Colored Viking Ranges

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Increasing my skepticism toward Pantone’s choice of orangish hue Tangerine Tango for color of the year is Viking’s choice to replace Pumpkin and other less-popular choices for  colored appliances with finishes that sound like they were plucked straight from the pantry.

Viking nearly doubled its colored appliance choices in 2008 to 24, including Metallic Silver, Oyster Gray and Golden Mist. But Dijon, Wasabi, Cinnamon and Kettle Black — as called by Viking, not the pot (couldn’t resist) — will overtake those four come March.

Coincidentally, I featured Pumpkin and Golden Mist in a previous roundup of kitchen appliance colors because I thought them so…distinctive. (Turns out I wasn’t alone.)

If you’ve always dreamed of a Cinnamon kitchen, Viking appliances such as microwaves, ovens, refrigerators and ranges can be paneled in the colored finishes.

Are Vacuums Good Gifts?

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No, it’s not just the thought that counts. Vacuum consistently rank among the least desired gifts on surveys of women on a romantic holiday like Valentine’s Day.

Home Appliance Blog groupies are well aware of my obsessive love of our vacuums, but I care even more deeply about the safety and well-being of our customers. And buying a Valentine’s gift related to an unpopular household chore is probably not the best decision.

Don’t get me wrong. Our vacuums, including top brands like Miele and Dyson, are the best out there. They are highly requested gifts…364 days out of the year. It’s just not that romantic.

So this year, Warners’ Stellian Appliance decided we could no longer with clear conscience take the money from (let’s face it) men about to meet their Maker and are banning the sales of vacuum cleaners intended as Valentine’s Day gifts.

The campaign, “No Vacuums for Valentine’s Day,” aims to spread awareness about the dangers of this terrible gift to save hapless gift-givers from themselves, before it’s too late.

And if a customers stubbornly insists on purchasing a vacuum as a romantic Valentine’s gift, he or she will be asked to sign a waiver promising to act as the primary user of the new vacuum.

Now THAT’s romantic 🙂

How To Clean Stove Drip Pans

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Cleaning your stove top is like making the bed: even if you do it today, you’re still going to have to do it tomorrow, too.

If you have an electric coil stove you have drip pans, which – by name – catch drips. Even if you clean your range top often, it’s a mess the next time you cook. Make cleaning drip pans easier with these methods.

How To Clean Stove Drip Pans Fast

The fastest, easiest – and perhaps even most effective way to clean the surface – is with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, or a generic version of this melamine foam sponge.

It looks like an ordinary sponge, but because it’s melamine, it actually has little microscrubbers that can remove discoloration and baked on mess with minimal elbow grease.

That being said, it is abrasive in nature so it can scratch or dull surfaces if you’re not careful. Let’s save this cleaning method for Why didn’t you tell me you’re mother was visiting? times.

How To Spot Clean Stove Drip Pans

For day to day drips and stains, make sure the burner’s completely cooled and pull it up and out from the stove top. Wet the drip pan and sprinkle on a liberal amount of Bar Keeper’s Friend. Use a rag to work the cleaner into a paste and polish off the mess. Rinse and dry thoroughly before replacing the pans.

How To Deep Clean Stove Drip Pans

Pick a time when you don’t need to use your sink or stove for several hours, like right before bed or work. Again, wait until the stove is cool and remove the burners. Put each burner pan in separate gallon plastic bags. Add 1/4 cup of ammonia to each and fill the remainder with hot tap water. Close the bags and let them sit overnight (or for several hours).

Then, drain the bags and scrub off the loosened mess. Rinse well before applying any other cleaners, as ammonia can create toxic fumes when mixed. Rinse and dry thoroughly before replacing.

Bonus: Clean drip pans for your electric stove don’t just serve cosmetic purposes; keeping the surface reflective ensures the most efficient use of heat, meaning you’ll use less energy when you keep your burners and drip pans clean.

How do you keep your stove drip pans clean? Tell us in the comments!

Front Load Washer Taking Longer Than It Says

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But the washer said it would be done by meow! What’s taking so long…

Front load washers can estimate the amount of time it will take to finish the cycle, which comes in handy when deciding whether you should wait around to throw the clean clothes in the dryer or run an errand.

But what about when the washer shows the wrong time estimate? Maybe sometimes when your washing machine says it will take 40 minutes, it takes 50 minutes instead.

What Causes Washer Cycle To Take Longer?

Your clothes washer time to complete a cycle is based on the type of laundry detergent you use, the size and type of your load, which cycle you chose and temperature and pressure of your water.

So, for instance, if you use too much detergent, it will oversuds and take longer to rinse out of your clothes. (Some brands will flash “Sd” or “Sud” on the indicator when this happens. To avoid, use the recommended amount of HE detergent).

If the load is unbalanced, say, due to you only washing one item or particularly a bulky item, your washer will keep trying to rebalance itself, and that will add minutes to the process.

No brainer: larger loads will take longer to clean, especially on specialty cycles like delicate.

If you choose a sanitize or white cycle, the water will need to be hot and if the incoming water is cold – well, you get the idea.

Microwave Cooking Recipes: Risotto

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How much do you actually cook in your microwave, versus reheating and defrosting?

All this week,  appliance specialist Angela Warner has been judging the “Twin Cities Live” Microwave Cooking Challenge, which challenges contestants to create delicious and fun meals cooked only in the microwave.

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Guess which one is my sister Angela Warner.

Contestants like “Next Food Network Star” contestant Justin Davis and Cities 97’s BT came up with really creative microwave recipes — even microwave cake recipes!

Yes cake…and nachos.

Angela’s on “Twin Cities Live” (on KSTP Channel 5) again at 3 today and tomorrow. You can find the contestants easy microwave recipes (and the not-so easy, too) here, here and here.

proMed-dmw111kssddAND you can win this Danby stainless microwave from Warners’ Stellian by entering on the Twin Cities Live website.

Coincidentally, we got a microwave cooking book from Panasonic this week, and I thought I’d share this recipe for risotto.

Risotto, that creamy rice pasta, sometimes scares people off because it’s heavy on the “active time” equation of the process (you basically stir for at least 30 minutes nonstop). So the idea of making it in a microwave intrigued me. Let me know if you try this!

Risotto a la Parmigiana Microwave Recipe

From MasterChefs Microwave Recipes Made Easy

Ingredients

5-1/2 cups stock
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 minced yellow onion
2-1/4 cups Carnaroli or Arborio rice
3/4 dry white wine, warmed
1 cup grated Parmesan
5 tbsp. butter cut into 1 T. pieces
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Directions (note: P10, etc. refers to the power level setting on your microwave)

1. Place the stock and salt in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a lid or plastic wrap and simmer at P10 for 8 minutes. Reserve, keeping the stock covered and hot.

2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the oil and onion and cook covered at P10 for 2-1/2 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.

3. Add the rice to the onion and oil mixture, stir to combine and cook at P7 uncovered for 4 minutes, stirring every minute.

4. Add the warm wine and cook at P7 for 3 minutes, or until wine is mostly absorbed.

5. Add enough stock to barely cover rice and cook at P7 uncovered for 3 minutes, or until about 75% of the liquid as been absorbed; stir. Repeat this process until all the stock is used.

6. When the rice is cooked to al dente, remove from the microwave and quickly stir in the butter, grated Parmesan cheese and ground black pepper. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.