Friday, January 29, 2010

Take Advantage of Winter Chill to Increase Refrigerator Efficiency [Clever U...

I wonder if we could do this with a couple of milk jugs filled with ice in the back of the fridge.

 
 

Sent to you by David via Google Reader:

 
 


If you live in an area of the world where winter brings sub-freezing temperatures, you can leverage the chilly outside air to lower the cost of operating your refrigerator.

Photo by Jeremy 白杰瑞's photostream.

If you've cruised efficiency and green-oriented web sites to any degree, you've likely seen someone do a massive overhaul of their refrigerator to actually pipe in outside—and freezing!—air into their fridge. That's the kind of DIY project that can go terribly wrong and void your warranty.

Over at the home blog Re-Nest they highlight a much easier way to take advantage of the chilly weather and bring your refrigeration costs down to nearly zero without having to saw a hole in anything. One of their readers wrote in:

I was inspired this month to unplug my refrigerator and cool just with ice that I can make outdoors. I can keep the refrigerator at 45 degrees for about five days with a couple of big pot fulls of ice. It had occurred to me how wasteful it was to be cooling something in the winter in a northern climate! It takes more attention and effort than just having a plugged-in refrigerator, but perhaps there are others out there that might also try this if they were given the idea.

They were quick to point out something their reader had overlooked: your fridge compressor only kicks on if the thermostat inside triggers it. If you pack your fridge with a couple pots or milk jugs full of ice you don't need to unplug it—and risk the food spoiling if you forget to top off the ice! Even if you don't live in a freezing climate, filling the empty space of the fridge with jugs of water will help stabilize the refrigerator's temperature and cut down on temperature swings from the door being opened.

Have your own tips or tricks for increasing the efficiency of household appliances? Let's hear about them in the comments.





 
 

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Make Your Own Twinkies (Without the 100-Year Shelf Life) [DIY]

well, if it's too cold to go outside this weekend, maybe we should stay in and make some twinkies!!!

 
 

Sent to you by David via Google Reader:

 
 


For some (me), Twinkies are one of life's best indulgences—but the idea of ingesting something that could theoretically survive a nuclear winter is a little unnerving. Here's a preservative-free recipe for the yummy snack cakes you can feel good about.

To whip these bad boys together, food web site CHOW demonstrates that all you'll need is a few common ingredients you may already have in your kitchen—eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and vanilla. That's all there is to the cake portion of this recipe, though if you want your treats authentically-shaped you'll need a baking pan like this.

Twinkies aren't really Twinkies without the cream, of course. That's just as easy to make as the cake itself, and here's all you need:

* 4 ounces mascarpone or cream cheese, at room temperature
* 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped, seeds reserved (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
* 3 large egg whites
* 2/3 cup granulated sugar

The post gets into details about how to make the cream and assemble the cakes, so you'll want to check it out for more. Be sure to also glance at the comments for more ideas on how to make knock-off Twinkies, including using a buttercream frosting in place of the vanilla cream.

We're always on the lookout for healthier versions of the forbidden-to-our-diet-plan food we love. Know some great recipes? Make us drool in the comments.





 
 

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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

fyreasst@gmail.com sent you an article from The Daily Beast

memphis, sacramento, san diego, raleigh. not just boston on that list. and my commute didn't even make the cut. bummer.

 
 

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via my fyre blog by fyre chief on 1/19/10

fyreasst@gmail.com has shared an article from The Daily Beast with you! Click here to subscribe to The Daily Beast's morning email and breaking news alerts.
Today: January 19, 2010
The Daily Beast
America's 75 Worst Commutes
by The Daily Beast


 

They are the highways to hell in the country's most gridlocked cities. The Daily Beast crunches the numbers to determine your ultimate morning nightmares. How did your commute in rank?


It's America's collective nightmare, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and like Groundhog Day, it repeats on a daily basis.


Read Full Article »




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January 19, 2010 | 2:23 AM

 
 

Things you can do from here:

 
 

fyreasst@gmail.com sent you an article from The Daily Beast

fyreasst@gmail.com has shared an article from The Daily Beast with you! Click here to subscribe to The Daily Beast's morning email and breaking news alerts.
Today: January 19, 2010
The Daily Beast
America's 75 Worst Commutes
by The Daily Beast


 

They are the highways to hell in the country’s most gridlocked cities. The Daily Beast crunches the numbers to determine your ultimate morning nightmares. How did your commute in rank?


It’s America’s collective nightmare, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and like Groundhog Day, it repeats on a daily basis.


Read Full Article »




BACK TO TOP
January 19, 2010 | 2:23 AM