I never need an excuse to eat or cook but I have noticed that I have been eating less chocolate than in previous years of my life. What is going on???? A few years ago when someone would ask me my favourite food I would say Cheese & Chocolate because everything is better with both of these ingredients right? Don’t worry I still love chocolate but I love dark chocolate & I am also having a love affair with Ruby Chocolate too!! My palate always leans to savoury food. YUM!! Last Easter I tried a recipe from Dani Valent’s In the Mix Cookbook a duck liver parfait with a chocolate foam & gingerbread crumbs!! Wowsers!! It was soooooo good!!
So I am officially starting a new Easter tradition (in my belly at least ) and this year I made Tazziberry Hot Cross Buns to go with the same Dark Chocolate Foam (it’s kind of like a mousse) and I made chicken liver parfait which I added tazziberries, truffle & black garlic to the recipe!! I am going to confess to have eaten almost the whole thing by myself over the course of a few days!! And I am not sorry at all!!
Speaking about homemade Easter buns, I can not be bothered putting the crosses on top unless it’s made out of something delicious like chocolate or cream cheese YUM!! Don’t be scared to choose your own Easter Bun Adventure when it comes to flavours your imagination is your only limit just use the recipe from the Basic Cookbook & add whatever combination of fruits berries, nuts or chocolates you like. You can see some of my crazy creations here
Tazziberry buns
The next thing I am going to include in my new Easter Tradition is Ellie’s Taramasalata recipe which I hope she will be releasing very soon because it’s absolutely delicious!! I don’t personally see the need to only eat seafood at Easter, I love seafood all the time so I’m happy to oblige.
Chilli Mussels from the basic cookbook are still my favourite served with crusty sourdough bread & homemade saffron butter!! YUM!!
Eloise Emmett recipe for TaramasalataChilli Mussels with homemade saffron butter on crusty sourdough breadPretty in Pink – Ruby Chocolate Dessert (made by my BEST friend Christine)Ruby Chocolate Hot Cross BunsHomemade Chocolates from the In the Mix Cookbook – Chocolate and Honey Truffles, Earl Grey Truffles & Ganache (I used Black Raspberry liqueur instead of the Kirsh)Chocolate and Honey Truffles and Earl Grey Truffles Ganache – I used Black Raspberry liqueur instead of the Kirsh
We were very lucky to earn a trip to Vietnam & the Thermomix part lasted for me for 5 days – 3 nights in Hoi Chi Minh City (Saigon) and 2 Nights in Hoi An – I extended with my Thermo friends another 4 days in Hoi An & 4 days in Hanoi & Cat Ba Island (south of Halong Bay). The food was amazing!! I need to get some more of it into my life because 2 weeks was just not enough time to devour it all.
I can’t put my favourite foods in any sort of order, they were all so tasty. Most mornings I loved having Beef Pho (google the pronunciation please, it’s not said how you think it would be) I became addicted to the Vietnamese Iced Coffee served with condensed milk & there was also an egg coffee & a coconut coffee too!! I ate many Banh Mi’s as well, including my favourite Crab one in Hanoi YUM!! Drank heaps of young coconuts & cocktails too!! I just loved the fresh Passionfruit Mojito. And I had a gorgeous chicken & rice with green mango salad twice in the same day!!
Anyway I will attempt to bring to you my favourite recipes from my recent travels & recreate them using the Thermomix of course. I will do as many live video recipes as I can too on my Facebook page. YUM!! I can’t wait!!
Chicken & Rice with Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce)Thinly sliced partially frozen beef gets cooked when the hot broth is poured overBeef PhoPork Banh Mi ( I didn’t make the baguettes myself this time)Chicken Rice and Green Papaya SaladMy version of a Vietnamese Passion Fruit MojitoGreen Papaya SaladBlack Sticky Rice with taro & blue matcha ice cream – recipe by Luke Nguyen (We watched him make this recipe at Thermofest)
Another awesome cookbook put together by Dani Valent. Here are the yummy recipes I have made from this amazing cookbook so far….
Spiced Tuna Tartare with Yuzu Custard – recipe by Daniel WilsonDuck Breast with Pistachio Freekeh and Fennel Salad (unfortunately I slightly over cooked my duck)Salted Caramel MacaronsChicken Curry Bunny ChowCafé de Paris ButterRed Wine Cheese SliceChicken Skin ButterCauliflower Soup
You know I love a challenge & this new one is so great for this time of year healthy delicious easy recipes made in the Thermomix – yes please!! You can sign up for the challenge here & download the free ebook. You can do the challenge no matter which Thermomix you have, so no excuses – just do it, do it!! Why wouldn’t you want to try new delicious recipes & become confident using cookidoo & your cook-key if you have one.
Day 1: Mixed Nut & Seed Spread Day 1: Orange Sesame Chicken with Broccoli and NoodlesDay 2: Hearty Seven Vegetable SoupDay 3: Superfood Salmon Salad Day 4: Chicken Broad Bean & Snow Pea Salad – recipe by Tim Robards Day 5: Anti-inflammatory Pineapple and Turmeric Smoothie – recipe by Jo Whitton/Quirky CookingDay 6: Curry LaksaDay 7: Fresh Fennel SaladDay 8: Rice Crisp Bars Day 9: Feta, Spinach and Potato FrittataDay 10: “Spaghetti” with Spinach & Mint PestoDay 11: Tandoori Chicken Wraps (I made my own wraps too & added snow peas to the filling)Day 11: Peri Peri Sweet Potato FriesDay 12: Frozen Breakfast Yoghurt Pops Day 13: Beef Ragu served with Cauliflower MashDay 14: Rye Loaf with Berry Chia JamDay 15: Acai Berry BowlDay 16: FalafelDay 16: Zucchini Banana LoafDay 17: Steamed Fish ParcelsDay 18: Turkey Taco Salad BowlDay 19: Asian Beef Salad with Peanut DressingDay 20: Lemon and Herb Salmon Burgers with Zucchini FriesDay 21: Steamed Omelette ( I used my own recipe with feta & dill & smoked salmon)Day 22: Pumpkin and Turmeric Loaf with Quark and Herb Spread ( I also made my own quark)Day 22: SauerkrautDay 23: Eggs with Coconut Curry SauceDay 24: Pea and Ginger Soup and Salmon with Broccoli ( I used zucchini & cauliflower)
Day 25: Paprika Chicken With Creamy Paprika SauceDay 26: Sauerkraut SaladDay 27: Warming Amaranth Porridge Day 28: Raw Carrot Cake
We had a ladies Korean lunch, so I decided to make Peter Gimore’s Korean Chicken Soup & it did not disappoint. I used my homemade kimchi & I forgot to put the toasted sesame seeds on top when I served it!!! YUM!!
What another delicious day eating Eloise Emmet’s amazing food along with amazing ingredients right from this very farm in Glen Huon : Saffron & lavender. We also had award winning olive oil served with homemade bread with saffron butter on woodfired whole salmon. Of course I had to make a saffron Basque Cheesecake which just took it to the next level especially when I decorated it with dried saffron petals. The gorgeous ceramics were made by the farm owner Lisa Britzman too, such a talented lady. We had some amazing guests for the workshop too so it made for the most relaxing afternoon. Long table lunch in the in the olive grove is not something I will ever forget and I am truly grateful to have this wonderful experience. Thanks so much to everyone for their awesome contributions.
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