Chocolate Chips Cookies

All thanks to HHB for a wonderful recipe. I followed exactly her recipe. It's crunchy yet not too sweet, fantastic! I'll use this recipe to make more than four hundred cookies for a charity concert for Myanmar refugee. Thank you HHB!

Re: Stimulus plan brings tax breaks to homeowners

The H&G blogs are abuzz about an article that appeared in last Saturday's St. Petersburg (FLA) Times: Stimulus plan brings tax breaks to homeowners.

The article details the new government incentives available to homeowners who upgrade their homes to cut energy consumption; or add high quality energy saving systems to their new homes.

It doesn't have much to do with kitchens or baths. But money in your pocket to do something most people are planning anyway makes a lot of sense.

Read it over and compute how much money you can save by saving energy. Below are the product categories covered.

Peggy

Windows and doors
Roofing
Insulation
Heating and cooling systems
Central air conditioning
Air-source heat pumps
Geothermal heat pump
Water heaters
Gas, oil and propane water heaters
Electric heat pump water heater
Solar water heater
Solar energy: Photovoltaic systems

Navaratna Kurma

Why is my Navaratna kurma healthy?

* No potatoes
* No heavy cream
* No butter
* No cashews
* No coconut

Ingredients:
Chopped veggies(carrot, beans, capsicum, cauliflower)-2 cups
Chopped Onion-3/4 cup
Tomato-1
Finely chopped garlic-3 pods
Green chilli-1
Oil-2 tbsp
Jeera-1/2 tsp
Cloves-4
Cinnamon-2 inch piece
Cardamom-3
Bay leaf-1
Garam masala powder-1/2 tsp
Salt
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Chilli powder-1/4 tsp
Coriander powder-1 tsp
Pineapple pieces-1/4 cup
Raisins-2 tsp
Milk-1/2 cup
Yogurt-1/4 cup
Coriander leaves to garnish

To grind to a paste with little water:
Cashews-soak in warm water for 15 minutes-about 20
or almonds-soak in hot water for 30 minutes and peel the skin-20
Coconut-2 tbsp(optional. I did not use it)

Method:
Heat oil in a pan. Add jeera, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf. Saute for 10 seconds. Add onion, garlic and green chilli. Fry till onions turn golden brown. Add tomato and other veggies(except capsicum), turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and some salt. Saute for a couple of minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water. Close the pan with a lid and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until the veggies are cooked. Add capsicum and saute for 2 minutes. Add milk, yogurt, ground nuts paste, pineapple, raisins and salt(if needed) and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with roits or rice.

I used almonds in this recipe. So I am sending this entry to JZ's Lets Go Nuts: Almonds - March 31st event started by Aquadaze of Served with Love

As I won the first place in Santa's holiday Challenge for sending my guilt free oats and dates cookies, JZ(the host) sent me a Target gift card which I felt was a very useful gift! I went to shop the next day and bought this cute handbag :) Thank you so much for your gesture JZ. That was very sweet of you. I was so excited when I received the gift card!!

How is it? :) I have a fetish for handbags. I go for a walk everyday and stop by a couple of shops on the way and gaze at the handbags. ha ha....some day I am going to be thrown out of the shop :P