EPISODE #103 -
SATURDAY MARCH 24, 2012
The recent
cold and snowy weather has chased us back inside and that has me
thinking about projects inside the house. One of our doors has
some latch problems and that got me to thinking about doorknobs,
so this week we went to Parr to learn how to replace a doorknob
with Amber. We are also starting to see more flowers in the
garden and that means more cut flowers for the table and to
celebrate that, we did a story on bringing the outdoors inside.
We were so tired that we had a glass of wine and admired the
taste while we had our featured pasta dish. Wow, that is our
whole show… who said you can’t have fun on a rainy/snowy day.
Now it’s time to share what we learned!
Bringing the Outside In
We make a
trip up the hill near St Vincent’s hospital on Barnes Road to
Cornell Farm
(503-292-9895) to check out their new event space in the old
farm house on the property. We had heard that a designer had
used plants and cut flowers to create an incredible outside-in
look in the house. Robin met with Thomas Paine from Thomas
Paine Atelier (503-274-9095) to see what he had put together.
The first stop was the old dining room. It was filled with
fresh cut flowers and wonderful plants! Thomas had brought in
vases of different sizes and filled them with flowers, some from
the plants around the grounds and nursery, and some from the
local florist shop. Some of the vases were filled with single
types of flowers. A couple of vases had single varieties of
orchids of the same color and those were setting next to other
vases filled with lilies and tropical plants. The coolest thing
was a bunch of orchid blooms submerged in water. Thomas also
told us that he sometimes adds sparkling water to these
submerged flowers to make tiny bubbles appear on the petals.
The next
room we visited had plants on a bigger scale. Thomas had
brought in huge planters with palms and other tropicals. They
filled the corners of the room with color and texture. He had
also added a very large planter on a table that contained dozens
of plants. He also matched the paintings (part of a nature
series) and his own hand-made furniture with the room color to
make a warm and inviting place. He even made planter out of an
old racing trophy to add some character to the room. The large
room was well suited to the large plants. Thomas also added
touches of smaller plants to bring in splashes of color.
If you would
like to do something similar in your home the experts at Cornell
can get you started. If you are interested in renting out this
lovely space, give them a call at the nursery as well.
Tasting Your Wine
Finding the
right wine may be at the tip of your tongue. Denise Brown
joined David to explain how to taste wine and what you should be
looking for in a good wine. Denise is a wine ambassador for
Willamette Valley Vineyards and she also has her own business
called Pour, Pair,
Toast & Taste (503-914-7515) where she does private dinners
and wine pairings. Today she walked David through some of her
tips. She started by telling us about the ‘5’s’ of wine making;
juice, yeast, barrel, age and a great winemaker. These in
combination are what can make a really great wine (or in the
wrong hands a terrible wine). Fortunately the Willamette Valley
pinots that she brought are very fine wines!!! Next she told us
about the tongue. There are 5 tastes to the human tongue,
sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and the new flavor, savory.
Depending on where the wine lands on your tongue can change the
taste that you experience or even what flavors you taste first.
Denise then walked David through some different Willamette
Valley Vineyards’ Pinot Noirs. Each of these wines, even though
they are from the same grape, had totally different tastes.
Flavors ran from peppery and chocolaty to having faint hints of
pine and berries. You can see by the different styles of Pinots
why it can change what you taste when you pair them with certain
dishes like salmon or red meat. If you would like to learn more
about wines you can take a tour at
Willamette Valley
Vineyards (800-344-9463) or even better, contact Denise
about scheduling a dinner and some wine pairings at your home
with some friends!
Better Living Chef
If you are
interested in sustainability and making a better world for us
and future generations you need to pay a visit to the
Better
Living Show taking place this weekend at the Expo Center.
This 5th year event has something for anyone looking to lessen
their impact on the environment. The event is free and open to
the public. It has booths, products and demonstrations to help
you get healthy and be more eco-friendly. One of the highlights
of the show is the cooking demonstrations. NW Natural and the
NW
Natural Appliance Center (503-220-2362) are hosts of the NW
Natural Blue Home, a 1,100 square foot demo home that has all
the latest in green gadgets! In the Blue Home is one of the
cooking demo areas and Adrenaline Hunter host, Bethy Rossos,
will be there showing people how to make a rustic pizza on the
BBQ. She met up with us to share another recipe of hers. She
made a BLT-Nastroni, a name she got from one of her students
(she is also a teacher). The recipe is not a bacon, lettuce and
tomato. It is a Bacon, leek and tomato recipe. She started by
sautéing some bacon ends in some olive oil until they were
crisp. Then she added a half cup of leeks, a quarter cup of
chopped sun dried tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic.
When it was nearly done and the vegetables were soft she added a
cup of white wine and deglazed the mixture. When the wine was
reduced she added in some mascarpone and a half cup of cream.
While she was doing this David was put to work rolling and
cutting some pasta noodles. When the noodles were done, the
mixture went over the top and she added a little chopped nuts to
give it a little crunch and some grated parmesan cheese. It was
spectacular! If you would like to see Bethy in action on her TV
show be sure to tune in to Adrenaline Hunter on Comcast
Sportsnet. Don’t forget to stop by and see her cooking seminars
happening both Saturday and Sunday at the Better Living Show
this weekend at 1pm. You can also check out her recipes at
http://cookingrusticwithbethyrossos.com.
Changing a Doorknob
One of the
easiest projects around the house is replacing a doorknob.
Sometime you want to change the style or look of your home, or
you may be looking for a little more security, and changing the
doorknob may the easiest way to do both. Amber from
Parr Lumber
(866-214-7277) walked us through the project to show us how to
do it right. First you need to get all the tools you will need
together so you are not hunting for them during the project.
She had a hammer, a chisel, and screwdriver with different
heads. If you don’t have a hole in your door you will need to
get a jig that will make a hole for the new doorknob. Finally
you need your new doorknob, keyed for outside doors and
non-keyed for inside doors. Either way the steps are the same.
First remove the old doorknob by unscrewing the 2 long screws
near the handle. Remove the 2 handle pieces and the drive
piece. This will leave you with a hole to start with. Next
place the new drive piece in the small hole in the door. Make
sure that the drive piece is pointed the right way so it will
catch and hold the door shut when closed. If it seems a little
loose look for the shim pieces to put around the drive mechanism
to tighten it up. Then thread the new handle pieces into the
holes of the drive piece and screw them together. This should
be pretty easy to do. Finally attach the new plate on the end
of the drive mechanism, on the edge of the door, to secure the
drive. Check to make sure it lines up with the strike plate on
the door frame. If it doesn’t you may have to use the chisel to
make it bigger, and then you are done! If you get in over your
head you can check with any Parr location for one of the helpful
staff to give you some tips for success. |
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