Dean – Page 2 – CasaAnolis

Buying a dishwasher

<warning, very long post, grab a glass of wine and settle in>

As we’ve mentioned before, buying a dishwasher in Puerto Rico is not something you can run to a store and walk out with. Puerto Ricans, as a general rule, do not use dishwashers. To buy a dishwasher you need to order them and the turn around is about 4 weeks.

Also, you can’t order things from most major retailers online either. You have to go to the store to place the order. Sadly this rule applies, at least for Home Depot (HD), to AK, HI, GU, USVI, and PR. I don’t know why this is, but I’m stuck with it. Continue reading “Buying a dishwasher”

Was supposed to just be a few projects…

This trip turned out to be much more project oriented than we had intended. More details on that later, but here’s one of the few afternoons of fun we had

Here’s what we saw while snorkeling (watch fullscreen HD for best effect)

Here’s what was caught by local fishermen while we were snorkeling

Going to try this ice cream base next

2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened (3 tablespoons)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch. In another large bowl, whisk the cream cheese until smooth.
In a large saucepan, combine the remaining milk with the heavy cream, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla bean and seeds. Bring the milk mixture to a boil and cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves and the vanilla flavors the milk, about 4 minutes. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Whisk in the salt. Set the bowl in the ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cold, about 20 minutes.
Strain the ice cream base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pack the ice cream into a plastic container.
Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream and close with an airtight lid. Freeze the vanilla ice cream until firm, about 4 hours.

from here

Sou, Sou-Vide-eo!

Bad pun/reference, I know. My life is full of them and Phil Collins would probably shoot me for that one. But what he wouldn’t shoot me for is the luscious offerings from out D.I.Y. sous-vide cooker. This project, which has been in the works for well over a year has finally come to fruition. As I write four lovely, bacon-wrapped filet mignons, gently massaged with olive oil, fresh cracked pepper and sea salt are luxuriating in a bain maire of 54 degrees Celsius. Not 55 or 53… exactly 54. And in that gently circulating bath of precisely controlled water, good things happen. Very good things, indeed. It’s the magic of sous-vide. Continue reading “Sou, Sou-Vide-eo!”

Casa Anolis. Automated

First, we finally got a closing date. On Arpil 30th, Casa Anolis becomes ours. Casa Anolis translates as House of the Anolis. When we first walked into the back garden area I was struck by the number of Anoles (type of little lizard) all over the place. Fortunately I’m fond of them.

This little lizard gives our home its name

Second, home automation is not cheap, but it’ll give us peace of mind and some of it will pay us back within a year in energy savings. Within 5 years the energy savings will pay for all of it. The cost of electricity right now is $.25-.29/KWh on the island depending on where you live. More than double what most people in the states pay, so every little bit goes a long way. Continue reading “Casa Anolis. Automated”