Tax Credit

Great news. Just heard from the Sedore Stove manufacturer that the Sedore 3000 now qualifies for the 30% tax credit under the American REcovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This means that if you purchase a Sedore 3000 in 2009 or 2010 you can recover some of your costs for the stove and installation labor costs. There is a maximum of $1500 tax credit and it applies to 30% of the sum of all IRS qualified improvements made by a homeowner in 2009 or 2010. For further information please consult your tax advisor or visit www.energystar.gov. So if you have been considering purchasing one of these great stoves this is the year to go for it.

Soup on the Sedore

On Thursday this week we replaced our electric cooking stove in the kitchen. But we ran into some electrical issues and needed the electrician to make some adjustments with the plug. As a consequence when it was time to make dinner there was no stove plugged in to cook on. We could have ordered out but since I am cheap we didn't. Taco soup was on the menu and I pushed ahead with the plan. Time to test out the Sedore stove and its stainless steel cooktop. The temperature on top of the stove was 300 Fahrenheit. The vent was half open so I opened that all the way. The stove had locust in with a nice bed of coals. The recipe calls for chicken breast to be sauted in oil with onions and garlic first. I attempted first to cook the chicken in my dutch oven but it was moving very slowly. So then I got some cooking spray and sprayed the cooktop and put my chicken pieces out to cook. They did just fine and when they were done I put them back in the pot and added in the canned tomatoes, chicken broth, salsa, and other ingredients. I left that to cook for the next 15 minutes, then added the hominy and left it for another 10 minutes. The soup did not come to boiling before we ate it. But after everyone had a bowlful the soup was left on to cook and it eventually did come to a boil. We all liked the soup; it tasted as usual. Only problem was the onions weren't fully cooked which just meant they were a bit crunchy.
Dinner took a bit longer than usual but we know now that we can do it. So no worries if the electricity goes out this winter. We will be ready for it.

Cooking Wood

What is that heavenly aroma? Bob's cooking wood again. Maple wood smells like syrup on my cooktop. I put unseasoned wood or cold logs on my stove lid because the energy required to burn hot fuel is less than the energy required to burn cold fuel. I am conditioning the fuel. Therefore when it goes in the primary burn chamber it has more BTU's. Besides it is cheap potpourri.