Sides

Pita bread wraps

~ nzthermomixmum
Pita bread
Pita bread

http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/breads-rolls-recipes/pita-bread-wraps/128146

My kids love pita bread so this one was a must have recipe. And it’s so simple, add the ingredients knead a couple minutes proving only 15 minutes then ready to pan fry. I hardly had time to take to take a pic because the scavengers were circling, even the hummus didn’t last before I could click the button. Comments were “these are better than the ones we buy”, ” so tasty”  and moreish! . Recipe made about a dozen. Can see I will be making these often.

Christmas with our Thermomix

~ nzthermomixmum

Catering Christmas lunch for 25., the thermomix saved so much time, and stress. From chopping onion and garlic, making 3 lots of bechamel sauce, boiling eggs, making salads, grating cheese, making sauces, making caster sugar and icing sugar and whipping cream. To be able to ‘prep’ and walk away from it while you  carry on with some other task is it’s best feature.  It’s like having an extra pair of hands in the kitchen

Chopping onion
Chopping onion
Apple sauce
Apple sauce

Great, three apples peeled and popped into the thermomix, minutes later, perfect apple sauce for the ham.

Boiling eggs, the ones on left are out of thermomix, the ones on the right from pot on stove
Boiling eggs, the ones on left are out of thermomix, the ones on the right from pot on stove

I boiled eggs for hot potato salad on stove but got distracted and left them too long, the bowl on the right shows my exploded eggs from the stovetop. Boiling a few extra in the thermomix, I could leave and a few minutes later perfect boiled eggs.

Grating cheese
Grating cheese
Mac and cheese
Mac and cheese for kids
Cranberry and pistachio biscotti
Cranberry and pistachio biscotti
Boxing Day leftover lunch
Boxing Day leftover lunch, forgot to take photos at Xmas

Thanks to the thermomix, Christmas cooking done and dusted, no dramas in the kitchen.

Soft butter rolls

~ nzthermomixmum
Hot bread rolls

So handy to have these for lunch boxes and snacks. Proving still takes more than an hour, will experiment with the yeast activation to see if this speeds up the rising.

Verdict after 12 days:

The thermomix has been used on average 5 times a day for simple tasks like chopping garlic and onion, creaming butter and sugar for baking, and chopping veges for salads, blending dressings and smoothies. Love how one piece of equipment does so much work so quickly, is so easy to clean,  doesn’t require any set up and also how we don’t have to worry getting out any other appliances. I haven’t used my pressure cooker ,slow cooker, cake mixer, food processor or bread maker. Must admit though I would still keep a bread maker.

Leek and potato soup

~ nzthermomixmum
Leek and potato soup
Leek and potato soup

Busy weekend ahead with kids concerts, so making meals in advance. This is so easy with the thermomix. Used vegetable soup guided recipe to make leek and potato soup. Great to be using the homemade vegetable stock. Soup is velvety smooth.

Next time will try sautéing the onions and garlic first in TM before adding all the other ingredients to cook but otherwise easy and the one pot, leave it to cook is fantastic when you’re busy.

 

Day 6 Beef Stroganoff, coleslaw and homemade mayonnaise

~ nzthermomixmum
Beef stroganoff and coleslaw
Beef stroganoff and coleslaw

Very easy following the guided recipe for beef stroganoff, like having a chef next to you telling you what to do next. Made a huge amount, enough for lunch tomorrow. Good family recipe but next time I will slice the beef more finely and probably brown slightly in pan first. Love way the thermomix gives me time to clean up while it cooks the meal. Quick self clean, then loaded cabbage, apple, carrot and red onion and dressing ingredients to make coleslaw. An extra squeeze of lemon juice and it’s done.

Made a chicken and sweet corn soup on the stove because it’s one I can make in 10 minutes. But I ran out of creamed sweet corn so I popped whole frozen corn into the thermomix and blitzed for 3 seconds  to substitute  creamed corn and used the TM chicken stock. I love the fact that every ingredient is real, no packet stock, no tin corn!

Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise so easy to make

Ran out of mayonnaise so I tried the guided recipe for mayonnaise. The thermomix really comes into its own emulsifying. Here is fabulous homemade mayonnaise ready in less than two minutes. And the only work I had to do is pour in the oil.

.Verdict after day 5:

Because it’s so easy to follow the touchscreen instructions I am cooking recipes I would not normally make. So it’s adding variety and and the chopping function for salads is so fast.  And the chicken stock made in the weekend was excellent. There is no other machine in my kitchen that I would  use as often for so many different functions and on a daily basis apart from the stove and the oven of course.