Using your Varoma pt 3 | Thermomix uses

Just a quick meal tonight for my 3 small people. Cooking rice which will steam our hedgehog meatballs and reheat the pasta sauce I made earlier in the day at the same time. 
Think outside the square with your varoma and try to use it every week at least twice! 

See my Using your Varoma pt 1 post more ideas

Afternoon 'pick-me-up' juice in the Thermomix

I was talking to someone at a demo recently about juicing with the Thermomix....something I didn't really do until about 6 months ago. 

This is one of my FAVOURITE ones to make...for the colour and the health aspects. What juices do you like to make?

{ Afternoon pick me up }

1/2 beetroot

1 apple

1 orange

1 lemon

handful of raspberries

handful of ice

1 MC water 

Blend on speed 9 for 1-2 minutes.

Citrus Dust in the Thermomix

Well THAT was easy!! 

I dehydrated the peel from frozen, on a tray in the oven on around 70 degrees for 3-4 hours. Check if it snaps to see if it is dry enough. Then blitz on speed 6-7 for around 10 seconds.

Can't wait to add this to a few things for a bit of citrus zing!!

Sometimes you just feel like being "cheffy" (is that even a word?)

Non-food uses for Thermomix | How does your garden grow?

Today at a demo we were talking about all the non-food things you can make in your Thermomix. I came home and made boiled eggs for lunch and sat looking at the eggshells in the basket...then remembered I could grind these up and add them to my garden soil! Apparently my tomatoes are going to love this!!! Another bonus is it gives your bowl a wonderful CLEAN!

6 egg shells
1 MC of water
30 seconds, speed 9
Add water and she'll grit to your plants.

What do you think?

Corned Silverside Thermomix

Yes you can cook corned silverside in your Thermomix in your varoma. It's better than any I've ever cooked on the stove. Reserve some of the cooking liquid to make a sauce....perfect! 

Use your basket (as above)or varoma dish to rinse the brine off before cooking

Here is a recipe you can try where it cooks in the varoma. 

Try it!!

This recipe was provided to you by a Thermomix ® customer and has not been tested by Vorwerk Thermomix ® or Thermomix ® in Australia and New Zealand.
Vorwerk Thermomix ® and Thermomix ® in Australia and New Zealand assume no liability, particularly in terms of ingredient quantities used and success of the recipes.
Please observe the safety instructions in the Thermomix ® instruction manual at all times.

Thermomix Home-made Veggie Stock

Thermomix veggie stock concentrate....who can argue with the price, only 20c per litre!

Guilt-free Chocolate Balls

{ Money saver!! }

I saw these little 'choc protein balls' selling at Boost Juice yesterday for $2 each!! See how much money we save with our Thermomix?

This is one of my favourite recipes on recipe community. But I roll it into a log and slice...too busy to roll balls 

Now I must say, I don't take any credit for this recipe....it is just one of my absolute favourites, which you can find on the Recipe Community

Oranges and Thermomix Pt 3

If you try my Orange & Poppyseed Glazed Varoma Chicken this is a great side dish to go with it.

Orange & Apple Cous Cous

Ingredients

Cous Cous

orange peel from 1 orange, (washed & preferably organic)
small handful of parsley
50 g Butter
1 tsp orange salt & pepper rub, (see recipe community, or use salt flakes)
1 green apple, cored and quartered
3 spring onions, cut in half, some of the green sliced and reserved for garnish
150 g cous cous
250 g boiling water
50 g freshly squeezed orange juice

Preparation

Put cous cous in Thermoserver (or other bowl) and pour over boiling water, orange juice and orange salt & pepper rub. Cover and sit for 5 minutes while you prepare the rest.
Chop parsley & orange peel, 10 seconds, speed 8. Scrape and repeat if there are any large pieces of peel left. Set aside
Add butter, spring onion and apple to TM bowl and chop for 3 seconds on speed 5.
Scrape down and cook on 100C for 3 minutes,  speed 2.
Scrape mixture onto cous cous, add the reserved zest & parsley, and stir through and fluff up with a fork. Cover for another 5 minutes if required.

Garnish with sliced spring onion and a little of the zest & parsley (optional)

Tip

You can add all sorts of extras to this cous cous. Nuts, raisins, cranberries etc

Citrus salt & pepper rub: http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/orange-salt-pepper-rub/110489

Oranges and Thermomix Pt 2

I love being able to whip up a marinade in the Thermomix, not wash the bowl and use some of that flavour to steam my meat or fish.

This one is another recipe just like that.

Orange & Poppyseed Glazed Varoma Chicken

Ingredients

Glaze

60 g orange juice
100 g honey
25 g balsamic vinegar
25 g Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp citrus salt and pepper rub, (see my recipe, or use regular salt)
1/2 tsp poppyseeds

Chicken

400 g chicken tenderloins

1000 g boiling water

basmati rice, 200-400g

Preparation

1.

Add all ingredients (except poppyseeds) to TM bowl and cook for 10 minutes, Varoma, speed 2. 

2.

Scrape contents into a glass or metal bowl, add poppyseeds and allow to cool in the fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes

3.

Put chicken tenderloins in a shallow dish and top with glaze and allow to marinade, covered in fridge, for as long as possible. You can skip the marinade waiting time if you don't have enough time, but it will taste better if you can.

4.

Fill TM bowl with 1L of boiling water
(no need to wash after the sauce)

Add rinsed rice to basket and put in TM bowl
Set chicken pieces on top varoma tray and place into position. Cook for 22 minutes, varoma temp, speed 2.

Alternatively serve with steamed quinoa, or some cous cous

Tip

You could try serving this with my Orange & Apple Cous Cous recipe and some steamed vegetabes too. Steam vegetables of choice with the chicken, in the bottom half of your varoma at the same time. Carrots go great with this as they get some of the sticky glaze on them during the steaming.

You can use this glaze as a marinade for chicken drumsticks, cooked in the oven, or on salmon steamed in the varoma

Orange & Apple Cous Cous: http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/orange-apple-cous-cous/110554

Citrus salt & pepper rub: http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/orange-salt-pepper-rub/110489

Oranges and Thermomix Pt 1

I'm exploring the world of citrus with my Thermomix at the moment...mainly oranges! Today I played with 3 ideas for recipes using orange and this is the first one...

Orange Salt & Pepper Rub

Ingredients

50 g rock salt
peel from 1 orange, (washed well, preferably organic)
1 tsp mixed peppercorns

Preparation (so incredibly simple for such a strong flavour hit)

Put orange peel in TM bowl and grate for 10 seconds, speed 9

Add salt and peppercorns and mill for 10 seconds speed 8

Scrape into a jar to store

And that's it!!

This can be used as a seasoning on meats, in marinades, rubbed into steak, chicken or fish etc.

I will be posting a few more recipes using orange over the course of the next few days.

Less prep time in the kitchen with your Thermomix

One of the things I love about my Thermomix is WAY less time PREPARING FOOD for cooking/eating. Did you know you don't even need to take the leaves off your strawberries before making a sorbet? There are great health benefits to incorporating the leaves, as I read here.

Here are some of the things we save time on:

Pumpkin soup - no need to peel or de-seed your pumpkin (butternut pumpkin)
Soup - no need to peel potatoes
Salads, CADA etc - no need to de-seed your apples
Chopping onions - only need to peel and cut in half
Peeling garlic - you can peel up to 30 cloves of garlic at once in your Thermomix! I have tried this and it is amazing! Just store the peeled cloves in the freezer

Mashed potato - some people don't even peel potatoes for their mash!

What do you do in yours? Join the conversation on my Facebook page

Nat's Breakfast Smoothie | Thermomix

I love any excuse not to wash up....so I made up this smoothie to make straight after we make our daily porridge. It helps wash the bowl at the same time as not wasting any leftover oats by incorporating them into your smoothie.

Make porridge, leave a few good spoons in the bottom of the TM bowl and don't wash
Add 500g milk
Add a good dollop of honey
Add 2 bananas
Add a handful of berries
Add 2 teaspoons of chia seeds
Add a handful of ice, or a handful of coconut milk/cream ice cubes
Mix on speed 9 for 1 minute

The ice helps bring the temp of the drink down after cooking the porridge and also helps break down the 'bitty-ness' of the oats and berries

Change the ingredients around to suit you! I'd love to hear if you try it, come and say hi on my Facebook page

Cooking Mince in your Thermomix

One of the common questions I get is 'how do I cook mince in the Thermomix?'. My answer is usually 'don't use store-made mince anymore', try and make your own and see the difference. But there will be times when you need to just cook a quick meal with what you have...store mince!

For those of you who like the "lumpy bits" to stay in your mince when you make spag bol, have you tried it this way? 

Mince in the varoma, sauce and pasta cooking underneath at the same time. Just stir the cooked mince through at the end.

Means you can cook HEAPS more too, great for bigger families.

Lemony Lemon Brownies | Thermomix Recipes

© Nat's Thermomixen in the Kitchen (This is my personal recipe. I am happy for you to pin it, use it, print it, share it...but please give credit and link to my page. Many thanks! Hope you like it)

Ok so I know they aren't really BROWNies....being that they are yellow in colour, but they have the same fudgey-brownie-ish goodness going on. At least we think they do! You try and and judge for yourself.

Ingredients
1 lemon, juice and peel rind off with a potato peeler
150g raw sugar
100g diced softened butter
50g cream cheese (or sour cream)
2 eggs
150g bakers (or plain) flour
1 ts baking powder
pinch of sea salt
brownie tin or roughly 15cm tin

Method
Preheat oven to 180c
Put sugar and lemon peel in TM bowl and blitz for 10 seconds, speed 9. Scrape down
Insert butterfly
Add softened butter (make sure butter is soft or it may damage your butterfly) and cream cheese, and whip on speed 4 for 2 minutes or until creamy
Remove butterfly and lick clean
Add 2 eggs, pinch of salt and juice of the lemon and mix on speed 6 for 6 seconds
Scrape down, add flour and baking powder and mix on speed 4 for 3 seconds* or until just combined. 
Pour mixture into a lined brownie or similar tin and bake for 20-25 minutes until set in the centre and edges are just starting to turn golden.

TIPS: 
Don't be tempted to over mix as doing so releases the glutens in the flour and will make tough brownies. It is ok to see a little white flour around the sides, you can incorporate that into the mixture as you scrape it out into your tin.
Brownie will look quite pale when cooked. You can dust it with some icing sugar if you like.


Let me know if you make it, drop me a line on my Facebook page (I don't check comments on my blog very often)

Click here to go to Recipe Community and print this recipe in PDF format

"I Love Your Cauliflower Cheese Bake" recipe | Thermomix Varoma Recipe

I know this seems quite a simple dish that probably doesn't require a recipe....but when I post pictures of things like this on my Facebook page everyone starts to ask me for the recipe, so I am guessing some of you would like to know how?


Ingredients
1 whole cauliflower, cut into pieces
3 slices of bread or breadcrumbs pre-made in your TM
500g milk
50g flour
50g butter, diced
1/2 ts salt (optional)
100g cheddar cheese cut into small chunks
500g water for steaming

Method

Preheat oven to 220c. You can put a large rectangular casserole dish in to warm up with the oven at the same time

Place bread and 40g of cheese into TM bowl and grate for 5-10 seconds, speed 6. Set aside. No need to wash TM bowl
Add 500g of water, put cauliflower pieces in Varoma, set in place and cook on Varoma temp, 20 minutes, speed 2
When cooked, set varoma aside with the cauliflower still inside and lid still on to keep warm (you can sit the varoma on top of your round Thermoserver if you like) and empty water out of TM bowl (no need to wash)
Add milk, flour, butter and salt if using to TM bowl, cook on 90c for 7 minutes, speed 4
For the last minute of cooking time, stop Thermomix, add in the remaining cheese chunks and mix at speed 7 for 10 seconds, then drop down to speed 3 until timer finishes
Put cooked cauliflower in casserole dish
Pour cheese sauce over the top
Top with cheese and breadcrumb mixture
Bake on 220c for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Alternatively you can just brown the cheese and breadcrumbs under the grill until golden

You could also do this with half cauliflower, half brocoli, or with any other veggies you like

Using your Varoma pt 2 | Mexican Style Chicken 'Baked' Potatoes

{ Chilli Chicken and Beans 'Baked Potatoes' }

LOVE MY VAROMA and THERMOSERVERS!!

I steamed baby potatoes and 3 chicken breasts at the same time while prepping my chilli ingredients, grated cheese then shredded the chicken and set it aside in the Thermoserver to keep warm with the potatoes while my chilli sauce cooked for 13 minutes, add chicken back in, stir through and another meal is done. 

Served with baby potatoes, sour cream, grated cheese and sliced avocado

The finished result was amazing!!

Recipe was adapted from the White Chilli Chicken recipe in Meat on the Menu

Using your Varoma pt 1 | Thermomix recipes and uses

Varoma! There...I said it. It's not scary!!

So why do I hear of so many owners not using their Varoma? Get it OUT of the cupboard (God forbid, the box!) and plan to use it at least twice a week. 

I am hoping some of these suggestions below might make you think outside the square a little when it comes to using your Varoma. Its not just for chicken, fish and vegies.

For the newbies... a general rule of thumb is 1/2L of liquid steams for 1/2 hr. 

If you need more info do contact your consultant, they are always happy to help!

Steaming in foil parcels
This had 2 salmon steaks in, underneath were my veggies and rice steaming steaming in the basket with coconut cream, garlic and spring onions.

Chicken thigh fillets stuffed with spring onion and sundried tomato and seasoned

These steam above my potatoes in the basket, some broccoli in the bottom of the varoma. I mash the potato after steaming them with some of the liquid. Steam with veggie stock. 

Cheat's 'Fried Eggs'

I love cooking my eggs like this now. No fat and no cleaning up! Just wet some baking paper and line the top of the varoma. Easy to do omelettes and scrambled eggs this way too. You can even put your egg rings on top if you want nice round ones.

Layered Cooking

The below three photos show you how to layer in your Varoma and TM bowl and cook 

more than one thing at a time.

Water with Chicken Stock

Greens steaming in the top tray

Seasoned Chicken Thigh pieces in the bottom half of the Varoma

Potatoes in the basket

Easy Peasy Garlic & Soy Chicken and Rice

find my recipe here

Make marinade for steamed chicken and rice in the TM bowl, then put in diced chicken on reverse speed 1 for 5 seconds to coat in the marinade. Then entire TM bowl goes in the fridge until dinner time to let the chicken marinate. When ready to cook, drop the chicken into the Varoma, leave the bowl UNWASHED and fill up to 500g of water and use this flavoured water to cook rice and chicken at the same time. 

Extra flavour and NO WASHING UP!

 All done! Super easy and tastiest rice ever!!

Reheating leftovers

Reheating the above meal the next day...don't use your microwave, they dry things out and toughen up your meat. Use your Varoma steam to reheat

Or reheat inside the Varoma in a glass dish

Chicken & Chorizo Sausages

Make the mince, shape into sausages and steam them in the Varoma. Have some veggies or potatoes cooking in the basket at the same time for a quick all in one meal.

Mini Quiches without the Oven

These were mixed in the TM bowl, then spooned into this Tuppware silicon mould that perfectly fits the Varoma, and steamed. So quick and easy, and no hot oven on...great for hot weather

Steamed Brie Cheese with Basil Pesto Dressing

recipe here

Words fail me. You simply must try this one

Cooking a whole chicken - the 'Healthy Roast Chicken'

You absolutely MUST try this, the chicken is so moist and tender, and keep the liquid at the end to use as a stock. I squeeze a 1.8-2kg chicken in there, sometimes bigger. If it doesn't fit I just weight the lid down with my dinner plates....instant plate warmer!

recipe here

I will be posting more Varoma tips and recipes over the coming weeks. Stay tuned!! 
If you want to ask a question, find me on my Facebook page

"Bachelor Baked Beans" & Eggs in your Thermomix | Using the Varoma

Baked beans, steamed eggs and spinach. SOOO good! All cooked together in 15 minutes, no stirring of course!

Another great recipe to get your varoma working for you. Recipe below...

"Bachelor Baked Beans", steamed eggs and spinach

Ingredients: 

1 clove garlic

2 spring onions or 1 small brown onion

20g olive oil

1 tin of tomatoes (or equivalent fresh tomatoes)

1 tin of beans of choice (butter, canneloni, kidney, borlotti beans etc)

1 MC of water to rinse tomato juice out of tin and incorporate into recipe

5g balsamic vinegar

eggs

baby spinach leaves

*optional: a few rashers of bacon

Method:

Chop onion and garlic (and bacon if using) speed 6 for 3 seconds

Scrape down, add oil and cook on Varoma for 3 minutes, speed 1

Prepare varoma:

Crack eggs into silicon cupcake moulds and put them in the bottom and top tray of varoma

Add tomatoes and beans to TM bowl, cook on Varoma temp, 7 minutes, reverse speed soft

When timer finishes, set varoma in place and cook eggs on Varoma temp, 7-10 minutes, reverse speed soft

(adjust cooking time here to suit how you like your eggs)

Add a few handfuls of baby spinach leaves around the eggs for the final 5 minutes

When cooking time finishes add the 5g of balsamic vinegar and mix 3 seconds, reverse speed 1

Recipe could easily be doubled with increased cooking time at the beginning to reduce down the sauce for the beans.

Shredded chicken in your Thermomix

{ Money Saver!! }

Still 'irks' me seeing how much I used to pay for certain things before Thermomix. Like this shredded chicken at $20/kg!! And almond meal at $40/kg, and yoghurt which I make for $1.20/L


Shredding Chicken in your Thermomix

Cook chicken in small pieces in your basket, 20 minutes, Varoma, speed 2
Drain liquid and keep as stock - don't waste it!
Return chicken to TM bowl and shred on speed 4 for 4 seconds

Add to salads, pizza, soup, casseroles, sandwiches...anything! Freezes and defrosts really well too!

Thermofest

This week we had the launch of Thermofest 2014 to find out where we are all aiming for as our incentive destination as Thermomix consultants.

I was VERY excited to hear it is going to be in SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA!!

Last year I was awarded the Social Media & Recipe Community Award...such an honour and it came as a complete surprise. If you have ever been thinking about becoming a consultant, now is the time!

Here is my interview below:

What was the biggest highlight for ThermoFest ’13?

Meeting Grace, and seeing the thought and attention to detail that the ThermoFest team put in to make ThermoFest a truly rewarding experience for us all there made me all the more motivated to ensure I get there every year! We lacked for nothing and everything was planned out to give us just the right balance of leisure and learning. It gave me motivation to come back and keep my business firing so I can come again, this time with my partner.

Describe ThermoFest ’13 in three words

Amazing, Inspiring, Rewarding

What is your top tip for qualifying for ThermoFest ’13?

Don’t underestimate yourself! I didn’t think I would qualify and wasn’t planning on ‘trying’, I had only been a consultant for one full month before the qualification period began, but my GL believed in me and told me I could definitely do it even though the numbers looked scary. Thanks to her spurring me on, I pushed myself for the final two months and got over the line by 2 extra sales. All your hard work will pay off, you just have to have a plan, a goal, and keep doing the demos and believe the sales will come.

You were awarded with the Social Media & Recipe Community Excellence Award, please share how this made you feel. 

Well that came as a complete shock to me as I feel there are so many people out there doing a fantastic job in this area already, people I admire. But it was a very humbling experience and I felt like my hard work had been recognised, which was a huge thing for me being a relatively new consultant. And it meant I could tell my husband that there was a GOOD REASON I spent so much time on the computer and Facebook!

Any social media or recipe tips to share?

Social media is an extremely valuable tool to use to network and stay connected. Ensure you use it to your advantage. I find a lot of potential customers I meet at my demos will reconnect with me through my Facebook page.  Create recipes for Recipe Community and don’t be afraid to promoting them! By sharing your knowledge and delicious creations, you are helping customers on their journey and enhancing the lives of their families.