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Topics - JulieO

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121
GERMAN CHERRY CRUMBLE CHEESECAKE

Notes:

I made this in a 20cm tin instead of the recommended 22-24cm tin, therefore I had quite a bit of the crumble left over.

This was so nice and a hit with everyone.  I used fresh ricotta cheese as I couldn't get the quark, but it was so nice and light, not heavy like cream cheese can be. 

Made it the day before I wanted it and allowed to chill in the fridge in a covered container.  I expected the crumble would soften, but it didn't it stayed nice and crunchy.

5/5




122
Chit Chat / German cherry Crumble Cheesecake
« on: October 04, 2009, 01:40:24 pm »
Has anyone made this from the EDC (page 139)?  Was thinking of making it tomorrow.

Julie.

123
Bread / Hot Cross Tea Bread - with photos
« on: September 24, 2009, 07:22:49 am »
HOT CROSS TEA BREAD
200ml milk
1 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp dry yeast
400g baker’s flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
50g light muscovado sugar or brown sugar
175g mixed dried fruit
50g unsalted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten

Suggest weighing everything that needs it with your normal scales before beginning.

Place milk into TM bowl, heat on 37°C/1 min + 10 secs/spoon
Add the caster sugar, yeast and 100g of the already weighed flour.
Mix on speed 3 for a few secs until smooth. Leave sitting in the bowl in the machine for approx 30-45 mins or until bubbles form on the surface. Grease an 18cm springform cake pan.

Melt butter and put aside.

In a bowl, sift together the cinnamon, nutmeg, remaining 300g flour and salt. 
Mix in the muscovado/brown sugar and dried fruit, (I used my fingers to mix and break up any clumps of fruit) then add to the yeast mixture in the TM bowl, along with the cooled melted butter and egg. 
Mix on speed 1/1 min .- or until combined.  I did this, but am thinking you may not need to, just  knead straight away for a bit longer?

Set dial to closed lid and knead for 2 ½ mins until you have a smooth dough.

Shape the dough into a round (will feel a bit sticky when you first take out of bowl, but loses that quickly when you shape into a round).
 
Place in the cake pan.  Cover with a clean tea towel/clingwrap (I lightly sprayed clingwrap with oil and covered the pan,  the dough didn’t stick to it when it rose above the rim). 
Leave to rise in a warm place for 1 ½ hours.  The dough should rise to just above the rim of the pan.

Preheat oven 200c. and clean the TM bowl if making the glaze in it.

For the cross
2 tblsp plain flour
1 tsp caster sugar
2 tblsp cold water (use bit less so not as runny) after mixing I added a little more flour to thicken up a bit.

Combine the plain flour, sugar and water in a bowl, mixing until you have a smooth paste.  Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle or place mixture in a snap lock bag, pushing into a corner, then snip off corner and pipe a cross on top of the bun. (I used the snap lock bag - didn’t use all of it either so could cut down quantities).

Place the pan in the oven and bake for 30-35 mins until golden and cooked through. 

Glaze - Either make the glaze in the TM or in a small saucepan on the stove top. (I used saucepan)

2 tblsp caster sugar
2 tblsp cold water

Place the caster sugar in the clean TM bowl.  Add water and cook on 37°C/2 mins or until sugar has dissolved. 


When bun is cooked, remove from oven, cool for about a minute in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack. Brush with glaze, (I brushed the sides too).

Slice and spread with butter.

Any leftover tea bread can be served toasted the next day.

Notes:
I've had this recipe for a little while even though I hadn't gotten around to making it, so this morning I converted to making in the TM. I am so pleased with how it turned out.  Has just the right amount of sweetness and fruit, and tastes just like hot cross buns.  Because you can slice, it should be perfect for putting in the toaster and as with all of these sorts of breads they are only fresh on day of baking. Of course if you want to make at other times of the year, just don't mark with the cross and you have a lovely glazed tea cake or even ice if you want to.

Julie.







124
Chit Chat / Fast & Easy Indian Cooking
« on: September 21, 2009, 09:44:17 am »
I've just picked up the cookbook from the post office and after only having a quick glance, it looks really good. Gives recipes for lots of pastes and powders to use in the recipes too and from what I've seen the recipes expect you to use other methods of cooking some of the curries with help from the TM in some aspects, which I think is great.  Can't wait to sit down quietly and have a good look through.

Will just give a reminder to anyone using recipes from the book, that the UK tablespoon is only 15ml, where ours is 20ml, so if you don't have a smaller sized tablespoon measure, just use 3 x teaspoons instead. (can make a big difference, especially in curries!  :o)

Julie.

125
Chit Chat / A Seafood Bounty book
« on: September 21, 2009, 08:25:57 am »
Have just received this book today and was wondering if the recipes are pretty right in their instructions etc or have they been revised as well?

Julie.

126
Chit Chat / A real dilemma
« on: September 15, 2009, 01:47:05 pm »
Each morning of the past few days, I've started out with the good intention of giving the TM a rest for the day and catching up on stuff I've been putting off like ironing, gardening, finishing a book I started a couple of weeks ago and catching up on some tv shows I've recorded.

I have my morning shower, tidy the house, vacuum and then it hits me.  This unequivocal desire to make something in the TM!  I try and resist the pull and sometimes, sometimes I make it till lunch time, but then, I need my fix, I can't fight the urge any longer, and I have to make something, anything  :-))

Oh boy, when will this wear off, I'm obsessed!   :o    ;D

127
Bread / Herb & Garlic Pull Apart - With photo
« on: September 14, 2009, 12:37:20 pm »
HERB & GARLIC PULL APART
Bread                  
Approx 450g lukewarm water         
1 tblsp yeast               
1 ½ tsp salt               
750g baker’s flour            
5 tblsp oil               

Herb & garlic butter (won’t use all of this)
600g fresh cream
Fine salt approx 1 tsp
50g light olive oil - optional
Garlic (I used 2 big cloves, but needed more)
Parsley

Bread
Place all ingredients into TM bowl and mix for 5 seconds on speed 7 to combine.
Set dial to closed lid position and knead for 2 mins on interval speed.
Place in oiled bowl, cover with gladwrap and put in a warm place to rise until doubled, approx 20-30 mins.

Make herb butter while bread is proving. (or make earlier so you can clean bowl out properly)

Place a few cloves of garlic and parsley into TM bowl and turbo a few times until finely chopped.  Remove from bowl and set aside. Wipe out bowl.

Place butterfly into bowl.  Add cream and blend for 1-3 mins to separate on speed 4.
Strain buttermilk carefully, remove butterfly.

Place 500g cold water into bowl and mix for 5-10 secs on speed 4.  Remove water from bowl, re-fill with water and mix again.  The idea is to get the water clea. When clear, strain through the basket and you are left with your butter.

Place butterfly back into bowl.  Add butter, salt, garlic & herb mixture and if wanting to make spreadable butter, light olive oil, and combine for 30 secs on speed 4.

Roll out dough into a big rectangle on baking mat.
Spread herb butter over dough and cut dough with butter knife into 3 - 4 cm wide strips.  Arrange dough strips on top of each other, then gently allow to fall to the side so they are all sitting on their sides, touching each other on a baking paper lined tray.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180° C for approx 40-45 mins.




128
Desserts / Sweet Blueberry Foccacia - With photo
« on: September 12, 2009, 02:30:30 pm »
SWEET BLUEBERRY FOCCACIA
140g warm water
2 tsp dried yeast
¼  cup white sugar
280g bread flour
25g olive oil
Pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tblsp raw sugar
150g blueberries or combo with raspberries

Measure out the ¼ cup sugar and put into a small bowl. Put to one side.

Combine warm water, yeast, salt, and 1 tsp of the set aside sugar in TM bowl. Mix 5 secs/speed 6.

Add flour, oil and 2 tblsp of the set aside sugar.  Mix 20 secs/speed 6.

Set to closed lid, and knead for 2 mins on interval speed.

Place into a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 220°C. Add the cinnamon to the remaining set aside sugar.

Punch dough down. You shouldn’t need to knead, just press into a greased 30cm x 20cm baking tin.  Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Dimple surface, then add blueberries evenly over the surface. Sprinkle the raw sugar evenly over the top.  Bake 15 - 20 minutes.

When you remove from the oven, spray with a little light olive oil and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.  Cut into squares and serve with custard, but is nice just on it’s own.



129
Chit Chat / Full Steam Ahead cookbook
« on: August 31, 2009, 01:30:32 pm »
There's a brand new cook book listed on ebay (Australia)  if anyone is interested, starting price $25.00.

http://tinyurl.com/mv4he3

Julie.

130
Main Dishes / Beef Enchiladas
« on: August 30, 2009, 01:43:56 pm »
BEEF ENCHILADAS - Serves 4
2 tblsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion, cut into quarters
1 long green chilli, cut into chunks
1 green capsicum, seeds removed and cut into chunks             
2 tsp ground cumin  
¼ tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
½ tsp sweet paprika
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 ½  tsp sugar
1 x 700g bottle passata (pureed tomatoes)
1 tblsp olive oil, extra
500g premium beef mince
8 flour tortillas (or make your own) - recipe below
150g tasty cheese, cubed      
Sour cream &coriander or cont parsley to serve

If making your own tortillas, make them first and put aside until needed.

Place cheese into TM bowl.  Grate 5 secs/speed 8.  Remove from the bowl and put aside.

Place oil, onion, garlic, capsicum and chilli in TM bowl, and chop for 5 secs/speed 5.
Sauté for 10 mins/100°C/speed 2..MC off.  Scrape down sides.
Add spices and cook further 3 mins/90°C/speed 1.5, MC off.
Add salt, sugar and passata,  cook 9 mins/100°C/speed 1. MC off.   You’ll need to turn up to speed 3 for a few seconds to get going, then turn back down to speed 1.     Remove from bowl, no need to clean TM bowl.

Add extra 1 tbsp oil to bowl, sauté for 3 mins/100°C/speed 1. MC off
Add mince and cook for 5 mins/V Temp/Reverse + speed spoon to speed 1. May need to initially have on speed 2 + reverse, to break up lumps in mince, then turn down to spoon or 1.   MC off.
Add ¾ of enchilada sauce, stir  30 secs/Reverse + speed 2 ½.   MC off.  Preheat oven 180°C.

Divide mince mixture among the tortillas, placing it neatly in the centre. Roll tortillas up from one side to enclose the filling. Place in 20cm x 30cm approx.  ovenproof dish seam side down.
Spoon remaining tomato sauce over enchiladas and top with cheese. Bake for 15 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted and browned.  Serve with sour cream and coriander/parsley.

I made my own tortillas using this recipe by Trudy Olive.

320g plain flour
1teaspn salt
3 tblspns olive oil
1 tspn baking powder
180g warm water
Place everything into the bowl.
Mix 10 seconds on speed 7 to combine.
Set to locked position and knead for 3 mins.
Put dough onto bread mat and rest 5-10 mins.
Divide dough into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a flat round.
Fry in an oiled hot frying pan until they start to brown.  Turn them over and cook the other side.
OK to freeze.
Also great for making tortilla chips in the oven with any leftovers.

members' comments

JD - These were lovely - perfect recipe, tasty but not too spicy for the younger members of the family. Made the filling the day beforehand which made them so easy to assemble on the day. Thanks for sharing this with us.

CP - this was divine - not only in comparison to the bought stuff - but in flavour. The green chilli, capsicum and spice mix really enhanced the mince. Very easy to make and looked so delicious when I pulled them out of the oven that I didn't have time to add the sour cream -- too much salivating.

Thermie007 - we loved this slavered with sour cream.

Chelsea - we loved them.  Thanks for the wonderful recipe Julie. I made my own tortillas using the recipe from Quirky Jo's blog and they were lovely. When I did my monthly shopping at the supermarket I picked up a packet of tortillas to check the ingredients and counted 9 preservatives/additives listed. Now I know that they are so easy and cheap to make (and tasty) I won't be buying them again.

jworth - What an awesome recipe!!

cathy79 - These were fantastic.  The flavours were really fresh and delicious.  At first glance, the recipe looks a little overwhelmin but it's actually very straight forward.  I guess it's the list of ingredients.  But I had everything in the cupboard.  Used half the chilli and didn't put in the chilli powder and was perfect for the kids (and me). I even made my own tortillas.  That was a little fiddly and looked a little dodgy compared to bought but once they were rolled up and baked in the oven, no one would know their original strange shape.
Next time, I'll add extra vegies to this recipe.

Caroline J -  IT'S DELICIOUS!!! Thanks for the recipe, JulieO, this will be a regular in our house now. DH was complimenting me (you) with every mouthful. I might try and squeeze a few more vegies in next time for the kidlets.

Berry - this was the first 'meal' that I made and we were thoroughly impressed, it was absolutely delicious! I think that the home-made tortillas made all the difference and am going to invest in a tortilla press.

theweewelshone - Well although the enchiladas were hard to roll due to the liquidy-ness they ended up tasting great and the kids devoured them and even asked for seconds Smiley The tortillas soaked up some of the sauce whilst cooking so it looked fine in the end.
Next time I make them I'll add the enchilada sauce bit by bit so I can still roll them up.
The addition of kidney beans was nice and the kids ate those no worries. I added the kidney beans a few minutes after the mince was put in as I liked my beans softened by some cooking. As they were put in during the reverse + 1 stage they remained whole so if you don't like whole beans - or want to hide them from the kids - then chop them before doing the mince stage.

maddy - Absolutely scrumptious Julie! Kids cleaned their plates too.  We really enjoyed the flavours. Nothing more satisfying than making your own tortilla's. I didn't have passata sauce, so I used 2 tins diced tomatoes (roughly drained) and just mixed it longer on speed 3 with mince. I bag my mince in 600g lots, so with the extra meat mix that didn't fit in tortilla's, I added it in with the salsa for the topping.

hopefulcook -  I called it "Mexican Lasagne" to convince the sceptical small people. It was a hit! I prepped the meat in TMX but then cooked on the stove (I don't like mince cooked in TM), then gave a quick rinse and made a 'taco sauce' for the top which I got from an old Mexican cookbook (one of those small hard cover cook books). It was excellent:
1) Put 1 tbs EVO, 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic (and chilli but I left this out for kids), give a quick blitz then saute for 3 min 100 degrees, speed 1.
2) Add 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp brown sugar saute for 1 min 100 degrees, speed 1.
3) Add 400g tin tomatoes, juice 1/2 lemon, cook for 15 min, reverse, speed 1, 100 degrees.
Use this instead of Passata. I only put on the top, did not bother in the tortilla.
Also had no sour cream so I used yogurt and it was fine/good.
As this was such a success I am determined to try and make my own tortillas next time.

Chelsea - I made these tonight with chicken and they were heavenly. I followed JulieO's directions up to where the passata is added and it is cooked for 9 minutes.  I then transferred a third of the sauce into a jug (for the topping) and added 500g of diced chicken thighs to the remainder of the sauce in the TM.  I cooked that for 6 minutes, 100 degrees, reverse speed 1 and then proceeded on with the recipe (making up the enchiladas and baking them etc).  I think we loved the chicken even more than the beef and it was cooked to perfection.  Such a yummy recipe Julie.

Denzelmum - my tweak for vegetarian version - using Sanitarium Casserole Mince, a handful of sliced mushroom, 125g canned corn and 125g canned red kidney bean.  Yum...

KerrynN - they were FANTASTIC!!! Who would go to a restaurant when you can make this at home??? Thanks for the recipe! Will be a definite repeat.

thermo 18 - Just love this dish with either beef or chicken.

spektor - Ultra delicious!!!! Thumbs up all around. I made my own wraps as well. I'm amazed at what I am actually attempting to do!
I had quite a bit of meat left over (as my wraps dwindled in number due to DS1 eating some of them). Froze the leftover mixture and will use it a sort of nacho style dish.

Bubbles - Thanks JulieO for such a fantastic recipe! They were so delicious,and so easy to make! Mexican is DH favourite meal, so he has requested them weekly! Yum Yum !!

Kimmyh - Thank you for such a great recipe. They are yummy and easy to make. The homemade tortillas are so fun to make yourself and they turned out great.  So no more bought ones in our house now. Thank you and thanks thermomix. Yet another item deleted from the shopping list. Woohoo!

Katiej - My DH cooked this for dinner tonight.  It was lovely and he was very delighted with it. He is already talking about about what he'll do when he makes it again (wonder if I can get him to make the tortilla's himself next time??) Thanks for the great recipe JulieO.

ES - it was delicious.

buzzbee - This is a very popular and oft-requested dinner option in our house. It makes a lot - enough for lunch the next day, which is handy.

flavourofthemonth - it was fabulous. One of my family's favourite TMX meals.

131
Bread / Potato Foccacia - With photo
« on: August 29, 2009, 05:10:31 am »
This recipe was shown on Better Homes & Gardens a couple of weeks ago (a Karen Martini recipe) and I thought I'd have a go at converting to make the dough in the TM.  It worked really well and the fact that it was all done in the one bowl was great.  They didn't say what size baking dish to  use so I took a punt and luckily it was the perfect size.  Different from any other foccacia I have eaten, this was was crunchy on the outside, reminded me a bit of the Pizza Hut pan pizza bases in a way, but much nicer.

POTATO FOCCACIA
2 medium desiree potatoes, peeled, cut in into chunks
500g plain flour
Salt flakes
360g room temp water
2 tsp dried yeast
5 tblsp EVOO
½ bunch basil leaves, roughly torn
3 - 4 ripe tomatoes, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper

Line a baking tin (approx 30 x 25 x 5cm) with baking paper.

Cut potatoes into cubes and put into basket of TM.  Pour 500g of water into the bowl, add a pinch of sea salt, then lower the basket into the bowl.  Cook on Varoma temp for approx 17 mins, speed spoon ^^.(test with a knife to see if potatoes are done enough) 

Lift basket out with spatula, then discard the cooking water from the bowl. Place room temp water into the bowl and sprinkle in the yeast .Mix 5 seconds on speed 6.

Return potatoes back into the bowl, mix approx 20 secs on speed 4 or until smooth.  Add flour and 2 tsp salt and combine for 20 seconds on speed 6.

Set the dial to closed lid position  *: and knead for 2 mins on interval speed  :: or until dough is smooth and elastic (it will look very wet and sticky but this is what gives the dough its airiness and crisp texture). Remove to a lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap and stand in a warm place for 40 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.  Preheat oven 200°C

Drizzle 3 tablespoons oil into prepared tray and coat base and sides with a pastry brush. Remove dough from mixing bowl and press and stretch into prepared tray. Cover with plastic wrap and stand in a warm place for a further 20 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

Combine basil and tomato in a bowl. Add remaining oil and season. Scatter mixture over dough. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden. Remove focaccia from oven and set aside for 15 minutes, before serving.

I couldn’t help but add some grated tasty cheese and put under the grill until melted, but you could add to the foccacia while in the oven for the last few mins of cooking time.  Would also like to add other toppings too, thinly sliced salami/pepperoni, sliced black olives, whatever you like.






132
Questions? Technical Issues? The Survival Guide / Mascarpone Cheese
« on: August 21, 2009, 02:16:20 pm »
Has anyone made this from the EDC - page 19?

In the instructions it says to "pour into a large bowl lined with cheesecloth.  Leave the progressing mascarpone in the fridge on the bottom shelf for approx 12 hours before using."

Now do you leave it to drain over the bowl through the cheesecloth or do you just leave it sitting on the cheesecloth in the bowl and later drain, or don't you drain it at all, in which case why have the cheesecloth in the first place?  The instructions aren't really clear to me.

Hope someone knows what to do.

Julie.

133
Hi everyone!

Am planning on making this today so have had a look to see if anyone has any tweaks, tips etc and couldn't find any for this dish.  Have I missed it or is there nothing to change from the recipe book?

I always check on here first as there's so much good feedback about the recipes which then stops me making mistakes.  ;D

134
Soups / SpicyTomato & Chickpea Soup - With photo
« on: August 12, 2009, 07:31:47 am »
Name of Recipe:  SPICY TOMATO & CHICKPEA SOUP

Number of People:  4

Ingredients:
2 tsp. of yellow mustard seeds
3 tsp fennel seeds
3 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp of cumin seeds (I used 1 tsp ground)
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, chopped
Pinch salt
2 tsp sugar
400g can chick peas, drained and rinsed
400g can diced tomatoes
400g chicken stock
2 red capsicums, roasted, peeled, and seeded
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preparation:
Fry the finely chopped onion and crushed garlic in a frypan until tender.

Toast the first 4 ingredients in the TM bowl for 4 mins 100C speed 2.

Add the fried onion and garlic to the bowl as well as salt, sugar, chick peas, tomatoes and the stock.  Cook at Varoma temp for 10 mins speed 3.

Add roasted pepper and puree for 50 secs on speed 8, or until desired consistency.

Serve hot with a dollop of homemade/Greek yoghurt if desired.

Photos:  Is this size okay, or would you prefer smaller?



Tips/Hints:

The flavour is so much better for caramelising the onions and garlic in a frypan first, but of course you can do it in the TM if you prefer.

here's a link to the website where I found it:

http://acanadianfoodie.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!55C0FC976512499!3144.entry?wa=wsignin1.0&sa=107538791

Members' comments
whisks - This is such a delicious soup, Julie. Beautiful rich flavour, with lots of depth. Everyone should try it!

VHJ - This is sensational. Thanks JulieO. In true form I didn't read the recipe all the way through & hadn't roasted the capsicum so just threw it in raw with the toms, chick peas etc. Also used fresh tomato and cooked the onions as per Thermomixer's suggestion. I will definitely make this again.

135
Introduce Yourself / Hello from SA
« on: August 08, 2009, 02:29:24 am »
Hi my name is Julie and I’m from SA.
Hadn’t seen much info about the TM, but I was aware of it.  After seeing it on MC, it renewed my interest again enough so to contact HO to enquire about a demo.  Within 2 days a local consultant had contacted me but seeing it was only me interested in seeing one she said she’d contact me when she could organise a demo in her own home.  A week later, she rang and we set up a time and place.  The demo didn’t exactly set me on fire, in fact I’d gone there expecting to order one that night, but came away unsure.  In the demonstrators defence she’d only had her machine for 3 months and said upfront that she didn’t like cooking, so I think that really made the difference.  Anyway after reading through this forum and thinking all you lovely people can’t be wrong, I became enthused again and 3 days later rang and ordered one.  Paid my money that day (last Thursday) and on Monday arvo she rang to say it had arrived and would deliver on Tuesday afternoon.  Was very impressed with the speedy delivery and couldn’t wait to get started.

By the time it was all washed and a set up in it’s place I didn’t have much time left to play with it, but as I was cooking fillet steaks, baked potato and salad that night I decided to do something simple that I’d seen on the UK site, which was frying some pancetta slices in a dry frypan, allowing to cool then breaking into pieces and then blitzing in the TM bowl to make crumbs.  These I sprinkled on top of the baked potatoes that first had a little butter, grated cheese and a small dollop of sour cream, then the crumbs.  Was a nice flavour boost and looked good too.  What I didn’t use have been put in a sealed container in the fridge to use up in other ways.  I was very impressed at how small it made the crumbs.(would be nice sprinkled on a pizza that had just been taken from the oven).

The following day I firstly made the veg stock concentrate but I used a different recipe than in the book which included an onion and 2 leeks.  Made it but only added 2 tsp rock salt as I didn’t need to preserve it and I prefer to add any salt to the meal I’m cooking to have control of the saltiness.  As soon as it had cooled, I measured out level tablespoonful and put into ice cube trays and froze them, then once frozen removed to a zip lock bag.

I then made pumpkin soup and sautéed the onion in the TM bowl and used the veg concentrate that I’d made.  Very easy and the colour and texture was wonderful (deseeded and peeled the pumpkin) but I really didn’t like the way it tasted which was very oniony and not as nice as I usually make. 
Was a little disheartened at first, wondering was it the machine or the ingredients, so yesterday I made some more only using my usual stock and also fried off the chopped onion in a frypan until tender then added some spices and stirred until aromatic, then  added this to the chopped pumpkin in the bowl and proceeded from there.  It turned out great and as nice as my usual soup I make on the stove top.  Success!

Of course this led me to make up another batch of veg concentrate only this time I followed the recipe in the book, plus added a little sweet potato too and I again fried off the onion to remove the ‘raw’ taste.  Was very happy with the taste of this and froze in the ice cube trays again.  I think I will use 1 cube of this and maybe ½ of one of the other until all used up.

Last night I made Mediterranean Lamb done on the stove top and in the oven and could see that mashed potatoes would be the perfect accompaniment. I remembered reading a post from someone on here about doing them in the strainer basket but using water like normal and not milk as in the book, so following her lead I made the mash this way and after removing the water from the bowl, added the butterfly whisk and then threw in some cubes of butter and some milk to the still hot bowl, dropped in the cooked potatoes and combined for about 20 seconds. WOW they were the creamiest, smoothest, mash I’ve ever eaten.  This will be the only way I’ll make mash now.

I’m slowly but surely getting used to this wonderful machine and am enjoying testing what it can do.  I can see it will be a big help to me in the kitchen and learning the best way for it to cook the food that we like.  Some things just have to be cooked on the stove top or oven, but there’s so much that the TM can do that I’m going to really enjoy this journey.

Thanks for reading what I didn’t mean to be such a long post.  I hope I’ll be able to add to your wonderful forum in some way.

Julie.     Oh and Hi Cookie1   ;D



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