EPISODE #89 -
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2011
It was amazingly
quiet this week and then I realized that the kids had gone back
to school. And so ends summer. Don’t worry the days are still
warm (too warm for some) and you still have plenty of time to
enjoy the outdoors, but don’t forget about the indoors. Get your
home ready for fall and then you can sit and relax for those
cold winter months.
Oilerie Choices
The key to good cooking is good
ingredients. Finding the freshest, highest quality olive oil is
hard for some people, but we found a place in Lake Oswego that
has some of the most unique olive oils, and balsamic vinegars
around. Blake joined us from
The
Oilerie (503-675-6457) to show us what makes them unique.
First of all, you can taste pretty much every oil in the store.
These are great oils and a lot of them are infused with flavors
so you can really get creative in the kitchen. They work with a
grower in Italy who delivers fresh oil to the store all the
time. They characterize the oil flavor intensity in 3 different
ways mild, medium and robust. They also label some of the oils
like a vintner would label wine, with other taste
characteristics like ‘flowery’, ‘spicy’ or ‘peppery’. You can
then choose your oil to compliment the dish you are cooking.
Kaboodle Back to College
The younger kids have gone back to
school, but those older college aged kids are just now getting
packed up and ready to go. The problem for most of these kids is
that they will need a lot of their own utensils and appliances
for their dorm rooms or apartments. To get some ideas of what to
send them off to school with, we stopped by Kitchen Kaboodle and
talked with Maryann. The first thing she recommended was a
microwave. This is the ‘must have’ appliance for nearly
everyone. There are some warnings though…
Oregon and
Oregon State have policies about what you can have in your
dorm room and what is prohibited as appliances go. You will want
to check with your college or university to see their specific
rules. If you are able to have a microwave in your room you will
need things to cook in and one thing that Maryann brought out
was a popcorn popper. This bowl is great for making that typical
‘study time’ treat and even for heating up soup. You will also
want to make sure that you get a complete assortment of
microwave safe items like egg poachers, plates and cups. Another
thing that they will need at school include silverware and
plates. Get heavy duty, unbreakable, utensils and dishes; they
will be taking a beating and need to last. Maryann brought out a
special gadget next. This is a battery operated hand blender.
This can be used for frothing milk for coffee, mixing protein
drinks and even scrambling eggs. The next items we looked at
were coffee cups and brewers. Kitchen Kaboodle has a wide
assortment of bean grinders, French press and hot pots to make
any hot drink. We also looked at cutting boards, knives and
spreaders. These are perfect for cutting up apples, cheeses and
hard meats for quick snacks. The final item we looked at was the
collapsible laundry bag. This is great for carrying your dirty
clothes to the laundry room and then it crushes down for easy
storage. If you are looking to outfit your student for the
coming year, stop by Kitchen Kaboodle for some great and
functional items!
Wild About Game
If you are tired of the same old
thing for dinner we have a treat for you. We heard about an
event that will change the way you think about meat. Next
weekend at the Resort at the Mountain they are having the 11th
annual ‘Wild
About Game’ event. This event is centered around wild game
and how to prepare it. Nicky USA is the sponsor of the event
which will take place on Sunday September 18th from 11 to 4.
Nicky USA
is a purveyor of sustainable, high quality game meats. Nicky
owner Geoff Latham wanted an event that would highlight some of
the great tastes of game birds and grass fed meats and this
event was born. Local author and chef, Janie Hibler, joined us
to show us one of her recipes from her book of the same name,
‘Wild about Game’. She made a sautéed quail served in fresh
salad greens with fresh huckleberries. In her cookbook this
recipe is made with fresh venison. You can
find a copy of her recipe
here. It was fantastic and gave us an idea of what you can
expect if you attend.
Fixing a Hole in
the Wall
Fixing a hole in your sheetrock is a
pretty common thing around most homes. It could be a hole from a
doorknob or from a sharp object. Either way repairing the hole
can be an easy process. We stopped by
Parr Lumber
(503-531-7277) to get some help from Chris. Chris helped us pick
out the items we would need to fix a small hole, but even if we
didn’t have Chris to help us, all the Parr locations have easy
to follow ‘how-to’ booklets for customers to use to get the job
done. For our job we needed a patch kit, some sheetrock mud and
a can of spray texture. |
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