Guest Event: VFAM - "PAPAYA"

This is again a very very exciting event for me to guest host, because the fruit I have choosen is one of my childhood favorite fruit. I am very happy to share some of my experiences all about this fruit and my childhood. We had papaya tress in our house and I remember eating them a lot and still didn't loose the interest to eat more and more. Now I just have those wonderful memories, but still never loose a chance if I can eat one. Not so many times I get to eat here, but still whenever I get a chance I eat a big one and make myself so satisfied. But the one thing I still want to say about the difference in taste is that, it can never taste as better as a home grown and the one I ate all through my childhood. hmmm.....so yummm!! :):)

Well I need to wake up from my dreams now and talk about more on the guest event that I am hosting and the benefits of eating this fruit......

Well I am guest hosting this event for Priya of "Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes" and the name of the Event is VFAM - Veggie/Fruit A Month" and I choose "PAPAYA" as the fruit of this month.

Now lets talk about this wonderful fruit and the benefits of eating it....

* Papaya fruit is a rich source of nutrients such as provitamin A carotenoids, vitamin C, B vitamins, dietary minerals and dietary fibre. Papaya skin, pulp and seeds also contain a variety of phytochemicals, including natural phenols.
* The fruit can be eaten raw.
* The raw fruit is considered to be a vegetable and used in most of the Asian cooking.
* The papaya seeds can be dried and coarsely ground and used in the place of black pepper.
* In some part of the world the leaves of the papaya tree are streamed and eaten like spinach.

Well now to the main part of this post: The EVENT RULES:
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* Use of Logo is Mandatory, as it will help to stread the word.
* The fruit should be the star of the recipe.
* It can be cooked or raw or any other form.
* It can be any course of the meal
* Only Vegetarian recipes please. (Eggs are allowed).
* Event Date August 1st to August 31st.
*Please link all your recipe in the linky provided.
(If you are unable to link or if you are a non blogger please send in your recipes to anu (dot) healthykitchen (at) gmail (dot) com.

Your Brother-in-law did what?

During my daily visits to area homes I often encounter plumbing and heating systems that have been installed or under-maintained in a way that has rendered them dangerous.  I'm not talking about a dirty furnace filter or a leaky pipe, no. What I'm referencing are situations where a qualified professional should have been hired to perform a job and [most likely] wasn't. Can you think of something in your basement that isn't quite right?  Maybe you had your uncle Ted hook up that clothes dryer when you moved in because he offered his handy work...and it has never worked like the sales guy said it would?  Maybe you or your significant other have taken on the task of installing a new fireplace when you finished the basement? Are you sure everything was installed according to the governing codes?

First and foremost, I only bring this topic up to address the concerns toward something being done in your home that may have the potential to harm you or your family.  In no way am I discounting the ability of anyone who chooses to take on a home project; I am however trying to shed light on the fact that there are some things that should be left to a professional.  If you're mechanical system [duct work or boiler] looks more like something that would be found in Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory after you and your neighbor decided to install a couple extra heat runs for that cold room in the basement, then it may not only be under performing it could also contain some safety concerns. I'll explain.

Often I find myself working in a basement where I will see improper materials used to vent a clothes dryer to the outside. Materials such as plastic venting strung halfway across a basement, making loops and turns a gymnast would be fond of.




 Or, and let's hope you haven't got one of these:
The "Dryer Heat Saver" has been showcased in its various forms and under multiple names all over the internet and on television.  It is not something you want in your laundry room, period.  It's concept is simple; reclaim some of the heat exiting your dryer and use it to heat the room.  An advertisement on the packaging says  "It connects to your dryer vent hose and deflects heat from your dryer into the room rather than wasting it outside.". Let me interject my professional thoughts on this for a line or two. Start rant here: You aren't wasting anything by allowing your dryer exhaust to exit outside, properly, as your dryer manufacturer intended and our Mechanical Code insists upon for your safety.  The very idea that this could be safe negated the understanding that the products of combustion [gas dryer] are not safe to inhale and could cause a fire or even death from carbon monoxide poisoning.  End Rant.  So, if you have one of these please remove it post haste.  Your safety is more important than a couple cents of saving at the end of the month on your gas or electric bill.

Back to the plastic dryer venting.  This stuff for example:
The Minnesota State Mechanical Code  states in section 504 that all dryer venting materials be UL Listed and installed according to the manufacturer's installation guidelines.  Plastic dryer ducting/vent tubes are not UL Listed and never will be.  They are a fire hazard due to their material of construction and their propensity to "clog" up with lint.  I find these all over throughout the metro are and beyond.  If you have one of these, replace it.  You can call a professional such as a plumber or an hvac technician.
















You might expect the replacement to be one of these listed products:

Be sure to insist the replacement duct is a UL listed material and is not assembled using screws to hold it together; the screws catch lint and increase the potential of a fire.  Oh, with a duct system installed properly and employing the rigid pipe pictured above your dry time will decrease significantly saving you time and money!

Another are of concern I encounter often, actually, is in the same room.  Washing machine hoses, while may not present direct safety hazards, can cause you very big problems. 

I have seen the aftermath of a failed washing machine hose and let me tell you it's not pretty.  Oh, and they rarely fail when your home and have your tools on the ready with a spare sitting near by.  No, they often do it as the garage door shuts and you and the family are headed up to the cabin for the weekend.  The picture to the left is what I would call a near miss, it was taken before the rubber hose burst.  You can easily see the large bulge in the hose, I've seen hoses the size of a football.  I highly recommend a trip down to your local hardware or big box for a set of stainless steel constructed hoses shown in the next picture.  They'll run you about $20-30 but are worth their weight.

Next time I'll get a little more in-depth on the topic of hazards brought on by non-professionals performing work in your home.  Until then, thanks for taking the time to read this and have a great day!

Eric Aune, 

Aune Plumbing, LLC
eric@auneplumbing.com

The Briyani / Vegetable Biryani in Pressure Cooker | Indian Rice Recipes

"Briyani" - The exotic dish native to the Asian Sub-continent. The very name makes its fans (including me) all drool with excitement. A rice dish with meat and/or vegetables gets its popularity due to the various spices used in it. There are number of ways to prepare this dish and also every region has its recipe and style to make this. A few famous being Hyderabadi Briyani, Awadhi briyani,