EPISODE #125 - SATURDAY AUGUST 25, 2012

Is fall coming? We are just a couple of weeks from school starting and it feels like fall is here. Are we returning to some cooler weather? No, I just think this is a little break before we get some warmer days again. We are still a month away from fall on the calendar. Still it is nice to get a break from the heat and back to more comfortable weather. Enjoy this last week of August and get ready for Labor Day!

Speaking of Labor Day… We will not have a show on the air for that weekend due to US Open Tennis. We will be enjoying the break and getting ready for a big change. The change is happening on the 15th of September. On the 15th we will be moving the Fusion show from 8am to 9am on KOIN Local 6.

Indoor NASA Plants

NASA has expanded our learning in lots of different fields, and not just the fields of science. They have also found out a lot about the different types of plants and their uses. We caught up with Deby at Cornell Farm (530-292-9895) to talk to her about the recent NASA findings about indoor plants. She told us that NASA investigated the use of indoor plants as a means of cleaning the air in the space station. They came up with some interesting results. They found that indoor plants are great at absorbing toxins in the air. Chemicals like formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene can be taken up by certain plants and that can make your living space healthier. Common household items like carpet, paint, insulation, cleaners, plastics and detergents all can release toxins into your home. Philodendrons, Boston ferns, spider plants, mums and gerbera daisies are just a small selection of plants that can help your air stay clean. To see these and many others you can stop by Cornell Farm and talk to their staff.

Venetian Seafood Fettuccini

There is a great little place in downtown Hillsboro that can offer you an entire evening of entertainment. The Venetian Theatre and Bistro (503-693-3953) has a restaurant, theatre and bar filled with great ambiance! We caught co-owner and chef Saxony Peterson in the kitchen and convinced her to share one of her favorite dishes, a seafood fettuccini. In this dish the prawns get top billing, but there is a lot of crab in there as well, which really gives the dish a boost of flavor. Saxony started on the cream sauce first, which took no time at all. While the sauce was reducing a little, she sautéed the prawns in a combination of butter, olive oil, garlic, white wine and lemon. It smelled so good! During this she prepared her pasta noodles. It all finished around the same time and came together in a bowl for a tasty and beautiful presentation. If you would like to try making this dish on your own, check out the recipe here. Better yet, stop by on the weekend and taste their version or one of the other wonderful dishes.

Beer and Whiskey Pairings

‘Gimme a shot with a beer chaser’… that is the cliché you hear when beer and whiskey are paired together. We found a place where that phrase has a different meaning. Produce Row Café (503-232-8355) in SE Portland is now offering these two beverages in some interesting combinations. Alan Davis, the owner of the café told us that the whiskey-beer pairing program was launched last year with the assistance of one of the world’s leading whiskey experts, Stuart Ramsey, and puts together the best in both classes to create an innovative pairing menu that’s a terrific way to sample the best in class of both beverages. There are some pairings that are a battle of tastes, with strong flavors wrestling for your taste buds, while others are subtle and sweet when enjoyed together. Of the 2 pairings that we tried we had ‘The Schooner’ which was Full Sail Ltd. 03 and Forty Creek Barrel Select whiskey and ‘The Pale Rider’ with Terminal Gravity IPA and Blanton’s Single Barrel Whiskey. The first one was smooth and a little sweet. The second pairing was a bolder pairing with 2 very strong tastes. If you are a Whiskey or beer fan this was a very interesting way to taste the differences and similarities of these two classic drinks. If you would like to try the pairings stop by the newly redesigned Produce Row Café and have a sip.

New Hot Water Heaters

There are lots of new innovations in water heaters and to learn about the latest in hot water we went to the water heater kings at George Morlan (503-224-7000). You may not think you need to worry about your water heater, but in the Northwest the average water heater lasts about 12 years, so you will have to worry about replacing yours soon. The conventional water heaters come in 2 main styles, one for natural gas where a flame heats the water and an electric water heater which uses two heating coils to heat the water for your home.

Next, we moved to the new ‘Cadillac’s’ of energy efficiency in water heating. First was the Rheem Marathon water heater. The main cause of failure for most heaters is a leak in the tank. This new model from Rheem is guaranteed to never leak. Next we saw the GE Hybrid water heater. This one uses a heat pump to pull heat from the surrounding air to complement the normal heating process. That extra heat from the heat pump can lower your water heating costs by half. The final model we saw was a ‘heat on demand’ water heater. This one only heats water when you turn on the faucet so you don’t have to pay money to keep a tank of water hot, even if you are not using it, like a normal water heater. You can even get an on-demand electric water heater for those hard to reach areas in your shed or garage. The thing to remember when you are choosing a new water heater is to figure out the water needs of your family and then find the right unit to meet those needs.

No matter which type of heater you use, remember you have to secure it to keep it safe in case of earthquakes. Also, for most areas you may need a permit to install a new water heater. Be sure to check with your local municipality. For any of your hot water needs, check with your local ‘Water Heater Kings’ at George Morlan.