Here is another recipe that your housemaid can cook without any difficulties. Did you know that your housemaid could cook a pizza faster and tastier than the ones you order and take a hour to be delivered at your house? This recipe is the most easiest pizza recipe ever and takes little time. After trying different recipes, I made a few adjustments and the result was phenomenal !

The crust was superbly crunchy yet not dry, the tomato sauce was a little heaven for my taste buds. This recipe is very healthy with less fats and oils used if you compare it to the industrial pizzas. What I love most about this recipe is that it also takes you less time to make your very own home-made pizza than to order one ! You know exact what is in your pizza, and you can now indulge in a treat, a healthy treat !

Ingredients for the dough serves two medium or one large or six individual pizzas.

– 500 g of flour
– 20 g of corn starch                                                -10 g of sugar                                              -          - 10 g of salt                                                            – 25 g of yeast                           –                               – 30 cl of water (approx)                                          –  3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 – In a large bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt with a wooden spatula. Add the  yeast, stir again and add the olive oil.

2-Add the water gradually while kneading.

3- Once all of the water has been added, feel the dough  and add more flour if the dough is too sticky or a little water if too dry.The dough must be non-sticky .

4 – Place your dough on your clean counter top and knead for 5-10 minutes.

5 – Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth and let the dough rest for 30 minutes ( TIP : you can reduce the resting time by putting your dough in a warmer place Eg: outside in summer, in a swift off preheated oven with the door ajar) Note: the dough should double volume.

6 – Place a piece of paper parchment on the baking tray and spread your pizza dough in the desired shape. ( TIP : put some olive oil on your hands to better spread your dough)

7-  Add the garnish, starting by the tomato sauce.

With this recipe, we serve large or two medium pizza or six individual pizzas.

Tomato sauce

Ingredients for the tomato sauce:

- 400 g of tomato in can or (400 g of fresh peeled tomatoes)       –                                                    -2 teaspoons of tomato paste                                                                                                         – 3 tablespoons of olive oil                                              -                                                              - a sprinkle of oregano and basil                                                                                                   –   – 1 teaspoon of sugar                                                                                                                    - salt                                                       –                                                                                         -3 tablespoons of finely chopped onion                                                            -                          -1 teaspoon of finely chopped garlic

1- Saute in olive oil the onion and garlic to medium heat.                                                       2- Then add tomato paste.               –                                                                                           3- Add the tomatoes, herbs, sugar and salt, cover your pot and and let it cook for 15 min on small heat .

Extras for more …

To garnish the pizza we will start by spreading tomato sauce, garnish according to your imagination, ingredients that you like,or sometimes the leftovers from the fridge, it is not lacking options: ham, peppers, mushrooms, sausages, eggs, bacon, seafood etc. ….

This will cook in the hot oven (preheated for at least 15 minutes) at 220 ° C (thermostat 8) the cooking range from 10 to 20 minutes on average. Some clues as to when the pizza is cooked: the cheese is golden brown on top, the edges of the pizza and the bottom starts to brown.

Enjoy !

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Picture this: A formal dinner with business partners and the maid shows up in… tank top and sweat pants with ‘ JUICY’ written on her bottom. Quite embarrassing isn’t it?

In today’s society, where all values and manners have vanished, many people who employ domestic helps either don’t know  they can require them to wear a uniform or think asking them to do so is humiliating. Some of them even think the uniform is a symbol of oppressive servitude.  Why?

Employment as a domestic help is, I believe, an honorable profession.  Many people in similar professions wear uniforms such as hotel housemaid/housekeeper (service in general),  and it seems perfectly normal for everyone that they do, which is why I don’t see the problem in asking a housemaid to wear one. In my profession, housemaid training, I too wear a ‘uniform’, a skirt/pants and blouse, I may be my own employer but I like to dress appropriately for each occasion whether it is a business meeting or the training itself. I believe it is a sign of respect and professionalism to myself and others. To that end I believe it is reasonable that I, as well, require my housekeeper to wear a uniform.

There is no reason to feel apologetic and somehow, I think that is were the problem lies. The newly affluent who have never had domestic help just don’t know how to handle it. Most don’t know what to expect or how to treat domestic staff. The employers want to be democratic and the domestics want to be liberated and not wearing a uniform is a good starting place.

Maids and any other domestic staff should be required to wear a uniform, if for no other reason than to be immediately recognizable as the household staff. Providing a uniform supplies your domestic help with guidelines and order. There is no confusion that your home is their place of business and they are to conduct themselves as such. Formality doesn’t necessarily denote a lack of humanity.

So long as an employee understands the uniform requirements of their profession or terms of employment, then they are free to choose whether they find it acceptable to engage in that employment, or not. Many professions require wearing a uniform, if wearing a uniform seems degrading, then choose a form of employment that doesn’t require one.

There is no need to be an ‘extremist’ in both directions whether it is to ask your housemaid to work in a 18^th century attire or 21^th century pyjamas (people from The Middle East know what I am talking about). A middle ground can be found and I think this is to choose a dress/shirt/pant that can be worn at work and in public. You can also  choose a black skirt/pant with a blouse for formal dinners.

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Tired of taking hours to do your grocery or forgetting to buy something ? Here are 10  amazing tried and tested solutions to divide your  grocery time by two and make sure you don’t forget anything !

1. Inventory.                                     Once you finish the milk bottle, tick the ‘milk’ on your grocery list so you know you should buy some milk.
2. Dinner plan.                                                                                                                       On the back of your grocery list write what you plan to eat for the week and tick the ingredients you will need on your grocery list.
3. Household.                                                                                                                        Make sure that you have everything to clean your household such as dish washing liquid ect… If not tick the cleaning items you will need.
4. Strategy.                                                                                                                              To divide your grocery time by two you must go shelf by shelf in your grocery store to get what you need.
5. Divide and conquer.                                                                                                              If you are not alone to do your shopping then you can assign someone to get certain products while you get something else.
6. Recapitulate.                                                                                                                        Check that you have gotten everything on your list before going to the cashier.
7. Bags.                                                                                                                                  To make it easier to store your groceries when you come back home you should store your groceries methodically in bags, according to what goes in: the  freezer, in the fridge, fruits and vegetable ect …
8. Priority.                                                                                                                         Always store you frozen goods first so they don’t defrost. Second store all the goods that go in the fridge then all rest.
9. Waste.                                                                                                                                 To avoid unnecessary waste put your newer products behind your older products in your fridge. This way you can easily reach your goods while avoiding spoiling.                                                                                                                           
10. List.                                                                                                                                         Re-print your grocery list. Grocery-list

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* Be ready at 7:00 ( This includes: shower, brushing your teeth, tying your hair and fix your room)

* Prepare lunch box ( according to lunch box menu)

* Set up table for breakfast

* Prepare Breakfast ( according to the breakfast weekly menu)

* Clear breakfast table

* Have your breakfast

* Start cleaning the kitchen

* Load the washing machine

* Take care of the laundry of the day (if you have hand-wash)

* Start cleaning the living room & dining room

*Office

* Guest bathroom

* Front door

* Hang the clothes

* Start the bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs

* Lunch break/ Personal time

Note: If you take a nap please make sure to set an alarm clock. I would highly advice that your nap does not exceed half-hour. I also advice that you take a quick shower and a small snack (Tea & biscuits) afterwards to be in good conditions to perform your afternoon tasks.

* Start the ironing of the day

* Task of the day ( according to the household manual weekly,monthly, annually task list)

* Kids are back from school

* Clean lunch box

* ( According to schedule or the parents instructions take the children to the park, swimming pool or extra activities)

* ( Make sure to bring some water & snacks for the children. You should be back home no later than 6:00)

* Assist the children for shower and changing clothes

* Start to help or prepare the dinner ( According to weekly dinner menu)

* Have your dinner

* Fix the kitchen

Good night !

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Here are some essentials in your housemaid cleaning basket. Your housemaid can clean each and every room, carrying her fully equipped basket along!

1. Microfibers -perfect for all surfaces, windows, mirrors…
2. Spray for furniture -after undusting your wooden furniture, this spray nourishes and leave a shiny touch.
3.  Bactericide spray – kills viruses and  bacteria.Can be sprayed on toilet seat, door handles, kitchen bin….
4.  Disinfectant (Eg: Dac & Detol) -disinfect all your surfaces and floor
5. Degreaser -perfect for the cooking stove
6. scouring cream/powder (Eg: Jif ) -use to scour all bathroom white surfaces such as toilet bowl, bathtub and sink…
7. Gloves
8.  Sponge
9. Kitchen towel -very useful to wipe/dry all surfaces
10.  Baking soda – can be use as a scouring powder
11. Cookware cleaner -is use to scrub the heavy grease in/on your cooking stove
12. Old rag (but clean!) -usedto dry floors
13.  Vinegar -Vinegar is widely known as an effective cleaner of stainless steel and glass.
14.  Air freshener

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Every employer loves when their employee is comfortable in the kitchen and experienced with basic cooking. Having your housemaid capable to help in all areas of the household is essential, cooking is also an important part of her function. Even if your housemaid does not have any cooking skills she must be able to follow a simple,basic recipe. Sometimes you come back home after a long day of work and the last thing you want to do is to cook for hours dinner. You would probably appreciate to be with your children, checking homework, playing…      What you can do is establish a weekly menu plan with 5 simple dishes recipe for everyday of the week, that your housemaid can follow easily. 

We offer a complete Cooking session (4 hours)                                                                                                                                              .              Includes:

• Weekly menu plan with 5 delicious dishes for everyday of the week
• Ready in 30 minutes
• Easy
• Healthy
• Family friendly dishes Sign up for our next cooking session on September 17, 2012

For more information & bookings please email at : christel@montaigneavenueconsulting.com 

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Many housemaid issues are due to lack of training. Too many housemaids have been placed in working situations with little or no training at all.  Although some may have learned from previous position they are still not qualified enough to handle this job.

Better relationship between employer and employee.                    

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Here are some tips and tricks to prevent your colors from fading.

1. A good habit to have before putting the clothes in the washing machine is to turn them inside out. This will help to avoid the deterioration of your clothes.

2. Use liquid gentle detergent. There are several detergent on the market for black and vibrant colors. You can also use shampoo for delicate clothes, if you want your colors to last longer.

3. Add a cup of vinegar, this will help prevent colors from fading. It’s also a natural fabric softener ( the vinegar smell goes away in the wash)

4. The best way to dry your clothes is to hang them in the shade, especially for black and vibrant colors.

5. The usage of the dryer will cause the colors of your clothes to fade, it is particularly damageable for black and vibrant colors. If you do use the dryer limit the drying time and remove your cloths when still humid.

6. Washing program. The best washing program to take care of your black and vibrant colors are gentle program/delicate/hand-wash, to be always used with cold water.

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 I remember when I was a child, one of the first cake I had learned to bake was a Gâteau au Yaourt, (yogurt cake) as all French children do. This recipe was made for kids by kids and is truly unmistakable. There is no need to be familiar with  cooking to be able to bake this delicious cake. Bon Appetit !

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