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Messages - Merlin

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16
Chit Chat / HELP!!!!
« on: September 23, 2012, 06:33:22 am »
I haven't contributed to the forum for a while as I have been a) incredibly busy at work and b) more importantly, been even busier at home.
I need some advice. My twins are now 6 and my now that my house cleaners have gone on their annual 5 week holiday I am spending an inordinate amount of time cleaning up after my kids. Having never had cleaners come to my house until I became virtually full time back at work, I figure that now  I would much rather pay cleaners to do all the menial jobs around the house eg cleaning toilets, bathrooms etc so that the spare time I have I can spend it with my kids. I would never have a cleaner if I wasn't working and the expense of the cleaners is trivial compared to the invaluable time I get to spend with my kids instead. Now that my cleaners are away I still turn a blind eye towards a lot of the mess but the areas I do clean regularly get 'trashed' by the kids 5 minutes later!!!
What does everyone else do to get their kids to help? ie obviously I don't expect 6 year olds to do a lot but I have at least one of them who loves using the DustBuster and the other doesn't mind using a duster etc. I also have a rewards chart for jobs done etc. Even before  my cleaners left  I always expect my kids  to do certain things around the house eg tidy their room. I have even tried the "cleaning olympics" recently to see who could tidy up the fastest!!
Anyway, I'd be grateful for any advice. Please note- I am not an obsessive- compulsive cleaning freak who has to have everything like 'home beautiful' but I do expect certain areas of the house to remain hygienic and clean beyond reproach!! Also, I apologise to everyone who thinks that I am whingeing and selfish for complaining about such a topic, especially as I can afford to have  house cleaners and I know others that can't. Thanks everyone!!!
PS Thank goodness for the miracle spray- I have gone through litres of the stuff since my cleaners have been gone!!!

17
Desserts / Gluten free apple crumble
« on: August 25, 2012, 04:36:33 am »

I'm just posting a link to this TM recipe community apple crumble recipe. Even though it is GF I think it deserves to go in the general dessert section and not special diets as it could easily be made with plain flour instead of GF plain flour.
It uses walnuts in the crumble and I have made this 3 times now all to rave reviews especially if I serve it with TM custard. In fact I am making one now and if only you knew how lovely my kitchen smells right now with baking apple and cinnamon!
I just wanted to thank the person responsible for this recipe as I have really missed crumbles since being diagnosed with Coeliac disease and this particular recipe is so good that when I serve it to all of my non Coeliac friends they absolutely love it (and don't know it's a gluten free recipe).
Be warned though- THIS RECIPE IS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS AND I CHALLENGE ANYONE TO STOP AT ONE SERVE


www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/gluten-free-apple-crumble/48726

18
Breakfast / Re: Porridge for 1
« on: August 20, 2012, 05:11:35 am »
what's the measuring unit for the oats? Is it meant to be 1/2 cup?

19
Introduce Yourself / Re: hi from Edinburgh (scotland)
« on: August 13, 2012, 05:33:49 am »
Welcome to the forum and enjoy having so much fun with your TM!

20
Introduce Yourself / Re: Hi from Cloudy Melbourne.
« on: August 13, 2012, 12:58:54 am »
Welcome to the forum from another Melbournite!

21
Introduce Yourself / Re: Hi from South West Victoria
« on: August 03, 2012, 05:24:23 am »
Hello and welcome to the forum on behalf of all of us busy mums!!

22
Chit Chat / Re: Roasting pans
« on: August 03, 2012, 05:14:12 am »
I'm using the new range of Wiltshire white enamel roasting pans at the moment and they are great! They come up like new in the dishwasher and I have done lots of sticky sauces and marinades in them so far and anything that gets burnt on comes off really easily with cleaning. The only thing is I ban metal utensils around them so they don't get scratched!

23
In the Asian grocery I go to you get the palm sugar in a large block and shave it off that- it's still pretty hard and what annoys me is there is no way of telling how old it is! I can't stand the supermarket mini-brick palm sugar things. When I used one of those to do the dressing for the vietnamese chicken salad from Dinner Spinner I thought my TM blades were going to kark it!!!

24
Cakes / Re: Magic Bean Cake
« on: July 28, 2012, 02:16:55 am »
The baking powder definitely needs to be GF if you are a Coeliac like me or if you are cooking for someone gluten intolerant. As this is a gluten free cake , the baking powder has been specified as GF. Obviously it doesn't make any difference to the final result of the cake if you use gluten containing or gluten free baking powder if you don't have anyone with a gluten intolerance to cater for.

25
Suggestions and Complaints / Re: Not impressed with warrantee
« on: July 26, 2012, 01:27:18 am »
I think Marina's right- damage from insects/vermin is usually not covered by warranty. Unfortunately, no matter how clean we think our houses are, we all have cockroaches somewhere!!!!

26
Chit Chat / Re: do you buy groceries online
« on: July 25, 2012, 09:27:51 am »
i used Aussie farmers direct when the kids were babies and it was fantastic as I didn't have to put the twins in the car to drive to the shops. I used to get  milk as well as fresh cheese and the fruit and veg box which was fantastic as  they had all of the seasonal vegies etc and it was a mystery box each week I looked forward to cooking. Unfortunately after a year or two into regular deliveries I think our particular  franchisee changed ownership and we kept getting mixed up orders and I spent half my time on the phone sorting out the problems. Now the kids are older and at school , in the limited time I have when I'm not working or with the kids I prefer to go to our local green grocer and delis and  physically look at the produce and even try things if I can before I buy.  Maybe having my TM I find I'm much fussier about the quality of the produce I buy these days!  I also used to get Coles online as well when the kids were really little as I was at home anyway but I find their delivery windows to be annoying and I'd rather just go to the supermarket myself and  get what I need in the time it takes to wait for a delivery. Finally, I find the price for groceries online is far more expensive- I guess you are paying for the convenience of home delivery/ packing etc and if I was ever in a situation of being housebound etc I wouldn't hesitate for a second to restart ordering online groceries as it is ever so  convenient.

27
maddy, it's yum isn't it? I have made this recipe lots of times and it's always a winner.

28
Chit Chat / Re: Recipes for using a Bunt tin
« on: July 14, 2012, 07:17:56 pm »
Are you referring to Bundt tins or is there a brand called Bunt?  If you mean the former then I would use then to make the magic bean cake.

29
Chit Chat / Re: 5 in 1 cooker - disaster!
« on: July 14, 2012, 01:50:09 am »
I don't have one of these,but wouldn't the 'wobbly' knob you are referring to be the pressure limiting valve which all pressure cookers have and this allows steam to escape when you are releasing the pressure in order to open the unit? Every pressure cooker has to have one and it is meant to wobble around.

30
Cakes / Re: Magic Bean Cake
« on: July 12, 2012, 10:40:24 pm »
Yes, red kidney beans . I don't know how many days it will last as it always goes within a dayor two in our house. I think it would keep well for at least 3 days in an airtight cake container. Also, you definitely need to check on the tin of baking powder if it's gluten free as not all of them are. The Wards brand (the blue tin) definitely is OK.

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