Last weekend when washing my towels I realized that even after being washed properly, over the period of last few years they have lost there soft fluffy feeling. A little google search reveled that I was not the first person to face it.
To restore softness back to the towel, what was suggested most was to rinse the towel in vinegar mixed in water. Wash the towel, remove all the soap from it by rinsing. Take a bucket with just enough amount of hot water, add quarter of a cup of vinegar per towel and leave it soaked for few hours. Vinegar will help disinfect the towel, will help get rid of detergent residue and repeated such treatments will make the towel softer.
I am done with first such treatment. Lets see how it works out.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
How to determine what inverter I need.
With the worsening power situation in our cities, Inverters are becoming an essential part of our lives. In this post I will just summarize how to determine what capacity inverter to buy.
Step 1: Determine your usage. I.E. list out what all appliances you would want to run on the inverter.
For our calculation let us say that we are going to run 2 CFLs, 1 fridge, 2 fans and one laptop+1DSL modem on inverter.
In my house the power rating for these appliances are
CFL 25W = 2*25 = 50Watts
Fridge 300W
Laptop 90W
Modem 25W
Fans 40W = 2*40 80W
Total usage = 545Watts or 545VA
Add 25% to it as conversion loss , 545+136=681 VA is the bare minimum rating of the inverter that you would need.
In the market, generally 800 VA is what is available. So that is the one that you should be getting.
Step 2: Determine how long you would need your backup system to run.
Assuming that you are going to run at full load, how long would you want your backup to run.
For my usage, I decided that I would want my backup to run for at least 4 hrs.
The ampere hour attribute of the inverter battery determines how long it will last.
So 800 VA *4 hrs = 12 V * Ah is the formula. Here your battery is 12V battery. Ah is the ampere hour.
This gives 266 Ah.
So an inverter with a rating of 800 VA with a battery pack of 250 Ah is what I need to run my backup for roughly 4 hrs at full load.
Running on a minimal load, however will help me achieve more mileage out of my inverter.
A key factor to keep in mind when buying an inverter is to check the rating of the battery because this is where the big money is hidden and this is where the sellers will try to dupe you.
Generally sellers will talk about "optimal" load(which will be 60% of the maximum load) when informing you about the duration of backup.
Hope this helps.
Step 1: Determine your usage. I.E. list out what all appliances you would want to run on the inverter.
For our calculation let us say that we are going to run 2 CFLs, 1 fridge, 2 fans and one laptop+1DSL modem on inverter.
In my house the power rating for these appliances are
CFL 25W = 2*25 = 50Watts
Fridge 300W
Laptop 90W
Modem 25W
Fans 40W = 2*40 80W
Total usage = 545Watts or 545VA
Add 25% to it as conversion loss , 545+136=681 VA is the bare minimum rating of the inverter that you would need.
In the market, generally 800 VA is what is available. So that is the one that you should be getting.
Step 2: Determine how long you would need your backup system to run.
Assuming that you are going to run at full load, how long would you want your backup to run.
For my usage, I decided that I would want my backup to run for at least 4 hrs.
The ampere hour attribute of the inverter battery determines how long it will last.
So 800 VA *4 hrs = 12 V * Ah is the formula. Here your battery is 12V battery. Ah is the ampere hour.
This gives 266 Ah.
So an inverter with a rating of 800 VA with a battery pack of 250 Ah is what I need to run my backup for roughly 4 hrs at full load.
Running on a minimal load, however will help me achieve more mileage out of my inverter.
A key factor to keep in mind when buying an inverter is to check the rating of the battery because this is where the big money is hidden and this is where the sellers will try to dupe you.
Generally sellers will talk about "optimal" load(which will be 60% of the maximum load) when informing you about the duration of backup.
Hope this helps.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Main Course: Baked Capsicum
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins
Baking time: 15 mins.
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
5 Small sized capsicums.
Potato 3 medium sized.
Cottage cheese (paneer) or tofu 2inch cube.
Onion 1 medium.
1 green chilli
Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon.
Garam masala 1 teaspoon
Channa masala 1 teaspoon
Black Pepper powder 0.5 teaspoon
Coriander seed powder 1 teaspoon
Oil for cooking
Salt to taste
For garnishing:
Pizza Cheese grated 2 table spoons (optional)
Bunch of coriander leaves
1. Boil the potatoes, remove there skin (prefer to have them with skin as most of the nutrients are in the skin only) and mash them.
2. Mash in cottage cheese as well.
3. Cut onion and green chillies into small pieces.
4. Take a wok and put in 2 teaspoon oil (This may vary depending upon the type of vessel you use for cooking. I use non stick). Once it has heated up add cumin seeds and saute them until they start releasing there flavor.
5. Add onion and saute on medium heat until onions are golden brown.
6. Add mashed potato and paneer mixture and also add the green chillies.
7. Mix it well for a minute or two.
8. Add garam masala, channa masala, pepper powder and salt. Allow it to cook on medium flame for a couple of minutes. Cover it and switch off the flame.
9. Take the capsicum and remove its stem. Make a small hole at the top and scoop out all the seeds.
10. In a vessel, take enough water to soak the capsicum, add a pinch of salt and boil it for 5-8 mins, until the capsicum is tender.
11. Strain the boiled capsicum and apply some oil on its inner and outer surface.
12. Fill in the potato mixture that we had prepared earlier. Garnish with cheese.
13. Preheat a oven to 240 deg C.
14. Keep the capsicum on a baking tray and bake for 10-15 mins.
15. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
Tips:
1. If you are not able to find small capsicum , you can take big ones and cut them from middle to make 2 pieces.
2. You can also replace capsicum with brinjal.
3. The water that you used to boil the capsicum, can be used to make dough for bread/chapati or to cook rice. Remember, boiling will take out lots of nutrients off the vegetable and throwing that water down the drain is going to waste these nutrients.
Cooking time: 15 mins
Baking time: 15 mins.
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
5 Small sized capsicums.
Potato 3 medium sized.
Cottage cheese (paneer) or tofu 2inch cube.
Onion 1 medium.
1 green chilli
Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon.
Garam masala 1 teaspoon
Channa masala 1 teaspoon
Black Pepper powder 0.5 teaspoon
Coriander seed powder 1 teaspoon
Oil for cooking
Salt to taste
For garnishing:
Pizza Cheese grated 2 table spoons (optional)
Bunch of coriander leaves
1. Boil the potatoes, remove there skin (prefer to have them with skin as most of the nutrients are in the skin only) and mash them.
2. Mash in cottage cheese as well.
3. Cut onion and green chillies into small pieces.
4. Take a wok and put in 2 teaspoon oil (This may vary depending upon the type of vessel you use for cooking. I use non stick). Once it has heated up add cumin seeds and saute them until they start releasing there flavor.
5. Add onion and saute on medium heat until onions are golden brown.
6. Add mashed potato and paneer mixture and also add the green chillies.
7. Mix it well for a minute or two.
8. Add garam masala, channa masala, pepper powder and salt. Allow it to cook on medium flame for a couple of minutes. Cover it and switch off the flame.
9. Take the capsicum and remove its stem. Make a small hole at the top and scoop out all the seeds.
10. In a vessel, take enough water to soak the capsicum, add a pinch of salt and boil it for 5-8 mins, until the capsicum is tender.
11. Strain the boiled capsicum and apply some oil on its inner and outer surface.
12. Fill in the potato mixture that we had prepared earlier. Garnish with cheese.
13. Preheat a oven to 240 deg C.
14. Keep the capsicum on a baking tray and bake for 10-15 mins.
15. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
Tips:
1. If you are not able to find small capsicum , you can take big ones and cut them from middle to make 2 pieces.
2. You can also replace capsicum with brinjal.
3. The water that you used to boil the capsicum, can be used to make dough for bread/chapati or to cook rice. Remember, boiling will take out lots of nutrients off the vegetable and throwing that water down the drain is going to waste these nutrients.
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