Mostly about eating - some recipes, some repairs and some tips for life

DIY fixes on the Miele Dishwasher

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 16:56:00 +0000

This Miele is a superb dishwasher - it not only cleans well, when you take it apart you notice things that say 'this is well made'. Over ten years food gunk will lead to some little crises, none of which merit calling for a repair technician. You can avoid these problems unless you obsess over every blob of food that enters the machine!

Here are some notes on maintenance and repairs one can do at no cost.

Maintenance

Ignoring the maintenance instructions will lead to a fault such as poorer performance. If you're stuck for something to do clean the tray in the base/sump! Also remove the three rotary sprinklers and reverse flush them to remove rice and bits. Every six months or year works for me.

Turbothermic dryer is noisy, gurgling and giving out water / steam at the door vent.

Over time, perhaps three years, a scaley sludgey, emulsion can build up in the pipe inside the door. (You might have seen this on the oil or cooling unit on a car). Clearing this sludge solves this problem:

Quick repair

A quick repair, without dismantling, is to unblock the two water drain holes inside the rinse-aid unit. With the rinse aid door open they are closer to the centre and if they're totally blocked you might not notice them. Use a toothpick to break up what's there. Or try gently threading a nylon line from a garden trimmer into the holes.

Full repair

The above will buy some time but the complete fix requires a screwdriver. Unplug the washer. Open the main door flat onto a thick sofa cushion (this is better than supporting the door cover you'll be unscrewing). Notice the line of screws, near the edge facing down, on the wet side of the door. You want to undo the three lowest screws, nearest the hinge, on each side. (The higher 6 screws remove the control panel cover - you might not need to remove this. Note that the inward facing screws release the hinge - avoid these as it's hell to replace them). As you undo them the door outer will fall away onto the cushion and show you the soundproofing and electronics.

Remove the black tube running from the Turbotronic unit to the rinse aid unit. Clean this and reconnect each end in turn and blow through to remove any gunk.

Water outlet / inlet fault

The same error light is used for both inlet and drain problems. You can tell whether the fault is caused by inlet or outlet as follows:

Hold the Start button for some seconds to remove the error light and start a washing program. Pour a wash bowl of water into the dishwasher and close the door. As the wash program starts it will drain water from the machine. Then it will fill the base/sump with water. If it drains OK the error is probably the water inlet and not a blocked outlet. If it fills OK and starts chugging away it's probably a drainage problem.

Water inlet blocked by debris from the water supply

The water supply connects to a special solenoid unit on the inlet side. Cut the water supply to the dishwasher, unscrew this unit and clear the gunk from the filter. A pair of pliers removes the filter cone to do this.

Water outlet blocked

Remove the food catching tray from the base. Take care hereon as there may be a piece of glass in the base. Undo a clip, remove a plastic elbow and clean up / siphon out / flush the area with water. A chip of glass for example will stop the exit pump turning.

Water outlet / inlet light flashing happens during a wash / mid-wash

If the dishwasher repeatedly gives up during a wash with this error the causes may be many. I had all but bought a new motor when I discovered how to get to the main pump. Start a wash, turn off the water supply and turn off the machine when the water is pumped out in the first minute. There will still be water inside you might want to siphon out or not. Unplug it.

Turn the dishwasher on its side and remove the base looking for the rubber connections to the main pump. Disconnect these to have access to the pump. Feel around for foreign objects - but be wary of glass. I found a small square of bubble wrap from supermarket packaging was obstructing the pump impellor. Lucky find! Huge saving.

Don't touch the water softener unit - it looks yucky always.

Easy - Sushi with salmon and avocado

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 20:05:00 +0000

Finally the mystique of sushi rolls has unravelled. Sushi is a fine alternative to a lunch sandwich. Otherwise I conclude that sushi is an over-hyped food with a nutritional value below most sandwiches. It's overpriced wherever it comes from.

The ingredients were all obtained from the local Waitrose supermarket but Tesco seems to have them also. Some advice I gleaned was that the seaweed goes soggy and chewy over time so fresh is best - however I didn't find that mine were chewy or this was the problem. My conclusion was the less seaweed the better.

There are lots of videos showing the rolling process using a bamboo mat.

The rice is easily cooked in a bowl in the microwave. Mix the measured rice and water in the bowl and microwave for 12 minutes. Mix the sugar and vinegar meanwhile, add to the cooking rice and mix it up. Spread the rice in a flat layer on a dinner plate to make it easier to fill the sushi rolls.

Advantage: you can make a few days of packed lunches with the larger quantity here. It doesn't seem to deteriorate.

Regular quantity

300g dry sushi rice (or substitute short grain) will make 4 rolls, cut to make 16 tall pieces.
30g rice wine (12 tablespoons) plus 570g hot water
15g sugar
1 avocado, sliced as long strips
30g lemon juice
4 nori (crispy seaweed) sheets. If you cut a third off the length there's less seaweed
4 strips of smoked salmon
Chives and soy sauce

Party quantity - cost £12 or £0.30 per portion (2015)

750g dry sushi rice (or substitute short grain) will make 10 rolls, cut to make 40 tall pieces. £1
75g rice wine (12 tablespoons) £1 plus 1425g hot water
40g sugar
2 avocados, sliced as long strips £2
50g lemon juice
Packet of 10 nori (crispy seaweed) sheets £3
10 strips of smoked salmon £5
Chives and soy sauce

Practical tips for a short trip to Iceland - Reykjavik

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 12:34:00 +0000

I can’t be alone in thinking that a trip to such a climate, without the opportunity to warm up with exercise on your skis, is an odd choice. Going to Iceland in summer, or otherwise arriving there with even more layers than a ski holiday, really is a thing to do: there’s remarkable scenery, easy-going people and ... best I leave you to find your own things to enjoy.

I’m also not alone in commenting on the high cost of negotiating

Iceland

. The consolation to offer is that the landscape reminds of the big island of Hawaii but Iceland is way easier to get to from Europe. Below are some tips on coping.

FLIGHTS

Nothing new but I’ll remind that going out on an early morning flight and returning on an evening flight will save a night in a hotel. Also not new is that without checked baggage you cannot take liquids in or out of the country, not even a sealed bottle of the local spa goo sold in town. Bring sealable polythene bags for your toothpaste and save paying £2 for them at some airports. On easyjet you can carry-on cases that are under 56 x 45 x 25 cm including the wheels and handle (2014). The icelandair carry-on limit is 55 x 40 x 20 cm and up to 10kg - however on this carrier if your bag is too big you can check in a single bag for no extra (latest here).

AIRPORT TRANSFERS

The Reyjavit International airport is 45 minutes drive from the city centre. As most hotels are within a walk of the centre, you may take the airport bus to a bus depot (£9 pp) and not need a direct to hotel service which adds 450K (£2.50 pp). The walk to your hotel from the depot starts your holiday sooner. There are two bus companies at Reykjavik airport with ticket offices as you exit. Reykjavik Excursions have a bus depot near the south end of the city lakes. The Gray line bus depot is slap bang in the town centre.
A taxi is £75. Car hire is £100 day. An alternative is to ask cars at the airport i.e. offer 1000k (£5) and see if people are as friendly as they say. BTW the international airport ought not be confused with the domestic airport which is in town. Just as I did when booking my hotel thinking it close to the airport on Google maps.

MONEY

As always, book your money online with a debit card before you go and pick it up from your supermarket or Marks and S. Otherwise, paying by debit or credit card has a slight sting to it, perhaps 5%, on most transactions but then currency changing has a similar sting. How much to bring? I paid for my tours with a credit card and used £75 cash a day for two people. That paid for airport transfers, one eat out meal a day, some coffees and supermarket bought snacks on tours say.

WIFI

The two big private bus companies above have free wifi in their buses and at their depots. Some restaurants can be asked for an access code for their wifi. It'll help to have free wifi in your hotel. You'll find it handy to access an online map where you 'drop pins' on places to see. You can calculate distances in this way.
The Tripadvisor app lets you download its ‘Reykjavik’ section, access it offline and use a phone’s GPS to find places on its map. The Tripadvisor app allows you to bookmark (or save) sites and restaurants. If you sign into the app with facebook, and save some sites before you go, you’ll have all these to hand. Otherwise use Google maps to save your favourite places before you go and see what's near what.

SWIMMING – BLUE LAGOON

The Blue Lagoon is nearer the main airport than to Reykjavik so you might access this on your first or last day and end up in town or the airport ready to fly home. Price including admission £50 pp. Grayline offer more flexible travel options.

Alternatives to the Blue Lagoon are the 2-3 town swimming pools and hot tub at £6 pp and you can walk to two of them. One pool is a few minutes behind the main church.
I read that you can take two buses (£4 pp) to Hveragerði geothermal pool and general area.

TOURS

For the DIY tourist, the public bus system has a page with destinations http://www.straeto.is/. You may be lucky to find a destination that can be done in one bus route and fare (see below). Or not.

The popular tour by coach is the Golden Circle £50 pp. I felt the guide added value and got us through a horrendous snow storm where vehicles had come off the road. I did this one with grayline.is but www.re.is do something comparable.

The Reykjavik Excursions South Coast tour at £75 pp was also good (www.re.is). There was a lot of driving to get to Vik. This was only place where you meet the coast face to face. I noticed some other tours featured a hike but as I didn't expect much more than a taster of hiking and was happy without it. Also later at a waterfall, it was too icy to walk behind it but I can also live with that.

Any hotel will book these tours and help with problems. I quickly concluded that Gray line had the better, more polished offer. The ‘Reykjavik Excursions’ people seemed depressed or seasonally affected.

MUSEUMS – WELCOME CARD

One or two of the museums may be worth seeing. Students get in for less. The Welcome card, at £31 pp offering bus and museum entrance, seemed less good value as the city is so small.

TRAVELLING in Reykjavik

If you normally walk on holidays, the edges of Reykjavik will seem accessible on foot. The weather beat me back while aiming for the peninsula. Here at the north east of Reykjavik, there’s the bonus of a swimming pool and lighthouse. Bus 11 will take you back 350k pp.

TRAVELLING beyond Reykjavik

Public buses take you to some destinations and if touring were the aim, I'd locate myself where those buses depart. Day bus passes are limited to town and nearby so expect to pay 350k pp per journey or £4 pp return. I'd enquire to see if one could take a 3 bus to Mjódd shopping centre then a very long 51 bus trip to the black beach at Vik. The public bus website has timetables and a journey planner but I needed local knowledge to take this through. Perhaps the bus people reply to emails. http://www.straeto.is/.

FREE

Wander in the Harpa Symphony Hall on the harbour and see nearby Sun sculpture
Sign up to the daily two-hour city walk from the Parliament Square (near Tourist Office) at citywalk.is. A guy called Martyn runs this.
A free 80 min walking tour happens on Saturday 1pm from Lækjartorg square (near GrayLine depot). Look for the little green clock tower. No booking. Do check details at http://www.freewalkingtour.is

Einar Jonsson Museum Gardens are said to be nice.
Weekends at 11am Flea Market, white building near harbour. General tat, knits and car boot sale stuff to haggle over. There appeared to be only one knitting pattern for Icelandic wear.
One hour film on Volcanoes on the hour, near harbour at Icelandic Fish and Chips
Water

FOOD

Dining at your departure airport will seem cheap! It'll start the day well to have a free breakfast in your hotel. There very few cafes open at this time anyway. There are Bonus supermarkets all over town selling sandwiches but they open mid-morning and close around 6pm. Prices are so so.
Subway may be a snack option. The Ginger supermarket (sort of Waitrose just down from the centre tourist office) has snack stuff too. Local lamb often replaces imported beef.

A dish in a restaurant rated ££ might be 2250 Kr plus 600 Kr for a soda drink (£15 pp). A restaurant beer would be £5. There is no custom to tip as in England.

Let Tripadvisor guide you but Kryddlegin hjortu and Glo in the town centre offer veggie meals. Two others include Icelandic Fish and Chips near the harbour for freshly cooked food. Also Cafe Loki near the tall church for traditional Icelandic food. All are informal with prices around £15pp and not especially filling.

ALCOHOL and DRINKS

Tap water is excellent so most people advise there’s no need for bottled water.

Local alcoholic drinks are less pricey. Beer with 2.5% alcohol is the norm. If wine is preferred look for some at the airport when you arrive. Icelandic spirits at the airport were reasonable. You can't bring liquids from England or take them home unless bought at the duty free.

BUDGETTING

£15 one meal

£50 one tour

£5 one swim

£4 one return bus trip

£10 museum
£10 one airport transfer each way

TIMING
One day - long walk to lighthouse, swimming pool, explore harbour, watch Volcano film
One day - town centre walk, museum, swim or guided walking tour
One day - trip

How to service or replace the brewing unit and plumbing on a Jura coffee machine and other fixes

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 20:59:00 +0000

While a neighbour has spent years repairing his Morris Minor car, fixing my coffee machine became a task of similar hobby proportions. After several weeks research I have an as-new machine with parts costing £100 - which is much less than £1200 for a new machine.

In the UK it is assumed that if you can afford the BMW of coffee machines, you can afford someone who can fix and service it too. Read on and you could clean and repair your Jura coffee machine for £5 (for new 'O' seals). I hope the following saves someone the weeks I spent dismantling and reassembling a Jura coffee machine.

Summary of costs to date
Machine new £800
Replace brew unit £80
Replace cracked water tank £12
Replace broken metal frother arm with other small parts £15
Replace thermoblock, I and F connectors and membrane regulator £67
Spares https://juraproducts.uk/spare-parts

UPDATE 2015: Replaced some parts I should have replaced ages ago
With 16,000 cups now made the leaking from my 2004 Jura F90 was getting serious. I contacted UK Jura spares (below) to replace 'o' rings in numerous connections below the coffee grinder unit. I tried to remove and renew the connections to the thermoblock (heater) but they were so corroded that the heater also needed replacement. Overall the heater and new Teflon connectors cost £67 but nothing leaks anymore. This included the membrane regulator unit after the pump (at the front bottom of the machine) which I heard is notorious for leaking and has been modified.

UPDATE 2014: If the Jura touch panel is unresponsive or erratic
After doing my first Jura service below, the machine would make coffees at random and a mess was the result. The touch screen was also unresponsive at times. This may have been a problem I caused while dismantling but now it's fixed. It works when left to dry. And thanks to a forum post on a German site, it was suggested that steam can get behind the touch panel and the solution was to put plastic film (or card or shirt collar packing) horizontally beneath the panel to isolate it from the steam from the coffee dispensing area. I hope this works for you as it did for me.

UPDATE 2014: service the coffee grinder the easier way
You don't have to take the grinder to tiny pieces to service it. Some videos show you the entire dismantling but that may be unnecessary if you just want it cleaned up like new. On the Jura F90 you'll need to remove the top panel (see first bit of dismantling below). You'll see the coffee bean hopper held in place by two vertical screws. Go at them gently with a torx screwdriver bit else you'll break a fixing point. Note the position of the consumer grinding adjuster. Hoover excess beans. Lift the hopper clear. Clean the central silicone seal. Note the position of the big outer cog wheel which is the grinder adjuster. Turn this anticlockwise and you'll be able to remove the outer grinder wheel and clean up. If you're just wanting to clean it, don't loosen the central grinding wheel. Instead see this video, where the Saeco has a similar grinder. When tightening up the two hopper screws after reassembling, don't over tighten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M5WmOYzTAU

UPDATE 2014: the plumbing leaks
See more recent update for a more radical repair. My F90 machine leaked and messed up a wood worktop. Most of the damage was due to emptying the grounds and drip tray. However, there was some leaking from inside. See below the bit about dismantling to remove the side panel (coffee grinder side) and access the pump and tubes. The tubes are plastic and held in place by a wire clip. You may now be able to spot where the leaks are by the scale. It may be enough to remove a wire clip, withdraw the tube and its brass collar. Inside there's a tiny 'o' ring seal to replace. Push the tube and collar back in firmly and add the clip.

The brewing unit can be the cause of Malfunction 8

The brewing unit (= brewing group - Brüheinheit) collects the ground coffee; infuses it with water and ejects a plug of used grounds. A number of different brands are made by one Swiss firm. The brewing unit is almost identical on around 50 different Jura; Krups and AEG coffee machines. In other words, the guts of all these machines is often similar. The attachment places are similar; electronic garnishing (display; control programme and buttons) differ.

video comes from http://www.coffeemakers.de/

The Jura Impressa F90 - background

This model occupies the middle part of the Jura range (which compares to the top of everyone else's ranges). It has a single water heater which means that it can make coffee or steam but not both at the same time. This isn't much of an inconvenience. The machine appears to know when it needs a clean; descale or empty.

The 'Empty grounds'; 'Descale' and Clean machine' messages simply derive from counters; the 'Tray Missing' message comes from a microswitch. 'Fill Beans' appears if no coffee powder arrives in the brewing unit - though the sensor is probably in the grinder. The 'Fill water' message is triggered by a microswitch and/or a sensor in the plumbing. What you experience is not entirely spoofed intelligence and works well.
When you see the message 'Clean machine' you respond by holding the Maint. button until what to do appears on the display. The machine cleaning cycle cleans the brewing unit and coffee outlet only.

The descaling cycle cleans the boiler; pump; valve; steam nozzle and probably the inlet nozzle at the bottom of the brewing unit. I never use a Claris filter since our water is chlorine-free. When you see the message 'Machine scaled' you respond by removing the water tank and turning the machine on by holding the Maint. button. What you must do to descale the machine appears on the display. I used all sorts of kettle scalers.

What can go wrong in the brewing unit?

My machine had delivered 10,500 cups over five years and was now leaking half a cup of coffee into the grounds dump bin. This implied a worn seal (O-ring) somewhere. The simplest cause of a leak would be a worn O-ring on the chamber water inlet nozzle at the bottom of the brewing unit. Look into the lower parts of the machine and you'll see a water pipe coming in from the side; behind it a nozzle points upwards. This nozzle can be seen and almost reached when the mechanism is at the top of its travel. Other causes of a leak could be the two large O-rings inside the brewing unit and this requires a lot of dismantling. With experience you might be able to replace the inlet O-ring in situ (but you might need to dismantle the thing to get the experience in the first place).

Could you service the brewing unit?

You could dismantle the brewing unit; dish wash all the parts and replace and grease the O-rings. It's a big job and is described below. Alternately, if you can remove the unit, you could buy a new brewing unit for £70. The coffee delivery nozzle at the top of the brewing may be different so you can just swap the old top end cap for the one on the new unit. At the same time I changed the lower water pipe and encoder (which senses where the unit is in its travel).

Malfunction 8

One reason to service the brewing unit comes from a Malfunction 8 message. The message occurs when the brewing unit fails to achieve the correct state, perhaps when you switch it on. The encoder (an optical rotation sensor) monitors the position of the brewing unit. Malfunction 8 may be accompanied by straining noises. A reason is that the motor might be straining is stiffness in the brewing unit mechanism. This can be due to a damaged O-ring or a plug of coffee.

This Malfunction 8 error can go away on its own. You can clean the parts you can see without removing and dismantling the brewing unit. You may be able to reach into the machine to dislodge some grounds. To do this unplug the machine when the brewing mechanism is at the top of its travel and reach in from below. A dentists mirror would be handy here. Do not indiscriminately squirt cleaning liquids inside as this can get into the wrong places. Do toothbrush; dry and vacuum though.
The encoding unit could also be at fault. This isn't too expensive.

Dismantling a Jura

I'd recommend you read the following with the additional help of Partsguru who have Youtube tutorials https://www.youtube.com/user/PartsGuruUSA

Before you start dismantling remind yourself of the risks. In case of a mess up, below I've listed a firm selling many spares apart from the actual chassis. They'll sell you a complete brewing unit; a pack of O-rings and grease; encoder; water inlet; water pipes. They also sell replacement water tanks; pump; solenoid; valve; grinding wheels; grinder unit; heater. I haven't tried any of the UK servicing firms so they could be really helpful and cheap. Otherwise it takes a few hours to service and replace the brewing unit. However it took a few weeks to understand that I needed a brewing unit.

You will need a few Torx; hexagonal and possibly unique screwdriver bits to remove all screws. A pry tool (used for mobile phones) will help where plastic lugs hold on the side and top panel. Empty beans; water store and remove the waste tray. On the Jura F90 use pliers to undo two oval headed screws at the back at the top. If you mash them up you can replace them. You'll be able to remove the top panel after removing two black screws on the top surface and using a pry tool to disconnect two lugs at the front edge.

You don't want to dismantle the coffee grinder and its hopper. Retain the hopper's rubber seals or glue them in place before you lose them. Four screws hold the central back body panel and side panels. The side panels are removed by using a pry tool to release lugs all down the edge where these panels meet the front. Work slowly to manoeuvre the side panels towards the back. If you simply want to clean the brewing unit externally then just remove the panel on the water side.

Find the water inlet just where the water tank sits. A screw here allows you to remove its plastic holder - but take a photo of how it slots in. This gives access to the lower end of the brewing unit. If the plastic piece is still it the way, you can ease off the water pipe from the water inlet and put it aside. As I said you might get away with not disassembling the brewing unit.

The brewing unit exposed

The machine is partly operable with the sides and water tank removed. Cover exposed electrical connections and remind yourself of the danger. Thus you can switch off the power when the brewing unit's white gear is at the top and then at the bottom. In this way you will get access to places causing any jam. You might just need to clear the inner chamber and path for two plungers with two large O-rings. You can see the water inlet nozzle with its o-ring which can perish and cause coffee or water to go to waste. Silicone grease only where the O-rings slide. Leave the other plastic parts ungreased. You can however buy a maintenance kit or a new brewing unit from the shop below.

You will want to avoid removing the nylon water pipes unless they're actually leaking. These pipes are held in place with a wire clip (remove with a flat head screwdriver). Ease the nylon pipe with its brass collar out of its socket. The pipe goes into an O-ring in the pipe's socket - this might fall out. These O-rings are likely causes of leaks.

Removing a brewing unit

... is like removing a car engine. There is no need to force anything. On the Jura F90 the brewing unit is removed by undoing two obscure screws from the coffee grinder side. I had difficulty removing these and I wish I had taken time to find the right tool instead of wearing down the screw head.

On the electronic side there's an optosensor (encoder) unit held in place with a steel clip. You might remove this to access one of the two screws. I replaced my encoder but I think this was unnecessary. At the bottom of the brewing unit, the water inlet valve is fixed to the machine with a single screw. Next, on the water tank side, you'll see two lines of screws that hold the assembly in place. The middle screws of the screws allow you to separate the unit from the gears. The top two holes don't have screws.

Cleaning is all
It is not rocket science to clean the machine yourself. Before hovering check for loose parts or screws! Wipe and toothbrush whatever you can see. Don't wet excessively, but a cloth damped with descaling liquids can work wonders. Do wipe the acid off any metal parts when clean.

Jura spare parts help

When I wrote this, coffee machine spare part supplies were not as common in the UK as they are in mainland Europe. You can buy spares from the UK jura people - I took a photo of what I needed and everything went extremely well hereon. While their web doesn't list every screw you might need, send them a mail and hopefully you'll be as impressed as I was: https://juraproducts.uk/spare-parts
You can compare prices with a German web shop for machine spares at
www.kaffeemaschinendoctor.de Their postage policy at £15 a time is ridiculous, at least for small items. The upside is that there are pictorial guides to dismantle the Jura as a pdf. Google will translate it. Another site Juradoctor.de also carry lots of spares but don't seem to ship to my country.

More help:

In the USA Partsguru have a shop with excellent help on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/PartsGuruUSA

A helpful pictorial guide

A link on an FAQ at www.kaffeemaschinendoctor.de has a well illustrated pdf (Anleitung_Jura_E.pdf)

Lansley is not heckled enough by protesters

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:16:00 +0000

We know why the pensioner who gave Lansley a polite telling-off was labelled, in some media, as an activist. But it's lovely to know she was heard calling the MP who leads a move to turn health into a business opportunity, a liar.

The NHS is a massive organisation and its management is subject to endless change which just sometimes is an improvement. A change proposed in one place might not work elsewhere. I've seen several re-organisations in my lifetime and wonder if suddenly someone has found a better way to run it? And I'm especially doubting that if the someone is Andrew Lansley. From the heart of Cambridgeshire, I must apologize for this person's election and will spare any reader from the insults I have in mind.

Which burger? Burgering off to Denver for Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:03:00 +0000

Xmas day delivered me an envelope of vouchers to experience burger meals in the country that knows them best. So the thanks for the research below belong to Matt who heard my wish to Santa Claus, Colorado branch.

What is at first remarkable about Five Guys, is that the guys who set up the chain had the nerve to do so in the US. The competition everywhere else in the world would be easier. In the UK they would have had a market to themselves. With all the salad and relish options added to a burger, the resulting bun is level with my eyes. The fries deliver in quantity. The drink is bottomless. The burger is tasty indeed, eating it is pleasurably messy.
Downstairs at Eric's in Breckenridge I had the tastiest burger of all. The bun was crusty too. Totally brilliant.
larkburger in Denver offers a shop with a smarter appearance. For a dollar more, they offer the option to add Truffle flavour to the fries or the burger. Here is a very tasty burger. A flame-grilled finish could have made it perfect for me. Overall the package has more style than your average outlet and the idea to add truffle oil is genius.
Smashburger serve a open burger that is not only convenient, it looks and tastes great too. The range of choice in the menu was great. Both Smarhburger outlets visited were a touch cramped for space. However my burger was one of the best burgers I'd ever enjoyed.

Here's a visual fix on what we've been talking about:

The Five Guys - a burger that reaches to your eyes. Suculent 5* Value 5*

A burger from Downstairs at Eric's in Breckenridge (see inside view below)


Downstairs at Eric's in Breckenridge. Taste 5* Texture 5*

larkburger - truffle flavouring - unique 5*

smashburger - appearance 5* taste 5*

UK Foreign Office fleeces Christchurch earthquake victims

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:22:00 +0000

This close call offers something to think about when next the school phone to say your child got a fracture playing rugby:

A neighbour's son was doing his 'gap year' and living in Christchurch New Zealand when the earthquake of March 2011 hit. He escaped harm but his hostel was demolished with all his possessions lost in the rubble.

Happy to be alive, the lad was left owning a shirt and a key to a door for a room that doesn't exist.

The British government stepped up their consular help for such misfortune. The lad needs a passport to replace the one lost in the building. So extra Foreign Office people are on hand to add to his misfortune with an invoice for a £200 replacement fee.

Hmm.

Caffeine Content of chocolate, cocoa and coffee

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:23:00 +0000

Here's information on caffeine in drinks, culled from here and there.

Drinking 5 cups of coffee a day gives an intake of 228g caffeine a year.

To visualise this amount imagine a retail bag of ground coffee.

Text version:

Mug of brewed coffee 100 – 125 mg

Ben & Jerry's Coffee Fudge Frozen Yogurt - mug 85 mg

Mug of instant coffee 70 mg

Bar of dark chocolate 65 mg

Can of Cola – 350 ml 50 mg

Mug of tea 45 - 75 mg

30g dark chocolate (a third of a bar) 20 mg

Mug of cocoa 15 mg

Mug of green or white tea 15 mg

30g milk chocolate (a third of a bar) 6 mg

Mug of decaffeinated coffee 2 mg

Cornflake chew bars

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:10:00 +0000

Here is fast way to recycle a lot of cornflakes. These bars are very sweet and could be classed as 'survival food' for intergalactic travel or holidays in Nepal, Skye and Northumberland.
The ingredients are warmed together and mixed with cornflakes. Don't bubble the sugar or the result will be brittle enough to require dentistry.

Ingredients

300g or 6 cups of cornflakes (£0.60)

230g or 1 cup of sugar (£0.20)

300g of golden syrup (£0.57)

1 tablespoon of butter (£0.10)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (£0.10)

1 jar of peanut butter 340g (£1.16)

Recipe cost £2.72 for 1200g; £2.25 a kilo or £0.12 per slice

Method

Measure the cornflakes

Microwave the sugar and syrup in a large bowl for 1-2 minutes. Remove and stir or reheat to dissolve. Don't overheat or you'll make toffee instead. Soon add the peanut butter; mix and then stir in the cornflakes before it cools.

Tip into a 9 x 13inch tray; press down and cut into 24 pieces.

Cheesecake, Jewish style with success

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:05:00 +0000

Some cheesecakes are set with gelatin and have smooth, jelly-like texture. This cheesecake is baked and sets due to its whipped egg. When chilled it has an appealing dry, soft, crumbly texture. My efforts used the soft cheese bought in tubs. These were light soft cheese; full fat soft cheese and marscapone. Ricotta is one to try next but the recipe below is already perfect. Most of these cheeses cost the same (£4.00 a kilo).

Costs:

Recipe cost £5.02 or 16 slices at £0.31p. Cooked weight 1140g. Cost is £4.40 a kilo

These prices are from Tesco in 2010 when a pint of milk was £0.45 and fillet steak was £25 a kilo.

Ingredients:

8 crushed digestive biscuits (£0.40). No need for butter but you could use a layer of sponge cake in thin slices.
175 g caster sugar cost £0.25
3 eggs (£0.75)
675 g soft cream cheese (£2.76 for 750g 3 tubs of Tesco Full fat soft cheese)
3 tablespoons of plain flour £0.01
Pinch of salt + 1 teaspoon lemon juice + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract £0.25
150 ml double cream £0.60
Cooking cost £0.50

Method:

1. Warm the oven to 185 degrees C

2. Generously grease the inside of a loose-bottom 9 inch cake tin. Layer the bottom with the biscuit crumbs and press down.

3. Beat together the eggs and sugar until creamy:

4. Beat together the cheese, flour, salt, lemon juice and cream in a separate bowl:

5. Beat the two lots together and pour the mixture onto the biscuit base

6. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes at 185 degrees C. The cake should rise to the top of the tin like a soufflé and go brown on top. There will not much wobble in the centre.

7. Turn off the heat and leave the cake in the oven to cool. It will flatten to half its height. Although it's delicious warm, place in the fridge for 1-2 hours to get more texture.

8. Run a knife round the inside of the tin and press the cheesecake up through the rim.

Notes:

You can use slices of sponge cake instead of biscuit

You can use other cream cheeses such as curd cheese

Use the cooking time above and the picture below as a guide.

Cinnamon Balls - a soft sort of biscuit

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:18:00 +0000

Cinnamon balls are a typical Yiddish sweet biscuit with a soft crumbly texture and a soft outside coating. As kids growing up in 50's Whitechapel, London we were never far from a Jewish bakery. Sometimes the balls would be soft and sometimes they were hard and dry. Somewhere midway was my choice. A rare treat worth the expense. They're made of almonds and not much air:

Prices

Recipe cost £4.40 for 16 balls at £0.28p each. Cooked weight 360g or £11.00 per kilogram. These prices are from Tesco in 2010 when a pint of milk was £0.45 and fillet steak was £25 a kilo.

Recipe 2 egg whites £0.50 plus a pinch of salt
4oz or 100g caster sugar £0.15 (cut or swop it with soft dark brown sugar £0.25p)
8oz or 200g ground almonds £2.50
1 level tablespoon of ground cinnamon £0.15

Cook covered for 15-25 minutes at 160'C (more options below**) £0.50

Dust with icing sugar £0.10

Warm the oven - see ** below. Oil a tray or line it with oiled aluminium foil.
~~Beat~~ Get two egg whites and add a pinch of salt ~~until stiff~~. Note: I no longer beat the whites.
Mix ground almonds; sugar and cinnamon.
Add a quarter of the dry mix to the egg whites; fold until mixed and repeat until it's all mixed.
Take a rounded desertspoonful of mixture; use damp hands to form the mixture into 2.5cm balls and place on the foil. There's no need to roll them smooth - a rough surface adds interest.
** Various sources suggested oven cooking for 15 minutes at 180'C or 25 mins at 150'C or in-between as I used, 20 mins at 160'C. I reckon you could cook this in a microwave.
Tip: the cooking just needs to set the egg white which would happen at 60'C. You really don't need the balls to go brown or hard so you may undercook them. I covered mine with foil to reduce drying out
Tip: place the cooked balls in a closed plastic sandwich box to trap evaporating moisture and soften the outside. When cool, roll the balls in icing sugar. Stored for a couple of days like this seemed to make them more crumbly.

Recipe variations

A second variation uses 3 egg whites not 2; and 1.5 tablespoons of cinnamon not 1. I was happy with the above. The metric recipe is an approx. equivalent - handy because almonds are sold in 200g bags.

Is a jumbo sized egg or a medium egg better value?

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:30:00 +0000

Q. Is a jumbo sized egg or a medium egg better value?
A. Based on buying a box of 6 free range eggs the jumbo egg is better value

Medium egg 44g total with 4g fat and 5g protein Cost £0.24 each or £5.45 per kilo
Jumbo egg 63g total with 6g fat and 8g protein Cost £0.28 each or £4.40 per kilo
At best a Jumbo egg offers 45% more but doesn't cost than much more.

If we bought eggs by weight, here's what you'd see:

The contents of a large egg weighs 60g the shells weighs 8g or 12% of its weight.
40% of this 60g is the fatty yolk (24g) ;
60% of the 60g is the protein-rich egg white (36g).
Overall it is 13% protein; 10% fat
An egg is 25% useful; 75% is water.

Moist Chocolate Brownies - ten batches later

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:04:00 +0000

300g 70% cocoa solids cook's chocolate £3 for three bars.
(I tried and wouldn't again use Cadbury's which is just 25% cocoa).

250g butter £1.25

2 teaspoons Baking powder £0.05

400g caster sugar £0.50

10ml vanilla extract £0.44

140g self raising flour £0.07

4 eggs £1.00

Oven run for one hour costs £0.50p

Makes at least 24 brownies at £7 or 29p each

Use the larger 13" x 7" dish

This recipe offers a cost saving thanks to using a larger dish; flour; no nuts and cheaper chocolate. You can change the texture by adjusting the cooking time and storage (see below). If you need to know the calories they contain, you ought not be eating brownies.

Get the oven heating to 180 degrees C.
Line a 22cm x 33cm baking tin with foil (aka a 9 x 13inch dish)
Put 225g butter and 225g chocolate in a bowl and microwave for 90 seconds to melt.
Whip the eggs in a separate bowl and fold in the sugar; flour and vanilla.
Combine the two bowls add the baking powder last
Pour into the lined baking tin and level up the mixture within it
Bake for 30 minutes. Sometimes we've turned off the oven and left the cake for up to 50 minutes. It doesn't really need to be cooked through: you can stop earlier for a moist result. Allow to cool and then cut in the tin.

Wrap individual brownies in pieces of cooking foil. If kept like this for several days the outer crust softens nicely. Store some of your brownies in the fridge and note the chewy result.

Cooking weights, measures and cheats

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Fri, 28 May 2010 08:34:00 +0000

A pint of peas

One pint of peas serves 4 as a side dish. Fill a pint beer glass with frozen peas. Add kettle hot water almost to the top and microwave for 3 minutes.

A mug of porridge for two

A mug full (250 ml) of porridge oats serves two. Tip the oats into a bowl and add 1 mug of milk; 1 mug of water and a pinch of salt. Microwave for 3-4 minutes, stir and leave for another minute. Sprinkle with sugar, add a dash of milk and drizzle with squeezy condensed milk.

Both Quaker and Jordans Jumbo oats make a more textured porridge. Read the box for the cooking time as this varies.

A tea cup of porridge for one

A small cup (eg tea cup) of porridge oats is 40g and serves one. Tip into a bowl and add 1 tea cup of milk; 1 tea cup of water and a bit of salt. Microwave for 3-4 minutes, stir and leave for another minute.

A mug of rice for 2-3

If you saw how rice was walked on before it was packaged you'd rinse the rice before use.

Tip a mug full (250 ml) of rice into a bowl and add 2 mugs of water and a pinch of salt.

Microwave for 10 minutes. Break up and serve using a fork.

Colour option: put a drop each of red and yellow food colouring on the surface. Use a fork to mix when you're ready to serve the rice.

Flavour option: add as much saffron as you can afford

I am on a mission to exile gravy from the UK

Make a nice sauce instead of gravy. Or pour over herbs in oil. If you've used fresh, carefully prepared and carefullly chosen meat, please don't spoil it with the stale stock flavours of preserved chicken; boiled beef or vegetable stew.

Moist Chocolate Brownies - first success

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Thu, 27 May 2010 11:50:00 +0000

Based on Nigella Express - Flourless Chocolate Brownies:
If you are counting calories; or even counting on living long don't even think of making these brownies. They're a quarter butter; a quarter chocolate; a quarter sugar and a quarter nuts.
There's no flour in this version so you can have a jolly think about the calories you're saving.Those who have loved ones may care to assess their motives for making them.

225g 70% cocoa solids chocolate £3.80 for two bars
225g butter £1.25
10ml vanilla extract £0.44
200g caster sugar £0.25
3 eggs £0.75
150g ground almonds £0.75
100g chopped walnuts (I think optional) £1.08

Oven at 170 degrees C - running for < one hour £0.50p
Makes sixteen brownies at £9.35 or £0.58 each excluding labour. Add in £10 for labour cost gives £1.20 per brownie.
Nutritional info: If you need to measure calories and fat, you ought not be eating these brownies

Recipe:

Get the oven heating to 170 degrees C. Line a 22cm square dish with foil.
Put 225g butter and 225g chocolate in a bowl and microwave for 90 seconds to melt.

Mix and add 200g sugar; two teaspoons of vanilla; 150g ground almonds; 100g chopped walnuts. Mix well. Beat three eggs into the mix.

Scrape into the cooking dish and flatten the mix into the corners.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. It's now cooked on top and soft inside.
Cool a bit, cut to make 16 squares and put in the fridge to firm up.

Two weeks without pepper

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Sat, 22 May 2010 15:58:00 +0000

Seven thousand brand new copies of the Penguin "Pasta Bible"were destroyed before they reached the shops. The reason was that a recipe requiring "salt and freshly ground black pepper" came to print as "salt and freshly ground black people". The publisher is apologetic and embarrassed.

There is plenty of embarrassment here after purchasing a salt and pepper set. I'd been failing to get as much as a grain of black pepper on my scrambled egg. Two weeks later I discovered that the set wasn't prefilled with salt and pepper. See here:

Wonderfully realistic paper inserts in a cruet set.

Enhance your garden with this Tesco oil container

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Sat, 22 May 2010 15:41:00 +0000

Nature knows doodly-squat about hue saturation and lightness. Tesco knows better with this gorgeous deep red bottle cap and sophisticated green bottle.

Frothing milk for a Cappuccino

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:33:00 +0000

Click title for video

Making milk froth for a coffee has puzzled civilisation ever since it discovered how to make a good espresso. I'm open to the possibility that only this house is puzzled, if only it were civilised. At the touch of a button, an automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine can spurt a fine espresso, but frothing milk with it was less easy. Here's a FAQ and some gadgets for milk frothing

Milk froth FAQ

Q) Can I use my cafetiere to froth milk?
A) Yes, convenience and low cost is the main benefit of doing so. See my video below. After you've taken the froth from the milk you can put the cafetiere in the fridge for your next drink. Start with a cup of milk (250ml) and you'll have enough for four cups.

Q) Can I froth semi-skimmed milk?
A) Yes and you can froth whole milk too. Research so far shows that full and semi-skimmed froth well enough for a cappucino. The fat in milk damages the froth - but just a bit. Skimmed milk makes an interesting, especially gloopy foam.

Q) Is there a knack to the plunging action in the cafetiere method?
A) Seemingly no. I froth the froth instead of plunging the whole container. Thirty seconds is enough under ideal conditions. A minute is excess.

Q) How important is waiting a minute or two for the milk to settle?
A) About half the volume is liquid so it's important for an all-froth cappucino. You can, at your own risk, bang the jug down to send milk to the bottom more quickly. For a latte, pour the mix of froth and milk on the coffee.

Q) Does the milk need to be warmed?
A) No. Warm milk will froth just a bit more easily and give you a warmer drink. Cold milk works well and it even makes the drink interesting.

Milk frothing devices

Bodum Latteo £11.50 - Verdict: Brilliant but see next item
Makes fabulous spoonable milk froth that's so thick it's unreal. It takes three minutes in total so have your coffee nearly ready. This Bodum device looks like a regular cafetiere. Add cold skimmed milk to the 250ml line on the jug and microwave for one minute* (hand hot or 50-60 degrees). Replace the lid and move the plunger up and down for at least 30 seconds or until the volume doubles. Lift the plunger and wait a minute for the liquid to settle. Spoon into the centre of your espresso to get a nice brown ring around the white froth.

Regular 4-cup Cafetiere £3.99 from Home Sense Verdict: Still brilliant enough and cheap
Inspired by the Bodum jug above, I used a regular cafetiere to froth milk. Add one cup of skimmed milk (that's 250ml or enough for three or four coffees) to the jug and microwave 1 minute*. The milk is now hand hot but not boiled. Add the plunger and move it up and down for at least 30 seconds or until the volume doubles. Lift the plunger and wait a good minute for the liquid to settle. Spoon into the centre of your espresso to get a nice brown ring around the milk.

Hot chocolate drink that's like a mousse
Add 50ml of kettle hot water to (say) 2-3 spoons of chocolate drink powder and mix to make a slurry in the cup. Add the mixed chocolate to the frothed milk in the cafetiere, gently plunge to mix and pour this back into the cup. Experiment by smearing the chocolate on the inside edge of the cup.

Nespresso Aeroccino Plus: £50 - £70 Verdict: Brilliant and hard to find

Add milk to the line on the device. Switch on. After a minute you'll have enough foam for two coffees. The foam is made effortlessly and almost silently It's a phfaf to clean because it can't simply be dunked in water.

Dualit Lattecino: £50 Verdict: Brilliant and has a steel finish
Has been praised as much as the Aeroccino. See reviews on Amazon. I use and would recommend you consider the Judge / Horwood Milk frother

Frothing nozzle on a bean to cup coffee machine Verdict: Fair and frustrating
Like many machines, the Jura Impressa F90 has a steam spout as in coffee shops. It's not bad but I fail to find the technique to make a froth that can be spooned. You might experiment with skimmed and semi-skimmed milk; or use a cold stainless steel jug; do one thing with the steam nozzle or do that or even do nothing. My result is just a frothy coffee and a paused conversation from the noise of it.

Things You Do: buy stamps online at Royal Mail

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:59:00 +0000

"How useful! Look darling instead of queueing at the post office, you can now buy your stamps online!"
So we did. We bought a heap of stamps online and waited 10 days for them to arrive. We then received a card from the postman. It said that we were out when they called so we must come to the post office to pick up your stamps. So went to the post office, queued and picked up our stamps. Brilliant.

Royal Mail and Paypal also now sell postage you can print, stick on yourself and post. On the occasions I've used it, there's been some irregular item to send and it has been brilliant. There is a requirement to post the items within a day which may be inconvienient at times. In that case do order your post after midnight to get the benefit of extra time to post the item.

Engrish - Malaysia

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:52:00 +0000

Vail and Breckenridge - a ski pass that leaks money

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:43:00 +0000

Ski resorts are using RFID chips in the ski pass such that there is no need to fumble or remove gloves as you enter entrance turnstiles. Instead an assistant scans your midriff with a handheld unit and on detecting the chip they see your photo, name and the validity of your pass. At Vail and Breckenridge in Colorado, there is also the option to have your credit card attached to the pass. Thus you or the kids can use their ski pass to purchase meals or drinks in the mountain cafes. It all works well in theory but it went wrong for me. I’ll not be taking up the option to add the ‘resort charge’ facility to my Vail ski pass while the system is so experimental.

To buy the passes online I entered excess private data about myself as well as a photo. Half an hour later, having done so for four people the shopping cart system breaks because of all the countries not on the list, the UK is one. No worries, because a half hour phone call to the US resolves this. I gave my card details over the phone. The last time I did this overseas my card was subjected to numerous fraud transactions. And that happened again this time. It’s not that the ski pass people are responsible but there’s a risk when your card or its details are handed over whilst abroad.

A final annoyance occurred when one of our party skied outside of the area covered by the pass. Although they carried with them a paper ticket that allowed free skiing, their RFID chip was scanned and charges appeared on the credit card without notice. Back home, a call to Vail was met by a blunt refusal to refund the charge. My firm letter explaining the circumstance elicited a weak apology and a refund to the original card. That original card had been cancelled because of the fraud-thing but mentioning this failed to develop any local understanding. Thus I must ask yet again for the refund. Irritatingly, staff at Vail were speedily unhelpful in putting this right – see the notes below. They are just doing a job. And they are doing it as badly as does their technology.

Hello Mr. F,

We do apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced. The charges have been returned to the original credit card. Have a nice day.

Thanks,

Melinda

Vail Resorts

Please check that the transaction has happened as nothing shows on my account.

The card number was changed due to fraud from its use locally. The card number now is XXX

Thanks

Dear Mr. F,

We refunded $178 to a MasterCard ending in 3354 on 03/11/10. This was the credit card the charges were originally charged too, and therefore the only one we can refund.

Kind Regards,

Angela

Vail Resorts

Roger Frost's organic chemistry multimedia for schools and colleges

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:25:00 +0000

www.organic.rogerfrost.com

what differentiates one online shop from another? The marquee tent experience

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 08:12:00 +0000

When you've found your product and your price what is left to differentiate one online outfit from another? At the top of my list the firms track record counts for lots: our orders to John Lewis, Maplin and B&Q for examples consistently worked out well or if ever their was a snag it was rectified in a jiffy. This for starters sorts these guys from the rest. They have to be good since the online mall allows lesser traders to offer exceptional choice - a ladder in ten sizes; a switch in n variations; a wall light with hundreds of options.
While the lesser traders don't have to be good, many prove to be amazing. However the sad occasion of a funeral was made yet more sad still by the ineptitude of one. AJP shopping sell the Gala Tent - a marquee for the British summer. Next day delivery is offered across the site - and where not the tagline 'next day delivery may be available' is a euphemism for something being out of stock. Placing the order I phoned days ahead rather than risk anything not arriving. I really should have asked them to read the order back; however I faxed it so there was at least confirmation of the date when it was needed. Phoning to check the day before I was lied to about the delivery date. "Oh I meant Thursday next week" said the sales person. Since the tent would be less useful next week I canceled the order. "That's alright" said the sales person. It wasn't alright at all.

Eating out - tiger prawns as big as a 2 pence coin

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 20:58:00 +0000

Restaurant: The Plough, High Street, Shepreth, Cambridgeshire, SG8 6PP

Were any tourist a discriminating eater there's a high chance of starving in the greater Cambridge area. People who lived here before me say that if anything was good it's closed. A good few miles from Cambridge you could almost feel that a visit to the Plough was worth the trip given a dearth of presentatable places. That staff have been trained to serve tables is refreshing. That the food is fresh and original tasting immediately says thank goodness you took your VIP guest somewhere decent. But three courses later, with a starter of tiger prawns as tiny as a 2p piece you learn that it's food. It's not a meal. Starve is what we do here.

Verdict: it's a place to impress. never again unless if i have to.

A hotel booked on Expedia at a price that means anything

noreply@blogger.com (Ro G) — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 17:49:00 +0000

You booked a two-night stay in a hotel a few weeks ago. Right now you're checking in to hear that they want an extra $100. That's a not inconsiderable $50 a night extra. Had you seen this at the time you booked you'd probably have found a hotel more within your means. Think that's exceptional, it happens lots at travel site Expedia and they appear not to know it.

Let's say you book a series of hotels on a holiday itinery you've arranged yourself. Hotel 1 works as expected: Expedia charges your card immediately and the hotel are happy and want not a penny more. Hotel 2 booked through hotel.com is different because here your card hasn't been charged and what's more there's 10% tax to pay on the booked rate. Hotel 3 is part of the same group, but Expedia this time charged upfront for the full amount, tax and extra bed included. Hotel 4 booked through Asiarooms.com also charges the full amount, bundles in breakfast and adds no surprises. Hotel 5, booked through Expedia, is when we started and the trigger for all this.

See the pattern? Quite right, there isn't one. Expedia say the hotel voucher clearly states that the hotel may charge for extra beds and add local taxes. And yes they do, but then the vouchers all say this. So where do you stand, what do you pay and how will you know before you go? Answer: if you care not for surprises on holiday, check out the travel sites with the all-inclusive policies. Avoid the ones with the all exclusive small print.