Tortilla

It's been a while since I have been here. I have still be using thermi, just not venturing away from the favourites. Husband & I spent 2 months travelling the California coastline north from San Diego and south along the eastern Sierra ranges. What a stunning & magical journey filled with amazing people, interesting sights and delicious food. We fell in love with Mexican food in San Diego & had many a great Mexican feast while on the road. It puts Mexican food here to shame. Fresh tortilla's served with pretty much everything. Tonight, after the end of the year rush as work finished, Christmas and New Year are done, I decided to make my own tortilla's (no more of that bought stuff masquerading as Mexican food). This recipe was quick, simple and delicious. I am a fan of this website as well.

Chocolate slice

Mum made the best chocolate slice. I found her recipe the other day and I have just felt like chocolate slice since then. I had bought shredded coconut but the recipe called for desiccated coconut. Into thermi it went. This recipe was a replica of mums just done in thermi and just as delicious. I am not sure if I would make it in thermi unless I had to desiccate the coconut as it's just as simple the old fashioned way in a bowl. 

Carrot, coriander & ginger soup

Today we started the 5:2 fasting diet and today was a fasting day. So I made the carrot soup in the every day cookbook. We didn't have cream or butter so I left them out (there was storms outside, and also cut down the calories). It was delicious! Definitely a regular event.

Beef ragout

This week has been nephew cake making week. My mum was an amazing cake maker - she even made our wonderful wedding cake. My husband was interested in learning how to decorate cakes and mum taught him. They used to make my niece and nephews birthday cakes together. Husband has continued making the cakes. While he loves doing it and wouldn't stop for the world, each cake takes 3 nights work and a mountain of hours. So during cake week, meals become quick and easy. Often resulting in take away. I wanted home cooked meals this week. It has been a cold and long week. I wanted home comfort. So, for one night I made this Italian Beef Ragu. As normal I added more vegetables than in the recipe, and also some lentils. So easy, so quick. Served with a french breadstick (as I didn't make the piadinas) it was delicious - no leftovers, even the thermoserver was wiped clean with bread. 

Source: http://static.squarespace.com/static/51b56acee4b062dc341158ed/t/53245713e4b0d7985481d6c9/1394890521104/ (accessed 26.7.14)

Brownies

I like brownies but don't know what all the fuss is about. I much prefer my mum's good old fashioned chocolate slice. I made Quirky Cooking's gluten free brownies from her cookbook for my niece who has coeliac. They were good. As they didn't rise as much as I would have hoped, I used the leftover ganache from the cake husband is making for her brother and called it chocolate slice.

Banana and date loaf/cake

Work has been busy. It's hard to believe it's only been 2 weeks since I went back after a holiday. Today is Saturday and I am taking time out this morning for myself. Which seems to have included a bath and baking. I rarely bake. So I seized the moment of inspiration. Husband had bought 5 incredibly under ripe bananas a couple of weeks ago hoping they would ripen. In the meantime I bought some more bananas that we could actually eat. Now we have a surplus. I found this delicious banana and date cake/loaf that also happens to be sugar free. I added a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter too. I recently discovered dates as a sweetener. This cake was moist and fluffy with a real banana taste. I added an extra banana in the mix and cut a banana in half and made 'railway tracks' down the loaf (it's not like the days of banana shortages following Cyclone Larry). Yummo! Next time I might add some walnuts. Now to make a cup of tea, get my book & find a quiet spot for 20 minutes.

Source: http://www.healthyfoodguide.com.au/sites/default/files/styles/recipe_320x295/public/recipeimages/3378.jpg (accessed 26.7.14)

Meat pie

I feed 2 men most nights. They love meat pies. This recipe was absolutely delicious and very simple to make. I also added a heap of mushrooms (I had gone to Costco to get, among other things, mushrooms for last nights pizza. I then had a surplus of mushrooms).

Chicken noodle soup

I woke up feeling low with a sore throat etc. All I felt like was Mum's chicken noodle soup. This is my thermie version of Mum's chicken noodle soup. It makes about 4 servings.

Ingredients
1 garlic clove
1 onion
1 carrot
Handful of baby spinach
Splash of olive oil (or your favourite cooking oil)
1/3 cob corn kernels
Any other vegetables you have (celery, broccoli etc)
750ml water
2T vegetable stock
1 skinless chicken breast chopped into small cubes
Handful of some sort of noodle - pasta, risoni, rice noodle etc

Method using risoni or pasta

1. Chop garlic, onion, carrot & other vegetables in mixing bowl for 4 seconds/Speed 3
2. Add oil, saute 100C/Reverse/Speed 1/2 minutes
3. Add water, vegetable stock, corn and chicken to mixing bowl. If you are using pasta or risoni add now too. Cook 100C/Reverse/Speed 1/16 minutes. Remove the measuring cup at about 4 minutes remaining to reduce the stock
4. Season as wanted
5. Serve on it's own or with bread

Method using rice noodle (gluten free)

1. Chop garlic, onion, carrot & other vegetables in mixing bowl for 4 seconds/Speed 3
2. Add oil, saute 100C/Reverse/Speed 1/2 minutes
3. Add water, vegetable stock, corn and chicken to mixing bowl. Cook 100C/Reverse/Speed 1/12 minutes
4. Add handful of rice noodle. Cook 100C/Reverse/Speed 1/4 minutes. I removed the measuring cup at this point to reduce the stock
5. Season as wanted

Orange cake

Cake week... I also made this light and fluffy orange cake that was absolutely delicious.

'Magic bean' chocolate cake

This chocolate cake is amazing! Nothing more needs to be said.

2 minute noodles

Winter holidays and hot food for lunch is wanted. I found this awesome 2 minute (well, 5 minute) noodles. Delicious! I also added onion, beans, spinach and coriander. It would be nice as a main meal with some chicken.

Cumquat jam/marmalade

As I have said before, we have a mini orchard in our small suburban backyard. It's that time of the year when the citrus trees are going crazy producing an abundance of fruit. We have two cumquat trees that were here when we bought the place that we typically get 3-4kg of fruit a year from. It always seemed a shame to throw the fruit out as neither husband or I like it. Years ago I found a cumquat jam recipe that both our Dad's like. However, it is a laborious full day job & we don't get to take full advantage of the fruit as some will be rotten by the time we make the jam. While perusing the Thermomix recipe community I came upon this cumquat marmalade recipe. It's quick & easy which means we can make small batches as the fruit ripens on the tree. If I want a sweeter jam-type taste I just add a bit more sugar. What an amazing recipe find!

Corned beef with parsley sauce & steamed vegetables

Mum always made the most delicious corned beef/silverside with parsley sauce. The sauce was teaming with parsley, the vegetables just crunchy and the beef tender. It took hours in a pot on the stove. I found this thermomix recipe and have used it a couple of times. It is just as good as Mum's. Tho I still use the parsley sauce recipe she used (quadrupling the amount of parsley).

Pumpkin soup

Winter chill has finally arrived. The sun has been shining but the wind is coming off snow from the blue mountains and beyond. We got home late from my brother in laws birthday lunch so made pumpkin soup. 30 mins from start to finish & 25 minutes of those were watching tv & doing chores while it cooked.

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled & quartered 

1 clove garlic, peeled

Splash olive oil

500g butternut pumpkin, peel & roughly chopped into cubes

2 carrots, peeled & roughly chopped

1T vegetable stock

300g water

Method

1. Put onion & garlic in TM bowl, chop 7 secs/Speed 8
2. Add oil (no more than 1t), sauté 2 minutes/100 degrees/Speed 1
3. Add pumpkin & carrot, chop 15 secs/Speed 7
4. Add stock & water, cook 25 minutes/100 degrees/Speed 1
5. Add a little more water if too thick (no more than 100 grams)
6. Blend 30 secs going slowly from Speed 1 to Speed 9
7. Serve with teaspoon sour cream &/or coriander &/or crusty bread

Chorizo, bacon & basil pasta

Sometimes we need a quick and easy meal. This is it.

INGREDIENTS
1 garlic clove
1 onion
1 carrot
1 cup baby spinach
1 cup basil leaves
2 cups passata sauce or 1 tin tomatoes
1 chorizo sausage
1 rasher bacon
1 cup pasta
Small amount of grated cheese (we use tasty or Parmesan)

METHOD

1. Blitz garlic, onion, carrot in mixing bowl on Speed 9/3 seconds
2. Add passata sauce or tomatoes, basil and spinach. Cook 100C/Speed 1/reverse/15 minutes. For the last 3 minutes removed to let the sauce reduce.
3. Put pasta on to boil in saucepan as per package instructions. Drain water when cooked.
4. Meanwhile cook the chorizo sausage in a fry pan. I cut it into rings and fry it, the crumble the rings when cooked. When done, put on paper towel to drain fat. 
5. Chop bacon into small squares. Fry in saucepan. When cooked, add chorizo to reheat.
6. Combine pasta and sauce in serving bowl, add bacon and chorizo them stir through.
7. Lightly sprinkle grated cheese on top. 
8. Serve.

Cinnamon rolls

Until last weekend I would say I was not a fan of the cinnamon scroll. That was until husband and I went to a farmers market where he bought the most divine sweet, cinnamony roll. O my. This recipe made a good substitute for when we can't get to the market.  That was even with using less brown sugar and cinnamon as we didn't have enough and again, I wasn't going to the shops. I sprinkled extra icing sugar over the buns when iced and cooled.

Raspberry cordial

Coridal is one of those drinks for summer, memories of fun in the sun, beaches, picnics, laughter with my mum, dad and sister. It's always been the processed bottles in the supermarket until a recent trip to the town my parents grew up in. The regional food markets were in town the weekend we were there. Juicy fresh fruit, crisp seasonal vegetables, still warm bread from the ovens, and a little store selling home made cordial. O my goodness. Delicious. Intriguing flavours of lemon myrtle and ginger, elderflower and raspberry. For my first foray into cordial making I went simple - raspberry using this unambiguous recipe. So much depth of flavour. I may end up freezing some in ice cubes as it made quite a bit. Let's see if I can source fancy flavourings for my next cordial making adventure (once we get through this lot).

Fish cakes

One of my uni flatmate's used to make the nicest fish cakes. I never knew the recipe so decided to make one up and hope for the best. Homemade fish cakes are awesome. These were delicious.

Ingredients:

500g fish (I used salmon but any firm fish would work)

1 slice bread (your choice which variety)

Zest of 1 lemon or lime if you have it

Small handful of parsley

1 egg

1 onion

1t dijon mustard

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 large potato chopped into pieces

1/2 sweet potato chopped into large pieces

1/3 cup olive oil

Method:

1. Fill TM bowl with water (about half the bowl). Add potato and sweet potato. Cook Varoma/reverse/speed 1/20 minutes.
2. At same time add the fish to the TM steamer and steam fish while potatoes cooking.
3. Once potato's cook, drain by emptying TM bowl into colander
4. Grind bread, parsley and lemon zest Speed 9/4 seconds
5. Add egg, onion, dijon mustard and cayenne pepper into TM bowl. Chop Speed 5/3 seconds
6. Add fish, potato and sweet potato to TM bowl. Mix Speed 3/3 seconds
7. Form mixture into patties
8. Add olive oil to fry pan. Heat gently
9. Add fish patties to frying pan and saute until golden brown
10. Serve with favourite sauce and steamed vegetables or salad

Source: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/07/article-1083944-02627D81000005DC-601_468x306.jpg  (accessed 4.5.14)

Pancakes

The winter chill has hit and I have been wanting pancakes for a month now. A quiet Sunday morning provided time to make and enjoy these delicious and fluffy pancakes.

Ingredients
Adapted from http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/24407/basic+pancakes
10g butter
140g self raising flour
1/4t bicarb soda
1/4t vanilla essence
150g milk
1 egg

Method

1. Melt butter in mixing bowl 40secs/50C/speed 4
2. Add all remaining ingredients, mix 30 secs/speed 5 until smooth consistency
3. Heat frypan and add one tablespoon of mixture per pancake. Flip when bubbles appear. Remove from heat and serve (we had them with pure maple syrup). Smaller spoonfuls would make pickelets. 

Source: http://www.marsdenroadunitingchurch.org.au/sites/default/files/Pancake.jpg  (accessed 4.5.14)

Heavenly chocolate cake (gluten free)

I was told to bring dessert to Easter celebrations. I went through the I love chocolate I love thermomix book and found the Gluten free Heavenly chocolate cake recipe. At first glance it looked terrifying but was surprisingly easily, looked spectacular and tasted divine. Everyone had seconds!

Porridge

With the autumn equinox passed the mornings are cooler so I have started investigating warmer breakfasts. The smoothies have been great. Quick, simple and filling. This morning I ventured into the land of porridge using the Everyday cookbook as a base for the recipe. Haven't had it since I wasa kid. Mum used to make yummy porridge. This is good. Filling, hearty, healthy. 

Porridge serving for 1:

40g rolled oats

1t Chia seeds

110g milk (I use full cream lactose free)

Berries to serve with

METHOD

1. Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl
2. Cook 90 degrees/8 minutes/speed 2
3. Serve with berries on top

Ginger beer

Husband is quite the fan of ginger beer. Browsing through the TM Everyday cookbook I found a recipe for it. This afternoon I made it - ginger, brown sugar, lemon and water. A bit less sugar than recommended and it was delicious with the refreshing ginger tang.

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1kqNkmhMmBHKNC1jKGy4Gk0pPXeqv5nvYfojCF1WKwZXv5vKNOCGkvGTbMq4MRsSQNXvRUgkJoqSq_aInaa1bSCWJd98sBjY1XBoR1EO_Aqkw69OJYnmmBTPaw5c1uM0v6rVdtldzfLM/s1600/ginger+beer.jpg (accessed 10.4.14)

Spaghetti bolognese

Spag bol has always been one of my 'go to' meals - quick, easy, make extra and freeze for speedy meals at a later date. The only thing that took the time was chopping up all the vegetables. Tonight I chopped up a carrot, zucchini, mushrooms, capsicum, beans, onion, and garlic in 5 seconds. Filled the mixing bowl with chopped up vegetables! Too easy. I am a bit of a fan of the slow cooked spag bol on the stove top - stirring it occasionally, developing the flavour, adding red kidney beans or maybe lentils to the beef mince mixture. So I did it that way, using the last of the tomato sauce made earlier in the thermomix. Next time I might try making it all in the thermomix.

Source: http://www.your-recipes-online.com/images/Spaghe46.jpg (accessed 9.4.14)

Hot cross buns

With Easter fast approaching I thought I would try making hot cross buns. I used the recipe from the Everyday cookbook minus the lemon/lime zest and sultanas (we didn't have any and I wasn't going to the shops). The dough was quick and easy to make. The buns turned out delicious - light and fluffy with a hint of spice.

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNOgYqyOmJZf8hmv_wT34eFeBbAVr4rXqTqs9gmAJeuWNy1xo4pk5QWy36MGxk0HxsIMGrLPXDUlGuYfjD2126zxOsX20_cWvrM8sDqdc2bYCbIkcMdNzFNDIomcOIiXrWeQRYQKaauU/s1600/easter+026.JPG (accessed 9.4.14)

Slow cooked veal in red wine sauce

We had some veal in the freezer, red wine in the wine rack and homemade tomato pasta sauce in the freezer. I found a Donna Hay recipe that turned out absolutely delicious! I definitely think Thermy can double as a slow cooker for this recipe. I served the veal on mashed potato (done the old fashioned way in a pot) with vegetables steamed in the Veroma (added when the timer was at 20 minutes to go).

I used the same ingredients except only a touch of oil to fry off the onion and garlic in the thermomix, 2 cups of beef stock, and no bay leaf as we didn't have any.

Method:

(adapted from http://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/slow-cooked-veal-in-red-wine)

1. Add onion and garlic to Thermomix mixing bowl. Chop Speed 8/3 seconds. Cook on 100C/reverse/2 minutes
2. Add tomato paste, cook 100C/reverse/1 minute
3. Add wine, cook on Veroma/reverse/3 minutes
4. Add tomato puree/sauce, cook 100C/reverse/1 minute
5. Add veal, stock, rosemary and cook 80C/reverse/60 minutes
6. Add beans, cook Veroma/reverse/3 minutes
7. Serve

As I have said before, Donna Hay recipes are awesome!!! 

Source: http://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/slow-cooked-veal-in-red-wine (accessed 30.3.14)

Shredded beef

The slow cooker broke - massive crack appeared last time we used it... There ended my love affair with my slow cooker... It had been my cooking friend for a long time. There was nothing better than preparing dinner the night before, putting it in the slow cooker in the morning and coming home to a house that smelt delicious with minimal effort required after a long and tiring day at work.

Husband, Dad and I went to the Major League Baseball game at the Sydney Cricket Ground last night - Los Angeles Dodgers v Arizona Diamondbacks (Dodgers won). Husband wanted American food and couldn't decide what to eat. He eventually made a decision, but still kept carrying on about the pulled pork sandwiches. We didn't have any pork so I used beef. It was cooked in the thermomix. It was delicious.

I used this pulled pork recipe but used beef, and halved the quantity.

Method:
1. Marinaded the beef with all ingredients (except onion and garlic) for a few hours in the fridge. Chopped the meat into largish chunks
2. An hour before it was required, chopped onion and garlic in bowl 2 seconds/speed 8
3. Add marinaded meat and marinade to bowl
4. Cook in thermomix 60 minutes/reverse/speed 1
5. 50 minutes into cooking, scrape down bowl, and use the mixing spoon to pulverize the meat a bit. Cook for remaining 10 minutes with measuring cup removed. This shredded the meat and most of the excess liquid evaporated.

The meat was shredded and incredibly tender. Served with coleslaw and garden salad on whole grain wraps.

Buttercream icing

The cake my sister's 40th birthday required buttercream icing. This is well outside our usual fondant icing cakes. I found Mum's handwritten recipe and tweeked it for thermomix.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound/453 grams of white butter (we got it at Costco as USA butter whiter than Australian butter)
• 6 cups of icing sugar
• 1 drop of food colour (in our case pink)

METHOD

1. Soften butter (let it warm or few seconds in the microwave-should be the consistency of ice cream).
2. Put all butter in thermomix bowl, cream speed 4/30 seconds.
3. Add all icing sugar.
4. Mix Speed 4/15 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl. Repeat until desired consistency achieved. The more you whip the butter the whiter it will become.
5. Add food colouring. Mix Speed 4 until desired colour achieved.
6. Remove from bowl and ice your cake

Two cheese risotto

I used to make risotto regularly during winter when I had a couple of hours spare to stir the rice. It took 25 mins from starting the recipe to dinner being ready. I used the mushroom risotto recipe in the Everyday cookbook. As there was no mushrooms in the house (minor detail) so just had Parmesan, mozzarella and parsley. Simply delicious. Leftovers are frozen and may be made into arancici balls for another meal.

Butter... Oops! Should have been whipped cream

Today we felt like scones, jam and cream for lunch. We followed the recipe we used earlier. The scones are delicious - light and fluffy. However, the cream was over whipped... Think we just missed saving it by seconds. So I turned the page in the Everyday cookbook and made it into butter! So simple, so delicious! Tastes like old fashioned butter. No more store bought stuff for us.

Satay sauce

Tonight's romantic Valentine's dinner consisted of vege burgers on the lounge in front of the TV. This is a rare event - just the two of us. I couldn't find organic satay sauce so decided to make my own. Googled satay sauce and made my own. This recipe uses cashews. Yummo! I threw all the ingredients into thermy Speed 4/20 seconds.

Source: http://eatingcoventgarden.com/?p=2294 (accessed 14.2.14)

Served on fresh hamburger buns with the vege patties I made the other night, crisp salad, and dill mayonnaise. Delicious.

Fried rice with BBQ pork

Mum had this delicious chinese pork and vegetable recipe, served with steamed rice it was delicious. I can't find it, but found a 'fried' rice recipe to try in the thermomix. This was a Very special fried rice. I only had pork backstrap so used that. The rice cooked in the coconut milk was yum - tho I used coconut evaporated milk as that's all I had. Would I make it again - probably not on a weeknight. It was nice, but not spectacular. It took over an hour by the time I cut everything, cooked everything in the thermomix and on the stove top.

Source: https://thermomg.squarespace.com/thermomg-recipes/2013/9/28/very-special-fried-rice (accessed 13.2.14)

Vegan burger

Tonight we steamed sweet potato in the Thermomix varoma for the first time. Needless to say it wasn't a success. It refused to soften. So it continued to cook while we ate our roast lamb with other steamed vegetables. It still refused to cook properly so I decided to chop it in the mixing bowl and make Vegan falafel's to freeze for future meals as Vege burgers.

This Vegan falafel recipe is delicious. I used to live near Byron Bay and there was a beach cafe that did the most delicious vege burgers with satay sauce. This is the closest replica I can find. I don't use any flour and rarely have caraway seeds. Served with lots of shredded salad vegetables, tomato, and crispy lettuce with a fresh bun with mayonnaise one half of the bun and satay sauce on the other. Yummo! And a wonderful flashback to my uni undergraduate days. A good vege burger is hard to find, but delicious when you do.

http://thetolerantvegan.com/2011/08/baked-eggplant-burgers/ (accessed 9.2.14)

Pear and vanilla jam

This week I ordered a standard fruit and vegetable box from the online organic store we use. Usually I just choose what we like to eat and buy that. But there was a special on standard boxes so being the bargain hunter I bought that. Surprisingly, the only thing supplied that we don't eat is pears. 

So I decided to make Pear and vanilla jam. Husband and I are no strangers to jam making. We have a mini orchard in our suburban backyard - dwarf cumquat, lemon, lime, orange, mandarin, lychee, peach, nectarine, mango and avocado trees. The trees line one of our fences, provide a great outlook from the kitchen, and supply us with a load of fruit every year. The cumquats are made into jam every year. Our Dad's love it so we keep making it for them.

I used this Pear and Vanilla jam recipe as the basis for making the jam. We use lemon from our trees as the source of pectin in our jam making (why buy when we have it in our backyard). This was delicious and would make a lovely gift.

Pear and vanilla jam 

Adapted from realfailsafemeals.blogspot.com.au

1kg pears

1 lemon

Seeds of 1 vanilla pod

500g sugar

1. Peel and core pears, roughly chop
2. Remove skin from lemon (leaving the white stuff on), roughly chop
3. Place pears and lemon in thermomix, chop Speed 7/30 seconds (less if you want a 'chunky' jam)
4. Add vanilla seeds and sugar
5. Mix Speed 4/20 seconds
6. Cook 100C/Speed 2/45 minutes
7. Test by putting a teaspoon of mixture on a plate and into the freezer. If it forms a skin after a minute or so it is ready.  
8. If you need it to set more cook it on Varoma/4 minutes with the MC out and steaming basket on top (WARNING - be careful of hot liquid)
9. Blitz on Speed 8/20 seconds if you would like a smoother jam
10. Place jam in hot sterilised jars (washed in hot soapy water and heated in 200C oven for 10 minutes - WARNING - be careful of hot glass)

Source: http://adelineandlumiere.com/2012/03/29/pear-vanilla-jam/ (accessed 9.2.14)

Scones with whipped cream

Tonight was one of those nights. Dinner was prepared (hamburgers), a friend came over for a chat, then ended up at the vet with a howling cat. Cat is having a sleepover at the vet's prior to an operation tomorrow morning. Then I realised I had to make something for morning tea for the volunteers that help out at my work site every Thursday.

I found a scone recipe on the TM recipe community website. Decanted some of the Costco organic strawberry jam into a smaller container (seriously...I am not carrying 1kg of jam to work), and whipped some cream using the instructions in the Everyday Cookbook.

It took less than 20 minutes to make and cook the scones, decant the jam, and whip the cream.

Source: http://www.mattawamum.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/scone2.jpg (accessed 29.1.14)

BBQ pork ribs

This is the most delicious pork ribs I know. Husband and Dad love pork ribs and it was a meal they used to buy when we went out for dinner. I was in Canada a few years ago visiting family and they served this. Needless to say I asked for the recipe. I now make a big batch and freeze for quick dinners - the meat is boiled then marinated so all that needs to be done is heated through in the BBQ or in the pan.

In a very large pot place:

                                    2 chopped carrots

                                    2 large onions cut in half

                                    1 bulb of garlic, inpeeled but cut in half

                                    4  bay leaves

                                    Some peppercorns

                                    2 celery stalks, chopped

Fill with water to approximately the level  that would cover the ribs if they were in the pot. Boil for about 30 minutes, then add the ribs, cover and simmer for  1 hour. Let the ribs cool at room temperature in a flat pan covered with the sauce.

Sauce:

In Thermomix add some ketchup, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, rice wine vinegar and red pepper flakes –  the sauce should be more brown than red. Heat the mixture on Speed 1/90 degrees/2 minutes or until the sauce bubbles.  Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Cook on Speed 1/50 degrees/ 5 minutes.

Source: http://www.reeds.co.za/sites/reeds.co.za/files/images/blogs/gallery/Pork_Spare_Ribs_tu0605.jpg (accessed 26.1.14)

Tomato pasta sauce

My father in law gave us a plethora of tomatoes from his garden. Husband only eats tomato in bruschetta or on pasta so I to use up the remainder of them I made tomato sauce as the basis for quick and simple pasta when I go back to work for the new year.

I used the tomato pasta sauce recipe in the TM Everyday cookbook - tomatoes, garlic, onion, basil all chopped in thermy then cooked for 30 minutes.  Simple to make and tasted delicious. I can't wait to add it to pasta when the weather cools.

Source: http://cafefernando.com/images/tomatosauce4.jpg (accessed 26.1.14)

Chicken and bacon roll with vegetables

Dad declared that he wanted meat for dinner - this was in the middle of the previous night's meal at a local sushi restaurant. So meat was to be on last night's meal. Husband searched the thermomix websites and cook books until he came up with what he considered a meaty meat dish. 

The Chicken and bacon roll in the TM Meat on the menu cook book fitted that bill. Husband was put in charge of making it. It took longer than the other recipes we have tried because it was fiddly (he had to butterfly the chicken, roll the stuffing into the chicken, and wrap the chicken in bacon). It turned out surprisingly good. The chicken was tender and held it's rolled shape. Next time I would probably make some white wine sauce to accompany the chicken.

I steamed some vegetables and made mashed potato to accompany the meat. 

Dad was happy with his meat meal.

Pizza

Pizza has always been one of those meals we just buy. However, a lot of pizza's upset my tummy so we are limited in where we can get them from and it all got too hard. So we rarely had pizza. Ironically we have more pizza when we are with my niece with coeliac than any other time as we go to Italian restaurants that guarantee gluten free pizza.

Without a doubt my favourite pizza is mushroom pizza, or potato and rosemary pizza (but I have only ever had a few good one's of those in Italy and alas I don't live in Italy so I don't order it here anymore).

My consultant provided me with a link to an amazing perfect pizza dough recipe from the Thermomix online community recipes. O my... too easy! I received the recipe this morning so there was no time for overnight rising in the fridge (next time that will happen). Home made tomato paste, mushrooms and a sprinkling of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. No more store bought pizza's!

Steamed salmon and vegetables

A simple and delicious meal that is on our menu each week. Wanting to continue this weekly meal I decided to give it a try in the thermomix. Corn on the cob took 20 minutes in the bottom tray of the varoma (Varoma/Speed 3). The salmon pieces were put in the top section of the varoma at 7 minutes remaining (this was probably a bit too long). The other vegetables (asparagus, julienned carrot, zucchini, onion) were added to the corn with 4 minutes to go. Delicious!

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFx5Mk3nlmeGlioRqFjFFUyycZgLLl3jMeaFrr30u3WyD4YYn9XdSmg3etgca2UIHBkCXyyig2R5jPsiO_pGYhcEdsPWi0f3hdyUhtz1zVQzayc9eZroPxsMNeQVlRULxMjG3LvkaP6dd/s1600/DSC_0094-1.jpg

(accessed 21.1.14)

Swedish meatballs and mashed potato

The heatwave has abated (and we just retuned from a weekend on the high seas) so there is not much in the cupboard that doesn't involve salads. Swedish meatballs and mashed potato from the Thermomix Meat on the menu book was finally decided upon. The entire meal was cooked in the thermomix, using the varoma to cook the meatballs while the sauce was simmering.

The meatballs were delicious with heaps of additional vegetables hidden in the mix. The sauce was lovely. With mashed potato it was a very cream coloured meal! I had better success with the mashed potato this time by cutting the potato into little cubes.

Smoothies

Smoothies, smoothie & more smoothies

I have been starting each day with a smoothie - experimenting with different ingredients based on what I have in stock:

• Mixed frozen berries, apple juice & ice
• Mixed frozen berries, apple juice, greek yoghurt, banana & ice
• Mixed frozen berries, milk, greek yoghurt, chia seeds, banana & ice

Yummo!

Chicken veloute

This is the Thermomix demo meal. What a success and included leftovers for a quick meal the next night. I am thinking I could use salmon or a firm white fish with this also (though that would be a very white meal!).

I use the Everyday cookbook Potato and leek soup recipe with a dash of dijon mustard added to make the sauce for the chicken. Steam the chicken with some baby thyme leaves in the bottom of the Veroma and vegetables on the top level of the Varoma. Wallah! Impressive and tasty meal.

Berry and oat smoothie

Use of the Thermomix has declined during the heatwave when the BBQ got a workout and simple salads were the focus of our dining.

This morning I made my first smoothie using the Martha Stewart Oatmeal Smoothie recipe. I halved the recipe as I was only making enough for me, used frozen mixed berries, and substituted lactose free milk for coconut water as I didn't have any. It was delicious!!! I don't think I blended it for long enough (1 minute) as there were still small bits of ice but it added crunch it the drink. I will regularly be making this. Today I bought some white chia seeds to be included in the next one.

Source: http://www.marthastewart.com/951433/oatmeal-smoothies (accessed 13 Jan 2014)

Capsicum & sundried tomato dip

From the TM Everyday cookbook, this is incredibly easy to make and very tasty. We didn't add the oil as the sundried tomatoes were in oil. No more store bought dips!

Gruyere souffle

Never having had a souffle husband thought it would be a good idea to make it. I had always heard stories about how hard they are to make and imminent deflation when removed from the oven. 

Husband followed the TM Everyday cookbook Cheese souffle recipe. It worked! Impressive. Tasty, served with a green salad and coleslaw.

Source: http://www.delightdulce.com/2011/11/cheese-souffle.html (31.12.13)

Mayonnaise

As the old year draws to an end and the new year begins, we are preparing our New Years Eve celebration meal in thermy. Why not, it cost a lot!

We need mayonnaise for one of tonight's salads. Mayonnaise was one of those store bought products that I struggled to get gluten free for my niece with coeliac condition. So I found a Donna Hay Basic Mayonnaise recipe that has always been a complete success. Another admission here - I love Donna Hay recipes! They are easy to prepare, tasty and elegant. 

Husband used the TM Everyday cookbook recipe. Complete disaster with curdled mayonnaise.  I don't know if it was whipped for too long (2 minutes 30 seconds) or what but it went down the sink.

I could tell husband was not happy (the comment 'I know I should have just bought some at the supermarket' was a give-away to his mindset). So I suggested we use the Donna Hay recipe https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/basics/basic-mayonnaise and the TM Everyday cookbook method. All ingredients in the bowl 20 seconds Speed 4 then add the oil very slowly through where the MC should be while the butterfly went at Speed 4 and we stopped at 2 minutes.

Complete success!!! Creamy mayo that tasted delicious. 

Source: https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/basics/basic-mayonnaise (accessed 31.12.13)

Ham & cheese scrolls

We got through Christmas without ham...then was given a leg of ham by a friend. So we now have ham, lots and lots of ham.

So Ham, cheese and tomato scrolls were on the menu for lunch. Wow. Using the white bread recipe previously used, husband halved the quantities then added tomato paste, ham and cheese. Wrapped it up like a scroll and cooked in the oven.

Yummo!

Poached eggs

This morning's adventure was poached eggs. I need to preface this with a note that my husband makes phenomenal, restaurant quality poached eggs in a saucepan of water so the eggs would have to be just as good or better in the thermomix.  Were they?  In short no, and they didn't look anything like the picture in the Everyday cookbook (as ours normally do). They were slightly hardboiled but still had runny yolk. They were still nice, served on the last of the bread made the other day and toasted. We will give it a few more tries, adjusting the procedure otherwise it is back to the saucepan.

Mixed berry sorbet

Yummo!!!! We used frozen organic berries from the supermarket.

Again the recipe was from the TM Everyday Cookbook. So yummy. We had issues with getting the second lot of ice to crush, but decided to add the optional egg white which seemed to make a difference and the ice was quickly crushed.

Definitely a must on a hot summer's day menu!

Source: http://foodfilanderer.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/img_2300.jpg

Beef stroganoff & mashed potato

The first real foray into a Thermomix made meal. And what a success!!! Both recipes were from the TM (I am getting used to the jargon) Everyday Cookbook. We had to have the instruction manual open to identify different parts of the Thermomix required for the recipe.

Beef stroganoff
Firstly, the Beef stroganoff worked a treat. So easy! I added extra vegetables as we normally have a minimum of 5 different vegetables every meal.  The stroganoff was made 90 minutes before serving and kept in the Thermoserver. Wow! It was still steaming hot at serving. Leftovers in the freezer for a quick weekday reheat meal.

Mashed potato
The mashed potato was interesting. Creamy, smooth and lovely, just had the consistency of paste. I halved the recipe as there was no way the three of us would eat 1kg of potato. It was very thick and sticky. Some tweaking of the recipe will be needed.

White bread

Today is the first day we have had time to play with the Thermomix with Christmas celebrations taking up most of our time and energy.

We have been making our own bread for a year or so now. I use the term 'we' very loosely...that is my husband's job. We found a no knead, one hour bread recipe that worked most of the time. I perused the Thermomix Everyday cookbook and then read other Thermomix blogs.

I came across the following white bread recipe  http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/node/41833. It worked beautifully, and produced a lovely loaf of white bread. It actually looked like the picture below. Yummo!

Comments on the link indicated that we can use spelt and wholemeal flours. That will be a future bread adventure.

Source: http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/node/41833

Thermomix has arrived!

Yeah!!!! The Thermomix arrived tonight! It was very exciting. Like getting a new car (and given I can get a car for the price of the machine I guess that makes sense).

Our lovely consultant Cassandra talked us through the use of the machine, cleaning and we made our first product - the basic vegetable concentrate.

Basic vegetable concentrate

How easy was that! The hardest thing was buying the ingredients at our local supermarket on a hot summer afternoon. 

All the ingredients were chopped roughly by hand, thrown in to the Thermomix to be chopped some more, cooked then pulverised. 

We don't add salt to anything so were reluctant to add any to the concentrate. In the end we added a bit to assist the preservation of the product. With salt it will last 3 months in the fridge in an air tight jar. I should add a late note here - the recipes we were using did not require the vegetable concentrate/stock. As I didn't add salt, I froze the concentrate in ice cube trays (each ice cube equaled 1 tablespoon) and now have it stored in the freezer.

The parsley was added last and didn't want to be involved in the pre-cook chop. So we just cooked it all and then blasted it with the fastest chopping available. That worked! Our learning thing - parsley should be the first thing to go in.

So now we are ready to go forth and cook with our Thermomix.

First steps....

First steps 

First steps are always the hardest. 

Since loosing my Mum to cancer and my niece diagnosed as Coeliac I have become more aware of the environment around us, the food we eat & the products we use.

I downloaded the 'Chemical Maze' app to identify what did not have gluten in it so my niece could eat the same as everyone else when she was having a meal at our home. One word summed up what I found in the products - scary. I now stick to the outer rim of the supermarket (away from the processed aisles) and buy organic when I can. For a few years we did 'without' the fancy sauces, soup was something I made in bulk & froze, etc etc etc.

Then a friend introduced me to the Thermomix. I was in awe at the demonstration. One little (and yes, very expensive) machine does so much. The food was delicious, and so easy to prepare. The price freaked me out. I could buy a cheap car for that price! My husband and I researched some more and eventually decided to take the plunge and purchase one. We both cook. We both work full time, are primary carers for my Dad, and have two cats and a dog. Our days are filled with work, family and friends. Eating healthy is our priority but it can't be all consuming of our day. There are too many other wonderful things to be doing.

This is our Thermomix story...

http://prestashop.hrnet.netdna-cdn.com/30-174/cartoon-sticker-for-thermomix-tm31.jpg Accessed 11 Dec 2013