As part of an energy upgrade to our home, which is winding up today; our energy auditor and contractor, Recurve (formerly Sustainable Spaces), recommended we install an Advanced Conservation Technologies Metlund D'MAND Hot Water System.
I had never heard of it, but was intrigued when they explained to me how it worked.
What it does is pump hot water from the hot water heater, through the supply line and bridges back to the cold water line until the water comes up to a preset temperature.
We have been living with the Metlund for a few days now and I am really excited about this product.
We push the button and it runs for a few minutes and then shuts down. Because it is installed in the bathroom farthest from the hot water heater, ALL of the faucets in the house are then ready to be turned on and immediately produce hot water.
We are using it several times a day.
This is so cool.
Recurve estimates that we will save 5000 gallons of water a year that would have gone down the drain waiting for the water to get hot (No more guilt when I water my bonsai).
Recurve estimates our payback will be two years. A person handy with plumbing (not me) could easily do the installation themselves and get a quicker payback. In fact, I can't imagine why anyone would not want to install this system!
Ours is installed in our crawl space under the house. I highly recommend this option if you have the supply lines and electrical connection available, or easy to achieve, there. The system is definitely utilitarian in appearance, so hiding it away is the best option.
Here's an installation video on YouTube:
P.S. For you Buy-It-Yourselfers: Take the POLL in the right sidebar at the Metlund web site and you get $50 off your purchase.
Peggy
An addendum:
Recurve has now given us two remote controls for the Metlund.
We keep one in the kitchen and the other in our second bath.
No more running back to the other bath to push the button to get hot water in the other locations.
This is GREAT!
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Chestnut Chiffon Cake
You might be frighten by these alien. It might gives you an uncomfortable feeling. Don't worry it's not worm or insect or rope. My other half thought it's noodles at his first sight. There are non of them. It's just a chestnut cream that was decorated from piping bag.
Well, if you've seen this from the front page of a chiffon recipe book with this similar picture and this is the recipe book that I've been reading 戚枫蛋糕秘方传授. I think the taste of this chiffon might not be so popular, unlike chocolate, coffee or banana chiffon.
The sponge texture is really light, soft and fluffy whereas the taste is not very sweet as I pureed some unsweetened peeled chestnut which I bought from DAISO and mix it with the canned chestnut paste. The topping of the chestnut cream enhance the flavour that is just nice to eat with a bite of sponge and some cream. If you like it, you'll ask for more, but if you don't, you don't even feel to have a second bite. A piece is definitely not enough for me as its lightness really fascinated me.
Recipe:
Egg white mixture:
Egg white mixture:
110g egg whites
55g sugar
5g corn flour
Egg yolk mixture:
40g egg yolks
50g water
40g vegetable oil
50g passion fruit
55g plain flour
35g unsweetened chestnut, blend into puree
35g chestnut paste in can
90g unsweetened whole chestnut, halves
Decoration:
250ml whipping cream
60g unsweetened chestnut, blend into puree
60g chestnut paste in can
30g milk
few unsweetened whole chestnut, halves
How I made it:
- Mix all the egg yolks mixture except flour. When everything well combined then add in sifted flour. Mix everything well combine and no lumps left. The mixture would be quite thick and smooth.
- Beat the egg whites in a clean large bowl until peak foam. Gradually add in sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Then finally add in corn flour. Make sure the corn flour mix well in the egg mixture. The egg whites mixture should be peak foam, smooth and shiny.
- Gently fold in 1/3 of the egg whites mixture into the egg yolks mixture. When everything well combine then gently fold in the 1/2 of the remaining egg whites mixture. Lastly, fold in the remaining egg whites mixture. (Note: This stage took some times and patient and practice. Make sure all the egg whites mixture well combine with the egg yolks mixture without breaking the egg whites. Little egg whites left will cause a big hole in the cake during baking. And, over mixing will cause it hardly rise during the baking.)
- Fold in the unsweetened whole chestnut.
- Pour the well mix mixture into a 17cm chiffon cake tin and bake at a 160'C preheated oven for 40 minutes. After baked, let the baked cake turn upside down for cooling. Cling wrap the entire chiffon cake with the tin and refrigerated for over night. This will make the texture much nicer.
- Unmold the chiffon cake. Whip the cream until thicken. In another bowl, mix the pureed unsweetened whole chestnut, chestnut paste and warm milk until smooth. Fold in 25g of the whipped cream until well mix. Place this chestnut cream into a piping bag.
- Spread the chiffon cake with whipping cream then pipe out the chestnut cream on top of the cake and place a few chunky chestnut for garnishment.
- Keep the cake in the fridge it could last for 4 days.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Strawberries
Being a yard less urbanite is fine in the winter (who wants to shovel snow). But I always feel cheated by the concrete come spring. I grew up with a garden that attracted bees, fireflies, and humming birds. Fortunately, I inherited a plot in a community garden in May. Eager to partake in spring planting rituals, I bought seedlings for the rich, Who-filled soil. Tomatoes, bell peppers, basil, thyme, sage, dill, parsley, and hot peppers, at the insistence of my Indian mom, all found a place in the small plot.
I felt content with my garden until I noticed a small patch of lime green plants in a neighboring plot. The deeply grooved leaves, which sat close to the ground, looked familiar. Strawberry plants! Why wasn't I trying to beckon summer's first fruit? A week later, white petaled flowers with yellow centers graced the stems. I knew the blossoms would turn into glossy red berries - more fragrant and flavorful than the super-sized varieties shipped from California. Fearful of my weakness for their juicy flesh, I scheduled a trip to the farmer's market.
June strawberries satisfy all the senses, whether dressed up (with cream or chocolate) or eaten right off the stem. In addition, they provide a healthy dose of dietary fiber, thanks to the tiny seeds polk-a-doting the outer flesh, and vitamin C. The one drawback: this exquisite fruit lingers around for about month. So don't waste time coveting your neighbor's patch. Visit your local farmer's market this week or schedule a trip to the closest U-Pick farm!
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