From the Zen Desk

Columbus, Ohio – the shining star of our great state – and somewhat aging homes in need of window replacements.

I speak with hundreds upon hundreds of homeowners every year about window replacements for their homes. Today, I spoke with a homeowner about replacing their windows and realized that my clients are becoming very educated about the window replacement process and the short & long-term benefits of window replacements.

My client sat down with me this morning and started with the Federal Tax Credits for their replacement window project. She peppered me with questions about how this process works and how long the tax credit is good for, and why not all windows out there on the market qualify for this program.

From there, we spoke about fundamental rationale of window replacement benefits. We began with energy savings and payback, which based on her current heating and cooling bills, window replacement would be an investment that would pay for itself after just four years.

With her children in an out of the room, and at times hanging off my arms, we continued to speak about her family security benefits that come standard with her new window replacements. I asked if she wanted more protection than just for intruders – “What about protection from the flu bug, would you like that too?” Both were her answer with a smile on her face. Well, my answer was simple. You can get your window replacement to not only make your home warmer in the winter, but to further guarantee that these new windows will not provide a path for a break-in. We make this statement based on over twenty thousand window replacements in Columbus Ohio and no reported break-ins.

Next we spoke about aesthetics. No brainier-your home will look fantastic with a full window replacement facelift from Zen Windows. If you haven’t seen our Zen tour of homes – Click here to see some homes in Columbus neatly fitted with Zen Windows.

Resale was a short topic of discussion. Yes, window replacement should give you a return on investment of 87-140% when selling your Columbus home.

We finished our discussion with the ease of cleaning. Window replacements are so conducive to keeping your windows clean, no matter where you live in this area, Ohio will become a little brighter a little more clear after your Zen window replacement is completed.

And with that, my client will have a window replacement through Zen Windows next Friday!

Cheers,

Dan Wolt

My First Don Patron Bottle

My first Don Patron bottle. I was introduced to Don Patron by my good friend, Jean. Ever since the first introduction, I haven't been drinking anything else. I have begun to really appreciate the value of a good tequila. I usually drink it "on the ice" (on the rocks) with a little margarita mix and a lime. Although it is pricey, I chose quality over quantity.

Mother's Day Gift

Here is an great idea if your mother has many recipes:

I bought notecard holders and wrote 'A Taste of History' on the top.

On each box, I put every siblings name and wrote 'Love, Mom'

My mom is an amazing chef with many recipes.

She has a great website www.portionofparsha.com where she writes about the Torah parsha of the week and combines it with tasty recipes.

Inside each box, I made different tabs

-entrees

-deserts

-soups and salads

-cocktails and appetizers

etc.

i also included a packet of notecards

for each section. (color coded of course)

this way, every child can open their box and pull out recipes that have been passed down for many generations.

all mom has to do is print her recipes out on each notecard and put it in the correct section.

it may sound like a lot of work but it is well worth it.

How I Make My Challahs

I follow the same receipe from the big purple Jewish cookbook, "Spice and Spirit: The Complete Kosher Jewish Cookbook"

Just like there are 7 days of the week, there are 7 ingredients in Challah:

1. water

2. yeast

3. sugar

4. eggs

5. oil

6. salt

7. flour

Step 1: In a big bowl, put 2 1/2 cups of warm water. Add 2 packages of yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Step 2: After 10 minutes, add 4 eggs, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 (full) cup of sugar (or 1/2 cup of honey) and 3/4 cup of oil. Stir it up.

Step 3: Add 9 cups of flour (2 at a time-mix after you put 2 in each time).

Step 4: After all the ingredients are in start kneading/punching the dough. They say this brings Shalom Bias (peace in the home=use it as a punching bag!). After the kneading/punching pour a little bit of oil in and rub it around the entire dough.

Step 5: Cover the bowl with plastic or aluminum foil and let it rise. I usually wait 3-4 hours however you can usually tell when it is done rising.

Step 6: Take off the foil or plastic wrap, pull a little piece of dough (about an ounce) off and say "This is Challah!" (You only make the Hebrew blessing if you use 12 cups of flour or more, however you can still say 'this is challah' and i usually throw in a prayer).

Step 7: Start braiding! Set Oven to 350 or 400. Place challahs on aluminum foil on a cooking sheet or whatever you use. Make sure to spray foil with Pam spray.

Step 8: I like to crack an egg and brush it over challah, gives it a glossy look.

Step 9: Place challah in the oven, cook time: 20-30 minutes..make sure to watch it.

Step 10: Sing "challah in the oven, gonna watch it rise, challah in the oven, gonna watch it rise, right before my very own eyes!"

Step 11: Enjoy :)