Hot Cross Buns

As we pull fresh HOT Hot Cross Buns out of the oven on Good Friday, I am so grateful again that I can provide such lovely food so easily, preservative free and with the ingredients I choose to add.  They taste soooooo good and cost a fraction of the cost of buying them, especially preservative free (even using organic sultanas).  The recipe is found in the Everyday Cookbook.

I have made a few batches now - this batch was made using dairy free and spelt flour and rapadura sugar as the sweetener.  The dough had just been kneaded and ready to rise - it looks a little different to Bakers Flour version.

Today's batch I just used rice milk instead of milk and rapadura as the sugar component.  They rose to be quite a bit bigger than these pictured and were super light and fluffy.  Been a busy morning between packing to move, and making, all in the Thermomix: Eggs for Breakfast, Loaf of bread for lunch sandwiches, Fresh butter spread from cream, Rice Milk, a birthday cake for my son's birthday tomorrow, and a batch of Hot Cross Buns!  And no I haven't been in the kitchen all morning!So easy and so fresh!  Enjoy your Easter long weekend!!!

Corn Fritters

A quick and easy lunch idea.  Corn fritters with smoked salmon and salad.

These are great for kids also, and because you weigh in your ingredients, no making extra mess!

This is a basic recipe that I put together, so feel free to make it tastier by adding other grated veggies etc - these ones on their own are quite "boring" but I love them with smoked salmon and salad.

Although I have pictured them with not much salmon and just tomato and lettuce, usually I would serve them with more salmon and an avocado, red onion and tomato salad and maybe a little dressing if desired.  I am allergic to avocado but it's healthy and great for the kids!  Maybe leave out the red onion for them though!

And make them dairy free by using an alternative milk.  I made mine with spelt flour, so you may have to adjust the ratio of milk to flour slightly depending on how large your egg is and which flour you use.  You don't want them so runny that they don't hold together, but you don't want them too thick either!!!

To the bowl add:
1 egg - beat for 6 seconds on Speed 4

Add:
90g Spelt Flour
80g Milk
pinch salt
1/2 tsp Bicarb Soda

Mix for 4 seconds on Speed 4

Add:
230g corn kernels

Mix for 8 seconds (or until combined) on Reverse + Speed 2.

Then just fry in the frying pan until golden on each side.

A Healthy Chocolate Alternative

This is a super easy recipe based on the Chocolate Alternative recipe in the Taste of Vegetarian Cookbook.  It is fantastic because it allows you to have a treat that has nothing bad in it.  And as usual, because you make it yourself, you can choose high quality ingredients - organic, preservative free etc.  And it's yummy!

I use almonds but you can use any combination of nuts.

200g almonds
250g pitted dried dates

65g desiccated coconut (mine is sulphur free - no preservatives)

20g Cacao powder or organic cocoa.

1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt or quality salt

20g raw honey (find in Health food shops or buy through co-op)

70g coconut oil (cold pressed, unrefined, again Health food shops or co-op)

Grind nuts for 8 seconds on speed 7. Set aside

Chop dates, coconut, cacao, salt and honey for 30 seconds Speed 7.

Add nuts, add coconut oil and mix for 20 seconds on speed 5, or until completely mixed. 

Press mixture into slice tin and set in refrigerator.  

Chop into squares for your chocolate fix!

This is also a dairy free chocolate option (as long as your cocoa doesn't have milk solids - check label).

Breakfast - Spelt Pancakes and juice!

For easy breakfasts with the Thermomix, we do lots of porridge, lots of steamed eggs (either sunny side up in the Varoma on baking paper, or in little cups/ moulds in Varoma) or eggs in the rice basket (instructions in Everyday Cookbook), or we do green chocolate smoothies with ground sesame seeds and linseeds, banana, baby spinach, cacao powder and ice.  Another easy option is a quick pancake mix.  And I LOVE the fact that the Thermomix has scales built in.  Really.  It makes so much difference to your food prep time, and your washing up!!!  Cooking takes a lot less effort somehow!

I have found a basic spelt, dairy free pancake recipe that I use, but I would still like to tweak it a little before posting the recipe.  But I served these with a fresh breakfast juice of orange, pineapple and carrot which was blended with ice for 2 minutes.  This breaks down the fruit and makes it more readily absorbable (is that a real word??!!!!) and all the fibre is incorporated.  Yummy, fresh and full of nutrients and vitamins for you.  Juicing in the Thermomix is all about experimenting and finding what you like.  There is some information in the Everyday Cookbook on how to go about some different options.  For our orange and spinach juice (or just orange juice) I just peel a few oranges, throw in some baby spinach, add some water, some ice and blend for about 10 seconds, leaving some "bits" in it as usually I don't like a thick blended juice as much.  Or if you would like more of a boost juice style juice, or need some sweetener in it, then follow the first part of the sorbet recipe (but lessen the sugar), but don't add the eggwhite or the second batch of ice, just add a little extra water.  You can throw in the citrus fruits peeled and whole (or a large orange I would break in half before adding it in), but if you would like to avoid the "tart" or bitter taste later after juicing, then try removing all the pips and make sure all the pith is removed.

Extreme Brownies

Ok.  I admit.  This is not the real healthy me coming out.  But in the interests of still using the best of ingredients, I have done these using Rapadura, Cacao and Spelt flour (this makes them quite expensive to make!).  But you can use normal sugar/brown sugar, normal cocoa, and normal plain flour if you like.  But there is still dark chocolate and a decent serving of butter, so yeah, not really ticking any healthy boxes around here.  I am just trying to cover all bases for people searching for recipes ;)  Recipe found here.

So if you need to "bring a plate" or give a little thank you gift, you absolutely cannot go past these!!!  They are absolutely divine, and bring the words "these can NOT be good for me" with every bite that you take.  But you will take more.  I guarantee it.

It's a no fail recipe.  I don't do step 3 (chopping the chocolate in the bowl), too many "setting asides" for my liking!  So while you do step 4, which is melting the butter for 2-3 minutes, I just break the chocolate into squares.  Then continue on your merry way.  Quickest, easiest, yummiest brownies ever.  I don't know whether it's just my oven (ever so unreliable), but these have the best crisp top and dense moist filling.  Yum!

Yes, I had cut it while it was still warm so it broke apart (best time to eat).
Yes, I only put 4 little odd pieces on the plate.
Yes, the rest may have been eaten.

But do only make these to give away.  Or maybe as a once a year VERY special treat.  Because you can't stop at one piece....  But you will get compliments from your recipients!

Shepherd's pie

I am really really enjoying the Travelling with Thermomix cookbook.   So far I have tried the Caesar Salad, Lemon Chicken and Shepherd's pie out of that cookbook and we have liked all of them.  The Lemon chicken was really nice and even cooked chicken legs in the bowl of the Thermomix, so a cost effective meat dish!

But back to Shepherd's pie!  I bought 500g of diced lamb for $8 (reduced because it was about to go past use by date!) so I didn't even need to dice it to make the mince.  Sliced mushrooms, onion, carrot, garlic, tomatoes.. then of course the mashed potato topping.  The potatoes steam in the Varoma while the mince filling is cooking in the bowl for 35 minutes after tomatoes have cooked down for 5 minutes, then you put the potatoes into the bowl and "mash".  All into the oven for 25-30 and all done.  A filling and delicious meal.  I probably spent about 15-20 minutes during that time where I was peeling and cutting potatoes, tomatoes etc, so a good one to do if you have some time early in the afternoon then leave the Thermomix to do it's role, and the oven then to finish off while you clean the kitchen/talk a walk/have a sleep!! I wish....

Pavlova

In the interest of providing a healthy balance of mains and desserts ;) here is a Thermomix pavlova.

After making ice cream etc, you may end up with leftover eggwhites.  This pavlova used about 5 smallish eggwhites.

I used a recipe from www.recipecommunity.com.au and I thought it was a lovely tasting pavlova.  I know some people like their pavlovas with varying consistencies/crunches/sponginess!!!  But we all liked this one just as it was.

You warm the eggwhites to 50C too which is fantastic if they are straight from the fridge.

The trick to using the Thermomix for eggwhites, is that your bowl, lid and lid seal, and butterfly must be very clean.  Any grease will not go down well!  And because we use the thermomix for lots of main meals with oil etc, you really need to clean it well.  You can also do a vinegar rinse which will help as well.  Doing this for the lid seal and butterfly is a very good idea!

So, with butterfly in, you beat the eggwhites.  As you gradually add the sugar, you can sit it on the lid and just slowly "push" more through hole where the MC would usually be.

Here is a picture just after I have removed the butterfly (you can see the line where it was sitting).

Then pile how you like, ready to pop in the oven

And decorate with cream (whipped in Thermomix) and fruit as desired.  You really have to watch cream in the Thermomix!  Depending how fresh the cream is, it may only take 45 seconds, so I always take the MC off after I start whipping so that I can watch the cream on the side of the bowl thicken up.

We just did this one quickly as it was part of dessert for Friday night family dinner - and it was already cut and a dodgy photo was taken with the iPhone!

A Delicious twist you can do if you only have frozen strawberries is to add other fresh fruit and make a batch of Berry Coulis from the Everyday Cookbook to be added in.  Absolutely DIVINE!!!!  Another idea is fresh berries and the Lemon Butter to drizzle over also!  Yum!