A Family Favorite

COCONUT LENTIL CURRY

(2009 Cardamom Kitchen LLC All Rights Reserved)

Serves 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS

1 cup masoor dhal (red lentils)

1/2 cup diced onion

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

3 1/2 cups water

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch cayenne

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

10 fresh curry leaves

3/4 teaspoon canola oil

1/8 teaspoon black mustard seeds

3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

1 dry red pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Place dhal in a stockpot. Cover with water and stir to remove excess starch. The water will turn cloudy. Drain. Repeat until water becomes clear. Drain.

Add water to rinsed lentils.

Reserve 1/4 cup of onion for later use. Add other 1/4 cup onions to pot.

Add garlic, salt, cayenne, cumin, turmeric powder, and curry leaves. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. (Dhal will soften and expand as it cooks.) Remove from heat.

Place oil in a small saute pan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and cover. When seeds start to pop, add 1/4 cup onion and stir. Cook uncovered until onion begin to brown.

Add coconut and red pepper. Cook until coconut becomes lightly toasted.

Add coconut mixture to dhal and stir to blend throughout. Serve with rice.

Focaccia Sandwich

Focaccia bread is just nice to serve with a bowl of warm creamy soup, that's what I normally do. However, I found another way of eating it. Yes, I know some of you already knew a better way of eating it but that's just what I've discovered few days ago. It's a bit shame that I only knew it recently but nothing is too late right?!

I like to use the focaccia recipe from 孟老师的100道面包. It's just so simple to make that I don't have to knead too long for the dough. This time, I made something extra for the recipe which is sandwiched some ham and mozzarella cheese with onion, garlic, herbs and cheddar cheese for toppings.

The result ended up very yummy that I can just eat it straight a way without a bowl of soup. It's a softness and crusty combination from the inside to outside. The topping enhance the flavour which the onion and garlic almost caramelized and the herbs bring out a fantastic aroma together with the cheddar cheese. I like it very much! Hope you'll like it too!

Recipe (I used half the recipe for two):

300g bread

10g sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon yeast

170g water

10g olive oil

onion, sliced

garlic, sliced

oregano and parsley

cheddar cheese

Mix all the ingredients together then gradually add in the olive oil and continue the kneading process until it become a smooth dough. You don't have to knead the dough like making a loaf of bread. Let it proof for 60 minutes.

Divide the dough into a few small portions, it's very depends on your whether you want to make two sandwiches or more or just leave it as a big portion of serving size then give it a rest for ten minutes. As for me, I divide the dough into two portions because I want to make a sandwich. After ten minutes of resting, roll out the dough in any shape you like and place it on a baking tray, I made it into rectangular shape. Then place a few slices of ham and mozzarella cheese on top of the roll out dough and don't forget to leave a space at the edges. Roll out another dough into the same shape and place it the on top and seal the edges tightly. Let it proof for 20 minutes. Egg wash the dough then put the onion, garlic, cheddar cheese and some herbs. Bake at 190'C preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown with a crusty texture. Enjoy!

I'm in HOT WATER!

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!