EPISODE #77 - SATURDAY JUNE 11, 2011

The warm days of spring are finally here.  We are having more fun outside and it seems like I’m having more energy too.  With all the energy I feel like tackling some chores around the house.  For all the information you need to tackle any projects you can just check out our video archive on the Fusion website! 

Geranium Lake Tour

One of the most creative people we know is Kim from Geranium Lake (503-228-1920).  She always seems to make something spectacular out of the ordinary!  This time she invited us to tour her new 4,888 square foot retail space at the US Bank tower (big pink) in downtown.  She moved into this space from across the hall in the same building.  She still has all the cool stuff from her old location, the only thing that has changed is the size of the place!  She now has the room to offer many more services and even host events.  We took a quick tour and were wowed by what she has packed into the store already.  We started at the front door and the first things we noticed were the lights.  These lights were made out of all kinds of glass.  There were old cups, glasses and bottles from Kim and her family.  They surrounded a bare bulb and were fabulous in the way they distributed the light.  Kim also incorporated old pottery molds into the front counter.  Next we moved to the design area.  This is where you can come up with ideas for your own event or meet with one of the staff to get some help.  Finally we moved to the rear of the store and the actual ‘working’ area.  Here, at the do-it-yourself benches we found the coolest thing… it was the ceiling mounted water hoses.  They were a take-off of the old Gas Station air hoses and could retract into the housings and out of your way when you didn’t need them.  Very cool!  Your chance to tour this neat new facility is this coming week.  Friday the 17^th from noon to 8pm you can stop by and get a special tour.   If you are in the area, you should check this out!  

Deschutes Clams

There is nothing like a clam bake!  You remember all those old movies from the 60’s.  Elvis, Frankie and Annette all enjoyed clams and cold beverages on the beach.  Well you can enjoy fresh clams and a cold brew in downtown Portland.  We stopped by the Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House (503-296-4906) in the pearl and Chef Jeff Usinowicz shared with us his recipe for fresh clams!  This recipe uses fresh clams for Washington State and the summer brew from Deschutes, the Twilight Ale.  This recipe also uses a homemade sweet fennel sausage, but you can use any lightly flavored sausage or a sweet Italian sausage.   Start by slicing some fennel into small strips and tossing them with a little oil some salt and pepper then baking them in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  This will help release the light liquorish flavor in the fennel.  Next, sauté the precooked sausage and the fennel on high heat in a pan with a little oil.  After a couple of minutes you can add the clams.  Toss it all together and then add a couple of ounces of Pinot Gris and then a couple of ounces of Twilight Ale.   Cover the pan for 2 minutes and let the steam open the clams and then add a couple of tablespoons of butter.  At the restaurant they have an ale butter which is delicious!  Then you are done.  Serve it with a glass of the Twilight Ale and enjoy.  If you don’t have time to whip this together you can try a version of this recipe at the Public House in Portland.  Chef Jeff is redoing parts of his menu with some new dishes, so if you haven’t been by the restaurant in a while you should stop by!   

French Prairie Gardens Shortcake

One of the best things about spring is the fresh fruits and vegetable that you can get at your local store or market.  But not only that you can actually go out to the farm and pick the fruit yourself.  One of the best places to enjoy the freshest of fruits is at French Prairie Gardens (503-633-8445) near St. Paul.  We love stopping there to shoot during the spring and enjoying the tasty strawberry shortcake.  This year Karren has been generous enough to share her shortcake recipe with us.  The recipe is pretty easy, but the key is the fresh strawberries that you will need to top it all off.  You have your chance to pick those delicious berries and enjoy a cold brew this weekend at the Berries, Brews and BBQ event at the farm.  BBQ competitors from around the state will be trying to make the tastiest dishes.  The farm will also have a bunch or Oregon breweries and Wineries there as well.  This event kicks off the huge Strawberry Festival, happening through the 19^th.   You can enjoy all the normal farm festival fun including farm animals, hay rides and slides.  Stop by and check it out.  While you are there you can sign up for their CSA program, which will bring farm fresh produce to your door all summer long and you can also sign up for the Grilling in the Garden dinner series which features a farm inspired menu.   Check out their website for more details.

Cabinet Goodies

We decided to call this story ‘cabinet goodies’ because of all the new features that you can find in cabinets for your kitchen and bathroom.  In the old days all you had was a shelf in your cabinets, but today you can have all sorts of slide-outs and unique shelves at your disposal.  Fabio from Parr Cabinet Outlet (503-614-2655) gave us a tour of a demonstration kitchen to show us the latest and great in organization.  The first cabinets we saw had pull outs for spices and small jars and cans; they even had compartmentalized the drawers for knives, and small gadgets.  There was even an area for your garbage bags.  We then moved to another area in the kitchen near the refrigerator.  This area featured a very tall and thin slideout that would allow very easy access to spices and canned goods.  The corner cabinets are some of the most underutilized areas in the kitchen.  Fabio showed us the newest design in a full shelf ‘lazy-Susan’ and even a slide out that is hard to describe, but is incredibly functional.  There is much more than we could ever discuss in such a short story.  From soft close drawers to other odd space storage options you really need, stop by Parr and see all that they have for your kitchen or bath.