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Topics - Merlin

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1
Chit Chat / Hi everyone
« on: June 14, 2013, 12:28:38 pm »
It's been a white since I've posted as very busy with my 6 yo twins, work, cooking, school,life in general! I try to pop in and see what's been on the forum lately but don't get as many chances to go online as I used to. I just wanted to welcome all the new members to the forum since I was last on and hope they are all as passionate as I am about my third 'baby' - my TM!!

2
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!!!

3
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

4
Chit Chat / Preserving jars
« on: June 19, 2012, 06:43:59 pm »
I am so excited that our local "$2" shop is now selling really nice (and very cheap) preserving jars. For our personal use I just reuse any glass jars I have but the ones on sale are great to use for gifts etc. Have stocked up on quite a few in case they all get sold.  Guess I'll be cranking out all those jams and preserves again when more fruit comes into season!

5
Chit Chat / Bogans
« on: June 19, 2012, 06:35:18 pm »
Just informing everyone that the word "bogan" has  been recognized officially in the Oxford English Dictionary.

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Special Diets / GF crumble topping
« on: June 02, 2012, 10:12:41 pm »
I made an apple crumble last night-. I used the apple sauce recipe out of the EDC but dont cook as long and use reverse to keep the apples a little bit chunky but use whatever fruit and cooking method you prefer.
For the crumble mix

60g melted butter
3 Tbs almond meal
3 Tbs desiccated coconut
2 Tbs sugar (I used  rapadura)
6 Tbs gluten free plain flour

Whiz them all together, either in the TM- (1-2 bursts on turbo ) or in a mixing bowl. Put on top of your fruit mix in an ovensafe bowl and brown for 20 minutes in a moderate oven- I use about 160°C FF.

7
Chit Chat / Thermomix on Masterchef Australia
« on: May 24, 2012, 02:54:55 am »
Spottted a TM31 on Masterchef the other night. It was the immunity challenge and the professional chef team were using it to make a pumpkin puree. They didnt actually show it in use though, darn!

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Chit Chat / 1960s night
« on: May 22, 2012, 11:44:52 pm »
I just wanted to get some food ideas for a 1960s night I am doing - the theme is the Avengers- ie the Patrick McNee, Diana Rigg Avengers, NOT the current film! I was thinking Swedish meatballs, a fondue and cheeseboard as well as prawn cocktail (entree). Maybe rhubarb crumble or something for dessert. Does anyone have any other ideas? I also want to do a smorgasbord  rather than a sit down dinner as I still remember my parents having dinner parties around then and they always seemed to be buffet style.
Anyway, grateful for any ideas!!!

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Chit Chat / Wiltshire poachies
« on: May 22, 2012, 02:19:20 am »
Has anyone bought these yet? They are little poaching bags for eggs that come in packs of 20.I just saw an ad for them in the latest Australian good taste magazine. They are disposable, biodegradable and non stick.
Here's the link

http://portside-messenger.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/taste-perfect-poaching/


10
made this last night- having a chicken defrosting kind of week and had spare chicken breasts to use up. I thought this was delicious. I would give this 5/5- it is definitely bland at the end but in the recipe is says to season according to taste, which I did. The sauce was delicious and the consistency was great. I found the chicken to be very tender and not dry at all which can happen with some stroganoff recipes. I cooked some gluten free fettucine to go with it and it was delicious, but obviously rice or mashed potatoes would go equally well. With a green salad on the side- brilliant meal.

11
Recipe Book Recipe Reviews / Cream of chicken soup - MOTM
« on: May 16, 2012, 07:48:46 pm »
I made this again the other day as my kids have had the flu and I had 600g of chicken defrosted. Against my better judgement (I prefer making chicken and Vegie soup) my kids prefer this one and as they were sick I wanted to get them to eat something! I have to say that in the past I have used  the 250g  chicken as stated in the recipe and never had a problem- also, omitting the parmesan but this time I bunged the whole 600g in - I don't know if it was me being distracted by sick kids all the time but with the larger quantity of chicken meat it turned out almost like a mousse- very thick and you could have probably eaten it with a fork instead of a spoon. It was still tasty, but rather than getting rid of it I transferred the whole lot into a large stockpot and had to thin it down with chicken stock but even so  I still won't be doing that again. Luckily my kids ate it but by  then I probably had 3 litres of soup to deal with and they were only eating a small bowl each. By the end I didn't even add the egg yoks either as it was far too thick anyway. Live and learn!

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Questions? Technical Issues? The Survival Guide / Egg whites
« on: May 01, 2012, 07:45:15 am »
Does anyone have an idea of the average weight of an egg white ie in a normal supermarket egg? I could find out by weighing them myself but short of cracking eggs to do this, someone gave my sister a carton of egg whites and when a recipe states to add eg "3 egg whites" I would like to know the rough weight to  tell her how to convert  some of her recipes to the TM. I know, weird question, so sorry in advance!

13
Chit Chat / Sriracha hot chilli sauce
« on: March 26, 2012, 07:16:28 am »
I know I shouldn't be partial to any particular brand  of anything on this forum. but I just wanted to suggest people try this addictive hot sauce. I usually buy it from my Asian grocery  but it is totally delicious on eggs, pizza, anything! Just use it sparingly as it is very spicy, but the consistency makes it much thicker than Tabasco sauce (which I also love) -this one contains chilli, sugar, salt, garlic and vinegar. If I make anything for the kids I omit the chilli sauce and add it in the portions for the adults. A little goes a long way and if anyone loves chilli in their food I find this is very tasty. I believe  it is catching on in the USA and I have only been using it for 6 months but  I am interested to hear if anyone else uses it. Please note: I have no shares in this product,  I just think everyone's taste buds deserve to try it!!!

14
Chit Chat / Melbourne rebels
« on: March 25, 2012, 08:19:49 am »
Just a totally unrelated topic. The Melbourne Rebels finally won a game!  GO REBELS! Just wanted to tell people on this forum that not all of us Melbournites live and breathe footy and some of us actually love rugby union!! End of topic-Please don't post any topics saying how fantastic AFL is as I will totally disagree and I know I'll probably be shot down in flames by other members of the forum. :D ;D ;D :D

15
Recipe Requests / Poached plums
« on: March 22, 2012, 08:42:56 am »
Does anyone have a good recipe for poached plums? I don't mean the stewed plum recipe on the forum. I was thinking more like
poaching  them in vanilla syrup and honey. I have a glut of plums right now and after making the plum sauce from A taste of Asia (yum) which I am going to use as a dipping sauce for spring rolls for my kids, I want to make something more dessert like ie to eat with icecream. I am experimenting with a few techniques- if I get a decent result, I'll post the recipe, but in the meantime, I would be grateful for ideas.
Thanks all.

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