Almond Milk and Almond Smooshy Stuff...nothing goes to waste with a Thermomix!

I recently went to a Raw Organic Chocolate making workshop, which I've mentioned on my Facebook page. One of the recipes we tested was making a highly potent raw chocolate energy drink, which is dairy and sugar free. It uses nut milk as the base along with other ingredients (if you would like the recipe just contact me and I can send it to you, its in our newsletter for August). So of course I stocked up on ingredients and made my own almond milk yesterday using this recipe from Farmer K's Kitchen.

Once you make your almond milk, which with a Thermomix takes all of 2 minutes and only 100g of almonds to make 1L of milk, you are left with what can only be described as almond 'smoosh'!! So not wanting to be wasteful and knowing the nutty goodness I had before me, I decided to wack this into some chocolate muffins and test it out. OH.....MY........GOODNESS!!!!!!!!! They were divine!

Here is my rough recipe for those of you playing at home (adapted from EDC)

Choc Chip Muffins with Almond Smoosh

150g self raising flour
150g almond smoosh
180g milk
150g raw sugar
2 eggs
50g olive oil
100g choc chips
2 TB cocoa powder

Put all ingredients in (except choc chips) and mix 20 seconds speed 4 (or until just combined).
Add choc chips and mix on reverse speed 4 for a few seconds until combined
Spoon into muffin papers and cook 180c for 20 mins or until cooked.

Voila!!

Chicken, Bacon & Mushroom Risotto | Thermomix recipes

My sister once gave me a beautiful chicken, bacon and mushroom risotto recipe, passed to her from her boyfriend who was a chef. It has always been one of our favourites and one of the few meals I could cook really well and be delicious every time (prior to getting my Thermomix!).

So naturally, it was the first recipe I tried to 'convert' as a new Thermomix owner. Risotto was one of the main selling points for me when it came to considering a Thermomix...and when you can make it in 17 minutes with NO STIRRING then its pretty hard to walk away from!

Here it is for you to enjoy. Tweak it however you like but I think its pretty spesh! For those of you already on my mailing list, this is in our team newsletter for this month. If you would like to get on the list let me know, as we have some great tips and recipes each month.

Chicken, Bacon & Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts (or 3 thigh) diced 2cm cubes

150g diced bacon

6 button mushrooms

100g white wine

1100g water

2Tb veggie stock from EDC

50g olive oil

350-400g arborio rice

small onion

1 garlic clove

a few basil leaves chopped

50g parmesan (grate this first and keep aside to top risotto)

Method:

1.      Grate parmesan 10 sec speed 9 and set aside

2.      Chop onion and garlic 2-3 sec speed 6

3.      Scrape down sides, add oil, bacon, and cook for 2-3 minutes, reverse speed 1, 100c with MC off

4.      Insert butterfly, add rice & wine and cook 2 mins speed reverse + soft, 100c

5.      Add chicken pieces, 4 mins, speed reverse + soft, 100c and cook until white all over (will not be cooked all the way through but the stock will cook the rest)

6.      Add stock paste, mushrooms, basil, water (up to max capacity marker). Cook 20 mins**, reverse + soft, 100c until all stock absorbed and rice is to your liking (soft or al dente). Add any remaining water through top after around 15 minutes cooking time.

7.      Transfer to your Thermoserver and top with parmesan. 

Really nice accompanied with steamed vegies in winter or a salad in summer.

Recipe contributed by Natalie Sanderson

Thermomix Tips

It seems everyone you speak to has some kind of handy hints and ideas that you haven't yet come across, or that you didn't pick up at your demo, so I thought that every so often I would share 10 tips for getting more out of your Thermomix.

Would love you to comment or leave a post on my Nat's Thermomixen in the Kitchen facebook page if you have some more.

• Spatula
this is to be used clockwise to avoid nicks. If you are left handed, purchase an inexpensive spatula for removing food from the bottom of the bowl.
• Cracking eggs
don't crack your eggs on the side of the bowl, as the eggwhite can run down the side and cook onto the bowl making it difficult to clean
• Getting food out from under the blades
to get more food out than your spatula can reach, flick the speed up to 10 or press Turbo to flick out the last little bits of food to the side of the bowl, then scrape out again
• Condensing liquid
when making jams or casseroles you can put your steaming basket on top of the lid to allow extra steam to escape but stop food from splattering out the top
• Peeling garlic here is a link to how to peel garlic in your Thermomix
• Weighing
you can weigh things part way through cooking. Say for example you are cooking your pasta sauce and forgot to pre-weigh your pasta. Simply turn the dial to the closed lid position, press the scales and weigh your items, then turn the dial back to the speed you were previously on, and Thermomix will remember the temperature and time remaining and resume cooking from there...genius!
• Varoma - the Varoma is FANTASTIC for reheating food, better than your microwave as it doesn't toughen the food as it reheats. Simply put your liquid in the bowl and set the time and varoma temp, put your bowl of food to be reheated inside the varoma tray and there you have it. I will quite often cook my rice and at the same time am reheating some kind of meat sauce in the varoma.
• Varoma - this can be used to sterilise baby bottles, dummys, toys etc.
• Varoma - I sometimes use this to heat my plates or my Thermoserver before use - when the Varoma is going I place my Thermoserver metal bowl on top of the Varoma lid and this takes the chill off the Thermoserver. If I'm not using this, I put 2 dinner plates on top and they are nice and warm ready to plate up. 

What can you add to the list?

Lemons & Thermomix

I have been dreaming of a lemon tree with an abundance of lemons ever since Maude the Thermomix came to live with us last year. 

My sister very kindly delivered two HUGE shopping bags full of lemons to me yesterday, so now I am overloaded and have been storing lemon recipes like there is no tomorrow! Have a look at the size of THIS lemon...I have never seen one so big before!!

The first one I tried was Lemon Butter or Lemon Curd from the EDC. I have to say...one of the EASIEST recipes ever, only 8 minutes to cook and you only need 2 lemons to make a whole jar. Well worth a try, quite impressive as a gift too...particularly if you find some cute free labels to print off and stick to your jars. 

Here are some labels you can download for free:

Eat Drink Chic

sabjimatablog.com

I posted a recipe for Lemony Lemon Brownies here:

And here are some great recipes for using lemons that I found on the Recipe Community website

Lemon & Raspberry Tarts

Lemon & Coconut Brownies

Tangy Lemon Cheesecake

Chicken & Lemon Risotto

Lemon Chicken Parcels 

(in the Varoma. From UK Thermomix website)

Would love to hear your favourites!

Mocha Custard | Recipes for your Thermomix

I had been thinking and thinking about trying a Mocha Custard in my Thermomix for some time, seeing as though custard is one of the recipes we make at least 3 times a week in our house (and truth be told, one of the main reasons my husband was sold on the Thermomix!)...so I finally gave it a go.

Oh.....my......GOSH!!!


So after trying vanilla custard, lemon custard, orange custard, chocolate custard, jaffa custard, caramel custard and my 2 year old's idea for...wait for it....FAIRY custard (pink food colouring in the vanilla custard with 100s and 1000s on top)...I now have a new favourite - MOCHA.


100g sugar
50g flour
2 heaped spoons of cocoa
2 eggs
480g milk
1 shot of espresso coffee 


Cook for 7 mins, 90c speed 4

Try it...you will love it!

What other flavours am I yet to discover? Leave a comment below

Home made pasta sauce

So today is one of those rainy-stay-in-your-pjs-till-lunchtime days, perfect for making pasta sauce!

I am no expert, and this is my own personal way of doing it...if you like it feel free to give it a go. 


Easiest...pasta....sauce.....EVER!!

I basically used up most of the veggies in my crisper to make this.

4 stalks of celery

2 carrots

1 green capsicum

a few floret of cauliflower

1 onion

2 tins of chopped tomatoes (cheaper per kilo than fresh right now)

fresh basil, chives & parsley from the herb garden

2 TB vegetable stock paste from EDC

1/2 cup red wine

Chop veggies and fill bowl, speed 6 for 10-20 seconds until minced up. Then add 2 x tins tomato, veggie paste & a splash of red wine.

Cook 100c, speed 1 for 30 mins.

After cooking taste and season if it needs anything extra

Turn slowly to speed 6, then speed 9 for 30 seconds (do this slowly so it doesn't spit out the top and burn you)

And there you have it! I managed to make 2 litres of sauce with 6 veggies and red wine in 30 minutes while I got to sit down...all for around $2.80 which is less than 60c per jar. See how a Thermomix SAVES YOU MONEY??

We usually use this sauce to make pasta bake with some grated cheese and breadcrumbs finished off in the oven for a quick and tasty vegetarian meal the kids love. Try it!!

Chicken & Brocoli Fettucine | Thermomix Recipes

One of our friends, a very new Thermomix owner, posted her first recipe to the Recipe Community recently and got quite a huge response! 

Her recipe....Chicken & Brocoli Fettucine. So far it has had a whopping 3818 views, and even got a mention on the Thermomix in Australia official Facebook page!!

A great one to try!!