March Hols 2016

School holidays - and it's only 1 week. Took 2 days off to spend some time with the kids. Went to the new Nicholodeon Park in Sunway lagoon. Park is still nice and well maitained - they installed many of the Big Ass Fans , really windy and you wont feel the heat. Good experience for kids. There are more pockets of eateries now compared to the last year when we were there.

kids pool

new nicholodeon park

this ride was good....

petting zoo

animal show at 3pm



Thermomix Skinless Sausages

Inspired from Thermomix recipe community.

Ingredients:

500gm chicken mince

1 carrot

1 knob ginger

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon chicken stock, Thermomix made

Breadcrumbs -1/2-1 cup

1 egg

20g grapeseed oil

Herbs of choice

Method:

Place garlic and ginger. Chop for Sp 6, 5 seconds. Scrap down and sauté for 2 mins, Sp2, 100 C

Let it cool before placing all other ingredients. Mix 30seconds, Sp 6.

This amount makes 8 sausages. Roll into cling wrap

Cook Varoma, 15 minutes, Sp 2.

Finished off in oven for another 15 minutes

Tortilla wraps

Adapted from :

http://www.trtlmt.com.au/thermomix-tortillas/

Such a lovely simple recipe.

Ingredients

1. 335g bakers flour - I mix 100g whole meal or atta with bakers flour)
2. 170g water
3. 40g olive oil
4. 1 teaspoon of salt

Instructions

1. Place everything into the tmx bowl.
2. Blitz on speed 6 just to slightly combine.
3. Lock lid and press interval speed for 2 minutes.
4. Let it sit for 15 minutes. See note below however.
5. Remove from bowl. Divide your dough into 8 pieces.
6. I find rolling and cooking as I go easier compared to rolling all one go. It stucked despite the flooring between layers and I don't like additional flour on them. So heat up the pan, gently lay the first wrap then roll the next and flip.
7. Ensure the pan is not too hot. Medium heat is just nice. Press down tortilla as it blows up. 
8. Once they start bubbling, flip it over.
9. You will only need to cook for a minute or so each side but keep an eye on them so they don't burn. You want them to be cooked but still flexible.
10. Place it onto a plate with a tea towel over the top.
11. Continue to cook all Tortillas, placing them one on top of the other. The heat keeps them nice and flexible.
12. The first one or two Tortillas in each batch tend to be a bit harder and cardboard like whilst finding the right temp of the pan. If you have a hard, non flexible wrap, place it underneath all the other wraps. It will soon soften from the heat and be yummy like the rest of them.

I did not let my dough rest. I rolled them right after mixing in the thermie.

Cooked up chicken pieces to go with the wrap for lunch boxes. A simple coat of egg and seasoned breadcrumbs. 

Thermomix 3 little teddies

Adapted from :
http://www.trtlmt.com.au/teeny-teddies/

Ingredients

1. 60g butter, cubed
2. 140g honey- I used raw honey
3. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
4. 170g plain flour
5. 65g self raising flour
6. 1/2 teaspooon bi carb soda

Instructions

1. Place butter, honey and vanilla into bowl.
2. Melt at 100 degrees, speed 2 for 5 minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients.
4. Mix on speed 3 for 30 seconds
5. This will be a sticky, wet dough. It firms upon cooling however.
6. Remove dough from bowl or saucepan and place onto a silicone mat in a rectangle shape to cool for 30-45 minutes. Be careful as this will be hot. Do not put it in the fridge or leave it too long as it will be harder to work with. I manage to work on it immediately without waiting. The consistency was just right 
7. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line two large baking trays with baking paper.
8. Once dough is slightly cooled and easy to work with, roll out into a thin rectangle about 2mm in thickness. When I roll, I lift and flip it over a few times whilst rolling to ensure its an even roll. Work gently and slowly when lifting and flipping.
9. If your dough is sticky allow it to cool a little longer. You want a dough that is able to be lifted from the surface it is being rolled on.
10. Using a small teddy cutter cut shapes from the dough. You may choose to cut and then place the teddy on the tray or you may chose to cut them all at once then peel away from the mat and put on the tray. You can see both options in the blog photo.
11. These will only need to bake for 5-8 minutes or so. Watch them very carefully. You want them golden and a crunch to them. If you do not cook long enough you may have less crunchy teddies on day two and beyond. Do not overcook though. Burnt honey is not tasty. Every oven varies so watch them closely. I baked mine in 5 minutes.

Chinese New Year Almond Cookies

These days I find it harder to follow recipes as I often dabble with extra stuff here and there. I hardly measure salt and flour at times :)

I love this cookie. Since young and till now. I love it with some almond bits in it so I can bite and still enjoy the crunchy feel.

Ingredients:

150g self raising flour

80g almond meal

70g icing sugar ( made from tmx)

80g almond pieces

100g grapeseed oil

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1/4tsp salt

Volume baking:

to yield approx. 220 cookies:

600g self raising flour

320g almond meal

320g almond pieces

230g icing sugar

400g grapeseed oil

2TBs vanilla essence

1tsp salt

to yield approx. 140pieces:

450g self raising flour

240g almond meal

240g almond pieces

180g icing sugar

300g grapeseed oil

1.5 TBs vanilla essence

1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Sift flour and icing sugar, add in almond meal and mix in tmx Sp 5, 5s

2. Mix in vanilla essence and oil. I use the pulse function to get it into the right mix

3. Empty all contents into the thermomat and start bringing them together. It is crumbly but will come together nicely.

4. Roll into small balls and place on baking tray line with baking paper

5. Bake in preheated oven of 170C for 15-20minutes or until lightly brown. I started preheating only after halfway rolling the balls as it took some time to get them all rolled into that small size.

6. I omitted the egg wash but you can still do it with the yolk for a nicer finish.

Verdict: love it!

Red Pesto Recipe

Adapted from SkinnyMixer: skinnymixers.com.au/skinnymixers-red-pesto


I have modified to suit our family's taste


Ingredients:
340g sun dried tomatoes
150g raw cashew
80g olive oil
4 cloves garlic
70g roasted capsicum (in bottle)
40g tomato paste
a handful of fresh basil leaves
40g pitted kalamata olives
pinch of salt


Method:
Place all ingredients in TMX. blend for 30sec/Speed 5 until desired consistency


Tastes great as dip, salad, pasta

Orange Chiffon Cake

Adapted from :

http://pickyin.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/blood-orange-chiffon-cake.html

Good recipe for a 25cm tin which I own. I love it. It was light and perfect.

Blood Orange Chiffon Cake

Recipe modified from this Pandan Chiffon Cake.

Yield: One 25cm 5-inches tall cake.

• 180 grams cake/top flour
• ¼ tablespoon baking of soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 180 grams castor sugar, halved
• 160 milliliters blood orange juice
• grated zest of 2 blood oranges
• 8 eggs, separated
• 6 tablespoon corn oil

Pre-heat oven to 170°C and position a wire rack at the lower third rack. Prepare a clean 25 cm chiffon cake tin, do not grease.

Sift the flour and baking soda into a small bowl, add in the salt. 

In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the corn oil to form an emulsion. Add the blood orange juice and orange zest. Mix well before adding half (90 grams) of the sugar and whisk till sugar has melted. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk well into a smooth batter, there should be no lumps. Set aside.

On medium-high speed of a stand or hand held mixer, whisk the egg whites. Start adding the remaining sugar once the egg whites begin to foam, gradually in 3 additions. Beat till the meringue is smooth and glossy, with stiff peaks. Be careful not to over-beat the egg whites.

Immediately stir in approximately 1/3 of the meringue into the flour batter. With a flexible rubber or silicon spatula, fold in the meringue gently and mix well. Once a roughly homogeneous mixture is achieved, add the rest of the meringue and repeat the gentle, light-handed folding process till the cake batter is well combined. Scoop from the bottom of the bowl to ensure no meringue or flour batter is left unmixed. Do not beat or overwork the batter as this will knock out the air you've put into the meringue.

Pour the cake mixture into the cake tin. Using your spatula, dip it into the batter right to the bottom and make circles around the tin twice. This is to remove any large air bubbles possibly trapped while pouring in the cake batter. Bake at 170°C for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 160°C and bake for another 45 to 50 minutes or until cake is done. The cake tester should come out clean. Don't fret if the top of your cake cracks a little, this is normal.

Remove the cake from the oven and immediately overturn it to cool completely, up to 2 hours. I like to do this over an upturned funnel as the legs of the chiffon cake tin are not long enough to avoid the top of the cake touching its resting surface - the cake should rise to the same level or slightly higher than the center tube. You can also use a narrow necked bottle but ensure that it's stable enough to support the weight of the cake. Release the cake by running a sharp, thin knife along the sides of the cake tin and subsequently the bottom of the tube. The cake is meant to be served upside down as it is heavier on the top. 

Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, Ham

I love onions, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, olives. If I can combine them all, I just will :)

I pull this from various recipes so I can't really reference anywhere. Let's just say this is my first creation 

I made a large quantity as it was for a dinner party.

Ingredients:

1. 750g fusilli pasta

2. 200g diced ham

3. Tomatoes, a huge bowl, cut into small pieces 

4. Sun dried tomato- 1 cup

5. 1/2 cup sliced olives

6. 1 large red onion, thinly slice

7. 6-7 cloves of minced garlic

8. 1/2 cup red wine vinegar

9. Salt and pepper to taste

1tablespoon of dried oregano

10. 1 cup olive oil or use oil from the sun dried tomato

1. In a large bowl, mix tomatoes, olives, oregano, onions together with olive oil and the red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper as well

Let it sit for around 30 minutes and keep tossing in between

2. Cooked pasta till al dente

3. Let it cool then mix together with the mixture in step 1. Add in ham and sun dried tomatoes. Keep tasting and adjust accordingly to suit.

4. Chill in fridge until ready to serve

Ginger Cranberry cocktail

Adapted from tenina.com for her fabulous tmx recipes.

I tweaked it a little to suit taste

Ingredients:

2 cups water

180g sugar

1.5 cup sliced ginger

1 bottle apple cider 

1 bottle of white wine

Mint leaves for garnish

Ice to serve

Method:

1. Place water, sugar, ginger. 10 mins, 80C, Sp1

2. Allow ginger to soak into the sugar overnight before sieving it out

3. Combine all ingredients when ready to serve

Lemon shortbread slice

Adapted from:

http://tenina.com/recipes/lemon-shortbread-slice

Base:

250g walkers shortbread biscuits

60g butter

1 lemon zest

2tsp vanilla essence

Topping:

4 eggs

Zest of 2 lemons

70g plain flour

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

200g caster sugar

180g freshly squeezed lemon juice

Icing sugar to garnish

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C, line a 16cm square cake tin with baking paper.

2. Place all base ingredients in tmx. 15s, Sp8

3. Pressed into tin and bake 10 minutes till golden brown

4. Cool. Reduce oven to 160C

5. Make the topping. Place all ingredients except for lemon juice into tmx. 20s, Sp8

6. Add lemon juice and blend 20s, Sp8

7. Pour into baked base and bake for 20 minutes or until centre is just a little bit wobbly but set.

Boil Christmas Cake

Adapted from : http://www.themotherhubbardscupboard.com/boiled-fruit-cake/

Ingredients

375g Mixed Fruit (pre packed mixed dried fruit or your own concoction)

7 Dates

7 Dessert Figs

2 Tablespoons of Fig Jam

1 Cup Brown Sugar (160g)

1 Cup Water (250g)

125g Butter

3 Eggs

1/2 cup Brandy (optional)

1/2 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda

1 Cup Plain Flour

1 Cup Self Raising

1. Place pitted dates and figs into the bowl, chop 3 seconds/speed 7.

2. Place butter,  mixed fruit,  jam, sugar, and water into the mixing bowl and cook 13 minutes/100 degrees/reverse/speed 1.

3. Add rum (optional) and bicarbonate, stir for 30 seconds/reverse/speed 3. I omit alcohol for this time

Leave to cool for almost 4-5 hours.

4. When mixture is completely cool and you are ready to cook. Preheat oven to 120 degrees and prepare cake tin (20cm round) with 2 layers of baking paper on the bottom and sides (this is to stop the cake from drying out.

5. Place eggs and flour into the cooled fruit mixture and 1. mix 2 minutes/reverse/speed 3 then pour out into prepared tin

oven for 2 hours or when a cake skewer comes out clean. Leave in the tin to cool (As stated, I normally turn off the oven after 2 hours and leave overnight to cool)

7. When cake is cold, wrap in aluminium foil then plastic wrap and keep in the fridge, it is a very moist cake and will get mouldy if left out! Then you can wrap it all nice and pretty and give it to friends.

Gingerbread Cookies

Adapted from:
http://thermobliss.com/the-best-thermomix-gingerbread-recipe/

I doubled the recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup of golden syrup
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons of ground ginger
• 2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 250g of butter - chopped into cubes
• 2 egg
• 4 1/2 cups of plain flour

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line two baking trays with paper.
2. Place the golden syrup, sugar, butter and spices into your Thermomix bowl and cook for 5 minutes at 50 degrees on speed 2.
3. Add the egg and mix for 3 seconds on speed 3.
4. Add the flour and bicarbonate of soda and mix for 10 seconds on speed 5 or until combined.
5. Knead for 2 minutes before turning the dough out onto your Thermomat and lightly knead to form a ball.
6. Flatten the dough into a disc, cover with cling wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
7. Roll the Gingerbread dough between two sheets of baking paper until approximately 5mm thick. Use cutters of your choice to cut out shapes and place on baking trays. Bake for approximately 9 - 11 minutes - please note baking times will vary depending on the size of the cutter used.
8. Allow the gingerbread to cool and decorate as desired.

* I had to add a it more flour as mixture was too wet. After resting in the fridge for 40 mins, it was much workable but became soft quickly. Had to put inside fridge to make it workable again.

Baking was fast, 11minutes was perfect for mine cookies. I used the large gingerbread cookie cutter as it will be used for decorating.

Easy Thermomix Rich Chocolate Cake

Adapted from:
http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/baking-sweet-recipes/rich-chocolate-cake/17281

INGREDIENTS

Rich Chocolate Cake

• 200 g dark chocolate,, broken into pieces
• 180 g sugar
• 180 g unsalted butter,, cut into pieces
• 50 g plain flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 3 eggs
• 150 g fresh or frozen raspberries

RECIPE'S PREPARATION

Rich Chocolate Cake

1. 

Preheat oven to 190°C.

2. 

Place chocolate, butter and sugar into mixing bowl and melt for 5 min/60°C/speed 2. Don't be concerned if the sugar doesn't dissolve, just make sure the chocolate and butter have melted.

3. 

Add flour, a pinch of salt and eggs and mix for 15 sec/speed 4.

4. 

Pour into a lined 20cm round cake tin and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the edges have come away from the sides of the tin and a skewer tests almost clean.

5. 

Garnish with raspberries before serving.

TIP

This cake is best eaten cold as it almost sets when it is cooling to a fudgy interior and chewy sugary crust. Just lovely.

Dust with icing sugar or top with chocolate icing to serve. This cake is wonderful as a rich, decadent dessert cake.

Use any flour you like. Self raising flour for a lighter cake, plain flour for a denser cake, gluten free flour for people with allergies or spelt flour for the extra protein.Use any sugar you like. I've used white sugar and rapadura sugar in this recipe and both work well.

Gummy lollies tmx way

1 litre of fruit juice. Ensure to sieve

12 tbs of gelatine powder. Soaked into juice for 10 minutes

Pour into tmx, cooked 5mins on 50C , Sp2

Added 2 tbs sugar

Pour into mold and chill for 1-2 hours 

Egg tart cake flour pastry version

Adapted from:

http://themissinglokness.com/2012/03/12/egg-tarts/

Another take of the egg tart recipe, custard taste the same but pastry is lighter as it is made with all cake flour. Will be good if you need to use up cake flour

My version:

–    I used 15 tart tins

Ingredients:

Egg Custard:

–   2 large eggs (room temperature)

–   45g sugar

–   40g evaporated milk

–   145ml water

Pastry Crust:

–   230g cake flour (sifted)

–   140g butter (room temperature)

–   40g powdered sugar

–   20g evaporated milk

–  1 large egg yolk (room temperature)

Directions:

1. For the pastry crust, in a large mixing bowl with an electronic mixer, beat the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add ½ egg yolk and mix together. Add the evaporated milk and beat well. Slowly add the flour. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Form the dough into a round disk with hands. Wrap it in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C
3. Meanwhile, for the egg custard, in a small saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium, add the sugar and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.
4. Back to the crust, divide the dough into 15portions. My pastry weighs 450g I weigh 25-30g for each tart tin. Roll each portion into a round ball. Flatten each ball into flat disks with hands. Place a flat disk into a tart tin and mold the dough into a tart shape. The dough should be about a ¼-inch below the top of the tart tin edge. Poke at few holes at the bottom of the tart with a fork. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
5. In a medium bowl, beat 2 eggs with a hand whisk. Add evaporated milk and beat until combined. Stir in the syrup. Strain the mixture and remove bubbles with a spoon.
6. Line the prepared tart tins on a baking sheet. Fill the tarts 80% full with the egg mixture. Bake for 18 – 22 minutes until the egg custard is puffed up a little, and the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for 5 – 10 minutes. Tap the tart tin bottom lightly on the table. Turn the tart tin over and remove the egg tarts carefully. Serve immediately for best taste.

Blueberry and Choc Chip muffin

Adapted from the thermomix Facebook

Ingredients:( I doubled it to make 24 muffins)

340g milk

150g grape seed oil

4 eggs

210 g sugar

600g self raising flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 cup Choc chips

250g fresh blueberries

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C

2. Add milk, oil and eggs. Mix 10s Sp 4

3. Add sugar, flour,baking powder. Mix 5s Sp 4

4. Add blueberries and Choc chips. Gently folds till combined. Do not overmix

5. Divide the mixture into lined muffin trays and baked for 20-30 mins until toothpick comes clean when inserted into muffins. Mine took 20 mins

* I used the kitchen aid to mix as my mixture was too much for the tmx bowl. Still turn out well. Original recipe ask for desiccated coconut but I omitted as I am not a fan of coconuts.

Pork Meatballs

Adapted from:
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/2854/soy+sesame+pork+balls

I have modified accordingly to what is available. I have doubled the recipe to 1kg of mince and adjust seasoning as per taste

•  40g (1/4 cup) sesame seeds - omitted cause there is no sesame
•  480g pork mince- 1kg
•  1 egg, lightly whisked -2 eggs
•  2 tablespoons oyster sauce- a few large dashes
•  1 tablespoon kecap manis- thick soy sauce + 2 tablespoon sugar
•  45g (1/4 cup) rice flour- 1/2 cup
•  1/4 cup loosely packed finely chopped fresh Thai basil- replaced with garden basil
•  2 green shallots, ends trimmed, finely chopped- 4 shallots
•  2 garlic cloves, crushed-4 cloves
•  Peanut oil, to shallow-fry
•  Plum or sweet chilli sauce, to serve- omitted 

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients well and leave overnight in fridge

2. Roll into medium size balls

3. Heat up oil in non stick pan. Make sure there is enough to oil to cover half of the meatballs

4. Fry around 2-3 minutes each side or until light brown

5. Serve as it is.

Banana Pineapple bread

IAdapted from
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/moist-pineapple-banana-bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar (1c brown And 1c White)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1-1/4 cups canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained ( blitzed with thermomix together with banana)
• 2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4 to 5 medium
• 1/2 cup of walnuts

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and vanilla; add pineapple and bananas. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans.
2. Bake at 350° for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each). 

Originally published as Pineapple Banana Bread in Quick Cooking May/June 2001, p37