Light meals

Steamed buns

~ nzthermomixmum
Steamed buns
Steamed buns
Chicken filling

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

  1. Add all dough  ingredients to thermomix.
  2. Mix 6 seconds , speed 6.
  3. Knead 1 minute on dough mode.
  4. Divide into about 30 to 40 pieces. Roll into flat rounds, fill and wrap to close. Place buns into Varoma tray and dish.
  5. Fill thermomix bowl with 1.5 l boiling water.
  6. Place Varoma tray on tmx, steam buns 10 mins, Varoma temp, speed 3.

Gluten free pizza

~ nzthermomixmum
Pizza base before baking
Pizza base before baking
Baked gluten free pizza base
Baked gluten free pizza base
Gluten free pizza with toppings
Gluten free pizza with toppings

http://www.quirkycooking.com.au/2011/01/gluten-free-pizza-base/

The dough base is very wet. Was slightly worried it wouldn’t turn out but after 10 minutes at 210C it the base was cooked enough to lay the toppings. The gluten free base  tastes lovely, very light. Made by milling basmati and brown rice, millet, seeds, buckwheat in the thermomix adding arrowroot flour and water and leaving to rest for 20 minutes.  Recipe from Quirky cookbook by Jo Whitton. Also on the website ..link above.

Macaroni cheese

~ nzthermomixmum
Macaroni cheese
Macaroni cheese

Although it’s  still three steps to make macaroni cheese with the thermomix; boil pasta, make cheese sauce, bake or grill in oven,  you can boil the pasta while the thermomix cooks the sauce. The thermomix grates the cheeses, and after the flour, butter and milk is added, cheese sauce is done in 9 minutes, no stirring, and perfect lump free cheese sauce.   Tossed with cooked pasta, some chopped ham and tomatoes. Was eaten before I could pop into the oven for a few minutes to grill the top.  Enough for lunch and dinner with roast chicken. Link below

http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/pasta-rice-dishes-recipes/best-macaroni-and-cheese/170003

Mac and cheese for mum
Mac and cheese for mum

The kids love this mac and and cheese sauce straight out of the thermomix, no grilling necessary. There’s nothing better on a cold wet windy day to be inside with comfort food. Macaroni  cheese becomes a tasty pasta salad  for mum and dad too, added bell peppers, fresh tomatoes and fresh basil straight from the garden to balance the high carb hit!

Thai beef salad

~ nzthermomixmum
Thai beef salad
Thai beef salad

Day 89 : Made this wonderful Thai beef salad for dinner tonight.  The great thing about the thermomix recipe community is being able to check user rating and comments for each recipe. You can search for any recipe and then sort the recipes by highest ratings.  This recipe came out on top with over 21 favourable comments so it was on the list to try.  Members also leave their own tips and adjustments which can also be valuable.  I used the marinade ingredients and made up the salad with my own vegetables; lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, and mangoes. Only used the thermomix to whizz up the marinade. The marinated  steaks were grilled in our sunbeam health grill but could have been done on BBQ or pan or oven. My children like steak more well done, no redness.  Sliced finely and topped with pan warmed marinade, fresh chopped mint and coriander and cashew nuts.  Yummy beef salad…. Demolished by us and the sauce was licked off the kids fingers. Just reduced fish sauce by at least half to reduce salt content.

http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/main-dishes-meat-recipes/thai-beef-salad/140466

Soft buttery pretzels

~ nzthermomixmum
Pretzels
Pretzels

Amazing pretzels! Made the dough in the thermomix for Sunday brunch in less than five minutes. Recipe from “Festive flavour” only needs yeast, milk, flour, sugar and olive oil.  Recipe uses 550g of flour for this recipe and we made 14 pretzels. The pretzels are dipped into a baking soda and water before being baked. The trick we’ve learnt with the dough is to let the yeast rest in the first mix of milk yeast and sugar for 10 minutes, it starts to froth on the top as it activates. Then add the flour and salt and use dough mode to knead for two minutes. Proving the dough (we just left it in the thermomix bowl) till it doubled in size took less than an hour. So while you have to think in advance when you want to eat, the dough is so easy to make and it’s a great fun activity for the kids to roll the pretzel shapes.  Baking only takes between 8-12 minutes at 200C. Brushed with butter and sea salt after coming out of the oven.

This recipe is also available on the thermomix app, the one with the green thermomix symbol. A lite version is free to download from the App Store.

Dumplings

~ nzthermomixmum
Dumplings
Dumplingsl

Perfect…. Dumplings made for afternoon tea and dinner. The filling is from the wonton recipe posted a couple days ago( see link below). Dumpling wrappers from the chilled section at Farros but there is also a recipe for dumpling and wonton wrappers which I’ll save for a rainy day.  Altered the recipe to reduce salt. Just sprinkled a bit of fish sauce and salt  into Chicken prawn mixture and left out oyster sauce and replaced with coriander and garlic chives from the garden. These dumplings were laid in the Varoma basket and tray and steamed for 20 minutes. Again loving the set and forget feature of thermomix. Normally making these required pan cooking in water and time standing at the stove.

http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/starters-recipes/steamed-prawn-and-chicken-dumplings/29063

Gluten free bread (chia and pepita) and brown rice salad

~ nzthermomixmum
Gluten free bread
Gluten free bread
Brown rice salad
Brown rice salad

Off on a school trip tomorrow with Miss 8 to Tiri Tiri matangi, so needed to precook a couple of meals in advance. Following the guided recipes for gluten free bread and rice salad on the thermomix is like having a chef next to you telling you what to do next! Miss 14 has been asking for the gluten free chia and pepita loaf since we last tried it at the Thermomix course a couple of weeks ago and it doesn’t disappoint. It has the texture of vogels bread and toasted it will be even scrummier. Even though it would be easy enough to make up a rice salad without the thermomix, the advantage is that while the rice cooks in the bowl, the vegetables and eggs steam in the Varoma tray. This salad is topped with fresh herbs, tomatoes, olive oil and lemon juice but any light dressing or combination of vegetables could be substituted. We are loving all the whole foods we are now eating and can’t remember the last time I put a packet of biscuits in my shopping trolley. Lasagne also made for tonight’s dinner, bechemal sauce was made yesterday in the thermomix and refrigerated so only had to make the meat sauce today.

Wontons

~ nzthermomixmum
Wontons
Wontons

Recipe from thermomix community:- Chosen because it was highly rated. Good recipe but would halve the fish sauce next time. Bit salty but still good. The chicken prawn mixture is hand rolled into the wonton wrappers and then steamed in the Varoma. What is great is you can ‘set and forget’  with the thermomix. So while the wontons were cooking for 15 minutes, I could go on with other jobs knowing it will turn itself off and I can leave the Varoma in place to cool. Recipe made about 50. Then added to soup made from thermomix chicken stock. Cooked into soup made from TM chicken stock paste for a few minutes to warm through.

http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/starters-recipes/steamed-prawn-and-chicken-dumplings/29063

Tomato soup and flat bread

~ nzthermomixmum

 

Creamy tomato soup
Creamy tomato soup

Sometimes you just don’t feel like going to the supermarket and Sunday afternoon was one of those days. Looked in the fridge and saw two boxes of tomatoes and thought maybe just soup and bread for dinner. Made pizza dough in the thermomix first. While the dough was proving, used the  guided recipe for creamy tomato soup. Substituted milk for cream and only used 50g instead of 100g. Pizza dough rolled out sprinkled with olive oil, sea salt and oregano and baked for 10 minutes.  The soup and bread meal was loved by the whole family.  Perfect simple vegetarian meal. Then whipped up automatic custard for dessert while we watched a movie. And there was enough leftover for husbands lunchbox.  Happy days !

Pretzels

~ nzthermomixmum
Pretzels hot out of the oven
Pretzels hot out of the oven

Miss 14 was looking through our new thermomix cookbook ‘Festive Flavour’ for a new recipe to try and the pretzel recipe  jumped out. We love the pretzels from the hole in the wall pretzel shop in upper Queen St. Their apple and cinnamon pretzels are super yummy so we’re hoping this recipe measures up. The recipe is simple and dough is prepared in a few minutes and left to prove in warmed thermoserver. Miss 14 shaped into pretzels, dipped into hot water mixed with baking soda before baking for 10 minutes. Half sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Fab homemade pretzels.