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Topics - Amanda

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31
Suggestions and Complaints / HELP! I CAN'T GET IN!
« on: August 09, 2011, 03:48:56 am »
Sorry for the hysteria.  ;)
I can't access my page on the forum as on my laptop as I seem to have forgotten my password.  I have requested the password change link several times, but nothing happens.
I had the bright idea to change my password on my profile while on my desktop machine, but apparently I need my old password to do that.  Which would be the one I seem to have forgotten.
I don't want to touch anything on my profile password-wise or I think I might be locked out altogether.
Can someone advise what to do??

32
Chit Chat / Head spinning!!
« on: April 22, 2010, 11:11:24 am »
I have had a fairly remarkable week so far!
I was invited to write a feature review on 3 SA books which have been nominated for Le Cordon Bleu Food Media Awards, I have just been given another book to review and yesterday I had a visit from a journalist and photographer from our daily paper.  They came up to do an article on my home cooking and my blog which seems to be catching some eyes!!!
They wanted me to cook something so that they could photograph me (stomach being sucked in for the whole time!! :o) while they interviewed me.
I was highly organised with the kitchen spotless (not it's usual state) and I had made the dish early in the morning so that I had a spare in case of disaster.
Which then struck! I plunged my hand into the sink to finish the dishes and sliced into the top of my finger with my big chef's knife.  I nearly took the whole top off and proceeded to bleed all over the floor and cupboards.  A shock for the slumbering teenage daughter who was hauled out of bed to clean up the blood.
If you happen to see the article (in the Taste section of the Advertiser, probably in a couple of weeks) that will explain why I am making a chicken pie with a glove on!

33
Recipe Book Recipe Reviews / EDC Sponge cake - Don't bother
« on: April 06, 2010, 02:12:28 am »
I gave this one a try yesterday, despite having misgivings about the likelihood of an airy sponge being the result.
Boy was I right! :(
Despite following the recipe to the letter, when pouring the mix into the tin I found a gluggy mass stuck under the blades.  This was a serious bummer as I had already poured most of the mix into the prepared tin, so I just mixed it in as best as I could.
The cake baked well and rose beautifully with no gluggy lumps in inside when I sliced it.  Inside it looked spongy and airy, but more like a dishwashing sponge and the texture was very similar too.
This was rubbery and chewy and bears no resemblance to the delightful wispy sponges made by my CWA baking aunts.

Also, it uses 6 eggs!  Just as well our chooks are serious about their job! :o

34
Chit Chat / Cocoa
« on: February 24, 2010, 01:31:19 am »
Here is a link to a very informative article I saw about cocoa.
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2010/02/cocoa_powder_faq_dutch-process_v.html
It is more relevant to the US in some of the terms used, but as far as product goes, we can relate here in Oz.
There is a vast world of difference in the  end product depending on the quality of cocoa used and it is worth experimenting even once to see what I mean.

35
Condiments and Sauces / Green Goddess Salad Dressing
« on: February 23, 2010, 12:15:19 am »
As scribbled down on a piece of paper by my friend Margie, then adapted a bit by me!
Don't omit the anchovies!!!
You will not taste their fishiness, but they add a deeper flavour to the mix.

1 spring onion
1/2 bunch parsley
1/2 bunch chives
1/2 bunch of basil (can use mint if you prefer)
1 clove garlic
2 anchovies
 Whizz on speed 7/30 seconds, scrape down if necessary.

1/2 avocado
1 cup mayo
1 tsp tarragon vinegar
juice of 1 lemon
Whizz on 7/20 seconds or until all blended.

36
Recipe Book Recipe Reviews / EDC Torte Caprese
« on: February 03, 2010, 01:15:26 am »
I have made this recipe repeatedly, both from the old EDC and the new, supposedly improved book, which both have far, far too much baking powder in the ingredients.
Yesterday I made it for a dinner party and, as usual, shuddered at the mention of 1 TBs of baking powder, and subbed 1 heaped teaspoon.  Only my mind wasn't completely on the job and I used baking soda (bi-carb) by mistake.
Great mistake!!
The cake was better than any I have made before (I also cooked it for a little longer) - so I recommend you give it a try!

37
Recipe Book Recipe Reviews / EDC Brioche
« on: January 04, 2010, 07:31:16 am »
I made this the other day, but probably won't bother again.
I have baked bread in all different sorts of ways for about 10 years now and have made brioche before, so I'm pretty confident about how a good dough should look.
This recipe is not really rich enough - it needs more butter and more egg to make it into the silky, smooth dough that it should be.
The baking time/temp is also over-stated, which would make the finished product even drier and crustier than the one I cooked for less time.

I don't think that it is even worth tweaking this one; I will just look for a better recipe and try to adapt it next time.

38
Chit Chat / Mince pies
« on: December 10, 2009, 07:29:26 am »
Did I see a recipe for Xmas mince pies somewhere on the forum, or am I going completely mad.
Of course, if the former is correct, it still doesn't preclude the latter!! :o

39
Desserts / Black bean Brownies!
« on: November 22, 2009, 07:02:28 am »
Here is the link for the Black Bean Brownie recipe on a blog called 101 Cookbooks.  It is written by Heidi Swanson and is a gorgeous blog full of delicious recipes - including the Chick Pea Choc Chip cookie recipe!
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/amazing-black-bean-brownies-recipe.html
I haven't made these brownies and am not even sure if it is possible to get agave nectar here, but if anyone wants to give it a go a report back - I'm all ears!! ;D

40
Recipe Book Recipe Reviews / EDC Vanilla ice cream
« on: November 14, 2009, 07:04:34 am »
I made this today for a dinner party tonight.  I always use the ice cream maker to churn as it does such a great job, so it is in the freezer now!
The ice cream tastes great - very creamy and rich.
I used Queens Vanilla Bean Paste instead of vanilla essence, just because I think that it is much nicer, and next time I will cut down the sugar somewhat - it is very sweet.
Aside from that, it seems to be a great recipe and it compares well with other vanilla ice cream recipes that I looked up.
I recommend it! :)

41
Cakes / Weetbix Slice
« on: October 13, 2009, 06:58:16 am »
This is a long-standing favourite from my family.  Brilliant for lunch boxes.  My aunt made it when I was a kid and I loved it as much as my kids do now!

3 Weetbix
Crush on speed 5 for 5 seconds.  Set aside.
150 gms butter
Melted for 3 mins at 70C, speed 1.
Add
1 cup SR Flour
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
Crushed Weetbix
Mix at Speed 6 for 10-20 seconds.

Press into lamington tray lined with baking paper and bake for 30 mins.  170C
Ice with chocolate icing.

members' comments

CP - This recipe worked out fine, however personally I sort of like a roughish texture - so I have crushed up roughly at the end when adding all the other ingredients. Also modified the recipe to my oldie and used 175g butter, and 2 x tablespoons of cocoa (instead of 1/4 cup) registered 5g but I don't know if I can trust that so maybe 10g cos its not that much different.

auds - I made this using 45g of weetbix crumbs from the bottom of the box.  I weighed a whole weetbix and it was 15g so easy to remember when using the crumbs. There is something seriously wrong with this recipe. It seems to evaporate in the container I put it in.  Only crumbs left.  As soon as I make it it vanishes right before my eyes.  Even the boss turns into a little kid and cant stop eating it. Seriously this is so good and so easy.  Next time I will have to make 1 and a half times the recipe to fit in my lamington tin perfectly. Thanks for sharing.

Nik2WIN - I made these and took out the coconut as I don't think mine are too keen on coconut and put in almonds.  Ds1 says he doesn't like it! How can you NOT like it.

KerrynN - Made this using only 100g butter and 1/3 cup agave syrup instead of sugar. I iced them with the icing suggested by Judy Dawn at http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=7852.msg111037#msg111037. I liked it and the kids seem happy enough eating them! One of them even tried to convince me that they are OK to eat for breakfast seeing as they are weetbix...

MJ - I've been making this recipe for years. It's a family favourite. The Thermomix makes it so much easier!

Moo2 -  I made this for my kids and they absolutely loved it. I am having the same disappearing problems that a couple of others mentioned. I made it with no alterations and it was so easy and yummy. Thanks for posting.

CarolineW - I made these using Oatibix and they've been a hit. Dd1 gave them 5 out of 5 :-). The Oatibix don't seem to spoil the effect.

faffa70 - I think the oatibix will make it a little drier Caroline. I make this a lot and it is fairly dry though sometimes I look at it and it seems to be extra dry, I generally add about a tablespoon (20g) of milk and mix through.

Rara1 - Miss 9 woke up this morning and said she wanted to make a weetbix slice.
I said "go to mr google and search for a recipe"
She found yours Amanda. And off she went and made it herself........ Holy Moly this is so good!!! There is only a little bit left.....Miss 9 keeps saying "stop eating it.  It's not finished, I still have to put the icing on" It looks like she will be making this again tomorrow - hopefully with icing. Thank you Amanda for an easy delicious slice.

MJ - When I was making this again recently, I realised that my recipe is slightly different. Mine has 2 Tbsp Golden Syrup and 1 tsp vanilla added to the butter. I think it makes a difference. I didn't have enough weetbix crumbs, so used a cereal that I had which had malted wheat flakes, apples, raspberries and a crunchy sort of thing added to it. I don't eat cereal so I can't remember the name of it. It's sold in a natural coloured cardboard box.  A nice addition is peppermint icing coloured green.

snappy - I love this slice so I have tried to 'healthify' it for the kids  and me. I added about 1/4 cup of chia seeds and 1/4 cup crio bru (instead of using cocoa) in with the weetbix and ground them up. Set aside. Used rapadura instead of sugar. Instead of using all refined white flour, I used 1/4 cup oats and 1/4 cup quinoa flakes and again ground them up to a powder.  I then used 1/2 cup white flour. I reduced the butter to 100g and added an egg.  I also added in some walnuts for extra crunch. The batter tasted yummy.

DJ - This slice seems very  similar to this one which is also delicious.
http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=10800.0
When we had no cornflakes we used rolled oats. It was ok but drier.
Agree, brilliant and recipe brought back to UK from QLD in 1982!

astarra - Apparently it "tastes like brownie" (Miss3) .... in other words a definite thumbs up! Thanx for the recipe, Amanda.

Amy - This is yummy, thanks for the recipe Amanda! I did use shredded wheat instead of Weetbix, and I added sultanas and some slivered almonds. Also I didn't ice it because of SD's diabetes.

Uni - I agree with Amy , thanks for a very easy recipe Amanda.

ES - We have a weetbix free house (yuk!), so I used 1/2 cup of the crumbs from the box of fruity bites cereal and crushed 2 1/2 cups of cornflakes by hand. Delicious!

sue purrb - I made this yesterday to use up the weetbix crumbs. I didn't have the full amount of coconut so added some sultanas and white chocolate chips. I must have used too big a tray, as they are quite thin and crunchy, but delicious. I have called them biscuits and no one is any the wiser!

Brumington - My four year old and I made these using leftover crumbs from the weetbix box. We topped with a simple chocolate icing. Lovely and very simple.

astarra - Miss7 has just got these in the oven now, we only had 3/4 cup of coconut left so that is all we used, also used nuttelex in place of the butter so miss5 can eat it too.

ES - Made this again and this time I had 2 weetbix leftover from a hotel brekky, so I threw in some oats and some bran to make up the difference. I used shredded coconut instead of desiccated, and MJ's suggestion of peppermint icing instead of chocolate. DS declared them DELICIOUS!





42
Cakes / Cheese Biscuits
« on: September 27, 2009, 02:48:20 am »
100 gms cold butter
100 gms plain flour
1/4 tsp cayenne (more if you are braver than me!)
Speed 5, 15 seconds until resembles breadcrumbs.
Add
100 gms grated cheese
Speed 5, 15-20 seconds until just comes together in ball.
Wrap in plastic wrap and put into fridge for 1 hour.
Roll into small balls, space evenly on tray, press down with fork.
Bake 180C for 15 minutes, until golden.
Keep hands and dough as cool as possible.
I actually cheated.  I keep bags of opened grated cheese in the freezer, so I used this.  It kept the dough very cool, didn't need refrigeration.
Yum.

members' comments

Sundari - they came out great! Probably made 25-30 about the size of 20c to 50c piece.

containergirl - Sundari made about 25 - 30 and I ate about 15 I think.  Very delicious.  In fact I dream of them. Have a batch in the fridge to try.  Mine still weren't as exquisite as Sundari's (who used frozen cheese). A top recipe.  I used paprika instead of cayenne.

Narelle - I'm going to make these today but I'm going to do them in a roll and slice off and see how that goes.
I just made these and put the roll in the freezer for an hour.  Easy to slice and voila!  Done.  I can't be faffed with balls.  ETA - these are sooooooooooo yum.  A single batch is just not enough.

LisaR12 - these were yummy, sometimes I add a dusting of paprika on the top after cooking.. so moreish.

Chookie -  I make these and like Narelle, roll them into rolls.   Some go into the fridge to slice when set up  and some into the freezer for later.  We eat them as is with drinks.  I always have difficulty with the amount of cayenne so I cook the first batch and the' test team ' decide if they need more cayenne. They usually do. I then slice what ever number I now require and I keep a made up mixture of plain flour mixed with cayenne and sprinkle the T.M mat with this mixture, lay out the slices and roll them out.   This of course makes them thinner and adds a bit more kick.  I make a huge batch as they are very popular. Good for using up all those little bits of cheese.

rubyslippers - I made these with only a pinch cayenne.  My sister and I didn't enjoy them but our hubbies did.  Next time I think I'll sub in some onion or garlic powder instead.




 

43
Cakes / Lemon Yoghurt Cake
« on: August 26, 2009, 06:54:56 am »
I have adapted this from a recipe on Recipezaar.  The original recipe had much less yoghurt, but the TM struggled to mix  the batter so I added more.
It is in the oven now - no idea how it will turn out!


250 ml plain yoghurt
175 ml oil
350 ml white sugar
525 ml self-raising flour
3 eggs
zest of one lemon

Whizz together on 5 for 45-60 seconds until all blended and sugar dissolved.
Bake 1 hr at 160C.

Very nice, large cake!
I ended up cooking it for 1 hr and 15 mins in a 22 cm cake pan and it may be a little dry.
Next time I think that I would either put in a bit more oil and/or bake it in 2 loaf pans.
Tastes very nice just now, though!

44
Jams and Chutneys / Lemon Butter
« on: August 22, 2009, 10:52:24 am »
This is very rich, but lovely on hot crumpets or in a tart case.
I used unsalted butter.


Zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup castor sugar
Blitz on turbo once or twice until zest is chopped up.

Juice of 2 lemons
200 gms butter chopped into cubes
1 whole egg + 3 yolks
pinch of salt
8-12 minutes, speed 4, temp 70, with butterfly.

45
Chit Chat / Tenina's Lemon Butter
« on: August 22, 2009, 04:08:58 am »
I was about to make a new batch of this recipe which I found on Tenina's site last year, but I have just hunted for it and she has removed it!!
Not a trace!
I wonder if anyone else used it or had the sense (obviously not me!) to print it out?

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