RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘cooking’

Burritos with Left-Overs [Thermomix Cooking]

28 Jun

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!

 
No Comments

Posted in Food, General

 

Bechamel Sauce Recipe [Thermomix Cooking]

14 Jun

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!

 
No Comments

Posted in General

 

Rekindling an old Passion [Love Affair with Food]

13 Mar

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!

 
No Comments

Posted in General

 

My first batch of Hot Cross Buns [Thermomix Cooking]

28 Feb

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.

Thermomix in the kitchenYesterday 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.

 
2 Comments

Posted in General