Recipe: St. Patricks Day goodness

Next week, on the 17th of March, the world will turn a little bit green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. As the Miele living website states, Ireland might only have a population of 6 million, but that doesn’t stop the globe getting involved when it comes to celebrating the day,

“The lively parades that we now associate with St Patrick’s Day began in America in 1762 and have flourished ever since as immigrants celebrate their Irish identity and their roots in the old country. Everything goes green for the occasion, including clothes, beer, the fountains in London’s Trafalgar Square and in Chicago, for the last forty years, they have even dyed the Chicago River green!”

What are doing for St Patrick’s Day? If you’re intending to cook why not try the traditional bacon and cabbage with champ. It might not sound like much of a culinary treat, but that isn’t the case. It’s superb and if you fancy giving it a go there is a recipe on the Miele Living site to help you out.

Plus, if you want a little extra Ireland with your meal, then look no further than a cup of Irish Coffee… Be sure to let us know how you get on.

Miele washer dryer in MSE discussion

The Miele washer dryer has been discussed by two contributors on the Money Saving Expert thread ‘Is a separate washer & dryer more efficient than combined?’

The first is KarateDragon who adds to the conversation that,

“I really like my Washer Dryer. I live in a flat so it saves space. Mine’s a Miele.”

In response to this Pincher notes that it is well worth keeping an eye out for warranty offers on the Miele models. They also add,

“I bought a Miele WT2670 non-integrated […] and had a fascia custom made. This saved a little money, with no compromise in capacity.

The WT2670 is almost as good as a separate dryer, but can only handle half the load.”

If your looking for a Miele washer dryer, or indeed interested in the debate between separate or combined, then jump into the full thread here.

The Miele S7 trial

Last summer we sent a Miele S7 on trial around a few homes of bloggers eager to test its credentials.

The model we sent out was the S7580 AutoCare HEPA Upright Vacuum Cleaner. The AutoCare Hepa actually vacuumed over two miles of carpet during its trip. Which we didn’t thing was bad going at all. Below are a selection of the guys who were incvolved with the trial.

While with LaundryBasketCase the S7 got a full and thorough reviewing and it came out the other side looking good,

“Yes, I was well chuffed with how well the Miele performed. I felt it sucked up all the dog hairs, human hairs, bits of garden soil, and dog biscuit crumbs in a jiffy.”

The Dotteral though decided it wasn’t for him, due mainly to the weight of it and the ‘jet-engine’ noise it produced when starting up, but was happy to say,

“[…] it certainly does the job.”

Finally we have Backwards in High Heels, who had make sure that her mum didn’t steal the S7, so happy was she with the ease of which the vacuum could be driven. There’s a video of the action here.

We’re looking to do more trials throughout 2010 on a variety of Miele products, but we’d really like to hear from you on what they should be. Do you want another vacuum, a Cat and Dog maybe? If you’ve got an idea or would like to be involved get in touch through email or leave us a comment below.

Recipe: The perfect latte

Ever wondered how to create the perfect coffee in your own home? While a coffee machine does help with making consistently good coffee, a certain amount of skill is still required to make the perfect coffee.

The secret is all about preparation and precision.

1 - Preheat your mugs by rinsing them with hot water and fill your metal pitcher with one cup of milk. Preheating your mugs prevents the mug absorbing heat from the coffee.

2 - Place a thermometer in the pitcher and heat the milk until it reaches 160 – 170°F. When heating the milk, place the steam wand just beneath the surface of the milk pointing diagonally and rotate the pitcher to create a cyclone.

3 - Grind some fresh espresso beans, put the desired amount into the portafilter and press the coffee down.

4 - Brew and pull your espresso for about 20 – 23 seconds then pour the shots into your latte glass. Do not leave the espresso to stand for more than ten seconds on its own, as it will begin to go sour and deteriorate the quality of the latte.

5 - Pour the milk into your latte glass in a circular motion and finally stir your masterpiece!

And there you have the perfect latte. Be sure to let us know how you get on with conjuring your morning coffee by following the above directions. Or, if you have your own methods for producing the perfect coffee, share it in the comments below or send us an email. Enjoy.

Miele launch the Eco Line S4212 vacuum

Miele have launched the S4212 vacuum as part of their Eco Line. Which? have covered the news of the new addition here.

The Miele Eco Line S4212 has adjustable power settings that allow it to be more environmentally friendly. This is done by lowering the energy setting when full power isn’t necessary.

The Which? article features comments from their vacuum expert Vivienne Fitzroy, and a little on the Miele press release,

“The new S4212 is described by Miele as quiet, compact and lightweight. The manufacturer also promises the vacuum will offer good suction even when using lower power settings. It uses Miele HyClean dustbags which Miele says lock in the finest of dust particles and guarantees no leakage.”

Which? Haven’t yet reviewed the S4212 but will be doing so soon – keep your eye out for that.

Would you consider an Eco Line Miele? Leave your answer in the comments.