Orange Rice with Caramelized Onions

Off late I had been coming across many recipes with orange in the blog world. It is long time since I bought oranges, so I picked a couple of those on my weekend grocery shopping, planning to try something new with this one. I came up with this citrus-y, tangy-sweet orange rice. It had a zesty and sparkling taste.




Ingredients:
Rice - 1 1/2 cups
Orange juice - 1/4 cup
Zest of 1 orange
Salt -

Design Fees: Flat Rate vs. Hourly?

I am bringing this question over from a designer's group I moderate.
Seems like it would be of interest to consumers as well as  designers.

Q.

I have recently read some marketing advice that said some clients would rather pay a flat set rate for a job than be billed hourly. I think it is very hard to calculate how much time you can spend on any one job because so many unknown things come up.

A.

I agree that clients think they would rather pay a flat rate. It just seems simpler than the unknown.

The problem with a flat rate is that you are going to end up charging most clients MORE than they would have paid hourly, while a few others will pay less. The only way to come up with an average (and thus a flat rate) is to go over your books for a number of years and average everything out.

Hardly anyone is really average, so you will come out OK (based on the past) but THEY will pay more or less, depending upon how much of your time they use. They will also tend to USE more of your time because they don't have to pay any more to get it. So you will have to take this into account and recalculate your flat rate every year...It WILL creep up because your clients have no incentive to economize.

I always tell my clients that the best way to pay me less is for them to be efficient. The more decisive they are, the quicker things go.

That's why contractors used to do the old "white or almond?" schtick. It kept things simple.
Too many choices can be overwhelming for some clients. Lots of clients, in fact. Trouble is: There are just more and more choices these days...and we ARE designers after all. We're all about choice!

I also think that the designer who presents questions requiring decisions to the client in a logical order, without too much at one time, can control the pace of the design project and keep the client from getting overwhelmed.

Thing is: We can never tell in the first interview who is going to be decisive and who is going to be a waffler who takes forever to make up her mind, and then changes it ten times.

Why should the decisive client have to pay for the contribution the waffler makes to the flat rate?

I continue to charge hourly, to be fair to everybody. I also give a range of estimated charges based upon my understanding of the scope of the project and my past experience.

What do YOU think?

Peggy

Easy Pulisseri - Majiga Pulusu - More Kolumbu - Yogurt Curry

I made this easy yogurt curry, "Pulisseri" in Malayalam (Kerala), "Majiga Pulusu" in Telugu (Andhra Pradesh) and "More Kolumbu" in Tamil (Tamil Nadu), because Shoj likes to eat this a lot. In Kerala they make this adding a ground paste of coconut, but I don't like it that way much. So thought of making it my way and it turned out to be good and Shoj also liked it. In Andhra Pradesh, my mom usually makes it by adding Basen (Chana dal flour), i don't like it that way either.

Actually I am not trying to criticize anyone or any state of India, but wanted to add a little twist to the original recipe and make it simple and taste the same.

Ingredients:

------------

1 cup Yogurt

I big pinch of Fenugreek powder

½ tsp Turmeric powder

¼ tsp Chili Powder

¼ tsp Coriander powder

½ tsp Cumin powder

Salt to taste

1 medium Onion chopped

1 Big pod of Garlic hopped

¼ inch Ginger finely chopped

2-3 Green Chilies

1 Dry Red Chili

Water as needed

1 sprig Curry Leaves

¼ tsp Mustard seeds

1tsp Oil (optional - coconut oil)

Method:

------------

In a sauce pan add oil and when it’s hot add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, and dry red chili.

Now add the ginger and garlic and sauté it for a min.

Add the Onions and sauté it until they turn to transparent

In the meantime whisk the yogurt well adding a bit water (1/4 cup) to make it bit thin, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chili powder, cumin powder and fenugreek powder and mix it well with a whisk.

Now reduce the flame or temporarily remove the pan from heat and add couple tbsp of water and mix well.

Now add the Yogurt mixture and mix well again and place again on the stove in low heat and keep stirring it and add salt to it.

This curry should not boil or heat too much because it will cuddle the yogurt.

Note: to make the perfect curry – bend to see the top of the pan and check for a slight steam coming, and keep stirring. This will not cuddle the yogurt.

Now remove this sauce and transfer it to a bowl and stir occasionally so that you can avoid the yogurt from cuddling.