According to my calculations...

I was shopping for dishwashing liquid the last week and they didn't have the size and type I wanted, so my eye wandered over to some other brands. I noticed one that claimed to be environment-friendly, so I picked it up and took a look at it's back label. I was immediately sucked in... "blah blah, blah-blah-blah! Blah blah... we could save 81,000 barrels of oil... blah blah - blah..." As you may surmise, my critical thinking skills were on sabbatical at that moment. My interpretation of the claim was that by using this vegetable based detergent I would save the world a significant amount of oil. I plopped a bottle in my basket and didn't think to examine their claims more carefully until just last night.

What the label actually says is: "If every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of 25 oz. petroleum based dishwashing liquid with our 25 oz. vegetable based product, we could save 81,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 4,600 U.S. homes for a year!" Hmmm... so how many households are there? And what will my purchase of one bottle do?

The U.S. Census estimated that there would be approximately 110,000,000 households in the U.S. in 2006. So the bottle I bought (taking their claim at face value for the moment) will save .000736 of a barrel of oil.

But how big is a barrel of oil and how does that equate to something I can understand - like gasoline? A barrel of oil has 42 gallons of crude oil which translates to 19.5 gallons of gasoline. So the claim would be that by using this bottle of dishwashing liquid instead of a petroleum based product, I could save .0144 of a gallon of gasoline. I think my car averages about 20 miles per gallon, so using one bottle of this product is about the same as not driving .287 of a mile, or about 505 yards (five football fields). Not quite as impressive, huh?

The thing is, this product is more watery than the product I usually use. I doubt one bottle of this vegetable based detergent will last as long as my regular brand, which ultimately means more packaging. Plastic packing. Petroleum based - right? In all fairness, the packaging for the vegetable based product "contains a min. 25% post-consumer plastic", but still... I'm switching back.

Dinner in a Jiffy

Haven't felt much like cooking lately, but it doesn't get any easier than this!

I'm Frying! I'm Frying!

My to-do list for this weekend started with "Deep-fat fry". I've been putting this off my whole life, but I decided this would be the weekend I would finally put a check-mark in that box.

First, I must apologize to Bob and Chuck - they gave me a deep-fat fryer for my birthday last summer. (They presented it to me in Vermont, so it stayed up there until it could hitch a ride south with David in November.) I had planned to use it this weekend, but when I was setting it up I realized that it required a minimum of three quarts of oil to operate. I had less than two on hand and that amount of oil seemed excessive for this small project, so I decided to use a saucepan on the stove (and a little less than a quart of oil).

A little background before we get to the frying... I was the lucky winner of Nupur's chai hamper (her offering for A Menu for Hope II) back in January. My prize hamper included not only the makings for some wonderful chai, but some sweet and savory snacks to accompany it. The cookies and bhadang are but a memory now, but they were both fantastic. I've since made more bhadang myself (so easy!) and I think I've gotten Phil hooked on it too. Nupur also included some Pakoda mix in the hamper - a mixture of chickpea flour (besan) and spices which when blended with a little water forms the perfect batter for various kinds of vegetable fritters.

My first frying project was Onion bhajiyas using the Pakoda mix and recipe that Nupur had sent (which is a little different than the recipe linked to). Since I wouldn't be using the deep-fat fryer and had no experience frying, my candy thermometer (which is also intended as a frying thermometer) was very helpful in keeping the temperature in the desired range. It was my security blanket.

I may have been a little conservative on the temperature. I was aiming for around 325 F, but while frying it varied between 300 F and 340 F (or so). Lower temperatures cause the food to absorb more oil, but higher temperatures may not allow the insides to cook before the outside is overdone. Right now these decisions leave me scratching my head. I believe (hope) that experience will make them second nature.

Happily, none of my long-held fears associated with deep-fat frying came to pass. Both I and my kitchen survived unscathed. There was no fire, no smoke, and not even much of a mess. In fact, there was less of a mess than I've had with stir-frying because there was no spitting or splattering outside the pan. It actually seemed very controlled the whole time.

My only remaining concerns with deep-fat frying are 1) the cost of the oil; and 2) how to dispose of the oil. I filtered the oil and put in the refrigerator, but haven't decided if I will reuse it. Since I was cooking just two fritters at a time, I had the oil heated for an extended period of time and it may not be suitable for reuse. The problem is, I don't have a container at the moment that I'm willing to toss out with the oil. I'll have to start saving containers with this in mind.

I've rattled on long enough about frying, now about those onion bhajiyas... they were delicious! I've put some in the refrigerator and some in the freezer and will try reheating them in the oven. Now that I have privately conquered my deep-fat frying demons, I think I'll try making these for company so leftovers won't be an issue.

Thanks again to Nupur for the Pakoda mix and the rest of the great chai hamper she put together. Thanks too to Bob, Chuck, and Nupur for giving me the little push I needed to finally get frying!

Finally, I have to show you the cutest onion bhajiya you ever saw. I found as I was making these that they were sort of like ink blots or clouds, in that the shape would sometimes look like a familiar creature. I know what this one is - do you?

Mondays without Maida

I'm headed out of town tomorrow morning... I'm making a brief stop in New York (and will get to meet Nupur!!) and from there it's on to Vermont with Bob and Chuck (yay!). I'll be back here on the 19th with the next installment of Mondays with Maida. In the meantime, I leave you with this...

I had a dentist appointment last Monday and didn't get in to the office until close to noon. Meanwhile, Phil and Suzanne came to the conclusion that there would be no cookies that day and Phil sent this out to the cookie panel:

From: Phil
Sent: Monday, December 05, 2005 10:26 AM
To: Suzanne; Laura; Denny; Terri
Cc: Cathy
Subject: Mondays without Maida


Wondering where that next Monday morning fix will come from?

Feeling confused or irritable? You may have CFS!


Cookie Fatigue Syndrome

How do I know if I might have cookie fatigue syndrome?
If you answer yes to any of the questions listed below, you may have cookie fatigue syndrome (CFS), which is also called cookie fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS).

1. Have you missed your weekly feeding of those Monday with Maida cookies?

2. Are you able to do less than half of what you used to do because you feel tired or cranky?

3. Have you had problems that keep coming back or don't go away with any of the following signs and symptoms?

* Confusion or irritability
* Shakiness followed by a tendency to pace back an forth in your cube
* Trouble with short-term memory or concentration
* Trouble composing meaningful emails or in badgering your coworkers

People with CFS may have other symptoms as well.

What causes cookie fatigue syndrome?
No one is certain about what causes CFS. Although a chemical dependency on large quantities of sugars and fats may be contributory factors. Researchers are still looking for the cause of CFS.

How is cookie fatigue syndrome treated?
The first step is to eat a cookie and preferably several – but not just any cookie. Your doctor will probably want to review your symptoms and medical history, and give you a physical exam. Your doctor may also want to do some blood tests, but lab testing is not often helpful.

Some of the symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, or excessive mumbling can be treated with Maida cookies. Although dose response studies have not yet been completed on the appropriate number of cookies required. So far, there is no other treatment for this chronic condition.

How can I help myself?
* Keep a daily diary to identify times when you have the most energy. Plan your activities for these times.
* Give yourself permission to recognize and express your feelings, such as sadness, anger and frustration. You need to grieve for the energy you have lost.
* Ask for support from family and friends. Look for cookie support groups or counseling in your community.

How can my doctor help?
Your doctor can work with you but only a good long term relationship with a competent cookie chef can really help.