Many years ago I gave my new customers the Thermomix 30 Day Challenge. Because it is my 10 year Thermoversary I wanted to revamp the challenge to bring it up to date to the new model TM6 & to give back to my awesome Thermomix customers as I share my favourite recipes & Thermomix tips & tricks. You can start the challenge at anytime. I will be starting on the 1st of November with facebook live videos everyday too.
DO YOU ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE? To try 1 new thing a day with the Thermomix, if you miss a day you can make it up on a different day & you can swap the days around if you need to as well. Over the 30 days we want to use all the parts of the Thermomix and as many functions as we can. These recipes are just suggestions so please adapt to suit your own eating style. I will also be introducing you to my favourite Thermoxers along the way too!!
Day 1: Vegetable Stock Paste
DAY 1: MONDAY Have you got some vegetable stock paste in the fridge? If not make some today or try a new stock you haven’t made before a chicken, mushroom or beef.
Today is the perfect day to practice your menu planning using cookidoo – including using the shopping list feature. (Please contact me if you need help with this. I do provided training at all my deliveries & cooking experiences too)
DAY 2: TUESDAY Have you tried steaming a whole chicken? You can simply place 1 litre of boiling water into the TM bowl & place the chicken into the varoma with any of your favourite flavours in & around the chicken. There are many great recipes for Hainanese Chicken Rice including the recipes by Jo Whitton in your Life Changing Food Cookbook. (This cookbook is also available as an App & it has a few of my food photos!!) Dani Valent has a wonderful video on steaming chicken & making a chicken stock with the bones which is something I do quite regularly. (I also add water to the bowl after making the dog food & whizz it up to clean the bowl to make a puppuccino for my dog Jet.)
DAY 3: WEDNESDAY Use any leftover steamed chicken breasts to make shredded chicken on reverse speed 4 for 2 secs. Use in salads sandwiches/wraps or soups. If you are vegetarian you might like to make the pulled jackfruit recipe. Use the chicken stock to make a soup or try Arwen’s Flu Fighter Chicken Soup.
Day 6: SATURDAY Weekend breakfast workshop: Try my favourite steamed omelette recipe or use the egg boiler mode for boiled eggs just the way you like them. Maybe you want to try the poached eggs with the blade cover recipe. And how about some hollandaise sauce to go with that?
Tandoori Curry Paste
Day 7: SUNDAY Tandoori Curry Paste – This is how I change the recipe: I like to heat up the whole spices in the Thermomix for 3 mins Varoma speed 1. Allow the spices to cool then mill the spices on speed 10 for 1 min. Set aside. Place the garlic & ginger into the TM bowl & chop for 5 secs speed 7. Scrape down the sides of the bowl add 50g of the oil & cook for 5 mins Varoma temperature speed 1. Allow to cool before adding all the remaining ingredients including the milled spices & whizz it all up for 30 secs speed 10 scrape down the sides of the bowl & repeat if needed. Store in 100g portions in the fridge for 1 month or in the freezer for longer.
Day 13: SATURDAY Bread workshop: Choose a bread or roll recipe from cookidoo or gluten free bread. My favourites are brioche, focaccia, tangzong bread Dani Valent’s Best Ever Bread Buns. Sophia’s Kitchen has amazing bread recipes too, the Artisan bread recipes is very popular.
Sous Vide Wallaby using the sous vide kangaroo with rosemary recipe on cookidoo.
Day 28: SUNDAY Try something new – Do something that scares you – maybe it’s converting your own recipe to the Thermomix or maybe you would like to try the sous vide mode if you havent tried it yet.
Day 30: Tuesday – This Basque Cheesecake recipe by Dani Valent is the best way to celebrate becoming a Thermomixing superstar!! Congratulations on completing my 30 Day Thermomixing challenge!! I hope you had delicious fun!! Or try Dani’s Chocolate Volcano recipe on cookidoo from the Entertaining with Dani Valent Cookbook.
I’ve currently been in home quarantine for 7 days, so I’m halfway through after cutting my holidays early leaving Brisbane last week. My state (Tasmania) had just put in place that anyone returning to the state from overseas or the mainland had to self quarantine for 14 days as a precaution in case any of us had the Covid-19 Virus to stop the spread of this virus to the community. I like to remain positive so I have been keeping a diary on Facebook of what I’ve been doing & I have just loved cooking my way through the week.
I’m now in my 8th day of home quarantine and despite having a long list of things I have needed to do at home for quite some time, (I am very skilled at procrastinating!!) I have been watching some awesome, inspiring and fun live videos on instagram and facebook by some of my favourite Chefs. So I thought I would share my list so far and please let me know if you have anyone else to add to the list – I haven’t gone out of my way to search for these they came up on my feeds and I have started enjoying them and may be slightly addicted!! (I have barely watched netflix etc)
eloiseemmett.com has live cooking workshops with her kids about 3 times a week – visit her website to see what is coming up & you can even cook along – once I get some more ingredients I can’t wait to make some of the recipes!!
Massimo Mele has been sharing videos of his son cooking with him too and has more coming out soon.
UPDATE: I completed my 14 days in home quarantine only to continue into home self isolation. So not much has changed. I am unable to continue working at the gym and even though the gym is doing live stream classes to our members the Bodybalance class I teach has strict copyright laws, so members are still able to do all those classes on the Les Mills on Demand App and so am I. I am fortunate to be able to exercise at home even though it is not as much fun & my motivation is a bit low. I have a few bits of pilates equipment at home too so I have been enjoying a stretch on the roller too. We are allowed to go out to exercise and maintain social distancing and have no more than 2 people together (unless you have more than 2 in your immediate family). I try to go to my local dog beach once a day so my dog can get some exercise too and I take off my shoes and walk on the sand and in the sea water. It has always been my happy place and now even more so. I have had most of my food delivered and we are allowed to go out for essentials while maintaining social distancing.
Everyday I have a routine take a photo of the sunrise, go for a walk on the dog beach with bare feet & paddle in the water (as long as it is good weather). Choose cookbooks of the day to read – 1 non Thermomix cookbook and 1 Thermomix cookbook or cookidoo collection, I post these on my instagram stories and on my Facebook page. They are chosen in relation to facebook memories or what is going on at the time. Of course morning coffee, breakfast, lunch & dinner are very important parts of the day. Checking social media & posting food pics throughout the day. watching any live cooking videos that are on during the day and cooking along with any of the cookalongs. Saturday nights is virtual happy hour with my friends and Sunday nights are virtual family dinner night. There have been some great positives to come out of this time. I have slowly been ticking off a list of things I have always wanted to cook, some have been great and some not so great!! It is all part of the adventure.
We do Sunday Night Virtual Family Dinner via Facebook Messenger every week now – this is the Swedish meatball recipe from cookidoo.I love to watch the sunrise every morning – it’s a perfect way to start the day!!Saturday night Virtual Wine Time – I had some delicious grandvewe cheese and made the gourmet crackers & quince paste and my friends surprised me with a drop off of fresh oysters and Tasmanian Sparkling Wine that brought me to tears of joy!! We have continued a regular wine time and have a group chat every sat night at 6pm.DIY Atlas Dining Masterclass Week One VIETNAM – Fish Cake, Cucumber Salad – I have created a new post with all the recipes I am cooking from the masterclass here.So I had a crazy idea to do a live facebook video of me doing a cook along with Eloise Emmett’s live video – we thought it was hilarious!!Fresh Field Grove Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Quince Cupcakes – I ade 1/2 with steamed quince & half with my homemade quince paste.Immunity Boosting Shot from the Thermomix USA facebook page
Dalgona Coffee
Flu Fighter Chicken SoupEloise Emmett Braised Octopus with Weston Farm smoked paprika fresh pasta & olivesI ordered Frogmore at Home & it was so delicious more pictures to follow – I put a dress on and even some earrings for our wonderful date night at home.Fish Croquettes from Eloise Emmett’s live workshopChilli Mussels from the basic cookbookHot Cross Buns – recipe from the Basic CookbookOctopus recipe from the Tasmanian Pantry cookbookDani Valent’s recipe for Soft-bake Choc Chip CookiesLamb Tagine adapted a recipe from the Cornersmith cookbookHot Smoked Salmon & Feta Steamed OmeletteA friend dropped off a truckload of quinces so I made Quince JellyHomemade Pita (recipe on cookidoo) with Charlie Carrington’s signature Hummus recipeHamish Blake & Ben Shewry did a fun cookalong on instagram – 2 courses for a romantic dinner – We were given our list of ingredients to have ready and then 5000 people watched and cooked along!!I used frozen prawns and adapted the dessert recipe and made it in the thermomix lucky I had extra bowls!!Flambe Prawn Pasta was so delicious!! Also it was my first time doing Flambe!! Heaps of fun!!I didn’t fully melt my chocolate for the chocolate mousse so mine was a choc chip mousse but it still tasted delicious!! Hamish’s mousse look a bit like this too!! We made these 2 recipes in 1 hour with Ben instructing us – it was seriously the best fun ever!!Belated Easter Isolation Truffles – Orange, Cardamom & Pistachio Truffles from the Dani Valent siteIt doesn’t look pretty but it is Dani Valent’s Hungarian Grandmother’s Goulash recipe served with sweet potato mash.Chicken SoupRhubarb Champers – for some reason while in isolation I have decided it’s the perfect time to try all the recipes I have been meaning to make – this one is from the Devil of a Cookbook.Elaine’s Chocolate Cake recipe from Ben Shrewy’s grandmother – I was meant to go to a Masterclass at Attica so this was the next best thing.I made a delicious hot chocolate with the leftover ganache and my facebook followers gave me permission to eat cake for breakfast.I did an ANZAC slice cookalong facebook live with my customers I always like to put chocolate on top. I made a hot chocolate to clean the bowl YUM!! My pop is the one in the top far right in this picture.ANZAC morning spent on my front deck – we will rememberIt was such a special treat to have my favourite Sushi at home from Masaaki’sNico Moretti Recipe for Tom YumDani Valent recipe for Pasta with Burnt Butter and SageDarren Purchese Recipe for Canele’It’s been fun making my favourite weekend brunches at home while supporting local bakeries & producersNico Moretti recipe for Orecchiette con BroccoliApple Chilli JellyLittle Missy Patisserie at HomeNico Moretti’s Butterflied Roast Chicken with Herbed Lemon & Garlic ButterTakeaway Ramen from Panko ChanDani Valent Crumpet recipePineapple Pisco SourHuon Crab Apples dropped off to me from a friend’s treeHamish Blake & Ben Shewry’s TransTasman instagram cook along Fancy Fish n ChipsHamish Blake & Ben Shewry’s TransTasman instagram cook along Hot PavPumpkin Soup with Virtual Bacon Dust – my favourite Pumpkin SoupHumming Bird Cake I made for my friend’s birthdayISO Birthday Survival KitLittle Missy Patisserie EclairDarren Purchase recipe for Ched Bundy – Serial GrillerTried making the Aloft mushroom dumplings but they were not as nice as the Aloft ones!!Rosemary GimletCorn Custard with Chicken Congee from the Dani Valent site – recipe by Victor LiongHomemade tonic waterSpicy Tan Tan Ramen from Panko ChanTruffled Scrambled Eggs on Pigeon Whole Bakers home baked croissantPisco Sour – I used Pisco in the Atlas Masterclass for the Peruvian menu so I had to made some cocktails with the leftovers!!Pierogi – with homemade quark filling insideWe had a DIY Dark MOFO Winterfeast at a Friend’s house I made Bloody Mary Oyster Shooter’s with Bruny Island Oysters & Cape Grim VodkaChilli Mustard Prawns with Fresh Pasta
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.
Now it would be extremely hard for me to choose my favourite meal of the day but I think it could be breakfast. I can eat almost anything for breakfast including soups & left over pizza (or breakfast pizza) or even a champagne breakfast for a special occasion or a very important photoshoot. Hands down the best breakfast I have ever had was Ellie’s crayfish with a smoked Tasmanian cheese sauce, a recipe for her upcoming Seafood Everyday Cookbook that she made for the photoshoot.
The 2nd place would have to be the most amazing buffet breakfast we had in South Africa at Thermofest. There was everything you could ever think of every type of egg, crispy or non crispy bacon, even oysters! (Scroll down through Billy Law’s post to get to the breakfast pictures :-))
I think I ate enough weetbix as a kid to never have to eat weetbix or cereal ever again, sometimes a nice crunchy homemade baked muesli with homemade yoghurt & fruit would be yummy, although I haven’t had that for a few years now!
A much more easier & exciting tasty option is CADA which stands for (fresh) coconut, apple dates & almonds, turbo a couple of times & serve with homemade yoghurt & fresh berries & cinnamon. There are too many more delicious things to eat for breakfast!
Also I love the all day breakfast – that fact that you could eat any breakfast item at any time of the day is very comforting!
Here are my favourite breakfasts that I love to make & eat regularly with the ingredients I have on hand, some are more suited to a weekend brunch.
Protein is ideal at breakfast to keep you full & provide energy for the rest of the day. My favourite breakfast proteins are eggs, smoked salmon or salmon rashers, bacon, chorizo or nuts and seeds.
Quick weekday breakfasts
Smoothies & juices – a quick & easy way to get something healthy into you before you head out the door & I always make enough for a traveller too 🙂
There are so many great recipes for smoothies & juices here are my own favourite recipes
Plus Jo from Quirky Cooking has some great smoothie & juice recipes & so does Teresa Cutter the Healthy Chef. You can just free style it too with your favourite nuts, seeds fruit & or veggies & some ice & liquid. For a great kick of green goodness see my post on making chlorophyll paste too.
Then of course there are the smoothie bowls like Dani Valent Cooking recipe for Matcha Smoothie Bowl.
Porridge is super easy & delicious plus it’s so versatile, I normally used the guided recipe on the chip & use all milk instead of milk & water – the best thing is it cooks & stirs while you are in the shower or getting ready for work/school. I love Ellie’s Apple, cinnamon & honey porridge. Adding any fruit or honey is a winner in my book – growing up we always had it served with milk, brown sugar & wheatgerm.
Steamed eggs or omelettes are amazing!! Another one where once it it ready to steam you can go off & get ready while Thermie cooks your breakfast.
Weekend breakfasts: I most certainly need to include the big breakfast; any of the following – eggs, toast or flatbread, avocado, bacon, salmon or chorizo, tomatoes, grilled homemade halloumi cheese, mushrooms & homemade baked beans. I also love steaming some garden greens to go with a hot breakfast – I grow silver beet & sometimes I will use spinach too.
The Thermomix poached eggs from the recipe chip are great especially if they are served with Thermomix made hollandaise – which can I just say is absolutely AMAZING!! I use the recipe on the recipe chip, it is so good with anything, I mainly serve it with eggs & salmon 🙂 Plus it is mazing with crayfish too!
I LOVE slow cooked eggs – it’s sounds crazy but it is amazing 60 degree eggs have the best texture ever they are cooked in their shell & then you crack them open to reveal perfectness!!
I just LOVE baked eggs too & this recipe from Jo Whitton for Huevos Rancheros is suitable to finish in the pan or oven & it’s so amazing!! I added Chorizo to this one & sometimes I add bacon to it.
Oh my goodness this post could go on forever, with other amazing breakfast you can make with the Thermomix- waffles,pancakes, crepes, bagels, croissants, crumpets (I use the In the Mix cookbook recipe), danish pastries. That’s without mentioning all the delicious breads you can make too!
It is my mission to keep updating this post with all the best breakfast options available for the best meal of the day! I will definitely be posting pics of the steamed breakfast baskets from the In the Mix Cookbook another favourite of mine too. So many breakfasts to eat & not enough time even with all day breakfasts!!
Happy Thermomixing!
Japanese Style Breakfast – steamed sushi rice with steamed omelette
While driving home from our Food Styling Photography course, we were talking about the sunrise on the Tessellated Pavements & Ellie said it was one of the most iconic & photographed spots in Tassie. I said, why don’t we do a food shoot there?! And we decided to run with it big time. With only a couple of weeks left of sunrise capturing available at the Tessellated Pavements we needed to get cracking! I couldn’t help it, I wanted to change the words to the song “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to Breakfast at Tessellated. So we had our theme tune sorted now lots of other things to organise.
Our mission: To set up a beautiful delicious breakfast using Tasmanian produce, in time to capture the sunrise reflection on the tessellated pavement – Food photography for “posh ladies” – table for 4.
Props: I had seen the perfect trestle table that I just had to have but it wouldn’t fit in my small car! I wanted to take my wooden dining chairs too. We had a carafe, my Nana’s tea cups & saucers, napkins, table runner, vase & foliage, glasses & champagne flutes, candles & candelabra.
Sunday early evening scout out: We realised that it was a fair 5 min walk to the Tessellated Pavement from the carpark & it included stairs. So we needed to take a little as possible to make a maximum of 2 trips each. There was a perfect spot with a log up out of the way & this would make perfect seats for us so no chairs needed. Ellie had some old fence palings & I brought my husband’s workshop wooden horses to act as the legs for our portable table. We styled it up the night before at Ellie’s house (thankfully she leaves only 5 mins drive away).
I set the alarm for 5.30am but woke up at 4, we had packed everything the night before & only had a couple of last min things to prepare before we left. Lucky we remembered the torch!! We had 1 person that did 2 trips & everyone else did 1. We got to work setting up our camera’s Taking photos while setting up the table & styling the food. Our photography teacher from TAFE even showed up!
Well we thought it was well worth the effort, I have learnt a lot, (what to do & what not to do), an amazing few hours enjoying the sunrise & serenity not to mention the awesome company, delicious local food & drinks. How on earth will we be able to top this?!
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