Because I can, with a Thermomix

There are some days where I really don't want to leave the house. Generally, it is the hot days that I stay home because I just don't want to just move due to the heat and humidity. My boys are the same, they just lie under the fan and sleep. Sometimes, they wake up and move to another tile so that they stay cool and then start snoring. Yes, I have 2 dogs that snore.

Anyway, because I was home all day, I decided to go a bit crazy with my TMX and make a few things. 3 things were made that afternoon.... Chocolate chip cookies, gnocchi and the chocolate crust for a salted carmel chocolate tart... The gnocchi took the longest as I had to wait for the potatoes to cool down before I could start rolling. The gnocchi was for dinner and I got the recipe from Pintrest. I know I keep raving about Pintrest but it really is an great site! I coupled it with a tomato and basil sauce which I just made up. 

Anyway, below are some pictures. You can find the C.C.C and gnocchi all on Pintrest... I doubled the batch of gnocchi and froze half of it so we have a quick and easy meal in a few weeks.

The salted carmel chocolate tart is a Tenina special and I will post the photo of it tomorrow!

Yummy gnocchi, may not look pretty but taste fabulous

C.C.C - I was told by my friend that my cookies were even better then Dad's... :)

Salad... I love it!

I have never been a real salad person and have never understood how anyone can consider a salad as a meal. In my family, we had it at the end of a meal as a prelude to dessert. I also do not really like dressings as I have always found them too oily or too creamy. So, when I eat salad I eat the salad on its own and felt like a rabbit.. Then I had this salad and it was AMAZING. All I can say is, "Tenina, you have done it again.." 

This isn't a normal salad made with lettuce leaves. No, this is salad extraordinaire! This has all of the ingredients of comfort food.... Sausage (chorizo), artichoke and potato salad.  When ever we went back to the USA for summer holidays, we use to get fresh artichoke's from the local farm, steam them and then dip the leaves in lemon butter. YUM!!! There was always a fight over the artichoke hearts and for a long time, I was too scared to eat the hearts as my sisters told me that if you ate any of the hairs, you could die... It took until I was 12 to realise that it wasn't necessarily true, they just wanted more. 

So, back to this fantastic salad. This is from Tenina's KIS cookbook - we had it last night and my husband was a bit suspect about just having a salad for dinner. He gave it 5 out of 5 so it really must be a winner and went back for seconds. This makes enough for 4 generous servings..

Ingredients:
2 chorizo sausage, sliced thinly (I couldn't find chorizo so I used another strong sausage)
Juice 1 lemon
400g red skinned potatoes, diced
1 litre of water for steaming
320g jar artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced 
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 punnet grape tomatoes, halved
Generous handful of Italian Parsley Leaves, torn
Generous handful of mint leaves, torn
1/2 quality honey mustard dressing (also from KIS cookbook)

Do 

1. Place chorizo into frypan that has been heated to medium heat and cook with lid on, tossing occasionally until fat is rendered and chorizo is well coloured. Deglaze pan with lemon juice and allow to cook in pan whilst you prepare the remainder of the dish.
2. Prepare potatoes and place them into a steamer dish
3. Place water into TM bowl and steam the potatoes for 35 min/Varoma/speed 3. Test they are all cooked and add 10 minutes cooing time if required. (Mine where ready in 30 min)
4. Remove potatoes and place into large mixing bowl
5. Add all other salad ingredients, including the warm chorizo and juice
6. Pour dressing over salad, toss and just dive in!

Cookies, yummy, yummy Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cookie!

It is gluten free, it is dairy free and it is a Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cookie!

Every since I purchased my Thermomix last year and then discovered Pintrest

and Instagram, I discovered the thermomix community and have found so many

wonderful blogs and recipes. Recently I have discovered that gluten and I are not

very compatible.Jo Whitton, Quirky Cooking Blog extraordinaire, has wonderful 

GF recipes. I am always inspired by with her clever healthy recipes and I love 

reading about her adventures in FNQ.  Take a look at her blog on Facebook 

Quirky Cooking for this recipe and many other fabulous recipes!

Cookies just remind me so much of my childhood. I always loved baking and my 

mom will always tell the story of how, when I was in the 4th grade, I made a 3 

layer, yellow butter cake with French chocolate frosting from scratch with no help. 

We lived in Asia I always had to find alternatives to the Betty Crocker recipes I loved

to create. Making these cookies were kind of the same. I live in a small town in 

Central Queensland and trying to find ingredients (or at least high quality, organic or 

pesticide free) at a drop of a hat is a challenge. We do have a good Health Food Store

but they don't always have what you need. But, I was eventually able to find the 

ingredients and volia, the wonderful cookie was created. I have had the first one, my 

husband will enjoy taking 

the rest to work!

Below of some photos, I have also just purchased a 3 tier cookie rack..... :)

Tea and cookies.. Fabulous

My new 3 tier cookie stand (only 2 tiers showing)

Quinoa, quinoa and CHOCOLATE for Friday

Moving from Brisbane to Central Queensland has been a bit of a challenge. Brisbane was small but it seemed big compared to here. There was more variety of shops, things were easier to get a hold of and there were more things to do.. But, there a plenty of wonderful things about Central Queensland too. For one thing, I feel that I am on a permanent holiday and the weather is PERFECT here. We have a wonderful, wonderful house and are about 10 minutes from everything... What more could a person ask for?!? I have also found a good Health Food Store and have also discovered the the IGA Supa next to my gym has a good organic selection so things are looking up! 

Anyway, back to my favourite topic... Cooking With Tenina, my idol has done it again. She has managed to take a combination that I would not have dreamed about and put it together into something really, really good. My husband, the quinoa skeptic is going to love these. I have already given some to my friends who just wolfed it down. Even her 3 year old LOVED them. My friend has a 6 month old and I am trying to help out by making a few treats for the family so she can have a break.

This is again from her Keeping It Simple cookbook and is entitled Quinoa Chocolate Truffles. These are GF and suitable for Vegetarians.  I didn't do a step by step pictures as I wasn't originally going to be putting this on the web and I couldn't be bothered to make them into balls so I just made them into brownies... However, after tasting them and getting a thumbs up from a 3 year old,  I decided to take a photo of the end product. 

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

100g quinoa, rinsed and drained (I used a mix of white and red)

1L water for steaming

200g almonds roasted (I dry roast in my cast iron frying pan)

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

200g Belgian dark chocolate (I used 50% dark chocolate but next time it will be 72%)

20g pure maple syrup (I used glucose syrup)

Pinch pink salt flakes

Cocoa for rolling

Choc coated Crio Beans for garnish

Do:

1. Place quinoa into TM simmering basket, insert into TM bowl and pour water over the top. Cook 18-20 min/100 degree C/speed 3.

2. Remove basket from bowl, drain water and allow quinoa to cool.

3. Place roasted almonds into clean, dry TM bowl and mill 20-90 sec/speed 9 until a paste starts to form. 

4. Add vanilla, chocolate, maple syrup and salt and melt 4-5min/60 degree C/speed 1.

5. Add quinoa and blend 6 - 20 sec/speed 6.

6. Set in a metal tray in fridge until solid.

Note - because I decided that I was not going to make truffles, I just spread the mixture out and let it go solid.

7. Form into truffles, roll in cocoa and top with choc coated Crio Beans or almond to garnish

Sit down, have a cup of tea and indulge....

Super Quick Chocolate Cake

I am sure you have gathered that I love "Cooking with Tenina" and her recipes but every once and a while, I have to take a break and try something new. My husband loves to have something sweet for work when he gets his snack attack so I try to cook him something new every week. I was looking for something easy to make and I stumbled across this recipe in Pintrest. I love this site and get lots of inspiration from it. Anyway, back to the chocolate cake. This chocolate cake is just so good. I found it on a blog and it was called the 5 minute cake if you want the non Thermomix version. In the thermomix, it took all of 30 seconds and boy was it good. My husband loved it and keeps requesting that I make it again.

iNGREDIENTS:

1 large egg - 40g min

100g  granulated or raw sugar

200 g plain Greek yogurt  or sour cream 

65g  unflavoured oil - I used Rice Bran Oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

110g brewed coffee, room temperature or warm

45g unsweetened natural cocoa powder

120g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 180°c.  Line a square baking pan with baking paper, spray with cooking or grease set aside.

In the TM Bowl add egg, sugar, yogurt, oil, vanilla, and mix 10 sec on speed 5. Add coffee and cocoa powder to TM Bowl and mix 5 - 10 sec/speed 5. Ensure there are no cocoa powder lumps.

Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt to TM Bowl and mix 5 sec speed 5 until batter has just combined. 

Note about coffee: The coffee does not make the cake taste like a coffee-flavored cake. Rather, it brings out and enhances the flavor of the cocoa powder and adds depth of flavor; I highly recommend coffee but use water if you must. The coffee can be any temperature other than piping hot; you don’t want to scramble the egg.

Pour batter, which is a loose and fairly runny batter, into prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes, or until top has set and a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in pan completely, at least 30 minutes, before frosting the cake, or before slicing and serving. Unfrosted cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or store frosted cake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I frosted the cake, sliced it up and put it in the freezer....

You can use what ever frosting you want. The website recommends Chocolate Ganache but I whipped up some cream with cocoa powder, sugar and vanilla paste.

Enjoy it with a cup of tea!

Tandoori Chicken..yes please!

Tandoori Chicken has always had a very special place in my heart. I remember the first time I went and had Tandoori chicken was when I was 10 years old. I was living in Tokyo and I had the mumps. My dad LOVES Indian and the first Indian restaurant opened up about a 15 minute walk from our house. It was located next to the Japanese equivalent of Origin head office.  I remember only being able to eat rice and a few pieces of Tandoori Chicken and it HURT but it was so good....

Tandoor Chicken Salad recipe again comes from my favourite Thermomistress... #Tenina Holder the author of Keeping it Simple - Recipes for a #Thermomix... She has an incredible website and she is also on Facebook. One day I hope that she will make it to Central Queensland so I can see  her weave her magic..

Need

Ingredient of Marinade
2 cloves of garlic
15g piece ginger
2 bay leaves, spine removed
1 red chilli, seeds optional
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tsp each of ground coriander, cumin and cinnamon
A few peppercorns
2 tbsp EVOO
200g Greek yoghurt

Ingredients for Salad
2 chicken breasts
Oil for frying
170g red lentils (I did not include)
Water for Steaming
Salad greens of choice
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion
40g pistachios, shelled (I did not include)
40g dried apricots, diced (I did not include)
Handful of mint leaves

Ingredients for Dressing
1 clove garlic
60g Greek yoghurt
60g EVOO
Juice of 1 lemon 
Generous pinch of pink salt flakes

Do
1. Make the marinade - place all marinade ingredients into TM bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 8. Pour into a large Ziploc bag

2. Butterfly chicken breast fillets and add to bag. Spread marinade around the chicken and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days

 3. Place lentils into simmering basket and fill TM bowl to just below the base of the basket with water. Cook 16 min/100 degree C/speed 4. Set aside until ready to serve. (I don't like lentils so I didn't cook any)

4. When ready to eat, heat oil in a grill pan, cook chicken fillets both sides until charred on the outside and cooked in the centre. Slice on the diagonal.

5. Arrange all the salad ingredients, including the cooked lentils onto a large platter finishing with the chicken and mint

6. Make dressing by placing all ingredients into the TM bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 8. Pour over salad and chicken and serve immediately!

Healthy, fresh and yummy! We both loved eating it and there was enough for lunch the next day for the both of us! It might be made again..very soon!

Umami - The fifth taste

I have been quite delinquent when it comes to my blog. It isn't that I haven't been cooking, or even taking pictures, I have just been busy moving house and also didn't have internet until late last week. I decided to kick off my blog with Tenina's Umami Paste made in the #thermomix. This paste reminds me of my childhood in Japan. The food there was always tasted meaty, full of body and had a depth that I have found very difficult to find in in Western food. This paste adds a punch to just about anything savoury... You can also add it to butter and then freeze the butter in little circles and have it on fish.  My godson likes to have it on toast... He puts it up there with Vegemite. Thank you #Tenina, I can now experience this taste every day! 

The #thermomix is such an amazing product and I love using it. It has made my life so much easier and has made me a more creative cook as well. My husband was so anti me buying one but now he gets it which is nice.

Anyway, the ingredients are below! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
300g Roma tomatoes (cubed)
90g Parmesan, cubed (I grate mine in advance an put it into a ziplock bag in the freezer)
80g Walnuts (toasted)
5g Dulse Sea Vegetable Flakes
5g Balsamic Vinegar
2-3 anchovy fillets (or use mushrooms if want a vegetarian option)

Do:
Place tomatoes into TM bowl and cook 10 - 14 min/100 degree C/Reverse + 1

2. Press cooled pulp through a fine sieve and separate solids from liquids. Reserve liquids to use in Umami Paste. 

Notes: I used a rubber spatula to press the solids through the sieve

If you want, dehydrate the tomato solids in a warm oven on a piece of baking paper until it becomes brittle. Mill and save the flakes to use in chicken stock powder.

3. Place parmesan and walnuts (I pan toasted my walnuts) into clean, dry TM bowl and mill 8sec/speed 9

4. Add remaining ingredients and blend for 30 sec/speed 4, scraping down as necessary

5. Place into sterilised jar and place in the refrigerator. It should last at least 4 weeks... Enjoy!

#Cooking With Tenina also has this posted on YouTube. See the link below:
YouTube - Tenina Test Kitchen - Umami Paste