EPISODE #4 -
SATURDAY APRIL 25, 2009
The warmer weather may have drawn you outside and into the
garden, but there are still plenty of projects around the house
to keep you busy. What about air-conditioning? Maybe you are
looking for a little sun protection on your deck. We take a look
at both of those projects and much more this week.
Riverside Design Center You have walked through
the new model home and made a decision to purchase a new home.
Then you walk into a pure white, blank slate home and you are
overwhelmed! Don’t worry, there is help! We visited with Kelly
from
Riverside Homes (503-645-0986) to learn about their design
center and how they can help you make those tough design choices
so you end up with the home of your dreams. First of all, the
design center can help you make the choices of colors,
appliances, wood finishes, cabinets, and even hardware for the
sinks. They can even point you in the direction of other experts
if you have questions. There are 8 different neighborhoods for
you to choose from as well. If you are looking for a new home,
you can start with Riverside Homes.
New
Knobs Looking to make a quick
style change in your kitchen? It can be easily done by simply
changing the knobs and hardware on your cabinets. A couple of
minutes and you can brighten your mood and your kitchen!
Basic
Knives The key to
success in the kitchen is a good set of knives. We stopped by
the Sur la
Table (503-968-8015) store at Bridgeport Village to get the
basics on cutting tools from Laura. Having the right knife will
make your work in the kitchen easier and more enjoyable. Picking
a good knife can take a little time. You are looking for a good
quality knife, which is sharp and will feel good in your hand.
The 3 basic knives that you are looking for are a Chef’s knife,
a good bread knife and a paring knife. One of the most important
things to remember is to keep your knife sharp. More injuries
occur with a dull knife than with a sharp one. A dull knife will
make you struggle with cutting and that can cause accidents. You
should also have a honing steel with your knives. Every time you
pull out your knives you should use the honing steel to keep the
edge sharp! There is also a special way to hold a knife. Pinch
it with your thumb and forefinger at the base of the blade, and
then wrap your fingers around the handle. You want the knife to
feel like an extension of your arm and hand and not something
bulky and hard to control. If you have any questions about
knives and which ones may be right for you, you can stop by any
of the Sur la Table stores around the Northwest.
Zester We found a neat little
kitchen tool that would be a great tool for any cook. It is a
Micro-plane grater. This tool can be used for lots of different
jobs in the kitchen. Robin showed us how you can use it to get
lemon zest from a lemon for cooking and flavoring. Ken then took
it and used it to make some fine-grated parmesan cheese, perfect
for the pasta dinner Ken wants Robin to make!
Garden to Grill – Custard and Potatoes Bringing the tastes of
your garden to your table is the thought behind the ‘Garden to
Grill’ classes at
Drake’s 7
Dees (503-256-2223) nursery. Lynn joined us to explain the
concept and to show us a couple of the recipes that she will be
sharing at the next class. First she showed us a Sweet Woodruff
Yogurt Custard, which not only tasted good, it is completely
healthy. Then she shared a Dutch over recipe for potatoes. It
was delicious because she used an Italian Parsley which really
brings out the flavor. You can get your chance to try these
recipes and learn how to make them yourself at the latest
‘Garden to Grill’ class happening today, Saturday April 25th at
10am. Drake’s will be holding one of these classes once a month,
so check their events schedule for the next one. Lynn will also
tell you which plants to get now for some great dishes later
this summer.
Basic Plumbing Tools Dealing with plumbing can
be nerve wracking, but the real frustration comes with a
plumbing emergency and not having the right tools to make a
repair (or limit the damage). We found all the right tools at
the parts department at
George
Morlan Plumbing (503-224-7000) and the always friendly Dave
Charvet to teach us about them. The first tools in our bag of
tricks were shut-off tools. If you have an emergency you will
want to know where the water shut-off is. It could be near the
street, in your garage or even under your house. Once you know
where it is then you can get a meter key to help you shut of the
valve. You should also have a meter key for your gas line in
your kit as well. Next we talked about X-treme Tape. This is a
tape that sticks to itself, creates a water-tight seal and can
stop most leaks for quite awhile. To perform simple repairs to
most pipes we talked about SharkBite fittings. These fittings
are pressure sealed once you use them and are a permanent repair
for most jobs. You can use the SharkBite fittings with flexible
PEX pipe for jobs that need a bigger repair. Next we looked at
tools for drain clogs. The first one was a pressure valve that
uses water pressure to force the clog away instead of using
chemicals. The other tool was a Closet Auger. This is a
mini-snake that is easier to use and easier to store.
Parr
Awning With summer right around
the corner you may be thinking of enjoying outdoors on your deck
or patio. All that outside fun may come to a halt when the sun
is too over-powering. We stopped at
Parr Lumber (503-531-7277) to visit with Chris to see what suggestions he had
for beating the heat. He recommended having a patio cover to
extend your outdoor enjoyment. The experts at Parr can help you
if you are looking to build a wood and fabric cover, but today
we focused on the more popular and more permanent aluminum
structure by SkyVue. These newer awnings can even be color
matched to your deck or house color. They will even install them
for you. Maintenance is a lot easier and you can keep it clean
with just soap and water. These awnings can also help block
harmful UV rays. If you are thinking of a patio cover or awning,
check with the experts at Parr Lumber.
Energy Efficient Furnaces So the weather is warming
up and you may think that the days of heating your house are
gone for this year. Actually now is a great time to think about
replacing your old inefficient furnace. Garth from
Roth Heating
and Cooling (503-266-1249) met us in the garage to see how
much we could save by changing out our furnace. If your furnace
is 10-15 years old it could be only 70 percent efficient and
that could be costing you a lot! New equipment now runs at 95
percent efficiency and that is a huge cost savings. Not only
will you save money every time the heat comes on, you can also
enjoy big incentives. With the recent government stimulus
package, you can save over $2,500 with incentives and rebates on
certain models. You can also look into new filtering systems
that will remove the indoor pollutants to help keep your family
healthy. And don’t forget to add the air-conditioning! Check
with Roth to find out how much you can save! |
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