Author: nzthermomixmum

Asian slaw (Pete Evans) and Tomato soup

~ nzthermomixmum

Asian Slaw and Tomato soup

If you have time and a mandolin, the vegetables for this slaw can be finely  shredded, but when you have very little time, slaw chopped with the thermomix can be ready in seconds. Put in the roughly cut vegetables and herbs and blend 5 seconds, speed 4, then add 2-3 seconds at speed 4 until your preferred texture is reached. Sometimes I will add the splashes of the dressing ingredients to the vegetables in the thermomix before I chop, other times make the dressing and toss into the coleslaw.  Added some grilled chicken and nuts for protein to the slaw.

Asian slaw 

  • 1/2 Savoy cabbage
  • 1/4 small purple cabbage
  • 4 mini cucumbers, or 1 medium seedless cucumber
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 cup mint leaves (a handful works fine)
  • 1 cup cilantro leaves (a handful works fine)
  • 1/2 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds
  • 1/2 Tbs. black sesame seeds

Asian Slaw Dressing 

  • 1/3 cup coconut or extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2-1/2 Tbs. soy sauce
  • 1-1/2 Tbs. honey
  • 1 Tbs. sesame oil
  • 1 Tbs. mirin
  • 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice, more to taste
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tomato soup using thermomix guided recipe is the side dish. Dinner done with very little effort. And great to see kids eating all the vegetables. And leftovers the next day taste even better with more time for the flavours to absorb.

Rice Bubble Slice (no baking)

~ nzthermomixmum
Rice bubble slice (butter)
Traditional Rice bubble slice

What to do with the leftover Easter eggs we have in the pantry. Use them up in rice bubble slices! Tried two easy recipes and modified them to suit.   The Traditional slice pictured first was made trying to smooth the chocolate over the top and is a little crumbly because it was hand mixed. I’ve adjusted the recipe to follow the thermomix method used for the Peanut Butter slice.  Melting chocolate first to put into the baking tin is much easier because it’s tricky to  spread chocolate over unset rice bubbles. These recipes take 5 minutes to make with the thermomix and then pop straight into fridge to set.

Traditional Rice Bubble Slice 

  • 125g butter
  • 80g sugar
  • 200g chocolate ( approx 1 Easter bunny)
  • 4c rice bubbles
  1. Line a slice tin with baking paper.
  2. Break chocolate into pieces and melt in thermomix, 1.5 minutes, 70c, speed 3.5. Spread melted chocolate into the slice tin onto the baking paper.
  3. Add sugar and butter to TM bowl  5min Varoma temp. speed 2. Add the rice bubbles to the TM bowl and mix for 1 minute 20 seconds reverse speed 1.
  4. Pour the rice bubble mixture into slice tin on top of melted chocolate  and use a metal spoon to spread across the tin and push down firmly.
  5. Place in refrigerator for an hour until set, then slice.

    Rive bubble slice (peanut butter)
    Peanut Butter Rice Bubble Slice

Peanut Butter Rice Bubble Slice

  • 3 cups of Rice Bubbles
  • ½ cup of rice malt syrup
  • 120g (½ cup)  of smooth peanut butter
  • 200g of milk chocolate( approx 1 Easter bunny)
  1. Line a slice tin with baking paper.
  2. Melt chocolate broken into pieces in thermomix, 1.5 minutes, 70c, speed 3.5. Spread melted chocolate into the slice tin onto the baking paper
  3. Add syrup and peanut butter to TM bowl 5min Varoma temp. speed 2. Add the rice bubbles to the bowl and mix for 1 minute 20 seconds reverse speed 1.
  4. Pour the rice bubble mixture into the slice tin on top of the melted chocolate and use a metal spoon to spread across the tin and push down firmly.
    Place in refrigerator for an hour until set, then slice.

The kids raved about the Peanut Butter slice, said it tasted like Reese’s Peanut Butter  cups. Put into freezer bags after they’ve set, ready for lunchboxes and treats during the week. Better than buying the supermarket ones and you can reduce sugar accordingly to your taste.

Oakhill Potatoes

~ nzthermomixmum
Oakhill potatoes
Oakhill potatoes

Oakhill Potatoes ( potato casserole)  is the family’s  most requested comfort food and we all love it. A golden oldie, it’s an Alison Holst recipe which was taught in cooking class at intermediate school and been made ever since. Only usually made for BBQ’s or parties because it was so time consuming but not now with the thermomix.   Converted for the thermomix it’s now very simple,  steam potatoes and eggs using thermomix, cut and sauté onions and bacon using thermomix, make white sauce with guided bechemal recipe in the thermomix. Assemble the three elements and bake. No need to stand by stove boiling eggs and potatoes or frying the onion and bacon. White sauce ( bechemal sauce ) is a made  in 11 minutes by the thernomix, cheese grated with thermomix, slices of bread blitzed with thermomix to make crumb.

Oakhill Potatoes recipe 

serves 4-6 people

  • 6 large potatoes
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 rashers bacon roughly cut into pieces
  • 1 medium onion halved
  • 2 cups white sauce ( bechemal sauce )
  • 1/2 cup grated tasty cheddar cheese
  • 3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
  1. Cube potatoes into 1-2cm pieces, place in steamer basket, place eggs in Varoma tray. Add 1.2 ltrs boiling water to TM bowl.   Insert steamer basket and Varoma tray on top, cook 15 mins, Varoma temp, sp 3.  Set aside potatoes and eggs.
  2. Add bacon and onion to TM bowl , chop 3 sec, speed 5. Add 20g oil and  cook 3 minutes, Varoma temp, reverse sp stir . Mix bacon and onion into white sauce. Set aside.
  3. Make white sauce using the guided recipe for bechemal sauce. Use one step method 11 mins, 70C, speed 4.  Set aside
  4. Arrange potatoes, sliced egg, white sauce mixture in baking dish, top with grated cheese and breadcrumbs.
  5. Bake 180c  30- 40 minutes.

Can refrigerate for up to 24 hours or bake immediately. To my daughters, you might want to double the recipe and make two because one is usually wolfed down so quickly!!

Apple cake

~ nzthermomixmum
Apple cake
Apple cake (three apples)
Apple cake (four apples)
Apple cake (four apples)

The guided recipe for apple cake is so simple and here is the result….a lovely tea cake, deliciously light and crisp on the top. It’s done in 20 seconds in the Thermomix  and the only hard part is peeling and quartering three apples to lay on top. The sponge is light and the apples are soft but still firm. Can imagine with whipped cream, it would make an awesome dessert. This afternoon  dinner is cooked (sweet and sour fish) mac and cheese with tuna cooked for kids afternoon tea and this apple cake made for lunchboxes. Would not have attempted more than one of these dishes before we had the Thermomix. Even had time to clean up the kitchen while the Thermomix did all the work.  Notes for next time : no need to push apples into cake or reduce sugar, use four apples instead of three.Some apples work better, pacific rose too crunchy and granny smiths too tart, gala works well, best not to slice too thick so the apples soften while cooking.

Apple cake
Apple cake

Sweet and sour fish

~ nzthermomixmum

Sweet and sour fish The Thermomix makes this dish super easy, one element the vegetables are cooking by themselves while you cook fish.  The sauce is cooked without you having to stand at the stove. A one dish meal that suits family eating where we are all coming and going at different times. I have adapted our recipe  for sweet and sour fish, no prizes for presentation but it’s tasty and at least it’s homemade! Sweet and sour fish

  • 500g fish
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 c cornflour
  • 1cm piece of ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 pineapple
  • 500g – 1kg  mixed vegetables

Sauce

  • 120g tomato sauce
  • 4 TB white vinegar
  • 3-4 TB sugar
  1. Cut fish into small pieces and coat in egg and dust in cornflour (  I tip the lightly beaten egg into the fish pieces and then tip batches of fish into the cornflour to coat, saves time)
  2. Cook battered fish 1-2 minutes each in fry pan, drain on paper towel and set aside.
  3. Use Chinese style stir fried vegetables guided recipe in the Thermomix  to cook the pineapple and vegetables ( I used broccoli, celery, carrot, mushroom, capsicum  and left out oyster sauce ) set aside in thermoserver
  4. No need to clean the Thermomix, add sauce ingredients and cook                           3 minutes,varoma temp, speed 1 until sugar dissolved.
  5. Heat a large pot, put in cooked sauce, cooked vegetables and cooked fish and gently mix and warm through. Served with rice.

If  running out of time , don’t bother coating fish, just dust in a little cornflour or fry fish uncoated or use the Varoma to steam the fish. If the sauce is a bit thick add a little water, too thin add some cornflour mixed in water to thicken.

Stir fried noodles

~ nzthermomixmum
image
Combination noodles

Used thermomix to precook the noodles by adding boiling water and noodles to TM bowl followed the boiled pasta guided recipe.  Tipped cooked noodles into a thermoserver to keep warm. Then used the chinese style stir fried vegetables guided recipe to cook  vegetables ( left out chillies ).  Whilst the Thermomix was cooking the vegetables, mixed sliced pork with cornflour, salt and white pepper. Fried the pork in pan, added seafood and fried altogether until cooked. Flavoured with soy sauce, salt , oyster sauce and sesame oil. Once the vegetables are cooked, combined with meat and seafood,  and tossed into noodles. Notes Can add sesame oil and some toasted sesame seeds.  Can add a little chicken stock, water and cornflour to make a sauce with pork and vegetables.

Creamy Tomato soup with Grissini breadsticks

~ nzthermomixmum
Tomato soup and grissini sticks
Tomato soup and grissini sticks

Thermomix guided creamy tomato soup is perfect for kids afternoon tea. Requires 700g of fresh tomatoes, garlic, onion, tomato paste, vegetable stock and fresh herbs. Used milk instead of cream and sweetened  a little more at the end because the tomatoes weren’t very ripe. Cooked in 12 minutes. Served with grissini dipping sticks. The kids love these sticks ! Made grissini from the pizza dough recipe flavoured with chopped garlic and rosemary,  brushed with olive oil and sea salt before baking for 10 minutes at 200c. The other half of the dough was rolled less thinly and snap frozen for lunch boxes.

Sweetcorn Fritters.

~ nzthermomixmum
Sweetcorn fritters
Sweetcorn fritters

Our favourite sweetcorn fritter recipe. Easy Sunday lunch, with rocket salad. Kids love Pete Evans green goddess dressing and eating lots more salad and taken a liking to the peppery taste of rocket which we have growing in abundance in the garden. Pre Thermomix days, nothing edible would grow in the garden usually from lack of watering and feeding. But it’s amazing how our focus on healthy eating has somehow transformed a bare herb garden into something that adds regularly to our meals. More than ever before determined to keep replanting herbs and loving the fact we can go pick some greens straight from the garden for our salads.

Sweetcorn fritters 

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 c milk
  • 3/4 c self raising flour
  • 1 can creamed corn
  • 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
  • salt and pepper
  1. Separate egg yolks, place eggs whites into TM bowl with butterfly and beat speed 3.5 till fluffy and set aside
  2. Add yolks, milk, flour, corn, salt and pepper blend  in reverse speed 3 until combined
  3. Fold in egg whites to mixture and fry tablespoons of batter over medium heat, turn over when mixture starts to bubble.

What takes this ordinary fritter into something with a bit more kick is this artisan  pickle which we bought from fabulous  Farros. At $20 a jar definately a treat, but it’s  homemade and an award winning prawn balcháo. The Kashmin chilli and curry leaves  provide a bit of heat and warmth to our lunch.

Prawn Balchao
Prawn Balcháo

Coconut Twists / coconut buns

~ nzthermomixmum
Coconut Twists
Coconut Twists

Coconut twists are are an old family recipe.  My mum and aunty have made these for as long as I can remember and they evoke special childhood memories.   Eaten straight from the oven , sticky crunchy coconut dotting the floor as the children sneak them off the tray when mum wasn’t looking.  They were so good, when my mother and aunt opened a lunch bar in Queen Street in the 1970’s, they were a top seller.  You can buy them in the Asian bakeries now but they’re the mass produced kind. None can rival that homemade taste and texture.   Each roll slightly different from the next depending on how it was twisted and how much coconut sugar peaks out from each twist. And now the recipe has been published in Natalie Oldfield’s latest cookbook, “Love and Food at Grans Table”, a beautiful collection of grandparents recipes.  Thanks to my dear cousin for sending in my aunt’s treasured recipes.

Converted the recipe for the Thermomix and oh my goodness, they’ve turned out fabulous.  For some reason there’s alot of coconut sugar left over after rolling and making the twists so they weren’t sweet enough, next time I’ll melt the butter into the coconut sugar instead of buttering the rolled dough and sprinkling over the top. 6  1/2 cups of flour makes three trays of buns.

The kids came home from school to these wonderful twists on the table and gave them the thumbs up. I am literally jumping up and down with joy, a recipe is preserved for the next generation.

Coconut Twists

  • 125 g butter
  • 1 c milk
  • 3/4 – 1 c water
  • 1/4 c sugar
  • 3-4  tsp dried yeast
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 1/2 c flour (810g)
  • 1 tsp salt

Coconut Filling

  • 2 c coconut
  • 1/2 c sugar
  • 90g butter
  • 2 tsp vanilla essense

Method

  1. Combine and melt butter, milk and water  in tmx – mix  2 mins, 50c , speed 2.
  2. Add yeast, sugar-  mix 2 mins, 37c , speed 1. Leave 10 minutes. ( yeast will activate and froth)
  3. Add other ingredients. Knead on dough mode 4 minutes. 
  4. Leave dough in warm place till doubled in size.
  5. Punch down dough, roll out to into a large square. Mix filling ingredients and put the coconut filling on half the square and fold dough over. Cut into strips 4 cm wide twist twice and set onto lined or greased baking trays. Cover with tea towel and leave to rise until they have doubled in size.
  6. Preheat oven to 200c. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Leave to cool on trays. Makes 30.

Seafood Chowder

~ nzthermomixmum
Seafood casserole
Seafood casserole

yahoo … A new Thermomix cookbook arrived today so had to pick a recipe from it. Seafood chowder is super yummy. Blended and sautéed, onion, celery, garlic, added the bacon, flour, stock, and milk and potatoes to cook soup base. Then used the varoma to steam mussels and fish. Topped with chives. Ready for afternoon tea and dinner.  Great easy family meal.