neared our house we could feel goose bumps on our selves and many a time we tapped our foot and danced to the rhythm as the colourful procession passed our street. Women clad in bright coloured sarees carried the decorated baskets containing Tambittu on their heads. They walked fast with one hand holding the basket, and the other hand dragging along their offsprings, who ran along to keep pace with their mothers. The men who led the procession were in their own world, as they played on their drums with great frenzy. They were all devotees of Male Mahadeswara who resided atop a hill in the M.M. Hills situated in the Kollegal ranges, and they were carrying the Tambittu for lighting a lamp at the feet of their Lord.
Lighting lamps in the Mavilakku or Tambittu is a devotional exercise carried out by the devotees as a mark of respect and thanks giving to the family deity. The mavu or flour is prepared with rice and jaggery pounded together using a huge stone mortar and pestle. A ball of this mixture is shaped into a lamp, by giving it a depression on top to hold the ghee and the wick. This Mavilakku (maavu-vilakku meaning flour-lamp) is lit and the family deity is installed in the lamp. All the prayers and worship are now offered to the Mavilakku who is now the Lord. The family waits till all the ghee in the mavilakku is exhausted, and will then perform the mangalaarati (a Hindu devotional ritual where camphor is lit, and waved in a cirular motion around the deity. More information in this wiki.) just before the ‘Lord ascends the Hills’ – that is, just before the flame in the Mavilakku goes out. After this the Mavilakku is distributed among all as the prasadam (usually an edible offering made to God, and then distributed amongst devotees)
This is indeed a strange custom where the 'offering becomes the offeree and then the offeree becomes the prasadam'!!
INGREDIENTS:
Rice – 1 cup
Jaggery powder - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder – 1 pinch
Ghee – 1 tsp
METHOD:
1. Wash the rice and spread on a clean towel.
2. When it is nearly dry, powder it in a mixer.
3. Add the jaggery powder and the cardamom powder to the rice powder and mix well using your hand. Do not add water, as the softened jaggery alone is sufficient.
4. When the dough becomes pliable like a chappati dough, shape it into lamps.
5. Make a depression on top and pour in ghee.
5. Place a cotton wick soaked in ghee in the lamp and light it.
6. The ghee will melt and soak into the mavilakku till the flame is on, lending the mavu a unique flavour.
Relish the prasadam with the blessings of the Almighty.
Note from Dibs: These edible lamps go to the Kitchen Masterpiece event, hosted by our blog! Today is the last day, and we are glad we met our own deadline!!!
.
-A lamp made of Rice and Jaggery
As the distant drum beats got nearer and nearer, we ran out of the house and stood near the compound to witness the procession. When the drum beats neared our house we could feel goose bumps on our selves and many a time we tapped our foot and danced to the rhythm as the colourful procession passed our street. Women clad in bright coloured sarees carried the decorated baskets containing Tambittu on their heads. They walked fast with one hand holding the basket, and the other hand dragging along their offsprings, who ran along to keep pace with their mothers. The men who led the procession were in their own world, as they played on their drums with great frenzy. They were all devotees of Male Mahadeswara who resided atop a hill in the M.M. Hills situated in the Kollegal ranges, and they were carrying the Tambittu for lighting a lamp at the feet of their Lord.
Lighting lamps in the Mavilakku or Tambittu is a devotional exercise carried out by the devotees as a mark of respect and thanks giving to the family deity. The mavu or flour is prepared with rice and jaggery pounded together using a huge stone mortar and pestle. A ball of this mixture is shaped into a lamp, by giving it a depression on top to hold the ghee and the wick. This Mavilakku (maavu-vilakku meaning flour-lamp) is lit and the family deity is installed in the lamp. All the prayers and worship are now offered to the Mavilakku who is now the Lord. The family waits till all the ghee in the mavilakku is exhausted, and will then perform the mangalaarati (a Hindu devotional ritual where camphor is lit, and waved in a cirular motion around the deity. More information in this wiki.) just before the ‘Lord ascends the Hills’ – that is, just before the flame in the Mavilakku goes out. After this the Mavilakku is distributed among all as the prasadam (usually an edible offering made to God, and then distributed amongst devotees)
This is indeed a strange custom where the 'offering becomes the offeree and then the offeree becomes the prasadam'!!
INGREDIENTS:
Rice – 1 cup
Jaggery powder - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder – 1 pinch
Ghee – 1 tsp
METHOD:
1. Wash the rice and spread on a clean towel.
2. When it is nearly dry, powder it in a mixer.
3. Add the jaggery powder and the cardamom powder to the rice powder and mix well using your hand. Do not add water, as the softened jaggery alone is sufficient.
4. When the dough becomes pliable like a chappati dough, shape it into lamps.
5. Make a depression on top and pour in ghee.
5. Place a cotton wick soaked in ghee in the lamp and light it.
6. The ghee will melt and soak into the mavilakku till the flame is on, lending the mavu a unique flavour.
Relish the prasadam with the blessings of the Almighty.
Note from Dibs: These edible lamps go to the Kitchen Masterpiece event, hosted by our blog! Today is the last day, and we are glad we met our own deadline!!!
.
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