Beware of mold, and tackle it whenever it turns up

Not only can mold and mildew affect the way your home and furnishings look —  it can contribute to an unhealthy air quality. Concrobium, which makes a range of mold-fighting products, has some good advice for dealing with this unwelcome visitor. Let’s call it “the five D’s”.

Deflect – To prevent mold you need to stop water from entering and accumulating in your home. So check that downspouts are doing their job — deflecting water away from the building. Make sure, too, that property is graded away from the foundation, so that water runs away from the house.

Dry - Mold can grow on water-damaged surfaces in as little as 24 hours. If flooding happens, remove excess water with a shop vacuum or water pump. When water is removed, use fans to circulate and absorb moisture in the air. Open doors and windows if possible; indoor mold spore counts are typically higher than outdoor counts. Call a pro if the job feels too big or if you suspect sewer back up.

Discard - Throw out water-logged and mold-infested materials such as carpeting or ceiling tiles. If drywall has absorbed water, it should be cut out 12 inches above the water level and replaced when the space is dry again.

Deactivate - Use bleach-free Concrobium Mold Control to fight remaining indoor mold.  It kills mold and prevents it from coming back. Treat hidden areas such as crawlspaces, closets and under furniture. Special fogger units, which mist Concrobium Mold Control into the air, can be used to treat large or inaccessible spaces such as basements and attics.

Dehumidify - Run a dehumidifier to take additional moisture out of the air. Maintain relative indoor humidity between 30 and 50 per cent. Monitor humidity levels with a hygrometer, an inexpensive device that you can pick up at your local
hardware store.

There’s also excellent information about mold and moisture issues on the Canada Mortgage and Housing website

Related articles

Is Mold in Your Home Making You Sick?

Symptoms of Black Mold Learn Things To Search For

Sculpting with light, or overdoing the Yuletide cheer. You decide.

Over the holidays, I unleashed my inner hippie (never far from the surface, I might add) to create a mood light with an umbra Fotofall  stand and  Sylvania’s  new Mosiac strips on which I clipped the strip.

Up to ten strips can be joined to create up to 20 feet and special connectors can be used to negotiate corners. Strips can also be cut with scissors at pre-marked spots. A remote lets the user choose from 15 colours, including white.Personally, I don't go much for flashing, blinking lights. If I want that, I'll go to Vegas.But I do like being able to change the colour to suit moods and decor.

A kit, which comes with four two-foot strips, sells for about $50 at Home Depot. Well, what do you think?  Pure genius? Or probably drunk?

 

 

 

Who doesn't love getting tools for Valentine's Day? I don't see any hands up.

Forgot to get your handy honey something really special during the just-passed gifting season? And now, retailers are already on your back to give it up again for Valentine’s Day, correct? Confound them by giving a bouquet of tools, rather than flowers.

Black & Decker's Matrix  Multi-Tool might fit the bill - and your budget. It consists of a single base power unit that has multiple attachments, including drills, saws and sanders.

A 20V starter kit with a lithium-ion rechargeable battery includes a drill, mouse sander, and jigsaw – for $150. There’s also a 12V driver/drill kit for $70. Attachments start at about $30 for a two-speed hammer dill and top out at about $40 for an impact driver attachment.

Look for them at Canadian Tire.

An afternoon of cooking with Kenwood

This week’s Hot Home column in the Saturday Toronto Star is all about test driving the Kenwood Cooking Chef with Sandra Bellomo, the company’s North American training and demonstration manager. Here are the recipes we made. They’re written for those lucky enough to own this $2,000 machine, but a competent home chef could easily adapt. Look at the post below for a separate gallery of shots from our afternoon of cooking.

Drunken Snowman Cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 scoops vanilla ice-cream
• 1 cup ice
• 3 oz. vanilla vodka
• 3 oz. Bailey’s Original
• 3 oz. Peppermint Schnapps

Combine ice-cream, ice and spirits and blend for 2 minutes. Serve in glasses rimmed with crushed candy cane.

 

Rim cocktail glasses with crushed candy cane for a festive touch

Chestnut Soup

Ingredients

• 15-20 chestnuts, preferably fresh, pre-boiled and peeled
• 2-3 shallots
• 2 garlic cloves
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• ½ cup water
• Sea salt
• Fresh black pepper

Using the chopping blade on the food processor, finely mince garlic and shallots. Set aside. Insert the Stirring attachment. Warm up the bowl and season with olive oil. Keep temperature between 70º and 80ºC.

After 3 minutes, add the shallots and garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Adjust temperature to 110 ºC. Set timer for 24 minutes.

Add chestnuts and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook for 2 minutes, then add 1 cup of stock and cook for 1 minute. Add the remaining cup of stock.

Note: It’s normal for induction heat to lose temperature when a cool liquid is added. During the next 4 minutes, the temperature will increase to between 99˚ and 108ºC. The best temperature for cooking soup is 100º and 105ºC. Use the splash guard to contain heat.

After 12 minutes, add water.

Chestnuts will soften as the soup cooks and mixes. When cooking is complete, pour soup into blender. Add heavy cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Blend for 2 minutes.

Cranberry Relish

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 date
• 1 orange
• 1 small piece of ginger (optional)
• 2 Tbsp of agave syrup

Using the citrus press, extract juice from the orange. Reserve. If you use ginger, grate it. Add the chopping blade to the food processor and add the cranberries, date, orange juice, (ginger if using) and agave syrup. Pulse until just incorporated.

Chocolate Mousse

 Ingredients

• 4 tsp butter
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 7 egg whites
• 6.5 ounces dark chocolate

Melt the butter and chocolate in bowl,keeping the temperature between 60º and 70ºC.  This should take under 6 minutes. Pour into bowl and set aside. Attach the Power Whisk to clean bowl, and add the sugar and egg whites. Whisk on max speed until it forms stiff peaks. Using the fold function, gradually add the melted chocolate and butter. Don’t mix too hard or you’ll knock the air out of the mixture. Pour into small glasses or chocolate dessert cups. Chill for 4 hours.

 Cranberry Apple & Walnut Risotto

Ingredients

• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 2.5 cups vegetable stock
• 2.5 white wine
• ½ white onion
• 2-3 gloves garlic
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup walnuts
• 2 apples (Sandra likes Golden Delicious or McIntosh)
• 2 green onions
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ½ tsp chili powder
• Sea salt
• Fresh black pepper
• Olive oil

Using the Mini Chopper Mill, chop the walnut coarsely.

Peel apples and pulse in food processor into medium sized pieces.  Set aside. Thinly slice the green onions in food processor and set aside. Chop garlic and half an onion.

 Add the Flexi Beater to bowl. Warm up bowl and season with a drizzle of olive oil. Set the temperature between 70º and 80ºC.

After 3 minutes, add onion and garlic. Let cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add rice and cook for one minute before adding wine.

Increase the temperature to 120ºC. Adjust the timer for 24 minutes, and set the machine to stir.

When liquid is absorbed, add in one cup at a time of the vegetable stock. Use the splash guard to retain heat.

When the timer gets to 17 minutes, add cranberries and walnuts, and set mixing speed to 1. At 14 minutes, add apple. In the last 5 minutes, add butter, Parmesan, green onions, chili powder, sea salt and black pepper.

Love having all the appliances function from one hub

 

 

Related articles

Recipe: Cranberry-gingersnap ice cream pie

Kenwood Cooking Chef now available in the U.S.

REPOST: Artichoke and Parmesan Soup from Patricia Wells

One cup, many views

Consumers are favouring simple to use one-cup coffee makers over more conventional makers, such as this vacuum model from Bodum

My faithful readers (that would be my kids, my husband and Bill Chow, who helps run the bench on my son’s hockey team and may just be my biggest fan), know how I feel about one-cup coffee makers. I think the plastic pods are wasteful (yes, yes, I know you can recycle some of them, but really, reduce comes before recycle, remember?), that they make dreadful tea** and that the beverage doesn’t stay hot for as long as conventional coffee makers. Which is why, btw, I sometimes heat the milk and or the cup when I test single serve makers.

 

The hordes, however, appear not to be with me on this one, as one-cup coffee makers, last time I checked, were the fastest growing segment of the coffee appliance category. I have to admit  too, that when the Man of the House (MOTH) took the pretty little Tassimo we tested to the staff room at his school, it was a smash hit. Teachers loved having fresh, hot coffee without a trip off the grounds, and MOTH said many were delighted by the discs that gave them a “latte”.

In fairness, I must also add that there are now companies
selling compostable single-serve coffee. Take Oakville-based Reunion Island. It boasts other sustainable practices — harvesting only from farms certified as green and fair, investing in local economic development in countries like Nicaragua and Tanzania, and partnering with organizations like Coffee Kids. Coffee is roasted at a local facility powered entirely by renewable Bullfrog Power. They also have some great recipes for cooking with coffee — Espresso Bourbon Caramel Sauce, anyone?

Reunion Island has teamed with Bunn, whose first made-for-home coffee maker works with pods. You can buy both the coffee and the maker at the website. That sounds a lot better. But I’m still not drinking the tea.

So it’s not news that lots of folks like these one-cups. What is news is that it manufacturers are now trying to differentiate themselves by creating signature blends — sometimes in partnership with brands with lots of heft.

Tassimo, for example, is promoting exclusive Tim Horton’s coffee disks. They’ve also launched a sweet holiday contest — inviting Canadians to nominate a “Tim” (or Tina, or Tom or Uncle Ted) they would like to reunite with for the holidays. Nice. Check it out on Facebook 

Nespresso has a sexy new machine, called the U, which has a lovely, tiny footprint and is super-easy to use. As per usual, it’s small and cute, but my complaints still stand (see above). New flavours from Nespresso include Hawaii Kona, which is grown on the side of volcanoes on Hawaii. In coffee geek terms, it’s fruity, subtle, nutty and silky. I’m not generally a fan of flavoured coffees, but I do make the odd exception – especially at this time of year, when I might mix it with hot chocolate for a sweet treat. So I did enjoy  Nespresso's naturally flavoured Coconut, Hazelnut and Macadamia nut. Very nicely flavoured.

Speaking of sexy, Nespresso just nabbed Penelope Cruz as the face of its marketing campaign in North America. Watch for her in an ad campaign that launches nationally in Canada on Dec. 3rd.

 

 

 

Penelope Cruz and I agree to disagree on one-cup coffee makers.

 

 

My fave way to make just once cup of coffee? A French press, preferably from Bodum.

** If you love tea, you need to visit the House of Tea, preferably in person. If that won’t work, check it out online 

Related articles

Coffee culture perks up retailers' bottom lines

Brilliant bath design - a la Bouroullec

Just saw this and had to share it right away. Hansgrohe’s high design brand Axor has just launched a beautiful collection created in collaboration with Paris-based design team (and brothers) Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

The lovely lines of these faucets, wash basins, shower components, and tubs alone are enough to make them worthy of mention. But the stand-out feature for me is the clever design in which shelves are incorporated into the fixtures that house the faucets. With the spout fully integrated into the shelf, the water flows from the unit organically. Various pieces can be configured to create customized combinations (see below) Such intelligent design. And so handsome.

Who has great BBQ tips? Naz haz.

BBQ Naz says it's all about the prep, baby

Barbequing is supposed to epitomize easy summertime living. So why do so many home cooks approach with a touch of trepidation? Weber's grilling expert Naz Cavallaro (AKA BBQ Naz) has a few suggestions for grilling without groaning.

First of all, says Naz, preparation is key. "Get it all ready before. Chefs call that mise en place – putting everything in place. If you’re doing skewers, do them beforehand. Prep the veggies and have it all ready to go.”

Good prep takes food safety into account, he adds. “People overlook it. You need to keep your proteins in a shaded area and on ice until you are ready to cook them. Don’t cook it all at once and let it sit on the table for too long – it’s better to grill some, have people eat it and throw more on as you need it."

 As with any kind of cooking, timing is everything, says Naz. “Time your cooking, and don’t get sidetracked and start chatting too much. It’s easy when you’ve had some practice. You could, say, start with sausages and then move them up to the warming rack before cooking chicken. When the chicken is almost done you can tent it and throw on the next item.”

The only situation in which a little inattention is appropriate is when you are cooking something low and slow. “Every time you open your grill, it takes 20 minutes to get temperature back up. Leave it!”

Perfect for beach picnics, park or porch parties

Famously laid-back Vancouverites are not letting a cool and rainy start to summer diminish their enthusiasm for outdoor recreation and entertaining. In fact, says Fiona Wilson, who works at one of the Home Depots in the city, portable grills that folks can easily take to the beach or the park are big sellers this year. Those include Weber’s Q series. (Shown below at right.)

Speaking of portable, Canadian Tire has a sweet little portable propane grill/oven from Coleman that looks like it would be just the thing for gourmet campers who want to eat mroe than weiners and smores (although there's nothing wrong with that menu, imho).  It has two 6,000 BTU stove burners and a 3,000 BTU oven that will fit a 12-inch pizza, and which will run for about 90 minutes on high. Windscreens shield the grill from gusts.

The Quattro from Stok  (shown below) is also drawing attention from folks who “like toys”, says Reid, as it has special pull-out grills in which pizza stones, veggie baskets and other accessories can be inserted. Full discolsure - I have one of these and like it a lot - mostly because I can cook the entire meal on it including, if I do say so myself, a great little appetizer pizza with tomato, goat cheese and basil-infused olive oil. Served with rose wine, natch.

 

 

Hamilton Beach gets its grill on

 

 

Small appliance maker Hamilton Beach has ventured into the BBQ category, with two new grills that are available exclusively at Sears. The five burner Grillstation has  598 square inches of cooking surface, with four main burners (10,000 BTUs, or British Thermal Units) and one side burner with 13,000 BTUs. The three-burner model has three 11,000 BTU burners. Both (shown above) have rotisserie functions. Grates are cast iron coated in porcelain. It also features an extra large temperature gauge that displays temps for cooking zones, and interchanegable trays and baskets.  It's all designed to enable consumers to customize the culinary experience, which HB has identified as a significant foodie trend this year.Prices start at  about $400.

 

How to have a Canada Day party with pooping out the hostess

Outdoor barbeques are a standard feature of the Canadian summer landscape. Their popularity is well-deserved; after all, there’s nothing quite like enjoying roasted meat or fish on the patio or by the lake on a perfect summer evening, surrounded by friends and family. But let’s face it, BBQ parties do have their drawbacks, especially for the chef, who’s often forced to stand for hours over a hot grill, trying to juggle orders for rare, medium, well-done, cheese or no-cheese, vegetarian etc., etc, etc.

Not only is this sweaty work, but it forces the cook to focus on food rather than friends. That’s why I think the summer sandwich is poised to make a come-back. Sandwiches may well be the new “it” food – they’re easy to prepare ahead, highly portable, don’t require utensils and are easy to customize for folks with various dietary restrictions.

I’ve put together an easy make-ahead Canada Day party menu that I think will delight guests, and allow the entire gang to hang out together. My “inspiration” was a line of plain and flavoured hummus from Sabra, pickled beans and olives from Matt and Steve’s Extreme Bean line and PC’s regular and multi grain baguettes.

The gelato and sorbet were a breeze to make with the DeLonghi’s Gelatto Maker. Unlike previous generations of this type of machine, you don’t have to freeze the inner vessel before preparation - just quickly mix the various ingredients into a bowl, pour it in the bowl and turn it on. For the next half hour or so, the ingredients are churned and chilled. The taste and texture of what you get is, imho, far, far beyond just about any store-bought product on the market – including many premium brands. And you can be making the sweet treat unattended, while guests are nibbling on the main event.  I had such fun testing the machine with the DeLonghi recipe book, and it wasn’t long before I was coming up with my own recipes, including one for maple syrup gelato. 

Here it is:

Vicky’s Maple Syrup Gelato

1 cup minus one tablespoon cold milk

1 tablespoon cold espresso, or a heaping tablespoon of instant coffee dissolved in a tablespoon of cold milk

½ cup cream

½ cup sugar

¼ cup maple syrup

Pour into machine and follow manufacturer's instructions. By the way, you can make gelato without an ice-cream maker – it’s just a bit fussier. You can also dress this up by folding in a half cup of chopped toasted walnut or small chunks of dark chocolate (or both!)

A few tips for further reducing the fuss – keep serving dishes simple and practical. I’m not generally a fan of paper napkins, but cheap and cheerful napkins with a Maple Leaf are perfect for a Canada Day get-together.  In some cases, they can replace plates.

I also love the unbreakable serving pieces from Urban Barn that look like slate. They pair beautifully with plain white service dishes and lovely little tea-light holders with sweet little bird motifs in glossy white – also from Urban Barn. When arranging self-serve party food, I always suggest using several smaller platters rather than one or two large, centrally located ones. It means that food is within easy reach of conversational grouping and that there’s never a crush or line up in one spot.  It also tends to make people circulate, which helps any party.

Another tip – rather than having a set meal-time, consider an open-house format, in which you invite guests to drop in anytime between, say, 2 and 7 p.m. It makes it easier for families of different types (young couple with babies, empty-nesters, busy teen-agers) to get to the event, and staggering the arrival of folks also often means that you get more face-time with each.

Since music adds to the atmosphere of any party, you’ll want to crank some tunes outside. For that, I love the teeny iHome stereo speaker system that I found at HMV. It works with MP3 players, iPhones and iPads, delivering remarkably good sound from a small base. Also great on the dock at the cottage. You can pick one up for about $20 from HMV, where I also found a few new must-have Canadian releases; Rufus Wainwright’s Out of the Game, the Cowboy Junkies' The Wilderness and Neil Young’s Americana, which includes a cover version of God Save the Queen. 

Here are my food suggestions. Hope they inspire you.

Appetizers

Spicy hummus served with sliced radishes, baby carrots and baguette slices (for an elegant presentation, slice baguette into rounds, brush with olive oil and place in a 400˚F oven for 10 minutes.)

Pickled green beans wrapped in prosciutto

Cherry tomatoes with bocconcini, drizzled with basil flavoured olive oil

Baguette Sandwiches

Red pepper hummus with sliced red onion, roasted beets, goat cheese and red leafy lettuce on a plain baguette, garnished with a pickled bean

Roasted garlic hummus with Brie, sliced radishes and curly lettuce on multigrain baguette, garnished with a pickled olive (use a Canadian flag toothpick for a fun touch)

Devilled eggs made with black olive hummus (So simple. Slice a dozen hard boiled eggs in half. Carefully remove yolks with a small spoon and place in bowl. Add about a half-cup of Sabra Greek Olive hummus and few tablespoons of mayonnaise or thick plain yogurt. Mix together and spoon into eggs. Garnish with chopped onion. )

Dessert

Mocha maple syrup gelatto served in a chocolate Victoria cup and garnished with a chocolate wafer

Strawberry sorbet served with mashed strawberries and garnished with a lemon wafer