Chocolate & Coconut Slice

Last week I needed something a bit extra for DD's lunchbox and whizzed up this yummy slice. It was so easy at I ended up taking half of it to work for our post lunch sugar hits...

Ingredients:
Base
125g unsalte butter
100g brown sugar
80g coconut
65g plain flour
30g self raising flour
1 tablespoon cocoa

Icing
150g sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon soft buter
2 tablespoons milk (approx)

Preperation:

1. Add Sugar for icing to bowl and grind on speed 10 for 20 seconds to make icing sugar. Set aside.
2. Add butter to bowland melt for 2 mins, 60C on speed 2.
3. Add all dry ingredients and mix on speed 7 for 20 seconds.
4. With blades moving speed 5, add egg through the hole in the lid and mix for another 20 seconds.
5. Press base into greased 28x18cm tin.
6. Bake for 20mins at 180C. 
7. Whilst baking prepare icing. Add icing sugar, cocoa, buter and  tablespoon of milk into bowl and mix on speed 5 for 10 seconds. Add extra milk if required until it is a thick paste.
8. Spread base with icing immediatly, sprinkle with extra coconut and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Shall post a picture later today.

Spicy Chicken & Sweet Potato

Somehow, I manage to find recipes to feed a crowd... must be in my genes from the days that Nan fed the 8 in her family, foster kids and farm hands... You can only imagine how much easier life would have been with a Thermomix!!

Is anyone else always over catering??

This is a tried and true Donna Hay recipe that I used to cook up in the oven.  After the first time I had converted this to the Thermomix I was suprised how fresh the flavours were but had taken it for granted UNTIL... recently trying to save time I thought I'd bake this in the oven again while I had the rice and veggies steaming in the TMX. How wrong I was! Not only did it take much longer in the oven to cook through, the flavour was destroyed. How disappointing. So from here on it, it's a TMX only recipe for me. Given the large quantity too, it freezes really well for those nights you just don't want to cook.  Hope you enjoy it too...

Spicy Chicken & Sweet Potato

Feeds about 6

Ingredients:
1.2kg chicken thighs (I used de-boned and skinless)
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
500g sweet potato, peeled and chopped (if medium into 8 pieces)
1/2 tablespoon veggie stock concentrate
1/2 cup water
1x 400g can of crushed tomatoes

Preparation:
1/ Mix olive oil, chilli flakes, sweet paprika, cumin and coriander together.
2/ Toss chicken in oil mixture to coat.
3/ Layer chicken and sweet potato in Varoma, leaving enough space in the base for steam to move through the Varoma.
4/ In the bowl add the veggie stock concentrate, water and crushed tomatoes.
5/ Cook for 45 minutes, speed 1 at Varoma Temp.
6/ When cooked place chicken and sweet potato in Thermo server and pour over the tomato sauce.
Serve with TM Steamed Rice and Vegies.

Tips/Hints:
This recipe could easily be stretched to feed a few more mouths and more chicken could be placed in the Varoma.

Afghani Lamb & Spinach

Here's another lamb recipe I recently discovered whilst trying to use up a few trays of chops (it's actually amazing how little actual meat is on a chop... )

Afghani Lamb and Spinach Curry
Feeds: 6-8 people

Ingredients:

Zest 1 lemon

1 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1kg lamb shoulder, trimmed, diced into 3cm pieces

4 cloves of garlic

1 large brown onion, peeled and quartered

2 teaspoons ground tumeric

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

400g can chopped tomatoes

2 cups of beef stock (or 2 cups of water with 1 tablespoon of Vegie Stock Concentrate)

350g spinach or kale or combination - chopped
1/3 cup (45g) toasted slivered almonds

Preparation:

1. Place lemon zest in bowl and grate on speed 9 for 20 seconds (stopping mid way to scrape down). Set aside.
2. Add garlic to bowl and chop speed 9 for 10 seconds. Reduce speed to speed 5 and drop onion onto moving blades for 5 seconds. Set aside.
3. Heat 1/2 of the oil in the bowl and heat for 1min 30 seconds on Varoma at speed 1. Add lamb in batches (I did batches of 1/3 at a time) and cook for 3 mins Varoma, Reverse Speed 1 to brown meat. Set aside.
4. Return garlic and onion mixture to bowl along with spices and cook for 3 mins, 100C on speed 1 1/2.
5. Add lamb, tin of tomatoes (undrained) and stock. Cook on 100C, speed REVERSE 1 1/2 for 60mins without the MC in place (sit the basket on top to stop splattering). This will help the sauce thicken. About 10 minutes before the end add lemon rind.
6. Tip into serving bowl (this makes about 3 - 31/2 litres so if using Thermoservers you would need 2) over spinach and stir. Sit until spinach has wilted.
7. Serve curry on steamed rice with almonds sprinkled over the top.

Tips/Hints:

• This is an adapted Womans Weekly recipe.
• We cut the Cayenne Pepper right back to 2 quick shakes. The curry was quiet mild - and the flavours more even the following day.
• The lemon rind certainly lifts the flavours and is lovely in there.

Nepalese Meatball Curry

Welcome! This is my very first posting and I hope to add a couple in the next week or two and add some recently converted Thermomix Recipes and update you with what is happening with Thermomix. I hope to at least send out something on a monthly basis... so we'll see how it goes.

Having an abundance of Lamb in the freezer that needs to be used up I've been going through my "old" (non TMX) recipe books looking for inspiration. Thanks to a Woman's Weekly cookbook I have converted this Nepalese Meatball Curry, which is quiet mild & makes a large quantity (6-8 people).

Meatball Ingredients:

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 small white onion (peeled and quartered)

3 cloves of garlic

5 cm piece of ginger (25g) peeled and sliced

750g lamb mince

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 fresh long red chilli (we removed the seeds for a milder version)

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 cup fresh coriander

2 tbs breadcrumbs

Curry Sauce:

1 tbs vegetable oil

1 medium white onion, peeled and quartered

1 clove garlic

3 cm piece of ginger (25g) peeled and sliced

1 tbs coriander stems and roots

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground fenugreek

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

1 tsp ground turmeric

2x 400g can crushed tomatoes

1 cup of beef stock (or 1 cup water + 1 tsp veggie stock concentrate)

1/4 cup lemon juice

Method:

Put chilli, coriander, garlic, ginger and onion into TMX bowl and cut on speed 7 for 10 seconds. Add oil and saute for 3 mins, speed 1, on Varoma temp. Let cool for 10 mins.

Add all other meatball ingredients and mix on Reverse, Speed 4, using the spatula until all combined. Put aside in another bowl and clean TMX bowl ready for the curry sauce.

Place coriander stems and roots, garlic and onions to the TMX bowl and chop on speed 7 for 10 seconds. Scrape down with spatula and chop again on speed 7 for 5 seconds. Add oil and saute for 3 mins, speed 1, at 100C.

Add spices and saute for 1 min, speed 1, 100C.

Add tomatoes and stock. Cook for 30 mins, speed 1 at 100C, with the MC at an incline position.

Meanwhile roll the meatballs using level tablespoon amounts and place them in the Varoma using both trays. Once the Curry Sauce has finished the initial 30 minutes, put the Varoma in place (with Meatballs) onto the bowl and set the TMX for another 30 mins, Speed 1 on Varoma temp.

When the second 30 minutes has finished, add the lemon juice and stir on speed 2 for 30 seconds.

Place meatballs in a serving bowl and pour Curry Sauce over the top.

Serve with TMX steamed rice and veggies.