A couple of weekends ago, I tried out the Thermofestive Mystery stew from http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/. Yum! There were a lot of ingredients, but it was really easy to make.
I got to learn about some new ingredients including smoked paprika (what a wonderful smell!), and safron. I had no idea that safron was so expensive! And it really does come in threads.
Just to make things more interesting, I decided to record a podcast of cooking with the TM whilst making the stew. I had to keep pausing the recording whilst measuring out ingredients, and got my recorder covered in something (I'm not sure what), but it was good fun. Now I just have to work out how to post the podcast on http://www.blindcooltech.com/. This is a website containing podcasts about all sorts of things ranging from a review of the latest iphone ap for the blind, to an audio tour of one of the space shuttles!
I also tried out the flourless chocolate cake from the EDC. What a great cake recipe. It was so easy. No horrible creaming of butter and sugar! The other good thing about it was that the batter was runny, so I just poured it into the tin, and didn't have to worry about smoothing it out. Definitely my kind of cake.
I've been wanting to make this cake since I went to a thermomix class where it was served. It was absolutely delicious, and so was mine! It took an hour to cook, and the smell nearly drove me crazy!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Easter baking
This Easter, I had the pleasure of visiting Raymond Island, in the Victorian Gipsland Lakes area. I had planned to make hot cross buns over the weekend, and so was initially really disappointed that I wouldn't be at home. Then I remembered my TM carry bag, and decided to take my trusty TM down to Victoria, along with all the ingredients for the buns.
What a wonderfully easy way to make hot cross buns! It was so convenient being able to heat the milk for the yeast. I had previously measured all the dried ingredients (except the yeast) into a single container, so just tipped it all in at the appropriate time.
The only thing that didn't go right was the incorporation of the dried fruit into the kneaded dough. I followed the recipe in the EDC and added the sultanas after kneading. The TM made a funny squeaking noise, but I figured that was what it was supposed to do. When I tipped the dough out of the bowl, a lot of the sultanas fell out separately. My friend who I was staying with decided to knead the sultanas in by hand which worked well.
The buns tasted so good, I might just have to make some more for my family (who didn't get any of the first batch) and pretend it's still easter!
I wanted to give my hosts a gift, so the night before going to Victoria, I decided to bake the 30 second cookies from the EDC. What a wonderfully easy way to make biscuits! I have horible memories of high school home economics classes, trying to cream the butter and sugar, and remembered it taking for ever!
I wasn't really sure whether the dough was mixed properly after the prescribed kneading time, as there was still some flour left in the bowl, and the dough was really crumbly. I gave it a few more seconds, and everything seemed fine.
The hardest thing was making the little balls for the biscuits, as the dough was crumbly. My attempts to rol the dough into balls was unsuccessful, so I sort of squashed it together, and it worked. They were delicious too, and were very well received by my hosts. The other good thing was that I discovered that I could preheat my convection microwave which I used to cook the biscuits.
While I was in Victoria, I went to a boot sale, and bought something called a Princess Cookie Maker, which seems to be some sort of cookie press with little disks at the bottom for the dough to go through. Maybe I'll try this next time, rather than trying to squash little balls.
What a wonderfully easy way to make hot cross buns! It was so convenient being able to heat the milk for the yeast. I had previously measured all the dried ingredients (except the yeast) into a single container, so just tipped it all in at the appropriate time.
The only thing that didn't go right was the incorporation of the dried fruit into the kneaded dough. I followed the recipe in the EDC and added the sultanas after kneading. The TM made a funny squeaking noise, but I figured that was what it was supposed to do. When I tipped the dough out of the bowl, a lot of the sultanas fell out separately. My friend who I was staying with decided to knead the sultanas in by hand which worked well.
The buns tasted so good, I might just have to make some more for my family (who didn't get any of the first batch) and pretend it's still easter!
I wanted to give my hosts a gift, so the night before going to Victoria, I decided to bake the 30 second cookies from the EDC. What a wonderfully easy way to make biscuits! I have horible memories of high school home economics classes, trying to cream the butter and sugar, and remembered it taking for ever!
I wasn't really sure whether the dough was mixed properly after the prescribed kneading time, as there was still some flour left in the bowl, and the dough was really crumbly. I gave it a few more seconds, and everything seemed fine.
The hardest thing was making the little balls for the biscuits, as the dough was crumbly. My attempts to rol the dough into balls was unsuccessful, so I sort of squashed it together, and it worked. They were delicious too, and were very well received by my hosts. The other good thing was that I discovered that I could preheat my convection microwave which I used to cook the biscuits.
While I was in Victoria, I went to a boot sale, and bought something called a Princess Cookie Maker, which seems to be some sort of cookie press with little disks at the bottom for the dough to go through. Maybe I'll try this next time, rather than trying to squash little balls.
The end of the porridge saga
I've at last found the perfect porridge. I admit, I didnt' make it in the TM, but there's no reason it couldn't be made that way for a larger amount. All I did was soak half a cup of rolled oats in 3.4 cup boiling water overnight. This results in an almost solid porridge. Then I add 100 g of low fat ricotta and microwave for about one and a half minutes until hot. This thins the porridge slightly which makes it easier to mix through the melted cheese. Then I top with a spoonful of brown sugar - delicious!
You might think that I'm strange having cheese in my porridge. Well, it's not as strange as it sounds. The cheese has very little flavour, and makes the porridge quite creamy. It's a really good filling breakfast which keeps me full for hours!
You might think that I'm strange having cheese in my porridge. Well, it's not as strange as it sounds. The cheese has very little flavour, and makes the porridge quite creamy. It's a really good filling breakfast which keeps me full for hours!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Porridge saga
I had read in the EDC that the TM made great porridge. As the Canberra mornings are getting colder, I thought I'd give it a try.
I'm supposed to be on a high protein, low carb diet, so my porridge (which I usually make in the microwave, with varying results) usually has some sort of protein in it, such as protein powder.
Following the EDC, but only making half a batch, I added 80 g rolled oats, 325 g water and 2 scoops of protein powder to the TM. I didn't mill the oats first, as I like mine whole. I cooked this on 90 degrees for 8 minutes.
I like my porridge really thik, so I can almost stand my spoon up in it. I really don't like runny porridge. So, I was really disappointed to find that, at the end of the cooking, the porridge was really runny when I poured it into a container. I was even more disapointed to find, when I thought I had got all the porridge out, that I had a thick layer of congealed oats and protein powder firmly stuck to the bottom of the TM! It was sunday, and I was running late for church, so I drank some of the runny stuff, threw the rest down the sink, and left the congealed mess soaking in the bottom of the TM bowl with hot water. Disaster!
The next day, I decided to give it another go. I followed the same instructions, making a full batch this time, but didn't add the protein powder with the oats, as I decided to add it into each serve of porridge when I heated it up each day. Again, I got a runny result, with congealed oats at the bottom. I didn't throw this lot away though, but ate it over the next 4 days. I mixed protein powder through 2 serves, and blended them up to drink as smoothies. I mixed cottage cheese and brown sugar through the other 2 serves, which tasted really good. However, the cottage cheese was lumpy, and didn't do much to thicken the runny porridge.
I did some research on the forums, and discovered that some people were making thicker porridge using 100 g of oats and 350 g of water, cooked at 100 degrees on reverse speed 4 for 9 minutes. I tried this this morning, and the result was perfect! Nice thick creamy porridge!
It's a real pain to get out of the TM though, as my scraping skills still aren't very good. I got most of it out though, and while there is still some in the bottom of the bowl under the blades, it isn't a congealed mess like before.
Perhaps I'll make a double quantity next time, on the weekend, and let it cool before scraping it out. At least then I can remove the blades , and really get in there with my fingers to get it all out. I also think I'll truy ricotta as a protein source instead of cottage cheese, as it will be smoother.
I'm supposed to be on a high protein, low carb diet, so my porridge (which I usually make in the microwave, with varying results) usually has some sort of protein in it, such as protein powder.
Following the EDC, but only making half a batch, I added 80 g rolled oats, 325 g water and 2 scoops of protein powder to the TM. I didn't mill the oats first, as I like mine whole. I cooked this on 90 degrees for 8 minutes.
I like my porridge really thik, so I can almost stand my spoon up in it. I really don't like runny porridge. So, I was really disappointed to find that, at the end of the cooking, the porridge was really runny when I poured it into a container. I was even more disapointed to find, when I thought I had got all the porridge out, that I had a thick layer of congealed oats and protein powder firmly stuck to the bottom of the TM! It was sunday, and I was running late for church, so I drank some of the runny stuff, threw the rest down the sink, and left the congealed mess soaking in the bottom of the TM bowl with hot water. Disaster!
The next day, I decided to give it another go. I followed the same instructions, making a full batch this time, but didn't add the protein powder with the oats, as I decided to add it into each serve of porridge when I heated it up each day. Again, I got a runny result, with congealed oats at the bottom. I didn't throw this lot away though, but ate it over the next 4 days. I mixed protein powder through 2 serves, and blended them up to drink as smoothies. I mixed cottage cheese and brown sugar through the other 2 serves, which tasted really good. However, the cottage cheese was lumpy, and didn't do much to thicken the runny porridge.
I did some research on the forums, and discovered that some people were making thicker porridge using 100 g of oats and 350 g of water, cooked at 100 degrees on reverse speed 4 for 9 minutes. I tried this this morning, and the result was perfect! Nice thick creamy porridge!
It's a real pain to get out of the TM though, as my scraping skills still aren't very good. I got most of it out though, and while there is still some in the bottom of the bowl under the blades, it isn't a congealed mess like before.
Perhaps I'll make a double quantity next time, on the weekend, and let it cool before scraping it out. At least then I can remove the blades , and really get in there with my fingers to get it all out. I also think I'll truy ricotta as a protein source instead of cottage cheese, as it will be smoother.
Fettuccine with chicken and sundried tomatoes
Again, it has been a long time between posts, as I've had illness in my family. However, this doesn't mean I've stopped cooking!
When I did the creamy salami and tomato fettuccine, CJ said that I should try cooking it with sundried tomatoes and chicken. So, I decided to give it a go.
I followed the EDC recipe for the salami fettuccine, but used basil instead of parsly, and addedd 500 g of cubed chicken along with the cream, water, stock and roma tomatoes. I cooked this all for 17 minutes, and did not add the fettuccine, as I cooked this separately. About 5 minutes before the 17 minutes were up, I added a tub of sundried tomatoes instead of the salami. When this was all cooked, I put the sauce into a thermoserver, and cooked the fettuccine as given in the EDC.
The result turned out to be reasonably good, but I felt that there were too many tomatoes in the pasta, and the sundried tomato flavour didn't really come through to my satisfaction. After some research into recipes, I think I'll leave out the roma tomatoes, and add the sundried tomatoes just before serving. After 5 minutes cooking (just to warm them through) the sundried tomatoes had sat in the pasta in the thermoserver for about 15 minutes. By then, they had plumped up a bit which I didn't want.
Even though things didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped, it reall was a pretty good result for my first recipe experiment.
When I did the creamy salami and tomato fettuccine, CJ said that I should try cooking it with sundried tomatoes and chicken. So, I decided to give it a go.
I followed the EDC recipe for the salami fettuccine, but used basil instead of parsly, and addedd 500 g of cubed chicken along with the cream, water, stock and roma tomatoes. I cooked this all for 17 minutes, and did not add the fettuccine, as I cooked this separately. About 5 minutes before the 17 minutes were up, I added a tub of sundried tomatoes instead of the salami. When this was all cooked, I put the sauce into a thermoserver, and cooked the fettuccine as given in the EDC.
The result turned out to be reasonably good, but I felt that there were too many tomatoes in the pasta, and the sundried tomato flavour didn't really come through to my satisfaction. After some research into recipes, I think I'll leave out the roma tomatoes, and add the sundried tomatoes just before serving. After 5 minutes cooking (just to warm them through) the sundried tomatoes had sat in the pasta in the thermoserver for about 15 minutes. By then, they had plumped up a bit which I didn't want.
Even though things didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped, it reall was a pretty good result for my first recipe experiment.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Red Curry Chicken Risotto
I found this recipe on the internet before getting my TM, and have wanted to cook it ever since the TM arrived. The link to the recipe is:
http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/10893/red-curry-chicken-risotto.html
This was another lesson in preparing all the ingredients first, so that they could easily be added at the required times. I didn't do so well with this, as I was a bit distracted, and had to keep referring to the recipe. SJ and my cousin EM came around to try muy cooking this time, as CJ was doing something else. SJ saved the day by going to buy some arborio rice, as Mum had got basmati rice by mistake.
At one point, when I was measuring out the coconut milk (I wanted to weigh it on my talking scales to see whether 400 g was equal to 400 ml), I accidentally tipped some of the milk into the TM jug instead of the jug on the scales. I pannicked a bit, but EM assured me that I had not ruined everything, and tipped the milk back into the jug for me. Everything seemed to take me ages to do, and we ate about 45 minutes later than I had planned. I think I'm just going to have to get all the ingredients prepared before my friends come over, rather than when they arrive.
I wasn't sure whether I had to use a particular type of curry paste, so just bought some red thai curry paste. 3 tablespoons sounded like a lot, but i followed the recipe exactly. I think I might use a touch less curry paste next time though, as it was really rather hot! I'm glad I didn't add the extra chilli as the recipe suggested.
I let the risotto sit in my thermoserver while I made more lemon custard. EM hadn't tried it yet. It amazed me just as much this time as it did in the demo, just how much difference the resting of the risotto made. It was quite liquidy when I took it out of the TM, but after resting, it was perfect!
Apart from being a bit hotter than I expected (not too hot though), the risotto was absolutely delicious! The texture and flavour were perfect. This is definitely a recipe I'll make again.
http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/recipes/10893/red-curry-chicken-risotto.html
This was another lesson in preparing all the ingredients first, so that they could easily be added at the required times. I didn't do so well with this, as I was a bit distracted, and had to keep referring to the recipe. SJ and my cousin EM came around to try muy cooking this time, as CJ was doing something else. SJ saved the day by going to buy some arborio rice, as Mum had got basmati rice by mistake.
At one point, when I was measuring out the coconut milk (I wanted to weigh it on my talking scales to see whether 400 g was equal to 400 ml), I accidentally tipped some of the milk into the TM jug instead of the jug on the scales. I pannicked a bit, but EM assured me that I had not ruined everything, and tipped the milk back into the jug for me. Everything seemed to take me ages to do, and we ate about 45 minutes later than I had planned. I think I'm just going to have to get all the ingredients prepared before my friends come over, rather than when they arrive.
I wasn't sure whether I had to use a particular type of curry paste, so just bought some red thai curry paste. 3 tablespoons sounded like a lot, but i followed the recipe exactly. I think I might use a touch less curry paste next time though, as it was really rather hot! I'm glad I didn't add the extra chilli as the recipe suggested.
I let the risotto sit in my thermoserver while I made more lemon custard. EM hadn't tried it yet. It amazed me just as much this time as it did in the demo, just how much difference the resting of the risotto made. It was quite liquidy when I took it out of the TM, but after resting, it was perfect!
Apart from being a bit hotter than I expected (not too hot though), the risotto was absolutely delicious! The texture and flavour were perfect. This is definitely a recipe I'll make again.
Dip and Pizza
I had a great cooking week last week.
I was rostered on for morning tea, so decided to make the Capsicum and Sundried Tomato Dip from the EDC. It was really quite straightforward.
I was worried about how much to bring, as some people bring heaps of food to morning tea, and sometimes there is quite a large turnout. So, I made a double quantity. Quite a lot of dip!
It was a success, and quite a lot of the dip was eaten. Everyone said nice things about it (probably because I was a bit overenthusiastic about it, and sat in front of the bowl, inviting everyone to try the dip saying "I made it myself!"). It did taste really good though.
I wasn't sure what to do with the leftovers, as I knew I probably wouldn't heat it, and didn't want it to go bad in the fridge. Then, I remembered the leftover pizza dough that was still in my freezer from the Varoma demo.
After some thought, and a couple of phone calls to Mum to ask her opinion on some things, I decided to make a pizza with the dough and the dip.
I invited SJ and CJ over to try it out, and give me some encouragement while I made it. These were the same friends who had tried the fettuccini the previous week. They said that it wasn't fare that E was the only one who was named in my blog, so I've named them!
I had asked Mum to drop over and get the pizza dough out of the freezer, and it was nicely thawed by the time I got home. It smelled just the same as it had when E made it - lovely and yeasty. I had frozen it in Tupperware, so it had retained all its moisture and was slightly sticky.
after some deliberation, I decided to cook the dough on my only pizza tray, even though it was smaller than the one that E had used. I don't have a thermo mat yet, so put some baking paper on the tray, and placed the dough in the middle. I tried, unsuccessfully, to flatten it out into a perfect circle. After much flattening and stretching the dough covered all but a small bit of the tray, and CJ reminded me that it didn't have to be perfect.
Then I spread the dip over the base, and covered this with 100 g of salami I found in the fridge. CJ wanted cheese, so I put some Cheddar slices over the salami. It was quite fun arranging the salami and the slices so they were all overlapping, and all the dip was covered.
I wasn't sure how long to cook it, and CJ suggested that I should try 20 minutes at 200 degrees. Of course, we couldn't remember how long E had cooked the pizza for during the demo. It came out perfectly! the base all rose up, and the topping was a really delicious combination. The lovely pizza smell went all through the house!
The only problem was that when I picked up a slice to eat it (I always eat pizza in my fingers), the topping fell off. CJ and SJ explained that what I needed was pizza cheese under and over the rest of the filling to bind everything together. I'll have to try that next time.
CJ said that she wanted lemon custard instead of chocolate to finish the meal. I decided that this would be a good challenge for me, as I had never used a peeler to peel the rind from a lemon before. I'm not entirely sure whether I included any pith in the custard, but it tasted really good, so I assume I didn't. It was easy to feel when I had peeled too deeply, as some juice would come through onto my finger. I just love the smell of the lemon and sugar mixture after it is ground up! It reminded me of E's first demo in my pre-thermomix life.
I was rostered on for morning tea, so decided to make the Capsicum and Sundried Tomato Dip from the EDC. It was really quite straightforward.
I was worried about how much to bring, as some people bring heaps of food to morning tea, and sometimes there is quite a large turnout. So, I made a double quantity. Quite a lot of dip!
It was a success, and quite a lot of the dip was eaten. Everyone said nice things about it (probably because I was a bit overenthusiastic about it, and sat in front of the bowl, inviting everyone to try the dip saying "I made it myself!"). It did taste really good though.
I wasn't sure what to do with the leftovers, as I knew I probably wouldn't heat it, and didn't want it to go bad in the fridge. Then, I remembered the leftover pizza dough that was still in my freezer from the Varoma demo.
After some thought, and a couple of phone calls to Mum to ask her opinion on some things, I decided to make a pizza with the dough and the dip.
I invited SJ and CJ over to try it out, and give me some encouragement while I made it. These were the same friends who had tried the fettuccini the previous week. They said that it wasn't fare that E was the only one who was named in my blog, so I've named them!
I had asked Mum to drop over and get the pizza dough out of the freezer, and it was nicely thawed by the time I got home. It smelled just the same as it had when E made it - lovely and yeasty. I had frozen it in Tupperware, so it had retained all its moisture and was slightly sticky.
after some deliberation, I decided to cook the dough on my only pizza tray, even though it was smaller than the one that E had used. I don't have a thermo mat yet, so put some baking paper on the tray, and placed the dough in the middle. I tried, unsuccessfully, to flatten it out into a perfect circle. After much flattening and stretching the dough covered all but a small bit of the tray, and CJ reminded me that it didn't have to be perfect.
Then I spread the dip over the base, and covered this with 100 g of salami I found in the fridge. CJ wanted cheese, so I put some Cheddar slices over the salami. It was quite fun arranging the salami and the slices so they were all overlapping, and all the dip was covered.
I wasn't sure how long to cook it, and CJ suggested that I should try 20 minutes at 200 degrees. Of course, we couldn't remember how long E had cooked the pizza for during the demo. It came out perfectly! the base all rose up, and the topping was a really delicious combination. The lovely pizza smell went all through the house!
The only problem was that when I picked up a slice to eat it (I always eat pizza in my fingers), the topping fell off. CJ and SJ explained that what I needed was pizza cheese under and over the rest of the filling to bind everything together. I'll have to try that next time.
CJ said that she wanted lemon custard instead of chocolate to finish the meal. I decided that this would be a good challenge for me, as I had never used a peeler to peel the rind from a lemon before. I'm not entirely sure whether I included any pith in the custard, but it tasted really good, so I assume I didn't. It was easy to feel when I had peeled too deeply, as some juice would come through onto my finger. I just love the smell of the lemon and sugar mixture after it is ground up! It reminded me of E's first demo in my pre-thermomix life.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Creamy Tomato and Salami Fettuccini
It has been a while between posts. The weekend before last, I was in Sydney seeing the Boy from Aus, and last weekend, I spent celebrating my birthday.
Last night though, I decided to cook dinner for my friends. I liked the sound of the Creamy Tomato and Salami Fettuccini, so decided to give that a go. I also decided to make chocolate custard again for dessert, as it was so nice last time.
I learned from my last cooking lesson that it was important to get out all the ingredients, so I measured everything and put it into dishes.
The EDC was vague about how much I should chop up the vegies for the fettuccini sauce, so I diced some and julienned others. This was probably a bit of overkill, as the TM chopped them anyway. I'll chop them less next time and see what happens.
I had an initial panic, as I discovered that I had run out of olive oil (another advantage of laying out the ingredients first). Then I remembered that I had some butter in the fridge, so decided to use that. Conveniently, I had 50 g , which was just what I needed. I buy my butter in packets of 100 g blocks, and I have a real thing about anyone breaking my blocks. E was teasing me the other day when we were making the cupcakes, as she had to break into one of my 100 g blocks. It's a good thing she did! Some day, I'lll make my own butter.
I've decided to convert recipes as I go from weights to measures. In doing this, I discovered that 100 g of zuccini is about half a zuccini, and that 200 g of cream is the same as 200 ml, which is very convenient. When weighing out the ingredients for the custard, I discovered that 70 g of sugar is about 4 metric tablespoons, 40 g of flour is 3 tablespoons and 20 g of cocoa is 2 heaped tablespoons.
Everything went smoothly. I just quietly followed the recipe step by step and it worked! weighing the fettuccini was interesting though, as it kept rolling off the scales! Then I had the bright idea of breaking it in half and putting it in the TM basket - much easier.
The fettuccini was absolutely delicious! The custard was even nicer than the last lot, as I used sugar this time. My friends were really impressed. One commented how I would have never thought of doing this a couple of months ago, and mentioned how happy and in control I seemed. It was true.
Last night though, I decided to cook dinner for my friends. I liked the sound of the Creamy Tomato and Salami Fettuccini, so decided to give that a go. I also decided to make chocolate custard again for dessert, as it was so nice last time.
I learned from my last cooking lesson that it was important to get out all the ingredients, so I measured everything and put it into dishes.
The EDC was vague about how much I should chop up the vegies for the fettuccini sauce, so I diced some and julienned others. This was probably a bit of overkill, as the TM chopped them anyway. I'll chop them less next time and see what happens.
I had an initial panic, as I discovered that I had run out of olive oil (another advantage of laying out the ingredients first). Then I remembered that I had some butter in the fridge, so decided to use that. Conveniently, I had 50 g , which was just what I needed. I buy my butter in packets of 100 g blocks, and I have a real thing about anyone breaking my blocks. E was teasing me the other day when we were making the cupcakes, as she had to break into one of my 100 g blocks. It's a good thing she did! Some day, I'lll make my own butter.
I've decided to convert recipes as I go from weights to measures. In doing this, I discovered that 100 g of zuccini is about half a zuccini, and that 200 g of cream is the same as 200 ml, which is very convenient. When weighing out the ingredients for the custard, I discovered that 70 g of sugar is about 4 metric tablespoons, 40 g of flour is 3 tablespoons and 20 g of cocoa is 2 heaped tablespoons.
Everything went smoothly. I just quietly followed the recipe step by step and it worked! weighing the fettuccini was interesting though, as it kept rolling off the scales! Then I had the bright idea of breaking it in half and putting it in the TM basket - much easier.
The fettuccini was absolutely delicious! The custard was even nicer than the last lot, as I used sugar this time. My friends were really impressed. One commented how I would have never thought of doing this a couple of months ago, and mentioned how happy and in control I seemed. It was true.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Varoma Demo
I didn't have a cooking lesson on the weekend, unfortunately, as I was away. However, I can tell you about the varoma demo I had last Thursday.
As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, the varoma is the steamer part of the TM. It consists of a deep lower tray, with holes in the bottom, a shallower top tray, also with holes, and a lid. It sits on top of the TM bowl, and the food in the 2 trays is cooked by way of steam from the boiling liquid in the bowl.
E ran the demo, which was part demonstration, and part cooking class for me. I had cut the chicken and pumpkin into cubes, which would be used to make a salad with cuscus and salad vegies. I had no idea that it was so hard to peel pumpkin! E showed me how to place these in the bottom tray of the varoma, spreading the meat and pumpkin out so they could cook evenly.
Then, E wet some kitchen paper, and I squeezed it out and put it in the top tray. I thought this would cover all the holes, but there are some around the rim of the top tray, and E showed me how to tear the corners from the paper so that these holes wouldn't be covered. Then E put some cuscus into the top tray, which I spread out. We then set the varoma aside for later.
When everyone arived, E made an amazing softserve using berries, sugar and an egg white. Delicious, and just like icecream. I was surprised at just how noisy the TM was when it was chopping the frozen berries.
This was followed by the most amazing sundried tomato and kashew dip, half of which was made into a dressing for the salad.
E then made some pizza dough, half of which is now in my freezer for me to make a pizza of my own! E got me to press out the dough once it had risen, which was great. I loved the feel of the slightly elastic dough, and the smell of the yeast. It reminded me of when I made bread at school - the only cooking lesson I enjoyed. Of course, I was worried that the dough wasn't exactly the same thickness all over, and wasn't perfectly round. Lovely E just said that it was home cooked and that cooking wasn't an exact science - 2 things I like hearing and am actually starting to believe. We baked the dough with garlic and rosemary on top, which was delicious, and smelt fantastic!
Next, E made a chickpea and vegetable soup, which would cook at the same time the varoma was steaming on top of the TM. Half way through the cooking time, E got me to give the bottom tray of the varoma a stir. I was a bit worried about the steam, but it was all fine. I was able to put the top tray on the bottom one, put the lid on, and put the assembled varoma back on the TM. Not scary at all!
After the soup and salad were cooked, E showed me how to use salad servers to mix the salad. I'd never done this, believe it or not, as I never made a mixed salad before getting the TM, as I don't really like the classic garden salad. The salad was absolutely delicious, and so was the soup!
Then it was my turn. I had to make the cupcake batter. This was an amazing batter of eggs, flour, sugar, lemon rind, and coconut milk. I couldn't get over how fast the butter and sugar creamed together. I have horrible memories of standing trying unsuccessfully to cream butter and sugar at school. This was so easy! It was also amazing how the batter came together in seconds, with no fuss, and very little mess. I think I'll have to use a spatula though to scrape down the sides of the bowl next time, as the batter was very sticky and messy to touch.
I then had the task of filling E's adorable little silicon patty pans - I want some! As usual, I worried that they wouldn't all be filled to the same amount, and E gave her usual advice about home cooking. She's so good for me, as she makes everything OK!
After some time, I got all the patty pans filled, and into the varoma on top of the TM. In 20 minutes they were cooked. E made a lovely syrup from lemon juice, sugar and water, which she poured over the cupcakes. They were absolutely divine! Actually they were more like steamed puddings than cupcakes.
I finished off the evening by frothing the milk for everyone's coffee. I just followed the instructions in the EDC, and it worked perfectly.
I was able to get the Steming Ahead cookbook for half price, and was able to buy a carry bag for the TM at a discounted price. A great success! I can't wait to steam something now!
As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, the varoma is the steamer part of the TM. It consists of a deep lower tray, with holes in the bottom, a shallower top tray, also with holes, and a lid. It sits on top of the TM bowl, and the food in the 2 trays is cooked by way of steam from the boiling liquid in the bowl.
E ran the demo, which was part demonstration, and part cooking class for me. I had cut the chicken and pumpkin into cubes, which would be used to make a salad with cuscus and salad vegies. I had no idea that it was so hard to peel pumpkin! E showed me how to place these in the bottom tray of the varoma, spreading the meat and pumpkin out so they could cook evenly.
Then, E wet some kitchen paper, and I squeezed it out and put it in the top tray. I thought this would cover all the holes, but there are some around the rim of the top tray, and E showed me how to tear the corners from the paper so that these holes wouldn't be covered. Then E put some cuscus into the top tray, which I spread out. We then set the varoma aside for later.
When everyone arived, E made an amazing softserve using berries, sugar and an egg white. Delicious, and just like icecream. I was surprised at just how noisy the TM was when it was chopping the frozen berries.
This was followed by the most amazing sundried tomato and kashew dip, half of which was made into a dressing for the salad.
E then made some pizza dough, half of which is now in my freezer for me to make a pizza of my own! E got me to press out the dough once it had risen, which was great. I loved the feel of the slightly elastic dough, and the smell of the yeast. It reminded me of when I made bread at school - the only cooking lesson I enjoyed. Of course, I was worried that the dough wasn't exactly the same thickness all over, and wasn't perfectly round. Lovely E just said that it was home cooked and that cooking wasn't an exact science - 2 things I like hearing and am actually starting to believe. We baked the dough with garlic and rosemary on top, which was delicious, and smelt fantastic!
Next, E made a chickpea and vegetable soup, which would cook at the same time the varoma was steaming on top of the TM. Half way through the cooking time, E got me to give the bottom tray of the varoma a stir. I was a bit worried about the steam, but it was all fine. I was able to put the top tray on the bottom one, put the lid on, and put the assembled varoma back on the TM. Not scary at all!
After the soup and salad were cooked, E showed me how to use salad servers to mix the salad. I'd never done this, believe it or not, as I never made a mixed salad before getting the TM, as I don't really like the classic garden salad. The salad was absolutely delicious, and so was the soup!
Then it was my turn. I had to make the cupcake batter. This was an amazing batter of eggs, flour, sugar, lemon rind, and coconut milk. I couldn't get over how fast the butter and sugar creamed together. I have horrible memories of standing trying unsuccessfully to cream butter and sugar at school. This was so easy! It was also amazing how the batter came together in seconds, with no fuss, and very little mess. I think I'll have to use a spatula though to scrape down the sides of the bowl next time, as the batter was very sticky and messy to touch.
I then had the task of filling E's adorable little silicon patty pans - I want some! As usual, I worried that they wouldn't all be filled to the same amount, and E gave her usual advice about home cooking. She's so good for me, as she makes everything OK!
After some time, I got all the patty pans filled, and into the varoma on top of the TM. In 20 minutes they were cooked. E made a lovely syrup from lemon juice, sugar and water, which she poured over the cupcakes. They were absolutely divine! Actually they were more like steamed puddings than cupcakes.
I finished off the evening by frothing the milk for everyone's coffee. I just followed the instructions in the EDC, and it worked perfectly.
I was able to get the Steming Ahead cookbook for half price, and was able to buy a carry bag for the TM at a discounted price. A great success! I can't wait to steam something now!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Big cooking day
Today's post will be a longer one. I tried to set up e-mail blogging, and sent through 3 posts yesterday, but none of them worked. So today's post will be the combination of all 3 of yesterday's.
I had a bit of a hitch with Saturday's rendang. Just after I finished typing my last post, I went over to the TM to check how things were going by way of a sneaky sniff. Just as I placed my hand on the TM, it stopped working and started beeping (not in it's usual "I've finished" way either). I turned it off and then on again, and it continued beeping. It was then that I realised that the TM bowl wasn't hot.
In a pannic, I phoned my Mum and asked her to come over, as she only lives a few minutes away. When Mum got there, she said that the TM was displaying "LOAd" on the display. I told her about the bowl not being hot, and she checked the meat and discovered that it was still raw! I obviously had forgotten to put in the temperature, and the TM had been happily mixing the raw Rendang for 40 minutes! I later read in the instruction manual that this happened when there was too much in the bowl. This is to rpevent the motor from overheating. While I didn't have too much in the bowl as I had followed the recipe, I suppose the TM objected to mixing raw meat for 40 minutes.
We decided to take the TM over to Mum's place, as that is where we would be eating the Rendang. I would have another go at cooking it there. Everything else when uneventfully, and the Rendang, once cooked, was really nice.
Yesterday afternoon was another big cooking afternoon. I started with the beetroot salad out of the EDC. I wasn't even sure whether I liked raw beetroot, but it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a go.
I didn't have half the ingredients (the coriander, carrot and apple), so decided to experiment and use cellery and cabbage.
The recipe said to peel the beetroot, which I did. It reminded me a bit of peeling a potato. The recipe said to quarter the beetroot, but didn't say anything about whether to cut off the top and bottom of the beetroot. After peeling the beetroot, I decided to cut off the top and bottom, as they were kind of hard and chunky. As you can probably tell, I'm not very familiar with raw beetroot, as I've mainly eaten the canned stuff.
As with the coleslaw, I put in all the ingredients, chopped them for a few seconds, scraped down the side of the bowl with my fingers (I've found this works better than using the spatula), and chopped again. The result was delicious! Surprisingly delicious!
I decided that I wanted to cook some dishes that I could eat during the week. I thought that it was all well and good cooking for friends, but it was frustrating when there were no leftovers for me to have during the week, as the point of getting the TM was to cook for myself.
After some discussion with Mum on the phone, we decided that I should cook Chilli Con Carne, and Beef Goulash. Mum bought all the ingredients and came over, as I also wanted her to help me label my modular mates (tupperware containers for the pantry).
The Chilli Con Carne was so easy! It only took about 15 minutes to make, and was really just a matter of adding everything and cooking it. The only hitch was that Mum had bought whole canned tomatoes, which the recipe asked for. At the end of the cooking process, these were still whole. I don't really like whole tomatoes, so decided to whis the Con Carne up in the TM for a few seconds. Alas, I ended up with Chilli Con Carne pure! Oh well, it will still taste good on rice.
I had varying success scraping out the TM bowl with the spatula. I seemed to do a lot of scraping, but still had food left in the bowl. I decided to see what would happened if I scraped out the bowl with my hand, wearing a silicon potmit. This is quite hygenic, as it can go in the dishwasher afterwards. It seemed to work, although the Con Carne mostly poured out of the bowl anyway. I'll give this a go with something else, and report on the results.
Next, I moved on to the Beef Goulash. This was much more complicated, as it had many more ingredients. I didn't have any of the herbs or spices, so used Mum's. I expect I'll get more of a collection of these as I cook. Mum did help a bit with this one, by measuring the spices, and preparing the lemon rind. I think it would have taken me twice as long if she hadn't! It was a good lesson though in measuring the ingredients and laying them all out at the start, rather than measuring them as they are needed. It turned out really well.
One thing that did happen though, much to Mum's amusement and my discomfort, was that, while the 300 grams of onion were sauteing in the butter for the Goulash, I decided to take off the measuring cup and have a sneaky sniff. I'd done this in the past, and had really enjoyed the aroma of the frying onion. Unfortunately, this time, my sniff was a bit enthusiastic and I got a nose full of onion gasses! I coughed and sneezed, and my eyes streamed. I suppose it serves me right, as I bent right over the TM and just about put my nose in the hole in the middle of the lid! I won't do that again!
While the Goulash was cooking, Mum helped me to label my modular mates. For those not familiar with Tupperware, these are containers of varient shapes and sizes, designed to keep dry ingredients in the pantry. I discovered ingredients I didn't know aI had, and trew away some I would never use again. Now I have empty containers for all the new ingredients I will need with all this cooking I'm going to do!
At the end of the cooking and labelling, I was exhausted again! I hope it will get to a point soon where I don't feel this way after an afternoon of cooking. It's a really good type of exhausted though, and I finished with a real sense of achievement. I really think of the TM as my good friend, as it does all the hard things that I don't want to do, like chopping, and stirring hot ingredients. I'm really enjoying getting to know it better.
I had a bit of a hitch with Saturday's rendang. Just after I finished typing my last post, I went over to the TM to check how things were going by way of a sneaky sniff. Just as I placed my hand on the TM, it stopped working and started beeping (not in it's usual "I've finished" way either). I turned it off and then on again, and it continued beeping. It was then that I realised that the TM bowl wasn't hot.
In a pannic, I phoned my Mum and asked her to come over, as she only lives a few minutes away. When Mum got there, she said that the TM was displaying "LOAd" on the display. I told her about the bowl not being hot, and she checked the meat and discovered that it was still raw! I obviously had forgotten to put in the temperature, and the TM had been happily mixing the raw Rendang for 40 minutes! I later read in the instruction manual that this happened when there was too much in the bowl. This is to rpevent the motor from overheating. While I didn't have too much in the bowl as I had followed the recipe, I suppose the TM objected to mixing raw meat for 40 minutes.
We decided to take the TM over to Mum's place, as that is where we would be eating the Rendang. I would have another go at cooking it there. Everything else when uneventfully, and the Rendang, once cooked, was really nice.
Yesterday afternoon was another big cooking afternoon. I started with the beetroot salad out of the EDC. I wasn't even sure whether I liked raw beetroot, but it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a go.
I didn't have half the ingredients (the coriander, carrot and apple), so decided to experiment and use cellery and cabbage.
The recipe said to peel the beetroot, which I did. It reminded me a bit of peeling a potato. The recipe said to quarter the beetroot, but didn't say anything about whether to cut off the top and bottom of the beetroot. After peeling the beetroot, I decided to cut off the top and bottom, as they were kind of hard and chunky. As you can probably tell, I'm not very familiar with raw beetroot, as I've mainly eaten the canned stuff.
As with the coleslaw, I put in all the ingredients, chopped them for a few seconds, scraped down the side of the bowl with my fingers (I've found this works better than using the spatula), and chopped again. The result was delicious! Surprisingly delicious!
I decided that I wanted to cook some dishes that I could eat during the week. I thought that it was all well and good cooking for friends, but it was frustrating when there were no leftovers for me to have during the week, as the point of getting the TM was to cook for myself.
After some discussion with Mum on the phone, we decided that I should cook Chilli Con Carne, and Beef Goulash. Mum bought all the ingredients and came over, as I also wanted her to help me label my modular mates (tupperware containers for the pantry).
The Chilli Con Carne was so easy! It only took about 15 minutes to make, and was really just a matter of adding everything and cooking it. The only hitch was that Mum had bought whole canned tomatoes, which the recipe asked for. At the end of the cooking process, these were still whole. I don't really like whole tomatoes, so decided to whis the Con Carne up in the TM for a few seconds. Alas, I ended up with Chilli Con Carne pure! Oh well, it will still taste good on rice.
I had varying success scraping out the TM bowl with the spatula. I seemed to do a lot of scraping, but still had food left in the bowl. I decided to see what would happened if I scraped out the bowl with my hand, wearing a silicon potmit. This is quite hygenic, as it can go in the dishwasher afterwards. It seemed to work, although the Con Carne mostly poured out of the bowl anyway. I'll give this a go with something else, and report on the results.
Next, I moved on to the Beef Goulash. This was much more complicated, as it had many more ingredients. I didn't have any of the herbs or spices, so used Mum's. I expect I'll get more of a collection of these as I cook. Mum did help a bit with this one, by measuring the spices, and preparing the lemon rind. I think it would have taken me twice as long if she hadn't! It was a good lesson though in measuring the ingredients and laying them all out at the start, rather than measuring them as they are needed. It turned out really well.
One thing that did happen though, much to Mum's amusement and my discomfort, was that, while the 300 grams of onion were sauteing in the butter for the Goulash, I decided to take off the measuring cup and have a sneaky sniff. I'd done this in the past, and had really enjoyed the aroma of the frying onion. Unfortunately, this time, my sniff was a bit enthusiastic and I got a nose full of onion gasses! I coughed and sneezed, and my eyes streamed. I suppose it serves me right, as I bent right over the TM and just about put my nose in the hole in the middle of the lid! I won't do that again!
While the Goulash was cooking, Mum helped me to label my modular mates. For those not familiar with Tupperware, these are containers of varient shapes and sizes, designed to keep dry ingredients in the pantry. I discovered ingredients I didn't know aI had, and trew away some I would never use again. Now I have empty containers for all the new ingredients I will need with all this cooking I'm going to do!
At the end of the cooking and labelling, I was exhausted again! I hope it will get to a point soon where I don't feel this way after an afternoon of cooking. It's a really good type of exhausted though, and I finished with a real sense of achievement. I really think of the TM as my good friend, as it does all the hard things that I don't want to do, like chopping, and stirring hot ingredients. I'm really enjoying getting to know it better.
Friday, February 18, 2011
My second meal - Beef Rendang
Today I'm cooking Beef Rendang. E brought some for me to taste before I bought the TM. Hers was so good, that I thought I'd have to make some for myself.
So, Mum and I went shopping to buy all the things I'd need. It was fun trying to find chilies, ground cloves, bay leaves, and a whole heap of other things I didn't have. We couldn't find ground cloves, so I bought a small jar of whole cloves to grind up in the TM. The coconutty smell of the cooking rendang is finding its way into the lounge room as I type this blog!
Anyway, back to the shopping. We couldn't find fresh bay leaves so we bought a packet of dried ones. I had no idea that these came in a packet. The chilies were also tricky. I had no idea that they came in all sorts of sizes, loose, and in packets. We had to get a large one, so settled on a large squat chili.
The cooking went quite smoothly. It was great to smell the different spices as I put them in, although I think that tumeric smells and tastes disgusting! Although I'm sure it will add something special of its own to the dish. The hardest thing was measuring the coconut milk. I wish these recipes had measurements as well as weights. I'll have to find a website somewhere to find out how much stuff weighs, as I forgot to check the measuring jug to see how much coconut milk I used. Also, the cloves took a surprisingly long time to grind up.
Before I started, I told Mum that I wanted to cook this dish alone, as I will never gain confidence in the kitchen if I always cook when there is someone there. However, I think she was worried about me, as she wouldn't leave!
She didn't help me at all though, so I suppose that's OK. At least I'll be able to do it entirely by myself next time. I have half a can of coconut milk left, so I'll have to make some more rendang, or something else.
Actually, it's probably a good thing she did stay. Remember the hili I mentioned earlier? Well, it wasn't a chili, but a very small capsicum! So, I was able to dispatch Mum off to the shop to get a chili.
I'm glad that cooking isn't an exact science most of the time. E told me this when I used her TM to make the stir fry. I'm not very good at measuring things. The manufacturers of the spice containers don't make it very easy either buy putting the spices in bottles with tiny holes ikn the top, which are too small for me to fit my measuring spoon into. Oh well, now I've found a use for my Tupperware spice containers.
So, Mum and I went shopping to buy all the things I'd need. It was fun trying to find chilies, ground cloves, bay leaves, and a whole heap of other things I didn't have. We couldn't find ground cloves, so I bought a small jar of whole cloves to grind up in the TM. The coconutty smell of the cooking rendang is finding its way into the lounge room as I type this blog!
Anyway, back to the shopping. We couldn't find fresh bay leaves so we bought a packet of dried ones. I had no idea that these came in a packet. The chilies were also tricky. I had no idea that they came in all sorts of sizes, loose, and in packets. We had to get a large one, so settled on a large squat chili.
The cooking went quite smoothly. It was great to smell the different spices as I put them in, although I think that tumeric smells and tastes disgusting! Although I'm sure it will add something special of its own to the dish. The hardest thing was measuring the coconut milk. I wish these recipes had measurements as well as weights. I'll have to find a website somewhere to find out how much stuff weighs, as I forgot to check the measuring jug to see how much coconut milk I used. Also, the cloves took a surprisingly long time to grind up.
Before I started, I told Mum that I wanted to cook this dish alone, as I will never gain confidence in the kitchen if I always cook when there is someone there. However, I think she was worried about me, as she wouldn't leave!
She didn't help me at all though, so I suppose that's OK. At least I'll be able to do it entirely by myself next time. I have half a can of coconut milk left, so I'll have to make some more rendang, or something else.
Actually, it's probably a good thing she did stay. Remember the hili I mentioned earlier? Well, it wasn't a chili, but a very small capsicum! So, I was able to dispatch Mum off to the shop to get a chili.
I'm glad that cooking isn't an exact science most of the time. E told me this when I used her TM to make the stir fry. I'm not very good at measuring things. The manufacturers of the spice containers don't make it very easy either buy putting the spices in bottles with tiny holes ikn the top, which are too small for me to fit my measuring spoon into. Oh well, now I've found a use for my Tupperware spice containers.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Hard boiled eggs again - my first cooking alone
I cooked 4 hard boiled eggs this morning. This was my first attempt at cooking with noone else in the house. With all my other cooking attempts, either my mother or E was in the house for moral support.
Everything went really well. I even got the basket out without difficulty. The basket has no handle, but has a verticle ridge running up the insideat one point. At the top of the ridge is a small hole. On the TM spatula is a hook which fits into this hole and can be used to lift the basket out of the TM.
I located the vertical ridge by running the spatula around the inside of the basket near the top. I then used the spatula to turn the basket until the ridge was in line with the handle of the bowl. I located the hole with quick taps of my index finger, and was able to get the hook of the spatula in the hole on only my second try! No potmits required!
The last time I tried to cook hard boiled eggs in my egg cooker, I shook like crazy, and hated every minute of it. It is one of those cookers where you put the eggs in holes in a plastic stand that sits in the egg cooker. You put a measured amount of water in the bottom, and it makes a nasty high pitched screech when the water has evaporated, which signifies that the eggs are cooked. I had to prick the eggs to stop the shells from cracking (a process which always made me worry that I'd break the eggs), and measure exactly the right amount of water into the egg cooker. Despite pricking the eggs, the eggs would always crack, and the egg would drip on to the hot part of the cooker, which would make a horrible smell, and a sizzling sound which I hated. Everything was also really hot.
It was so nice to cook something on my own without fear or anxiety. I know it's only hard boiled eggs, but it's a good start. Bye-bye egg cooker!
Everything went really well. I even got the basket out without difficulty. The basket has no handle, but has a verticle ridge running up the insideat one point. At the top of the ridge is a small hole. On the TM spatula is a hook which fits into this hole and can be used to lift the basket out of the TM.
I located the vertical ridge by running the spatula around the inside of the basket near the top. I then used the spatula to turn the basket until the ridge was in line with the handle of the bowl. I located the hole with quick taps of my index finger, and was able to get the hook of the spatula in the hole on only my second try! No potmits required!
The last time I tried to cook hard boiled eggs in my egg cooker, I shook like crazy, and hated every minute of it. It is one of those cookers where you put the eggs in holes in a plastic stand that sits in the egg cooker. You put a measured amount of water in the bottom, and it makes a nasty high pitched screech when the water has evaporated, which signifies that the eggs are cooked. I had to prick the eggs to stop the shells from cracking (a process which always made me worry that I'd break the eggs), and measure exactly the right amount of water into the egg cooker. Despite pricking the eggs, the eggs would always crack, and the egg would drip on to the hot part of the cooker, which would make a horrible smell, and a sizzling sound which I hated. Everything was also really hot.
It was so nice to cook something on my own without fear or anxiety. I know it's only hard boiled eggs, but it's a good start. Bye-bye egg cooker!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Banana smoothie and some thoughts
This morning, I decided to make a banana smoothie in the TM. It didn't really turn out like a banana smoothie but banana liquid, but that was actually really good, as it was easier to drink.
I started with 2 scoops of BodyTrim Chocolate protein powder, which I added to the TM with 250 ml of water. I mixed this at speed for for about 5 seconds. It combined perfectly! I should say that usually when I try to mix protein powder with water using my other mixers, the result isn't good. The powder seems to line the container I'm mixing in, and sets like concrete if I don't wash it out properly.
Then I added a banana and a couple of ice cubes, and mixed on speed 4 for about 5 seconds. This resulted in liquid with a few small bits of banana and ice in the bottom, so I threw caution to the wind and mixed on speed 7 for about 5 seconds. The smoothie had turned into 2 glasses of slightly frothy liquid. Really nice!
There are many features which make the TM really easy to use. The buttons are all different shapes, and beep when you press them. They are also nice rubber buttons which need a good press to work. The bowl is marked inside at half litre intervals with dots, and there are also vertical strokes at the 1 and 2 litre marks.
The only function of the TM I can't use are the scales. This isn't too much of a problem, as I have talking scales. I also have to be careful with the reverse function, used to make the blades turn the other way so that they stir rather than chop, as I have no way of telling whether this is on or off. The machine just beeps once every time I press the button. I've asked E to pass on to Thermomix Australia that it might be worth making the machine beep once when reverse is turned on and twice when it is turned off.
The spatula that comes with the TM is really good too. It has a disk at the top which means that you can push the spatula down through the hole in the lid only so far. This means that it is safe to poke around with the spatula while the TM is going, as it is impossible to touch the blades with the spatula.
Everything that comes apart has grooves to fit together which makes the TM very easy to assemble. All in all, a really nice machine.
I started with 2 scoops of BodyTrim Chocolate protein powder, which I added to the TM with 250 ml of water. I mixed this at speed for for about 5 seconds. It combined perfectly! I should say that usually when I try to mix protein powder with water using my other mixers, the result isn't good. The powder seems to line the container I'm mixing in, and sets like concrete if I don't wash it out properly.
Then I added a banana and a couple of ice cubes, and mixed on speed 4 for about 5 seconds. This resulted in liquid with a few small bits of banana and ice in the bottom, so I threw caution to the wind and mixed on speed 7 for about 5 seconds. The smoothie had turned into 2 glasses of slightly frothy liquid. Really nice!
There are many features which make the TM really easy to use. The buttons are all different shapes, and beep when you press them. They are also nice rubber buttons which need a good press to work. The bowl is marked inside at half litre intervals with dots, and there are also vertical strokes at the 1 and 2 litre marks.
The only function of the TM I can't use are the scales. This isn't too much of a problem, as I have talking scales. I also have to be careful with the reverse function, used to make the blades turn the other way so that they stir rather than chop, as I have no way of telling whether this is on or off. The machine just beeps once every time I press the button. I've asked E to pass on to Thermomix Australia that it might be worth making the machine beep once when reverse is turned on and twice when it is turned off.
The spatula that comes with the TM is really good too. It has a disk at the top which means that you can push the spatula down through the hole in the lid only so far. This means that it is safe to poke around with the spatula while the TM is going, as it is impossible to touch the blades with the spatula.
Everything that comes apart has grooves to fit together which makes the TM very easy to assemble. All in all, a really nice machine.
My first meal - shepherd's pie and chocolate custard
I had a big tm day today. It started with a back to basics class which was great. During the class, the consultants cooked a large range of dishes, including sorbet, bread, dip, soup, 2 salada and custard. It was a really good way to cement what I had learnt at my TM demo.
Then, it was off to the supermarket and then home to cook dinner for my parents and a friend. When I offered yesterday to cook for my parents tonight, they laughed! I suppose this is fare enough, as I usually won't cook for myself, let alone anyone else.
My Dad chose the italian style shepherd's pie from the Every Day Cookbook (EDC) which came free with the TM. I also decided to cook chocolate custard, as I had had 2 goes at cooking custard, and I like chocolate. I also decided to hard boil 4 eggs for snacks during the coming week, and make some coleslaw for lunches.
The eggs went well. They were the easiest hard boiled eggs I'd ever cooked. All I did was put the eggs into the basket which fits inside the TM bowl on top of the blades, put 500 mls of water into the bowl, and cook for 14 minutes. The only tricky bit was getting the basket out of the bowl with the hook on the spatula. After 14 minutes of boiling, the bowl was quite hot, and it was hard to find the small hole in the basket without touching it. I might try with potmits next time and dispense with the spatula all together. I'll have to experiment a bit.
Then it was on to preparation of the ingredients for the meat sauce and the potatoes. This wasn't too hard as it just involved chopping the ingredients, and peeling those that needed peeling. I also decided to mince my own meat (because I can). This was easy. I just put in the cut up meat and pulsed it a few time. Perfect mince!
Cooking the sauce was easy. I just followed the recipe. I chopped the vegetables, and then added some oil I set the temperature and time specified in the recipe, and sauted them. The smell was Great.
Then I added the meat and, 5 minutes later, the wine. I was supposed to add 50 ml of wine, just over a tablespoon. I poured the wine into a tablespoon, and then added a bit more. Later, I remembered that the measuring cup that comes with the TM is 100 ml, and there is a nice raised line half way up. I could have used that! Something to remember for next time.
5 minutes later, I added the remaining ingredients. Then I had 15 minutes to sit down and rest while the sauce was cooking.
I was running really late, so felt a bit stressed when my Mum returned with my Dad, and the other guest arrived. (mum had been with me as I was preparing the ingredients, and starting off the saude, as I had wanted her there for moral support.)
Then it was on to the potatoes. I grated the chees in the TM which only took a few seconds. I put this aside for later, and cooked the potatoes. The recipe said to add 250 g of milk, which I measured out to 250 ml in the measuring jug. The potatoes ended up being a bit wet for me, so perhaps I'll use a little less milk next time. Maybe it was the variety of potatoes I used, I don't know. I'll go on the forum tomorrow and check.
I'm really not very good at scraping bowls. The meat sauce came out OK, but I found it hard to get all the mashed potato out of the TM bowl. More practice, I suppose.
While the pie was cooking in the oven, I made the coleslaw. This was the easiest part, as all I had to do was put all the ingredients into the TM bowl and chop. It turned out really well. I think I might put a bit more lemon juice on when I dish out a serve to take to work tomorrow. The recipe said juice of half a lemon. I couldn't be bothered doing that, so bought one of those squeeze bottles of lemon juice. I put 2 healthy squeezes in, but this wasn't quite enough. Maybel I'll measure it in tablespoons next time.
The pie was cooked, and we ate. It was really good. My guests liked it as well. That makes 2 nice tasting things I've cooked within a week! (the stock will be really nice in recipes, but is way too salty on its own, so doesn't really count.)
Then it was on to the custard. I realised that I had run out of sugar, so had to use splender. The packet says to use the splender exactly the same way as sugar, i.e spoon for spoon. However the TM recipes use weights rather than measurements, so I wasn't shure whether I should use the same amount. I put 2 tablespoons of splender in, and hoped for the best.
Making a lot of mess, I weighed out the cornflour and cocoa into a bowl on my talking scales and put them aside. I put the eggs and milk into the bowl, set the time, temperature and speed and then started cooking. 3 minutes in, mum eclaimed "you haven't added the flour!". I stopped the TM, added in the four, and then cooked for a further 5 minutes. I was convinced that the custard wouldn't turn out, but it did!! It was a bit thicker than the last one I made, but it tasted great! I'm glad I didn't put any more than 2 tablespoons of splender, as it was quite sweet enough.
All in all, it was a great first experience. However, I'm absolutely exhausted! I think I'll have to work up to this cooking caper gradually. On the positive side, the only bits I found really hard were the scraping out for each dish. There weren't any real problems with heat, and I wasn't afraid at any time. I'm so happy I bought a TM.
Then, it was off to the supermarket and then home to cook dinner for my parents and a friend. When I offered yesterday to cook for my parents tonight, they laughed! I suppose this is fare enough, as I usually won't cook for myself, let alone anyone else.
My Dad chose the italian style shepherd's pie from the Every Day Cookbook (EDC) which came free with the TM. I also decided to cook chocolate custard, as I had had 2 goes at cooking custard, and I like chocolate. I also decided to hard boil 4 eggs for snacks during the coming week, and make some coleslaw for lunches.
The eggs went well. They were the easiest hard boiled eggs I'd ever cooked. All I did was put the eggs into the basket which fits inside the TM bowl on top of the blades, put 500 mls of water into the bowl, and cook for 14 minutes. The only tricky bit was getting the basket out of the bowl with the hook on the spatula. After 14 minutes of boiling, the bowl was quite hot, and it was hard to find the small hole in the basket without touching it. I might try with potmits next time and dispense with the spatula all together. I'll have to experiment a bit.
Then it was on to preparation of the ingredients for the meat sauce and the potatoes. This wasn't too hard as it just involved chopping the ingredients, and peeling those that needed peeling. I also decided to mince my own meat (because I can). This was easy. I just put in the cut up meat and pulsed it a few time. Perfect mince!
Cooking the sauce was easy. I just followed the recipe. I chopped the vegetables, and then added some oil I set the temperature and time specified in the recipe, and sauted them. The smell was Great.
Then I added the meat and, 5 minutes later, the wine. I was supposed to add 50 ml of wine, just over a tablespoon. I poured the wine into a tablespoon, and then added a bit more. Later, I remembered that the measuring cup that comes with the TM is 100 ml, and there is a nice raised line half way up. I could have used that! Something to remember for next time.
5 minutes later, I added the remaining ingredients. Then I had 15 minutes to sit down and rest while the sauce was cooking.
I was running really late, so felt a bit stressed when my Mum returned with my Dad, and the other guest arrived. (mum had been with me as I was preparing the ingredients, and starting off the saude, as I had wanted her there for moral support.)
Then it was on to the potatoes. I grated the chees in the TM which only took a few seconds. I put this aside for later, and cooked the potatoes. The recipe said to add 250 g of milk, which I measured out to 250 ml in the measuring jug. The potatoes ended up being a bit wet for me, so perhaps I'll use a little less milk next time. Maybe it was the variety of potatoes I used, I don't know. I'll go on the forum tomorrow and check.
I'm really not very good at scraping bowls. The meat sauce came out OK, but I found it hard to get all the mashed potato out of the TM bowl. More practice, I suppose.
While the pie was cooking in the oven, I made the coleslaw. This was the easiest part, as all I had to do was put all the ingredients into the TM bowl and chop. It turned out really well. I think I might put a bit more lemon juice on when I dish out a serve to take to work tomorrow. The recipe said juice of half a lemon. I couldn't be bothered doing that, so bought one of those squeeze bottles of lemon juice. I put 2 healthy squeezes in, but this wasn't quite enough. Maybel I'll measure it in tablespoons next time.
The pie was cooked, and we ate. It was really good. My guests liked it as well. That makes 2 nice tasting things I've cooked within a week! (the stock will be really nice in recipes, but is way too salty on its own, so doesn't really count.)
Then it was on to the custard. I realised that I had run out of sugar, so had to use splender. The packet says to use the splender exactly the same way as sugar, i.e spoon for spoon. However the TM recipes use weights rather than measurements, so I wasn't shure whether I should use the same amount. I put 2 tablespoons of splender in, and hoped for the best.
Making a lot of mess, I weighed out the cornflour and cocoa into a bowl on my talking scales and put them aside. I put the eggs and milk into the bowl, set the time, temperature and speed and then started cooking. 3 minutes in, mum eclaimed "you haven't added the flour!". I stopped the TM, added in the four, and then cooked for a further 5 minutes. I was convinced that the custard wouldn't turn out, but it did!! It was a bit thicker than the last one I made, but it tasted great! I'm glad I didn't put any more than 2 tablespoons of splender, as it was quite sweet enough.
All in all, it was a great first experience. However, I'm absolutely exhausted! I think I'll have to work up to this cooking caper gradually. On the positive side, the only bits I found really hard were the scraping out for each dish. There weren't any real problems with heat, and I wasn't afraid at any time. I'm so happy I bought a TM.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
It has arrived!!!
Yesterday, my tm arrived! I was so excited all day Friday that I douldn't think of anything else. E came over, and we made the mostt amazing stock concentrate from the Everyday Cookook (EDC). The smell went right through the house!
Monday, February 7, 2011
What this blog is not
This blog will not be a collection of delicious and exotic recipes. There are plenty of other blogs out there for that, and some extremely good forums. It will primarily contain my experiences learning to cook with the TM.
I do hope, though, that it might help anyone else who has a disability and who cannot cook.
I also hope that, down the track, once I have developed my skills with the TM, I may be able to add a few recipes of my own, adapted for the TM.
I do hope, though, that it might help anyone else who has a disability and who cannot cook.
I also hope that, down the track, once I have developed my skills with the TM, I may be able to add a few recipes of my own, adapted for the TM.
Introduction
This blog will detail my journey learning to cook with the Thermomix. For those who don't know what a Thermomix (or TM for short) is, please visit http://www.thermomix.com.au/.
It all started with one of those "what are you doing on the weekend" conversations with a colleague. I asked him what he was doing on the weekend, and he told me he was attending a cooking demonstration using the TM. He explained what this was, and referred me to the address above. A food processor that replaces 10 separate kitchen appliances, and also cooks! It sounded too good to be true. So, I ordered a home demo.
The home demo was awesome! The demonstrator, E, made sorbet, chopped coleslaw and blended dip in under a minute each. She kneaded bread in 2 minutes, and cooked the most delicious custard in 7! Then, to top it all off, E made the nicest vegetable risotto I've ever had in 20 minutes! I was completely sold!
It was all so easy and so delicious that I decided that if I could have a go myself at using the TM, and liked the results I was able to achieve with it, I would order one.
A week and a half later, E came to my house with the TM. We had decided to cook beef stir fry.
I should backtrack a bit here, and say that I am totally blind, and absolutely hate anything to do with cooking. I burnt myself when I was young, and have always been terified of heat, so have never been able to use the stove, electric frypan etc. I can use the microwave, but have never been happy with the results when cooking meat, especially beef.
Consequently, I have absolutely no confidence in the kitchen. E was the perfect person to help me make my first stir fry, as she absolutely exuded calm. Nothing was a problem - not even the mess I made!
Anyway, getting back to the stir fry, It was so easy. I mixed up the marinade, poured it over the cut up meat and julienned the vegies (a new experience for me).
Then, I chopped the ginger and garlic in the TM, a simple matter of turning a dial to the right speed (with E's help), and cooked it with a press of a few buttons - easy! The bowl didn't even get hot! The smell of the ginger and garlic cooking was fantastic, and I was able to stand and listen to it sizzle without being afraid, as it was all safely contained in the lidded bowl.
Then I added the beef, and then after a few minutes of cooking, added the vegies. After 2 more minutes, it was done! It was delicious, and my house was filled with a delightful cooking smell - a first!
This was the first thing I had ever cooked without yelling, tears or alcohol, and the first thing I had ever cooked that tasted really good. I can't wait for my TM!!!
It all started with one of those "what are you doing on the weekend" conversations with a colleague. I asked him what he was doing on the weekend, and he told me he was attending a cooking demonstration using the TM. He explained what this was, and referred me to the address above. A food processor that replaces 10 separate kitchen appliances, and also cooks! It sounded too good to be true. So, I ordered a home demo.
The home demo was awesome! The demonstrator, E, made sorbet, chopped coleslaw and blended dip in under a minute each. She kneaded bread in 2 minutes, and cooked the most delicious custard in 7! Then, to top it all off, E made the nicest vegetable risotto I've ever had in 20 minutes! I was completely sold!
It was all so easy and so delicious that I decided that if I could have a go myself at using the TM, and liked the results I was able to achieve with it, I would order one.
A week and a half later, E came to my house with the TM. We had decided to cook beef stir fry.
I should backtrack a bit here, and say that I am totally blind, and absolutely hate anything to do with cooking. I burnt myself when I was young, and have always been terified of heat, so have never been able to use the stove, electric frypan etc. I can use the microwave, but have never been happy with the results when cooking meat, especially beef.
Consequently, I have absolutely no confidence in the kitchen. E was the perfect person to help me make my first stir fry, as she absolutely exuded calm. Nothing was a problem - not even the mess I made!
Anyway, getting back to the stir fry, It was so easy. I mixed up the marinade, poured it over the cut up meat and julienned the vegies (a new experience for me).
Then, I chopped the ginger and garlic in the TM, a simple matter of turning a dial to the right speed (with E's help), and cooked it with a press of a few buttons - easy! The bowl didn't even get hot! The smell of the ginger and garlic cooking was fantastic, and I was able to stand and listen to it sizzle without being afraid, as it was all safely contained in the lidded bowl.
Then I added the beef, and then after a few minutes of cooking, added the vegies. After 2 more minutes, it was done! It was delicious, and my house was filled with a delightful cooking smell - a first!
This was the first thing I had ever cooked without yelling, tears or alcohol, and the first thing I had ever cooked that tasted really good. I can't wait for my TM!!!
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