Quirky Cooking

Raw Zucchini Pasta with Walnut & Mushroom Sauce {Vegan}

2012-01-24T22:18:00.000+10:00

The other day I was thinking about a recipe I used to love to make called "Mushroom & Cheese Paté". It was from Molly Katzen's wonderful cookbook, "The Enchanted Broccoli Forest" - a vegetarian cookbook with so many creative ideas and lovely pen and ink drawings that it's still a favourite after all these years. It's the kind of book that makes me think of that poem, "Oh for a book and a cosy nook, and oh for a quiet hour..." because I could happily sit and read it for ages.

Well, there's not too many quiet hours around here, but I've managed to finally shoo the kids off to bed and I thought I'd share with you the recipe that came out of my memories of Mushroom Pate...

The original recipe had neufchatel or cream cheese and ricotta cheese in it, which is why I haven't made it in a long time. I had some leftover dairy free sour cream in the fridge, and I thought that it might be a good substitute for the cheeses. Then I remembered seeing a few versions of 'raw walnut and mushroom pate' on the internet (like this one), and I decided to kind of combine the two recipes. Or three.

I planned to make the raw paté for lunch and eat it with raw vege sticks, but my friend Brook was here and we got talking about raw recipes, and I just had to show her my Benriner, which makes the coolest raw vege pasta ever! So the mushroom and walnut pate turned into a creamy, raw, vegan mushroom and walnut pasta sauce, which we ate stirred into raw zucchini pasta. It was delicious!

The only problem I have with raw vege type dishes is that they usually leave me still feeling a bit hungry. So I was pleasantly surprised that this one stayed with me longer than usual - maybe because of the protein in the walnuts. I only needed one small piece of cacao nib almond cake to keep me going til dinner time - amazing! ;)

So here's the very simple recipe - takes hardly any time at all. Oh, and if you don't own a Benriner or vegetable spiralizer of some sort, you can just peel the zucchini with a potato peeler into thin strips. Takes a bit longer, but it's worth it.

Raw Zucchini Pasta with Walnut & Mushroom Sauce
- Serves 2-4 (depending on whether it's a main or a side dish)

1. Soak 1 cup (100g) raw walnuts in water for a few hours, or overnight. (If you forget to do this step, or you're in a hurry, it will work with unsoaked walnuts - just add a couple of tablespoons of water to the recipe.)

2. Grind up in Thermomix on speed 7 for 3 seconds:
- 1 or 2 cloves of garlic

3. Drain the water off the walnuts and place in the Thermomix bowl with the garlic:
- 100g mushrooms
- a small piece of Spanish onion (about a Tablespoon size)
- 3 teaspoons Nama Shoyu or Tamari sauce (or 2 tsp regular soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or a sprinkle of dried thyme)
- a small handful of fresh parsley
- a splash of extra virgin olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4. Chop on speed 5 for a few seconds, until finely chopped, but not completely pulverised.

5. Make your raw zucchini pasta (either with a vege spiralizer, or with a potato peeler) and place in a large serving bowl.
- 2 to 3 raw zucchinis

6. Spoon the sauce over the 'pasta', top with a good sized blob of raw, dairy free sour cream (optional), stir through gently and serve.

Thermomix Menu Plans - 23rd January

2012-01-23T16:02:00.002+10:00

Today is the first day back at school for us, and since I'm a homeschooling mum, I'm surrounded by school books, papers, pencils, children, a noisy bird and a sleepy cat, trying to answer everyone at once... "Mum, I think I've forgotten how to do this!" "Mum, I'm hungry" "Mum, can I read to you?" "Mum, can you score this?" "Mum, I'm starving - when's lunch?" "Mum, I know how to fly airplanes now - I just learnt it in Science!" "Mum, how do you say 'drive' in Spanish?" "Mum, I think I'm going to faint if we don't have lunch soon!!!"... and so on. (Do you see a pattern here?)

Miss C & Shadow working hard... Lol!

Thankfully, I have some good incentives to encourage them to get stuck into their work: "When you're done you can have a piece of this Cacao Nib Almond Cake" and "Get that whole page of sums right and I'll let you play a short game on my iPhone!" (downloading Angry Birds as we speak...) So it's going pretty well here. However, I am a bit slow with the menu plan for the week - my apologies to those of you who have been waiting to link up. Three are finished school for the day, the other one is nearly done, and I'm having a 'blogging break'.

I really wanted to have a blog post done before today with healthy lunch box and snack ideas, but as you can see, I haven't had time yet. Maybe later this week when we're down at the beach for a short holiday... yay!! Yes, I know, strange time to take a holiday when school's just started, but we haven't had a chance to go away since last year and hubby has a few days off, so we're disappearing for a few days. (That's one of the things I love about homeschooling - it's so flexible.) I'll be taking Thermie with me (of course!) so we can keep eating healthy, delicious, low cost meals and snacks. I don't mind cooking when we're on holidays, as long as I have the Thermomix - it's so quick and easy it really isn't a bother. Although we usually have one or two meals out just for fun :)

So here's my plan for this week - feel free to post a link to your menu plan below. (Here's how.) And if you have any healthy lunch box ideas, I'd love to hear about them - leave a comment below, or come and have a chat on my Facebook page. Have a great week!

Gluten free pizza base

Monday:
(lunch) Baked potatoes, dairy free sour cream (tmx) & raw vege sticks
(dinner) Lamb & salad pizza with gluten free pizza base (tmx - base with lamb mince is cooked in oven then topped with salad and dairy free sour cream)

Tuesday:
(lunch) Raw vegan mushroom pate (tmx) with raw vege sticks & Cyndi O'Meara's gluten free bread (tmx)
(dinner) Steak, carrot & grape salad (tmx), and spinach & orange salad (from Rainbow Recipes)

Wednesday:
(lunch) Leftover salads & mushroom pate, boiled eggs (tmx), green smoothie (tmx)
(dinner) Chicken curry with sticky rice (all in one tmx meal), green salad, raw vege sticks

Thursday:
(lunch) Vege pasta (tmx - double batch for 2 meals), green salad
(dinner) Dinner out

Friday:
(lunch) Vege pasta (leftovers), raw vege sticks, green smoothie (tmx)
(dinner) Dinner out

Saturday:
(lunch) Steamed buns filled with spicy mince (made in tmx, steamed in Varoma) with salad
(dinner) Baked potato wedges, lightly steamed broccoli, peas & corn, (tmx) and raw vege sticks & green juice (tmx)

Sunday:
(lunch) Roast chicken & veges (gravy in tmx) with a big green salad
(dinner) Leftovers with spelt bread rolls, green smoothie (tmx)

Green Juice

Okay, all the schoolwork is done and I'd better dash off to the shop and do my grocery shopping for the week. You can share your menu by linking up below... and don't forget to leave a comment - I'd love to hear from you. :)

Thermomix Menu Plans - 16th January

2012-01-16T08:32:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone! What's been cooking at your place lately? We've been enjoying all the fresh fruit and veges and the hot weather (well, most of the time) and having lots of delicious salads, sorbets, and smoothies. It's so much easier to eat more raw in this weather! Now to keep it up when the weather gets cooler...

I'm working on having at least half raw food (mostly salads, fruit, green smoothies, and fresh juices) in our families' diet - it's something that takes planning ahead and persistance. The menu plan helps, as well as the fresh, local veges from our vege box co-op. Sometimes the kids don't like the salad, (or something IN the salad which they want to pick out), but our new rule is 'half your plate must be raw', and if they come back for seconds of the cooked food, they also have to take the same amount of raw. So we're working on it. I'm a firm believer that if kids are hungry enough, they'll eat what they're given. And if they're not, they can wait til the next meal. :) One thing I love about eating this way is there's less cooking to do - a lot of the main meals can be stretched to two meals because the raw stuff bulks it out. Great tip for big families - eat more salads! I haven't put a lot of detail in my menu plan about what's in all the salads, as it depends what I get in my box. Here's one I came up with last week to use up the raw corn, capsicums, avocadoes, coriander, limes and tomatoes in my vege box: Tex-Mex Raw Corn Salad.

Mangosteen

It's easy to eat lots of fresh fruit here in Far North Queensland - there's such a great variety of delicious and interesting fruits, you could never get bored! This is a mangosteen - if you haven't tried them, you need to!! Amazingly delicious - it's just a pity they're so small. I could eat them all day. They're a bit like a lychee, but more tart, with little segments you break off, some with seeds and some without. We've been getting these in our vege box lately and loving them.

This Saturday (9am to 12pm) I will be helping out with an Open Day for the Atherton Wellbeing Clinic. If any of you locals would like to come along and have a look, there will be talks about detoxing, healthy aging, women's health, good posture and its' importance, dealing with stress, plus a live blood analysis demo and a question & answer session. I'll be demonstrating how to make some gluten free, dairy free, naturally sweetened, additive free foods using the Thermomix. Oh, and there'll be free goody bags! Let me know if you're interested in coming. This is the naturopathy clinic where I received the help I needed when I was sick and exhausted a few years ago - I highly recommend them!

So what's on the menu at your place this week? We enjoyed the cauliflower rice (Mock Rice) last week, with a Thai chicken satay kind of sauce - all except one child who thought he was going to die... Ah well, there's always one. He'll get used to it. ;) I didn't get everything on the menu cooked as we had unexpected things come up, so some of last week's recipes are on this week's menu again.

Here's our menu plan for the week - please come and join in the menu planning and post a link to your blog, site or public Facebook page so we can all get some new ideas! To link up, see Thermomix Menu Plans for instructions, and don't forget to leave a comment so I know you've linked. If you just want some ideas for starting menu planning, see How to Menu Plan. Have a great week!

Monday:

(lunch) Salad sandwiches with spelt bread (tmx)

(dinner) Beef Rendang (EDC) with steamed sticky rice (cooking together in Thermomix - curry in the bowl, sticky rice steaming on top)

Tuesday:

(lunch) Tuna pasta (one bowl - tmx) and raw vege sticks

(dinner) Fish (steamed in tmx), smashed potatoes (boiled, 'smashed', then drizzled with olive oil and baked), dairy free sour cream, leafy green salad with 'cheesey' sesame dressing (dressing made in tmx - recipe coming)

Wednesday:

(lunch) Thermomix risotto, beetroot salad, sorbet, dip, etc - (training a new consultant!)

(dinner) Lentil bolognese (tmx) on brown rice (tmx) with beetroot salad and leafy green salad

Lentil Bolognese

Thursday:

(lunch) out

(dinner) Quinoa chicken salad (tmx) haven't actually figured out a recipe for this one, but I'm sure I'll come up with something!

Friday:

(lunch) out

(dinner) Spaghetti (spelt) and meatballs (all in one meal using varoma to cook meatballs while pasta & sauce cook in bowl) with mixed salads

Saturday:

(lunch) Cooking at the Atherton Wellbeing Clinic's open day - come along and have a look!

(dinner) Leftovers and green smoothies

Sunday:

(lunch) Thai beef salad

(dinner) Bread, salad, fruit - Sunday afternoon I usually make bread... how about a Fish Bread just for fun? I made this for my friend's little boy who was turning 1...

Come on and add your menu to the list!

Tex-Mex Raw Corn Salad

2012-01-14T19:57:00.000+10:00

Last night I was in the mood for a big, fresh salad. I'm enjoying having more raw these days. I'm trying to serve up at least 50% raw fruit and veges at mealtimes, plus fruit and veges at snack times either on their own, or in smoothies, juices and sorbets. I had lots of pesticide free, local, fresh fruit and veges in my CSA vege box, so I decided to experiment with what I had, and this is what I came up with. I loved it, but one of my kids wasn't too keen on the fresh coriander... he picked every little bit out! My sister's the same - she hates the stuff. So if you are one of those strange people who can't stand coriander, swap it for cilantro or Italian parsley. Or maybe a little fresh oregano or basil.

I decided to make this a Tex-Mex style salad, but I didn't add jalapenos because although the hubby loves them, the kids don't like things too hot. If you like a bit more of a 'bite' to your salad, add a few chopped up jalapenos or maybe a few splashes of jalapeno Tabasco sauce.

I did add some Natural Mesquite Liquid Smoke, which is a real Texan thing and you may not have heard of it... I got mine from Texas, but apparently you can now buy it from USA Foods here in Australia. It is an 'all-natural liquid smoke with no additives or preservatives'. I love the flavour of mesquite smoke, so now and then I'll use a little. You don't need much. It's great on barbequed meats too!

Tex-Mex Raw Corn Salad

1. Cut corn kernels off the cobs and tip into a large salad bowl:

- 5 fresh cobs of corn

2. Mince garlic in Thermomix on speed 7 for 3 seconds:

- 1 or 2 cloves raw garlic

3. Add dressing ingredients to the Thermomix bowl and mix on speed 6 for 5 seconds:

- 4 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

- 2 big Tablespoons of raw honey

- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

- 1/2 teaspoon Mexican chilli powder (or more to taste)

- 50g extra virgin olive oil

- pinch sea salt or herb salt

- freshly ground pepper

- a few dashes of Natural Mesquite Liquid Smoke (optional)

4. Add and mix on speed 4 for 5 seconds:

- half a red capsicum, deseeded

- half a green capsicum, deseeded

- quarter of a red onion (or more if you like)

- a handful of fresh coriander or cilantro or parsley

Tip the chopped veges and dressing into the salad bowl with the corn.

5. Add to salad bowl and mix through gently:

- some halved cherry tomatoes or cubed tomatoes

- a handful of roughly sliced snow peas or sugar snap peas

- an avocado, cubed

- a sliced shallot

- 1 tin of black beans or kidney beans or mixed beans

Optional: add some sliced jalapenos, or some jalapeno Tabasco sauce for extra kick!

This is delicious served with barbequed steak or grilled chicken, or as a side dish with Fajitas.

Thermomix Menu Plan - 9th January

2012-01-09T23:47:00.000+10:00

So sorry everyone - I'm LATE!!! So much going on today - people coming and going, a demo at my place... only just sitting down to plan the menu now. I have been thinking about it though. I'm working on getting more raw foods into our diet. My goal is 50% raw (fruit & veges). Lots of you have shared some great links to raw food websites on my facebook page - thank you for that! So here's my ideas for this week - very basic as I'm in a rush, but I'm sure there'll be lots more ideas shared around here.

Thanks for stopping by, and make sure you check out the other links to Thermomix Menu Plans at the bottom of the page. And feel free to join in and post your menu plan too! Have a great week :)

Delicious avocado topping for a dairy free, mostly raw pizza!

Monday:

(lunch) Raw pasta sauce on raw zucchini 'noodles'; leftover roast lamb in wraps with salad (wraps made with my spelt tortillas)

(dinner) Varoma demo here

Tuesday:

(lunch) Leftover salad, soup, gluten free pizza bread and spinach & avocado salad

(dinner) Hamburgers (without the buns), salad, raw vege sticks, chocolate green smoothie for dessert

Wednesday:

(lunch) Baked potatoes, green smoothie-juice, raw vege spirals

(dinner) Fish, mock rice (lightly steamed cauliflower 'rice') and thai-ish sauce and a green salad

Thursday:

(lunch) Spelt pizza bread with raw toppings (dairy free) - avocado, veges, etc

(dinner) Lamb pasta (with leftover roast lamb, gf pasta), raw vege sticks, green smoothie-juice

Friday:

(lunch) Out

(dinner) Potato & egg salad (steamed in Varoma) with homemade garlic & herb mayo, and lots of raw veges mixed in after it's cooked, green smoothie-juice

Saturday:

(lunch) Beef curry (double batch) with raw mock rice (cauliflower) and raw vege sticks

(dinner) Pumpkin 'lasagne' (thin slices of steamed pumpkin instead of noodles, dairyfree), big green salad

Sunday:

(lunch) Leftover beef curry on rice with salads

(dinner) Spelt bread, raw vege sticks, chocolate green smoothie

Post your menu plan below!

Homemade Ferrero Rocher Chocolates (Dairy free & Gluten free!)

2012-01-07T07:00:00.000+10:00

I've been meaning to post this recipe since before Christmas, as this was one of my Christmas treat ideas - homemade Ferrero Rochers that are gluten free and dairy free! But in the holiday rush, they never actually got made. Well... I got a few made, but I ate them as quick as I made them, so there never were enough to put in the kid's Christmas stockings, or to take to the parties I intended to take them to! *grins sheepishly*

I think I should warn you that these are very dangerous, and should only be made when you are really full and don't feel like eating any chocolate. Unless you have super-human self control - then just go ahead and make them anytime. ;)

At least they're pretty healthy. That's my excuse anyway.

My recipe is simply a homemade nutella type chocolate mixture (based on my hazelnut chocolate spread recipe), molded around a roasted hazelnut and coated in crushed, roasted hazelnuts. I didn't bother with the biscuit layer - too tricky, and besides, I wanted them to be gluten free. And I never got around to coating them with chocolate - maybe next time. I thought they were chocolatey enough without the extra chocolate coating, and besides, I wanted to hurry up and eat them so I didn't want to take the time for an extra step! But if you're feeling industrious, and you have the self-control to not eat them all before you actually get the chocolate ready to dip them in, here's my recipe for homemade chocolate, which I think would work best because it's quite thin before it's set, so it would be easy to coat the balls with.

Homemade Ferrero Rocher Chocolates

(Dairy Free & Gluten Free!)

First you need to roast the hazelnuts (if they're not already roasted):

- Spread about 3 cups of raw hazelnuts on a baking tray (in a single layer) and roast at 180 degrees C for about 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until slightly browned. (I buy my nuts bulk from Trumps through a co-op, so it's not so expensive.)

Then once they're cool, rub the skins off as best you can, either with your hands, or in a tea towel. Discard skins.

Take a third of the nuts and set them aside. Roughly chop the other two thirds in the Thermomix by pulsing a few times with Turbo speed. Check in between pulses so you don't overdo it.

Now make the hazelnut chocolate for the centre:

1. Grind in Thermomix on speed 9 for 10 seconds:

- 90g Rapadura

2. Add and grind on speed 9 for 10 seconds:

- 60g roasted hazelnuts

3. Then add and grind again for 10 seconds:
- 50g good quality, dairy free dark chocolate broken into pieces
(70-85% cocoa dairy free chocolate - I use Lindt)

4. Add and heat for 6 minutes, 60 degrees, speed 3:

- 20g cacao powder (or good quality cocoa)

- 50g rice/almond milk or other milk

- 70g coconut oil (I use a flavourless variety for this recipe)

5. Scrape the chocolate mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for a few hours until very firm. (Or pop it in the freezer if you're in a hurry!)

Once your chocolate has set, you can make the balls. You need to work quick, as the chocolate gets too soft to work with after a while.

Take a thin scoop of the chocolate mixture with a teaspoon, and put a roasted hazelnut on top. Mold the chocolate around the hazelnut to form a rough ball.

Roll the balls in the crushed hazelnuts, squishing them into shape as you go. Place the balls on a plate or in a container, and keep them in the fridge as you make them. They do melt pretty quickly as I found out when trying to take photos of them... I got distracted with a phone call and came back to soggy chocolate balls. So I had to eat them. ;)

Once they're firm, you could dip them in melted, tempered chocolate, then re-chill. I wrapped them in little squares of foil, but it's not really necessary - the nuts keep them from sticking together.

You can keep these in the fridge or freezer - they keep well for ages. That is, if they're well hidden!

Thermomix Menu Plans - 2nd January and a GIVEAWAY!!

2012-01-01T23:59:00.000+10:00

Happy New Year!

Well, we're starting the New Year off with a bang! And no, I don't mean fireworks, (they're kind of rare in this neck of the woods), I mean we're straight back into life going 'full steam ahead'! I shouldn't complain, I've had a quiet month (workwise), and a much needed rest (partly enforced by the flu)... now it's time to get stuck back into it. This week there's lots of social stuff going on, as well as a couple of demos (lots more of those planned this month), and I really need to do a spring clean and catch up on paperwork and school preparation and do some work on my cookbook... phew! Getting tired just thinking about it all. But hey, I'd rather jump into the New Year with both feet than be sitting around bored. I always tell my kids, 'Only boring people get bored!' Don't you agree? :)

So with all that's going on this week, I'm going to need to keep my energy up with healthy, wholesome meals, green smoothies and Crio Brü! Have you heard of Crio Brü? It's made of ground up, roasted cocoa beans which you brew like ground coffee - no additives or junk - full of healthy, energy-boosting minerals and antioxidants, and it tastes great! Because the beans are roasted and brewed, it has 'the consistency, roasted flavor and complexity of a fine coffee, yet because it is made with cocoa beans, its primary flavors are chocolatey.' You can drink it just like you would brewed coffee, with milk and sugar if you like (or in my case, rapadura and coconut cream), but my favourite way to drink it is actually just black, as the flavour is more intense. Without milk and sugar, it smells like chocolate but the flavour is very similar to coffee. With milk and sugar it's more like drinking cocoa.

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to cut down on sugar (of any kind, even rapadura - help!), and black tea, and the occasional coffee. So I'm really pleased I've found Crio Brü as it's a delicious and healthy alternative to tea and coffee. I started drinking Crio Brü when I was sick, (I drank it black and unsweetened), and I was amazed that it seemed to help settle my tummy. With brewed coffee, I find it bothers my tummy if I have very much, as the caffeine and chlorogenic acid in coffee affect the stomach lining, and cause an increase in gastric juices. I don't get an upset stomach with Crio Brü, or the shakiness which I get if I have a cup of strong coffee, so I'm loving it!

I'm really wanting to share the love with you all, because you've all been so wonderful this past year, supporting my blog and passing it on to friends, coming to have a chat both here and on my Facebook page - you guys are great! And as you may have noticed, last week was my blog's third birthday... So as a big THANK YOU for all your support, and because the Crio Brü team have been so kind in donating it, I have a special gift to give away this week! YIPPEE!! Who doesn't like presents - especially one as cool as this one?! Check it out... I love my Bodum travel mug. It's all stainless steel inside, no plastic lining.

Win this super cool, stainless steel
Bodum travel mug

and a 340g bag of Crio Brü Cavalla!

(As shown in the picture below, valued at $70, postage included)

It's really easy to enter - all you have to do is:

1. ‘Like’ the Crio Brü facebook page

2. Then, post on their wall ‘Quirky Jo sent me!’

Too easy, huh! So go on, do it now... you've only got three days!! The prize will be randomly drawn on Thursday, so don't miss out. Pass it on to your friends, share it on Facebook, and if you don't win, make sure you order some Crio Brü to try for yourself - I'm sure you'll love it too. :)

(By the way, the chocolate covered cocoa beans are AWESOME - and there's no nasty additives in the chocolate - just a little sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla beans. No dairy, soy, gluten, nuts, etc, either.)

Okay, so on to my menu plan for this week... I'm continuing with the Varoma recipes theme, as there's so, so many good ones to choose from, and I really want to encourage you all to use your Thermomix to it's full potential. So if you haven't used your Varoma for a while, dust it off and try one of these. Don't forget to check out the other menus linked to this page - you're sure to find lots of inspiration. And feel free to link yours up too - for instructions on what to do, see this post about Thermomix Menu Plans. If you just want to know where to start in planning your own menu, see How to Menu Plan. And please don't forget to leave a comment if you link up, so I know you're there and can pop over and have a look at your page. :) Have a great week, and all the best for the New Year!

Sunny Scalloped Eggs & Silverbeet or Broccoli

Monday:
(lunch) With friends - taking Breudher and Thermie (to make whatever they want to make - her Thermomix is on it's way!) The Breudher is prepared and frozen, but uncooked - I'll thaw it out and cook it this morning. It's always nicest hot from the oven.
(dinner) Sunny Scalloped Eggs & Silverbeet - silverbeet (or broccoli) steams in the Varoma while eggs 'boil' (steam) in the basket in the bowl, then it's layered with a white or mushroom sauce and veges, and topped with buttered crumbs and baked.

Tuesday:
(lunch) Varoma demo here - if you've never been to a Varoma demo, the menu is: Fruity dream; pizza bianca; sun-dried tomato & red capsicum dip; dressing made from some of the dip; creamy chickpea and vegetable soup which cooks in the bowl while pumpkin, chicken & couscous (or quinoa) steam on top in the Varoma; warm chicken, pumpkin & couscous (or quinoa) salad, either Italian style or Moroccan style; and steamed lemon & coconut puddings with citrus syrup... deeeelicious!!
(dinner) Leftovers (plus more salad if needed) and steak.

Wednesday:
(lunch) Baked potatoes & salad
(dinner) Spaghetti & meatballs - pasta sauce cooks in bowl with meatballs steaming in Varoma; raw pasta is added to sauce towards end of cooking time to cook in bowl while meatballs finish cooking. I add lots of veges to the sauce, and just a little meat.

Thursday:
(lunch) Fish with tomato and potatoes (based on Salt Cod with Tomato and Potatoes on pg. 82 of Full Steam Ahead - the Thermomix Varoma cookbook) - the red sauce cooks in the bowl while the fish steams in the Varoma, you cook potato & capsicum slices in the bowl next (or in a pan at the same time if in a hurry!), then layer the sauce, veges and fish in a baking dish and top with homemade aoli and grill for 5 minutes to brown. Really yummy!
(dinner) Out

Steamed potato salad

Friday:
(lunch) Chicken & potato salad with sun-dried tomato mayonnaise - an old favourite!
(dinner) Risotto with whatever's in the fridge

Saturday:
(lunch) Vege pasta - tomato-vege pasta sauce cooking in bowl with spiralized vege 'pasta' steaming in Varoma - a grain free pasta - cutting down on grains is another one of my New Year's Resolutions! (Check out the Benriner if you haven't seen them - make your own 'pasta' from fresh vegetables)
(dinner) Beef Rendang with sticky rice - curry cooking in bowl, sticky rice steaming in Varoma. (See method here)

Sunday:
(lunch) Roast lamb & veges with steamed bread rolls (Varoma) - To steam your bread rolls, just make the dough as usual, rise once, then form into small rolls and place on pieces of baking paper in the Varoma, leaving spaces for the steam to get through. Sprinkle them with sesame seeds if you like. Let them rise for 10 minutes or so, then steam at Varoma temp for 20 minutes, speed 1. You can have a soup or sauce cooking underneath at the same time if you like, or just cover the blades with water. (May take 25 minutes, depending on size.)
(dinner) Leftovers

Oh, and here's another steamed bread option that we love - I'm going to fit this into the menu somewhere this week too: Chocolate Filled Steamed Buns with Cherry Sauce (my version of the one in the Thermomix Full Steam Ahead cookbook).

So what's on your menu this week? Link up with Mr Linky below, and don't forget to leave a comment! Or if you don't have a site to link to, just add your menu in the comments below. Thanks, and have a great week.

Vietnamese Fish Curry with Sticky Rice

2011-12-28T17:37:00.002+10:00

Don't you just LOVE sticky rice? We do! I actually only tasted it for the first time a few months ago at a Vietnamese cooking course run by Geraldine of Rainforest Bounty, and came home and made it for my family, who were instantly addicted! First let me tell you a little about the Rainforest Bounty Cooking School...

Geraldine of Rainforest Bounty Cooking School -

environmental scientist and talented cook!

The Rainforest Bounty Cooking School is in the edge of the rainforest, close to the base of Bartle Frere, on the Atherton Tablelands (about 15 minutes drive from where I live). You can choose from Vietnamese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Laos/Thai, Middle Eastern or Mediterranean classes. It's a 'paddock to plate' class, beginning with morning tea and a chat about the wonderful bounty found in our north Queensland rainforest, and what it can be used for (including sampling Geraldine's gourmet Rainforest Bounty condiments). Then it's on with the gumboots and off to the garden and native fruit orchards to learn more about the local 'bush tucker', gathering what's needed for the class as we go...

Ingredients for the class are from the rainforest orchard and kitchen garden, together with Rainforest Bounty gourmet condiments, as well as heirloom varieties of fruit and vegetables sourced from local organic farmers, fishermen, gardeners and artisanal producers.

Then it's back to the kitchen where the fun begins...

Making rice noodles and preparing banana flowers for the

banana flower with rainforest lemon salad.

(By the way, you don't eat the purple bits, they're for decoration.

Or the blossoms. Just part of the white, inner leaves.)

I highly recommend the Rainforest Bounty classes - they're a lot of fun and you'll learn heaps! Geraldine has lived, worked and travelled extensively in South East Asia, and is a great teacher. To see more photos, check out my Facebook page.

Anyway, back to the sticky rice... as you can see in the photo above, sticky rice is steamed, not boiled. This is the traditional way of cooking it - in a bamboo mat/funnel kind of thing over a pot of boiling water, with a cloth draped over it to keep the steam in. It must be soaked first for at least six hours. My friend Bel and I were watching the rice being cooked, and thinking there must be a way to do it in the Varoma (steamer) of the Thermomix. And there is! The great thing about it is that you can also cook your curry at the same time as the rice steams!!

I love all-in-one Thermomix meals that make the most of the Varoma, so I was very pleased to find a recipe in the Travelling with Thermomix cookbook that uses this method of cooking sticky rice. (If you're lucky enough to have a copy of this hard-to-get cookbook, the recipe is 'Stewed Beef with Tamarind and Sticky Rice' in the Thai section.) This is a great way to cook rice if you want to cook a lot - you can fit much more rice in the Varoma than you can in the rice basket. Of course, regular rice needs to be cooked in the basket where the water can whoosh through it, but sticky rice cooks perfectly in the Varoma as it only needs steam to cook. Don't forget you need to soak it for at least six hours first though, so plan ahead.

Here's my version of Geraldine's Vietnamese Fish Curry - I've changed a few of the ingredients to make it more to my taste, and converted it to the Thermomix... so it may not be quite so authentic now, but it's still very yummy! Hope you like it :)

Vietnamese Fish Curry with Sticky Rice

1. First, get the rice soaking. I soak mine in the Thermoserver all day, then cook this for dinner at night. You at least need 6 hours of soaking time.
- Glutinous rice (the amount is up to you - you can just use 300g if cooking for a small family, right up to the whole packet for a large family!)
- water to cover

2. An hour before dinner time, start preparing the curry. First you need to make the paste. Mix together in the Thermomix on speed 9 for 15 seconds:
- 2 medium tomatoes, halved
- 1 tsp Rainforest Fruits Jeowbong (this is a prize-winning Rainforest Bounty chilli paste which you can order online; or you could substitute it with a rich, fruity, thick chilli paste of your choice)
- 1 medium red chilli, deseeded (I leave this out as my kids don't like it too hot)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 inches fresh turmeric (or 2 tsps dried turmeric powder)
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- 1 inch fresh galangal (if you can find it!)
- 2 tsp palm sugar
- 2 tsp chicken stock paste (great for flavour, but could use fish or vege stock paste)
- 2 shallots (white part only, save green parts for later)
- 1/2 tsp good quality fish sauce
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- 1 tsp lemon aspen juice (or a squeeze of lemon juice)
- 2 Tblspns gf soy sauce or tamari

3. Pour half the paste into a bowl, and set aside the remaining paste in another bowl. Cube the fish, and leave it to marinate while you prepare the curry sauce:
- 600g fresh, firm-fleshed white fish (cut in 2cm cubes)

4. Heat the oil in the Thermomix on 100 degrees for 2 mins, speed 1:
- 1 Tblspn coconut oil

5. Add the remaining paste and cook for 4 minutes at 100 degrees, speed 2. Meanwhile, strain the water off the rice and tip it into the Varoma dish, poking a hole in the middle for the steam to get through.

6. Add pumpkin, coconut milk and lemon grass to bowl, place Varoma on top, and cook at Varoma temperature for 25 minutes, reverse speed soft:
- 500g pumpkin, cut in 2cm cubes
- 500ml coconut milk (you can make your own!)
- 2 stalks of lemon grass (white part only), bruised (not chopped - just crush with flat side of large knife)... OR, if you can't get lemon grass, chop up the green parts of the shallots and throw them in instead, saving some for the garnish.

7. Remove Varoma and check if the rice is cooked. It will be all stuck together, so don't stir it too much, just push the sides in a bit with a fork if they need more cooking, and re-poke the hole in the middle.

8. Add the fish and paste to the Thermomix bowl, replace Varoma, and cook for 5 minutes at Varoma temp, reverse, speed soft. If you're worried the fish may break up, you can insert the butterfly.

9. Serve it up... If you want to keep the rice 'sticky', serve it next to the curry, as it 'unsticks' once it gets wet. (The kids love to make balls of rice with their fingers and pop them in their mouths - that's half the fun!) Garnish individual serves with sliced shallots.

I hope you enjoy it as much as my kids do!!

Thermomix Menu Plan - 26th December and Happy Birthday Quirky Cooking!

2011-12-26T19:52:00.001+10:00

Hi everyone, I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas weekend with plenty of delicious food! From the comments on my facebook page, I'm pretty sure there was some amazing Thermomix cooking going on out there. Our kids have been enjoying their homemade treats in their Christmas stockings. In fact, they were sent some lollies from the USA for Christmas, and much preferred the homemade ones - yay!! (One of the boys had a few licks of his lollipop then said, 'Mum, do I have to eat this??' Music to my ears!)

Christmas with family & friends

I know a few of you received the extra-special present of a THERMOMIX for Christmas - congratulations!!! I hope these menu plans will be helpful to you in knowing where to start, and inspire you to use your Thermomix to it's full potential. (At the bottom of the page are links to other sites with Thermomix menu plans, so check them out too!) If you'd like some more ideas for starting off with Thermomix cooking, and how to convert your own recipes for the Thermomix, check out this post: Converting Recipes for the Thermomix. And please join us on my Quirky Cooking Facebook Page for tips, links to recipes, and lots of Thermomix chatting. :)

Guess what? Today is the third birthday of Quirky Cooking!! Thank you all for following and commenting and helping to make this blog (and my facebook page) a great place to get some Thermomix inspiration... I've enjoyed chatting with many of you, and hope to 'meet' many more. Hopefully the new year will see Quirky Cooking becoming not only a blog, but a Thermomix cookbook too! Exciting times ahead... I'll be letting you all know of a couple of birthday giveaways very soon - just as soon as I can get them posted! So stay tuned for the chance to win.

* * * * * * *

I've found a lot of Thermomix owners don't use the Varoma as much as they could, and don't seem to know where to start with it. I use mine pretty much every day - it's very easy to use, and it's not just for steaming veges. If you haven't had a Varoma demo yet, you really should book one in - for one thing, the food is delicious, and for another, you'll be inspired to use your Varoma a lot more! To help you with some simple Varoma meal ideas, I've planned all Varoma meals this week. There are so many more that we make on a regular basis, like Chicken & Cashews with Coconut Rice and Coconut Satay Sauce, Sausage Casserole with Dumplings, steamed fish with rice and veges, potato salad, spaghetti and meatballs, steamed cakes... the list goes on. I'd love to hear from you what your favourite Varoma dishes are - leave a comment below and share your ideas. And if you have a Thermomix menu plan of your own on a blog, website, or public facebook page, please feel free to link up and share it with everyone! Have a great week.

One of our favourite Varoma recipes: Chicken & Cashews

with Coconut Rice & Coconut Satay Sauce

Monday:
     Steak with mashed potatoes & veges: Steak cooked in pan (with a couple of ground beef patties made with some of the steak, minced in the tmx - my daughter won't eat steak); potatoes cooked in tmx bowl while veges steam above in Varoma. (Use 200g milk, 200g water, 1kg cubed potatoes & seasonings in bowl; thinly sliced veges in Varoma tray; cook for 25 mins at Varoma temp speed 1. Remove Varoma, insert butterfly in bowl and mash potatoes on speed 4 for 20 seconds.) Takes 25 minutes. 6-8 serves.

Tuesday:
     Tomato pasta with vegetables (pg 72 in the Thermomix Vegetarian Cookbook): Vegetarian pasta sauce cooks in the tmx bowl while lots of sliced veges & herbs steam on top in the Varoma, with fetta if you like. You could crumble some macadamia cheese on top instead of fetta for a dairy free option, or just leave it out. (I cook it for 20 minutes at Varoma temp, then add 250g gluten free pasta to the sauce (uncooked pasta) and continue to cook for another 8 minutes. Mix pasta sauce & veges all together in a big serving bowl.) Takes about 30 minutes. 8 or so serves, depending on how much veges you use.

Wednesday:
     Vietnamese fish curry & sticky rice: Curry sauce cooks in tmx bowl while sticky rice (presoaked) cooks on top in Varoma. Cubed fish is added to the curry in the last few minutes of cooking time. Takes 30 minutes, makes about 8 serves. (Recipe coming!)

Thursday:
     Meatloaf & veges with red sauce (pg 100 in the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook): Meatloaf is made by mincing up cubed beef, bread, parmesan (opt), veges, herbs & egg in tmx and making into loaf which is placed in Varoma. The sauce cooks in the bowl while the meatloaf and veges steam in the Varoma. Makes a large amount of the tasty sauce, which is great as the base of a pasta sauce or soup for another meal. Takes 40 minutes. Serves 6 (plus leftover sauce).

Friday:
     Chinese white chicken with steamed veges, rice & an Asian sauce: A whole chicken steams in the Varoma; towards end of cooking time, water is topped up to a litre and rice basket with basmati rice is added; broccoli, carrot & bok choy added to Varoma tray, around chicken and cooked until all done. Sauce is made from remaining stock in bowl with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, shallots. Chicken is very white, tender and juicy! Takes about 1 hour. Serves 6-8.

Saturday:
     Pork & Chicken Terrine (pg 18 Thermomix Festive Flavour cookbook - out of print at the moment sadly): This is a delicious recipe where pork and chicken are minced in the tmx; mixed with herbs, garlic and onion (chopped, and sauteed in wine in the tmx), pistachios, craisins (or prunes) & baby spinach; made into a roll and wrapped in bacon, and steamed. It's lovely hot or cold. We'll be having it cold at a New Year's Eve party. The recipe says to cook it over water, but if you want a bigger meal, you can have a soup cooking in the bowl while the terrine steams on top. Takes about 50 minutes. Serves 6-8.
     Also making some Fried Rice in the Varoma - quick and easy!! (Takes 25 minutes, serves about 8-10) and Breudher - Dutch New Year's Cake to share with friends.

Breudher - Dutch New Year's Cake

A delicious yeast cake recipe which makes 3 or 4 cakes/loaves

from the one recipe, perfect for sharing with family and friends

as a New Year's gift.

Sunday - New Year's Day:
Baked Ham, Roast Lamb, veges & gravy (tmx)... New Year's lunch with family.
Leftovers, warmed up in the Varoma (for evening meal): I don't have a microwave (I prefer not to), I use the Varoma to heat up leftovers. Just pour 1 litre of boiling water in the tmx bowl (or boil in there if you like), place leftovers in the Varoma (two layers if you need them) and cook at Varoma temp for 15 minutes, speed 1. You can put a piece of baking paper in each layer if your leftovers are things that will drip through, or to keep the flavours separate. You can also have a soup or pasta sauce in the bowl cooking instead of water, while the leftovers warm up on top - that way if you only have a few leftovers this helps to bulk out the meal. (With pasta sauce, cook for 10-15 minutes then add 250-300g raw pasta and cook another 8-10 minutes.)

And here's a quick and easy dessert using your Varoma - Steamed Chocolate Mudcakes with Orange Sabayon...

Stocking Stuffers

2011-12-20T22:15:00.000+10:00

Christmas stockings are one of the best things about Christmas morning. It's like having a lucky dip all to yourself, with lots of little parcels and goodies to unwrap, making the present-opening-fun last a little bit longer.

Christmas just wouldn't be the same to me without a stocking. (Although it's not quite as exciting as it used to be now that I have to fill my own stocking!) My kids get so excited and dump everything out on the floor to rifle through their treasures, shooting off party poppers, blowing party blowers, opening everything edible all at once and revelling in the fact that it's all theirs!! And it really doesn't matter if the gifts inside are not expensive or amazing - just the fact that they are surprises seems to be enough.

I never fill my kid's stockings with sweets - they have a few, but I also add in lots of other things so they don't get too much of a sugar rush. This year I decided that instead of buying lots of little packets and treats from the shop, I would make all the treats myself. That way I know for sure what's in them, and can cut down on the refined sugars, additives, preservatives, colours, and who knows what else that are in most lollies and snacks.

Here's some great ideas for stocking stuffers, with links to recipes for making your own healthier sweet & savoury treats, as well as small gifts that our kids love finding in their stockings on Christmas morning. For extra fun, make sure you gift wrap every little treat and toy - the kids love that! (And I'm sure the adults do too - we all revert to childhood on Christmas morning...) Feel free to share your favourite stocking stuffer ideas in the comments below!

Homemade Treats . . .

Dried mango & banana; homemade toffees

~ Dried mango, banana, berries, peaches, nectarines: Buy whatever fruit is in season when it's on special, and dehydrate thin slices in a food dehydrator, pop in little sandwich bags, and tie with a ribbon. My kids LOVE dried mango and banana and will eat them like lollies. If you can't dry your own, buy some dried mango and banana, but make sure it doesn't contain sugar and preservatives. It may seem expensive, but it's better than buying lollies!

~ Fruit rollups: Again, make your own in a dehydrator with whatever fruit is in season. Puree the fresh fruit in the Thermomix, and spread it thinly on greased dehydrator sheets. If you don't have a dehydrator, you can spread the fruit puree on a silicon mat on an oven tray and bake at a very low temperature in the oven until dried. Slice the rollups into strips, and roll up (obviously!), wrap in a piece of greaseproof paper, and tie ends with gift ribbon, like a bon bon.

~ Toffees: We love this recipe for Rapadura-Maple Syrup Butter Toffee - it's so good, and very versatile - you can add chopped, roasted nuts or leave them out, top with melted chocolate, sprinkle with naturally coloured sprinkles, pour over whole toasted brazil nuts... or just leave it plain. Break it up into shards, place in little sandwich bags and tie with gift ribbon, then keep them in the freezer til Christmas morning. (At least, that's what I do, because our weather is so hot and humid here that they get sticky after being out of the freezer for a while.)

Rapadura Maple-Syrup Toffee

~ Rice Malt Syrup Toffee: Another version of butter toffee can be made with 1 cup of rice malt syrup and 1 cup of butter, melted on the stove and cooked the same way as the Rapadura Maple-Syrup toffee. It's a little less sweet, and tastes delicious too.

~ Peppernuts: These crunchy little morsels of gingerbread-y deliciousness are perfect for Christmas stockings, instead of much less healthy mini-cookies like Tiny Teddies. Children love to run around with a little bag of these to munch on, and adults love to dunk them in their coffee! (Or you could make little gingerbread stars with some royal icing decorations made with xylitol.) This recipe is gluten free.

Peppernuts

~ Chocolate Hazelnut Balls: These are my substitutes for Ferrero Rocher chocolates. They are dairy free, gluten free and much healthier! First make a batch of Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, but use half the amount of milk. It's best to make this hours before you want to make the balls, so it sets quite firm. Next, toast whole hazelnuts on a tray in the oven (180 degrees C), and once cooled, rub the skins off with your hands or a tea towel (see pic below). Chop some of the hazlenuts in the Thermomix. Make a batch of homemade chocolate, or melt some dairy free chocolate in the Thermomix. When you're ready to make the balls, mold a couple of teaspoons of the hazelnut spread around a whole toasted hazelnut, roll the ball in the chopped hazelnuts, then dip the ball in melted chocolate and place on a baking paper lined tray in the fridge or freezer to set. Wrap individual balls in small squares of foil. (I'll try and get the exact recipe and photos posted soon!)

Rubbing skins off toasted hazelnuts

~ Sweet 'n' Salty Nuts: If you are a nut-eating family, these are a lovely treat. They're very quick and easy to make, and there's plenty of different variations to try.

~ Chocolate or Cinnamon Almonds: There's a few different versions of this recipe, but basically they are like those sugar-coated almonds you can buy with different flavours of coating on them. Here is this recipe for cinnamon-sugar almonds (I would use Rapadura instead of sugar), and they are cooked in the Thermomix. Then there's the one for cocoa-sugar almonds which is baked in the oven. Sonia from Healthy Cooking for Australian Families makes them like this: Whip on speed 4 in Thermomix: 2 egg whites and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract; add 1kg of mixed, raw nuts and mix well on reverse speed soft; tip into a bowl that has 1 cup of rapadura & 4 tablespoons of organic raw cacao powder already mixed; mix around until there is no more dry powder; put onto two lined trays and bake at 120 degrees C for one hour or until crunchy.

~ Granola: This may not sound very exciting, but a little ziploc bag of granola they can pop in a bowl and have for breakfast or a snack is a nice treat - especially if you make it extra special with some dried cranberries in it to make it look Christmassy! For adults, you could fill a jar with granola and tie a spoon to it with a pretty ribbon. Try my recipe for Quick Quinoa Granola. Years ago, I used to buy those little boxes of fun cereals and pop one in each stocking, but the kids found them so sweet they couldn't eat them, and they were full of nasty stuff. So this is a great alternative.

Quick Quinoa Granola

~ Bliss Balls: These are my favourites - Walnut & Cacao Nib Bliss Balls! There's plenty of other variations - you can pretty much make them with any nuts and dried fruit - just use about half of each and add some raw cacao powder and a splash of pure maple syrup if you like. You'll need to keep them in little bags in the fridge until the morning, then pop them in the stocking. They're best cold.

~ Almond Coconut Fudge: If you haven't ever made coconut butter in your Thermomix, you should - it's amazing! This fudge is based on coconut butter, with some cocoa, maple syrup and extracts to flavour. The almond sits on top and is optional, so they're great if you're nut free too. A much healthier version of chocolate fudge from Deliciously Organic.

~ Chocolate: Of course, I have to include some kind of chocolate recipe! I love to make "Almost Raw" Chocolate - it's dairy free, soy free and has no refined sweeteners. You can use it to make chocolate bark (pour over chopped toasted almonds, pistachios & craisins for a Christmas version), pour it into chocolate molds, dip pretzels into it then into sprinkles, drizzle over homemade shortbread, dip cantucci into it, or dip dried mango into it. Yum!

Almond, pistachio & cranberry chocolate bark

~ Homemade pretzels: You could make these with spelt flour and whatever milk alternative you like to use. Plenty of variations, both sweet and savoury!

~ Crackers & Nut Cheese or Nut Butter: I used to put a little packet of crackers & dip in the kid's stockings, but once again, there's too many nasties in them for my liking. So here's another option. There's lots of different cracker recipes online, but these gluten free crackers caught my eye. You could add a mini block of macadamia cheese (wrapped in foil, in a little bag with the crackers - would need to go in at the last minute)... this stuff is delicious - have you tried it? Or maybe a little container of homemade nut butter to go with the crackers.

More Stocking Stuffers . . .

~ Olives: Our kids love a small jar of olives in their stockings. Or maybe a little jar of mini gherkins... :)

~ Nuts in their shells (we always had these in our stocking as kids, and loved smashing them open with a hammer!)

~ A drink (my kids like to have a popper or fizzy apple juice drink in their stocking for a special treat)

~ A mini torch (especially good for Far North Queensland, where we generally get a cyclone around Christmas day that takes the power out! lol)

~ Party poppers, party blowers, sparklers

~ Balloons, water balloons

~ Glow sticks/necklaces/bracelets

~ Mini puzzles, books

~ Mini bubbles & bubble blower

~ Pretty pens, pencils, mini notepads

~ Electric toothbrush (I know, sounds boring, but kids love them!)

~ Stickers, stamps

~ Matchbox cars

~ Earrings, necklace, bracelet, hairbands, clips

What else do you like to put in Christmas stockings?

Gingerbread people

Thermomix Menu Plans - Christmas 2011

2011-12-18T23:08:00.002+10:00

'Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the kitchen

It was hustle and bustle and much Thermomixin'!

...And I still have SO much more Thermomixin' to do yet - help!!

It's going to be a crazy week. But fun!

How's your Christmas cooking and planning going? I hope lots of you will link up this week and share your Christmas menus - I'd love to see what other families are planning for the big day! I'm keeping the meals this week pretty simple, and focusing on the cooking for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, as well as baking and making gifts for friends and family. You'll notice a lot of this week's meals are the same as last week's - that's because last week the menu plan pretty much went out the window because I was sick in bed... so it was mostly chicken soup and whatever the family could scrounge. Trying again...

This year I'm aiming to cut out refined, artificial junk at Christmas, so there's going to be more cooking and tweaking than ever! I never let the kids have too much in the way of lollies and candy canes and things like that anyway, just a couple in their stockings, but this year I'm going to cut down on them even further by making my own healthier sweets for the Christmas stockings and to take to parties and give as presents.

I've always loved making my own sweets, ever since I was a little kid. At Christmas time we always used to make candies together - Taffy (so much fun pulling the taffy across the room!), Divinity (which was difficult in Cairns because the humidity was so high it wouldn't always set), Penuche (Mexican brown sugar fudge), Chocolate Fudge and Toffees. I was an expert at these by the time I was ten... I even won second prize at the Cairns show when I was 8 for my chocolate fudge! :D

Obviously, these days I don't make candies very often, and when I do, I use unrefined sweeteners and healthier ingredients, and only natural colours if any. So I'm really looking forward to revisiting and tweaking some old favourites to see what I can come up with. I've posted the recipe for a healthier butter toffee - Rapadura Maple Syrup Toffee - which is terribly addictive, I warn you. Thanks to Deliciously Organic for that recipe - check out her site, she has some great recipes, like this one for Almond Coconut Fudge. And keep an eye out for my post on Stocking Stuffers! Oh, and there's lots of ideas popping up on my facebook page too, so come and add yours there - the more the merrier.

Here's the plan for this week - can't wait to see yours too!

Monday:

Off to the 'big city' for a bit of shopping, then Tuscan Beef Stew with Polenta (yum, looking forward to trying that one from Tenina's Thermomix cookbook, Dinner Spinner!)

Tuesday:

Sarah over at Homemade, Healthy, Happy has been telling me about Spaetzle, and has gotten me curious, so I'm going to try making this tonight - sounds delicious! It's a kind of German egg noodle/dumplings that you serve with goulash or stroganoff. I'm going to make a chicken goulash to go on top of mine, because chicken and dumplings are one of my most favourite meals in the world, and I think it will be similar! Here's Sarah's recipe for the Spaetzle:

Chicken goulash with Spaetzle

Wednesday:

Huevos Rancheros (sauce made in the Thermomix) - another recipe I've been meaning to post!

Thursday:

Fish (pan fried) with mashed potatoes & steamed veges (cooked at same time in Thermomix)

Friday:

Chili Con Carne with green salad & cornbread (all made in the Thermomix, except the salad) Making up a couple of batches of cornbread so I'll have some for tomorrow for the cornbread dressing!

Saturday - Christmas Eve:

We're having our family Christmas dinner tonight with my parents. We traditionally have an American style menu since my family's from Texas. My mum always makes the turkey (yum!), and I haven't bothered posting a recipe for that since there's plenty on the net, but if you need help with yours, here's a great step-by-step recipe, and video of how to carve a turkey.

Roast turkey & roast vegetables

Gravy (tmx)

Baked cornbread stuffing (tmx) - recipe coming!

Cranberry-raspberry jelly (tmx) instead of bought cranberry sauce

Jelly salad (tmx) - mum makes one with green jelly, pecans, cottage cheese & pineapple; I make mine a bit differently with no dairy and jelly made from fruit juice & fresh fruit - no marshmallows in our jelly salads!!

Homemade spelt bread rolls with this recipe (tmx), or maybe sourdough bread rolls if I can get my recipe sorted out by then.

Mini cranberry-raspberry jellies to serve with the turkey

instead of bought cranberry sauce

Dessert will be various pies I think - pumpkin, cherry and pecan usually. That's mum's department, although I am intending to try and come up with a dairy free, egg free, gluten free pumpkin pie recipe - I'll let you know how I go!

I'm also planning to make my gluten free, dairy free, naturally sweetened croquembouche - I'll post some better photos once I do, as the ones on the recipe are awful!

Sunday - Christmas Day:

Today we'll be having a Christmas potluck lunch at church after the service for anyone who needs a family for Christmas or just wants to join in the fun. (All welcome!) Mostly we'll be having cold meat and salads and fresh bread rolls, as well as desserts. We'll be bringing what's left of our turkey, plus jelly salad and a green salad, more bread rolls, and the leftover pies. And I might take a double whammy chocolate cake if I'm not all cooked out... and some of those sweets I've been making.

Plenty of good food planned, and now I'd better get cracking and start preparing! Lots more blogging to be done yet too... Let me know if there's a particular recipe you really want before Christmas.

Here's a photo of my daughter as Mary in the nativity play the kids did last night - I thought it was so cute - a red-hair-and-freckles Mary with a little brown baby. :)

Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a wonderful week.

Add a link to your menu plan below, and please check out the other sites that have linked up!

Rapadura-Maple Syrup Butter Toffee

2011-12-17T15:42:00.000+10:00

I love to make homemade sweets for a special treat at Christmas time. There are way too many nasties and refined sweeteners in bought lollies, so it's nice to have some homemade ones to keep the kids happy. Okay, and the adults. :) This toffee recipe has been a favourite at our house for a couple of years now, ever since I found it on a great website called Deliciously Organic! Check out the original recipe here.

Unfortunately, you can't make it in the Thermomix, as you can't cook at temperatures higher than 114 degrees celcius, and to get toffee to the hard crack stage you need to get up to 150 degrees celcius. So, it's back to stirring over a hot stove for this one - but it's worth it! I do make the chocolate (or melt the chocolate) and chop the nuts in the Thermomix though.

If you don't have a candy thermometer, don't worry - neither do I. I've always cooked candies the old-fashioned way, ever since I was a little kid. Mum taught me the method of holding the wooden spoon up to see how the candy drips, and dropping bits in a cup of cool water to see how it sets. Here's an explanation of the cold water testing method, and how to tell what temperature your toffee has reached. For this recipe (or any toffee or lollipop recipe where you want 'crunch'), your syrup needs to reach the hard crack stage (300 degrees F / 150 degrees C). I'll explain a bit more about the 'how to' below.

You can do all sorts of variations with this recipe - the photo above has dark chocolate and sprinkles on some, and toasted pecans and dark chocolate on the other. You can use whatever nuts you like, or leave the nuts out and top with sprinkles instead. I use Hopper sprinkles - they are made from fruit & vege extracts, no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. They are also gluten free, dairy free, egg free and nut free. For the chocolate, I prefer to make my own (with this recipe), but since I didn't have any cacao butter left I used Lindt 70% cocoa chocolate.

Here's how I make it:

1. First, toast 2 cups of nuts if you want nuts in the toffee. (Whatever nuts you like - almonds, macadamias, pecans, brazil nuts - even pine nuts.) Start with raw, unsalted nuts and toast them in the oven on 180 degrees C for 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice, then roughly chop in the Thermomix (or leave whole if you like).

2. Then prepare a tray for the toffee - either grease a pizza or biscuit tray with butter, or line it with baking paper.

3. Measure into a large, heavy based saucepan and mix with a wooden spoon over medium heat:
- 1 1/4 cups Rapadura
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/3 water

4. Once it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.

4. Stir in the butter:
- 225g (1 cup) butter (place a bowl on the Thermomix & weigh the butter into it - it's easier than measuring it into a cup!)

5. Continue to simmer until mixture reaches 150 degrees celcius (if you have a candy thermometer) - or hard crack stage (if you don't).

Testing to see if toffee is at hard crack stage:

Have a cup of cool water handy. As mixture simmers over low heat, try to only stir it a little now and then. Don't constantly stir it or you'll end up with a grainy, fudge-like texture. You want to keep the sugar from crystallizing on the sides of the pan - if it starts to do that, brush down the sides with a pastry brush (preferably silicon) dipped in water.

You'll notice the mixture starting to get darker and thicker after a few minutes. Give it a gentle stir, then hold the spoon up and let most of the mixture drip off. The last couple of drips will become a string of toffee - if the string thins out to a fly-away hair, it's about ready. (See picture below)

Let the string of toffee drip into the cup of cool water. If it hardens quickly into a brittle thread that snaps when you bend it (or crunches when you bite it) the toffee is ready - take it off the heat immediately! There's a fine line between ready and burnt. (Be careful it's not too hot before you pop it into your mouth to taste it!!)

6. Quickly stir in the salt, baking soda and nuts, making sure there's no soda lumps:
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup toasted, roughly chopped nuts (optional)

7. Pour the toffee onto the prepared tray, working quickly before it sets in the pan. Spread it flat with the spoon and leave in a cool place to set.

8. Meanwhile, chop (speed 5) then melt the chocolate in the Thermomix on 50 degrees for 3-4 minutes, speed 3:
- 200g dark chocolate, broken in pieces

9. Spread the melted chocolate over the toffee with a spatula, then sprinkle with the remaining chopped nuts, or with sprinkles. Place toffee in the freezer to set hard.

10. When it's ready, crack the toffee into shards with the point of a sharp knife.

I find this keeps best in the freezer in our hot, humid climate - I leave it in one big piece and crack some off as we want it, or break into smaller pieces and place in ziploc bags.

Make a couple of batches and share it with your friends - it's perfect for Christmas presents! You can make a little paper box, line it with baking paper, add the toffee pieces and pop on the lid. Sweet!

Here's a link to making your own paper gift boxes - I use a large, square sheet of scrapbooking paper for the lid of the box, and another for the bottom of the box. Cut 1 centimetre off two adjacent sides of the second sheet for the bottom of the box, so the lid will fit over. Use the offcuts to make a curly decoration for the lid, stuck on with double sided tape.

Thermomix Menu Plans - December 12th (plus a recipe for Melty 'Cheese' Sauce!)

2011-12-12T22:06:00.000+10:00

My menu plan is a bit late today, as I'm sick in bed and haven't felt like blogging, or thinking too much about food. (I must be sick!!) It's my own silly fault... I always end up like this when I have dairy and wheat a few days in a row. I can usually get away with a little bit of butter or bread now and then, but to have it a few days in a row (and a piece of chocolate mudcake with ganache!) was not a good idea. Anyway. Here I am, laptop in bed with me, and I'm determined to post at least a simple menu plan.

I got a lovely package in the mail today with some Crio Bru and a travel press, which is very exciting - I love it! Drinking the hot Crio Bru did make my throat feel better, and I love that it leaves my tummy feeling happy, unlike brewed coffee (which is another thing that doesn't agree with me if I have very much, despite the fact that I love it). But I don't feel like I'm missing out with Crio Bru - it has a coffee-ish flavour with a strong chocolate smell - deeeelish! And it's healthy. But more about that in another post... stay tuned for a Crio Bru giveaway!!

Okay, so here's the basic plan for this week - I'll let you know what else I'm cooking on my Facebook Page as the week progresses, so come on over and join the chats there!

Monday:
Salad, leftover roast & gravy (tmx), leftover fried rice (tmx), and a rib fillet steak cooked for me by my daughter :) Oh, and my 10 yr old baked the Too Easy Chocolate Cake in the EDC all by himself, substituting grapeseed oil for butter, spelt flour & baking powder for the SR flour, rice milk for the milk, rapadura for the sugar, adjusted the amounts to suit, and it worked out great! (He calls it 'FAR Too Easy Chocolate Cake', as you can just chuck in all the ingredients at once when using oil instead of butter! lol)

Tuesday:
My daughter has requested Tenina's 'Fisherman's Pie' (tmx) from her new mini cookbook, 'Dinner Spinner'. I will have to tweak it to make it dairy free - probably will use my cheesey sauce on top and leave out the marscapone. Here's the recipe for the Melty Cheesey Sauce (sorry, can't find a photo atm)... use it as a substitute for melted cheese on pizzas, casseroles, lasagne, broccoli/cauliflower with cheese, potato bakes, etc.

Melty Cheesey Sauce
Whiz up the ingredients in the Thermomix for 1 min, sp 9:
- 75g raw cashews
- 15g savoury yeast flakes
- 15g cornflour
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 130g red capsicum
- 2 Tbspns lemon juice
- 30g oatmeal
- 1 tsp sea salt
- pinch of each: oregano, turmeric, garlic powder, ground sage, dry parsley, celery seed
- 650g water
Then cook for 7 mins, 90 degrees, sp 4. If it's not smooth enough, pulverise for another 30 seconds on sp 9. Yum!

Wednesday:
Cashew & vege satay with coconut rice (tmx), based on this popular recipe!

Thursday:
Spaghetti & meatballs (all in one Thermomix meal) since we never got around to that one last week

Friday:
Baked potatoes & sweet potatoes (baked in crockpot) with leftover melty cheese sauce & toppings

Saturday:
Quinoa salad with pomegranate dressing (quinoa cooked in tmx; onion, herbs & nuts chopped in tmx; and dressing made in tmx)

Sunday:
Tuscan beef stew with polenta (tmx - another recipe from Tenina's Dinner Spinner)

...And probably lots of baking and Christmas treats in preparation for the big day - like this rapadura-maple syrup toffee which is a firm favourite at our house!

Have a great week, and link up your menu plan below...

Caramelized Onion & Olive Spelt Bread

2011-12-11T22:32:00.001+10:00

On Sunday afternoon's I usually bake bread, and today was no exception, even though the weather was awfully hot and sticky, and I wasn't really sure I wanted to turn the oven on... My brain didn't seem to be working too well either, and it took me ages to decide what kind of bread to make. I finally came up with the idea of experimenting with caramelized onions in the Thermomix, so I could make some onion bread.

I know a lot of people love caramelized onions (including me!), but don't think they can make them in the Thermomix because of the low heat it cooks at. Well, I did it! They ended up so mild and sweet and delicious, and the bonus was I didn't have to stand over the hot stove stirring them.

I also added some garlic, herbs, and Kalamata olives to my bread for extra flavour, and it turned out lovely. The whole, gigantic loaf was quickly demolished tonight at supper after church. I was in a rush and didn't get a photo taken before I left home, but thankfully a friend loaned me their iphone so I managed to snap a couple of photos before it was all gone! Hope you like it as much as we did. :)

First make the bread dough.

1. Mix together all the dough ingredients on speed 6 for 6 seconds:

- 500g unbleached white spelt flour (or part wholemeal)

- 3 teaspoon instant dry yeast

- 30g extra virgin olive oil

- 1 or 2 teaspoons sea salt

- 2 tsps mixed herbs (dried)

- 270g lukewarm water

2. Turn dial to closed lid position, and knead on interval speed for 1 1/2 minutes.

3. Remove dough from bowl, wrap loosely in a silicon breadmat (or place in an oiled bowl, turning over once, and cover with plastic wrap). Leave the dough to rise while you prepare the onions.

[Note: you may need to change the amount of flour or water a little if you use wholemeal flour. It's best to have the dough a little bit sticky, but not so sticky that it's unworkable.]

Caramelizing the onions (and garlic) & preparing the olives.

1. Place in Thermomix bowl and chop on speed 5 for 3 seconds:

- 2 garlic cloves

- 2 large onions, halved

(I used brown onions, but red onions would be lovely too.)

2. Add ghee or butter and cook at Varoma temperature for 25 minutes, reverse, speed soft, with the MC off so steam can escape:

- 70g ghee or butter

3. You will find there is some browning on the bottom of the bowl - it will come off easily, just rub it off with the Thermomix spatula and mix it into the cooked onions. It adds flavour!

4. Set onions aside to cool a bit.

5. Roughly halve (and deseed) the olives and set aside:

- a couple of big handfuls of whole Kalamata olives

(or other olives if you prefer.)

Prepare the bread.

1. When the dough is risen (doubled in size), punch it down and flatten it out on the silicon bread mat with your hands, forming it into a large rectangle about 2 cms thick.

2. Sprinkle the dough with the olives and onion. (Scoop the onion out of the Thermomix bowl with the spatula, leaving the melted ghee/butter behind.)

3. Roll the bread up into a long loaf. Or roll up into a sausage shape then twist into a circle so the ends join up. (I made a roll, twisted it into a circle, then squished it together a bit to make a round loaf. Because my dough was soft and a little sticky, it molded together easily.)

4. Place loaf onto a baking paper lined tray, and brush with the remaining melted butter/ghee in the Thermomix bowl. Sprinkle with some extra herbs and some sea salt flakes. Place loaf into the cold oven.

5. Leave the bread for 5 to 10 minutes to rest, then turn oven on to 190 degrees C and cook for about 30 minutes, or until outside is browned and crusty, both on the top of the loaf and underneath. (In some ovens, you may need to turn the loaf over to brown underneath for the last 5 minutes.)

6. Allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting.

Thermomix Menu Plans - 5th December

2011-12-05T07:11:00.001+10:00

December is here, and the countdown to Christmas has begun! Actually, it began weeks ago for my kids, but I refused to think about it. But now it's just about here and I really must get organized. I would love to know what kinds of dishes you are planning to prepare for Christmas...

Christmas Jelly Salad

We're still tossing up ideas, but we'll probably mostly have our traditional Christmas fare, with maybe a couple of new things to keep it interesting. My family (being from Texas) always have a more Amercian style menu: roast turkey and dressing (baked separately in a pan), roast veges, green beans, gravy, cranberry sauce, hot bread rolls, a jelly salad, pies (pecan, pumpkin, cherry), and the highlight of Christmas dessert - homemade ice-cream!

Cornbread dressing makes a great side dish served with turkey

When we were kids we'd make the ice cream in an old wooden churn every Christmas, taking turns churning it and adding ice and rock salt to the wooden bucket. My favourite flavour was always mum's peach ice cream made with fresh, juicy peaches. Eventually mum got an electric ice cream maker and we used that for a few years (until it broke); now we use the Thermomix to make ice cream. Sadly, I can't handle dairy, so I have to make my own dairy free ice cream for me and the kids. I'm working on some ideas for a new one this year, getting lots of inspiration from a great vegan ice cream recipe book, Vice Cream!

I'm hoping my busy schedule will slow down once the kids finish school this week, and I'll be able to get some Christmas preparations done. And the Christmas lights up!

Crustless macadamia pie - gluten free & naturally sweetened

(Also delicious as a crustless pecan pie!)

Here's my basic menu plan for the week - I'm sure I'll manage to fit in some baking too, and will try and get some Christmas recipes blogged this week. If you're planning a menu too, you can share it by either linking to this post (instructions here), or by leaving a comment below this post with your menu plan. Have a great week!

Monday:

(lunch) Chicken & sweetcorn soup (tmx - with leftover roast chicken & gravy)

(dinner) Beef & vegetable curry with sticky rice (all in one tmx meal)

Making gluten free artisan bread

Tuesday:

(lunch) Demo here

(dinner) Steak & baked potatoes with dairy free sour cream (tmx) & green salad

Wednesday:

(lunch) Linguini with squid (tmx - from the Seafood Cookbook, except with gluten free breadcrumbs & pasta), green salad & gluten free artisan bread (tmx)

(dinner) Pizza with dairy free avocado topping (tmx), base made with gluten free artisan bread dough (tmx)

Thursday:

(lunch) Spaghetti bolognaise (all in one Thermomix meal) with green salad

(dinner) Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, mashed potatoes & steamed veges (tmx), cornbread dressing (tmx)

Friday:

(lunch) Fish crumbed with cornmeal, shallow fried, with green salad

(dinner) Demo; kids having dinner out

Saturday:

(lunch) Thermomix fried rice

(dinner) Leftovers, sandwiches

Sunday:

(lunch) Roast & veges (gravy in tmx)

(dinner) Leftovers

The avocado topping for pizzas also makes a great dip

Add a link to your menu plan below!

Thermomix Menu Plans - 28th November

2011-11-28T06:27:00.001+10:00

How can it be Monday again already? I'm sure the days speed up as it gets closer to the end of the year! Although the kids thinks time slows down as it gets closer to Christmas... Miss C has been begging me for weeks to put up some Christmas decorations. I finally gave in and put up a few, and we've done a little bit of Christmas cooking already too. The gingerbread men are all gone (I think we'll go through a few batches of those!), so we're hoping to make some more this week. We have quite a large collection of cookie cutters, because we have a family tradition of making cut-out Christmas cookies with all the kids (cousins, neighbours and friends) every December, which is a lot of fun. And I just won some animal shaped cookie cutters from Edible Issues' Spring Hill Farm gluten free baking kit giveaway, which the kids are excited about! So lots of cookie making is planned. A plate of hand decorated cookies are a great gift for neighbours, school teachers and friends. And it keeps the kids busy on the holidays.

As we get closer to the end of school, I'll be posting some more holiday cooking ideas... still a bit crazy here with running Thermomix Christmas Cooking Classes, finishing up school work, and getting people's Thermomixes ordered and delivered before Christmas. What a great present! If you're wanting a Thermomix for Christmas, make sure you order before the 9th of December to get it in time... And don't forget there's a special deal at the moment where you can pay it off over 12 months, interest free, no deposit. Woo hoo!!!

Mother's Day Mess - a great alternative to the usual Christmas trifle!

So another busy week for me this week, but I'm sure I'll manage to fit in some baking. I don't put my baking on my menu plan, as I just fit it in wherever I can. Here's some of the things I'm hoping to make this week (both baking and pantry staples):
- Gingerbread men
- Mini gluten free, egg free, dairy free gingerbread cakes
- Dark chocolate bark with craisins and roasted almonds and pistachios
- Gluten free Christmas cake (based on the Celebration cake in the EDC, but with my gf flour mix)
- Dairy free German chocolate cake (for my hubby's birthday)
- Gluten free waffle iron brownies with chocolate sauce
- Gluten free bread (Cyndi O'Meara's recipe)
- Spelt artisan bread
- Christmas wreath bread
- Blender batter berry muffins
- Quick quinoa granola
- Mango butter (from Melanie Avery's new cookbook, "Let's Celebrate Christmas - Additive Free")
- Chicken stock paste
- Spelt tortillas
Here's a youtube clip I made recently to show the method of making your own tortillas/wraps. It's very easy, and they taste a lot better than shop bought ones, not to mention being a lot healthier!

Here's my menu plan for this week - I hope you'll share yours too, and link to it below so we can all get some inspiration from each other. For link up instructions, check out Thermomix Menu Plans; or if you're new to menu planning and need a little help, read How to Menu Plan. If you'd like a menu plan template that you can print out and write your weekly plan onto, there's one here at My Little Thermomix. Have a great week!

Monday:

(lunch) Chicken & cashews with coconut rice and coconut-cashew satay sauce (tmx - to show a new Thermomix owner how to use her Varoma)

(dinner) Boiled egg version of Curry in a Hurry (tmx)

Tuesday:

(lunch) Baked potatoes & salad (sandwiches for kids - school day)

(dinner) Grain free pasta made with vege pasta sauce (tmx) & zucchini 'noodles' made with vege spiralizer & steamed in Thermomix

Wednesday:

(lunch) Thermomix demo here

(dinner) Salmon salad pizza (dairy free, using spelt artisan dough - tmx) and birthday cake for hubby!

Thursday:

(lunch) Pasta e Fagioli (tmx - using gf noodles)

(dinner) Roast chicken & veges (for family, while I'm cooking at our Thermomix Christmas Class!)

Friday:

(lunch) Chicken & brown rice soup (tmx - using leftover chicken)

(dinner) Zucchini & smoked salmon fritters (tmx - from Melanie Avery's new cookbook "Let's Celebrate Christmas - Additive Free") & salad

Saturday:

(lunch) Thermomix Christmas Party!! I'm taking a Christmas potato salad (tmx), a Mother's Day Mess (obviously it doesn't have to be Mother's Day to make this!), chocolate almond pistachio cranberry bark, and Christmas wreath bread (tmx).

(dinner) Fish sandwiches (bread made in tmx)

Sunday:

(lunch) Roast lamb & veges, gravy made in tmx

(dinner) leftovers

Phew! I've got lots of cooking to do... better go get started!

Waffle Iron Brownies

2011-11-27T23:17:00.001+10:00

Waffle Iron Brownies (gluten free version)

with Dairy Free Chocolate Sauce (recipe below)

This is just a quick post to share a recipe that's an old favourite in our chocolate-loving home... Waffle Iron Brownies! I can't remember where I first came across this recipe, but I've converted it to a healthier version, and I make the batter in my Thermomix.

Now and then we have these for breakfast for a special treat - or for afternoon tea when we feel like cake and there's nothing baked. These are very quick to make, so if you have a sudden influx of hungry children on the holidays, remember this recipe. Our kids love to break the waffles up into little hearts, drizzle them with cashew cream or maple syrup - or sometimes chocolate sauce for a special treat - and run off with one in each hand. Or maybe two in each hand if they can get away with it!

I make these with either spelt flour or gluten free flour. I use this gluten free flour mix here when making them gluten free. They turn out a little less crunchy, but still delicious.

Waffle Iron Brownies

1. Melt and mix at 100 degrees, 2 minutes, speed 3:
- 110g butter or coconut oil
- 30g organic cocoa (or raw cacao powder)

2. Add and mix on speed 5 for 10 seconds:
- 100g Rapadura
- 40g water
- 2 eggs

3. Add and mix on speed 4-5 for 10 seconds, depending on how finely chopped you like the nuts:
- 50g pecan nuts (optional)
- 170g unbleached white spelt flour (or gluten free flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

4. Heat waffle iron, oil if necessary, and drop a couple of big blobs of batter onto hot iron, so that when it spreads out it will cover the surface of the iron. Close quickly and allow to cook until browned.

5. Serve with cashew cream or pure maple syrup. Or for a special treat, some homemade chocolate sauce and cashew cream!

Quick, dairy-free chocolate sauce:

Cook in Thermomix - 2 mins, 60 degrees, speed 2:

- 30g coconut oil or butter

- 80g-120g dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate broken in pieces (depending on how thick and chocolatey you like it!)

- 30g rice malt syrup (or honey)

- 30g rice-almond milk (or other milk)

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Use more or less chocolate depending on how thick you like your sauce. Once it's cold, it will set to a chocolate spread consistency, and you can eat the leftovers on toast like nutella.

Thermomix Menu Plans - 21st November

2011-11-20T19:26:00.001+10:00

So how's the menu planning going, guys? It was great to see a few of you are menu planners too. And for those of you who aren't (as yet), don't be frightened off because you think your plan has to be perfect and complete and you can't deviate from it. If you're just starting, why not pick five or six main meals for this week and shop for those ingredients, then fit them into your week as you go. That way you have a day or two free for leftovers, or sandwiches, or eating out, or for 'impulse recipes' (which is what I call those recipes that jump out at you from the internet, magazines, cookbooks, etc, and you just have to make them right away!!) You don't have to say, 'Monday we're having such-and-such...'; you can just say, 'Here's the main meals I'm planning to make this week'.

Some people are natural list makers - like me - and can plan way ahead and stick to it - unlike me. I often 'tweak' my menu plan, changing meals around to different days, having leftovers instead of the planned lunch, etc. But whether you stick to a strict plan, or have a more flexible plan, the idea is to have a plan of some sort, because it will decrease your stress levels and save you money. So even if you don't feel like you can go 'the whole hog,' just start somewhere, and see what a difference it makes.

We have smoothies every day! (This is my Green Chocolate Smoothie)

Here's a few other ideas I find helpful for saving time with meal preparation (and preparing school/work lunches):

- When you buy your salad greens for the week, go ahead and separate the leaves and wash them well with cold water, spin the water off in a salad spinner, and place in bags in the fridge ready to use. It's much quicker to whip up a salad at dinner time, or put together sandwiches for lunches, if this step's already done. (And it takes up less room in the fridge than whole lettuces do.)

- Wash, peel and/or cut up raw vege sticks (carrot, celery, capsicum) for snacks and lunches in one big lot, wrap them in a damp tea towel and keep them in the fridge. You'll be surprised how long the veges stay fresh and crisp kept this way! This is great for kids, as they can get some vege sticks to snack on whenever, even if you don't have time right then to cut them up.

- If you have lots of fruit that is ripening too quickly, cut it up and freeze it in small sandwich bags. Pop a little bag of frozen fruit into kid's lunch boxes (mine like strawberries, pieces of orange, and grapes). It's also handy to have fruit pieces pre-frozen to use in smoothies, sorbets, fruity dream, crumbles, cobblers, cakes, muffins, jams, etc.

- If you've got the oven on cooking a casserole or roast, go ahead and bake bread, cake, muffins, etc for the week at the same time. You can freeze slices of cake, muffins, biscuits, slice individually wrapped, which is handy for quick lunch box packing, or for grabbing a snack to take with you when you're going out for a while.

- If anyone in the family takes a cooked meal to work, serve it out into their container when serving up the plates for dinner. That way it's ready to go for the next day, and you don't have to worry about whether there's going to be enough left over from dinner.

- And don't forget to look at your menu plan each night for the next day so you can get out any meat that needs thawing, or soak anything that needs soaking!

Sue-Ellen's Singapore Noodles - a firm favourite here!

Okay, so here's my plan for this week... not including all the baking I'll be doing for family and Christmas class preparation!

Gluten Free Gingerbread People - spicy & crunchy!

(P.S. Sorry I didn't get my Huevos Rancheros recipe up yet - will try again tomorrow!)

Monday:
(lunch) Tuna fishcakes (prepared in tmx) with raw vege sticks & homemade mayo (tmx)
(dinner) Leftover roast meat pie (tmx) with green salad; also cooking mini meatballs and spelt bread rolls for kid's lunch tomorrow while pie is cooking

Tuesday:
(lunch) Mini meat balls (tmx), spelt bread rolls (tmx), raw vege sticks
(dinner) Vege spaghetti (tmx - a double batch of vege pasta sauce so I can freeze some for another day) & salad

Wednesday:
(lunch) Quinoa & chia seed flatbread (tmx) with tuna, avocado, salad
(dinner) Fish, mashed potatoes, steamed veges (potato & veges cooked at same time in tmx; fish coated in cornmeal & shallow fried)

Thursday:
(lunch) Baked potatoes, salad and a big chocolate green smoothie (tmx) for energy - it's going to be a big day! Thermomix Christmas Cooking Class in Innisfail this evening...
(dinner) Leftover spaghetti sauce in slow cooker with chicken breasts/thighs, cooking all afternoon, for family to have with pasta & salad

Friday:
(lunch) Tuna pasta (tmx, from EDC - keeping it simple because I'll be tired!)
(dinner) Baked pumpkin, bacon & baby spinach risotto (tmx - based on this recipe, with baked pumpkin & spinach stirred in at the end) Cooking ahead and leaving in Thermoserver for family as I'll be at a demo.

Saturday:
(lunch) Potato salad (steamed in tmx) with sun dried tomato mayonnaise (tmx)
(dinner) Sue-Ellen's Singapore Noodles

Sunday:
(lunch) Cold meat & salads (coleslaw in tmx)
(dinner) Leftovers/sandwiches

Amigo enjoying a fruit smoothie :)

So what's on your menu this week? Link up below!

Double Whammy Chocolate Cake

2011-11-18T20:21:00.001+10:00

When my big sister was about seventeen, she used to buy 'Australian Gourmet Traveller' magazines. She loved to cook (yep, it runs in the family), and one of her favourite recipes was a flourless chocolate fudge cake. We loved that cake. I used to watch her make it, whipping up the egg whites, folding them into the rich chocolate batter, carefully placing it in the oven where it would rise, form a crispy crust, then the crust would crack and slightly crumble to reveal a dark, fudgy interior. She'd dust it with cocoa and we'd savour each bite. For some reason I never thought to ask her for the recipe until a couple of months ago when she came for a visit. Unfortunately, the recipe was long gone. But when she went home she sent me a few versions that are similar. One of them had a buttery, chocolate concoction on top that sounded amazing - but of course it had lots of sugar and dairy in the recipe. So I decided to come up with my own version, and after many trials and errors (which were happily eaten by my family and friends), here it is, the long-awaited... [drum roll...] Double Whammy Chocolate Cake recipe!

This is a very rich, decadent cake that has two layers - a flourless chocolate cake for the base, and a chocolate mousse-ish layer on top. A delicious 'double whammy' of chocolate. The method for each layer is very similar (and the ingredients are mostly the same) - but the base is baked, and the top is thickened with agar agar. Because of all the eggs (eight altogether!), dark chocolate and Rapadura, it's not something you'd make every day - but it's perfect for special occasions. It's similar to a chocolate cheesecake, except it's dairy free, gluten free, grain free and nut free... which is why I'm so excited about it!

The two layers

I love flourless cakes made with ground almonds or hazelnuts, but a lot of people can't have nuts. And if you can't have gluten or dairy either, eating cake becomes a very rare pastime. Which I think is very sad. So if you are one of those people, I hope this recipe makes you very happy. (And I'm pretty sure that even if you can have gluten, dairy and nuts, this cake will still make you very happy!) Enjoy.

You really only need a thin sliver of this cake - it's very rich!

Double Whammy Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celcius.

Line a springform cake tin with baking paper and set aside.

1. Grind Rapadura on speed 9 for 30 seconds in a very dry bowl:

- 200g Rapadura

Tip into a small bowl and set aside.

2. Break chocolate in pieces, weigh into Thermomix bowl and grind on speed 8 for 10 seconds:

- 240g dark, dairy free chocolate (eg. homemade chocolate or 70% cocoa Lindt chocolate)

Tip into another small bowl and set aside.

3. Weigh into Thermomix bowl and cook at 50 degrees for 3 minutes, speed 3:

- 120g of the ground chocolate

- 120g coconut oil (cold pressed)

Allow mixture to cool to 37 degrees.

4. Add Rapadura, cocoa and stevia to the chocolate mixture and begin mixing on speed 5. While mixing, separate 4 eggs, adding yolks to mixture through the hole in the lid as you go. Turn speed off once you get to 5 minutes.

- 100g of the ground Rapadura

- 1 Tblspn organic cocoa (or cacao) powder

- 1/4 tsp green stevia powder

- 4 egg yolks

Green stevia powder

Scrape the chocolate mixture into a large mixing bowl, set it aside, and wash out the Thermomix bowl really well. (Or if you have a second bowl, leave the chocolate bowl unwashed to use for the chocolate topping, and use the second bowl for the egg whites.)

5. Insert the butterfly into the dry, clean bowl, and whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar on speed 4 for 4 minutes, until stiff:

- 4 egg whites

- a pinch of cream of tartar

6. Fold the egg whites gently into the chocolate mixture in the mixing bowl, using a spatula, until just combined.

7. Pour batter into lined cake tin and bake for approximately 1 hour at 150 degrees C, or until a knife inserted in centre of cake comes out clean.

8. Set cake aside to cool while you make the topping. Start off with the same method as you used with the cake - melt together the remaining chocolate and coconut oil at 50 degrees for 3 minutes on speed 3. (Use the first bowl that had chocolate mixture in it, if you have two - no need to wash out.)

- 120g ground chocolate

- 120g coconut oil (cold pressed)

Allow mixture to cool to 37 degrees.

9. Add remaining Rapadura, cocoa and stevia to the chocolate mixture and begin mixing on speed 5. While mixing, separate 4 eggs, adding yolks to mixture through the hole in the lid as you go. Turn speed off once you get to 5 minutes.

- 100g ground Rapadura

- 1 Tblspn organic cocoa (or cacao) powder

- 1/4 tsp green stevia powder

- 4 egg yolks

10. Sprinkle agar agar over water in a measuring cup/jug and mix in until it dissolves. Add to the chocolate mixture and mix on speed 5 for a few seconds until well mixed.

- 2 heaped teaspoons agar agar

- 1/3 cup room temp water

Agar agar powder

The chocolate mixture will become thick and creamy, kind of like a pudding consistency - like this:

11. Scrape the chocolate mixture into a large mixing bowl, set it aside, and wash out the Thermomix bowl really well. (Or if you have a second bowl, use the one you already used for egg whites again for the next batch. No need to wash out unless you got some chocolate mixture in it.)

12. Insert the butterfly into the Thermomix bowl and whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar on speed 4 for 4 minutes, until stiff:

- 4 egg whites

- a pinch of cream of tartar

13. Fold the egg whites gently into the chocolate mixture in the mixing bowl, using a spatula, until combined. Pour topping mixture onto the cake in the springform tin. It doesn't seem to matter if the cake's not completely cool, as the topping is quite thick and will set anyway.

14. Cover the cake and set it carefully in the fridge to set overnight. Or if you're impatient, place it in the freezer for a couple of hours, then the fridge. It should set so that the topping is firm and can be sliced without losing it's shape.

This cake will keep for up to a week in the fridge, so it's great to make ahead if you're taking it to a party. Or you could just make it for yourself and eat a little tiny slice every day for days on end... ;) Just freeze the individually wrapped slices and they'll last for ages. And they taste great straight from the freezer too - like an ice cream cake!

Sigh. Mine's all gone now, and I've finished testing this recipe. I need to think of another excuse to make it now...

Tips & Variations:

* It's very handy to have two Thermomix bowls when making this recipe! You can have one bowl for the egg whites, one for the chocolate mixture, and it's a lot quicker and easier. But if you only have one bowl, that's okay - this cake is still worth the little bit of extra work.

* Room temperature egg whites whip up the best, so leave the eggs out of the fridge for a while before you make this.

* I buy my coconut oil in bulk either through my co-op or on the internet. It's a lot cheaper that way. If you'd rather, you can use butter instead of the coconut oil.

* The green stevia is added to cut down on the amount of Rapadura used. If you want to you can increase the Rapadura to 250g and leave out the stevia. Or you could cut the Rapadura down further and use more stevia - eg. 80g Rapadura + 1/2 tsp stevia for the base, same for top. If you can't find green stevia, you can order it online here - it tastes better than the white stevia powder or stevia liquid, and is just the dehydrated leaves, ground up.

Thermomix Menu Plans - 14th November

2011-11-13T15:54:00.001+10:00

Do you come home at the end of a long day, tired and hungry, and stand in the kitchen with the fridge door open hoping dinner inspiration will bounce out at you? Everyone's cranky and there's no meat thawed out, everything you think of you don't have all the ingredients for, so you end up dashing out for some take-away... or having sandwiches - again! Sound familiar? If so, you need a menu plan!

A lot of people tell me that the thing they most dislike about cooking is deciding what to cook. When you sit down and work out a menu for the week, you get all that decision making out of the way in one go, saving yourself lots of time each day. You'll also eat healthier. And you will save money by doing all your shopping at once, instead of popping in and out of the shop every day. Because, as I'm sure you know, the more you go to the shops, the more unnecessary purchases you make.

I sometimes get slack with my menu planning - usually when I'm really busy, which is the worst time not to plan! What works best for me is to plan my menu on a Sunday, print it out, and stick it up on the fridge door alongside a calendar of what's on for the week. Every night after dinner I can check to see what food needs to be prepared and what's going on the next day. For example, do I need to get meat out of the freezer to thaw out, or soak nuts/seeds/grains, or have some baking done for the next day for school lunches and visitors... It's also a good idea to have family members' names next to any meals that they'll be cooking or helping with that week. For more ideas and tips for menu planning, check out my post on How to Menu Plan to see what I do to work out my menu for the week.

Get the kids involved in the planning and the cooking!

I've sent out a request on my Facebook page and on Twitter to ask who would be willing to share their Thermomix menu plans each week. I think it would be great if we could all get some ideas off each other, and encourage each other to be more organized in this area! I know I always stick to my plan better if I have put it out there for everyone to see - it kind of keeps me accountable. So who'd like to join in? The instructions are on this page tab, 'Thermomix Menu Plans'.

I was going to be super organized and have a printable menu plan template and calendar for you to write your own plan on, but then I found one over at My Little Thermomix that looked perfect! So pop over there and print it out - it looks great. And there's more menu planning tips there as well. Thanks Brooke :)

So here's my menu plan for this week - I hope you'll come back and share yours too! (If you don't have a blog or website, feel free to post your menu plan in the comments below.)

Monday:

(lunch) Spaghetti & Meatballs (all in one meal, sauce & pasta cook in the tmx bowl while meatballs steam in Varoma) with a green salad

(dinner) Corn & Bean Patties (made in tmx & shallow fried in pan) with raw vege sticks & a smoothie

Tuesday:

(lunch) Fried Rice (Thermomix style) - quick & easy; sandwiches & fruit for kids (it's their school day)

(dinner) Fish (shallow fried in pan), mashed potatoes & steamed veges (tmx - method here)

Wednesday:

(lunch) Mexican Quinoa (tmx) & Spelt Tortillas (dough made in tmx) with green salad

(dinner) Vege soup (tmx) & leftovers, with gluten free bread (tmx - Cyndi O'Meara's recipe)

Thursday:

(lunch) Spelt bread sandwiches (bread dough made in tmx)

(dinner) Slow cooker lamb chop casserole (out all day)

Friday:

(lunch) Pasta made with leftover lamb casserole meat & juices, more veges added (all in one tmx meal)

(dinner) Chicken Curry with Sticky Rice (all in one tmx meal)

Saturday:

(lunch) Baked potatoes & American Chop Salad (tmx)

(dinner) Huevos Rancheros ('Ranch Style Eggs' - sauce made in tmx, eggs poached in sauce in frying pan)

Sunday:

(lunch) Roast with baked veges (cooking while out), gravy in Thermomix

(dinner) Leftovers & bread

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

2011-11-09T23:07:00.000+10:00

I have very fond memories of my Grandma's delicious cooking. Getting to go to Grandma's house was always special, as Grandma lives in Texas (USA, not Queensland!) and we grew up in Australia, so we only got to visit Grandma now and then. Whenever I close my eyes and imagine Grandma, I see her with her apron on, wooden spoon in hand, standing over the stove in her homey, country kitchen in the cutest house you ever saw, happily cooking up something wonderful for bunches of hungry children and uncles and aunts. Grandpa would be sitting in the rocking chair in the kitchen telling us tall stories or making 'cowboy coffee' in a pan on the stove, everyone laughing and talking at once, kids running in and out, the smell of dinner cooking making us all hungry...

Mum says that when she was growing up, it didn't matter how early in the morning she got up, her mother was already in the kitchen cooking. I can hardly think of Grandma except in her kitchen! I was so heartbroken when she had to sell her house and move into a small unit after Grandpa died. I even had nightmares about it. I can hardly bear to think of someone else cooking in the kitchen that was Grandma's for over 50 years! Loved that house.

My Grandma is an amazing cook. So is my mum, obviously because she learnt from the master! It never seemed to matter how little was in the cupboard or fridge, they could make a three course meal out of it and everyone would be raving about how delicious it was. I have lots of Grandma's recipes written down on little recipe cards, all smudged and floury from years of use, ever since I got married and got my own little kitchen. We'd only been married about two weeks when we invited an older couple over for dinner (if only Grandma and Grandpa lived nearby we would've invited them!) - and of course I just had to cook my Grandma's cherry pie for dessert. It wasn't quite as good as hers (when I cut it, the filling kind of oooozed out of the crust and the whole thing deflated!), but it was reassuring to have Grandma's recipes there to see me through my first try at entertaining, at the tender age of 21.

My Grandma will be reading this blog post (Hi Grandma!) and she'll probably say what she always says whenever I talk to her on the phone: 'How do you DO all that you do! Every time I read your blog I have to go lay down, it makes me so tired!' Which is hilariously funny, because she was much busier than me, with rascally twin boys and two other kids, doing everything by hand the old fashioned way, sewing their own clothes, making everything 'from scratch' including bread and baby formula, and as I always remind her, she didn't have a Thermomix! I try to explain how this 'machine' saves me so much time, but she can't quite fathom it, never having seen one. I dream of one day hopping on a plane with my Thermomix tucked under my arm and turning up at Grandma's, and cooking with her for days on end. She can sit in the rocking chair and teach me her recipes and tell me the stories behind them, and I can show her how my amazing 'machine' can make preparing them so much easier. That's my dream.

But when it comes to this recipe for 'Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic', I'm afraid I just can't do it any other way than Grandma's way. This is how she taught me to make it, and I love it just the way it is, so I'm not changing it. But I don't make the bread by hand like she did, to serve with the deliciously mild, baked garlic cloves. And I don't make the mashed potatoes and veges by hand either, these days. All of that is done in the Thermomix while the chicken's bubbling away in the oven. So when dinner's done, I don't feel so tired I need to lie down. :)

Thanks, Grandma, this is for you.

(P.S. You've probably seen this recipe around the place - I have no idea where it originally came from. All I know is my Grandma used to make it for us, and in my mind it equals 'comfort food' at it's very best!)

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

1. Scatter garlic cloves over the bottom of a casserole dish. You can use a flat dish if you want more crispy skin, or a deep dish if you want softer, juicier chicken.

- 40 cloves of garlic, unpeeled!

(Yes, that's a couple of bulbs of garlic - don't worry, baked garlic is really quite mild, just so long as you leave the cloves whole and unpeeled. I actually used a little less this time, since the organic garlic that I buy is gigantic!)

2. Place chicken pieces over the garlic, skin side up.
- 1 large, organic chicken, cut into pieces

3. Sprinkle the chicken with wine, juice or stock, oil, seasonings and herbs.
- 1/2 cup white wine or Verjuice or apple juice or chicken stock
(I usually use a mixture of apple juice and chicken stock, but I happened to have some de-alcoholised wine so I used that this time, and it was lovely)
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- fresh sage, chopped finely (or 1/2 teaspoon dried sage)
- fresh parsley, chopped finely
- 4 small bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon herb salt & some freshly ground pepper (may need more salt if using apple juice)

4. Cover the dish tightly with foil (and a lid if it has one) so no steam can escape. Bake at 180 degrees C for 1 1/2 hours. Remove lid and foil, and return to the oven to brown for another 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves.

5. Serve with mashed potato* with the chicken juices drizzled over, lots of steamed veges or a big green salad, and some lovely fresh bread. Squeeze the garlic from the skins onto the bread, sprinkle with salt, and use it to mop up the lovely juices from the chicken.

* Here's how to make mashed potato and steamed veges in the Thermomix:

- Weigh 1000g of cubed potatoes into the Thermomix bowl. Sprinkle with salt, and add some butter or ghee if you like.
- Reset the scales and weigh in 200g of water and 200g of milk. (I use my rice-almond milk.)
- Place the Varoma on top and fill with thinly sliced veges, hard ones on the bottom, soft ones on the top. Make sure there's a hole poked through for the steam.
- Cook at Varoma temperature for 20 minutes, speed 1. Check that the veges are done - if not, add a couple more minutes.
- Remove Varoma dish, and bowl lid; push butterfly down into potato until it fits onto the blades. Replace lid and mix for 10-15 seconds on speed 4, until mashed.

Green Chocolate Smoothie (Dairy Free)

2011-10-26T19:37:00.001+10:00

I love green smoothies. A lot of people wrinkle up their noses at them and won't give them a try because they can't imagine a drink with spinach in it could taste any good. Are you one of those people? Well I'm here to tell you that green smoothies are delicious! And for those of you who haven't been game to try them yet, here's a chocolate version that will help you 'put your foot in the door' of green smoothie addiction!

I make this one (or variations of it) fairly often, and my younger kids have no idea it has spinach and avocado in it. You honestly can't taste it. So why bother adding the spinach, you ask? Because it's soooooo good for you! And most of us don't get enough raw leafy greens in our diet, especially the kids. And it's a lot easier to drink up your greens than to eat a big salad. By the way, I add the frozen avocado when I have it because it makes it so thick and creamy.

You can pretty much add any leafy greens to any juice or smoothie to make a green smoothie, but my favourite greens to use are baby spinach, lettuce or kale. I've also used vine spinach (Ceylon spinach), which I don't mind, but my kids found it a bit odd tasting in a chocolate smoothie. So if you're new to green smoothies, stick with baby spinach or lettuce - it's pretty bland. Add as much as you like - start with a big handful, and add more as you get used to it. You can also add leafy greens to sorbets for a 'green sorbet' - see the variations at the end for ideas.

This smoothie is based on an old favourite of ours, my Chocolate (or Carob) Almond Smoothie.

Green Chocolate Smoothie

1. First grind up the nuts, seeds and dates on speed 9 for about 10 seconds:
- a big handful of dates
- a big handful of almonds (if you can't have nuts, try sunflower seeds instead)
- a small handful of seeds (whatever you like: chia/sunflower/pepitas/linseeds)

2. Next add the ice and grind on speed 9 for about 10 seconds:
- 1 or 2 trays of ice cubes (depending how thick you like it)

3. Add and grind on speed 9 for 10 seconds, mixing with the spatula if needed:
- 35g raw cacao powder (if you use regular cocoa or carob powder, you may need a bit less)
- 40g Rapadura (or a dash of honey or pure maple syrup or agave nectar, or a 1/4 teaspoon of green stevia powder)
- 2 frozen bananas, chopped in pieces
- 1 frozen avocado, chopped in pieces (you can buy avocado frozen in the frozen berry section of the supermarket, or freeze your own)

4. Add the greens and water and mix on speed 9 for a minute or so, until well blended and creamy:

- 2 big handfuls of baby spinach or butter lettuce

- 600g filtered water

Variations:
- Leave out the banana, increase the frozen avocado or ice, add a handful of fresh mint, and add a little more sweetener.
- Leave out the avocado.
- Use more or less ice depending on how thick you like it - you can always add more ice at the end if it's too thin, and whiz it up for another minute.
- Try frozen berries instead of frozen banana.
- Add a couple of spoonfuls of spirulina powder.
- Or my personal favourite: add a couple of spoonfuls of MiEssence Berry Radical (for an antioxidant boost) and/or In-Liven (for probiotics, also contains spirulina).
- Green Sorbets: Try adding a couple of handfuls of leafy greens to your sorbets - works well in just about any flavour. You can also add a couple of handfuls of fresh Italian parsley, or fresh mint, to lemon or orange sorbet - it's delicious!

Mmmmm...

Quick Quinoa Granola

2011-10-19T22:37:00.000+10:00

I got up this morning to hungry kids and nothing much to eat, so I made a quick batch of quinoa granola with some quinoa flakes I picked up at the supermarket yesterday. It was so easy and delicious, I just had to share it with you all! While it was toasting I made a banana & chia seed custard (no eggs or dairy) to have with it - but I'll save that for the next post.

Making granola is not an exact science. Just throw in handfuls of your favourite ingredients and spices, drizzle over some oil or melted butter plus honey or syrup, sprinkle with salt, mix it up, and toast it. Mine is a little different every time. I just made a small batch this morning, mixing it straight on the baking tray - if you want to make a big batch, mix it in a large mixing bowl and adjust amounts to suit.

So here's a basic recipe for a quick quinoa granola that you can mix up in seconds, toast in minutes, and enjoy before dashing out the door for the day. Tweak to your heart's delight! :)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. OR you can toast this under the grill for quicker results, but you'll have to watch it closely and stir it every couple of minutes.

Okay, just throw all these ingredients together, either straight onto your baking tray, or in a mixing bowl:

- 3 big handfuls of quinoa flakes. (If you like you can mix with some rolled oats to save money)

- a handful or two of roughly chopped almonds or other nuts, eg. pecans, hazelnuts (chop in Thermomix on speed 5 for a few seconds) If you can't have nuts just add more seeds.

- a couple of handfuls of sultanas (or other dried fruit)

- a handful of sesame & sunflower seeds (or other seeds, like chia)

- a pinch or two of celtic sea salt or himalayan salt (I like to use a flaked or roughly ground salt to get that occasional slightly salty crunch in my granola)

- a big pinch or two of ground cinnamon

- a smaller pinch of ground nutmeg

[Note: Try grinding up your own nutmeg and a cinnamon quill in the Thermomix for more flavour!]

- a good drizzle of melted coconut oil or butter (I don't measure, I just add more as I'm mixing if I think it needs to be 'wetter'. It depends on how crunchy you like it. More oil, crunchier granola.)

- a good drizzle of raw honey or pure maple syrup or agave syrup (again, I don't measure, just drizzle some over)

- a splash of vanilla extract

Now for the fun bit - get your hands in there and mix it up! Use your fingertips to rub the oil and honey/syrup into the dry ingredients, until it's evenly mixed. Spread out evenly on the tray.

Pop it into the hot oven (180 degrees) and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, stir with a fork, place back in oven and give it another 5 minutes or so.

I don't even bother letting it cool - just dig in! But if you want to cool it first you can - it gets crispier as it cools.

Sprinkle your granola over some fruit and/or yoghurt. If you're dairy free, try this coconut milk yoghurt!

It's also great sprinkled over banana or vanilla custard.

And of course, it's delicious with cold rice-almond milk or cashew milk too.

My favourite time to eat granola is actually supper time... think I'll go have some now! :)

Banana Carob Thickshake (Dairy Free)

2011-10-04T23:51:00.000+10:00

We love dairy free banana thickshakes around here - they're creamy, delicious and filling. And living in Far North Queensland, we have plenty of bananas all year round to use in thickshakes and smoothies. I buy bananas by the bag full when they're over-ripe and marked down at the grocery store, for $1 or $2 per kilo. I peel them, chuck them into a plastic freezer bag and pop them in the freezer. Then whenever we want a smoothie, banana ice-cream, or a thickshake, I just slice some off while they're still frozen, throw them into the Thermomix and whiz it up!

Recently I received an exciting package in the mail from The Australian Carob Co.,* and now I have a new favourite ingredient to add to my banana thickshakes - carob syrup! Wait, don't go away - I know carob gets a bad rap from chocolate lovers, but this carob syrup is like nothing you've tasted before! It's naturally sweet (the only ingredients are carob and water, which is a BIG plus for me) and it has a lovely flavour - not overpowering, just deliciously silky smooth and subtle. You can use it in drinks, as a syrup over ice-cream (banana ice cream would be good!), instead of sugar on your porridge, drizzled over pancakes, in cakes and carob brownies - it's delicious. My sister got hold of it and made a few hot carob drinks with it before I managed to get it back off her - she's on the Failsafe diet and can't have chocolate, so she loved this syrup. The Australian Carob Co. also produces raw carob powder, roasted carob powder and carob kibbles, and I was excited to hear that soon they'll also be bringing out a carob 'chocolate' which is said by taste testers to rival the best brands of chocolate in creaminess and flavour, and has no added sugar. Great news for Failsafers! Oh, and they're insecticide and pesticide free too, which is great. I'm pretty sure their carob powder would go well in my 'Almost Raw' Chocolate, if anyone wants to try their hand at making their own carob 'chocolate'...

So here's my thickshake recipe - it doesn't have a strong carob flavour, just a hint, and an extra bit of natural sweetness. Try it! I'm sure you'll love it as much as we do. And maybe even as much as our bird does...

It's very simple. First grind up some nuts on speed 9 until finely ground - I use a handful of raw almonds and a couple of handfuls of raw cashews. The cashews make it smooth and creamy, but you can use all almonds or all cashews if you like. (My measurements are approximate - alter to taste!)

Grind on speed 9 until fine:

- 50g raw almonds

- 100g raw cashews

Add the remaining ingredients and whiz it up on speed 9 for about a minute:

- 2 or 3 raw pitted dates (or dried dates will do)

- 350g - 400g frozen bananas (chopped in inch size pieces)

- 60g carob syrup

- water to cover (depends on how thick you like it)

Optional: For an extra carob-y thickshake, you could also add 20g of raw carob powder.

Amigo trying desperately to taste my thickshake!

* Note: This was not a paid post - although I did get a free sample, which was lovely of them... I just wanted to share what I thought about these products with my many health-conscious readers as I'm sure many of you will be interested to know about insecticide free, Australian carob products! To find a stockist near you, click here, or go to their Facebook page and ask there.

Yep, this thickshake is a favourite of the whole family -

even our Rainbow Lorikeet!

Shrek Juice & Juicing in the Thermomix

2011-10-03T23:26:00.000+10:00

We call this drink 'Shrek Juice'. I'm sure you can see why! It's so simple it's hardly a recipe, but I thought I'd go ahead and post it as I get lots of questions about the best way to make juice in the Thermomix.

The Thermomix is great for making delicious, healthy juices. The best way to do it is to make a 'boost juice' style of juice... just whiz up your fruit and/or veges with a couple of handfuls of ice, speed 10 for a minute or two, add a little water if you need to thin it down to a drinkable consistency, and there you are - no wasted pulp, the fibre is there in a drinkable form, and the bowl is easy to clean up afterwards. All you do when you've finished juicing is whiz up some water in the bowl, rinse under the tap, and voila - it's clean! There's no messy filter to scrub out - which makes it much more likely that you'll drink fresh juice every day, right? I know when I had to rely on a juice extractor for juices, I didn't juice too often - those things are such a pain to clean.

The reason you add the ice is because it helps grind up the fibres of the fruit and veges, stops the juice from becoming foamy, and also helps retain the enzymes in the juice by keeping them cool. So don't leave out the ice.

One of my favourite things about making juice this way is that I can afford to use organic fruit and veges and not feel like I'm wasting money by throwing out the fibre, because it's all incorporated into the juice. A couple of carrots, a couple of apples, a handful of baby spinach, a stick of celery and a little ice makes juice for four people - no need to use half the fruit and veges in the fridge! It also makes it a lower GI drink, as the fibre prevents your blood sugar levels from soaring because of concentrated sugars. And the juice is more filling, so it's great when you're in a hurry in the mornings and don't have time for breakfast; or if you're trying to lose weight. So my advice is keep the fibre in your juices - don't strain it all out!

Shrek Juice - makes about 3 serves

Grind up in the Thermomix on speed 10 for 1 minute or so:
- 3 oranges, peeled (cut off skin & pith, leave whole)
- 2 handfuls baby spinach
- a handful or two of ice

That's it!

I love to add baby spinach or other greens to smoothies and juices - you can't taste them, and fresh greens are so good for you. And most of us don't get enough of them.

Sometimes I add nuts to my juices, to make a creamy fruit drink like Pecan Orange Milk, or Creamy Citrus Smoothie. They're great for a breakfast drink, as the protein helps you wake up and gives you energy.

There's so many different types of juices you can make in the Thermomix - this is just a very simple one that's a favourite at our house. So what are your favourite juice combinations?

Oh, by the way, just in case you have little princesses at your house who are totally not interested in Shrek, here's a Princess Fiona Juice too... ;)

(Okay, it's more of a smoothie...)

This one is made from a few handfuls of frozen blueberries, a handful of baby spinach, a handful of raw almonds, a few dates, a frozen avocado or banana (chopped in bits), a handful of ice, water to cover, and a little agave syrup or honey to taste if needed. I don't really measure with juices and smoothies - just keep adding til it tastes right!

Enjoy!

Gooey Chocolate Icing (dairy free, sugar free, vegan)

2011-09-11T19:55:00.003+10:00

Here we are, a couple of days into our (mostly) grain free, sugar free, dairy free challenge, and I realize I'm going to have to make a birthday cake for my youngest that will not make her want to live permanently at Grandma's house! What to do? She had asked for a plain chocolate cake, which I quickly agreed to a few days ago, thinking I'd just whiz up our favourite, quick chocolate cake in the Thermomix (Cyndi O'Meara's Chocolate Cake from her "Changing Habits, Changing Lives Cookbook", made with spelt flour and rice-almond milk). Sigh. Couldn't do that, has grains in it. I thought about making the Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies in a cake tin, but I didn't have any hazelnuts. I couldn't make the Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake because it has lots of chocolate in it - too much sugar. Torte Caprese? No, way too much sugar! Hmmm... So I decided to make a chocolate cake based on my Flourless Pecan Cake recipe instead.

I had some leftover ground almonds, so I chucked them in, added some pecans and started grinding them up... then realized I didn't have any coconut cream! And so a new recipe was born. It has some pretty cool changes - a couple of surprise ingredients which help to cut down the Rapadura to 40g, and keep it moist and rich. I'll share the recipe soon, as I'm still tweaking it, because I want to be sure it's 'just right' before I post it for you all to try! (You never can have too many chocolate cake recipes, right?)

Anyway, I digress. What I wanted to say was after making this grain free chocolate cake, I decided it really would be better with some icing. And surely my eight year old wouldn't argue if I put some icing on her 'plain chocolate cake'? I'd been meaning to work out another dairy free, sugar free icing that didn't involve margerine (ick, one of my pet hates!) or chocolate pieces (because you don't always have chocolate on hand, especially if you have a husband like mine who steals it and leaves the empty packet in the fridge so you don't realize!)... and anyway, I couldn't use chocolate unless it was my healthy homemade one, because we're avoiding sugar. So, with some internet research and a bit of imaginative tweaking, I came up with this simple, delicious recipe! Hope you like it as much as we did. (Yep, it's all gone. At least it will be when I get back into the kitchen. :D )

Makes enough icing for one 20cm round cake (spread thickly!)

1. Grind cashews for 10 seconds, speed 9, until fine:

- 100g raw cashews*

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix at speed 6 for 30 seconds, scrape down, add a little more water if needed, and mix another 30 seconds until smooth:

- 3 fresh pitted dates

- 20g raw cacao powder

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 20g pure maple syrup

- 20g filtered water

Spread the icing thickly on your cake and enjoy, guilt free!!

* Next time I'll try soaking the cashews for half an hour first, then grind up all the ingredients at once. This might make a smoother icing. I was too impatient to try it this time!

Grain Free Sultana Spice Bread

2011-09-08T22:37:00.002+10:00

Did you know that if you're suffering from bloating, fibromyalgia, headaches, exhaustion, hay fever, sinus problems, brain fog and weight problems it could very well be all the bread you're eating? I know that when I eat a lot of bread, I have less energy, and my allergies start playing up - even if it's my healthy, homemade, low gluten breads. So I try not to over do it with bread.

Today I decided we needed to be a bit more proactive about getting rid of the coughs, colds and sniffles that have been plaguing our family lately! Our yearly youth camp is coming up in a week and a half, and it would be awful if the kids were sick for that. And I can't afford to be sick either as I'm cooking at camp... So for the next two weeks, breads and most grains, all dairy, and most sugars will be strictly off limits! (I'll still use some natural sweeteners like raw honey, dates, a little rapadura, pure maple syrup, and stevia, but will cut down on them.) And of course we'll be avoiding additives, preservatives and colours as usual.

I've asked on my Quirky Cooking Facebook Page if anyone else wants to join me in getting rid of breads, dairy and refined sugars for two weeks, to see if it makes a difference for them too. We're going to share our menus each day, and hopefully recipes too, to help inspire each other. Do any of you want to join us?

Here's what we had today:

Breakfast: Boiled jacket potatoes (organic) with homemade mayo; fruit

Morning Tea: Fruit salad with berry sorbet

Lunch: Leftover pasta e fagioli warmed up in the varoma (it was made with rice & corn pasta, but we needed to finish it off)

Afternoon Tea: Grain free sultana spice bread (recipe below!) and strawberries (loving strawberry season!)

Dinner: Grain free, dairy free lasagne and coleslaw with homemade mayo

The lasagne was a hit! Instead of pasta, I used thinly sliced eggplant, as I had a few in my vege box. I salted them, let them sit for a while in the Varoma, rinsed them, then steamed them in the Varoma while the bolognese sauce was cooking in the Thermomix bowl.

Once it was all cooked (about 25 mins) I layered the eggplant and bolognese sauce in a baking dish and topped it with a dairy free 'cheese' sauce, made from 500g rice-almond milk, 2 Tblspns (or so) nutritional yeast flakes, 30g macadamia oil, 1 tsp vege stock paste and 40g cornflour - cooked at 90 degrees for 7 mins, speed 4. Then I popped it in the oven, turned oven on to 180, and dashed out the door to a demo! When I got home there was only the tiniest bit left (2 litres of bolognese sauce and 3 eggplants, plus 'cheese' sauce!!)... Apparently the kids LOVED it! So we'll definitely be having that one again. :) (By the way, they did leave me a little bit, and I loved it too!)

Anyway, if you'd like to share some grain free, dairy free, naturally sweetened ideas (or check out others' ideas), please come on over to my facebook page. The more the merrier! :)

How to make Grain Free Sultana Spice Bread
This bread is based on the Pecan Bread I made a few weeks ago. Spicy, naturally sweetened and delicious, even without any butter!

1. Grind up in Thermomix on speed 8 for 10 seconds:

- 200g raw almonds

2. Add the pecans and chop on speed 5 for 6 seconds:
- 120g raw pecans (or use hazelnuts for a low salicylate version)
Remove the ground nuts to a bowl and set aside.

3. Place in the Thermomix bowl the following ingredients, and mix on speed 6 for 10 seconds:
- 60g coconut butter
- 1 apple, quartered (no need to peel)
- 5 large (or 4 very large) free range eggs
- 50g macadamia oil (or grapeseed, or other light oil)
- 1 tbspn lemon juice (or 2 tsp apple cider vinegar)
- 3/4 tsp bicarb soda
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 1 Tblspn ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 50g raw honey (optional)

4. Scrape down sides and add the ground nuts back in to the mixture, with the sultanas, and mix for a few more seconds on speed 6:
- 100g sultanas

5. Pour into the lined tin and bake at 160 degrees for an hour or so, until risen and browned; a skewer poked down into the centre of the bread will come out clean when it's ready.

6. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes before removing carefully from the tin. Pull it up with the paper so you don't break it. It will firm up as it cools.

Note: If you won't use it within a day or two, it can be sliced thinly, frozen in loose layers, then when completely frozen, wrapped and kept frozen to use a slice at a time.

We'll be having what's left as toast for breakfast, with some homemade strawberry jam. Yum!

Vanilla Coconut Pine Lime Sorbet

2011-08-30T22:39:00.001+10:00

Well the weather's finally starting to warm up. I'm so ready for spring, summer and SORBET! This is just a quick post to try out my new laptop (yay!) and share my new favourite flavour of sorbet. It's so refreshing, a perfect intro to the warmer weather.

These flavours were inspired by what's been in my vege box lately. Creamy and tropical, this is a great one for those of us who need a dairy free replacement for ice cream... you'd swear it has cream in it! I'm so addicted to coconut cream ice-creams. I hope you like it too. :)

Note: You will need to freeze the pineapple pieces and the coconut cream ahead of time!

1. Grind vanilla, rapadura & lime zest on speed 9 for 30 seconds, or until finely ground:

- 80g Rapadura (or to taste)

- 1 vanilla bean, snipped in a few pieces

- Zest of 2 limes

(If you don't have a vanilla bean, just use a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract in the last step.)

2. Add the ice cubes and grind on speed 9 for 10 seconds:

- 350g ice cubes

3. Add the frozen coconut cream and grind on speed 9 for 10 seconds:

- 450g coconut cream, frozen in ice cube trays (either tinned, or make your own from fresh or dried coconut)

4. Add frozen pineapple pieces, the two whole 2 limes (without skin), and the egg white. Process on speed 9 until creamy, pushing mixture down with spatula as needed.

- 2 limes, skin removed
- 300g frozen pineapple pieces

- 1 egg white (optional)

Pecan-Orange Milk (Dairy Free)

2011-08-19T20:36:00.001+10:00

Okay, don't die of shock, but here's another recipe - two in two days!! This is just a little one... I was going to post it on my Quirky Cooking Facebook Page but sometimes my 'little recipes' get a bit lost over there, never to be found again. A bit like yesterday's recipe, which was nearly lost in my handbag, and I've been strongly encouraged by Helene of Super Kitchen Machine to use 'post-it' notes for my scribbles, not scraps of shopping lists, so that doesn't happen again! (You've got to see her hilarious video here; so funny!)

This is a 'juice' I've been making for years, with many variations. Change it around with:
- raw cashews or blanched almonds or a handful of fresh coconut (or dry shredded coconut) instead of pecans;
- fresh pineapple or grapefruit or tangellos instead of the oranges;
- a raw egg added for extra protein;
- a big handful or two of raw baby spinach or other greens.

It's a great way to start off the day - the enzymes and vitamin C in the fresh fruit and the minerals and protein in the nuts make a great combination! It's thick and creamy like a smoothie, but without the dairy. If you like it sweeter, add a little raw honey or agave syrup. If you want it thinner, just add a little more water. Hope you like it!

Toss into your Thermomix bowl:
- 3 or 4 peeled oranges, depending on size (or grapefruit, or pineapple)
- a couple of handfuls of raw pecans (or raw cashews, blanched almonds or fresh coconut)
- a couple of handfuls of ice cubes
- 100g water

Whiz it all up on speed 9 for 2 minutes. Add some more water if you want it thinner, or a little honey or agave syrup if you want it sweeter.

Enjoy! :)

Pecan Bread (Grain Free)

2011-08-18T22:59:00.001+10:00

I've been meaning to try pecan bread for a while now, ever since a friend who can't eat any grains told me about it. So last week when I got a big bag of local, organic pecans through my co-op, I decided the time had come. I made it and loved it! It has a lovely texture, with a crisp, almost buttery, crust. Have I ever mentioned how much I love nuts? Yeah. I do. So I'm really sorry if you have a nut allergy, but I can't cover all bases at once, and this bread is gluten free, grain free, dairy free, sugar free, low salicylate (with tweaks), high protein, low carbs, and... okay, it's not egg free, but we're running out of ingredients here, guys!

Anyway, I googled 'pecan bread' and found this amazing blog, "Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried" (the quirky title immediately catching my attention), which has delicious SCD recipes (which means 'grain free' for the uninitiated!). Naomi is a homeopath and nutritionist in London who is herself a coeliac and coaches people through "the process of healing their gut and learning how to eat without gluten". A worthy cause. So I decided to try her Gluten Free Pecan and Apple Bread because it looked so good, and I loved her blog title. :) And here it is, with a few Thermomixin' tweaks of my own. Enjoy!

P.S. Even though it has apple in it, that is more for moistness than sweetness - this is not a 'sweet' bread like banana bread - it's a bread that can be used for sandwiches or toast or just eaten happily on its' own.

P.P.S. This also has almonds in it. In fact it has more almonds than pecans. So I'm not really sure why it's called pecan bread without any allusion to almonds, but it is. And also, if you are on the *Failsafe diet, you can cut down the salicylates by using hazelnuts instead of pecans. Of course, then you might like to call it hazelnut bread or it could get confusing. Okay. On to the recipe...

* For more Failsafe tips, see the comment from Naomi below!

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Line a bread tin with baking paper and set aside.

1. First you need to make some coconut butter. (I loooove this stuff!) This is what gives the bread that buttery crispness. You could use creamed coconut (which is what the original recipe calls for), but if you have a Thermomix, coconut butter is much cheaper and so quick and easy. It only takes 4 minutes, and the only ingredient is shredded coconut. So just pop over to "Super Kitchen Machine" and get the recipe, then pop back here. Thanks. :)

2. Now, after you've scraped the coconut butter out of your Thermomix into a dish, place the almonds in the Thermomix bowl (no need to wash the bowl) and grind up on speed 8 for 10 seconds:

- 200g raw almonds

3. Add the pecans and chop on speed 5 for 6 seconds:

- 120g raw pecans (or use hazelnuts for a low salicylate version)

Remove the ground nuts to a bowl and set aside.

4. Place in the Thermomix bowl the following ingredients, and mix on speed 6 for 10 seconds:

- 1 apple, quartered (no need to peel)

- 5 large free range eggs

- 50g macadamia oil (or grapeseed, or other light oil)

- 1 tbspn lemon juice (or 2 tsp apple cider vinegar)

- 3/4 tsp bicarb soda

- pinch of fine sea salt

- 60g coconut butter

5. Scrape down sides and add the ground nuts back in to the mixture, mixing for a few more seconds on speed 6.

6. Pour into the lined tin and bake for an hour or so, until risen and browned; a skewer poked down into the centre of the bread will come out clean when it's ready. (I know the original recipe says 40 mins, but mine took over an hour - may depend on the oven, or I may have used less nuts than she did - I was kind of guessing amounts. Never mind, it worked!)

7. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes before removing carefully from the tin. Pull it up with the paper so you don't break it. It will firm up as it cools.

We ate it warm with naturally sweetened apricot jam, then had it the next day toasted. It makes lovely toast! It's great for sandwiches too. I really wanted to try it with grilled strawberries and Rapadura, but the strawberries were all gone. Next time.

If you won't use it within a day or two, it can be sliced thinly, frozen in loose layers, then when completely frozen, wrapped and kept frozen to use a slice at a time.

Hope you like it!

And thanks Naomi. :)

Garlic Quinoa

2011-08-05T23:28:00.001+10:00

We love quinoa! It's healthy, delicious, quick to cook, high in protein, contains all the amino acids (so is great for vegetarians), contains no gluten, is low G.I., high in fibre, packed with nutrients, is grown organically... what's not to love?

Quinoa is not a grain - it's actually a kind of grass seed from a leafy, green plant that's related to spinach and chard! There's a bit of argument over whether you should eat it if you're on a grain-free diet - personally, I would. But that's up to you. You really should soak it first, overnight if possible, to get rid of the saponins on the outside of the grain (which taste bitter and are not so good for you) then rinse it... but if you don't have time to soak it, at least rinse it really, really well under running water, or dry roast it in a dry frypan for a few minutes. That will get rid of most of the saponins. Soaking is best though.

The quinoa in these photos is a mixture of three types - red, white and black. White is the most common, and you see red fairly often too, but this mix I bought recently through my co-op also contained the rarer black quinoa, which I thought was pretty cool! By the way, it's pronounced 'keen-wah', in case you were wondering. :)

Here's an easy, tasty way to cook quinoa in your Thermomix. Garlic quinoa is a great side dish. Serve with curries, chilli or stew; use it instead of mashed potatoes, rice, couscous or pasta. It's delicious in salads too. (For example, you know that delicious 'Warm Chicken, Pumpkin & Couscous Salad' from the Thermomix Varoma demo? Try it with garlic quinoa instead of couscous! Yum!)

I usually cook my quinoa in the rice basket in my Thermomix, just the same way I cook rice - same timing, same amounts - easy. As you can see in the photo below, the slits in the rice basket are small enough that it shouldn't fall through.

Garlic Quinoa in the Thermomix

Prepare ahead: Soak 350g quinoa overnight first; drain & rinse. Or at least rinse really well before preparing.

1. Chop garlic on speed 7 for 3 seconds:
- 3 cloves of garlic (more if you like)

2. Add oil or ghee and saute for 3 minutes, Varoma temp, speed 4:
- 50g olive oil or ghee

3. Add water & salt:
- 900g water
- 1 tsp sea salt

4. Take pre-soaked or rinsed quinoa and place in rice basket, put basket into bowl, then fit on the lid.
- 350g dry quinoa, soaked or rinsed

5. Cook on Varoma temp for 15 minutes, speed 4. Remove lid, stir quinoa with a fork, and taste to make sure it's salty enough. Season to taste and replace lid.

6. Cook another 5 minutes on Varoma temp, speed 4 - or until quinoa is soft, translucent, and the little 'tail' is visible. (Only the white quinoa will look translucent - see photo below.)

7. Empty basket into Thermoserver and fluff quinoa with a fork.

Serve as a side dish. Feeds at least 6, probably more!

Strawberries on Toast

2011-07-28T21:57:00.000+10:00

This isn't really a recipe... but I just wanted to share it because it's so yummy! It sounds very simple - 'strawberries on toast' - but it's so much better than plain old 'jam on toast' for breakfast... especially if it's on toasted Artisan bread!

First you'll need some Spelt Artisan Bread, or Gluten Free Artisan Bread. Slice some nice, thick slices and toast under a grill.

Spread with butter, or butter spread.

Add some sliced strawberries.

Sprinkle liberally with Rapadura.

Place back under the grill and toast it 'til the Rapadura starts to bubble.

Enjoy.

Getting lots of great Artisan bread recipes from this book!

Banana & Pomegranate Custard Crumble

2011-07-15T22:43:00.002+10:00

I had two very exciting things happen today - my Quirky Cooking Facebook Page reached 1000 followers (thank you lovely people!!), and I received a special package in the mail - a gigantic, beautiful pomegranate from Royal Pom!

I noticed a week or two ago that Royal Pom were offering free samples, so I eagerly took them up on it. I don't remember ever eating fresh pomegranate before - maybe I have, since my mum loves them - but I can't imagine that I'd forget that mouth-watering, tangy, juicy, burst of flavour! Wow!

I hadn't had time to check out pomegranate recipes yet, but I couldn't wait! I cut it open and tasted it, and decided to make a quick banana custard with crumble topping, with some pomegranate arils sprinkled over the top to jazz it up. The tart, juicy arils remind me of shiny, red jewels that 'pop' in your mouth! They are a perfect foil for creamy bananas and custard, and crunchy crumble topping. Such a simple dessert, yet very satisfying. :)

First make the crumble topping. If you have a favourite recipe for that, go ahead and use it - all I did today was equal amounts of flour, oats and butter, plus some Rapadura to sweeten. Then I remembered this crumble topping I've used before, which is really yummy - you can either use gluten free flour, or spelt flour, or grind up some grain and use that.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

1. Mix together in the Thermomix on speed 5 for 10 seconds:
- 250g gluten free flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 110g butter or butter spread or macadamia oil
- 100g Rapadura (or less if you like)

2. Add almonds and stir in on reverse for a few seconds:
- a handful or chopped or sliced almonds (optional)

3. Crumble the mixture onto a baking paper lined tray and bake for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy. Set aside to cool.

While the crumble is cooking, make the custard. I use rice-almond milk and Rapadura in mine, so it turns out brownish, but it tastes good! You can make it with your own recipe if you'd rather, but here's mine.

1. Place all ingredients in the Thermomix and cook at 90 degrees, 7 minutes, speed 4:
- 500g rice-almond milk
- 60g Rapadura
- 30g white spelt flour (or cornflour/arrowroot starch)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
- 1 egg yolk + 1 egg (or 1 or 2 eggs, depending on size)*
- You can also add a tablespoon or two of butter (if you can have it) to make it creamier
* If you can't have eggs, this works without them - you just may need a little extra flour.

Put it together: Slice up 2 or 3 bananas and layer them on the bottom of your dessert dishes. Pour the hot custard over the top so the bananas are completely covered, then crumble up some crumble mixture and sprinkle it over the top. Top with fresh pomegranate arils.

That's it! So simple... enjoy!

Making Butter in the Thermomix

2011-07-04T22:05:00.003+10:00

Homemade butter tastes so much better than bought butter! Most bought butters have additives and preservatives in them, some have colours, and non-organic butters also contain residues from the drugs fed to cows, and the pesticides in their feed. By using organic cream to make your own, you can have a delicious butter that's free from all the 'nasties' at a fraction of the cost. You'll get the best savings by buying your cream in bulk. We can buy cream in 2 litre bottles from our local organic dairy, and it works out much cheaper than bought butter. Some shops will also sell cream in 2 litre bottles, so ask around. Once you've made the butter, it can be frozen in smaller batches and thawed as needed.

With the Thermomix, making butter is a cinch. It usually takes about a minute, maybe two, to change from pure cream into butter and buttermilk. It costs less than buying pre-made butter, and if you make it into a butter spread (adding oil and water and whipping it up), it costs even less! I think most people know how bad for you margerine is, and since it's best to keep dairy to a minimum, (using it as a condiment, not a main part of your diet) this seems to me to be a good alternative to both margerine and pure butter. I can't handle too much butter, but I find if I mix my butter with olive oil and water (equal amounts of each), my body doesn't mind it so much.

This spread works well in all recipes that call for butter - cakes, biscuits, scones, even lemon butter. I use extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil in mine and don't find the taste too strong. But if you don't want to use olive oil, (eg. when using this spread for baking), you could use cold-pressed grapeseed or macadamia or sunflower oils.

Here's how I make my butter spread in the Thermomix:

1. Insert the butterfly and measure in the cream:
- 600g pure cream (make sure it's pure cream - thickened cream may not work)

2. Whip on speed 4 until it separates into butter and buttermilk. It will start to bump around, so stay near your machine and turn it off after a couple of seconds of 'bumping'. It usually takes only a minute or two, but I have had older cream take up to 5 minutes.

3. Strain the buttermilk by pouring it through the strainer/rice basket into a bowl. Squeeze the butter well with the spatula (against the side of the bowl) to get out as much of the buttermilk as you can. The buttermilk is lovely to bake with in scones, breads, cakes and pancakes (if you can have dairy), so don't throw it out!

4. Remove the butterfly from the bowl and pour about 500g icy cold water over the butter. Mix it on speed 4 for a few seconds to rinse it. Strain the water off into the sink, pressing the butter against the side of the bowl with the spatula and pouring through the strainer/rice basket again. The butter needs to be rinsed twice, or until the water is clear (see below). If you leave any buttermilk in the butter, it will turn sour more quickly.

5. Give the butter a good squeeze to get rid of any remaining water. This can be done with the spatula, squeezing the butter against the side of the bowl; or you can wrap a piece of muslin around the butter and squeeze it; or you can just use your hands, like I do. :)

6. Now make sure the bowl is empty, and weigh the butter back in so you know how much you have. Then add in that much oil and water.
Eg: If you end up with 300g of butter, add 300g of oil and 300g of water. Also add a little salt if you like. I add a bit less than a teaspoon of salt to this amount of butter, oil and water.
- olive oil (or grapeseed/macadamia oil)
- filtered water
- sea salt/himalayan salt (opt.)

7. Insert the butterfly, and whip the butter, oil, water and salt on speed 4 for about 20 seconds, or until well combined. Pour into a container (preferably glass) and keep in the fridge.

This butter spread will last a few weeks if kept refrigerated, and is easy to spread straight from the fridge.

Creamy Hot Chocolate (Dairy Free)

2011-06-29T13:05:00.002+10:00

The kids have been complaining about the wet, cold, miserable weather. (Why does it always come just in time for school holidays?) I told them, "It might be rainy outside, but it's sunny inside!!", and made them some of this rich, creamy Thermomix hot chocolate. It's the perfect antidote to the wet, winter weather - makes you feel all 'sunny' inside! Mmmm... And if you're dairy free, don't despair, you don't have to miss out - this one's made with cashew milk.

Feel free to change the sweetener to whatever you prefer, to taste. You could use palm sugar, honey, a little stevia, some pure maple syrup or agave nectar - it's up to you. I just love the rich taste of Rapadura with cacao - delicious! And you could also change it to a Mochaccino by adding some coffee. Try serving it after dinner when everyone's bugging you for some dessert, but you really can't be bothered. It's so rich and filling, they won't need any sweets after this!

By the way, I'd just like you to know that I've posted three recipes in a row that do not involve chocolate - can you believe that?? I'm so proud of myself. But enough is enough, I need a chocolate fix. Enjoy!

Serves 6 (if using cappucino cups) or 4 (if using mugs).

1. Weigh into Thermomix bowl and grind up on speed 9 for a minute or so:
- 100g raw cashews
- 600g filtered water
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (optional)

2. Add and cook on 80 degrees, speed 4, for 5 minutes:
- 25g raw cacao powder (or good quality cocoa)
- 50g Rapadura (or other sweetener, to taste)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

3. Whiz it up for 20 seconds on speed 7 to froth it up, then serve immediately.

Thermomix Gravy

2011-06-27T22:18:00.000+10:00

Okay, I just want to say that I LOVE how quick and easy it is to make gravy in my Thermomix. No dashing back and forth to the stove, stirring gravy madly with one hand so it doesn't stick, go lumpy, or bubble out of the pan onto the stove... whilst desperately trying to slice the roast without hacking it, letting it go cold, or losing half of it to picking fingers!

That's all I wanted to say.

I hope you weren't expecting a recipe.

You were? Oh. Well, this is my gravy 'recipe'...

When you make a roast, cook it in at least an inch of water, with some garlic cloves, a quartered onion, and all the veges sitting in it. Sprinkle the roast with herb salt and pepper, and herbs if you like, then cover it with foil. (Or cook it in the crockpot - same deal.) Basically, you want lots of yummy juice left over when you're done.

When it's cooked, tip the juices into the Thermomix (with the mushy garlic cloves and bits of onion) and add a couple of heaped tablespoons of cornflour (or arrowroot or rice flour). Yep, straight into the juice - no need to mix it into water in a cup and all that kind of nonsense. Then add a few sloshes of tamari (or soy sauce), and cook at 100 degrees on speed 4 for a few minutes - maybe 5 - until as thick as you like it. Season it if you like. I know, not much of a recipe, but that's what I do, and it works! :D

And while it's cooking, you can carve the roast and arrange the veges, and slap the picking fingers and generally feel quite peaceful and unstressed.

Love my Thermomix. :)

[Note: I just wanted to see if I could do a blog post in 15 minutes or less - I did it!! No excuse for slackness in posting now...]

Gluten Free Artisan Bread

2011-06-25T22:11:00.003+10:00

Gluten Free Artisan Bread

Bread is a bit of a sore point with a lot of people who can't have gluten. Gluten is the protein in bread that makes the dough all stretchy and elastic. It gives bread that lovely, light, slightly chewy texture. It makes the bread soft and pliable, so you can fold a piece of bread in half and it doesn't break and crumble. (Didn't you love eating folded-over sandwiches as a kid? I did.) But it's also the thing that causes bloating and discomfort in a lot of people, and does such terrible things to coeliacs!

When my son and I had to go totally gluten free for three months, the most difficult thing for us was not having bread. I mean, we could have gluten free bread, but have you ever tried the gluten free bread from the shop? Yeah, not so exciting. And it's expensive. And it's totally useless for sandwiches or for wrapping around a sausage.

I did end up making my own gluten free bread with Cyndi O'Meara's recipe (originally from the Changing Habits Changing Lives cookbook), which is much nicer than the shop bought bread, and cheaper, and you can grind up the grains in your Thermomix. I still had to force my son to eat it though - he wanted his spelt bread back.

Then recently I bought the cookbook 'Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day' and the first recipe I tried was the gluten free artisan bread. Wow. It turned out better than any gluten free bread I'd tasted before. I mean, look at this - it even bends without breaking!!

You can wrap it around a sausage, or make sandwiches with it, and it won't disintegrate into crumbs! And believe it or not, this photo was taken when the bread was a day old!!! (Sorry about all the exclamation marks, but I just can't help being excited about this bread!) :D

When my first loaf came out of the oven, it suddenly seemed like half the neighbourhood were in my kitchen, all wanting a slice of bread... Even when I told them it was gluten free it didn't scare them off - they loved it! (So, yeah, that first loaf didn't last long.)

The crust on this bread is thick and crusty and chewy, which I love, and the flavour is slightly sourdough-ish, which I also love, and it turns out looking very rustic, which I love as well... So as you can see, I'm pretty pleased with this bread! (Those of you who are followers of my Quirky Cooking Facebook Page are probably tired of hearing about this bread, but I thought I should share it with the non-facebookers out there.)

Have a look at the texture - isn't that great for a gluten free bread?

The addition of sorghum flour gives it a better texture, and bit of fibre. If you like, you could add more texture with the addition of some seeds - linseeds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds - they'd all be great in this bread.

So here's the original recipe for this bread: Recipe for Gluten Free Crusty Boule (I've just re-written it to make it more 'Thermomix friendly'.) Before you start, it would be best to watch the video clip by Zoe, one of the authors of the book - it'll give you a better idea of the method than just reading the recipe.

This recipe makes four 500g loaves - the dough stays in the fridge and you just bake a loaf when you need it. So easy!

1. Grind up in the Thermomix in two batches on speed 9 for a minute per batch:

- 300g brown rice (or use brown rice flour)

2. Add the dry ingredients (with all the rice flour) and mix in on speed 5 until well combined:

- 220g sorghum flour (find in health food shops or Indian/Asian grocery stores - also called 'Jowar Atta' flour)

- 380g tapioca starch (tapioca flour)

- 2 Tablespoons instant yeast

- 1 Tablespoon fine sea salt/Himalayan salt (adjust to taste)

- 2 Tablespoons xanthan gum

Tip flour mixture into a large mixing bowl.

3. Weigh liquid ingredients into Thermomix and mix on speed 4 until combined:

- 4 large eggs

- 670g lukewarm water

- 65g neutral flavoured oil (eg. macadamia, grapeseed, sunflower, light olive)

- 30g honey

4. Pour liquid into the bowl with the flour mixture and mix together with a wooden spoon until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated. There is no need to knead! Dough will be like a wet, sticky, scone dough, not like a regular bread dough - see photo below...

5. Cover (but not airtight) and allow dough to rest at room temperature until it rises, approximately 2 hours or so. You can use it immediately after this initial rise, but the flavour is nicer if you refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container overnight first. You can use the dough over the next 7 days, although bear in mind, the flavour gets stronger each day.

6. When you're ready to cook it, wet your hands, and take out a grapefruit-sized piece of the refrigerated dough. Quickly shape it into a ball, gently pressing into shape, and smoothing with a little water if you don't want it rough and rustic.

7. Allow the dough to rest, loosely covered in plastic wrap, on a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal, or on baking paper on a cookie sheet if you don't have a pizza peel. It will need to rest for about an hour and a half, or even 2 hours. (If it hasn't been refrigerated and you're using it straight away, it will only need about 40 minutes to rest.) It will rise a little in this time, but it won't double like regular bread dough does.

8. Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 230 degrees C (450 degrees F), with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. (If you don't have a baking stone, a cast-iron pan or heavy pizza tray will do.) Place an empty grill tray or baking pan on the rack underneath.

9. When the loaf is ready to bake, slash the top with 1/4-inch-deep parrallel cuts, using a very sharp knife, or a serrated bread knife. This isn't just for looks - it seems to bake better inside if you do this.

10. Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone or pan. (If using baking paper, leave it under the bread). Quickly pour a cup of hot tap water into the hot grill tray or baking pan and immediately shut the oven door. Bake for about 35 - 40 minutes, until lightly browned and firm. If you used baking paper, carefully remove it two-thirds of the way through the baking time and bake the loaf directly on the hot stone, cast-iron pan, or oven rack.

11. Allow bread to cool on a rack before slicing.

Note: Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time. If you like, you can make two loaves at a time, as they're small enough to sit side by side in the oven.

Sweet 'n' Salty Nuts

2011-06-19T22:47:00.000+10:00

Sweet 'n' Salty Macadamias

This is one of our family's 'go-to' snacks which my friends think I really should share - they're the easiest, yummiest snack around!

This isn't a Thermomix recipe - it's so simple, it's hardly a recipe at all... All it involves is some nuts, a liquid sweetener, some sea salt, and an oven. Oh, and a baking tray. And it only takes 20 minutes.

Sweet 'n' salty nuts are great for a quick snack on the go. I often take a little bag of them in my handbag when I go out, which helps me control the urge for buying something not-so-healthy to munch on!

I buy my nuts bulk from Trumps in Brisbane - it's a lot cheaper that way. I buy organic raw cashews, insecticide free almonds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts - all sorts. I can also get lovely pecans and macadamia nuts locally, which are probably my favourites. I always have a variety of nuts in my freezer. (And at the moment, in bags on my kitchen floor because I can't fit them in the freezer...) We're a pretty nutty family! :D

There's lots of possible combinations of nuts and sweeteners - here's a few of my favourites, but see what you can come up with!

- Macadamias, *raw agave nectar, sea salt

- Cashews, raw honey, sea salt

- Pecans, pure maple syrup, sea salt

- Almonds, agave/honey, sea salt

- Mixed nuts, honey, sea salt

* I use agave nectar/syrup now and then in my recipes, but only the raw, organic agave nectar, not the refined one. If you're worried about using agave, read this article - it explains in scientific detail how the good agave nectar is made, and the difference between that and HFCS.

Okay, here's the simple method for making sweet 'n' salty nuts:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

1. Spread the nuts on a baking paper lined pizza tray (or baking tray) so that they're in a single layer, like this:

2. Drizzle with honey or syrup, back and forth - no need to cover them! Just a drizzle, like this:

3. Sprinkle with about 1 tsp of sea salt or pink Himalayan salt for a tray of nuts. I use Himalayan salt crystals which I grind up in the Thermomix until fine. (There, see, I just couldn't do a recipe without using the Thermomix somewhere!)

4. Pop the nuts into the preheated oven and let them cook for about 10 minutes. Take the tray out and stir the nuts with a fork, turning them in the melted honey/syrup so they're evenly coated. Pop them back in the oven and cook another 10 minutes, or until they're golden and crispy. Don't burn them!

5. Let them cool for a few minutes before eating. Once they're completely cool, store them in an airtight jar on the counter.

P.S. You might want to do a couple of trays at a time - they go quick!

Chocolate Mousse with Blueberries & Chocolate Blueberry Almond Dirt

2011-06-11T19:42:00.000+10:00

We've had a lovely week this week with my little brother up for a visit. He lives 2000 kms away and it's just too far! It was so good to get to spend some time with him again. I wanted to make him a special dessert, so after playing with a few different ideas, I decided on chocolate mousse. If in doubt, always choose chocolate! And just to make sure it wasn't dull and boring, I thought I'd add some blueberries and chocolate 'dirt'.

I've never actually seen any recipes for chocolate dirt (although I'm sure they're there), and I was in a hurry, so I made my own up. I figured it would be good made out of dried blueberries, my homemade dark chocolate, Rapadura and almonds. Unfortunately, I didn't have any dried blueberries or homemade chocolate on hand, and after a busy day I only had half an hour left to invent my dessert, so I frantically dug the Lindt blueberry chocolate out of the freezer (where I'd been hiding it!) and used that instead. (I always seem to work best to a deadline!) And everyone was kind enough to wait for dinner until I'd gotten the mousse whipped up and popped in the freezer to set. They were all glad they'd waited. :)

Here's what I did.

First I made the 'dirt':

Chocolate Blueberry Almond Dirt

1. Grind up the Rapadura in the Thermomix to make it fine, about 30 seconds on speed 9:

- 50g Rapadura

2. Add and grind on speed 9 for a few seconds, until 'dirt' consistency:

- 50g raw almonds

- 50g blueberry Lindt chocolate

(or try dried blueberries, almonds & plain dark homemade chocolate)

3. Set aside in a bowl, clean out Thermomix jug.

Then I made the dairy free chocolate mousse with this recipe.

Now to put it all together.

I put a handful of blueberries in each dish...

...added a good sprinkle of chocolate blueberry almond dirt...

...then poured over the chocolate mousse. I put all the dishes on a tray in the freezer so they'd set while we ate dinner. When it was time for dessert, I got them out (they were perfectly set - took about an hour), sprinkled each one with chocolate dirt, and topped them with a blueberry each.

So, so good.

My brother told his friend (who was having dinner with us) that my desserts are 'so healthy you can eat them for breakfast'! Which I think scared his friend a bit, and he said he really wasn't very hungry... but after tasting it he must have changed his mind, because the whole thing disappeared quite quickly!

And I'm not so sure about this one being healthy enough for breakfast - it might be a bit rich with the Lindt chocolate and all. But I think if I found one hiding in the fridge tomorrow morning I would try my best to eat it. :D

Creamy Coconut Vanilla Rice Pudding

2011-05-28T15:30:00.000+10:00

Rice pudding. The perfect comfort food.

We love it hot with caramelized fruit as dessert, cold as an after school snack (great for lunch boxes too!), or as a satisfying just-before-bed snack. It's not too rich, not too sweet, can be 'dressed up' or eaten as is. My version of rice pudding is dairy free, gluten free and vegan, and the Thermomix makes it so simple and quick - great for when you don't really feel like cooking, but you really want something for dessert!

I use Rapadura to sweeten this, which is why it's a darker colour than what you may be used to. The Rapadura gives it a lovely, slightly caramel flavour - much nicer than the bland, super-sweet taste of refined sugar!

If you don't have a vanilla bean, you can just add vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract to the ingredients in step 2. I do love to use a whole vanilla bean though - you get all the little vanilla-y bits and the delicious seeds all through your pudding!

1. In your Thermomix, grind up the Rapadura and vanilla bean for 1 minute on speed 9:
- 60g Rapadura
- 1 whole vanilla bean, snipped in pieces

2. Scrape down lid and sides and add remaining ingredients. Cook for 20 minutes at 90 degrees, reverse, speed 1 1/2.
- 200g arborio rice (or 250g if you like it thicker)
- 400g organic coconut cream (use organic so you don't get all the nasty additives)
- 600g water

3. The rice pudding will still be quite runny - don't worry, it thickens after a few minutes. You can pour it straight into a serving dish (a Thermoserver is ideal) and leave it for 5 minutes before serving, and it will be perfect.

For a delicious dessert, top with caramelized mango or peaches or nectarines. Halve or cube the fruit, sprinkle with Rapadura or palm sugar, and cook in a heavy frying pan (or char grill pan) for 1-2 minutes each side, or until caramelized.

Sue-Ellen's Singapore Noodles

2011-05-19T20:47:00.001+10:00

My friend Sue-Ellen has kindly given me permission to post this recipe which she converted herself for the Thermomix. It's really good! I tweaked it a little, steaming and scrambling the eggs with the noodles in the Themomix bowl, instead of separately in a pan - I thought that was pretty cool! Love this machine! :)

Sue-Ellen based her recipe on one for 'Fried Bee Hoon' in the new Asian Thermomix cookbook. (Another really yummy recipe!) If you're new at converting your recipes for the Thermomix, here's a good tip: find a recipe that is similar to yours in one of the Thermomix cookbooks, and use that method, changing the ingredients to suit. You'll also need to make sure that the combined ingredients won't exceed 2 litres. For more tips on converting your recipes, see this post.

I find it so amazing that the Thermomix can grind grains and coffee beans and ice to powder in seconds, yet it can also gently stir pasta and rice and vermicelli noodles without mushing them! I avoided cooking vermicelli in the Thermomix for a long time, thinking the results would not be pretty - but guess what? I was wrong! It really does work! Of course, if you overcook it, it will begin to break up, so keep an eye on it and don't let it overcook.

I recommend using chicken stock paste in this recipe, as the flavour is so delicious! If you want to make some, the recipe is here with the one for Creamy Chicken & Brown Rice Soup. If you don't have any chicken stock paste and you're in a hurry to make this, vegetable stock paste will do.

Note: If you're on a grain free or low carb diet, you can use mung bean vermicelli ('bean thread') in this recipe instead of the rice vermicelli.

This recipe serves 6, or maybe a little more.

1. Mix chicken and seasonings together in a bowl and set aside:

- 250g chicken, cubed in 2cm pieces

- 1 small tsp salt

- 1 tsp Rapadura

- 1 tblspn oyster sauce

- 1 tblspn soy sauce or shoyu

2. Soak the vermicelli in a bowl of cold water:

- 200g rice vermicelli (or mung bean vermicelli)

- water to cover

3. Place garlic & ginger into Thermomix bowl and chop for 3 seconds, speed 7:

- 3 cloves garlic

- 5g fresh ginger

4. Add oil and curry powder and saute for 3 minutes at Varoma temp on speed 1:

- 15g olive oil

- 1 tblspn curry powder

5. Add marinated chicken and cook for 5 minutes at Varoma temp on reverse, speed soft.

6. Add carrot and onion and cook for 3 minutes at Varoma temp on reverse, speed soft:

- 100g carrot, peeled & julienned (1 medium carrot)

- 1/2 brown onion, thinly sliced

7. Add water, stock paste, vermicelli, cabbage and bean sprouts and cook for 5 minutes at Varoma temperature on reverse, speed soft:

- 420g water

- 1 tblspn chicken stock paste (or vegetable stock paste)

- drained vermicelli noodles

- 150g Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced

- 60g bean sprouts

8. Remove lid and gently drag some of the veges up to the top so the vermicelli goes to the bottom of the bowl. Pour in the beaten eggs. Replace lid and cook another 2 minutes at Varoma temp on reverse, speed soft. The eggs will steam on top and scramble as it stirs.

- 2 eggs, beaten

(Cooking time can vary - only cook until the noodles are soft, don't overcook.)

Here you can see the scrambled egg that has cooked

on top of the noodles in the last two minutes -

no need to cook them in a separate pan!

9. Empty bowl into Thermoserver and stir egg evenly through noodles with spatula. Enjoy!

This recipe makes quite a lot -

it fills a 2.2 litre Thermoserver to the top!