Archive for December, 2009

Bosch 24″ SHX43P15UC Stainless Steel 300 Series Undercounter Dishwasher

Product Description
Bosch 24″ SHX43P15UC Stainless Steel 300 Series Undercounter Dishwasher – SHX43P15SS. 14 Place Setting Capacity. Flow-Through Water Heater. Triple Filtration System. AquaStop Leak Protection. Concealed Heating Element. SaniDry Hygienic Condensation Drying. Manual Height Adjustment Upper Rack. Multi-Function LED With Remaining Time. Stainless Steel Finish

Bosch 24″ SHX43P15UC Stainless Steel 300 Series Undercounter Dishwasher

Bosch 24″ Integra 500 Series Fully Integrated Undercounter Dishwasher

Product Description
Bosch 24″ Integra 500 Series Undercounter Dishwasher – SHV65P03. 14 Place Setting Capacity. 6 Wash Cyles And 3 Option. 47 dBA Virtually Silent. InfoLight. Two Pumps. Energy Star Rated. EcoSense. Half Load Option. Flow-Through Water Heater. Quadruple Filtration System. Sanitize Option. SaniDry. RackMatic. Delay Start Timer. OptiDry. Custom Panel & Handle Required

Bosch 24″ Integra 500 Series Fully Integrated Undercounter Dishwasher

Water Conservation: 10 Things You Can Do at Home

Water conservation is an important topic for all of us.  Even if you don’t live in an area subject to freshwater shortages, billions of other people around the world do.  Freshwater is one of our most precious and also our most wasted resources.  Approximately 1.2 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water.  Can you imagine if you came home at the end of the day and had no water to prepare dinner, take a shower, brush your teeth, or prepare a bottle for the baby?  This is what much of the developing world deals with on a daily basis.  And the problem grows worse as the world’s population increases.

So how do the rest of us help?  The best way to make a difference is stop taking water for granted and start conserving the freshwater that we use every day.  It’s easier than you might think, and just a few little steps multiply as time goes by, adding up to thousands of gallons saved each year.  Here are some ideas to get you and your family started conserving water.

1. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and washing your face at the sink.  Water saved: 3 gallons per day.

2. Turn off the water in the shower when you’re lathering up or shampooing your hair.  Water saved: 5 gallons per minute.

3. Install a water-saving showerhead.  Water saved: 1 to 2 gallons per minute.

4. Don’t rinse your dishes before loading the dishwasher.  Believe it or not, most dishwashers are designed to handle un-rinsed dishes, and in fact, they may perform better if dishes are not pre-rinsed.  Water saved: 20 gallons per dishwasher load.

5. If you have a dishwasher, use it.  Studies have shown that new, efficient dishwashers use far less water than washing dishes by hand, so when in doubt, put that pan in the dishwasher!  Not only will this save you water, it will save you time, too.

6. Routinely check toilets for leaks.  Standard, water flush toilets are very leaky, that’s all there is to it.  Most toilets will need their inner parts replaced at least once every year or two to prevent unnecessary leaks.  Water saved: Up to 200 gallons per day.

7. If you have old toilets, consider replacing them with new, high efficiency toilets that use less water per flush.  Or, better yet, consider installing a composting toilet that uses no water.  Water saved: 5 to 7 gallons per flush.

8. If you water your lawn, be sure to put your sprinklers on timers.  A sprinkler that’s accidentally left on all night can waste over a thousand gallons of water.

9. If you don’t have aerators on your kitchen and bathroom sink faucets, get some.  They are incredibly cheap, you probably won’t notice a difference in the amount of water flowing from your faucet, and they’ll save 1 to 2 gallons of water per minute.

10. Use a rain barrel at the bottom of your gutter downspouts to collect rainwater for watering plants and filling birdbaths.  Rain barrels can be purchased online or through specialty stores, or it may be possible to build one yourself.

Remember, water usage habits are learned at home.  If you teach your children how to conserve water while they are growing up, they will carry those habits with them for a lifetime.  Think what a difference we could make in 20 or 30 years if an entire generation were raised with water conservation in mind.  So start today, and start at home.  Water conservation is important for everyone, regardless of who you are or where you live.  Freshwater is our most precious natural resource, and we want to be sure there is enough of it to go around.

KitchenAid Architect Series II Bisque Undercounter Dishwasher

Product Description
KitchenAid Architect Series II Bisque Undercounter Dishwasher – KUDS30IVBT. Four Stainless Steel Wash Arms. Adjustable Upper Rack. 4-Blade Food Disposer. Optimum Wash Sensor. Stainless Steel Interior. Dedicated Heating Element With Heat Dry Option. Whisper Quiet Sound Insulation System (51 dBA). 14 Place Settings. Bisque Finish

KitchenAid Architect Series II Bisque Undercounter Dishwasher

Extreme Cooking Techniques – Fun Ways to Free your Inner Caveman

By L. Thomason

Some people see a glowing hot stream of lava and think: “Wow. Looks dangerous; I better keep away from that.” But another, more daring group, says: “Wow. I bet I could cook a chicken on that!”

We call those people “Extreme Chefs,” a group of culinary adventurers who spurn the stove, microwave, and backyard grill. They’ll cook anywhere else – and with anything else – though: car engines, dishwashers, compost piles, steam irons, and even volcanoes.

Car-beque Anyone?

Chris Scheller and Chris Maynard’s automotive cookbook, “Manifest Destiny,” is a lighthearted and varied collection of recipes designed for your car engine. The book tackles such heated topics as “were Jaguars really designed with veal scallopini in mind?” and “how many miles does it take to poach a salmon?”

Last published in 1998; used copies of “Manifold Destiny” are sought after by collectors and hungry truckers. Don’t worry if you can’t locate one. These basic guidelines will help you convert your Subaru into a mobile Spago:

• When the engine is warm, carefully use your hand to find the places that are hot enough – and large enough – to cook your entrée.

• Wrap the food in aluminum foil (several layers) and seal it well.

• Secure the packet. Otherwise, your car may leave a Goldilocks-like trail of half-cooked shrimp on the highway.

• Guard against leaks. Lemon juice and other liquids can corrode your engine.

• Chicken and fish do best for short (under 100-mile) trips because they tend to cook more quickly.

This is an inexact science, and it may take several attempts to get the recipe just right. If at first you don’t succeed, drive, drive again!

Even if you don’t own a car, there are other ways to avoid the stove and still cook great food. All it takes is a little imagination and a few common household appliances.

Dishwasher Dinners

Most people run the dishwasher after the meal, but to others, the sound of water churning through the appliance says just one thing: “Dinner’s almost ready!”

That’s right, it’s possible to cook in your dishwasher. Bob Blumer, host of the Food Network show, “The Surreal Gourmet,” popularized dishwasher cooking when he showed how to poach salmon in a dishwasher. Fish is often the best option. Its cooking requirements almost exactly match the temperature and time of an average dishwasher cycle.

Things to remember:

• Wrap the fish in aluminum foil and seal it well.

• Enclose each portion in its own foil pouch.

• Oil the inside of the foil to keep the fish from sticking.

This is a great energy-saving technique because it’s perfectly acceptable to wash a load of dishes (with soap) as you cook the fish. Just make sure the foil is sealed really, really well.

Snacks From Your Iron

But perhaps you’re not looking for a full meal, just a snack as you catch up on the ironing. How about a grilled cheese sandwich?

Select the Wool setting on your iron and assemble your ingredients:

1. Cheese: Choose your favorite type and slice it thinly. Grated cheese melts more quickly, but makes a bigger mess.

2. Bread slices: Thick, sturdy slices work best. Avoid thin, soft slices of white bread; the iron tends to flatten them.

3. Butter or margarine: Spread on the outside of the bread to help it toast and prevent sticking.

When your sandwich is assembled, make sure the Steam setting is turned to OFF before applying the iron. For best results, use an iron with Teflon coating on the bottom. It makes cleanup much easier if the cheese leaks out.

Giving Thanks With Compost

This technique requires a sizeable compost pile and the willingness to risk food poisoning.

One year, master composter Malcolm Beck decided to try something new for Thanksgiving. He sealed a couple of turkeys in several layers of plastic bags and lowered them by rope into the middle of one of his large (8+ feet tall) compost piles. The turkeys cooked for several hours, using the heat generated by the compost pile, and reportedly were delicious.

Although imaginative and unique, this isn’t a recommended cooking method. Compost pile temperatures just don’t get hot enough to kill harmful bacteria. Mr. Beck’s compost temperature measured between 160 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit and that’s not always high enough to kill harmful bacteria. The USDA recommends temperatures no lower than 325 degrees for cooking poultry.

This next extreme outdoor cooking technique can be even more dangerous because, well, you may not live to taste the food.

Cooking With Lava

Think of it as a way to get in touch with your inner caveman. John Alexander, owner of the Dolphin Bay Hotel in Hilo, Hawaii, devotes a page of his Web site to his own special recipe and describes how to cook with lava.

The tools and ingredients are about what you’d expect:

1. A supply of molten lava: approximately 2 shovels full.

2. Game hen.

3. Heavy protective gloves

4. A shovel that you’ll never use again.

5. Eight banana leaves

Wrap the meat in the banana leaves (leave a small opening to vent escaping steam) and place it on one scoop of the lava. This becomes the base of the “oven.” Top the leaves with the other scoop of lava and let it cool. Within about 45 minutes, the lava cools; the banana leaves burn to ash; and your hen is ready to eat. Opening your “oven” is easy: just hit the hardened lava with your shovel.

Safety tip: be sure to select a slow-moving lava flow. Some have been clocked at speeds up to 37 miles per hour.

Five-minute Ice Cream

Now let’s end our culinary adventure with some dessert. How about a frosty bowl of liquid nitrogen ice cream?

You’ll need:

1. Liquid nitrogen: Approximately 2 liters for an average recipe. Check with your local liquid gas suppliers and be sure to compare prices. Some suppliers charge extra for delivery or container rental.

2. Heavy gloves: The liquid nitrogen is cold enough to freeze your skin on contact. No ice cream social should end with a trip to the emergency room, so be careful handling the ingredients.

3. Your favorite ice cream recipe.

4. Stainless steel mixing bowl: The larger, the better.

5. Wooden spoon for combining the ice cream mixture and the liquid nitrogen.

Put on the gloves and pour the ice cream mixture into the stainless steel mixing bowl. Slowly pour the liquid nitrogen to the ice cream and stir with the wooden spoon until the mixture is frozen and the nitrogen has evaporated. This should take five to ten minutes. Serve immediately. Stir in more liquid nitrogen if the mixture melts too quickly.

Although you may never be tempted by the world of extreme cooking, these techniques do supply you with interesting conversation topics for your next dinner party. Nobody needs to know that you prepared the food using a boring, conventional stove.