Thermomix - the future of cooking

A few days back, my wife's family had a family get-together. We stayed at Sarang by the Brook at Kuala Kubu Bahru - all 40 of us. To feed the whole lot, all the cooking was done on Thermomix. I was so impressed, that I invited Aunty Adrina to write a post on this amazing hi-tech cooking tool
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Guest post by Adrina Awaludin.

Thermomix is what the future of cooking looks like. If you can imagine how a smart phone has changed our lives in the past 10 years... that’s what Thermomix is.

My name is Adrina Awaludin. I am a Thermomix Advisor. I was introduced to this wonderful machine in 2014. I have a full-time job, 3 growing up children, a busy working husband. I didn’t cook. I have a lived in maid to assist me at home with cooking and cleaning. Since I was introduced to Thermomix, I not only cook but I bake my own bread and cookies. I even make my own jams and mayonnaise, as well as chicken, meat and vegetable stocks... and people ask me why I bother when it is readily available at the grocery? Well, those items in the shops have a shelf-life, which means that chemicals are added to ensure that they can last longer on the shelves. The other reason why I make them is because it is so easy and convenient now.

One gadget in your kitchen to replace 12 functions! So, imagine going on holiday with just your smart phone without having to bring your camera, video recorder, and laptop as we would have probably done over 10 years ago. Well, this gadget replaces all your other standalone kitchen appliances that does your chopping, grinding, kneading, whisking, controlled heating, steaming, stirring, cooking, weighing, blending, mixing and emulsifying and also replaces your saucepan.

What else can you expect from a German product with probably the best technology in the market? There are no other similar products in the world today, I believe, that can match its superiority and functions. And when we say it’s the future of cooking.... there’s a reason for it. It considers all the expectations we want from our food - home-cooking is healthier and safer (no added preservatives and unknown contents), faster meals as one can manage entire meals under an hour with time-saving multi-layer cooking. It is also your Reliable Cooking Assistant - no need to take a day off. This “German maid” helps with auto cooking, stirring and even self-washing. Thermomix keeps your kitchen grease-free, taking over the cooking to free you up to do other things. It is hassle-free to cook at home.

Other than its superior safety features, it also has a Recipe chip attached to it for step-by-step guided cooking instruction.... Now, this I don’t think you will understand just by reading this article, so that is a real good reason for a person to experience the Thermomix Cooking first hand. With thousands of recipes and the guided cooking feature, enjoy endless fun cooking with your loves ones together.

Now everyone can cook!

And on the question "who would want a Thermomix?". Well the answer - literally anyone who can manage a smartphone. And why not, did you check the Master Chef Jr contestants cooking with their Thermomix? A 7 year old who can read, would be able to cook with the Thermomix.

Imagine those people who are on special diets: gluten free, paleo, vegan, etc. Home cooked food, managed and monitored easily from ingredients to the process. In our group, we have cancer survivors, including those who are still undergoing chemo and other treatments, those who need special diets and Thermomix helps these people everyday.

Actually, anyone would love this gadget and how it can save them time and money. All it takes, is a Thermomix cooking experience.

Contact me at 019 235 8733 to fix a date.

Top 5 tips and tricks to get the most out of your new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone

Guest Post by Cherrie de la Cruz

Getting a new phone is great, especially if it is the BlackBerry Z10, but in the formative stages of our relationship with a phone we are missing something. That something is the knowledge of someone who has used the phone for some time and knows all its little shortcuts and tricks.

With that in mind here are 5 tips and tricks to help make your experience on your new BlackBerry 10 smartphone more seamless and enjoyable:

1. For those who enjoy voice recognition technology, a simple shortcut to the new and improved voice control is to hold down the play/pause button for a few seconds. After all the app would be less useful if you had to swipe around the phone to find it before using it to call someone.  
2. To master the BlackBerry Hub you must know its secrets. Accessing it is easy enough, just swipe upwards and to the right (no need to worry that is not the tip), but controlling the clutter may cause more problems. The Hub as a feature is fantastic but putting all your messages in one place can lead to a stressful build up so remember you can select multiple messages to mark as read or for deletion by holding your finger on one message for a second or two and then picking the select more option.
3. Before revealing tip number three I want you to ask yourself: what if the Hub crashes? Now, it is important to say that this is not a big issue but as you know, any kind of technology is prone to some disruption at some point and you do not want to be without your Hub for any lengthy period of time. So, the third tip is that if your Hub crashes all you have to do is swipe down on the screen 5 times in row to restart it and return it back to you, hopefully, fully functional.
4. Obviously, you will want to link your e-mail accounts to the Hub but when doing so Gmail users should keep the following tip in mind. When you are initially linking up your account, make sure you got into the advanced settings and select Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync rather than the default IMAP setting because ActiveSync has a much faster sync cycle. Trust me, you will be thankful later.
5. The fifth tip relates to the browser. When you are on a webpage reading the news, it is sometimes annoying that you have to view the whole page with all the images, videos, etc…well, on a phone. This is where the reader feature comes in handy. The reader feature can be accessed by tapping on the menu button in the bottom right of the browser while viewing a webpage. After selection, it will remove all the images from the page and allow you to read the words in an uncluttered and pleasing arrangement. 

So, hopefully these 5 tips will make the phone feel more user friendly and should also help you on your way to becoming a highly respected BlackBerry 10 expert.

Solar PV: FAQs

Guest Post by  Daniel Kentfield. 

There are some common questions you hear banded about by customers and the general public alike when the subject of solar PV arises. I’ve compiled a short list of the most frequently asked questions. My intention is to separate the fact from fiction and give it to you straight!

Myth: Solar PV doesn’t work in the UK because it’s not sunny enough.

Fact: WRONG! Solar works great in the UK climate, it may not be a tropical paradise but it does just well for solar. In fact the UK receives 148 hours of sunlight each year. An average south facing 4kW system will produce approximately 3221kWh per yeah that’s about 50 – 75% of your annual electricity!

Solar PV is actually more efficient in colder conditions! So a bright clear and freezing cold day are actually the perfect conditions for solar!

Myth: Solar costs a lot!

Fact: Prices have actually dropped dramatically! You can now install a high quality 4kW system for about £8,000 (in total), that’s compared to prices of around £15,000 in 2011!

Although £8000 is still a large amount of money it should be understood as an investment. Firstly you will get this money back through the feed in tariff (index linked and guaranteed by the government for 20 years). It will take on average 8 to 10 years to recoup this investment after which you will make potentially 12 to 10 years profit (approx. £8,400 for 4Kw).

Secondly it is buying electricity in one upfront lump, the costs of the equivalent are vast in comparison. You will instantly notice how much money you are saving from not buying as much electricity in the traditional way! Not only this but you are saving C02! 1.7 tonners per year!

Myth: Some people are offering solar for free!

Fact: Some companies are offering solar for free yes, but it is definitely not as good as it sounds! The way it works is a business offers to install solar on your roof for ‘free’ in exchange for you using all of the electricity produced for no charge; they then take all the feed in tariffs. In reality they are buying your roof in exchange for a ‘free’ installation. Yes that’s right they actually own your roof!

Be careful! If you have a mortgage, you will have to ask your mortgage company about this! Selling your home will also be very difficult, have you ever tried to sell a home without a roof?

Myth: Solar is so expensive it will never pay for itself

Fact: In reality this is completely untrue. On average it takes between 8 to 10 years for solar to ‘earn itself back’ financially. This means the generation feed in tariff earnings (15.44p/kWh) are added to the export feed in tariff earnings (4.5p/kWh) as well as money saved from not buying electricity from the grid (average 15p/kWh). This is also all tax free!

Myth: A solar PV install cost more in C02 than it saves

Fact: Solar PV can save about 1.7 tonnes in C02 emissions each year that’s 34 tonnes of Carbon dioxide that haven’t been put in the atmosphere all from just one solar PV installation of 20 years!

The carbon payback period of our Solar PV panels are usually recovered within 2 years then its 100% carbon and conscience free energy!

Myth: Solar power doesn’t actually save any money on electricity

Fact: As 3221kWh are produced from a 4kW roof system on average over a year, this means a maximum saving of up to £483 can be achieved per year. It must be noted that the “SAP” calculation is almost always exceeded with the high quality panels we use, sometimes by as much as 30%.

Myth: Solar only works on south facing roofs

Fact: Solar actually works on any roof orientation although installing on a north facing roof will lead to poor results. A generally accepted rule of thumb is south facing is best, although east and west facing are also acceptable. For a more accurate report get a solar installer to give you a free quote and “SAP” which will tell you how much energy you will generate, how much money you could save and how much the installation will cost. We do this completely free in the west midlands area.
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Daniel Kentfield is MD of Green Panels Ltd, a Coventry based Ethical Solar PV company.
Follow Daniel on twitter @DanielKentfield or @GreenPanelsUK for more handy little tips!