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EPISODE #36-
SATURDAY MAY 15, 2010
The weather has really
been fickle. It's hot, and then it's cold. Right
when you get a project started indoors, the sunny weather calls you
outside
to do something out there. Then the rain chases you back inside. But
don't
worry, in just a few weeks it will be summer and we will be outside for
the
remainder of the season.
Maintaining Your Rug
On an earlier show we told you about hand made Persian rugs.
Moe at Rugs on Broadway (503-719-5544) told us about how
durable
and inexpensive they were; a perfect combination of form and function.
This week we talked to him about the importance of cleaning and
maintaining
your investment. The first thing he told us was that you can vacuum them
as
much as you like. That surprised us. We thought they would be too
fragile
to handle that type of cleaning. But they are actually more durable than
you think. The only thing you need to be careful of is vacuuming the
fringe. You should try to avoid that if possible.
You should also rotate the rug occasionally to make sure that it
gets even wear patterns from the foot traffic. Moe also recommended that
you get a professional cleaning about once every five years. This means you
will need to bring it to a professional rug cleaner. Don't try to clean
the
rug yourself, it will shorten the life of your rug and may even damage
it.
If you do have a damaged rug, you can get it repaired. At Rugs on
Broadway
we met Mr. Mike. He was busy working on repairing a rug from the 1880s.
He was re-piling the rug by adding more strands to it. It was a very
meticulous job, but we saw some of his work and you couldn't tell where
he
had repaired the rug. So if you have any questions about cleaning,
repairing, buying or appraising your rugs, come to Rugs on Broadway.
Fire on the Mountain Oreos
Fire on the Mountain (503-230-9464) is a great local
restaurant
with 2 locations in the Portland area. It is basically a 'wing joint',
but
has a full menu of delicious dishes. Co-owner Jordan Busch is known for
the
'heat' and variety of sauces that they make in the stores. You can come
in
and try out a sauce or you can buy a bottle to take home. They also have
sauces available at some of the specialty grocery stores in the area.
Robin
learned the hard way to do a small taste first!
Jordan decided to share a recipe with us, but it was not one of his
sauce recipes (we'll work on him to do that in the future). Instead, he
decided to show us how they make their deep fried Oreos. All you need
are some Oreos, pancake batter and an deep oil fryer. Simply coat the Oreos
in the pancake batter, and drop them into the hot oil. Cook them for 2
minutes on each side and pull them out. Coat them with powdered sugar,
serve them with ice cream or eat them plain. Just don't think about
the calories! This is a recipe for guilty enjoyment. If you don't want
to
try it at home you can get some tasty ones at Fire on the Mountain! Fire
on
the Mountain was recommended to us by Sysco Portland, suppliers of
quality
products to the restaurant industry.
Goats Milk Cheese
Goat cheese is considered a delicacy by many foodies. Did you
know you can make your own goat cheese, even in the city? Scott Hansen
from
Leche Ridge Farms (503-662-4563) joined David and Robin to show them how to milk a goat
and
then how to make the cheese. Some cities in the area do allow you to
have
goats (remember to check the livestock regulations for your area) and
you
really don't need much space to raise one. If you are going to milk your
goats you have to remember that they are not low-maintenance they will
require milking twice a day to keep their production up. Scott is
currently
milking 4 goats and he is getting a gallon a day from them and as David
and
Robin both found out, getting the milk requires a certain technique!
Once
we had the milk we moved up to the house to make some cheese.
As Scott told us, cheese making is one of the most low-tech
processes around. First you add the milk to a pan and heat it to 86
degrees
using a cheese thermometer. After the milk is heated you add your cheese
culture. This can be picked up from any cheese supply store; Scott got
his
from Pistils Nursery in Portland. The culture he was using was Chevre.
Once added you let the milk set for 12 hours at room temperature. This
will
allow the milk to curdle. You then strain the milk through a
cheese-cloth
to get the cheese curds. Let it stand for another 6 hours and then put
it
in your refrigerator and you can eat it. Scott was also able to make a
feta
and an aged cheddar by using different cultures and a little different
process. The other benefit of goat's milk... lactose intolerant people
can
drink goat's milk! The molecules are different than cow's milk! If you
are interested in goat's milk, raising goats or making cheese you can
catch
one of his classes at
Pistils Nursery (503-288-4889) or contact him at Leche
Ridge.
The Perfect Espresso
For some of us, the day doesn't start until we have had our
morning cup of coffee. But what we use as a jump-start to our day is
actually an artful ritual in Italy. Having an espresso or a cappuccino
is
not just for the caffeine it is part of the culture. We were able to
visit
with Giorgio Milos a master barista from
Illy Coffee. He was in Portland to help celebrate
Chuck's
Place Coffee Shop (503-675-7861) in Lake Oswego becoming a Artisti del
Gusto
(Artists of Taste) café. Giorgio uses Illy coffee because of the special
blending of different coffees that bring out a better taste. Giorgio
also
follows the 5 golden rules of espresso making. First, having the right
dose. In the US coffee shops use up to 3 times too much coffee. The
taste
becomes overpowering. Second is the right temperature... you don't want
to
over cook the coffee. You also want the perfect pressure from your
machine
to extract the right amount of coffee. Time is the fourth rule. You are
looking to get the right amount in 25-30 seconds. And finally volume...
You are just looking for 1 ounce of liquid. If you would like to try
your
hand at making the perfect espresso you can take it easy on yourself,
Illy
makes a professional style machine for home use and they have
prepackaged
coffee capsules that make the perfect cup every time. If you want to
enjoy
the perfect cup and have none of the work you can check out Chuck's
Place in
Lake Oswego and start your own coffee ritual.
Organizing the Home Office
The home office is one of the messiest parts of the home.
Everything just seems to get thrown into the office and piles can become
huge. We decided to tackle the clutter of Robin's home office! Linda
Gemal
of Rejuvenate Your Home (503-803-8000) came over to
Robin's
house to help her organize. The added element to Robin's office mess...
she
shares it with her 8 year old daughter. What was the first tip from
Linda?
Purge! Figure out what you actually need, what you actually use, what
you
actually like and then get rid of the rest. Donate it to an 'office in
need'. Next you want to group things together. Get the items you use and
need together. Look for staging areas in your home (attics, crawl
spaces,
closets) where you can keep the things you like but that you don't use
everyday. Get some decorative boxes for items that are on display and
clear
plastic box and totes for stuff in storage. The clear containers allow
you
to see everything in the box without opening it up. Also, Linda
recommended
that you keep the daily important papers close to your desk and that you
go
through the pile every day and don't let it get out of hand. By just
doing
a little bit you can make a big dent in the mess and make your office,
and
life, more productive!
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