Text 6201, 100 rader
Skriven 2011-01-24 22:04:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: drafty
==============
-=> Quoting Nancy Backus to Janis Kracht <=-

 JK> We've already turned off most of the heaters upstairs

 NB> Have you tried hanging blankets on the stairs (to keep the heat
 NB> downstairs)?

Ladies, heating half a house is a false economy. Here's why. Your
exterior wall has a nice four or six inches of insulation separating
your +20 interior from your -20 outdoors. The temp will be 0 in the
middle of the wall. But if you don't heat a room, the cold will
infiltrate it eventually despite the insulation. Now you have a room
at 0 beside a warm room and all you have separating them is a 4 inch
uninsulated wall. Same thing applies with the upstairs except that
your attic probably has 12 inches of insulation in it.

As well if the cool part of the house drops below the dew point you
will get condensation as water vapour migrates from the warm area
which leads to mold.

MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV  2.10

     Title: Swedish Semla
Categories: Scandinavian, Holiday, Breads, Nuts, Dairy
  Servings: 1

           sweet cardamom wheat bun
           almond paste
           milk
           whipped cream
           powdered sugar

In the old days, fasting before Easter was part of the Swedish
tradition. To be able to survive fasting during a time of year when
Sweden is coldest, dark, and snowy, it was important to stock up on
calories. One way of doing this was through a pastry called the
semla, also called "fastlagsbulle." It had everything required for a
food item whose main purpose was to help us efficiently store
calories: white flour, plenty of sugar, and plenty of fat. Nowadays,
when fasting rarely exists, the semla still remains.

Not only does it remain, but it seems to show up in bakeries and
cafes earlier and earlier each year. My local bakery did not even
have time to throw out the gingerbread house before semlor (plural
for "semla") were up in the shop window. The rigid traditionalists,
however, wait until late February to buy and eat the goodies.
According to tradition, they can only be eaten on Tuesdays, and even
more strictly, only on Shrove Tuesday. The rest of the population,
who just want something really nice with their coffee, start about
now, and eat them as often as they can until the pastries disappear
in early March.

Selling a semla in words is actually not that easy, they taste
significantly better than they sound. Also, regardless of how you
describe them, you risk having someone disagree with you on how they
should be prepared and served.

The basic semla is a wheat bun, sweet but no too sweet, with a
distinct cardamom flavor. Most people use a cinnamon bun base
recipe, with the added cardamom spice. These are baked into plain
round buns. The buns are turned into a semla in three steps.

1. Cut the top of the bun off (save the top piece, the "hat"), and
with a fork, dig out parts of the inside. Mix this with plenty of
almond paste, and a hint of milk. Refill the inside of the bun with
the mixture.

2. Whip cream and place on top of the bun, covering the hole filled
with the almond paste mixture.

3. Place the small "hat" on top of the whipped cream and sprinkle
powder sugar on top. Voila, your semla is done!

This can be eaten as it is, with your hands (almost guaranteeing you
get whipped cream on you nose) or with a spoon. Connoisseurs usually
prefer to place it in a deep bowl and pour warm milk around it,
making the dough of the bun all spongy and soft. Tastes much better
than it sounds, believe me. Regardless of how they are eaten, they
are bound to satisfy any craving for sugar or fat, and ensure you do
not starve before the arrival of the Easter chocolates.

Jessica J.

  From: Serious Eats                    
 
MMMMM-------------------------------------------------




Cheers

YK Jim


... If I had a ranch in Texas and a home in Hell, I'd sell the ranch.

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