Easy Peasy Spreadable Butter in your Thermomix

Is anyone making butter and spreadable butter? We have just been talking about this over at my Facebook page

If you look at the ingredients on the back of a tub of spreadable 'butter' you might actually get a nasty surprise. I was so disappointed to see that things like 'Olive Oil Spread' actually contained less than 20% Olive Oil, and more nasties like Canola Oil in actual fact. Things like colours and flavours are not necessary in spreadable butter. Don't trust anything unless you look at the ingredients!!

We ran out of spreadable butter before breakfast, but I love that with a Thermomix and a carton of cream I can just 'whip' up a new batch in 2 minutes!

Spreadable straight from the fridge...no evil canola oil hidden in the ingredients either.

Easy Peasy Spreadable Butter

Ingredients

1 portion cream, (600ml carton)

500 g cold water, from fridge

1/4-1/2 tsp salt, to your taste

80 g flavourless oil, (eg grapeseed, rice bran etc. See notes)

Preparation

1.

(The following is my interpretation of the butter making recipe from the EDC, just as I make it, followed by how to turn that into spreadable butter)

Insert butterfly and add cream

2.

Turn on to speed 4 for anywhere from 1-4 minutes until you hear the butter solids and buttermilk separate. Time varies depending on freshness and temperature of the cream. Older cream takes less time to turn into butter.

3.

When you can see yellow butter solids and the white buttermilk, stop TM and remove butterfly. Insert steaming basket into TM bowl (on top of the butter solids which are still in the TM bowl) and pour buttermilk into a small jug. Remove basket and firmly press the butter solids against the side of the TM bowl to squeeze out as much buttermilk as you can, and pour into your jug. 

4.

Pour 500g of cold water in with the butter solids and mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds, press butter solids and drain all excess liquid. I use the TM spatula to very firmly press the butter into the side of the TM bowl, to try and get all liquid out.

5.

Leave butter solids in TM bowl. Add salt and oil of choice and mix on speed 6 for 10-20 seconds. Mixture can be a little 'sloppy' depending on room temp, how long you mix it for etc, but it will firm up a little in the fridge. See tips section  below for more info

(print recipe on recipe community here)

I have made this with a few different types of oil. In our family we prefer grapeseed or rice bran oil. I am yet to try it with flavourless coconut oil, but I would also give that a try. 

I definitely would not recommend using canola oil! Also if you choose to use olive oil, it does have quite a distinct taste which you may not like or be used to, which is why I recommend a flavourless oil. 

Salt is a personal preference, but it does help to preserve your spreadable butter a little longer too. We use 1/2 ts, but everyone is different, so please use what you like for your taste.

For more info on oils I highly recommend this article from Choice here.

Using your Varoma Pt 4 | Tikka Salmon and Veggies

You've got to get your varoma out, people!!! Cooking in the varoma on a hot day doesn't heat up the house, and you can get a "one pot meal" on the table with less washing up. 

I've just cooked us some salmon with tikka paste, steamed baby potatoes, asparagus and carrot. So easy!

Start with some baby potatoes in your varoma basket, with 500g of water underneath. I had 1/2 kg of potatoes, I could have fit twice that in there.

Put your potatoes on Varoma temp, 15 minutes, speed 2. Put your MC on top for now.

While your potatoes are cooking, smear 2 teaspoons of home-made Tikka Paste on top of your salmon fillets. Tikka Paste recipe is also found in the Fast & Easy Indian Cooking recipe book. It goes a long way!

Leave a gap in between them for your veggies later if you are only cooking for 1-2 people. 

If you are cooking for more, fill your top tray with salmon fillets, and you can use underneath the tray of the varoma for your veggies later.

Then prep your veggies. Use any veggies you like! I had asparagus and tagliatelle carrots (shaved with a peeler) as they took the same amount of cooking time (5 minutes)

When potatoes have finished after 15 minutes, set your Varoma in place with just the salmon in. 

Set on Varoma temp, 12 minutes, speed 2. (No veggies in at this stage)

When timer goes off, add your veggies for 5 minutes (set timer again...Varoma temp, 5 minutes, speed 2)

Then enjoy your perfectly cooked salmon and tell yourself once again "how amazing is this Thermomix?"!!

TIPS:

• Use any kind of paste or marinade on your salmon instead
• Alternatively, make a sauce first, keep it warm while you make the rest of the recipe. No need to wash your bowl...just go straight onto the steaming part.
• You could tip your potatoes back into the TM bowl and mash them instead, with a little butter and seasoning, after cooking and draining.
• Swap potatoes for quinoa or rice (just alter cooking time

Let me know if you try it, on my Facebook page

Want more Varoma tips? Try here

Frozen Yoghurt in your Thermomix

How easy is this? Freeze some yoghurt in ice cube trays, then blitz it up with your favourite frozen fruit, a dash of honey and an eggwhite or a splash of milk to bind it together and make it creamy. Whip it up with your butterfly until it looks like soft serve. So good!

Doesn't it look pretty?

Make sure you try it

What do you do with lots of eggs and a Thermomix?

image via Pinterest

One of my friends has 4 little chooks who are supplying her with PLENTY of eggs! Lucky lady huh? She asked on my Facebook page: 

"So..... Say you had HEAPS of fresh eggs, besides quiche, what would you make?"

We came up with this list, what would you add?

• my favourite whole egg mayonnaise recipe by the Thermosisters - No fail, No fuss, No butterfly mayonnaise 
• good old boiled eggs recipe from the EDC
• Creme brûlée
• Bachelor Baked Beans with steamed eggs
• zuchini slice
• lemon butter
• mini quiches cooked in muffin tray and freeze for kids lunches
• use yolks for egg liqueur
• use whites for pavlova
• whites for macaroons - the coconut ones, not macarons
• use whites in fruity dream
• poached eggs with hollandaise
• The best rice pudding recipe
• whites in meringues
• yolks only in custards, use extra yolks for a richer and thicker custard
• Scrambled eggs and omelettes
• curried egg
• devilled eggs
• egg added to your pizza toppings (try it!!)
• lemon meringue pie
• egg rolls (thin crepey omelettes, rolls up like sandwich wraps)
• icecream
• sous vide eggs - sometimes called '60 minute eggs' for the ultra-patient people and if you feel like being 'cheffy'
• I could go on and on...

Tips

• whites freeze really well
• some egg white only tips and recipes on my previous post here
• keep your eggshells and use them in the garden - see here

Can you add to the list?

Snow cones in your Thermomix

Perth is getting HOT HOT HOT!! Snow cones for the kids!! Anyone wanna join me? If you don't know how already...and you have a Thermomix (and if you are here and you don't...you might need to get in touch with a consultant!) then read on...

{ Snow Cones }

2 trays of ice
50g syrup/coulis/topping

Add to TM bowl, speed 8 for 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat for 5-10 seconds
Add 50g of syrup/coulis/topping flavour of your choice
Speed 8 for 5-10 seconds

Scoop into cute little cups and enjoy! You can even shape it into cones if you are feeling extra fancy!

See more on my FB page

Non-food uses for your Thermomix

{ Non-food Uses for your Thermomix }

Do you use natural cleaning cloths at home, like Norwex etc? 
I steam mine in the steamer basket every few months, they come up like new!

100c for 10 minutes, speed 2 

Scrambled Eggs & Omelettes in your Thermomix

This post got a lot of interest on my Facebook page!
Have you tried scrambled eggs this way? 

• Line your top varoma tray with wet baking paper.
• Crack eggs directly onto the paper and whisk lightly with a fork
• Cook on Varoma temp, speed 2 for 10 minutes (from boiling) or until eggs are cooked. Every 2-3 minutes carefully remove the lid and give a stir.

The best part is, no washing up!!! Just peel he paper off carefully and throw away.


You can also use this technique to make omelettes.

Omelette cooking in the varoma...fold the baking paper in half to 'flip' the omelette.

I am passionate about getting people using the Varoma. Pull it out of the cupboard and start experimenting. Perhaps start with some eggs...then drop me a line on my page and let me know how you went

Berry Ripe Dairy Free Smoothie

{ Dairy Free }

BERRY RIPE SMOOTHIE

2 handfuls of almonds

1 handful of dates

1 tray of ice

(all all this to TM bowl and blend for 15 seconds on speed 8, scrape down and blend for a further 10 seconds)

Add 500g cold water

2 TB cacao powder

1 handful of frozen raspberries (or cherries)

1 ts coconut oil

(blend on speed 9 for 2 minutes)

More here on my Facebook post

Meat Pies in the Thermomix

Dinner tonight brought to you by the letter "T", for Thermomix...and the letter "P" for piemaker! (The only appliance I think we kept after getting our Thermomix!!)

Recipe from the new Everyday Cookbook (Australia).