OzLady's Ramblings

Romani Spagetti (Broccoli Spagetti)

One of my favourite things about cooking with my Thermomix is that I can cook rice, noodles or pasta, while using the steam to cook vegetables and other parts of the meal. This makes the cooking more or less ‘set-and-forget’ – perfect for me!

This is called Romani Spaghetti after a friend of mine who used to invent dishes for a local restaurant. This was his creation – a good, simple meal to have after a day at work.

Here is my ‘Thermomixed’ version of his recipe.

Ingredients

Spaghetti (80-100 grams per person)
Broccoli (half a head per person, cut into florets)
Parmesan cheese (grated or ground, to taste)
Salt
Olive Oil
Red Chili (cut, to taste)
Garlic (we like it strong – 2 to 4 cloves per person)

Method

1. Add 1 to 1.5 litres of water, salt (to taste) and 5 grams of olive oil to the Thermomix bowl. Cook for 14 minutes, temperature 100 degrees C, speed soft.
2. Arrange the broccoli florets in the steaming tray (bottom level), and the garlic in the top tray. (If you are cooking for one, you can put all in the same tray – see photo below.)
3. When the water is boiled, add the spaghetti.
4. Put on the lid, lock into closed position, and add the steaming trays to the top.
5. Cook for 9 minutes, temperature 100 degrees C, reverse, speed soft.
6. When cooked, drain spagetti into bowl and then pour over a dollop of olive oil. Gently toss with cut chili, and garlic (crush the garlic into the pasta after steaming).
7. Add broccoli and the parmesan cheese to the pasta and toss gently (so that you don’t damage the florets).
8. Serve!

Broccoli, arranged in the steaming tray

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Bacon used to be the name of a bun that I used to pick up at the Bread Talk here in Singapore. For those that don’t know, Bread Talk is a local bread chain that does rolls, buns, danishes and other bread assortments – like Baker’s Delight in Australia. At any rate, they stopped making this particular one, and for a while there I was popping into every Bread Talk that I passed to see if they made this bun. No luck!

Then it occurred to me that I can make it myself.

So, based on my modified Thermomix bread recipe… here goes, with a modification or two to suit my own taste!

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Bacon Bread

Ingredients

The Dough:

100g Spelt Flour
300g lukewarm water
1 sachet instant yeast
salt to taste
400-420g baker;s flour
20g olive oil
Dried basil flakes (optional)
Pepper (optional)

[See my post on bread ingredients available in Singapore if you're not sure what to use here.]

The Filling:

100g Ham or Bacon
Olive oil
Pepper and salt to taste
2 eggs
Parmesan cheese
Chedder cheese

Method

1. Add (in this order) to the TM mixing bowl: spelt flour, water, yeast, salt, flour, oil, basil flakes (about 1 dessert spoon, or to taste), and pepper (1-2 tsp, or to taste).
2. Mix ingredients on Speed 7, for 5 seconds to combine.
3. Set the dial to closed lid position, and then knead the dough for 1 min and 30 secs, on Interval speed.
4. Once the dough is kneaded, place it in a slightly oiled bowl. I usually just get a paper towel and use it to wipe a dollop of olive oil around the bowl. Cover the dough with plastic wrap (eg. Glad wrap), and leave it to rise in a warm location for 20-30 mins. This rising process is normally called ‘proving’. It should approximately double in size.
5. Once dough has proved, lay the dough on a large flat surface sprinkled with flour (I use the baker’s flour). Roll out until it is about 20cm across and about 40cm long.
6. Grind/grate the cheeses and mix together (use as much or as little as you wish), keeping in mind if you use too much, it can leak out of the bread on to the baking tray during the baking process. About 100-150 grams is usually enough.
7. Pour the olive oil down the centre of the dough – I usually use an ‘S’ pattern (see yellow line in sketch below).
   
8. On top of the olive oil layer the various ingredients according to your taste and preference. I generally use the following order:
   • pepper
   • basil
   • salt
   • a portion of the cheese
   • ham/bacon
   • beaten eggs
   • more cheese
   • pepper
9. Roll the dough into a long roll, ensuring that the sides are sealed so that ingredients do not leak out. You are rolling the shorter sides towards each other, so you will end up with an approximately 40cm long roll.
10. Transfer the rolled dough to a floured baking tray.
11. Join the ends of the roll together so you end up with something that looks like a big donut. If pinching the ends together doesn’t hold, wet them with a pastry brush and try again. Usually wetting the dough will make it stickier. Use a pastry brush so you don’t wet it too much (which can result in the dough losing its firmness and you end up with mush).
12. I like to brush water over the top of the dough to make the crust a little crunchier. You can sprinkle seeds on top if you like. I sprinkle more flour on top as well.
13. Bake for 35 mins in a preheated oven – 180 degrees Celsius for fan forced ovens, 220 degrees C if your oven is not fan forced.
14. I usually like to open the oven door when there’s about 8-10 minutes to go and sprinkle a bit of cheese on top.
15. When done, take out of the oven, and leave to cool on a cooling rack for about 5-10 minutes. This ensures the cheese has cooled down a little.
16. Cut and serve!

Eat your heart out Bread Talk and Baker’s Delight!

Sometimes I end up with a bunch of vegetables (and sometimes small quantities of meat) in my fridge that are on the verge of expiring. You all know what I mean – you gotta cook ‘em up before they rot. One alternative is to make a vegetable soup. This is another alternative, as usually I have loads of lettuce, tomato & cheese on hand at any time (they are staples in my fridge).

Burrito-style leftovers

Note that this is in no way a ‘traditional’ burrito recipe – it’s just my way of dealing with leftover veges and meat in the fridge!

Ingredients

I generally use the following as a minimum, however any additional left over vegetables that can be ground or boiled down are good fillers for this recipe (including onions, carrots, mushrooms, beans, olives, etc).

1 onion(roughly chopped)
2 cloves garlic
50g olive oil
1 carrot (roughly chopped)
4-5 rashers of bacon (or left over minced beef/chicken/pork)
1 can of kidney beans (or chili beans, or refried beans – whichever is available/left over)
1 medium red chili (roughly chopped) (or chili powder)
Herbs & Spices to taste – I like cumin, pepper, salt & oregano

Method

1. Add garlic, olive oil and onion into the Thermomix bowl. Chop for 4-5 seconds on speed 6. Scrape down the sides with the TM spatula.
2. Saute contents of bowl for 5 mins, Veroma temperature, speed 1.
3. Add chopped carrot and chili to the bowl. Chop for 4-5 seconds on speed 6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with the TM spatula. Remember to keep the MC in the lid for this step – the mixture is hot.
4. Either dice the bacon by hand, or chop  for 2 seconds on speed 6. Dicing by hand usually results in chunkier bacon bits. This is up to your personal preference. Add any other meat here.
5. Cook on Veroma temperature, speed 1 for 2-4 minutes (this will vary depending on the meat – as a guide: bacon usually only requires 2 mins, beef mince I usually cook for 4 mins).
6. Add 1 tsp of cumin powder, 1 tsp of oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Mix for 30 seconds on speed 1.
7. Add beans and cook for 5 minutes, Veroma temperature, speed 1.
8. Taste and add any spices for flavour.
9. Cook for 5 mins, 100 degrees, speed soft.
10. Optional – some like full beans in their mix. Others prefer a mushy consistency. if you prefer to have everything ‘mushed’ mix for 10 seconds on speed 5. Up to your personal preference. Remember to keep the MC in the lid for this step – the mixture is hot.

To assemble the burrito

I generally like to have mine open at one end, but you can wrap them closed if you like. You can find instructions on folding a burrito here.

In the centre of the wrap put:

• 2 dessert spoons of the bean/meat mix
• small amounts each of lettuce, tomato, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, salsa (I generally assemble them in that order)
• Wrap

Sometimes the wraps get messy and won’t stay together, so I sometimes use wax paper as a wrap around the wrap, so that I can wrap a whole bunch on a plate and serve them, and everyone can help themselves.

Plates and napkins are definitely recommended for this!

In a bit to increase my good cholesterol, prevent heart attack, prevent cancer, save the pandas and promote good against evil in cases of plots for world domination (OK, made that last bit up… ) I’m trying to eat more fish, and reduce some of my ‘bad’ carbohydrates.

Brown Rice & Fish - the tasty version

So out with white rice, and in with brown.

Normally this would be a bad thing – brown rice is dull, right?? Well, thanks to Jamie Oliver, I have found that there are numerous ways to make rice tasty.

Adding lemon zest and butter is one way.

Also, adding lemon juice and dill or basil to the water during boiling is also nice.

Using my Thermomix, I do this using the following method:

1. Put about 400g of rice in the Thermomix basket
2. Add about 900g of water to the mixing bowl
3. Put on Veroma Termperature, speed 3, for 20 minutes
4. After 20 minutes, when the rice is moist, but not fully cooked, top up the water a little, then stir through some dill / basil / pepper / lemon zest to taste
5. This is usually when I put my baked fish on (in a preheated oven for 20 minutes)
6. Set the Thermomix on Veroma Termperature, speed 3, for 20 minutes
7. Add butter, or a drizzle of olive oil and leave for 3-5 minutes
8. Serve the main (fish, meat, whatever) and the rice! Yum!

Loving life, and loving being home for lunch!

Friends and family are tired of me gushing over my fabulous Thermomix… but it really is an awesome machine (even if it’s a touch pricey).

My latest favourite breakfast smoothie is a borrowed mix from a fruit stall vendor here in Singapore. I wanted the banana and strawberry smoothie, however they had no strawberries. The fellow behind the counter suggested that I try banana and kiwifruit. Yum!

Here’s how I re-created this at home:

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas
• 2 kiwi fruit
• ice (to taste – I usually use about 10-15 cubes)
• Optional – you could add milk (half a cup)

Method:

1. Cut skin off kiwi fruit and peel bananas (it’s obvious, I know… but I also know someone who didn’t skin the kiwi fruit the first time they made juice with it – eeek!)
2. Break/cut into chunks and put in blender / Thermomix
3. Add ice
4. Blend (on Thermomix I used 30 seconds on Speed 8)

Other thoughts:

• You could possibly add a couple of shakes of cinnamon to spice this up a little
• ENJOY!

I’ve discovered a new site since starting to cook with Thermomix, and I used it recently when I was after a Bechamel Sauce for some lasagna. I have made the following modification, however I wanted to give kudos to Thermomix Cooking 101. It’s a very useful Thermomix site.

Bechamel Sauce

Ingredients
1Lt Milk
100g Plain Flour
60g Butter
Salt (to taste)
Nutmeg (to taste)

Method
Place butter in the bowl and melt for 1 minute, 90 degrees, speed 1.

Add the flour and milk into the bowl and cook for 12 minutes at 90 degrees on speed 4.

Stir in salt and nutmeg to taste after cooking (20-30 seconds, speed 1).

Enjoy!

I love to make soups, and keep them in jars in the fridge for lunch or dinners during the week. Just tip some out into a bowl, heat and serve!

This is more for my own reference than anything else, but I have adapted a recipe from my Thermomix cook book and don’t wish to lose it!

Bottled Tomato and Capsicum Soup

Ingredients

half tsp ground black pepper
500g Ripe Tomatoes, halved (or canned whole tomatoes)
2 onions (quartered)
1 red capsicum
1 red chili (remove half the seeds for a milder flavour) or tabasco sauce to taste
50g tomato paste
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Small bunch fresh parsley
2 tsp dried basil
500g water
2 stock cubes (or 2 tbsp Vege Stock Concentrate)
Sea Salt to taste

Cook all ingredients in the Thermomix for 15 minutes at 100 degrees C on speed 1. At the end of the heating time, blend for about 30 seconds going slowly from Speed 1 to Speed 8 (keeping the MC or a larger cup over the hole to avoid splashing – HOT!).

Adjust seasoning before serving. Serve sprinkled with parsley or basil.

(Note – if too spicy or salty, add sugar. If too sweet, add salt.)

For those that are not using a Thermomix (poor dears), you will need to food process the ingredients after you cook over a stove.

Since moving house and getting a new Thermomix, I have been cooking up a storm. I have rediscovered in myself the love that I used to have for cooking, and I think because of all the flavours that I have been exposed to over the last 10 years, I am becoming more adventurous.

I’ve become an advocate for Thermomix cooking, because I can now make a whole lot of things from scratch, and not have to wonder what is in the food. I now keep more simple foods in my cupboard, and make a whole lot of things from scratch, or use those ingredients for alternative recipes or mixes.

For example, last night I had a dinner party, and decided to bake fish with basil pesto. Easy! Pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, parmeson cheese and basil. Spread pesto on fish, top with tomatoes and asparagus, throw in to some foil and put in the oven for half an hour (175 deg C). No preservatives, no wondering what is in my food. Plus I can experiment. My husband complained that the taste was a little bland (he is Singaporean and used to more chili), so next time my pesto will probably be basil and chili pesto!

I am equally delighted to have Jen as a friend – she is from Vietnam and loves to cook. I was amazed by the simplicity of a fruit salad she put together last night. Three ingredients – watermelon (cubed), passionfruit, and honey. Stir in a bowl and serve. How much of each? Depends on number of people, and how strong you like the tastes. We love passionfruit, so for eight people it was half a watermelon, 6 passionfruit, and two huge dollops of honey. The passionfruit was lovely and tart! Yum!

Baked Basil Pesto Fish, with tomato and asparagus

Jen also assembled Vietnamese spring rolls for us all. The ones in the rice paper – served cold with a fish-sauce mixture that she put together – another recipe I need to get off her.

It’s a fair trade – I’m going to help her to learn to bake bread!

Next I will be learning to cook more regional flavours from Singapore and Malaysia. The Health Promotion Board in Singapore has a number of healthy versions to recipes for local foods that I think I will start with. Happy Days!

My first batch of Hot Cross Buns [Thermomix Cooking], originally uploaded by ozlady.

I recently bought a Thermomix, but with family in town I really haven’t had a chance to experiment and put it through its paces.

Yesterday while discussing this with my MIL, I recalled that there was a recipe for hot cross buns in the cook book that came with the machine. I pledged some to her, which was probably quite foolish considering I haven’t cooked that much with it.

At any rate, I tried the recipe, and here is my first batch! DH was happy with the results, and I’m taking them over to my MIL’s today.

I’ve never been a huge baker, but looking at these results, I’m really looking forward to making breads and other items.