The8thWonder.org

On one of my earlier blog post, I had mentioned about the $40.00 coupon I had received through the coupon box program. Last month I went shopping for a DTV converter box as these coupons does have an expiration date and is clearly marked on the card.

I found that most of the retailers carry just one model or 2. I went to Wal-mart and Radio shack and was able to find one for $49.99 - but they all seem to be made of plastic body and I wasn’t willing to spend my coupon/money on it. So went to circuit city and they had Zenith DTT900 Digital TV Converter Box which has a metal body.

It costs $10 more than that one(s) at Wal-mart and Radio sack but I was willing to pay extra $10 for Zenith DTT900 Digital TV Converter Box.

So got home and want to see if it works (or to be more precise want to see how far this will convert OTA digital signal).

We have a Panasonic analog TV - before connecting to a converter box it won’t pick any signal from my attic antenna antenna nor any indoor antenna, as we live about 40 miles away from St. Louis city. I decided to try with my trusty fishbone antenna (I use this to get OTA channels for my HDTV) for my initial setup

Hook up was pretty straight forward - you connect one end of coax cable to antenna/outlet and the other end to the converter box. Surprisingly the output from the converter box has RCA connectors

The output from the RCA connectors goes to the TV. One thing I was struggling with for a while (without reading the manual) was not receiving any signal on TV. Turns out I need to set my TV to channel 3 to watch “converted DTV” programs - similar to setting up a VCR.

The first time I powered on the converter box, it automatically started going through initial auto tuning process and setting up the channels. By the end of the set up, I am able to watch almost all the digital channels available in St. Louis area - though the quality is no where close to watching it on a HDTV but then again it’s just converted analog signal

Another good thing with this converter - I get program information like those one would receive on cable/satellite reception. I am guessing this is same with other digital converter boxes as well (?).

I am more than happy with my Zenith DTT900 converter box as we could watch more local channels and we are now ready for DTV changeover

Finally after 3 years of planting our Hydrangea(s) have started to bloom. When we had bought it in fall 2005, it had blooms and we had planted them in a spot where it would get morning sunlight. The second year we didn’t see any bloom (though the plant looked very green and healthy). I had called in to Master Gardner’s (It’s a horticultural answer service provided by University of Missouri Extension) and the lady I had spoke to suggested, transplanting our Hydrangeas to a spot where it would get full sunlight and she gave some valuable suggestion on pruning.

So during spring 2007 we moved it to a spot where these would get full sunlight and we have started seeing blooms this year.

So if your Hydrangeas didn’t bloom

• Check to see if they get enough sunlight
• During spring pruning selectively prune out the dead stems.
• Don’t prune out all the old wood, since this is what will keep flowering as the new growth matures

Our next experiment with Hydrangeas is to feed the plant with coffee grounds to lower the pH of the soil thereby make it bloom in purple/blue

If you like white bread then this bread recipe is for you - it is a white bread with some good stuff and tastes a lot better than Wonder Bread

I took a classic white bread recipe and made additions/omissions to the ingredients to make it a guilt free white bread

Ingredients: For 2 lb loaf
1 cup water
¼ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons white sugar
1½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon soy flour
1 tablespoon dry milk powder
2 tablespoons oat bran
2 tablespoons flax meal
1 teaspoon wheat germ
2½ cup bread flour
¼ cup whole wheat flour

• Put all the ingredients in the bread pan (follow the instructions on the manual) and select the dough cycle.
• During first rest period, check for consistency of the dough and add water/flour as necessary

• Preheat the oven to 350 C.
• When the dough cycle ends, empty the dough into a floured surface and shape it into a loaf and let it rise in a greased/floured loaf pan for about an hour.

• Bake the raised dough in the oven for 35 minutes.

• Let the bread cool for about an hour before slicing.

Tastes great with chicken tikka salad - more on that later

You can view other bread recipes from my blog by clicking here.

The other day, health/fitness blog Mark’s daily apple had an interesting post titled Cracking the Code. We all see the PLU coded stickers on fresh produce at local grocery store - I was thinking it meant just for speeding the checkout process. But it has more to it.

Basically you start with counting the number of digits.

A four-digit number applies to conventionally grown produce, that is, those that were grown with pesticide and other chemical.
A five-digit code that has the first digit 9 applies to organically grown produce.
A five-digit code that has the first digit 8 applies only to genetically engineered items, such as seedless grapes.

You can read more on this article here
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cracking-the-code/

This is a real spicy chilly for the carnivorous among us - too bad we don’t consume much lamb here in the US. Elsewhere, I read lamb protein is more easily digested and better utilized by human body than beef protein.

Ingredients: 4 servings
1 lb minced lamb
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion coarsely chopped
½ bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno pepper diced - for a milder version remove the seeds
1 zucchini, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 can/8oz tomato sauce
1 can kidney beans, drained
2 cups chicken/beef broth
1 teaspoon cumin
salt/pepper to taste
½ teaspoon chili powder - for a milder taste, substitute with paprika

• Cook minced lamb over medium heat, stirring to crumble, until evenly browned and drain off grease.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Sauté the garlic, and jalapeno pepper followed by onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and tomatoes.
• When the onions turn translucent, add tomato sauce and season with black pepper, cumin, salt and chili powder.
• Stir in the drained kidney beans, chicken broth and bring to a boil.
• Put the lid on the sauce pan, and let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached.

One more blog post on a recent email I received from Dish network on IPL. Looks like they do have live coverage on Indian Premier League matches

Not a bad deal if you have time to watch cricket - I bet this is a lot more fun to watch than the mainstream 50 over cricket match

This is a protein packed food with a good serving of vegetables. I used to shy away from tofu until I came across a recipe for tofu stir fry at allrecipes.com - This is a simple recipe, and this could be made with whatever stir fry vegetables you have.

Ingredients: makes 4 servings

1 pack firm tofu
1 broccoli head, cut into florets
½ colored bell pepper, diced
1 celery stack, diced
½ onion, sliced
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
pepper flakes (optional)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
½” ginger, minced
2 tablespoons oil
1/3 cup less sodium stir fry sauce
dry roasted peanuts

• Drain tofu before cutting into 3/4″ cubes - place uncut firm tofu in between several layers of paper towels and let a heavy bottom pan (I used a cast iron pan) to sit on top of it for few minutes

• Cut tofu into 3/4″ pieces
• Heat oil in a wok over high heat
• Add garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and stir-fry for few seconds
• Add onion, celery, bell pepper, broccoli florets and stir-fry 3 minutes
• Add stir-fry sauce, diced tomatoes and cut tofu
• Stir gently to coat tofu and vegetables with sauce - make sure not to break tofu
• Reduce heat and cook until tomatoes and tofu are heated through
• Sprinkle with dry roasted peanuts before serving

You won’t need to add salt as stir fry sauce has a good amount of sodium

You can view other recipes from my blog by clicking here.

Here are some pictures from our little flower garden. We have teeny tiny space for gardening and most of the space is planted with perennials.

Daffodils:

Hyacinths:

Kaleidoscope Tulips:

No yard is complete without dandelions

About 2 months ago I had a blog post on TV Converter Box Coupon Program. I did receive my 2 $40.00 TV converter box coupons (actually these looks like gift cards) on Thursday - I think it took about 2+ months since I had registered for coupons.

Here are a few other information I received along with my coupons.

• These cards are pre-activated and they expire from 3 months these were issued (not received) and this is clearly printed on the card.
• These could be used only at participating retailers - retailers close by where you live are printed on the supplement material that come along with these cards.
• Also they have a list of eligible converter boxes - more information on these boxes can be found at www.ntiadtv.gov/cecb_list.cfm

One of these days I need to shop for a converter before my coupons expire.

I will post when that happens along with how it works

Some time ago I had posted in my blog that we are planning on a vacation to India on a post titled Business review: BMC Travel. The family did leave last week and I feel like I have more time to spend on work, blog, more time to experiment with cooking and taking pictures. The other day I had a chance to try baked tilapia and it turned out really good - it takes about 30 minutes or so and it’s less mess to deal with after cooking

Ingredients: 2 servings
12oz tilapia loins/fillets
salt/chili powder as per taste
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ red onion - finely sliced

For cucumber salad:
½ cucumber, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
2 tablespoons yogurt
salt/pepper as per taste

• Wash tilapia loins/fillets and wipe it clean with a paper towel
• Melt the butter in microwave oven and mix in lemon juice to the melted butter
• Preheat oven to 450 C and lightly grease a shallow baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
• Line the bottom on the baking dish with thinly sliced onions
• Place the tilapia in a shallow baking dish, and drizzle the butter/lemon juice mixture over the fish
• Season it with salt and pepper
• Bake it in the oven for 15 minutes - depends on the thickness of the fish

For cucumber salad:

• Add yogurt to diced cucumber, red bell pepper and season it with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
• Cover the salad and refrigerate for about 1/2 hour

The spiciness on the fish will be well balanced with the sweetness of red bell pepper and cucumber salad.

You can view other recipes from my blog by clicking here.