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EPISODE #58- SATURDAY OCTOBER 23, 2010
Are you bundled up yet? How is your
house? It seems like the weather can’t make up its mind, but
that’s normal for fall in the Northwest. One minute rain the
next is full sun. It is time to dress yourself and your house
for winter. Check out our tips for saving some money on your
energy bills in this week’s show. We also have some great
holiday treats for you to try as well. Enjoy!
Holiday
Table Makeovers
The holiday season is upon us and it is the season of
entertaining. You can make a bold statement with your dinner
table and we stopped at
Al’s
Garden Center (503-726-1162) to learn some tricks for doing
that. Earlier this year Lora from Al’s showed us how to makeover
your outdoor table and now she turned her attention to the
holiday table. Once again we started with just a basic white
tablecloth and place settings. From here Lora showed us 3
different setting. First we went with the set-up for fall and
Thanksgiving. This one had very earthy tones and was definitely
a harvest theme. It also was one that included different scents.
It had scented candles, potpourris, dried fruit and even some
light fragrances that you could use. Next we put together a
holiday theme. This one was still white as a background, but it
also included the traditional greens and reds. This table was
all about the details. Everything from little snow globes (which
the guests can take home) to the addition of ornaments as
accents. This setting also included small pictures as a place
setting and ‘naughty and nice’ napkin holders. Finally we went
with the more formal look for the New Year. This setting was
light and white and bright. The silver color is the theme of the
day and it represents a clean, new beginning. The plates don’t
match, but that is ok, you are looking for structure and
balance. So don’t forget to add a little whimsy to your next
dinner party. Check out the Al’s Garden Centers in Woodburn and
Sherwood for other great ideas for entertaining this holiday
season.
Preparing Squash
William from the
Garden Time show decided to show Chef David his Pumpkin Roll
recipe, but to get started he had to pick up a fresh pumpkin for
the recipe. He made a stop at
Bauman
Farm and Garden (503-792-3524) to check on the best pumpkin
for the job! Brian told William that he may not want a pumpkin
at all. Even though it is a ‘pumpkin’ roll, the best meat for
this recipe is found in the ‘Sweetmeat’ squash. William then met
up with Chef David to learn how to get the meat out of the
squash to make his recipe. First you cut it in half, clean out
the seeds and place it on a cookie sheet. Put it in a 375 degree
oven for about an hour. You pull it out of the oven when the
outside is soft. Once it is cooled you can just pull off the
outside skin and run the meat through a food mill or a food
processor. You will have a lot of meat when you are done. You
can save the extra by putting it in a freezer bag in 1 cup
portions and dating it. To get a recipe on preparing your
squash, click here.
Pumpkin Roll
Earlier we cooked a Sweetmeat squash to get our
filling (see above), and now we are going to
use that filling to make a recipe for a pumpkin roll. William
once again joined Chef David in the kitchen to share this old
family favorite with us. You start with 3 eggs and ¾ cup of
sugar. You will start to blend those together and then add your
pumpkin meat, lemon juice, flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon,
nutmeg and ginger. Once those are blended you pour the
ingredients in shallow pan lined with parchment or wax-paper.
This goes into an oven heated to 350 for about 10-15 minutes. Be
careful not to over cook this, look for the ‘cake’ to spring
back to your touch and then pull it out of the oven. Flip the
cake over onto a tea towel that has a light covering of powdered
sugar, roll it up and let it cool. Once it is cooled you will
unroll the cake spread out your cream cheese filling and re-roll
it up with a sprinkling of nuts evenly distributed over it and
place it in the fridge again. Once it has ‘rested’ you can bring
it out and cut the end off (for appearance) and serve it on a
plate. For the complete recipe you can check out the October
2009 edition of the
Garden Time On-line magazine. You can sign up for your free
monthly subscription to be delivered to your e-mail at the
Garden Time website!
Quick Tip – Thermostat
Our quick tip this week is another money saver. Jenna from NW
Natural told us about programmable thermostats. She mentioned
that if you have a programmable thermostat and you lower it by
10 degrees during any 8 hour period you can save over 10 percent
on your heating bills. By having a programmable thermostat you
can lower it during the daytime when you are at work, or
overnight when you are sleeping. You can then have the furnace
kick-in just before you get up or right before you get home. For
more money and energy saving tips you can check out
www.nwnatural.com.
Interstate Siding Tips
With the change of the seasons we have been showing you tips to
help you make sure that your home is ready for the elements.
Today we met up with John from
Interstate Roofing (503-684-5611) to talk about siding and
what you should look for. He met us at a home that had old
siding recently replaced and we talked about things you should
look for. Starting at the roof we talked about the need to keep
a gap between the roof and the siding. You will also want to
make sure that the tops of your windows are protected so water
can’t get behind them and ruin you structure. What you are
looking for is a good seal around all your windows, corners and
doors. You will want to use a good flexible, weather-proof
sealer or caulk. That will ensure that the rain and wind doesn’t
penetrate and you will have a dryer and warmer house. Finally we
got to the bottom of the wall and we talked about keeping your
siding up and off the soil or cement. You will also want to keep
your plants away from your siding. You want to keep airflow
around your house so the siding can dry out after a rain. For
more tips and information about your siding check out the
Interstate Roofing website.
Quick tip – Zone Heating
This week’s tip will help you save some money and still remain
comfortable in your home this fall and winter. Jenna from
NW Natural
told us about ‘zone heating’. What ‘zone heating’ means is that
you only heat the areas where you are living and lowering the
heat in areas that you are not using. First, close down the
vents in those seldom used rooms, then close the doors to those
rooms. Finally, check to see if the air intakes are open and
unblocked. This will make sure that your furnace is running
efficiently. For more tips on saving money and energy check out
the NW Natural website. |
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