Chocolate icecream

~ nzthermomixmum
Chocolate icecream
Chocolate icecream

The guided Thermomix chocolate icecream is amazing, almost halved the sugar (used 90g instead of 150g) and it’s sweet enough for us. You can’t help being happy eating it especially as it’s homemade ! Only 5 simple ingredients :- good quality chocolate, cocoa powder, milk, cream, egg yolks and sugar, compared to the list of ingredients in tip top icecream below. And only takes a few minutes to make. After  frozen, just cut out squares  ( leave the container out for a few minutes to soften first) and blend at speed 6 for a few seconds. We packed into an ice cream scoop to shape and it’s ready to eat.  The secret  is to freeze in shallow containers so it’s easier to cut up for blending.

Ideas for  using the leftover egg whites from freezing to 50 recipe ideas in link below.

http://neighborfoodblog.com/2014/07/leftover-egg-whites-recipes.html

Tip Top chocolate icecream ingredient list.

ICE CREAM [CREAM, MILK, LIQUID SUGAR, WATER, GLUCOSE SYRUP (FROM MAIZE), COCOA POWDER (4%), MILK SOLIDS NON FAT, EMULSIFIERS (477, 471), VEGETABLE GUMS (412, 410, 407, 401), NATURAL FLAVOUR].

Sesame crunch fish

~ nzthermomixmum
Crumbed fish fillets
Crumbed fish fillets

What to do with old bread. Make panko, sesame crunch fish fillets with yoghurt sauce,  based on the Something for Everyone recipe. Blitzed parsley, lemon peel, with old bread on speed 8 (3 seconds) until fine, then season with salt and pepper. Miss 9 happily crumbed the fillets after school today dipping the seasoned fish fillets in wholemeal flour, then beaten egg, and into panko with sesame seeds. Served  with Chelsea Winter yoghurt dressing,  fresh herbs ( oregano, parsley and mint, the only herbs that have survived winter in the garden ) blitzed at speed 7, add Greek yoghurt, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Miss 9 ate hers as a fish burger, with homemade burger buns. ( using thermomumma jumbo white bread recipe ). Note re  burger buns  180 c 20 mins long enough in our oven and didn’t use fanbake.

Fish burger
Fish burger

Donuts

~ nzthermomixmum
Donuts
Donuts

http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/breads-rolls-recipes/jam-ball-donuts-just-market-ones/175393

This donut recipe from the community had rave reviews.  Allow 1 .25 hrs proving time. Ours are not filled with jam,  just dipped in oil and rolled in cinnamon sugar before frying in the airfryer. The result is not quite the same as frying on oil, the texture is more like a mini bun but will make a great lunchbox item. If frying in pan or deep fryer, the donuts  are rolled in sugar after they are cooked, might try shallow fry next time to get the full effect. Only took 6 minutes on 160 C in airfryer.  Makes 20 about the same size as the small ones you get from the market vendors.

Decadent Chocolate Brownie

~ nzthermomixmum
Masterchef chocolate brownie
Masterchef chocolate brownie

The chocolate brownie recipe in the new Thermomix chip (Everyday cooking for Families) is the masterchef brownie recipe posted earlier.  So glad it’s made it’s way into a chip because it makes it even more of a breeze to make. Still almost halve the sugar and used 240g instead of 440g. More than sweet enough for us. Chopping whittakers chocolate at speed 4/5 leaves fairly large crunchy chunks in the brownie which the kids love. Cooked for 55 minutes.

Chocolate Brownie
Chocolate Brownie

Rice congee

~ nzthermomixmum
Rice congee
Rice congee

Excellent!!! very happy with this rice congee (porridge) from the Something for Everyone cookbook made today for miss 8 who has woken up with a temperature. Got to pull out all the stops to make her well again because it’s her birthday tomorrow. She’s asked for two things chicken stock soup and congee. Chicken soup was made in a couple of minutes by mixing the chicken stock paste with water and boiling with some greens from fridge. And this congee recipe is so easy too, just chucked in ginger and spring onion to Thermomix bowl, chop speed 7, add 1000g of chicken stock (2Tb of TM chicken stock paste with 1000g of water), another 250g water and 180 g rice. Then cooked for 25 mins 100C reverse speed stir with butterfly in. Stir through some finely chopped chicken at the end and it cooks in the Thermomix when left to stand for 10 minutes. Served with a dash of sesame oil, soy sauce, finely sliced  spring onion. Wow, couldn’t be simpler and so tasty with the chicken stock base. Normally I’d be boiling chicken frames with rice and standing at the stove for ages but not today, it’s all  made in time for lunch with no trips to supermarket and no standing stirring in the kitchen. Yah! Nb try 10 grams less rice next time, so it’s a bit thinner because it thickens on standing.

Carrot and coriander soup

~ nzthermomixmum
Carrot and coriander soup
Carrot and coriander soup

Tried this guided recipe from the new Thermomix cookbook Everyday cooking for Families. Makes a lot, serves 6. Has a lot of milk and I substituted milk for cream content as well, It’s ok but would prefer more carrot flavour. Love coriander but used a little less because miss 8 has aversion to the coriander. Will try using and converting one of these recipes below , from BBCgoodfood with over 300 x 5 star ratings or this Jamie Oliver recipe next time.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7003/carrot-and-coriander-soup

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/member-recipes/recipe-detail/2235/#FEGE2F41KzeRwMjQ.97

Cooking Quinoa in Thermomix

~ nzthermomixmum
Quinoa in steamer basket
Quinoa in steamer basket

http://www.lalaniekitchen.com/2014/08/how-to-cook-quinoa-in-the-thermomix.html

The last time I followed one of the thermomix guides to cook quinoa a lot fell through the holes in the steamer basket into the bowl and then was difficult to retrieve. Found this method from lalanie kitchen blog a lot simpler. Rinse the quinoa ( used 100g) then soak in water for 15 minutes. Add 1ltr of water to TM bowl. Soak and crumple a piece of baking paper, line the steamer basket with the wet paper. Put the quinoa in the steamer basket insert in TM bowl and steam 20 mins, varoma temp,  speed 2.  Perfectly steamed quinoa, easy to lift out and transfer to serving bowl. Mixed through Moroccan salad in the post below.

Moroccan Chicken Salad

~ nzthermomixmum
Morrocan chicken salad
Morrocan chicken salad

Moroccan chicken salad

Tonight’s dinner  is Chelsea Winters Moroccan   chicken salad. ( link above ) It is absolutely delicious. Love how her recipes always turn out amazing. And the fact you can prepare many of the elements in the morning ready for quick cook later on. The chicken is marinated with cumin, turmeric, and ground coriander, mixed spice and lemon zest. Grilled and sliced on a spinach/quinoa  salad with added capsicums, tomatoes, avocado and topped with toasted pinenuts, strawberries, apricots and a cooling yoghurt dressing. The sweetness from the apricots and strawberries make this salad special. So beautiful , the colours of a mid winter Christmas. Served with baguettes and a carrot and coriander soup from the new Everyday cookbook. Used the Thermomix to cook quinoa substituted for Israeli couscous. (See post  above to follow)  nb mix the spices first before marinating chicken pieces so they are evenly coated.

Got the latest Thermomix cookbook “Everyday cooking for Families” and chip in the weekend and was excited to try it out. Last night tried the guided tuna pasta. As we make meals ahead, the idea of a one step pasta dish seemed like a great idea. But because the pasta is cooked in the TM bowl with sauce, it  was shredded into the sauce which was very thick. Very disappointing. Next time I will cook pasta separately in Thermomix and combine with sauce only when ready to serve. With everyone coming at different times pasta definately needs to separate from sauce.

Seafood Chowder

~ nzthermomixmum
Seafood chowder
Seafood chowder

Yummy seafood chowder is perfect for a miserable wet cold Tuesday. The seafood chowder from the Something for Everyone cookbook is great but wanted to try a Chelsea Winter recipe for seafood chowder today because it makes a larger quantity suitable for afternoon tea and dinner.  Chelsea’s recipe has some extra ingredients compared with the Something for Everyone chowder; 1 1/2 cups of wine, 1 1/2 cups of cream and zest of a lemon and the juice of a lemon. It was easy to convert. Can’t share recipe on this blog but it’s from her Everyday delicious cookbook. You could replace the cream with evaporated milk or milk for a lighter chowder but it’s so tasty I’m glad I didn’t go “light” today.

Chelsea Winter Seafood Chowder conversion

  1. Blitz  garlic, onions, celery on speed 7 for a second, then sautéed in butter for 6 minutes at 100 c.
  2. Add wine, cooked off for 5 minutes at 100 c with MC off. 
  3. Add fish stock into TM bowl and diced potatoes to steamer basket, fish and seafood to Varoma dish and tray and cooked for 20 mins, Varoma temp, speed 1. ( check seafood and potato are cooked) set aside the seafood and potato
  4. Add milk and cream to soup in TM bowl, cook 6 mins 90 c.
  5. Transfer to a large pot ( with the addition of seafood this chowder goes over 2.2 ltr  bowl ) add fresh spinach ( wilts in the hot soup) cooked seafood and potato, zest and juice of a lemon, fresh / dried parsley and dill. Season with salt and pepper Reheat to serve. So yum.

Oakhill Potatoes and homemade chicken stock

~ nzthermomixmum
Oakhill potatoes
Oakhill potatoes

Tonight I can’t resist repeatjng myself for this potato casserole mainly because it’s our favourite. If the Thermomix could only make stock and white (bechemal) sauce alone. I think I would have been tempted to buy it. With a sick teenager at home, there’s nothing better than homemade chicken stock made into a broth. You just know it’s “gotta be good” when the only ingredients are chicken, celery, carrots onions and herbs. Freshly made today, the broth is just the a tablespoon of  chicken stock  paste with 500 ml of water, chucked in some spinach and courgettes and poured over some precooked noodles. Chicken noodle soup ready in minutes with the freshest of ingredients.

With temperatures in the single digits, we all felt like a bit if comfort food so out rolls the Oakhill Potato recipe. Everything  is easily done in the Thermomix. Steamed potatoes and eggs in Varoma.  Then sautéed onion and bacon in TM bowl. Only a quick rinse of the bowl before making one step bechemal sauce (note the sauce may appear too watery at first but thickens on cooling) . Assembled in baking dish topped with breadcrumbs and cheese both grated in the Thermomix. There’s nothing more comforting than onion, potatoes, bacon, milk, cheese  and eggs. Served with a Beetroot salad and some tossed greens. For detailed adapted recipe, search this blog for the earlier post on Oakhill Potatoes.