They don’t have to be, and all it takes is a walnut!

It may sound like an old wives tale, but using a walnut to cover up these scratches and scrapes really does work. All you have to do is rub the problem area of your furniture with the walnut, and you’ll find that the scrape quickly darkens.

It may not be a magical solution, but it sure is a quick and simple way of covering up the problem!

Simon Turner

Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

How to Fix Up Scratches and Scrapes in Wooden Furniture

Recently one of Sydney’s Councils budgeted $536,460 for graffiti removal, believing the best way to fight graffiti is to remove it quickly.

Tougher laws are being introduced to try and reduce the amount of graffiti sweeping our suburbs. People now found carrying pens, paint or spray cans face and $1,100 fine or three month’s jail. On the spot fines can now be issued to retailers who sell spray paint to people under the age of 18.

From a real estate perspective, rarely does a real estate signboard on a property go unscathed! Driving through a suburban street last week, three signboards had been vandalized with graffiti. What should the owners and agents do to combat this blatant vandalism?

Keeping signboards “up high” has been one suggestion – that way the offenders cannot reach them. But does this mean the number of people being able to read them is reduced? There are a number of graffiti removing products, not to mention Mineral Turpentine and Methylated Spirits. Unfortunately some of these products remove part of the artwork on the signboard.

Most signboard manufacturers offer a service to come out and remove the graffiti for a small charge. We would love to hear how you overcome this growing problem.

Christine Watson

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

Is Graffiti Street Art or Pure Vandalism?

Australians could save more than 28 billion litres of water per year, the equivalent of 11,000 Olympic swimming pools by changing the way they do their household chores. For instance, households that hand wash their dishes used a dishwasher, it would save close to 8,000 litres of water per year. That is the statistic for only one house and one family. Can you imagine how many kids would be doing other chores, if we all had a dishwasher!

Consumer use and disposal of cleaning products accounts for 70% of our total carbon footprint. Australians are flushing and pouring billions of litres of water down the drain, unnecessarily that could be saved by making a few small changes to our cleaning habits.

A new consumer education program has recently been launched to teach us better ways to clean and help save our planet at the same time. Our Home Our Planet

Christine Watson

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

GREEN: Save Water When Doing Household Chores

Chocolate is my absolute favourite food and this would have to be the most simple, not to mention absolutely delicious, dessert.   This has the flavours of a Toblerone chocolate – another of my favourites. This is also a favourite of my son James, who is also turning out to be a great cook and entertainer.

Ingredients

1 Fondue Pot

2 Blocks Plain Milk Chocolate

200gms Thick Cream

1 Cup Honey

1 Punnet Strawberries (washed and hulled)

6 Bananas (cut into 2 cm pieces – squeeze lemon on pieces to stop them browning)

Method

Break half the chocolate into squares and place in the fondue pot

Using a saucepan of boiling water or microwave oven slowly melt chocolate, stirring constantly.

When melted, add half the honey and continue to heat through.

Add half the cream. Stir thoroughly.

Remove fondue pot from stove or microwave and place on fondue burner. Serve with a platter of strawberries and bananas. Other fruits can be used, but banana and strawberry are my favourites.

I usually only use half the ingredients, as the fondue does not last long and it is quick and easy to “do it all again”!!

Christine Watson

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

RECIPE: Chocolate Fondue Dessert

1) Avoid caffeine in the afternoon.

2) Eat a small bowl of porridge or wholemeal crackers just before turning in. An all carbohydrate snack increases levels of mood lifting serotonin.

3) Make sure you get enough calcium, magnesium and Vitamin B12 – which helps fight fatigue by building robust red blood cells and influencing levels of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep cycles.

Christine Watson

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

HEALTH: 3 Tips for a Better Sleep

Before leaving home, I worked evenings to save to travel overseas, working at The Private Bin in Adelaide. This was the equivalent of going out every night and being paid for it – I had such a fantastic time. I also learned to cook some of the magnificent recipes prepared by the Chef. Steak Diane is my all time favourite and has always been the family recipe for “that special occasion”.

Ingredients (serves 4) 4 Medium sized fillet steaks -flattened out to equal the width of a plate & height of 5-8mm

3 Tbsp Butter

4 Cloves Garlic – crushed

2 Cups finely chopped fresh parsley

2 Cups Prepared Gravy

1 Cup Thick Cream

1 Cup Red Wine

2 Tbsp Brandy

Method

Melt butter in pan. Add garlic and 1 cup parsley. Mix together.

Add Steak. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn, cook further 1-2 minutes.

Pour gravy over steak and mix around.

Pour Red Wine over steak and mix.

Add cream and mix quickly.

Heat through and do not allow to boil.

Flame the brandy and pour over the meat.

Serve steak on individual plates, pour remaining sauce over meat and sprinkle with remaining parsley.

Serve with a potato dish of your choice   and seasonal green vegetables.

Christine Watson

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

RECIPE: Steak Diane

This is a great clip where Will Ferrell has to deal with his angry landlord (played by his toddler daughter) with regard to his rental payments.

Enjoy!

Simon Turner

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

Will Ferrell Meets His Landlord From Hell

Ingredients

1Kg (2lb) Chicken Thigh Fillets

½ Cup Tomato Puree’

1 Tsp Salt

½ Cup Water

¼ Cup Lemon Juice

2Cm piece fresh ginger, grated extra

1 Cup Natural Yoghurt

1 Cup (250ml) Cream

1 Medium Onion, finely chopped

1 Tsp GaramMasala, extra

2 Cloves Garlic, crushed

2 Tsp Sugar

3Cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated

¼ Tsp Chilli Powder

1 Green Chilli, chopped

1 Tbsn Lemon Juice, extra

2 Tsp Garam Masala

1 Tsp Ground Cumin

2 Tsp Yellow FoodColouring

100g Butter

1 Tsp Red Food Colouring

Method
Cut chicken into strips 2cm thick. Sprinkle with salt and lemon juice.

Place yoghurt, onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and garammasala in a food processor and process until smooth.

Combine food colourings in a small bowl, brush over chicken and turn to coat.  Add yoghurt mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and allow to drain for a few minutes.

Preheat over to hot 220 degrees C-425 degrees F.  Bake the chicken in a shallow baking dish for 15 minutes or until tender.  Drain off any excess juice, cover loosely with foil and keep warm.

Combine tomato puree and water in a large bowl.  Add ginger, cream, extra garammasala, sugar, chilli powder, lemon juice and cumin.  Stir to combine.

Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat.  Stir in the tomato mixture and bring to boil.  Cook for 2 minutes, reduce heat and add the chicken pieces.  Stir to coat the chicken pieces and simmer for 2 minutes longer.

Serve with Basmati rice, Nann Bread and a nice bottle of Pinot Noir.

Christine Watson

Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

RECIPE: Bombay Butter Chicken

Today, it often seems that every man and his dog produces an e-newsletter, and with the best will in the world, it’s hard to stay on top of things at best, and hard to trawl through an email inbox that seems to be impossible to clear and get on top of.

But do not fret – you don’t need to move mountains to get over this issue – there’s a way to work around the problem.

I am a big fan of Google Reader (there are many other Readers, such as Its main competitors are NewsGator Online, Rojo.com and Bloglines). It means that I no longer have an inbox full of email newsletters.

The reader is an “aggregator”. It allows you to keep track of your favorite websites.

A Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content. Whether a site updates daily or monthly, you can be sure that you won’t miss a thing. Further to that, you can check the reader in your own time, rather than being “distracted” every time a new email comes into your inbox.

As a company that produces an email newsletter ourselves, we are acutely aware that it’s increasingly not for everyone, and we’re finding that more and more people are subscribing to our RSS feeds, preferring it to emails.

Quite simply, a Reader shows you all of your favorite sites in one convenient place and acts like a personalized inbox for the entire web. It can organize your feeds, remove them when read and many more “considerate” things.

Watch the Google Reader Help Video HERE

To subscribe to the feeds of Marquette Turner Luxury Homes, simply enter your email address in the RSS box in the top right hand element of the sidebar on our website. It’s where you see the orange RSS logo (as shown below).

Alternatively, click here and you’ll find all our feeds as well as a step-by-step guide of how to add our feeds to a reader.

Of course, if you’d still like to receive our e-magazine into your email inbox, be our guests. If you’re not already signed up, just click here.

By the way, if you’re wondering what RSS stands for, Really Simple Syndication is the most commonly accepted meaning!

Simon Turner

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

How to Deal with a Full Inbox. Try RSS Feeds and Readers

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce – The Best Plus the Cheap Methods to Cook this Great Dish.

THE BEST METHOD

Ingredients for Satay

4 Chicken Breasts (500gms)

Bamboo Skewers (soaked in water to avoid skewers burning during cooking)

Marinade for the Satays

1 Tspn Curry paste –Any Thai curry paste is ok – green, red or yellow)

2 Cloves Garlic, chopped

½ Tspn Tumeric

20 Ml (1 tblspn) Soy Sauce

1 Stalk Lemon Grass, tender part, chopped (if available)

125 Ml (½ cup) Coconut Milk

Oil for Frying Peanuts

Method

Slice chicken breasts into long thin slices. (There should be 5-6 slices from each breast.) Thread chicken onto skewers and place in a container.

Marinade

Blend marinade ingredients in a processor until smooth.

Pour marinade over chicken skewers and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours.

Grill chicken satays on a barbeque or under an open grill. Serve with the satay sauce.

Satay Sauce

2 Cups Crushed Roasted Peanuts

20 Cloves Garlic – finely chopped

10-15 Red Chillies, finely chopped

150gm (5oz) Brown Sugar

100ml (5 tblspn) Tamarind Water

650ml (2 cups) Coconut Milk

Pinch of Salt

Method For The Sauce

Crush peanuts in a food processor (if you do not have crushed peanuts)

Fry garlic in a little oil for a few seconds. Add chillies, crushed peanuts and sugar. Stir tamarind water, coconut milk and mix well. Add salt. Take off the heat when oil separates from the mixture.

THE QUICK METHOD

Ingredients

4 Chicken Breasts (500gms) Cut into strips

Bamboo Skewers (soaked in water to avoid skewers burning during cooking)

Ingredients for Marinade

1 Tblsp Honey

¼ Cup Soy Sauce

2 Tpns Sesame Oil

1 Tspn Ground Coriander

1 Tspn Ground Turmeric

½ Tspn Chili Powder

Ingredients – Peanut Sauce

1 Small finely chopped onion

½ Cup Crunchy Peanut Butter

2 Tblsp Soy Sauce

½ Cup Coconut Cream

2 Tblsp Sweet Chili Sauce

Method

Slice chicken breasts into long thin slices. (There should be 5-6 slices from each breast.) Thread chicken onto skewers and place in a container.

Combine all marinade ingredients together and pour over chicken skewers. Cover and place in refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

In a saucepan, cook the chopped onion in the oil until softened, add the peanut butter, soy sauce, coconut cream and chili sauce. Cook slowly until smooth and heated through.

Cook the chicken satays in a preheated grill for 6-8 minutes, basting with the marinade.

Christine Watson

Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

RECIPE: Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce – The Best Plus the Quick Methods