You know that we have demerera sugar over here in Australia as well don't you Cecilia?  Your query may just be that you don't want to buy another sugar.

... also heard from Decadent Dot this week.  She is progressing with her treatment and sounding cheerful.

I've just found the recipe I was thinking of.  It may or may not work.  Good luck.

Is there a nutritional difference between skins on and skins off?

I've tried blanching almonds, although not using Judy's method, which sounds to be a huge improvement over the method I used.  When I tried it the skin came off cleanly only on approx. 10% of the almonds, the rest were really fiddly and hard work, however my almonds had only been soaking about 10 minutes so I assume that is why I had such a battle.  I am sure Judy's suggestion would give a far better result than my attempt ... ever since then I have simply gone out and bought them ready blanched!

Haven't tried this recipe, Lisel, but I think you are right about the volume of water.  I would put more in (perhaps 500 ml as the 50g may be a typo, i.e. they put in 50 instead of 500), keep an eye on it, and certainly add more water if it looks like it needs it.  I would also chop the veges first.  The varoma, reverse speed, etc. should be right for chopped veges, but do a taste or texture taste to check that they are cooked through after the 8 minutes, I suspect it may need more time.

If it is too thin or runny at the end, zap it briefly as chopping up the beans should thicken it up for you.  Let us know how you go.

Judy, just got back from NZ - been up since 1.00 am and I'm feeling totally knackered.  But thanks for the best wishes, it was a wonderful trip and I caught up with so many people whom I hadn't seen for a great many years.  Now all I have to do is stay awake for another 7 hours - Hally, have you got any oats to spare to keep me going?