Dani Valent’s Famous ThermoFive

by | Oct 13, 2017 | Foodie Adventures, Thermomix, Thermomix Tips | 0 comments

I’m so excited that Dani Valent has answered my Famous ThermoFive questions. She is my foodie/Thermomix hero & she is coming to Tasmania next week & will be in Hobart for her Entertaining with Dani Valent Cooking Class on Wed 18th Oct at 6.30pm. It will be the best $70 you will spend in a long time – trust me!! Book here there only a few spots are left 🙂 (Did I mention the Entertaining with Dani Valent Cookbook is my favourite Thermomix Cookbook?!) If you can’t make it to the class, I recommend signing up to Dani Valent Cooking, Dani’s awesome online video subscription site for amazing Thermomix recipes, tips & tricks.

FAMOUS THERMOFIVE

1. What do you love about your Thermomix?

I love the fact my Thermomix is there to help me with whatever I want to do. When I’m in a rush and just need to get dinner on the table, there it is! When I’m feeling creative and want to try new techniques or ingredients, there it is! When I need to replenish my basics – stock, pesto, flours, yoghurt, dips – there it is again. And, of course, when I need an emergency cocktail or cheesecake, there it is again! 

2. What is your favourite Thermomix Cookbook or Thermomix recipe?

I’ll always have a soft spot for vegetable stock paste. It’s one of the first things I made in my Thermomix when I got my first one in 2008 and there’s barely been a day that I haven’t had some on hand since. I feel honestly unequipped to go forth through life without it! And fave book…well, I’m very fond of this lovely Entertaining book right now 😉

3. What is your top Thermomix tip?

Trust it! Your Thermomix is your best friend in the kitchen: reliable and always there for you. Let it be the confidence boost that allows you to try new dishes, flavours and experiences. I love hearing that people have made their first curry paste, or tried bread making for the first time, or felt equipped and inspired to host a dinner party – that’s what my cookbooks and videos are all about!

4. What is your quick & easy go to meal?

I’m a sucker for a grain salad – steamed grains in the Thermomix, perhaps with steamed vegies or vegies that I roast in the oven. It’s endlessly adaptable and even if I’m having a ‘oh my goodness there’s no food in the house!’ day I can still scrape together something delicious and nourishing. My secret is to always have condiments on hand – kimchi, vadouvan curry powder, furikake, chutney, for example – and then you can turn any basic meal into something special.

5. Which Thermomix recipe/s do you want to try next?

I’m thinking new cocktails for summer – my mind is buzzing with ideas. I can tell this is going to be pretty tough research! 

Thanks so much Dani Valent, we are all so excited about your upcoming cooking class.

See my other Famous ThermoFive interviews here.

Truffle Coma 2017

by | Aug 22, 2017 | Breakfast, Foodie Adventures, Thermomix | 0 comments

Hooray for truffle season!! I am in love with truffles, the aroma makes my head spin & my taste buds salivate. So what should you do with your truffle to get the most out of it? I just love truffle infused eggs for making the most delicious & decadent scrambled egg, it’s actually one of the only scrambled egg recipes I really enjoy 🙂

To infuse the eggs, place them together with the truffle in the fridge in a large glass jar with a lid & some paper towel. you should change the paper towel every day or so. I love this job because you get to smell the truffle again!! Aromatherapy to the max!! Truffles also go well with fresh pasta & I love making truffle butter to just simply spread on a piece of toasted sourdough bread!! This year i used some of my truffle infused eggs to make a steamed omelette!! Only the best omelette I’ve ever eaten!!

A few of the recipes I made this year are from The Truffle Cookbook. (The launch lunch of this cookbook is definitely in my top 3 meals of my life!! It was a truffle feast where I went into a truffle induced coma & had truffle oozing from my pores for the next day!!) I buy the 2nd’s truffles to keep the cost down & thankfully this year there was a 15% special due to them having such a good season!! Happy Days for me!! This truffle cost me $100 delivered (delivery was $20).

Scrambled eggs with truffle infused eggs & truffle butter.

 

Homemade truffle butter

 

Tajarin with truffle butter & truffled egg yolk

 

Truffle infused eggs in a steamed omelette

 

Roman Style Semolina Gnocchi

 

Cauliflower & Truffle Soup

 

Whipped Brie with truffle

 

Raviolo with ricotta & truffle infused egg yolk

 

Ricotta ravioli

Sally Ives Hot & Sour Soup

by | Aug 3, 2017 | Food Styling, Foodie Adventures, Photography, Thermomix, Thermomix Recipes | 0 comments

Thanks so much to Sally for letting me share her soup recipe & I have converted it to the Thermomix of course. Sally does Chinese cooking classes from her gorgeous home in Lymington, (just past Cygnet) Tasmania. They are great value & so much delicious fun! To find out about Sally’s classes you can email her sallypixies@hotmail.com.

Sally’s Hot & Sour Soup recipe -in the foreground you can see the the ingredients used in the soup- sichuan pepper, dried wood ear mushrooms & dried shitake mushrooms & Chinese style knife all purchased at our local Asian grocers.

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Sally Ives Hot & Sour Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: Chinese
Serves: 4
 
Sally's original recipe is made using a wok not a Thermomix 🙂
Ingredients
  • Cooking Oil
  • 20 schichuan peppercorns
  • 1 - 2 Spring onions finely chopped
  • A few slices of ginger
  • a few dried shitake mushrooms soaked, strained, stems removed (keep the soaking water)
  • optional - a few dried black fungus/wood ears, soaked, strained & thinly sliced
  • 400g fresh, frozen or bottled tomatoes roughly chopped
  • 2- 3 tbs soy sauce
  • 1 litre of stock/water include the mushroom straining water into this (you can use 1 tbs of stock paste & water)
  • ground white pepper to taste
  • Chinese black vinegar to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • 400g medium firm tofu sliced
  • 2 eggs
  • sesame oil
  • fresh coriander & extra sliced spring onions to serve
Instructions
  1. Add Sichuan pepper to a dry wok & roast till it starts to smoke, add about 1 tablespoon of oil (Sally uses rice bran oil) allow the pepper to turn black. Turn off the heat.
  2. Add the ginger to the TM bowl & chop 3 secs, speed 7.
  3. Add Shitake mushrooms & chop 3 secs, speed 7, scrape down the TM bowl.
  4. Add the oil & Sichuan pepper along with the spring onions, shitake mushrooms & wood ear mushrooms & cook for 3 mins, varoma temperature, reverse, speed 1.
  5. Add the tomatoes & soy sauce & cook for 5 mins, 100 degrees, reverse, speed 1.
  6. Add the liquid/stock & black vinegar & white pepper to taste keep adding & then tasting until you are happy with the flavour.
  7. Mix cornflour with a little water & add to the soup, bring it up to the boil again, 2 mins 100 degrees, reverse speed 1.
  8. Add simmering basket & place tofu into the basket & cook for 2 mins, 100 degrees, speed soft reverse. Remove tofu & basket & keep warm in a Thermoserver.
  9. Whisk the 2 eggs together in a bowl. Set the TM for 1 min, 100 degrees, reverse speed 2 & slowly pour in the egg mixture.
  10. Serve with the warm tofu placed into each bowl & pour hot soup on top & garnish with spring onion & or fresh coriander.

 

 

Arwen’s Foodie 40th Birthday Party

by | Jun 9, 2017 | Foodie Adventures, Photography, Thermomix, Thermomix Recipes | 0 comments

I can hardly believe I turned 40 this year- apparently you are only as old as you feel?! A lot of nice people always look shocked when they find out my age or that I have an almost adult son!! I was going to do not much & pretend it wasn’t happening but decided I had to celebrate in style. But what to do?? For my 30th birthday I had a Japanese themed party; I love dressing up & having the food match with the theme 🙂 I was racking my brain as to what the theme could be & then one Sunday morning about a couple of months before my birthday the idea came to my almost to be “old” brain 🙂 I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it sooner!!

After seeing 2 Thermomix costumes at Thermofest Auckland earlier in the year, I knew I had to dress up as a Thermomix. So after being knocked back to “borrow” a Thermomix costume from Thermomix in Australia, I asked my good friend & amazing sewing guru Rosey if it was something that she might be able to do?? She said she loves a challenge & boy did we have fun with it, a trip to spotlight where we were constantly looking at a photo of a Thermomix to see which coloured fabric we needed & we even had a shop assistant helping us find the correct fabrics for my Thermomix costume. Then we measured every part of the Thermomix to get the enlarged Thermomix costume into the correct proportion. Rosey was still finishing it off just before she left to arrive at my party. It is such an awesome costume & I have already got quite a few wears out of it!! Plus she even made it with a detachable bowl so when it came time to dance it was a bit easier without a TM bowl attached to me 🙂

 

Food!! What does one serve at a foodie party? FOOD Not just any food – amazing favourite, fun & fabulous food!! Every event I plan way too much food & there is always leftovers & half of what I plan to make doesn’t even get made lol!! A good party always needs leftovers for sure!

So birthday cake what to do? I actually love savoury more than sweet, even though one of my favourite ingredients is chocolate along with cheese, fresh herbs, chillies & spices. I wanted something “different & unusual” plus easy too, so I had to do the “cheesecake” again: layers of my favourite cheeses with things I love to eat with cheese quince paste & fruitcake to serve with aged cheddar 🙂

Making dry Ice sorbet 🙂

 

Dry ice sorbet is a must for a foodie party for sure!! The recipe from In the Mix Cookbook is a Cucumber, Lime, Mint & Yoghurt dry ice sorbet, a definite wow factor for the party 🙂 Watch the first part of the live video here.

It was the 3rd time I’ve made it; the first time I made it I was so excited I forgot to strain the mixture before adding the dry ice, the 2nd time I didn’t have a strainer to use for my TAFE photo shoot. This time because my costume was too large, I enlisted the help of my good friend Sooze, she had never made it before but is up for a challenge. Anyway we were really organised with all the ingredients (after my friend Carol went back home & picked a truckload of mint from her garden -thanks Carol) So part 1 went really well & then we went live for part 2 when you add the dry ice pellets slowly to the strained mixture!! Sooze got a bit excited & added the dry ice a bit too quick (I can understand having made it before & doing a similar thing) So it was lot’s of fun as the vibrant cold green liquid bubbled over through all the clouds of dry ice. Unfortunately Thermomix in Australia asked me to take down my 2nd live video because it may have been manipulated to look like hot liquid (even though we were laughing the whole time!) So if you were lucky enough to see the video it was on my Arwen’s Thermo Pics Facebook page for 4 days 🙂 On the plus side the sorbet tasted absolutely amazing!! Hands down the best one I’ve ever had & I technically didn’t make it myself!!

 

 

Chicken Liver Pate

 

Leftovers from my birthday “Cheese Cake”

 

Gingerbread

Dry Ice Sorbet
Chilorio Pulled Pork with homemade Roti (thanks for making the Roti Charlie)
Sticky Chicken Wings
Sweets table
Potted Veggies & Dip
Thanks to Rosey for making my Thermomix costume!!

Thermomixing My Way To Lake Como Italy

by | Jun 1, 2017 | Breakfast, Dinner, Food Styling, Foodie Adventures, Photography, Thermomix, Thermomix Recipes | 0 comments

I can not believe it – I made it to Lake Como!! Thanks so much to all my amazing customers & friends you are totally awesome!! I will be continuing my Italian Cooking Adventures until I make it to 50 recipes to celebrate 🙂

 

Thanks to all my friends & customers for their ongoing support for my Thermomix Business 🙂

 

I am sooooo excited!! As an Independent Thermomix Consultant we have the opportunity to earn our way to a reward trip to Lake Como in Italy, including a guided foodie tour by WA Chef Nico Moretti!!

Only the top selling 51 consultants from (1st Jan-30th June 2017) in Australia & New Zealand will get to go & I plan to be one of them. (We can sell a Thermomix to anyone in Australia)
Just for a bit of fun every time I get another point towards Lake Como, I am going to make an Italian recipe in the Thermomix & share the photo 🙂
Do you have any favourite Italian recipes you think I should try? I will only need to cook 50 plus recipes in the next 6 months!!

And anyone who hosts a Cooking Experience with 2 or more guests between 9th Jan & 30th April will go into the draw to win a Trip for 2 to Lake Como as well! I hope one of my customers wins the prize!

Join me as I cook my way through Italian Recipes using my Thermomix – 1 recipe for each time I make a sale – I need over 50 sales before the end of June to get to the Thermomix Reward Trip in Lake Como. I do love a good challenge.

See my Facebook Album here.

1. I’m counting this as an Italian Recipe – It is the Inside Out Chicken Parmigiana – Not traditional but very delicious! It’s from the Entertaining with Dani Valent Cookbook.

 

2. Homemade Pizza Dough

 

3. I also made Nico’s Ragu Di Pomodoro E Peperoncini – Spiced tomato sauce for the base of the pizza.

 

4. Homemade pasta dough in the Thermomix made into Spaghetti with Ragu Di Pomodoro E Peperoncini (Spiced Tomato Sauce & Cheese)

 

5. Dani Valent Cooking Red Wine -Braised Beef with Polenta Cremoso recipe by Joseph Vargetto (I used the truffle polenta I bought at the Essential Ingredient) – The dish tastes better than it looks!

 

The pasta & truffle polenta I bought at the Essential Ingredient in Newcastle 🙂

 

6: Tiramisu for 2 (in a jar – one for me & one for my friend & customer who upgraded her Thermomix at the start of March) I used the recipe from the Basic cookbook & added my own homemade vanilla bean paste. I made 1/3 of the recipe so I didn’t have to eat too much 🙂

 

7: Nico Moretti recipe for Spinach & Ricotta “Gnudi” – “Gnudi” are a classic Tuscan dish, and it’s like ravioli, but without the pasta (just the filling). These light & fluffy gnudi are STEAMED in the VAROMA and served with a fresh Salsa di Pomodoro (Tomato Pasta Sauce)

 

8. A regular recipe made at our place is homemade pesto, delicious as a quick sauce on pasta or spread on toast with fresh homegrown tomatoes is just heaven.

 

9. Nico Moretti’s recipe for White Chocolate Pannacotta

 

10. A family favourite Lasagne – all the elements are cooked in the Thermomix the meat sauce, the béchamel white sauce, the fresh pasta dough & grated cheese. Then into the oven YUM!!

 

Italian Pantry Shopping – opps someone drank the prosecco 🙂

 

11. Italian Style Lamb Shank served on Cauli mash with truffle salt. The sauce was made in the Thermomix then poured over the lamb shanks that went into the oven in a casserole dish slow cooked for 2 hours.

 

12. Puttanesca sauce made in the Thermomix & I cooked the dry pasta I bought at the essential ingredient. (A favourite Italian recipe from one of my customers who just upgraded to a new Thermomix)

 

13. Potato Sciacciata recipe from In the Mix 2, a Tuscan version of focaccia with potato in it.

 

14.Spaghetti Carbonara recipe from the Thermomix Basic Cookbook.

 

 

16 & 17 (home made) Potato Gnocchi with Pork & Fennel Ragu – A Nico Moretti recipe from his cookbook Delicious Journeys.

 

18. Osso Bucco – I make the sauce in the Thermomix & seal the floured Osso Bucco meat in a pan & then baked in the oven with the sauce for 2 hours 🙂

 

19. Orechiette Con Broccoli – another Nico Moretti recipe from his Delicious Journeys cookbook. I cooked the sauce in the Thermomix & the pasta & broccoli in a big pot.

 

20. Chicken Cacciatore recipe from The Basic Cookbook

 

21. Meatballs in Tomato sauce with mushrooms. I added mushrooms to the recipe from The Basic Cookbook. We have made it many times at my customers Thermomix Cooking experiences (The meatballs are steamed over a tomato sauce)

 

22. Italian Hot Chocolate

 

22. Ciabatta

 

23. Torte Pasqualina – I accidentally didn’t get the recipe right lol!! I cracked all my egg into the mixture & then realised I was supposed to keep some whole lol!!

 

24. Ricotta & Spinach Cannelloni

 

25. (Recipe from one of my Italian Customers) Sylvia’s Almond Bocconcini.

 

26. Minestone Soup

 

27. Tajarin with truffle butter & truffled egg yolk 🙂 Recipe from the truffle cookbook by Rodney Dunn – I just thermofied the recipe where I could 🙂 I used the truffle I bought from Duncan Garvey Perigord Truffles of Tasmania ❤️

 

28. Gnocco Fritto, deep fried bread. I made the dough in the Thermomix 🙂

 

29. Roman-Style Semolina Gnocchi.

 

30. Pumpkin & Blue Cheese Arancini

 

31. Red Wine Risotto (I didn’t like this recipe 🙁 )

 

32. Hazelnut Chocolate Spread 🙂 (Recipe in the Basic Cookbook)

 

33. Chocolate Ravioli with Orange & Apricot Sauce – A Joseph Vargetto recipe from Dani Valent Cooking.

 

34. Sundried Tomato Focaccia

 

35. Limoncello

 

Ingredients top up from the Italian Pantry

 

36. Homemade mozzarella cheese

 

37. Raviolo with ricotta & truffle infused egg yolk

 

38. Ricotta filled ravioli with burnt butter truffles & thyme

 

39.Squid ink pasta

 

40. Squid ink pasta with prawns in a spicy tomato sauce

 

41. Quattro formaggi and walnuts (4 cheese pizza)

 

42. Classic Calzone

 

43. Napoli Potato Cake

 

44. Torta Caprese

 

45. Stracciatella Ice Cream

 

46. Grissini

 

47. Chicken Involtini with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

 

48. Pizza Bianca, made so many times for Thermomix Cooking Experiences 🙂

 

49. Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi with Burnt Sage Butter & Spinach

 

50. Bolognese Sauce – we make this all the time but I kept forgetting to take a photo of it!!

 

Time to celebrate!! I finished cooking my 50 Italian style recipes just 2 weeks before I will arrive in Lake Como Italy!! This is my new Thermomix model 5 called Bimby (Italian name for Thermomix) I earned this Thermomix while earning my trip to Italy & also sold my 400th Thermomix in that period too! I’m saying Saluti with a glass of Prosecco – Italian sparkling wine 🙂 Thanks everyone so much for all your support for my Thermomixing!!