Ingredients                           
250g of organic butter or
1x batch TM31 Butter (Australian Cookbook)
1 Curry Leaf (optional - only for savoury cooking)

Method                              
Add butter to Thermomix Bowl. Cook for 60 minutes at Varoma temperature, speed soft.
Check for a clear golden liquid with milk solids coagulated and clumped together on the top and at the bottom.

Add a curry leaf in the last minute of cooking. Leave to cool, then strain by tipping into a sieve lined with 2 sheets of chlorine free paper towel. Store in sterilized jar. Can be used for all cooking, replacing oils and butter.

Tips/Notes
·   Does not need refrigeration
·   Ghee is lactose free, suitable for people with milk allergies
·   Often used in Indian cooking
·   Rich in CLA Conjugated Linoleic Acid known for many health benefits – two to mention here are slowing heart disease and assisting in improving lean muscle to fat ratio, also stabilizing insulin.

NOTE:  traditionally cooked at 250F/121.1C

OK - a little while ago I promised to post the list of hints and tips that was being compiled by the Vic team of consultants.  Most of it is just copied and pasted. 

Feel free to add any more suggestions 

While I've titled it for New Owners - I'm sure they're be new things in there for alot of existing owners too - so here we go:

Clean Thermomix
For cleaning of Thermomix where smell present.
Ingredients   :
·   2 Teaspoons Bi Carb Soda
·   Lemon Juice (good squeeze)
·   1 Litre Water
Method
Add all ingredients to TM Bowl and cook for 10 minutes on Varoma temperature, speed 4.
Rinse with clean water.

Other Consideration
Often the smell is in the lid. Leave the lid off overnight with some water and 1 tsp of vinegar to soak. Rinse in the morning.
Also placing the lid in the freezer overnight helps dissipate smells.

SPATULA
Spatula 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 Thermomix Jug.

You can use the spatula (ONLY THE TMX SPATULA!!) through the whole in the lid to move ingredients along - especially if an air bubble has formed around the blades.
When making sorbet it works well to stir anti-clockwise during the second batch of ice.

You can also remove food stuck around the shaft of the blades by running the short side of the spatula hugging the shaft once around, you can manage to remove most of the food (ie making dip).

SHARPENING BLADES
Periodically crush ice. If blades aren't grinding sugar, spices or grains as well as it usually does crush some ice.

Cleaning
·A baby’s teat brush is the best way to clean in between and under the blades when necessary.
·You can steam clean the Thermomix– 5 mins on speed 3, 90 degrees (good for custard, risotto)
·For rinsing, just cover the blades with cold water, turn it up to speed 8 for 3-4 seconds and rinse out.
·If you have any browning issues with the Thermomix or just want to give it a good clean, add 2-3 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda when you are steam cleaning. Other alternative, make a paste with bicarb and water, and rub it on with a damp cloth until clean.
- Don't forget to clean behind the TMX on a regular basis - it's amazing how quickly it can get dirtly.

Dishwasher
Although it says you can clean the Thermomix bowl in the dishwasher, our technician has advised that our dishwasher powders are move corrosive than European powders. Over time this will corrode the heat sensors at the base of the jug. All other parts are completely dishwasher safe i.e. lid, basket, spatula and Varoma

Removing stuck food
Clean with a soft scourer only; all metal utensils are not suitable, only use utensils suitable for non stick surfaces. Keeping your bowl scratch free prevents any transferal of flavours.

Rinsing
After washing, best to always final rinse with cold water as a hot bowl can be problematic for some food preparations.

Drying Itself - great for showing off in front of friends!! 
You can use a tea towel and the reverse mode to automatically dry your Thermomix bowl. Loosely place tea towel into the bottom of Thermomix bowl, secure lid, activate reverse mode, speed 2 for 10 to 15 seconds.

The turbo button can also be used a few times before putting the tea towel in to remove excess water from blades.  You can also put the temp on 80^c or 90^c too to help dry the base (just remember to cool it before you use it for something that should have a cool blade & bowl  )

Milling/Grinding
For milling and grinding, extra drying of Thermomix Bowl is necessary for best results if you have just washed and dried bowl. Secure lid, activate lid locked position on speed dial and activate the Turbo button once. Water underneath the blades will flick onto the sides of the bowl and can be dried with towel. You are now ready for milling.

When milling or grinding you can place a piece of paper towel between the MC and the lid so that little pieces don't fly out.

If milling spices, you can also place a whole sheet of paper towel under the lid to avoid the ground spices being caught at the top of the lid.

Removing Bread Dough
For removal of bread dough, tip Thermomix Bowl upside down and the dough will drop out. If dough is too wet it will be stuck inside the bowl. The touch test is best carried out 10 seconds into the kneading. On the rest interval, through hole in the lid, touch the dough with two fingers, if fingers are clean dough will be easier to handle, if dough is sticky and sticks to fingers, add 1 heaped dessertspoon of bread flour through top of lid. This will facilitate easier removal from the Thermomix bowl and will be clean and easy to work with (you won’t need to add flour to dough when shaping).  It's also worth checking again after about 1 min 30 sec after the bread starts to relax. It doesn't have to be an exact science 
You can also spin the blade attachment on the bottom side of the bowl ( the black bit) to help move the dough out.

KNEADING
Whist kneading it is important not to walk away from your TMX  as the dough can gather on one side and cause the TMX to unbalance creating a "walk" or a "dance" - so it's important to make sure it doesn't groove off the edge of the bench.

Chopping Herbs
When chopping herbs and vegetables, at the same time for a salad or stock concentrate, add herbs first, stems and all and then the vegetables, you will achieve an even result with all herbs and stems cut evenly.

Scale Care
Thermomix must be on a flat surface and the little feet clean, for the scales to work effectively. The scales are very sensitive. You may find it better to have the cord fully out when using the scales.
Don't drag your TMX over the bench as the 3 feet are attached to the scales and can eventually upset scales.
When scraping, stirring etc, avoid the urge to tap the spoon/spatula on the bowl to remove excess food - this upsets the scales and may eventually mean that the scales will need to be re-calibrated.

Stirring slowly
Soft Speed is represented by the spoon symbol on the speed dial, turning the blades at 40rpm.

Timer
( - ) = 1 minute, then (+) increases time in 30 second increments until 10 minutes, then goes by 1 minute incriments
(+) = 1 second at time up to 1 minute then 30second increments until 10 minutes, then goes by 1 minute incriments
To clear the timer press the (-) and the (+) buttons at the same time

Cooking Safety feature - TTS (time temperature speed)
Set timer, temperature, speed. Never burn food again!

Measuring while cooking
If you need to measure in more ingredients while cooking, turn the dial to the closed lid or open lid position (which ever is required), set your scales, weigh in ingredients. To resume turn dial back to the speed you were using and the Thermomix remembers the temp and the remaining time.

Stopping Heat
Should you wish to stop the bowl cooking but continue stirring, simply press the power button next to the 37C button and the heat will cut out

Clearing remaining time
Press both the (+) and the (-) buttons together to re-set/clear the timer

Lid
To keep your bench clean while cooking, when taking your lid off rest it up-side-down on the bench so that it doesn't drip and place the MC in the hole of the lid or on the inside of the upturned lid (not in the hole) to avoid any drips going onto the bench.

Double Lock Safety Feature
The lid is designed to lock into position and the dial must also lock in the lid. This happens automatically when using the dial to stir, cut or mill. To use the Turbo or Kneading (Interval) functions you will need to turn the dial to the little lock lid position 

Butterfly
Once the butterfly is inserted you MUST NOT go over speed 4 - otherwise the butterfly may come off and get damaged in the bowl. When using the butterfly the MC may also be placed in upside down if required. When placing the butterfly into the bowl it goes in the smaller space between the blades.

Automatic Powersave
After 15 minutes of no activity the Thermomix will switch itself off.

Cooking with the Varoma

When steaming in the Thermomix Varoma, time is relative to convention rules of cooking. A thicker fillet of fish will take longer to cook than a thinner fillet. Harder vegetables (potatoes, carrot etc) take longer than green vegetables and leafy green take less time again. If you like your vegetables crunchy then less time again than if you like your greens soft.

When you add the minimum water - 500mls, it takes 7 minutes to reach Varoma.
When you add 900mls of water to the Thermomix for steaming, you will notice that 10 minutes of that time is in the heating of the water to Varoma temperature when the steaming/cooking process begins.
It takes 7 minutes at speed 1 for 1 litre of water to get to 100^c.

Rule of thumb, greens take 1 to 5 minutes depending on the size that they are cut (again usual rules of cooking) large pieces if broccoli will take 5 minutes and smaller pieces take 3 minutes. Spinach leaves take 1 minute. Add this time to the heating of the water and you have a total time to set the cooking time from 11 minutes to 16 minutes. If you add the minimum of water - 500mls, it takes 7 minutes to reach Varoma, so calculations will start with 7 minutes.

A thick fillet of fish (typically Atlantic salmon) will take around 20 minutes with 900mls of water and a basket of rice cooking at the same time ( Remove the rice after 14 minutes).If you are steaming the fish without the rice it will cook quicker (around 16 minutes cooking time)

In the beginning take a guess based on these times, check the food for the degree of cooking required at the end of cooking time and add more time if needed, remembering that you would be adding extra time in increments of 1 to 4 minutes because the water is at Varoma temperature so every minute is a lot of cooking time.

REMOVING VAROMA LID
To remove the varoma lid - lift it up on the side so it opens away from you - avoiding any steam burns.
You can also place the varoma lid upside down on the bench to serve as a tray to place the base on to catch the drips from the Varoma dish.

STORAGE
When storing a bowl or while it is not in use, leave the MC off to allow the bowl to dry completely and air - you can leave it sitting on top of the lid to avoid losing it or accidentally forgetting it's in the bowl.

CRACKING EGGS
Don't crack your eggs on the side of the TM bowl as spills onto the TM bowl can cook onto the bowl.

About the eggless custard - I've done it at two demos so far.  I make a dairy free, eggless custard, by grinding the rice (80g) then almonds or hazelnuts (50g), then add 500g water, 40g cocoa (or 1 tsp vanilla if you want vanilla), 100g Rapadura or raw sugar or 70g honey, and a blob of coconut oil (opt.), then cook as usual.  Then pulverise again on speed 9 for 30 secs.  (I think those measurements are right - must write them down!) If you want a dairy custard, just add more flour I think.

80g rice
50g almonds or hazelnuts
500g water
40g cocoa or 1 tsp vanilla
100g Rapadura or raw sugar or 70g honey
blob of coconut oil (opt)
Corn Flour (opt)

Grind rice on speed 8 for one minute, add nuts and grind again for 20 seconds.  Then add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 6-7 minutes at 90C on speed 4. At the end pulverise again for 30 seconds on speed 9.

Name of Recipe:Chunky Beef Chilli
Number of People: Can someone please let me know and I'll update this bit?

Ingredients:
5 cloves garlic (that's a good start   )
1 onion, peeled and quartered
50g olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp roasted paprika
2 tbsp tumeric
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp chilli flakes (or to taste)
Sea salt to taste
50g tomato paste
400g tin whole tomatoes
1 tbsp brown sugar
600-750g rump steak cut into 2-3cm cubes (do not substitute a cheaper cut of meat)
400g tin red kidney beans (drained)
Fresh coriander to garnish
4-5 chopped roma tomatoes to garnish
Creamed Lemon Fetta to garnish (see below for recipe)

Preparation:
Place garlic and onion into a TM bowl and chop for 5-10 seconds on speed 7.
Add oil and dry spices and saute for 3 mintues on 100C on speed 1.
Add salt, tomato paste, tomatoes, sugar and beef. Cook for 15 minutes at 100C on Reverse + speed 1.  Add kidney beans and heat through for 2 minutes at 100C on Reverse + Speed 1.
Serve with steamed rice, fresh coriander leaves and chopped tomatoes and creamed lemon feta.
Add fresh chilli slices to taste if desired.
(the picutre also looks like it has chives and fresh grated cheese (maybe cheddar or similar???) on top too)

Name of Recipe:Creamed Lemon Feta

A delicious accompaniment to this recipe is Creamed Lemon Feta.  Place the rind of 1 lemon into TM bowl and mill for 20 seconds on speed 8.
Add 150g European style feta and blend for 15 seconds on speed 8. Insert butterfly attachment and gently turn up to speed 4.  Slowly add the squeezed juice of 1/2 the lemon and enough extra virgin olive oil to make a thick and creamy dressing.  Place in fridge until ready to serve (it should resemble the texture of sour cream).

Roasting Your Own Dry Spices
Whole spices can be dry roased in the Thermomix by being placed into the TM bowl and cooked at 100C for 6-8 minutes on Reverse + Speed 1.  Then mill for 30 seconds on speed 9 to produce your own freshly ground spices. You will be amazed how much fresher and more intense your recipe flavours will be when you roast your own!

members' comments

JulieO - I altered a couple of things to suit our tastes, namely reducing the amount of a couple of the spices, eg, used: 2 tsp paprika and 1/8 tsp of chilli flakes.  The rest I didn't change. 
I firstly fried off the chopped onion and garlic in a frypan, then added the spices until aromatic, then added the tomato paste and stirred for about one minute.  Scraped it all into the TM bowl and carried on with the recipe. 
My meat was in nice big cubes like stated in the recipe and when I checked after 15 mins cooking time, the meat was perfectly cooked, not dried out at all and didn't need any more cooking.
I also made the lemon feta using Greek style feta and it was wonderful.  I would however only make half quantity next time as we only wanted a good dollop on top and the recipe made about 3/4 cup.
We got 3 1/2 serves of curry out of this recipe.  They weren't huge serves, but enough especially if served with Naan bread.
Really enjoyed this meal and will definitely make again.  It had a nice kick without being too hot.

Chelsea - it was very tasty.  The lemon feta was quite unusual but complimented the dish nicely. It was a very easy dish to make (despite the long ingredient list) and will go on our list to make again.  Another beef dish on the list is always handy.

CC - I wished I read the reviews before cooking. It was a little tough, so I should have reduced the cooking heat. The plus side was DH and DS loved it. I didn't make the Creamed Lemon Feta.

cookie - I have made this before but last night we had it with the Creamed Lemon Feta. It was amazing. The feta really lifts the beef to another level of taste.

Gert - Of course I doubled the chili and it is absolutely delicious.

Caroline J - Is the taste kid friendly?  My girls love chilli, but it's the only thing I make with a spice mix  Roll Eyes and would love a TMX replacement. Also, could you substitute beef mince in this?

Zan - Caroline, I substitute all different meats in anything. Mince would work similar to the beef but on the lower cooking times.
As for kid friendly depends on their chili liking. I'd make this as per the recipe for mine or slightly less on the cayenne (depending on what kids I was aiming at) but just adjust the cayenne and chili powder to the level you'd normally use for your kids/family.
(not made it but I'd say it's a medium - in my terms -  in hotness from reading the ingredients)

Tenina - The lemon feta âctually replaces the sour cream you would normally use with a chilli con carne. The selection of meat is critical, which is why there are varied results in toughness or tenderness of meat.

KerrynN - I added carrot, zucchini and red pepper (chopped on sp 4 for 10 secs at the start and set aside, then added back in with the beef). Also used less turmeric because I had run out. I was a bit worried that it would be too spicy, and it certainly *smelt* spicy but we have just had our half for dinner and it was really nice. The sugar gave it a subtle sweetness and I could have given it to the kids with a bit of sour cream mixed in.
Didn't do the creamed lemon feta. I got the recipe from the Meat on the Menu cookbook. Will certainly make it again, especially as it is another beef meal that doesn't use mince.

CP - Yummy, made this last night and seeing as it got the thumbs up from everyone, will make it again soon - especially with winter coming up.

Shazzy - the whole family loved it - so much so I will make it again this week.  The creamy feta really adds to the dish.

Word from HQ is that Thermomix will be featured in tomorrows Home Magazine that comes with Herald Sun.

It's all happening!!!! Finally the word is really starting to get out 

July is Double Rewards Month. Meaning that if you purchase a Thermomix in July you will be eligible to not 1, but....

2 free Thermoservers as your host reward
(subject to having 3 'new' households present at your demonstration).

So if you're considering purchasing - contact you local consultant now and take up this fantastic offer!!

Just noticed on the preview for next week's Better Homes and Gardens that they will be interviewing a swimmer (Aamon Sullivan? - sorry I'm not good with sporty things) and the preview showed him doing something in his Thermomix

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=1341467&cl=13855052&src=y7lifestyle&ch=

My contact (thanks Nik) told me next Saturday night it should be showing?? not sure if they're doing a saturday night special instead of the regular Friday night next week??