Guava Cheese

There is no chesse in this guava cheese.  I have read about guava cheese in some novels. At that time I did not have any idea about what it is. Later, through blogging, I understood its a kind of fudge like sweet made out of guava. I am so fond of guavas. I love to eat to bite into the fruit and I don't prefer to slice them and eat. During my college days, we used to be given fruits daily. Guavas was also given. In my last year, one of classmate, Sandhya shifted to a room near to mine. Knowing my love for this fruit, whenever it is given, she used to invariably come and check if hers is bigger than mine and will exchange it. Even today, whenever I eat guava, those memories keep coming back.

Coming to the recipe, it doesn't call for many ingredients. The main ingredients are guava and sugar. But it is very time consuming. I adapted the recipe from here. Hop there to see the step-by step pictures. I decided to do it microwave thinking it will get done quickly with minimum effort. After around 25 minutes, it did not look like thickening any sooner. So I completed it over stove top. I did not get the red color as in the original recipe. So decided to add some color else it was a pale yellow.

You need

Guava pulp - 1 cup heaped ( Used 3 guavas)
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Lemon juice - 1 tspn
Butter - 2 tspn
Food color (optional) - 3 drops of red+ 1 drop of blue

Method

Preparing the pulp

I used 3 big ripe guavas. Make slit on four sides of the guava. Don't make the slit very deep. Pressure cook the three guavas with a cup of water.  When the guavas cool, cut open them. Scoop the seeds along with some pulp. Keep the seeds separately. Take the pulp into a separate bowl. Strain the seeds along with the cooked water to extract the pulp sticking to the seeds. Use a sieve or a cheese cloth for this. Take all the pulp in a mixer jar and puree it. Add sugar also and blend well.

Take the pureed pulp in a heavy bottomed vessel and cook on a low flame. Half way through the cooking, add lime juice. It helps in setting the cheese faster. When it starts thickening, add butter. Adding butter gives a sheen to the cheese. When the mix comes together and leaves the sides of the vessel, transfer to a greased plate. Spread even. When it is warm, mark slices.

I cooked for around half an hour in the MW. But since it wasn't setting, I thought it is better to cook on stove top so that I know when to stop. I cooked for another 10 minutes on the stove and it was set. If you take a spoon of the mix and it is rollable with your finger, then you can stop. The cheese should be soft, yet firm.

Home Sewer Line and Drain Disaster Prevention

Don't Let Obstruction Lead to Destruction!

Blocked sewer lines and drains can wreak havoc with any home, causing the bath, sink or toilet to back up and fill with waste water and sewage. That's if you're lucky. A really bad blockage can cause your tub, sink or toilet to overflow, ruining floors, rugs and carpets and creating a highly unsanitary situation for all members of your household.

Major drain and sewer line backups and problems are not for the faint of heart. When they occur, you almost always need to call a professional drain cleaning or sewer line company like Horizon Servcices...especially if the blockage is particularly tenacious and a long time in the making.

Build up of scale and rusting, years of accumulated gunk and waste, even invasive plant roots are the major causes of blocked drains and sewer lines. The good news is that with proper usage and maintenance, most drain and sewer line disasters are unnecessary and avoidable. A few sensible precautions can prevent most drain and sewer line blockages from ever occurring.

Just like your car, your home's plumbing and drainage system needs some level of basic regular maintenance to keep it functioning properly. As well as regular checks by yourself, a professional plumbing or drain cleaning specialist should be called in each year to snake your drain lines and keep them clear.

Do-it-yourselfers can often clear minor blockages to sinks, tubs and toilets with a plunger. But the kind of blockage that leads to a back-up situation usually requires much more aggressive means. Special chemicals like acids and other corrosive products can effectively clean drains and clear sewer lines...but they can be very dangerous and destructive to your body, your clothing, your floors and surfaces, even your pipes. Be extremely careful when pouring these corrosive chemicals down drains. Before you try the chemical route, call a drain cleaning or sewer line specialist. Most have tools and techniques ranging from snaking devices to high-powered hydro-jetting that can safely clear almost any obstruction. Companies like Horizon Services even employ state-of-the-art cameras that can identify the cause and pinpoint the exact location of the blockage. Chemicals are used only as a last resort.

Major toilet and tub back-ups will often give you warning signs. Like a volcano or a geyser, toilets and tubs will often make gurgling, bubbling and belching noises several days before they erupt. If your toilets and tubs start doing this, call a drain cleaning or sewer line specialist immediately...they'll clear the obstruction BEFORE you have a messier situation on your hands.

If sewage does start backing up into toilets, sinks and showers, call a drain cleaning or sewer line professional immediately. After making the call, use bleach and water to sanitize any areas that have been affected.

Of course, an ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure. Here are some simple things you should do to prevent any of these drain and sewer line disasters from occurring in the first place:

• Make sure that a strainer is in place in your kitchen sink to stop large, cloggable waste products from getting into pipes, drains and lines.
• Never pour cooking oil or grease down the drain.
• Don’t use too much toilet paper (the main cause of toilets blocking up).
• Don't flush ANYTHING down the toilet besides toilet paper and human waste. This includes tissues, paper towels, baby wipes, sanitary products, cotton balls and hair. Even seemingly harmless products like soap, shampoot and hair gel. All these things can coagulate and block drains and sewer lines.
• Pour boiling water, or a mixture of baking soda and vinegar, down drains regularly to help to keep them clear.
  
  

Related Drain and Sewer Line Information from Horizon Services...

• Horizon Drain Cleaning Services
• Horizon Sewer Line Replacement and Repair Services
• Make Sure You're Covered for Sewer Backups
• Keep Your Home Free from Mold and Mildew
• How To Properly Use a Plunger to Unclog a Toilet, Sink or Tub

Methi Aloo Paratha | Roti Paratha Recipes

It was quite a while I made aloo paratha. This time I decided to try it by adding methi. I didn't have fresh methi so I tried with Kasoori methi (Dried Fenugreek Leaves). It came out excellent and was relished well for a satisfying meal.





Ingredients:
Yields - 8-9 parathas

Wheat flour - 2 1/2 cups
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp + 1 tsp
Water - to knead the dough - Slightly more than one-third