Handmade Rugs
Choosing a hand made rug is not as expensive as you think. And
these rugs are not as delicate as you think either. We stopped by
Rugs
on
Broadway (503-719-5544) to learn more about these functional 'works of art' from
Moe.
Before we even started taping the story Moe had us sit down and watch a
video of how the rugs are made. The amount of craftsmanship that goes
into
even the smallest of rugs is incredible. For the individual dyes that
are
made and used to the type of designs and yarns, each is a master piece.
An
8x12 rug can take from 8 months up to 3 years to make! What was really
surprising was the cost. You can get a 'hand-tied' rug for roughly the
same
price as a machine made rug. A handmade rug is far superior to a machine
made rug and with the proper care it can be handed down for generations.
The other misconception about these rugs is that they can't handle the
wear
and tear of a normal household. Moe told us the story about how some of
the
rigs used to be put out in the road for cars to drive over. This helped
the
rug and the knots get 'conditioned' and made the rug more soft and
pliable.
To learn more about these beautiful pieces of art stop by and visit the
friendly staff at Rugs on Broadway!
Microwave Safe Containers
One of the most used appliances in the home is the microwave.
Still, some of us misuse the microwave and could be putting our health
in
danger. All too often we use dishes in the microwave that are not safe.
Dishes that are not approved for the microwave could produce fumes and
release other chemicals into our foods. Worse case, they could explode
and
cause us bodily harm. Now, we don't want to frighten you, but we feel
you
need to be aware of the dangers so you can choose to avoid them. David
did
some research on safety and here is what he came up with. First of all
if
it doesn't say it is OK for the microwave, it isn't! That applies to the
foam container that holds your chicken breasts and ground beef to the
old
butter containers that you store food in and basic plastic wrap. Things
that are safe for the microwave include wax paper and parchment paper.
There are even microwave safe plastic wraps (make sure you read the
label).
Other safe items include most glass dishes and bowls and most paper
products. To make sure that your dishes are safe you can check with the
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Mother's Day Tea
Mother's Day is a wonderful day to show mom how much you love
her. One of the best ways to show how much you care is to make a special
meal for her. Chef David came up with the idea to create a simple
Mother's
Day tea for mom. As David said, Moms like to be treated like a queen and
queens like tea so that was the motivation for this idea. Tea sandwiches
are the perfect little snack for Mom. David and Robin made 2 different
kinds of sandwiches. One was a cream cheese, green olive and pistachios
mixed together and the other was a cucumber sandwich made with butter,
salt,
cucumbers and fresh dill. Once the large sandwiches were made they cut
off
the crusts and cut them into shapes. To finish things off the small tea
sandwiches were placed on a tray with some store bought scones and fresh
strawberries for a wonderful little meal. Just add the tea and a fancy
place setting and it is a tea fit for a queen!
For recipes for the tea
sandwiches click here.
Garlic Gadgets
Just about any recipe can benefit from the taste of garlic. To
help you get the garlic ready for the kitchen we stopped by
Sur La Table
(503-968-8015) to
check
out the latest garlic tools. Laura showed us 3 different gadgets that
you
can use to make pealing and preparing your garlic easier. The first
gadget
helped to peal the skin off the garlic clove. All you have to do is
insert
the clove and roll it on the counter. Next we saw a garlic press that
can
mince and slice a clove. All you do is drop it in and press! Finally we
saw Laura's favorite the Rosle garlic press. This one works well and it
easily comes apart for easy cleaning, no more using a toothpick to clean
out
the little holes!
Budget
Kitchen Makeover - Style
On an earlier show we visited with Linda Gemal from
Rejuvenate
Your Home (503-803-8000) to learn the first steps on how you can remodel your
kitchen
on a budget. This week she walked us through some of the areas where you
can add your own special touch to the decorating to make it stand out.
Linda started with the counter tops. She was able to keep her old tile
countertops and add new tiles, that didn't exactly match, by using a
border
of a lighter tile to tie them all together. She also brought the same
colors in to the kitchen as a backsplash with some simple tile sheets
from
Home Depot. Another place where you can change things up is with drawer
pulls and hinges. Just something as simple as changing the hardware can
really make a difference. Linda also showed us how she was able to shop
the
discount cabinet stores for some surplus cabinets. She was able to tie
them
together by connecting countertops and a coat of paint. And that was the
final tip from Linda. If you only had one thing you could do in your
kitchen, it would be to paint. Painting is easy and cheap and it can
make a
splash in a hurry!
