Update from thermie land

Well, as it nears that fabulous time of year, my husband told me he has two surprises for me! My heart was racing! What letter do they start with??? 

His response?

T!

Oh be still my heart!?! 

"Is the next letter H?" I ask

Yes he responds!

This could mean only one of two things! He either got me a thermomix or that giant Thor totem from the cinemas!!!

Which did I want more? I couldn't decide! 

I look on the lounge...

There is a box... Not quite big enough to fit thor... But possibly a thermie!

I open it up to find.....

This.

 A no name imitation thermie. (Aka thermoblend)

I can't complain. I know we don't have the $2K we need to buy a thermie but it's still my aim! So anyhow as you can see, I have opened it and it is currently in my kitchen cooking some stock! So you will get to see a bit more action from my blog! First thing on the menu? That Chinese pepper chicken dish I have been craving (and failing to replicate in my fry pan!) but it does mean I *should* be able to whip up a mean sorbet for Xmas!!!

Merry Xmas to you all and keep your fingers crossed for me!

P.S. He got me the Thor totem as well! He is a good husband!

And i'm back...

Well after a bit of a break, I am Back!
If you follow me on facebook, you would have seen me post (a few weeks back) a pic of the Sticky Date and Custard... My Thermiexpert Julie had it on my list of Must Cooks, and boy was she correct!

The recipe is actually almost identical to the recipe i use, which was provided to me many many moon ago by the fabulous Kaz. But Gosh Darn It, Thermie whipped it up with so much ease! It didn't even take that long to bake in the Oven, but Mel Mel assures me it was because I was using a Gas Oven ... apparently we can't get Gas where we live unless we want bottles... Booooo :( 

So I went up to visit Mum with my kids for the weekend and invited Mel Mel and Jibbles up for Dinner... Made them the asian chicken thing and we had Sticky Date and custard for Dessert. Mum was super impressed with Thermie, and kept asking me what else can it do??? Mum was keen to cook bacon and eggs using Thermie the next morning, so I imagine when i get my own thermie, Mumsy will be down here testing it out :)

I will start uploading recipes once i have my own thermie, so any of your Thermomix Lovers be sure to follow me on facebook for the latest blog updates (www.facebook.com/thermieandme)

So my thermie Demo is on Sep 7 and i can not wait! I am trying to convince Mr MBBT it would be a good idea for me to become a consultant :) Anyone want to buy a Thermie? 

Home Made Yogo? Are you for Real?

Yes Thermie Lovers, I am.

Tonight we made Chocolate Custard and it was delllllissh! Miss Boo assisted in every step of making it, so of course, she thought it was the bestest thing ever.... Super easy to make and i simply got up half way through dinner and turned Thermie to Speed 4. 7 minutes later, we had Chocolate Custard...

It was super yummy, and again, super easy to make.

Here is the recipe:
150g raw sugar
50g bakers flour
500g milk
25g cocoa
2 eggs.

mix the sugar and flour on speed 9 for 20 seconds
add all other ingredients and cook for 7 minutes on speed 4.

Damn that was easy ;)

And in other exciting news, during my Google adventures today, i found recipes for Crumpets & Condensed Milk.... (Picture me sitting at my computer, Homer Simpson style with drool coming out my mouth... oooohhhhhhh sooooooo yummy)

So since i am only working 1/2 day tomorrow, i intend to make those two items... I have about 4.5kg of bakers flour left, so expect to see some carb loaded recipes next week!

I'm also headed to the nock for the weekend.... i think Thermie might come with me ;)

Chinese Style Chicken

Ok, since tonight was kinda of a fail, here is the recipe for the Chinese style Chicken:

2 Cloves Garlic
400g Chicken breast, diced.
chopped veg of your choice (i used Broccoli, Carrot & Zucchini)
1/2 large Onion
45g Olive Oil
45g Sweet Soy Sauce
1 tbsp themie stock
1 tbsp Corn Flour
150g Water
Fresh Cracked Pepper to Taste

Chop Garlic on Speed 7 for 5 Seconds
Add Onion, chop on Speed 4 for 4 seconds
Add oil and saute for 6 mins at varoma temp, speed 1 with vegies in the Varoma Dish. 
Insert Butterfly, add meat, soy sauce, stock and water. Cook for 8 mins @ 100 degrees, reverse speed 1.
Mix Cornflour with additional 50g water in sep bowl.
Cook for 2 mins at 100 deg on speed 1 while adding cornflour through the lid opening.
Add vegies and pepper and cook on stir speed reverse for 3 mins.

Serve with Fried or Boiled Basmati Rice.

Very Easy and Very Yummy Meal!

Day 5 - Pasta Carbonara

After an eventful day yesterday, I was unable to cook with Thermie... And all I could do was think about my pantry ingredients and what I could make tonight. Yep, I live an exciting life. 

So today we made Bread (From the Thermomix recipe Book) and Pasta Carbonara with Chicken Breast.

The Carbonara wasn't the best thing i have ever cooked, but it wasn't too bad. I tried to keep it bland in the hope that Miss Boo would eat it. That part was a success. I asked her what she would rate the meal out of 10 and she gave me a Thumbs Up and then counted to 10.

But it was too bland for Mr MBBT to eat. I assured him that if he cracked some Salt & Pepper on top, it tasted pretty good. His response was "There isn't enough salt in the Pacific Ocean"

I think that next time, i would probably add an onion and maybe 1/2 tbsp of Themie Stock. It was just missing something. I think it was the Onion and salt.

So if you are after a bland pasta, this recipe is for you!

Chop 1 clove of Garlic for 5 seconds on Speed 4.

Add 500g water, 150g thickened cream, 250g spiral pasta, chopped parsley, 3 rashers of chopped bacon, 4 chopped mushrooms, 1 tsp salt and cook for 15mins on 100, reverse stirring speed. with 2 minutes to go, add 1 beaten egg.

And that is it!

While it was all cooking, i was able to do the dishes, tidy up a bit and then come back and serve dinner! I love this thing... Still haven't convinced Mr MBBT though. I think he might be going on a starvation protest to prevent me investing in one...

The bread was good, and it was great to have the kids help me roll the dinner rolls... we done all sorts of shapes... But it was still pretty darn tasty.... I really want more custard though.... I think i will have to order 40 vanilla beans from Ebay (How bloody expensive are those things!?)

If anyone has an alternate recipe for Carbonara, i'd love to hear it <3

Day 3 - Part 2 - Pepper Chicken in the Thermomix

So initially for tonight's dinner, we were going to have Carbonara Pasta. But it seemed a bit silly since it was VERY similar to last nights dinner....
So after a quick flick through the Thermomix recipe book, I decided to do my own variation of the Chinese Pepper Steak.

It was pretty simple and i will post the recipe in another post. I also made a fried rice to have with it, which was very basic. I decided to try and experiment. And it worked out well (in my opinion. I will post Mr MBBT's review also)

Safe to say, i don't think i stuffed anything up, and again, i didn't make a total mess of the kitchen. I managed to use the basket and the steamer thingy and then the butterfly! Pretty good for day three!

So I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. I wouldn't really have called it peppery, it was closer to Chicken & Veg in Chinese Sauce... It was yummy and i would happily cook it over ordering Chinese. And it cost me ALOT less...
The Recipe pretty much consisted of:
Clove of Garlic
Onion
Sweet Soy Sauce
Chicken Breast
Corn Flour
Water
Oil
Steamed Veg
Pepper
Thermie Veg Concentrate

They are all pantry items for me, so i know i would be able to cook it at the drop of a hat.

But here are the highlights of cooking with Thermie today.
Miss Boo asked her dad what was for dinner. His Response was:
"Mum threw a thong in the Thermomix and it turned into fish & chips" 
Miss Boo ended up having Fish & Chips for tea, but i assure you, no Thongs were hurt.

I asked Mr MBBT what he thought of dinner (I was digging for positive feedback, as i know that he doesn't want to give it) His Response was:
It tasted good. I can't believe you made that with a paddle pop stick and a box of matches.

I informed him tonight I am writing a blog. So the one liners have been coming at me all evening. But the latest, and I will finish on this one was:
Hey crittle, if you throw your granny panties into Thermie, will they come out as Lingerie?

Cheeky Bugger!

Day 3 - Part 1 - Dippy Eggs

After my quick visit (which upon my reviewing, was actually 2 very enjoyable hours) at my Thermoexperts House, I was given a list of Must Cooks over the next two weeks. This list includes:

• Poached Eggs with Hollandaise Sauce.
• Sticky Date Pudding
• Torta Caprese
• Mashed Potato
• Sweet & Sour Pork
• Red Curry
• Porridge
• Lasagne Sheets
• Stroganoff
• Yoghurt
• Bread

And she insisted I make dippy eggs for the kids this morning... Which I did.

Upon serving them, I demonstrated to Bee Two how to eat them. After my second dip he was saying "No Mum It's Mine! Gatticka! Eggs!" (Gatticka is what he calls Miss Boo)

Miss Boo came running out and instantly declared "I don't like this" 5 minutes later, she is still dipping ;)

So it was another success... The only fail was, i spent so long with the kids showing them how to eat it, i forgot to serve Mr MBBT's up.... so he got chopped boiled eggs on toast.

He looked at me and said "What? Boiled Eggs on Toast?"

My Response was "Hey, you are getting breakfast in Bed. Would you like me to take it out to the kitchen?"

He quickly took a bite. Bloody Men and their silly complaints ;)

Day 2 - Caesar Risotto

Chicken Caesar Risotto

After running around Coles on Wednesday night at 9pm, i had screen shot on the trusty ole iPhone a few recipes to try.... And the first one i have tried out was Chicken Caesar Risotto.

Oddly enough, this recipe does not require bacon. It did however, require something that i hate and cannot eat.
Onion. Onion is like my kryptonite. If i get subway and they accidentally drop the teeniest bit of onion on the sub, i know before i have even eaten it. I truly hate the stuff. And it had mushrooms. another item on my gross list. 

But damn, this meal tasted great!!! Probably a bit too Parmesan cheesy for my liking, but that is just me... Even the hubby ate it....

So i learnt a few things tonight.
The vegie stock worked well!
I can walk away from Thermie and it will still cook. I wonder how long it takes to get out of that mindset?

I was able to bribe Miss Boo with Pink Ice (Strawberry Sorbet) to eat her dinner. It half worked.

Thermie made parmesan it's B***h. Seriously. It grated that thing like nothing else could!
Bee Two LOVED it.

The sorbet was pretty good too, however i'm not sure whether i made it correctly. But i will be asking my local Thermoexpert that in about 10 minutes!

I didn't take a photo because i forgot and by the time i remembered, it was all gone! That is a miracle in this house!

Day 2 = Further impressed with Thermie....
Now to convince Mr MBBT.

Alrighties, I'm off to make Custard!!! 

So this is how it begins....

So.... I have reached the stage where curiosity has the better of me and I am holding a thermomix demo.
Do I need one? My brain says yes. My bank balance says dream on.

I had only ever seen one thermomix in action... and the experience went like this:
Me: "What is that thing"
Kaz: "A thermomix" *hands me a glass of wine*
Me: "mmmmm wine"

So I called upon Kaz who has now had her thermomix for over 12 Months to say, do I need this? Because anyone who is reading this probably doesn't know Kaz, she is the best person for advice. For Anything. Even when I had a down in the dumps moment a few weeks back and cancelled my 30th because of.... let's call them "situations" with friends, she decided we would hire a bartender and drink together.
Excellent Advice.

Anyhow! She offered to lend me her Thermomix for 2 weeks. I was hesitant. Do I really want to be responsible for someone else's $1939 appliance? She insisted. I accepted.

Which brings us to tonight.

I made the stock. And stuffed it up lol. I realised 10 minutes into cooking it that, oops. I forgot to put the onion in. Anyhow it still tasted alright but SUPER Salty. And I didn't use as much salt as you are meant to!

I don't know whether it was a pass or fail... but we will soon find out!

So.... Tomorrow night we are having Caeser Risotto... Stay tuned to see how we go! Keep your fingers crossed I don't forget any vital ingredients. Like Rice. ;)