Rona rebate rewards renovation - right on!

Here's some good news (for a change!) Consumers who buy materials for projects that are eligible for the federal government’s Home Renovation Tax Credit at Rona stores will be rewarded with gift cards. Spent over $5,000 at any Rona location, and you get a gift card worth 10 per cent of your purchases. Spend less than $5,000 and you get a gift card worth 5 per cent. There's a maximum of $750 you can get back. For more information, go to the Rona website. The picture at left features paint by Sico, which is available at Rona. Interior painting is among the projects eligible for the tax credit.

Beautiful Barley - nothing like Cod Liver Oil!

Barley used to have a bad rep with me; maybe it was all those English children’s novels I read in which kids were forced to swallow barley water – it always sounded dreadful. Or maybe I confused with cod liver oil. Anyway, I have been maligning this humble grain, and I am self-actualized to admit it! I’ve been using it as a staple cooking and baking ingredient ever since I went to the Good Food Festival last year and found out that it’s a nutritional powerhouse, and that it’s grown in Ontario. Unfortunately, most of what’s grown here is used for animal feed. Silly, I say – why not skip the step of feeding it to animals and add barley directly to our culinary line-up? There’s lots of information, and a slew of great recipes, on the Oat and Barley Council of Ontario website. What follows is a recipe for tabbouleh that’s quick, easy and totally delicious. And the leftovers make a terrific packed lunch. PROMISE me you’ll try it.

Feta Olive Barley Tabbouleh - serves 6

• 1½ cups pot barley, rinsed
• 4½ cups water/vegetable stock
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
• 2 cups peeled, diced English cucumbers
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (use canned drained tomatoes in a pinch)
• ¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
• ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ½ cup pitted olives

Bring water or stock and salt to a rolling boil in a 3 quart pot. Add the barley and reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the barley is tender, about 40 minutes. Drain off any unabsorbed liquid. Transfer cooked barley to a large bowl. Combine olive oil and lemon juice in small bowl. Whisk together. Pour over cooked barley. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir. Add parsley, cucumber, tomato and dill. Mix well. Transfer to platter. Sprinkle crumbled feta and chopped olives over salad. Allow to marinate for 10 minutes or longer.

Sick of winter - maybe Stanley will give you a break

Oooh - this just in!!! Stanley, makers of  one of my favourite tools, the FUBAR, had teamed up with Home Hardware to mount a "Win a Dream Vacation" contest. Just what I need to hear on what could possibly be the dreariest day of the year so far....

The most soothing socks ever

Okay, this next bit is not related to home appliances or decor, but I just HAVE to tell you. Somehow, I got on a media list for a promotion of Airplus aloe-infused socks. The PR company sent me three pairs to try. Because I will use any kind of distraction whatsoever as an excuse to ignore a deadline am relentless in my quest to bring you the very best in consumer information, I put a pair on. I swear my feet started laughing - the most comfortable socks EVER!  I gave my sister a pair later that evening when I dropped her off at her house, and told her  "you're going to call me as soon as you put these on!" She assured me she would not - she was planning to go straight to bed. Ten minutes later, I walk in the door and the phone is ringing. It's my sister - she's holding her feet up to the phone and they are giggling hysterically. My 16-year-old daughter later reported she nearly got kicked out of American History because her feet wouldn't "share the joke with the rest of the class". The aloe stuff is supposed to stay in the socks for about 20 washes (of course you can still wear them after that). You can get them at Shoppers Drug Mart and Zellers Pharmacy departments for about $7. A small price to pay, say I, for happy feet.

 

Yikes - the National Home Show is next week!

If my posts get a bit spotty over the next few days, it's not because I'm ignoring you, dear and faithful reader. It's because I'm madly busy getting ready for my seminar at the National Home Show next week. My topic is "Save or Splurge". In it, I look at whether and when to spend a bit more on everything from linens to lamps, from kitchen counter-tops to appliances. I’ll also have tips and tricks for saving money on decor projects large and small. I'll be presenting on Saturday, February 21 at 1 p.m., and will have lots of giveaway goodies. Apparently, some other home decor types will also be at the show. A couple of fellows by the name of Colin and Justin are threatening to show up. (Sure, they're cute, creative and wildly talented, but do they know how, as do I,  to make rice pudding with brown rice and white chocolate - I don't think so!) In truth, I'm dying to meet Colin and Justin, as I've got a few questions about a planned design for my bedroom which revolves around naughty-pine and macrame wall art. I'll probably drop by their presentation, along with that of Dream Home designer Janette Ewen, who will be showing visitors how to customize their decor in a few easy steps! (Come to think of it, she's cute, creative and wildly talented too - but I'm almost positive she doesn't do rice pudding, either.)

Slow cookers rule

Who knew that one little column about slow cookers would elicit such a response from readers? When I filed my Hot Home Products column about slow cookers a few weeks ago, I was surprised by the number of people who wrote and said they were inspired to go out and buy one or haul the one they had out of storage. Well, for slow cookers fans, I have more good news. Making stock is a bit of a pain, right? Well, no, not actually, if you use a slow sooker. I recenly threw a turkey carcase in the  slow cooker with a carrot, bit of onion, bay leaf, celery and peppercorn. Added about eight cups of water, turned it on low and walked away. Six hours later, and presto chango - enough stock to keep me going for weeks. Tip - I always roast the turkey or chicken carcase a bit before making stock - I think it brings out the flavour. Also used the cooker to soak dry white beans, which I then cooked with olive oil, garlic and onion. Completely delicious.

Mark Bittman - my new BFF

Had a marvelous time this past week hanging out and cooking with Mark Bittman, food writer for the New York Times. Well, not so much actually with him in body, but gobbling up his fascinating new book Food Matters - A Guide to Conscious Eating. Bittman's essential point is that the North American diet, heavy in meat, refined sugar, and processed foods, is bad for both the planet and human health. Not only has the amount of food we eat increased alarmingly over the past several decades (in the fifties, for example, Americans ate 138.2 pounds of meat per capita; in 2005, they ate 195.2 pounds) but we spend huge amounts of energy making foods with little nutritional value (Bittman says it takes 2,200 calories of fossil fuel to make a can of diet soda.) The system, he convincingly argues, is just not sustainable.

After reading Food Matters, which promotes the supremely common-sense notion of eating less meat and more vegetables and whole grains, I went to his mega cook-book,  How to Cook Everything. Not only did reading Bittman remind that simple steps, such making your  own yogurt, and cooking dry beans rather than buying cans, gives you greater control over the ingredients your family eats, but reduces packaging.If you love good food, and are concerned about the impact your family's diet has on the planet, get both - or either - of these books. How to Cook is available at Chapters and at independent booksellers such as the Cookbook Store for about $29.

Inspired by Bittman, I’ve been making home-made yogurt, in part to a reduce my use of plastic containers. All I needed was a good thermos, some store-bought yogurt as a starter, or a powered yogurt culture such Yogourmet, which is available from Noah’s Natural Foods www.noahsnaturalfoods.ca for $3.99 for  30-gram package that makes about six litres of yogurt. Bittman's yogurt recipe calls for a quart of milk (I'd go with at least 2 per cent, he suggests whole mlk) and one-half a cup of active yogurt. You heat the milk just to the boiling point and then let it cool to between 110-115 F. Whisk the yog in and pour the mix into a thermos and let it sit for six hours. (You want to keep it at about 100 F) Check it after six hours. If it's not set, let it sit another six hours. I've have hit and miss success with this simple method (my thermometer may be off) but it's worked every time I've used the started from the health food store.

On a tip from a friend, I added a heaping tablespoon of dry milk powder for every litre of milk to make it thicker, and did notice a slight difference. (Then I read the milk power ingredients - what's Vitamin D palmitate, you ask? Hhhm, not sure, I'll get back to you). I also tried adding a big dollop of sweetened condensed milk and some vanilla to the boiled mix to flavour it. Delish - try it with Bittman's homemade granola recipe (page 821 of How to Cook Eveything) or with chopped fruit, home-made jam or nuts.

IKEA expands

 

Lowe's isn't the only retailer who's expanding (see post below). IKEA  Canada just announced plans for new stores in Winnipeg and Ottawa, cities which clearly need some help with their style. (JUST KIDDING - if the rest of the country can keep bashing Toronto, can't we Torontonians take a few good-natured pokes? After all, what other fun do we have in a city that's paralyzed when 10 centimetres of snow falls? ) and will be rebuilding showrooms in Etobicoke, Edmonton and Boucherville, Quebec.Speaking of IKEA, I just got a disc with pics of some of their new summer offerings Love the lounge-styled modular seating series ARHOLMA, which reminds me of the far more expensive - and totally fabulous - outdoor furniture from DEDON If you want to know why DEDON stuff is so expensive - or if you are just fascinated by how beautiful things are made -  watch the DEDON TV on the site. But back to IKEA, which is more in my price range. Also love the  ÄPPLARÖ outdoor furniture line (see pic above), which has larger pieces for backyard patio and smaller, condo-friendly pieces. Everything is made from durable Acacia wood, which has lovely honey tones that would look just perfect in my back yard!

Low down on Lowe's

Lowe's has just announced the sites for three new locations in and around the GTA. The U.S. - based retailer, which entered Canada in 2007, will open new stores this year in South Oshawa (685 Laval Drive), North Scarborough (6500 Steeles Avenue East) and West Scarborough (800 Warden Avenue). I 'm a big fan of Lowe's - they have a wide offering of products at different price points, with a focus on good quality brands, and they have clean, bright stores. I also like their exclusive brand paints, Olympic and Valspar (my office is painted in Olympic's Caramel Apple). New this spring to the palette is a confident orangey-yellow  that I'm drawn to (the living room needs doing - BADLY), called Spring Squash, which they paired in the pic above with a more subtle shade called Woodlawn. I also love the fresh and zesty Lemon Yellow, paired below with Lake Breeze blue. Yummy. According to a recent interview with Don Stallings, president of Lowe's Canada, I'm not the only one who likes what they see in the stores. He says Lowe's is thrilled with the response by Canadian cosnumers, who have been especially enthusiastic purchasers of Lowe's decorative, flooing, plumbing and lighting products.