Monthly Archives: April 2012

As the leaves are turning colour, it comes to the time of the year where we dig out our winter wardrobe and thermals. With this change we also turn to eating more belly warming foods. Here is a classic recipe to warm the belly and scare any lurking colds away.

Slow cooked lamb and chunky vegetable stew Cooking Time 230 minutes Ingredients (serves 8)

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 (200g each) lamb forequarter chops, trimmed

2 large brown onions, halved, cut into thin wedges

2 large carrots, peeled, halved lengthways, sliced

2 (720g) swede, peeled, chopped

850g butternut pumpkin, peeled, chopped

1/3 cup gluten-free cornflour

2 gluten-free beef stock cubes, crumbled

2 tablespoons gluten-free worcestershire sauce

6 sprigs fresh thyme

2 dried bay leaves

1 cup frozen peas

Method

Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan-forced. Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook chops, in batches, for 2 to 3 minutes each side or until browned. Transfer to a roasting pan.

Add onion to frying pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add carrot, swede and pumpkin. Cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in cornflour.

Add stock cubes, worcestershire sauce, thyme, bay leaves and 3 cups cold water. Bring to the boil. Spoon mixture over chops. Cover tightly with foil.

Bake for 3 hours or until chops are tender. Remove from oven. Increase temperature to 200°C/180°C fan-forced. Using a fork, mash pumpkin (see note). Stir in peas. Season with salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. Discard bay leaves. Serve. Pumpkin is mashed so it thickens the gravy.

Trying to improve the value of your home is an expensive and time-consuming plan. Here are some simple tips to help add value to your property without breaking the bank.

1. Open plan mind allusion

Everyone wants more than they pay for, and flowing open plan spaces really impress people when they walk into a home. The lust for open plan living may go out of fashion one day – will people realize that separate rooms are quieter, easier and more pleasant in multi-people households?

Is there are non-structural wall you can easily remove and re-gyprock to open two rooms into one? Could the kitchen be opened into the adjoining dining area and an island bench installed? Is there a living area that deserves the installation of French doors or bifolds to open it to the outdoors and literally double the size of the living area?

2. Show your garden some love

OK, this isn’t so easy to do if you own an apartment, but home owners should de-tangle, prune, weed and love their gardens. Unkempt gardens can obscure views, darken interiors, promote mould, and block a good look at the house. A well-loved garden can instantly add dollar value to a home that’s on the market. Oh, and gardening is pleasurable once you get into it! Set up a garden that you can easily maintain and enjoy. Keep large trees in check – broken branches can damage a house and large natives need to be inspected for termites every so often to make sure they remain safe.

3. Natural light

Increasing natural light creates a feeling of more space inside a home – and space adds value. So adding a $500 skylight to a dim hallway or manky old bathroom can be a real value-add improvement. It’s worth paying attention to how much a skylight will add extra heat to a room, too – you don’t want to install one and then have to crank up the air-conditioner to deal with the heat gain. It can be wise to pay a little extra for a well-insulated skylight if it’s going on a north or west-facing roof section. Quality electrical lighting will also pay back. Make sure you have dimmers on the switches for living areas – they create extra mood and are great to turn on for a night-time open inspection if your house is on the market. High wattage bulbs make small spaces feel larger, and soft lighting brings warmth to empty spaces.

4. Maintenance

Proper maintenance and repairs of all the little bits and pieces are just as important as the big things. Investing in maintenance and repairs is not only moneywise; could be crucial to a future sale. Real estate agents from across the country say the houses that get attention in this buyers market are in tip-top shape. That means no dripping taps, no plumbing leaks, no rusted gutters, no flaking paint, no busted windows or stuck doors. It helps to do your own quick inspection to assess what needs to be done in your own home – start at the front gate with a pad and paper and write down everything you see that needs to be attended to.

5. Clean bathrooms

These two rooms hold the key to the emotional value a buyer will place on your home – so keep them in tip top shape. In the bathroom, clean the grout, fixed cracked tiles, update any doorknobs or tapware. Even buying a new toilet seat can make all the difference for a relatively low cost. In the kitchen, reseal the gaps between the splashback and benchtop, clean everything thoroughly with a dose of sugar soap and a nail brush and work out any cheap fixes to improve the look – can you add new drawer handles or a new range over teh stove to give the room a fresh new look without splashing out a lot of money?