|
  |
|
EPISODE #42- SATURDAY JUNE 26, 2010
The heat of summer
has arrived. It has been really hard to get some
projects done around the house. In fact, it has become
uncomfortable just
being outside during most of the week. Still the mornings are
cool and
pleasant and a great time to get things done before the day
heats up. Once
the day does get a little warm you can head to your local
watering hole. We
found a great one at Oswego Grill for their wonderful happy
hour! Happy
Hour is a great way to test the menu from a restaurant and not
put a big
dent in your wallet!
Kim's Flower Garden
A few weeks ago we visited Kim from
Geranium Lake Flowers
(503-228-1920) to learn
how to build a centerpiece from materials in your own backyard.
This week
we walked the garden with Kim to learn what to plant in that
garden. A
cutting garden is the goal of a lot of people. If you have the
right
flowers in the right combinations, you can create beautiful
bouquets all
season long. Kim has the additional requirements of needing a
garden that
is low maintenance. She relies on garden roses, foxglove, smoke
bush,
peonies and yarrow just to name a few. These flowers can handle
minimal
care and are pretty tolerant of the conditions. Other plants in
her garden
include valerian, dahlias and lavender. You will want to also
include
foliage plants. Colorful flowers can overpower each other if you
are not
careful. Including foliage softens those colors and adds texture
to your
arrangements. Kim also used mint in her garden, but she is
careful about
placing it in a container so it won't take over. Mint will go
crazy if left
unchecked! Finally look to adding plants that you would not
normally
consider as 'cutting' plants. Kim uses green cherry tomatoes and
blueberries to add texture and different colors to her
arrangements. For
more ideas you can check out Kim's blog on her website or stop
by her shop
in downtown Portland.
Organic Mattresses
Last week we stopped by
Eclectic Home (503-224-0551) to learn how to
pick out a
perfect pillow. Dennis Rose showed us how to pick the pillow
with comfort
in mind before you consider anything else. This week we wanted
to learn
about organic mattresses. What makes an organic mattress is the
quality of
the materials. The core of most organic mattresses is composed
of natural
latex. This natural material is made into a foam that responds
well to
average wear and tear and that can make your mattress last 20 to
30 years.
Plus, once they have reached the end of their productive life
these
mattresses can be put in a landfill where they will decompose
naturally.
Once again Dennis told us about the number one consideration for
picking a
mattress, comfort! One of the ingredients that adds to the
comfort and to
the fire safety of the mattress is a layer of wool. The lanolin
in the wool
is a natural flame retardant. The lanolin also reduces the
occurrence of
dust mites. If you are interested in learning more about organic
mattresses
or any other organic furniture stop by Eclectic Home.
Lemon Lavender
Martini
Once again we are joined by Kathy Gehrt, author of 'Discover
Cooking with Lavender'. She has shared some great
recipes
with us in the past few weeks and now we are making one of the
more
interesting recipes she has; a lavender cocktail, more
specifically a
lavender martini. Lavender is a great herb. It is beautiful,
fragrant and
it tastes good too. First we made a simple syrup that was
infused with
lavender. It was one cup of sugar, one cup of water and a
tablespoon of
culinary lavender. The syrup has a pinkish color and a wonderful
delicate
lavender flavor. To make the drink, Kathy started with 4 ounces
of vodka,
added 2 ounces of lemon juice and 2 ounces of the simple syrup.
This was
shaken with ice and strained into martini glasses. It makes two
drinks and
is very refreshing on those warm summer days.
Find the recipe
here. For more recipes
for using
lavender in your cooking, check out Kathy's book. You can also
learn more
about lavender at the up-coming
Oregon Lavender Festival
happening at over 30 lavender farms around the state on July
10th and 11th.
Apple Pear Salad
We love visiting great restaurants.
Our latest favorite is
Oswego Grill
(503-352-4750) in Lake Oswego at the junction of I-5 and 217.
Owner Dave
Burnett invited us into the kitchen to meet his chef, Genardo
Zurita. We
also got to see their custom wood fired grill. Dave worked over
20 years at
another restaurant and decided to open his own place. It is
wonderful. The
grill itself is 1400 pounds of cooking magic. They cook their
steaks,
burgers, seafood and even a salad over mesquite, apple and
cherry wood.
Chef Zurita decided to show us an apple pear salad with grilled
chicken.
Chef started with a couple of chicken breasts that were covered
in olive
oil, salt and pepper. After about 3 minutes per side the chicken
was ready.
Next we moved to the assembly area where we were going to put
our salad
together. We used arugula as the base of our salad. The
ingredients
included sliced apples and pears, and lemon vinaigrette. To make
the
vinaigrette we used lemon juice, garlic, lemon zest, honey, salt
and pepper.
We mixed olive oil into the mixture slowly to make sure it
combines well.
We then tossed the ingredients together and garnished with
grapes, candied
walnuts, gorgonzola cheese and a couple of hardwood grilled
asparagus
spears. To try making this recipe at home you can
check out the
recipe
here. We're not sure anyone can reproduce this masterpiece,
unless you want
to build your own hardwood grill! Stop by the Oswego Grill to
taste it
yourself.
Shower Water
Saving
This week we are back in the bathroom to save you some water and
some money. Jim from the Regional Water Providers Consortium
joined us
again to show us how to save while we are in the shower. The
first thing he
recommended was the 5 minute shower. Most showers use 2 to 2.5
gallons of
water per minute. He showed us a small hourglass timer that can
be attached
to the wall of your shower to help you keep track of the time.
Jim also
showed us a water efficient shower head. The new models will
save you up to
a gallon of water per minute if you use one. For more water
saving tips you
can check out the RWPC website,
www.ConserveH2O.org.
Pet Doors
Pets just love to be outside. The problem is letting them out
and getting them back in. To learn how to do that easily we
stopped by
Champion Windows (503-624-2678) to talk to John about a new type of doggy door
that they
install. This new type of door is in your sliding glass door.
These doggy
(or kitty) doors have double flaps to you can save energy by not
having it
leak outside through the door. It also comes with a locking
plate for
security while you are away. These doors come in all sizes and
can even be
built for larger dogs. The only drawback is that they can not be
retrofitted to an existing slider. Still, once you replace your
old slider,
you will get the doggy door and a new, more energy efficient
door all in one
package. To learn more about these doors, give the people at
Champion a
call. |
| |
|
   
 |
