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
Separate egg yolks, place eggs whites into TM bowl with butterfly and beat speed 3.5 till fluffy and set aside
Add yolks, milk, flour, corn, salt and pepper blend in reverse speed 3 until combined
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.
Pizza bread flavoured with garlic and thyme, and porridge for breakfast and school lunches
First week back from school holidays, getting back into semblance of a routine has meant less time to blog. This week is marked by food highs, one thermomix food fail( didn’t follow the recipe ) and some reliable basic recipe standards. The reliable standards were smoothies, milkshakes, pizza bread, porridge, shortbread ( a new recipe I tried from the community, had 81 top ratings and was great ) link below http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/baking-sweet-recipes/grandmas-shortbread/45249, Masterchef chocolate brownie (recipe community), wholemeal bread rolls using soft butter rolls as a base,KFC chicken recipe(road to loving my Thermomix recipe) minestrone soup,
Minestrone soup ( delicious guided recipe)Leek and potato soup (guided recipe part of chicken velouté meal)
yummy leek and potato soup, mashed potatoes , steamed potatoes, chinese style stir fried vegetables; one of our favourite Thermomix recipes and our favourite stir fry to make. Simple and cooks in 7 minutes. I usually use a kg of fresh vegetables and cook for 9 minutes and it’s done, set and forget, tip into thermomserver to keep warm, stays crunchy for ages, love it!
Perfect mash potato
The Thermomix guided mash potatoes are super smooth, tasty and super easy to prepare. Simply put on the all ingredients, no water required, and set to cook. Lastly whip for a minute and that’s perfect mash potato every time.
Porridge topped with apple cinnamon and maple syrup
Breakfast is a breeze using guided recipes for crepes, American pancakes, pikelets, poached eggs, waffles and the loveliest creamiest porridge you could imagine. Honestly, the guided porridge is really really good, ready in 11 minutes no stirring, husbands favourite! It serves up a generous 5-6 people and topped with fresh fruit, cinnamon and maple syrup or honey, it’s incredible …. Husband keeps saying “wow” and “people would pay $15 for this at a cafe.” We used to microwave porridge but this is 1000% better. Miss 8 favourite breakfast is now Thermomix porridge.
Poached eggs using the guided recipe is messy and only allows for 2-3 eggs at a time. Our favourite go to recipe is sous vide poached eggs link below
The amazing thing about these poached eggs is you place the eggs with shell on into the steamer basket, and cook between 11-12.5 minutes at 70C. We set 12.5 minutes and use between 3 and 6 eggs depending on who wants eggs . It does take a little experimentation with timing to produce your preferred balance of cooked white and yolk but it’s super cool to watch everyone crack their eggs and watch the egg slide out whole. Note the eggs have to be cold from fridge and you can add boiling water to the TM bowl and wait for the temperature to reach 70C before putting the eggs in and setting the temperature to remain at 70C for the duration of the cook time.
The Thermomix recipe fail this week was a seafood paella ( forgot to add the key spice saffron), that looked quite uninspiring but was eaten all the same . It didn’t have the lovely yellow colour and flavour but was edible. This week, I cooked pork and apple casserole with the pressure cooker and a chicken and leek pot in the oven just so I didn’t forget some old familiars. Definately enjoyed dusting off the pressure cooker. Haven’t yet converted these to Thermomix recipes, maybe later.
Friday lunch was a Thermomix high…. A pot luck paleo lunch. My friends Steph and Fran prepared some amazing dishes with the help of their thermomixes and all using paleo recipes. On the table is the yummy satay chicken ( Pete Evans Family Food) fabulous Thermomix fish cakes , healthy Thermomix Beetroot salad, crunchy seed crackers with cashew cream dip ( Pete Evans Family Food) and the most refreshing cocktail, coconut water with ginger, mango, and mint. (Pete Evans Family Food)
Thermomix paleo lunch club
We traded recipes, thernomix tips and officially geeked out on Thermomix recipes and cooking! The food was exciting and inspiring. Can’t wait to do it again.
Shortbread, bliss balls and scones for dessert
And the finale for the week was dinner cooked by Miss 14. While I took Miss 8 to ballet, Miss 14 prepared Chilli con carne (guided recipe) guacamole (guided recipe ) with corn chips for dinner. The guided chilli con carne was awesome, so flavoursome with a spice base of cinnamon, coriander seeds, and cumin, she used trimmed rump steak pre minced in the Thermomix …( we like less fat in the mince)
Chilli con carne, guacamole, nachos, and side of beetroot salad
What a treat, dinner done by lovely daughter, dessert done, glass of wine for mum … Friday night is pretty perfect!
What’s for lunch. While I took miss 8 to the park and miss 14 went cycling with her Dad, the dough for these buttery rolls ( guided thermomix recipe) was proving for an hour in the thermomix. The second proving after the rolls are placed on the tray makes all the difference to a softer texture and smoother shaped bun. The first few times we made the buns we couldn’t wait for a second prove and put them straight into the oven but now after waiting for a second prove it’s definately worth the wait. The dough makes quite a large batch, probably around 20 buns, so it’s better halved after the first prove and the dough can be saved in the fridge for use another day. I had to substitute light milk for buttermilk because I had no buttermilk. ( I have substituted milk for buttermilk in all the thermomix recipes tried so far too with no detrimental effect to the recipes) And yah, pleased to say the these buns were still excellent with this substitution. They also seem to stay fresher and softer for longer than after a single prove. The smell of these buns baking in the oven is mouth watering and while the buns were baking in the oven threw the ingredients into the thermomix for mushroom soup which was ready in 10 minutes. Hot butter rolls and creamy mushroom soup served ..yum yum.
Last night we had takeaways, not by choice, and straight after miss 8 said ” I don’t like this food can’t wait for tomorrow when we can eat thermomix food”. That’s pretty amazing to hear from a child. I think the freshness of the food, and just knowing it’s come straight out of the oven and onto the plate, gives them such a sense of wellbeing. The thermomix is helping us establish healthy food habits of a lifetime.
Made this apple and chia seed porridge for me and my husband and it was delicious, slightly too sweet so will only use 2 medjool dates next time. Ticks the gluten free, refined sugar free boxes and one serve was enough for both of us. Quite amazing only 3 tablespoons of little black chia seeds, topped with natural yoghurt was so filling and full of energy. Just a few seconds blending apple and dates (added a few feijoas from the garden too) then two to three minutes heating with the chia seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut milk, in the thermomix. The link for the recipe is pasted above.
Also copy and pasted an excerpt from the web ;information about chia seeds so we know what we’re eating. ….
“What Is Chia? Chia is an edible seed that comes from the desert plant Salvia hispanica, grown in Mexico dating back to Mayan and Aztec cultures. “Chia” means strength, and folklore has it that these cultures used the tiny black and white seeds as an energy booster. That makes sense, as chia seeds are a concentrated food containing healthy omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, antioxidants, and calcium. Chia seeds are an unprocessed, whole-grain food that can be absorbed by the body as seeds (unlike flaxseeds). One ounce (about 2 tablespoons) contains 139 calories, 4 grams of protein, 9 grams fat, 12 grams carbohydrates and 11 grams of fiber, plus vitamins and minerals. The mild, nutty flavor of chia seeds makes them easy to add to foods and beverages. They are most often sprinkled on cereal, sauces, vegetables, rice dishes, or yogurt or mixed into drinks and baked goods. They can also be mixed with water and made into a gel.” …
The nutritional benefits sound great, now just have to convince the children to try this porridge. The prospect of Easter eggs makes it a hard sell today.
Yah… Homemade bagels made for Sunday brunch. The dough was mixed and kneaded in the thermomix within 3 minutes then left to prove. Then shaped into doughnut shapes and dunked in boiling water and then baked for 15 minutes. Note: we just added some boiling water to a bowl and dunked both sides of each bagel in the water for 30 seconds alternately. 480 gm of flour in the recipe made 8 bagels. Texture fantastic. Eaten fresh from the oven with ham, cream cheese, and salad. The recipe is from the a thermomix recipe app, “robo gourmet thermomix” But have found a recipe on the super kitchen machine blog which is almost the same except for the addition of a small amount of butter 25gm in the blog.
The last time we ever tried brioche in this kitchen, miss 14 was dismayed to find it required overnight proving. And copious amounts of butter to be slathered over the buns. The result was less than perfect because there were so many elements to get right in making them by hand. So she gave on making them again. Considering the first attempt and the fact that patience is not a virtue in this kitchen, we were dubious even the thermomix version would be successful. Most recipes we’ve seen require between 6 hours to over night rising usually in two separate sessions.
Just followed the guided recipe for brioche, and here’s the result. The dough was extremely soft and moist so wasn’t sure if it would turn out. But the cooked brioche is impressive, has a lovely soft buttery texture, slightly sweet, smells divine out of the oven. Had to leave the dough to rise for three hours but it’s worth the wait. Would be lovely Sunday brunch food. Was supposed to leave the loaf for a second rise one hour but wanted it ready for kids afternoon tea so just stuck it in the oven after the first rise. Baked 30 minutes later, the loaf is ready to slice. I suspect the top may have been more smooth and rather than cracked if it had been left to prove for another hour. But we can’t complain, who would have thought we could produce a bread just like the French bakery round the corner and better still it’s homemade.
It’s so simple, I hadn’t even thought about it, a banana milkshake is just that banana and milk, no added sugar or preservatives. Blitz for a minute and serve. Perfect breakfast drink for the kids. See recipe link above.
These steamed buns are a great way to use up leftover meat. We had some chicken meat, minced up in thermomix 3 seconds , speed 4. Then stir fried with some grated carrot, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sugar and thickened to a gravy with cornflour and water. Made the dough in the thermomix in 10 minutes and because the dough doesn’t require proving, we can roll them straight away. Everyone enjoys being involved in the process of making and filling the buns and we compete to see who can make the best looking bun that doesn’t split apart after steaming. The best are of course mums!
Dough recipe
400 g flour
100 g water
2 tsp dried yeast
100 g milk
70 g sugar
1 Tb oil
2.5 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
Directions
Add all dough ingredients to thermomix.
Mix 6 seconds , speed 6.
Knead 1 minute on dough mode.
Divide into about 30 to 40 pieces. Roll into flat rounds, fill and wrap to close. Place buns into Varoma tray and dish.
Fill thermomix bowl with 1.5 l boiling water.
Place Varoma tray on tmx, steam buns 10 mins, Varoma temp, speed 3.
http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/basics-recipes/waffle-mixture/137187 There are endless waffle recipes on the community to chose from, I was keen to try this sugar free waffle batter in the thermomix. This one from the recipe community was well liked ( link above) and made with yoghurt and separated eggs. The one we had tested previously was an easy waffle recipe in which all the ingredients for the batter were mixed all together. (egg whites were not separated) We’ve decided we prefer the crispness of a waffle batter that has whipped eggs whites. Although this sugar free waffle recipe is a good recipe, the kids cleverly thwarted my attempts to reduce sugar by slathering the waffles with huge amounts of maple syrup which really defeats the purpose of a “sugar free waffle”. So after trying two popular recipes from the community, we’ve decided our own family recipe is still our favourite. Separating the egg whites makes the waffles lighter and crispier. Here it is converted for the thermomix :-
Our family favourite waffles
2 eggs
1.5 c milk (355 g)
0.5 c vegetable oil (90 g)
1.75 c flour (245 g)
1 Tb baking powder
1 Tb sugar
1 tsp salt
Preheat waffle maker.
Butterfly in, Beat eggs white in thermomix bowl 1 minute, speed 4. Set whites aside.
With butterfly still in, Add egg yolks, mix 30 seconds, speed 4.
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