Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - quirkycooking

Pages: [1] 2 3 4
1
Recipe Book Recipe Reviews / "In the Mix: Great Thermomix Recipes"
« on: October 13, 2011, 02:06:31 pm »
Hi everyone! Long time no see  ;D Been too busy to get on here much... Should really be in bed but thought I'd pop by and see what's been happening lately. Surprised there's no chat about "In the Mix" yet - anyone got it? What do you think of it? I love it! I've made a few of the recipes, and hope to make lots more... I know there's lots of restaurant type recipes that not everyone would bother making, but lots of them have 'parts' that could be made on their own, like caramel sauce, or an hazelnut praline, or sauces... There's just so many inspirational ideas and recipes, makes me want to get in the kitchen and start cooking! What about you guys? Have you seen it yet? What do you think?

2
Chit Chat / Recent replies
« on: September 02, 2011, 04:53:54 am »
So is it just me, or has that link disappeared that you click on to find any topics you've posted in that people have replied to? You know, up the top on the left? It's not there anymore! :(

3
Special Diets / Anzac Biscuits (egg, nut, refined sugar & wheat free)
« on: April 28, 2011, 05:35:36 am »

These biscuits are dairy free, wheat free, egg free, vegan, nut free and naturally sweetened! And they could be made gluten free if you use gluten free flour instead of the spelt, and quinoa flakes (or gluten free oats) instead of the rolled oats.

This recipe makes about 20 - 25 biscuits, depending how big you make them.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

1. Mix in Thermomix on speed 3 until combined:
- 160g spelt flour (or gluten free flour)
- 100g Rapadura
- 100g rolled oats (or 70g quinoa flakes)
- 70g dessicated coconut
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt


2. Mix together in a cup:
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 Tbspns boiling water


3. Add remaining ingredients to Thermomix and mix on speed 3 until combined, and beginning to clump together:
- 140g coconut oil (slightly melted)
- 1 Tbspn black molasses
- water & soda

The mixture should be able to be pressed together with your hands, and not fall apart.

4. Form mixture into walnut sized balls and flatten (with your fingers) on the greased trays, to about 5mm in thickness. Bake in moderate oven for 15 to 20 minutes, then cool on the trays so they'll get nice and crisp.

4
Main Dishes / Chicken or Tuna a la King (plus vegetarian version)
« on: January 30, 2011, 10:12:22 am »
This is an old favourite that I often make when I don't feel like cooking - it's quick and easy, and a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken (or turkey).  You can also use raw cubed chicken if that's what you have.  I probably mostly make it with tuna, as I always have that in the cupboard.  Or you can use mushrooms instead of meat.  (It's very versatile!)

1. Chop on speed 5 for 3 seconds:
- 1/2 an onion
- 1 small green capsicum
- 1 small red capsicum (optional)


2. Add mushrooms and chop on speed 3 for a couple of seconds - or you can slice them by hand if you want them to to look 'nice'!  
- 100g mushrooms

[Note: if using raw chicken, add here and saute with the veges!]

3. Add oil and cook at 100o, 5 mins, reverse, speed 1:
- 30g olive oil
 
4. Add and cook at 100o, 1 minute, rev sp 1:
- 15g olive oil
- 30g ghee or butter
- 6 Tbspns flour

5. Add and cook at 100o, 5 mins, rev sp 1, or until thickened:
- 250g rice-almond milk (or other milk)
- 250g water
- 2 tblspns chicken stock paste (or vege)
- 1 tsp rapadura
- 1 tsp worchestershire sauce (or tamari)


5.  Add and stir in on reverse:
EITHER
- 200g cooked chicken (or turkey) pieces, OR
- 1 large tin of drained tuna


Or for a vegetarian version, just use about 2 cups of mushrooms in step 2, and don't add any meat.

Serve on baked potatoes or rice or noodles or mashed potatoes or toast or scones!  (I love it on scones - I don't put sugar in my scones (like American 'biscuits'), so they go well with savoury dishes.)

members' comments

Coops - This is really yum, thanks for the recipe, I had no capsicums left so just used a whole onion and it was delish. The kids did not eat it but they don't eat what I serve up half the time anyway. It makes heaps too, so lots of leftovers for DH to take to work and me to have for lunch tomorrow.

CP - This one is really simple and very tasty and got plenty of yums. Definitely going into the Family Favourites file and as QC says, it's a really good one to make when you don't feel like cooking as its quicker than takeaway. Thanks QC. I made the tuna version.

Chelsea - We made the tuna version of this with rice.  We really enjoyed it - BIG thumbs up!!! I have made the chicken version before but we liked the tuna a lot more.  My only tweak was to replace 2 tbsp of the flour with cornflour to thicken it up a bit more (we like thick sauces). Another easy, economical and tasty tuna recipe to add to my collection. We will make this often. Thanks heaps Jo!

Amy - I made this, I used tinned salmon and added peas and carrots. I also used the liquid from the tinned salmon instead of some of the chicken stock. It was delicious, thanks Jo.

mab19 - can't eat capsicums so left them out and added some carrot and parsley and served it with rice. There was plenty left over for lunch today. Will definitely be making it again.

5
Special Diets / Chicken or Tuna a la King (plus vegetarian version)
« on: January 30, 2011, 07:30:27 am »
This is an old favourite that I often make when I don't feel like cooking - it's quick and easy, and a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken (or turkey).  You can also use raw cubed chicken if that's what you have.  I probably mostly make it with tuna, as I always have that in the cupboard.  Or you can use mushrooms instead of meat.  (It's very versatile!)

1. Chop on speed 5 for 3 seconds:
- 1/2 an onion
- 1 small green capsicum
- 1 small red capsicum (optional)


2. Add mushrooms and chop on speed 3 for a couple of seconds - or you can slice them by hand if you want them to to look 'nice'!  :)
- 100g mushrooms

[Note: if using raw chicken, add here and saute with the veges!]

3. Add oil and cook at 100o, 5 mins, reverse, speed 1:
- 30g olive oil
 
4. Add and cook at 100o, 1 minute, rev sp 1:
- 15g olive oil
- 30g ghee or butter
- 6 Tbspns flour


5. Add and cook at 100o, 5 mins, rev sp 1, or until thickened:
- 250g rice-almond milk (or other milk)
- 250g water
- 2 tblspns chicken stock paste (or vege)
- 1 tsp rapadura
- 1 tsp worchestershire sauce (or tamari)


5.  Add and stir in on reverse:
EITHER
- 200g cooked chicken (or turkey) pieces, OR
- 1 large tin of drained tuna


Or for a vegetarian version, just use about 2 cups of mushrooms in step 2, and don't add any meat.

Serve on baked potatoes or rice or noodles or mashed potatoes or toast or scones!  (I love it on scones - I don't put sugar in my scones (like American 'biscuits'), so they go well with savoury dishes.)

6
Chicken and Cashews with Coconut Satay Sauce and Coconut Rice
Serves 8



This is an all-in-one meal - while the sauce is cooking in the jug, the coconut rice is steaming in the basket above it, and the chicken and veges in the Varoma tray on top.  This is one of our favourite quick-and-easy meals... when I don't feel like cooking, I can have this on the table in half an hour. I start the rice cooking and chicken cooking while I chop up the veges, adding them as I go. (Adapted from the Chicken and Cashews recipe in the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook - but with my coconut satay sauce!)

The first 3 steps, marinating the chicken, can be done ahead of time for more flavour - but if you're doing it at the last minute like I usually am, don't worry, it still tastes good!

1. Cut chicken into smallish cubes (about 1.5cm square) or slices and place in a bowl:
- 300g - 400g chicken breasts or thighs

2. Chop in Thermomix bowl for 5 seconds, speed 7:
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1-2 cms fresh ginger

  Scrape out with spatula and mix with chicken in bowl.  (Don't wash out Thermomix bowl.)

3. Add to chicken, mix in, cover, and set aside:
- a couple of tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce
- a splash of sesame oil


4. Pour into Thermomix bowl:
- 450g coconut cream (1 tin)
- 750g water


5. Sit lid on top of jug, and rice basket on top of lid. Set scales and weigh rice into basket:
- 400g basmati rice (or less if you're cooking for less people)
    Remove basket and lid, rinse rice under tap (in basket), place basket in jug, then replace lid and lock into place.

6.  Place Varoma tray on top of lid, tip chicken into it and spread out so there's holes open for the steam to come through.  Start cooking at Varoma temperature, 20 minutes, speed 4.

7. Meanwhile, chop up the veges and place them into the Varoma as it's heating up.  I start chopping the harder veges first and put them in as I get them chopped, leaving the ones like snow peas, capsicum and shallots until the end.  Make sure there's a hole in the middle for the steam to get through.  Here's a list of suggested veges - use what you've got:
- some thin wedges of onion
- 2 stalks of celery, leaves removed, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- broccoli, small pieces
- green beans
- chinese cabbage, thinly sliced
- boy choy, thinly sliced
- red (and/or green) capsicum, thinly sliced
- snow peas
- shallots, sliced and sprinkled on top


8. Sprinkle over the top of the veges:
- some sesame seeds
- a handful of cashews (roasted or raw)
- a dash of sesame oil
- a dash of tamari (or soy sauce)


9. When the time's up, remove the rice (placing in the Thermoserver to keep warm), and stir the chicken and veges, breaking the chicken apart and making sure there are holes unblocked for the steam to get through. Cook for another 5 or 10 minutes on Varoma temperature, speed 2, checking that the chicken is cooked through.  You may need to add a little more water if there's not much left in the bowl.  Once cooked, remove Varoma tray while you finish the sauce.  (Tip: You can take the lid off the Thermoserver with the rice in it, and sit the Varoma tray on top so they both stay warm.)

10. To the juices and coconut cream left in the bowl, add the following ingredients and blend on speed 9 for 1 minute:
- a couple of handfuls of raw cashews
- 1 inch of fresh red chilli (or more if you like it hotter)
- a good handful of fresh parsley or coriander
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 inch of fresh ginger
- a couple of tablespoons of tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon of Rapadura (optional)
- a tablespoon of chicken stock paste (or vege stock paste)

(I don't measure - just chuck in what you think, blend it, taste it, and adjust if necessary!)

Serve immediately - rice, chicken and veges with cashews on top, and sauce drizzled over liberally!  

Hope you like it! :)

Opi2kenopi: It would feed several hungry adults easily, and I probably used half the stated amount of rice.

Quirkycooking: I often feed 10 adults with this meal, using the full amount of rice (with a breadroll each and maybe a bit of salad).
Can use macadamias for the satay sauce instead of cashews.
Yes, coconut milk works fine.

Cuilidh: I made this with tofu yesterday and also made naan bread to go with it - the tofu version was gorgeous - thanks for the recipe.  I simply substituted tofu (I had a 350 g block of firm tofu) wherever chicken was mentioned.  I did marinate the tofu for a couple of hours at the beginning, though, and I think that helped.

Maddy: I used chicken thighs, and because I cut 700g, all up I cooked them for 30-35 mins.
My veggie supply was really sparse, so I used 500g of frozen veggies, and cooked that for the same time on the top varoma dish.  All cooked perfectly.

nola276: Made this today for lunch except that I used fish in parcels instead.  Drizzled the marinade over the fish parcels and then sealed the foil.  Popped them in the bottom of the Varoma, put the veges in top, rice in basket and made the sauce at the end.

rostess: I made this last night with peanut butter and it was delicious!

Mrs KK: I substituted Coconut milk for carnation light & creamy coconut flav evaporated milk and quinoa instead of rice (to keep the calories down)... This will definitely become a regular in our house. I did everything else as instructed in the recipe although I used more chicken and had to increase the cooking time.  

Droverjess:Made 300 g rice quantity, but full quantity everything else.
 Only had 250g creamed coconut.
Used 280g cooked chicken. Marinated and put in top bit of varoma for 10 minutes.
Used onion, leek, carrot, sweetheart cabbage, 4 mushrooms and a T of frozen shallots.

Blackwood:I'm not a fan of coriander, so I used parsley instead, and as I said, only a little bit of chilli paste (the stuff in a tube from the produce section of Woolies)

INAID:I use about 500g chicken and reduce the rice by half. Otherwise it feeds an army!

LauraTO: The sauce is really nice the next day with salmon done in the varoma.

Meganjane: I decided I'd make this tonight, but after reading the recipe, I changed it. Since I was experimenting, it's not perfect, but the resultant meal was delicious.

Chicken& Vege Satay

1 shallot, peeled and halved
1 red chilli, chopped (de-seed if you don't like heat)
2 cm piece fresh ginger, sliced
1 Tbsp raw sugar

Chop all on speed 5 for a few seconds. Scrape down and add 15g oil. Sauté on Varoma for 3 minutes, speed 1.

4 Chicken Thighs, sliced into 2cm by 1/2 cm strips

Add chicken to bowl and sauté on Varoma for 5 minutes, speed 1 to 2. Use spatula to move chicken around as necessary.

While cooking, cut up vegies - 2 carrots, 2 sticks celery, broccoli, 1/2 onion, 1/4 Chinese Cabbage and 3 spring onions.

1 x 175ml can Coconut Milk + 1 can of water
3 Tbsp TM Nut Paste
2 tsp Vege or Chicken Stock
2 Kaffir Lime Leaves

Add the above to the bowl with the chicken and cook for 5 more minutes on Varoma, speed 1.
Remove from bowl and place in Thermoserver.

Don't rinse bowl. Add 1 litre hot water

Measure out 250g Jasmine Rice into basket and rinse under cold water. Place basket into bowl and place harder vegetables (carrot, celery, onion) into Varoma Base. Place broccoli into Varoma Tray.
Leave cabbage and spring onions until later.
Programme TM to cook on Varoma, speed 3 for 16 minutes. After 10 minutes, place vegetables from basket into Thermoserver with Chicken. Transfer broccoli to base and place cabbage and spring onion in tray over the top. Continue cooking.

When time is up, transfer remaining vegies to Thermoserver and mix well. Place rice into a serving bowl.



7
Chit Chat / Consultants in Victoria?
« on: January 02, 2011, 04:59:47 am »
I'm looking for a consultant in Melbourne and a consultant in Echuca to do demos for interested people!!  Head office is still closed, and I've got three people waiting to be contacted.... Any takers??

8
Chit Chat / Birthday Give Away!!
« on: December 27, 2010, 07:06:43 am »
Quirky Cooking turned 2 yesterday!!  ;D  And to celebrate, I'm giving away a Miessence sample pack!  Come on over and enter by leaving a comment on this post:)


9
Chit Chat / Thermomix Australia on Facebook & Twitter
« on: December 09, 2010, 04:24:12 am »
Hey everyone, did you see the news?  Thermomix Australia has gone social!  Yay!  ;D

Facebook page

Twitter

10
Hi everyone - my friend Crystal makes her own sunscreen in the Thermomix, and it's really lovely.  The kids and I tested it out at the lake the other day, and it was great - none of them got sunburnt even though it was the middle of the day, and two of them have very fair skin!  She says she's  still refining the recipe, but this latest batch is her best ever.  She hasn't recorded all the instructions with temps/times/speeds, but hopefully you can figure it out.  It's hard to clean the Thermomix afterwards, but it will come off with detergent and hot water.   So here it is, direct from Crystel...
 
- 30gm beeswax
- 80 gm oil (organic coconut, almond or sesame oil are usually my choices because they have some sunprotective qualities themselves)
- 30gm shea butter

heat gently and mix till beeswax is melted and shea butter incorporated.
 
- add 10 gm flaxseed oil (not necessary - but in combination with other oils is also good for sunprotection - better not to heat it too much though - I just add it in after I"ve finished heating)... if you don't do this then do 10 extra gms of oil at the beginning so your proportions are right.
 
* (Stop here if you just want an exquisite body/face/nappy rash cream) *
 
For suncream add:

- 50 gm zinc oxide powder (from aussiesoapsupplies) - don't get "micronized" zinc - it can absorb into skin some research suggests and can be harmful - so it is safer to be white and have regular zinc oxide... I try to add the right amount so it is 25% zinc - this will make 30+ - be careful not to breath in the powder...it's completely safe when mixed in though.
 
- optional 1teaspoon tumeric thoroughly combined with a little oil/water so it's not grainy - this is very good for your skin and makes it a bit less white... I've also tried mixing miessence bronzing powder which worked well - you could also mix it with miessence foundation if you wanted... all of these things are optional - you can just be white if you want
 
I also add a few drops of pure sandalwood essential oil - it's also very good for the skin, mildly sunprotective and makes the turmeric smell less intense.  You could use other essential oils - but not citrus ones as they make the skin more likely to burn in the sun... I've erred on the side of caution as I'm using it on babies.
 
Pour into container to set.

Hope that doesn't sound too complicated - it really isn't!

 :)

11


The Pastry...

1.  Make a batch of the rough puff pastry from the Everyday Cookbook, and place in the fridge.  (I use spelt flour instead of wheat flour, and if you can't have butter, you can just use all lard.)  Don't overwork it - it should be quite rough at first... (see photos on my blog)

Chicken & Vege Filling...

2.  Grind up on speed 9 until fine:
- 120g spelt bread
- 2 cloves garlic
- handful of fresh parsley or coriander


3.  Add and chop veges in the Thermomix on speed 5 for 5 seconds:
- 1/2 an onion
- 1/2 a stick of celery
- 1 zucchini, quartered
- 1 carrot, quartered


4.  Add remaining ingredients and mix on speed 6-8 until finely minced and mixed together - you may need to use the spatula to help it along:
- 600g cubed chicken
- 1 egg
- 2 Tblspns vege stock concentrate (from Everyday Cookbook)
- 4 Tblspns tikka paste (from Indian cookbook)


5.  Fry a spoonfull of meat mixture in a hot frying pan and taste to check seasonings.  Add salt or more tikka paste if needed.

6.  Take pastry out of fridge and cut off a third of it in a rectangular shape, (replace remaining pastry in fridge to keep cold).  Roll it out on a floured silicon mat. It should be quite thin, about 2 mm.  Place a third of the sausage mixture down the centre of the pastry, roll it up and turn seam side down. Slice in desired lengths (carefully with butter knife so you don't cut the silicon mat). Cut slashes in the pastry with a sharp knife and place sausage rolls on a lined tray, or in a container to freeze (separating sausage rolls with baking paper).

7.  Repeat with remaining two thirds of pastry and sausage mixture.  When you're ready to cook them, preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius, brush sausage rolls with an egg and water wash, and cook for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.  If you're cooking them from the freezer and they're not thawed, cook at 180 degrees until nicely browned, and check the centre to make sure it's cooked through!  Will take a bit longer, obviously, but I can't remember how long :)

12
Special Diets / Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free CHOCOLATE! (with photos)
« on: November 20, 2010, 08:28:40 am »


Agave sweetened raw chocolate (ILB's recipe, with roasted almonds)



Rapadura sweetened 'almost raw' chocolate

This is my version of the Gluten Free, Dairy Free Raw Chocolate recipe that ILB posted a while back - I wanted to try Rapadura to sweeten it instead of agave, as I like the rich taste of Radadura and chocolate.  I found it definitely helps to cook/stir it longer as ILB suggests, as it turns out much smoother.  The first picture was chocolate that was stirred for about 30-40 minutes, the second was stirred for an hour.

I call this "Almost Raw" Chocolate, since Rapadura's not really raw (but closer to 'raw' than raw sugar, at least!!)


Make sure your bowl, blades, lid and seal are all nice and dry before you start - water and chocolate don't mix!!


1.  Grind in Thermomix on speed 9 for 1 to 2 minutes, until as fine as possible, scraping down sides now and then with spatula:
- 100g Rapadura
- 1 whole vanilla bean, cut in quarters

(alternatively, you can use 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste added with the salt and any other flavourings at the end)
Remove to a bowl and set aside.

2.  Place cacao butter in bowl and melt at 37 degrees for 10 minutes on speed 1:
- 200g raw cacao butter, chopped in small pieces
(if you can't get raw cacao butter, you can use cocoa butter)

3.  Add in Rapadura and vanilla, and keep cooking at 37 degrees for 20 minutes on speed 1.

4.  Add cacao powder to bowl and combine on speed 6 until well mixed, scrape down sides, then continue to stir at 37 degrees, speed 1, for another 20 minutes:
- 80g raw cacao powder

5.  Add salt and any flavourings you want and continue to stir on 37 degrees, speed 1, for another 10 minutes, or until smooth:
- 2 pinches good quality sea salt (eg. Himalayan, pre-ground)
- optional flavourings (eg. peppermint oil/ground dried chilli/ground cinnamon)
- optional extra sweetener - sometimes I add a little agave syrup here if I want it sweeter


6.  Prepare a large rectangular tray/dish lined with baking paper and pour the chocolate in - it should be quite thin.  If you'd like nuts or fruit in your chocolate, sprinkle them over the paper, then pour chocolate over the top.  Place in the fridge to set (or freezer if you're like me and don't want to wait!).  Here's some filling ideas:
- roasted nuts: hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts
- raw cacao nibs
- naked ginger pieces
- orange zest
- toasted, roughly chopped coffee beans
- dried fruit: cherries, blueberries,
- shredded coconut
- a mixture of above fillings!


13
Desserts / Steamed Chocolate Mudcakes with Orange Sabayon (with photo)
« on: November 04, 2010, 09:11:58 pm »


Steamed Chocolate Mudcakes with Sabayon - dairy free

Makes 12 - 14 cupcakes

Steamed Chocolate Mudcakes

1.  Place all the ingredients into the Thermomix bowl in the order listed and beat for 30 seconds on speed 6; scrape down sides of bowl and beat for a further 10 seconds on speed 6.

- 40g extra virgin macadamia oil (or grapeseed oil)
- 200g cool water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 20g balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 150g Rapadura
- 260g spelt flour
- 25g cacao powder (or cocoa)
- pinch sea salt


Stir in some dark chocolate chunks or chips if you like.

2.  Pour into ungreased silicon cupcake cups (only fill a little over half way!) and place in the two layers of the Varoma.  Pour 1 litre of water (not hot) into the Thermomix bowl, place lid and Varoma on top, and cook on Varoma temperature, 20 minutes, speed 2.  (Mine were filled a bit too full, as you can see below!)  Remove lid and set aside while you make the sabayon.  (Or you could make a chocolate sauce or vanilla custard to drizzle over instead.)


Sabayon

1.  Make sure the Thermomix bowl is clean and dry.  Place nutmeg in bowl and grind for 10 seconds on speed 9.  Remove from bowl and set aside.
- 1 whole nutmeg
(Of course, you can use pre-ground nutmeg, but you'll get more flavour if you grind your own!)

2.  Mill the Rapadura for 20 seconds on speed 9, until fine:
- 80g Rapadura

3.  Add remaining ingredients to Thermomix bowl and cook for 8 minutes at 80 degrees, speed 4.  (You can use the butterfly if you like - it makes it lighter and fluffier.)
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 5 egg yolks
- 5 tblspns fresh orange juice
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste


Now turn the cupcakes out of their cups, place them upside down on a plate, and drizzle over some sabayon... Enjoy!

We enjoyed these little cakes for afternoon tea the other day.  I've been wanting to try steaming chocolate mudcakes in the Thermomix Varoma, and they worked really well, turning out lovely and moist, although they cracked open a bit - I just turned them upside down.  ;)  I think they could've done with a little more chocolate though (being the chocoholic that I am!!), so next time I think I'd put in some chunks of 70% cocoa chocolate.  I had some egg yolks in the fridge that needed using up, so I made sabayon too, and they tasted delightful together!  I use fresh orange juice in my sabayon instead of rum, and I use Rapadura instead of sugar, which gives it a lovely, rich flavour.  The cakes were still hot when we drizzled the sabayon over, so it kind of soaked in, but it still tasted delicious.

This mudcake recipe is originally from the 'Budget Busters' Thermomix cookbook, but I've added a few of my own tweaks (of course!).  I also halved the recipe so it would fit in my Varoma in silicon cupcake cups, making twelve cupcakes.


members' comments
Ostara - Just whisked this up in Thelma and it was delicious! I used virgin coconut oil instead of macadamia so there's a faint coconut taste to it. Not too sweet, and very moist. I had to pop some of the mix in the oven though as I'd run out of room (I used 6 normal cupcake sized moulds and lots of teeny tiny ones as I'm making cakes for a lot of children) and the baked ones were a lot crunchier and not as flavoursome. Great recipe! Amazingly constructed sans egg and dairy.





14
Main Dishes / Baked Beans (with photo)
« on: October 28, 2010, 10:38:02 am »
Baked Beans
serves 6


(Photo is minced beef and beans on toast)

I'm not sure whether to put this in breakfast or main meals - it's kind of a light meal if you leave out the meat and make it vegetarian; with the bacon or beef mince it's a more hearty meal.  The bacon version does taste more like the traditional 'ham and beans', but if you'd rather use mince, that's nice too.

1. Place in Thermomix bowl and chop for 2-3 seconds, speed 5:
- 1 onion, halved
- 2 - 3 whole bacon rashers, rinds removed (optional)

OR, chop onion, then add 150g minced beef, or leave meat out altogether for a vegetarian version

2.  Scrape down sides with spatula and add oil, then cook for 5 minutes, 100 degrees, speed 1:
- 30g olive oil

3.  Insert butterfly, add all other ingredients, and cook for 15 minutes, 100 degrees, speed 1:
- 3 x 400g tins of cannellini (or mixed) beans, drained and rinsed
(or use about 1000g beans you've pre-cooked)
- 1 x 400g tin of crushed tomatoes
- 60g tomato paste
- 1/4 tsp mixed spice (or just a pinch of ground cloves)
- 2 bay leaves
- 25g molasses
- 25g Rapadura
- 1 tsp sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 100g water (optional - depending how thick you want the sauce)

4.  Remove bay leaves, check seasonings, and serve with some crusty bread!

members' comments

CC - Another wonderful recipe Jo, enjoyed by us all here.The flavours were divine. I didn't read the recipe properly and ended up using both bacon and minced beef. I used a can of cannellini, flageolet and haricot beans to give me a nice mixture. I was fighting with the bay leaves though, they just wouldn't stay down in the mixture. I love your recipes they are so reliable.

O2K - our family loved it.  Even DS1 (2 years old) ate it.  He gave up on tinned baked beans ages ago, so very pleased to have found this recipe.  Thanks Jo.

AinslieDR - I made this for breakfast. We had some leftover sausages that I cut up and put in 10 mins before end with the beans (I mixed cannellini and butter beans). I also added a couple of tablespoons of homemade tomato chutney and some paprika and chili powder. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe. There will be no more bought beans in our house from now on since these are so tasty

KerrynN - I gave this recipe a try with bacon, and in place of mixed spice I added a bit of cinnamon, clove and ginger. I also used one can each of kidney beans, butter beans, and borlotti beans as that was what I had in the cupboard. I had no molasses so just skipped that. The flavour was great, even DS10 Mr Fussy said it was fantastic! I might do it on reverse next time as the beans themselves didn't hold together very well, except for the kidney beans. Perhaps that is the beans I used though? 

Cuilidh - I made this again and cut down a bit on the molasses and sugar but added approx. 1/2 tsp smoked paprika.  Tasted great!

Amy - served with eggs on toasted English muffins. They were a hit, thanks for a great recipe Jo!!!

JD - I used the optional 100 g water but found it made the dish too runny at the end of cooking so I added another can of cannellini beans to thicken it up.  Taste is fantastic, thanks Jo.

JuliaC83 - used bacon but not mince. In place of molasses and rapadura, I used 40g dark brown sugar. Used 1 tin 4 bean mix, 1 tin cannellini beans and 1 tin chick peas. Also cut onion back to half. So tasty!!! Def be a regular here.

djinni373 - I cooked up a mountain of dried cannellini beans and made these. Very nice except the teens require the beans to be cooked more next time so they are soft and squishy like the tinned ones. Should mention that was my fault not the recipe. Great base for baked beans pizza (with bacon) and for a sausage and bean casserole.

15
Jams and Chutneys / Naturally Sweetened Strawberry Jam (with photo)
« on: October 05, 2010, 05:31:57 am »


I adapted this recipe from the jam recipe in "My Way of Cooking" - I'm so pleased that I can make jam without all the refined sugar now!!  To see more details on how to make jam with agar-agar, see my blog post.

1.  Before you begin, place a saucer into the freezer for testing the jam on.  Wash out your jam jars thoroughly with warm soapy water and rinse well.  Set aside.

2.  Place fruit in Thermomix bowl and chop roughly on speed 4 for 3-5 seconds, depending how chunky you want it:
- 500g strawberries (or other fruit)

3.  Add and cook 8 minutes, 100 degrees, reverse, speed 2:
- 150g Rapadura (or other sweetener)
- 1 level teaspoon agar-agar powder
(If you prefer your jam smooth and un-chunky, cook without the reverse, and puree on speed 8 when you're done.)

4.  Test if the jam is set by placing 1/2 tsp of jam onto the cold saucer.  When it is cool, push it with your finger.  If the jam wrinkles, it's ready.  If not, add a pinch more agar-agar, cook for another 2 minutes, then re-test.

5.  When jam is set, pour into 2 hot rinsed jars with twist-off lids and close immediately.  Turn jars upside down for 10 minutes.  Your jam will keep in the fridge for up to one month.

Note: If you want to make jam without any Rapadura at all, you may need an extra teaspoon of agar-agar.

Pages: [1] 2 3 4