Forum Thermomix
Questions Doubts and Requests => Questions? Technical Issues? The Survival Guide => Topic started by: Greyhoundmum on July 19, 2012, 12:48:56 pm
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I have had TMX about a month and only used varoma twice. Tonight I cooked rice and thought I would steam veggies at the same time. By the time the rice was cooked in 15 mins the veggies were barely warm. I put the rice aside topped up the bowl with water and set the TM to cook another 10 mins at the end of the cooking time the veggies were still only half cooked. It did not see to be heating up top bowl, not much steam either, the vents were not all covered. Can anyone advise?
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Did you have it set on varoma temperature ghm? What speed did you use - we generally use speed 3 or 4 to get a good steam happening.
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yes had it set on varoma used speed three. Was I supposed to use tap water or boiling water from kettle?
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Most of us use boiling water to speed things up, but it's fine to use tap water. When you reset the TMX cooking after removing the rice the you push the varoma button again?
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Were your vegies cut up in very large pieces GHM? I usually cut my potatoes the size of dice, and softer vegies just a little bigger than that.
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My main problem with steaming veggies in the varoma is that I overcook them - I have never yet managed to get my timing right. I suspect part of the problem is that I very rarely have just one type of vege on the go at one time and, although I try to put the denser / harder ones on first with the softer quicker cooking ones on later, I just never get it right.
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I always put my potatoes in the basket, then carrots, pumpkin etc in varoma bottom and peas, corn, beans, silverbeet etc in top of varoma. I add 900g cold water to the bowl and set 35min varoma temp speed 1. And they always cook perfectly. I actually don't bother turning the speed up as I find this is spot on :D
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I steam my veggies almost every night. A friend of my DD thinks we are weird having veggies nearly every night. I though it was pretty normal to have veggies most of the time? Weekends we usually don't have veggies but will have things like pizza, toasted sandwiches, meat and oven baked chips etc.
How many nights a week does everyone else have veggies?
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We have veggies just about every night in some shape or form. Steamed majority of the time ;) They are cheap, healthy and filling .. especially for large families. I often make dishes and serve extra veg on the side just to make sure it will fill them up ;)
The size of the veg when steaming is the key to it cooking. I FILL my steamer basket, the varoma bowl and tray and I mean fill and have it cook easy.
As Amy said they need to be smallish. I cut potatoes to around 2cm square, throw them in the rice basket with tap water and put it on for about 35 minutes. Then I start adding my other veg in, carrots (in rings), sweet potato, any other root veg we may be having, brussel sprouts, pumpkin, cauli & broccoli, depending on how much other veg I have in the bowl these may end up on the tray along with beans, spinach, corn, and peas.
I make sure steam can get through on all layers and because I have it so full I use speed 4. It took a little while for me to master this when I first got my TMX, but now I know the size of the veg and it is just automatic. I think there may be some tips in the EDC for steaming veg I can't remember and my book is at the other end of the house in the COLD part lol
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I steam my veggies almost every night. A friend of my DD thinks we are weird having veggies nearly every night. I though it was pretty normal to have veggies most of the time? Weekends we usually don't have veggies but will have things like pizza, toasted sandwiches, meat and oven baked chips etc.
How many nights a week does everyone else have veggies?
I steam vegies every night too Mandi, and I also would have thought that to be normal. But with the growing rate of obesity and health issues in our society today, I'm not surprised to hear that some people skip vegies :-))
The least amount of vegies I'll ever serve with dinner is a side of peas when we have poached eggs and homemade wedges.
If you don't have a good serve of vegies at dinner, how are you supposed to fulfill your 5 serves of vegetables for the day?
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My friend only cooks veggies once or twice a week for her self and Her DS, the other days she gives her DS a vitamin tablet instead :o.
I don't know about you but I don't think vitamin tablets can replace the real thing. They also don't eat fruit and have lots of frozen packet foods.
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OMG Mandi....
DS takes a banana, apple, mandarin, some grapes and a carrot to school. We have veges most nights.
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I know DG, she seems to think she is doing the right thing but I think it's pure laziness. (I'm glad she's not on the forum lol) my kids eat so much fruit that I wish I had fruit trees, but I'm happy to keep buying fruit if they are eating it.
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Mandi that is horrid. We have vegies everynight usually. If we have a pasta dish we will probably have salad and if we have an easy meal (pizza) on the weekend we don't have any extra, only what goes on the pizza when we make them.
We get withdrawal symptoms if we don't have our vegies.
I had to laugh as DH bought some weird orange juice to take to Monkey Mia. We didn't drink it and he has been drinking it at home. It was one that didn't need refrigeration until opened. This morning he said 'look at this'. He has itches all over his body. He hasn't been bitten or anything so we are fairly sure it is the 'chemicals' in the orange juice. He is amazed and I didn't like to say anything like 'I told you so." Poor darling.
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Oh poor DH :D
Better stay clear of that juice from now on ;)
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OMG Cookie thats terrible. I hope DH is coping OK. Why they put chemicals in food and drinks is beyond me. ???
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My friend only cooks veggies once or twice a week for her self and Her DS, the other days she gives her DS a vitamin tablet instead :o.
I don't know about you but I don't think vitamin tablets can replace the real thing.
You're 100% right there Mandi. Vitamin tablets and supplements cannot replace a healthy, balanced diet. That poor kid is going to have some really bad eating behaviours when he is older >:(
my kids eat so much fruit that I wish I had fruit trees, but I'm happy to keep buying fruit if they are eating it.
LOL Mandi, you would need an entire orchard ;D
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I had to laugh as DH bought some weird orange juice to take to Monkey Mia. We didn't drink it and he has been drinking it at home. It was one that didn't need refrigeration until opened. This morning he said 'look at this'. He has itches all over his body. He hasn't been bitten or anything so we are fairly sure it is the 'chemicals' in the orange juice. He is amazed and I didn't like to say anything like 'I told you so." Poor darling.
Scary cookie...I had the same thing once from refridgerated o.j.
My throat was so itchy, and I came out in red splotches, so I quickly took an antihistamine. I think it has something to do with reconstituted juice.
If oranges are not nice, I buy this instead
(http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt266/nachothecat/IMG_9656.jpg?t=1342764362)
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Im pretty new to using the varoma but have had success doing what others have suggested 900g tap water speed 3 though if I don't have many hard veg I just use speed 1. Takes 20 to 35 mins sometimes i put the water in and start boiling it while i cut the veg. AND of course you should have veg every night! Vitamin supplements certainly don't replace the nutrients from fresh veg or the fibre. I feel horrid if I go a few days without veg I usually find myself whipping up a vege stir fry :)
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I also don't chop up my potatoes really small like others. Usually an average size potato is cut in quarters and steamed in the basket. 35 minutes and they are cooked perfectly.
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We don't have veggies as a side dish every night - kids just won't eat them, will go without dinner/dessert rather than eat a veg! Of course I 'hide' veg in meals whenever I can, & I set a good example by piling my own plate with steamed veg now & then. I don't believe in making a fuss about food, I don't want to give them food hang ups by forcing them to eat foods they hate. That's what happened to me as a kid, & as a result I STILL won't eat peas! Good news is they're slowly starting to come around - they like salad stuff & the youngest has decided she quite likes broccoli! They also love fruit. I used to give them a multivitamin when they were younger & in daycare to boost their immune system on the advice of a pharmacist.
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I think it is normal to have veggies or salad with every meal. If I serve an " all in one meal" like pasta, I make sure that there are veggies in the meal anyway. That is how i grew up, and that's what my kids are used to.My kids complain that they are the only kids at school who only get given fruit or veggies for brain food and recess. I rarely put in a packet of chips, dippers, muesli bars or rollups. I have relented a little lately and pop in a couple of homemade biscuits or muesli slice along with the fruit/ veggies.
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I used to be jealous of the other kids at school who got all those treats like muesli bars, chips, cakes, biscuits, chocolates, lollies or roll-ups in their lunchboxes. Our lunches were one sandwich/roll, 1 small piece of homemade slice and 1-2 pieces of fruit. But now I'm really glad my mum never caved in and gave us those packaged snack foods, otherwise I would have struggled with my weight even more than I have done already :(
There was one girl in my class whose mum used to pack her a lunchbox full of fun size chocolates, one of pretty much every chocolate bar you can think of, and a sandwich of white bread, nutella and chocolate sprinkles. You would not believe that this girl was the skinniest in the class :o
Sorry, I went off topic there :-)) Carry on! ;D
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We also eat either salads or veggies with every meal depending what the main part of the meal is. More salads in summer and more veggies in winter. I don't think a meal is complete without one or the other. This is how I grew up and now my adult children do the same so their little ones all have plenty of fresh fruit and veggies. ;D