Banana Strawberry Bread

Susan Pachikara (COPYRIGHT 2011)

A few weeks ago, I traveled to southern Illinois. For most of the six-hour journey, our train chugged through open prairie. Golden rods layered the fields and, hawks dipped into sight, slicing the air with their broad, scalloped wings. I nodded in and out of sleep soon after we left Chicago. By the time the conductor announced "Effingham, Effingham, Illinois!" I could no longer sleep. I sat up and started scribbling a list of things I wanted to do during my brief visit. It began with picking strawberries.

Susan Pachikara (COPYRIGHT 2011)

As a child, I spent summers catching army green frogs and stirring up concoctions with wild mint and water from the garden hose. At dusk, my friend Annette and I would track lightening bugs with empty glass jars, devising new navigational strategies when the sky turned black enough to see the stars.

Susan Pachikara (COPYRIGHT 2011)

During summer vacation, Mrs. Barbay would take us strawberry picking. At the farm, we would hop on to a flatbed waiting in the parking lot and dangle our feet over the edge. Once all the U-pickers had boarded, the truck inched toward the berries, passing a barn, tractors, and, maybe, a few cows. Soon rows of strawberry plants appeared. We would hoist ourselves to the ground, cushioned by a light layering of hay, and spend the morning hovered over the plants, pulling back their leaves in search of the colorful, low-lying fruit.

Susan Pachikara (COPYRIGHT 2011)

When I left Chicago, the strawberry plants in the community garden had just unfurled their leaves. It would be several weeks before they grew delicate, daisy-like flowers and even longer before any fruit appeared. In the region of the Bible Belt where I grew up, the strawberry farms would be open for the first round of picking. All winter long, I had longed for the floral sweetness of June bearing strawberries. With a little luck, I would be able to enjoy a bowlful alongside a plate of fried Catfish and some sweet iced tea.

Susan Pachikara (COPYRIGHT 2011)

BANANA STRAWBERRY BREAD

When I tracked down the list of fruits that contain the most pesticides, I learned that strawberries are part of the Dirty Dozen. So be sure to wash them thoroughly before you use them or buy organic strawberries. Do the same with lemons.

Also, try to use strawberries as soon as possible. If you need to store them for a day or two, lay them out in a single layer and refrigerate them. Be sure to throw out moldy berries to keep mold from spreading.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup strawberries, finely diced

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons plain nonfat yogurt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

6 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix together strawberries, bananas, lemon zest, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla.

Carefully mix banana-strawberry mixture into dry ingredients until flour just disappears. Do not over mix.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake until bread is golden brown, about an hour. Cool for at least 15 minutes on wire rack.

Susan Pachikara (COPYRIGHT 2011)

Energy Monitoring Systems & How They Help to Lower Power Bills

Energy Monitoring Systems & How They Help to Lower Power Bills

Let's first start off with describing what a Home Energy Monitoring System is, and how it is installed in your home to help you reduce energy consumption, thus lowering power bills. There are a variety of different manufacturer's and models of Home Energy Management Systems, and they vary in options, but they all perform the same function, and that's Energy Management.  Most all your home energy management systems will have a measuring tranmitting unit, which is the piece that attaches to your circuit board; then a gateway system of some sort, to send the wireless signal to your home computer.  It's pretty simple, but we recommend having a professional install anything to a breaker box, plus configuring the IP and Gateway is tricky for the inexperienced. Once they monitoring device is installed to the board, software is installed on your computer to get the readings off the device in the breaker box, with up to the minute stats of how much power you are using in your home, at every outlet in your home.  This enables the homeowner to see if old appliances are consuming too much energy, indicating bad appliances; or if the little red light on the DVD player is consuming a lot more energy then you thought.  Either way, it allows homeowners to identify unneeded electricity consumption.  Here are some of the benefits homeowners have seen from installing an energy monitoring device into their homes.

• See Where Power is Used and Wasted - monitor outlets, appliances, electronics
• Monitor Appliances Performance and Health - Indicates poor performing appliances
• Keep Your Family Safe - Mobile User Interface can tell if an appliance was left on or not.
• Lower your Utility Bills by up to 25% - lowers utilities by eliminating wasted power usage
• Use the Monitoring System on Your Terms - Cut the system on or off whenever you please.

Energy Management Systems are one of the most affordable "Green" Building Products for homeowners on the market today.  If your looking for control over your power usage, you need a energy management system from Retro Solutions Construction Company.  Get a Free Estimate in South Carolina on installation of a Energy Monitoring System here:

Call Dan at: 706-951-0158 or visit on the web at: http://www.scroofingcontractors.com 

We hope this blog has been informative and that  homeowners across the country will take advantage of this simple Energy Saving Home Improvement, that not only saves on utility bills, but better for the enviroment.  Stay tuned for more post to our blog on Energy Saving Home Improvements, and thanks for reading. 

Retro-Solutions Construction Company Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 706-951-0158 http://www.scroofingcontractors.com Energy Efficient Roofing Systems | Spray Foam Insulation | Wall Foam Insulation | Crawl Space Encapsulations | Solar Energy Powered Hot Water Heaters | Solar Energy | Energy Monitoring | Standing Seam Metal Roofs | Tile Roofs | Slate Roofs | Historic Home Retrofits |

Kerala-Style Fried Fish

(Susan Pachikara COPYRIGHT 2011)

The first day I was in Kottayam, Iyshakochamma and I went in search of a meen chutty – an earthenware pot dedicated to cooking fish. We walked to the main thoroughfare to flag down an auto rickshaw. Tatas, Suzukis, and the pod-shaped three wheelers zipped by us, like twigs travelling downstream. After several minutes of futile waving, a rickshaw swung off the road and abruptly stopped in front of us. We slid in back. Iyshakochamma asked the driver to take us to the main business district and he strong-armed the steering wheel back towards the charging traffic.

As the driver dodged harried taxis, barreling buses, and whole families on scooters, we jerked left and right, up and down. Flocks of school children, street side temples, and white washed churches where Syrian Christians worship shot by on either side. Our hair tossed and flipped in the gritty, open air and our noses perked as the smell of fried fish, exhaust, and jasmine ebbed and flowed. After several minutes, we pulled behind a truck transporting a towering heap of green bananas and we followed it to a large open market.

(Susan Pachikara COPYRIGHT 2011)

We slipped out of the rickshaw and into a zig-zag of commerce being carried out of storefronts, off carts and curbsides. A lemon vendor gave way to a man selling fresh fish. A purveyor of coconuts segued into a woman peddling bananas. We passed concord grapes with skin that rivaled fine velvet and sunset yellow papayas. Hawkers beckoned us to try their lanky beans, which sat within eyesight of ruddy tomatoes and pineapples topped with fountains of green.

The Portuguese who were the first to find a sea route to India brought much of this bounty. Their most pivotal contribution to India, and other parts of Asia, was the introduction of the chili. The spice is so integral to everyday Kerala cooking that nearly every family has a hot pepper plant (and when I was charting out my plot in the community garden, miles away, my mom insisted that I plant hot peppers, which I did.) At the market, we saw an array of chili – red, green, fat, lean.

(Susan Pachikara COPYRIGHT 2011)

As we navigated the bustling market, Iyshakochamma continued sleuthing for the meen chutty. Each vendor directed us to walk a bit further. About an hour into our search, we came to a narrow alleyway. An elderly woman in a faded cotton sari stood in a doorway. Around her feet, sat an army of clay red and charcoal black meen chutties, their straight sides giving way to a slightly rounded bottom. These pots conduct heat more evenly than their aluminum counterparts and are ideal for gently cooking fish. The woman turned over my selection, and tapped the bottom, testing its craftsmanship in front of us. She handed me the pot shrouded in newspaper and we headed home.

KERALA-STYLE FRIED FISH

(COPYRIGHT CARDAMOM KITCHEN 2011)

This recipe demonstrates how gorgeous cayenne pepper tastes when it is part of a simple, well-balanced spice mixture. Here it adds dynamic flavor rather than overpowering heat. (When a dish is really hot, it can be because the spices are poorly portioned. Items that are meant to be hot-hot, such as pickles and chutneys, tend to be eaten in small portions.)

I love making this recipe with salmon, but you can substitute just about any other fish from catfish to pampano. It's glorious with sardines, but they'll leave a fishy odor in your kitchen for days. Also, this recipe is very delicious broiled or grilled if you prefer a more heart heathy dish.

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

1 pound salmon fillets

2 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Dash of turmeric

2 tablespoons shallots, finely minced (optional)

2 teaspoons water

Canola oil for deep frying

(Susan Pachikara COPYRIGHT 2011)

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash salmon and slice into roughly 2 inch x 3 inch pieces. Cut 1/2 inch diagonal slits into flesh.

Mash shallots in a mortar and pestle.

In a small bowl, mix cayenne, garlic powder, salt, turmeric, and shallots. Add water and mix until it forms a paste.

Rub fish with paste. Marinate in the refrigerate for at least two hours.

Heat oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onion slices. Add a few pieces of fish, skin side down to oil. Lower heat to medium and cook until fish browns, about 5 minutes. Turn fish and cook other side.

Remove fish from oil and place on paper towel.

(Susan Pachikara COPYRIGHT 2011)