Thai Style Warm Spinach Salad (GF)

heat a medium saucepan and dry fry a few handfuls of cashews

add 2 tabs coconut oil and 1 small onion, sliced. cook stirring for a few minutes.

add 2 cloves roughly chopped garlic and stir for another minute.

add in a few cups of chopped vegies (i used eggplant, zucchini, broccoli and a whole red capsicum) and cook stirring until the vegies are cooked to your preference.

turn heat off and add in juice of one lime (or lemon), black pepper, good squeeze of stevia and some salt (or fish sauce). stir. add in lots of roughly chopped coriander and mint leaves

get a large bowl and put baby spinach in, top with vegies mix. gently mix so spinach has some dressing and some of it starts to wilt.  serve

we had ours with bbq'd pork cutlets and it was delish!

Quickest breakfast ever! (GF, TMX)

So I'm back on my carb-free diet. most of my past recipes don't strictly meet the diet i'm on unfortunately but i'm getting creative again.

breakfasts are a little boring because i can't do toast, cereal, bacon etc. so I vary between eggs in a variety of ways and then decided to go with yoghurt for something different - also for a quick breakfast at work when i haven't had time to eat before we leave for the day.

last week i went into supabarn to get nuts and seeds to put with the yoghurt and found a yummy mix already prepared! but at $10 a jar (the size of a pasta sauce jar) i realised it could only be cheaper to make it myself at home, which I've just done.

you could use this mix in anything - over salads, over the top of a casserole with cheese for a crunchy grilled topping etc

Mixed Nut and Seed Sprinkle
1 part raw almonds
1 part pepitas
1 part sunflower seeds
1 part linseeds
1/2 sesame seeds

place all in thermomix, turn to closed lid. press turbo button once or twice until your mix looks like mine - mostly chopped with a few larger pieces.

pour into jar/s.

i'm keeping mine in the fridge as i know linseeds can easily go rancid but i'm not sure if it's necessary.

Quickest Breakfast Ever!
Plain full fat organic yoghurt for one
3-4 spoonfuls of Mixed Nut and Seed Sprinkle
6 drops stevia (equivalent 2 tspns sweetener of your choice)

mix and eat!

Satay Tofu and Veg (GF)

surprisingly good, this looked like a disaster for a while (i didn't put enough coconut milk in at first and it was nearly solid!) LOL

use any veg, herbs, protein or nuts that take your fancy

about 1/3 cup almond butter (see recipe a few days ago)
1 tin coconut milk
about 10 drops stevia
about 1/2 tspn curry powder
1/2 tspn stock concentrate
juice of half a lime

heat, mixing frequently, until it thickens and gets slightly darker. let cool a bit while you prepare the rest

extra firm tofu, diced
brussels sprouts, quartered
handful of sugar snap peas, ends removed

cook lightly - steam, fry, whatever you want, cool slightly

handful of nuts, lightly toast - i used macadamias and cashews

small cucumber
half a red capsicum
fresh mint

dice / shred

mix the tofu, nuts and vegies, pour sauce over and serve

Almond Coconut Balls (GF, TMX)

These balls were actually a little too coconutty for me. but i think i'll try them again with some lemon and lime zest in them, or with some cacao nibs and cinnamon, or with hazelnut butter and cacao - yum!

270g almonds (i use the organic ones from costco)

you'll need to scrape down every so often as you make the almond butter

Grind on speed 8 until you can hear the change in sound - around 5 seconds

continue to grind on speed 6 until you can hear the sound of the engine change - around 5-10 minutes. as they grind the temperature will rise, that's normal :)

reduce the speed to speed 4 and keep going for another 5-10 minutes until it becomes almost runny and looks like peanut butter.

turn speed up to 8 for a few seconds and you're done.


add in:
80g coconut flour
35g shredded coconut
50g coconut milk
80g coconut oil
9 drops stevia

mix on speed 4 for a few seconds, roll into balls and refrigerate until firm.

homemade almond butter

Chicken and beans with mint and basil (GF)

our friend / natropath has suggested i go on an anti-candida diet and see if it helps. i'm easing onto it but made this for dinner for myself tonight, it's delicious!!!!!!!

this amount serves 2, especially if you have it with rice (which i'm not ;))

2 handfuls green beans, trimmed and chopped into bite size pieces
small red onion, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
1 tspn coconut oil
1 chicken breast, trimmed and finely sliced
lots of ground black pepper
1 tspn stock concentrate (or whatever saltiness you prefer)
little water
juice of half a lime
4-6 stalks each of vietnamese mint and basil, roughly torn

melt oil over medium high heat, fry onions, beans and nuts until vegies are just softening, place in bowl
fry chicken until nearly cooked
add all other ingredients and keep stirring until chicken is cooked through and serve

Chocolate Balls (yummo!) (GF, TMX)

Based on this recipe...

150g almonds

place in thermomix and grind on speed 8 for 10 seconds

add the remaining ingredients and chop / mix on speed 6 for 30 seconds:

120g pitted dates
1 tspn vanilla
good sprinkle salt
25g cocoa *
35g shredded coconut
15 coconut oil

roll into balls - or you can flatten into a tray, refridgerate and cut into pieces.

* I've tried grinding cacao nibs and using them but they had very little taste - i'd suggest using more if you want to try them.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Muffins

OMG i think i will have to buy some PB and try these - like a reeses muffin!!!
a recipe i found in 2003 on the 'friendly freezer' yahoo group

2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tspn butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar (this sounds like a lot - it's an american recipe so probably safe to cut back)
2 eggs
1 1/2 tspn vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup SR flour
1/2 cup milk
6 oz (170g) chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350'F (180'c)
mix PB and butter until well blended. mix in sugar, eggs, vanilla
add flour, milk and choc chips, mix until just combined.
spoon into 12 lined muffin cups
bake 20-25 mins or until muffins spring back when lightly touched in centre

updated the next day:
made these, gluten and dairy free - they are very yum and rora and i both love them! they are not like a reeses but good anyway. i used brown sugar and forgot to reduce the amount, but you definitely could.

Beef Rendang & Vegetables (GF, TMX)

well, this was the best meal i've cooked in months!!!!!

had a craving for a beef curry - was thinking thai red beef curry but then decided to go for a rendang. Used the recipe in the old EDC to cook it, but made changes based on the feedback in this thread and the recipes i had in books here and online...

served with coconut rice (just basmati with the leftover coconut cream & water to required amount of liquid) and a simple vegie dish it was utterly divine - geoff kept telling me it was restaurant standard!!

Simple Sidedish of Vegetables with Roasted Peanuts
1/4 cup whole raw peanuts
3 medium potatoes, chopped into 2" x 1" pieces, and steamed until just soft (I steamed mine over the rice)
1 tab oil
1 handful green beans, topped and tailed (drying them is a good idea)
1 red onion, cut into wedges
2 garlic cloves, peeled & roughly chopped
1 bunch asparagus, woody ends removed, but into 2" pieces
1/4 red capsicum, cut into matchstick pieces
1 tab brown sugar or other brown sweetener (agave, palm sugar etc) *
gluten free soy sauce to taste*
a little water

into a medium size saucepan or frypan place the peanuts and heat to medium. when they start to brown you will need to stir regularly. when brown all over and smelling yummy get a strong potato masher and squash them a bit so you have some smaller pieces. pour into a bowl and when they've cooled for 5 minutes remove any loose bits of skin.

heat oil. when hot add beans, fry, stirring for about 4-5 minutes. add onion and garlic and fry, stirring, for about 3-4 minutes. add the other vegetables and cook, stirring for 5 minutes.

add sugar and soy sauce and enough water to make a bit of sauce in the bottom. leave to cook for around 5 minutes, stirring once or twice.

stir peanuts through and serve top with coriander if you have any!

* if you don't need GF use ketjap manis / sweet soy sauce


Beef Rendang
Paste:
1 large red chilli, cut end off
2.5cm fresh ginger, peeled
3 cloves garlic
1 small red onion, peeled
1 tspn turmeric
20g oil
1 tspn fish sauce

Other:
4 bay leaves
1/2 tspn ground cinnamon
3 star anise
5 cardamom pods, squashed with the flat of a knife
ground pepper, to taste
25g brown sugar (or palm sugar etc)
150g coconut cream
30g dessicated coconut, browned (i did it in the same saucepan i cooked the vegies, before starting them)
500g diced beef (i used scotch fillet which worked really well, as i had no chuck etc)

place the paste ingredients EXCEPT fish sauce & oil in the thermomix (don't touch the cut edge of the chilli with your fingers - or if you do wash well and don't put your fingers near your face or eyes!) and chop for 10-15 seconds on speed 6

add oil and saute for 3 minutes at 100'c speed 3

add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl EXCEPT the meat and cook for 5 minutes at 100'c speed soft

add meat and cook for 90 - 120 minutes (you'll need to set it twice or add time as you go) at 100'c reverse speed soft

serve with coconut rice & vegetables. try not to drool too much or make too much of a pig of yourself LOL

Asian Noodle Salad - Gluten Free

since being a gluten free house we'd only eaten our old fave Asian Noodle Salad once - and it sucked :( it was really bleh. so I was very excited to have found a magic ingredient to make it so good again!!!

yay for changs for making GF fried noodles!

1/2 chinese cabbage (wom buk) or savoy cabbage, shredded finely
4-6 green onions / shallots - finely sliced
100g roasted slivered almonds or pinenuts (I used 1 whole packet)
1 pkt chang's gluten free fried rice noodles

dressing:
1/4 cup white vinegar
approximately 2-3 tablespoons agave nectar - you can get this in your supermarket's health food section, or a health food store (this is the magic ingredient btw!)
1 tab gluten free soy sauce
a few tbspns of sesame oil
around 2 tabs sesame seeds

combine all dressing ingredient and shake well
mix all ingredients except the noodles. add the noodles and mix well just before serving.

mmmmmmmmmmmmm

PS: the other salad is potato, bean and bacon salad whcih is pretty good too :)




posted by Karen on http://brazen20au.blogspot.com/

Spiced Mixed Nuts (GF, TMX)

converted from this recipe on Taste

1-2 garlic cloves, peeled
25g honey
15g olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt flakes ( i used my ground salt and seaweedy stuff i made in the tmx ages ago)
560g mixed nuts of your choice - i used 140g peanuts, 140g mixed nuts & 280g cashews


1. Preheat oven 150°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
2. Place garlic clove in Thermomix and chope for 5-10 seconds. scrape down sides of bowl.
3. Add honey, olive oil, garlic, chilli powder, paprika and salt flakes and nuts. Combine for 11 minutes 100'c reverse speed 1
4. Spread nut mixture on the prepared baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool completely before serving.

Sugared Cashews pictorial (GF, TMX)

The second batch before going in the oven.


The first batch after being in the oven.


They look - and taste :D - fantastic!!!


if you missed it the recipe is here :)

posted by Karen on http://brazen20au.blogspot.com/

Sugared Cashews (GF, TMX)

based on this recipe


50g water
100g sugar
250g cashews
1 tbsp sugar extra
1 tspn cinnamon or other spices to taste


1. Weigh 50ml water and 100g sugar into Thermomix jug.
2. Add 250 g cashews.
3. reverse, speed 2, 100C, for 9 minutes without the measuring cup in the lid. The cashews won't be dry but they will start to disintegrate if cooked for much longer
4. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp sugar (and the spices if used) over the cashews and distribute with only 3-4 stirs.
6. bake in an oven (around 120-150'c) for around 10-15 minutes until golden brown - when you can smell them it's time to take the out :)

Photos coming later!

off to try some savoury ones....


posted by Karen on http://brazen20au.blogspot.com/

Chicken Korma (GF, TMX) rough guide only

i was craving butter chicken last night but had no fennel seeds so decided to do chicken korma instead. I"m finding now that homemade just beats takeaway hands down, the bought ones are just too greasy and oily to eat and enjoy.

anyway, this is the second time i've made this in the thermomix and i had to start from scratch again because i hadn't written down the instructions last time. i'm sure there'd be a chicken korma in the new indian cookbook but i wouldn't know as i didn't get one before they went out of stock :(

WARNING: this is a very very rough "recipe", please don't make this and think that it's a failure if it doesn't work perfectly - it still needs tweaking! (feedback welcome)

2 tabs cashews
boiling water to cover
1/4 tspn saffron threads (or 1/4 tspn turmeric)
boiling water to cover
1 tab ghee or oil
pinch nutmeg or blade mace
good pinch ground cloves or 5 cloves
10-12 cardmom pods, lightly crushed
1 cinnamon stick
1 medium onion, peeled & quartered
1" ginger, peeled and halved
3-6 garlic cloved, peeled
around 600g chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-1.5" pieces
1/2 tspn chili flakes
1 tspn ground coriander
1/2 tspn garam masala
approx 1/3 cup coconut milk
approx 1/3 cup plain yoghurt
fresh coriander to serve

put cashews in a small bowl and add boiling water to just cover, sit for half an hour
put saffron in a small bowl and add boiling water to just cover

heat ghee or oil 1 minute 100' speed soft
add nutmeg or mace, cloves, cardmom pods, and cinnamon stick. saute for 2 minutes 100' speed soft
remove cardamom pods and cinnamon stick and add onion. scrape down sides and chop speed 5 for 5 seconds or until chopped. saute 3 minutes 100' speed soft
add cashews (reserve water) and chop speed 6 for 5-10 seconds until cashews are finely chopped
fry for 3 minutes 100' speed soft
add chicken along with all the spices (chilli, ground coriander, garam masala, cardamom pods and cinnamon stick and fry for 5 minutes on varoma reverse speed soft
add the cashew water and cook for 10 minutes 100' reverse speed soft (add more water if it starts to stick)
add coconut milk and yoghurt and cook for another 8 minutes 100' reverse speed soft

sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve

note: i felt the chicken wasn't quite done enough, i will probably try cooking it longer next time (but i also had bigger pieces)

based on recipe from Curry

Butterscotch Almond Cake (GF, TMX)

based on this recipe - yes I'm fete cooking again :) so far I've made a batch of vanilla cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes and this recipe. might do something else but hopefully it should be enough!

notes from the original recipe:

This cake is big (very big!) and beautiful and is, IMO, better the next day (or when cooled at least), as that gives the butterscotch flavour a chance to develop.

It's very good as a dessert cake (with a dollop of cream), also freezes well. Keeps well for a few days due to the amount of butter.

BUTTERSCOTCH ALMOND CAKE

Serves 16

140g almonds
375g softened butter, chopped
410g Gluten free SR flour
320g brown sugar (light brown sugar, not dark brown sugar)
6 eggs
55g honey
320g milk

Preheat oven to 140C. You'll need one large cake tin, or several smaller ones.

Place almonds in the tmx bowl. Make into meal by chopping for 30 seconds speed 8

Add all other ingredients and mix by starting on speed 4 and turning up to speed 5 over 30 seconds. scrape sides down and mix on speed 5 for another 5 seconds.

Pour into tins and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes or until skewer inserted in middle comes out clean (cover cake with foil if over-browning during cooking.) Check after 1 hour

Let cake cool before cutting it or turning it out.

Serve with thickened cream.

Enjoy!

Recipe is from SuperFood Ideas, August 08.

BBQ Pork Rice Paper Rolls (GF)

I just made these for dinner and they were sooooo delicious! i was shocked to find nothing left at the end of the meal! i wanted to record what i put on the pork so I didn't forget ;)

1 pork fillet
3-4 chopped garlic cloves
juice of half a lemon
ground black pepper
around 2 tabs fish sauce
1 tab brown sugar
around 1+ tspn five spice powder

mix all ingredients and marinade from 30 mins to overnight
BBQ fillet until cooked to your preference
let rest 5 minutes then slice

1/2 cup raw peanuts
1/2 bottle gluten free hoisin sauce (we used Ayams brand)
around 1 tspn sesame oil
rice paper
1/2 packet rice vermicelli
1 large cucumber, julienned
1 carrot, grated (optional, i don't like this but my family do)
shredded lettuce
fresh coriander
fresh vietnamese mint leaves
fresh mint leaves

dry fry the peanut over a medium heat. let cool then rub the skins off and chop coarsely
place in a small bowl, add hoisin sauce and sesame oil and mix well

dip 2 rice papers into a bowl of boiling water (obviously don't let small children do this part!)
place on a plate and top with small amounts of each filling inlcuding the sauce mix, fold the bottom side over, fold the ends in and then tightly roll up. eat :)

NB usually you woud have a dipping sauce with the rolls, but we find this the easiest way to eat them with children :)

video on how to roll ;)

Divine Smoothie

this one really is tooo delicious to be breakie!! it's F&V shopping day today so i've run out of my usual ingredients!

cashews, more than usual (maybe 100-150g)
2 frozen bananas
3-4 dates
1 dessertspoonful of cocoa
rice milk to desired amount

add everything but milk to thermomix, crush on speed 8 for 40 seconds. add milk and crush another 20-30 seconds. serve (serves 2)

edited after eating to say that this is good enough for dessert. i think you could even try freezing it in icecubes, then re-crushing and serving as icecream, or even making really thick and serving as a creamy dessert. mmmmmmmmmmmm

Breakfast Shakes

inspired by the threads on the forum I've been making some breakfast smoothies a few times a week (I'm a bit bored with porridge finally lol)

Here are the threads:
http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=1337.0
http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=1343.0

here's what i've been throwing in mine:
4-5 strawberries, hulled
1 large banana, peeled (frozen is fine)
a good handful of cashews
sprinkle of sunflower seeds (maybe 10g)
some chia seeds
a few stalks of soemthing green - i've used english spinach before, and used parsley today (i promise you can't taste it at all!)
some seaweedy stuff (i use the nori wrappers torn up but i'm sure there's better stuff ou can buy)
and milk of your choice (i use my tmx rice milk) - add enough to get your desired consistency
i think some fresh juice might be nice in it too, or a little soda water

i generally put everything but the milk in and whizz it up for 30-60 secs on speed 8 or so, then add the milk and do another 30-60 secs on speed 6-8, then serve. delish!

Rice Milk

I am attempting to be dairy free (not succeeding really, i love my dairy so much, plus i keep forgetting it is in foods such as pesto etc lol) and have switched to rice milk in preference to soy milk which I'd rather avoid in any quantity.

This milk is really nice - i do find it separates so isn't great for coffee (i drink it with a teaspoon now so i can keep stirring lol) but it is lovely for everything else :)

it's from Jo at Quirky Cooking who i MUST add to my blog list! (i keep saying that but i've been totally slack at updating my blog lately)

Rice Milk
50g brown rice
30g raw cashews
960g filtered water
1 tablespoon grapeseed (or other mild flavoured) oil
30g maple syrup
pinch of salt

Place rice in dry TM bowl and grind for 1 minute speed 8. Add cashews and grind until it stops hitting the sides (30-60 seconds)

Add remaining ingredients and cook at 60 degrees, 7 minutes, speed 4

Puree on speed 8 for 40 secs, then strain into jug (i have washed out an couple of old 2L milk bottles and use those). It will need a really good shake before each use!

you can see some of Jo's tips for making this here

Elana's Nutty Bread (GF, TMX)

breakfast this morning for Rora, Geoff and myself was Elana's nutty bread. it was nice though i forgot i can't eat nuts and it didn't go quite how i thought it would - i was supposed to "pour the batter" into the tin, but it was so thick and stiff even my spatula wouldn't get it out of the thermomix and i had to use a hard spoon to get it out!

anyway, here are the quantities in weight for the thermomix. i won't put a method cause it's pretty self explanatory :)

210g almond flour (i have never seen actual almond flour so i ground almonds until just before they became paste)
95g arrowroot (or tapioca) flour
40g flax seed meal
1/2 tspn sea salt
1/2 tspn bicarb soda
4 eggs
1 tspn rapadura sugar
1 tspn apple cider vinegar
35g walnuts (i put them in whole with the dry ingredients and mixed with the blades, not reverse)
65g chopped roasted macadamias
40g pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
40g sunflower seeds
35g sesame seeds


rora and geoff really liked it (rora LOVES nuts) and there was none left after breakfast. it didn't make a very big quantity so you either need a small tin or double the mix.

Carrot Cake, the gluten free version (TMX)

I've just slightly updated this from the original thermomix recipe with a few changes including weights for everything i could!!! nothing drives me crazier than thermomix recipes i have to use cups to measure for lol (and yes, i have been a culprit too ;))

BRAZEN'S GLUTEN FREE THERMOMIX CARROT CAKE

170-190g carrot, chopped into 1" chunks
60g walnuts

130g sugar
130g oil (I use grapeseed)
160g applesauce (make in thermo, I freeze mine in small portion-sized containers)
3 eggs
1/2 tspn salt
1 heaped tspn baking soda (bicarb)
1 heaped tspn gluten free baking powder
1 heaped cinnamon or mixed spice
240g gluten free plain flour


place carrot in thermomix, chop on speed 5 for approx 10-15 seconds. remove.
place wanlnuts in bowl, chop on speed 4 for approx 10-15 seconds, place in bowl with carrot.

place butterfly in thermo.
combine sugar and oil on speed 4 for approx 10-15 seconds. scrape sides down, add applesauce and mix on speed 4 for another 10-15 seconds.
reduce speed to 2 and add eggs one at a time through top and beat till smooth.
add dry ingredients and mix on speed 2 for around 10-15 seconds.
add in carrots and mix on speed 2 for 5-10 seconds.

pour into a greased cake tin and bake in a mod. slow over 160-180'c (325-350'F) for 1 hour.