Tick of Yum

My John Looooooooves his Worcestershire Sauce.  This black, intense, spicy, salty/sweet flavour enhancer... and I make it for him!

It doesn't take long and afterwards we have enough for the year! (Makes just over a litre).  I've converted it to thermy method, although as you can see on the (quite OLD) recipe, that it isn't hard to make without one either!

ingredients:

• 900g of vinegar
• 300g of good quality soy sauce

This recipe is easy, and although it seems that there are quite a few ingredients, they're easily put together and the end result is absolutely delicious!

Of course, the best thing about making the sauce yourself, is that you know exactly what goes into it! (and it tastes delicious!)

Ingredients

• 800g of Vine Ripened tomatoes (Roma are best) - chopped
• One small apple, quartered - no need to peel or de-see...

Bee's Cracked pepper pate

No recipe, no matter WHAT people say, is completely made up.  SOMEBODY, somewhere made up the recipe of Pate and there have been variations of both the recipe and it's usage over time.

This one is a variations of one that I have used many times, and that is Gretchen's Pistachio pate from SuperKitchenMachine and a few others I found on the web.  I added what I had available and what I love...

Nikalene, from the fabulous Skinnymixers has just released a wonderful new cookbook with some fabulous Indian recipes.   She is largely considered to have THE best Butter Chicken recipe on the planet and I can't wait to try all of her other recipes.

You can find the link to her cookbook HERE

In the book... at the very start of the book.... Nikalene has some notes, one of them (I was SO chuffed to see I couldn't tell you!!) was that the Beef Stock Conce...

Ok... this is a food blog right... and you don't talk about ... um... (whispers.....) odours from the loo (normal voice) in the middle of talking about food right?

Well... I'm not going to talk about FOOD... but I will talk about the other.

First - some background.  While John actually watched the Superbowl recently (alone!!) couldn't wait to watch the rather entertaining ads that they put together for the main event.  I clicked onto a YouTube col...

And last but not least for today - is the conversion of a Fasting Day / Low Calorie meal from the UK 5:2 website for use by a Thermomix -

Fragrant Chicken Broth, Thermomix version - as requested.

I've had a little twiddle with the ingredints (that sounds weird... but you know what I mean right?) and I have to say that it is VERY VERY delicious!!!! &...

Bliss Balls, Protein Balls, Treats, Truffles….. what are they?

Well, there are hundreds of recipes out there, and following are just a couple, but do you NEED to follow a recipe? Some of us, actually, most of us…. once you have made a few from recipes you have an idea what your family likes in them and what works…. and what doesn't!  Then, you can easily just grab some ingredients together, just chuck it all in thermy and whammo, you have these littl...

What the heck is Fesenjan?  I thought the same..... initially.  Now it is one of the most fabulous, special (easy) meals that I have made!  A special shout out to Helen who suggested I try it - thank you SO much!!  

It is not a meal for the pressed-of-time people.  This will take at least 2-3 hours and best made the night before eating (we ended up eating it 2 days after cooking) to really bring out the flavours.  But fabulous if you want...

I was given a taste of some pomegranate Molassas once... ages ago.. SO long ago that I can't even remember when and where I had it!  The lady had made it and wanted me to try some... OK... it was ok, a tangy sauce... so, I thought, what could I possibly do with that? And put it out of my mind.... or so I thought.

Over the years I have remembered the name of the sauce, and the excitement of the person who had made it and at the back of my mind has ALWAYS been the thought...

In The Mix 2... Who (ifyou already HAD In the Mix 1) didn't rush right out and get it!!??

Who (and be honest) didn't look at the recipes and think two things.... 1- WOW and 2- Too fancy for me.

I've learnt (amazing how this old dog CAN be taught) that the cookbook is a new format for cookbooks... yes there are elaborate, fancy pants, recipes - but really it is a HUGE collection of recipes grouped not only into their subgroups (mains, soups, deserts etc) but...

Anne Wood, from Waikerie, was another happy consultant at our recent Thermomix conference in South Africa.  Lucky for me, she was also my room mate.  Even luckier, we got on very well, with similar tastes in food (and the amount of it LOL), shopping, music etc.

We were chatting about our favourite recipes, and she mentioned she had put her family's favourite,

Just before Christmas, I did a delivery to a fabulous cook, and she got straight into the thermomix and made Oreo balls!  I just HAD to have the recipe!!!!

EASY PEASY Oreo Balls!!!

• 2 packets Oreo. 
• Speed 8 for 10-15 seconds
• Scoop about 2 tablespoons out & put aside
• Add cream cheese to the rest of the crumbs. 
• Mix speed 6 until combined

Well... it had to happen, a brand new cookbook going "use me". "use me"... so I did.

How can you tell if you hav a good cookbook?  Well... to me, it is making something that you LOVE to order at restaurants.  If it is BETTER than what you would normally get from that restaurant?  It's a great cookbook.... well maybe it's only a good recipe, but work with me here LOL

With that little test in mind, I decided to try the Satay Chicken and the Pea...

You might have heard that I met enough happy new Thermomix owners last year that I earned a trip to South Africa!!!!  Well.... that pleasure isn't going to go unpunished.  My lovely manager, Michelle, has asked me to do a cooking segment in our next meeting... and to cook something South African.  Well.... what the heck is something "South African"??

I turned to a very useful search engine and there were some lovely sounding recipes all for the taking.  ...

John introduced me to Beef Cheeks, cooked sloooooooowly in a pot on the stove.  They really are delicious!!  Tender and, just like lamb shanks, need a) a lot of cooking and b) provide a delicious thick nourishing stock.

John - my darling John - changed his name to Doubting Thomas for a while there after I casually asked (after he burnt a big pot of beef cheeks) if they would be ok in the Thermomix - he said he doubted it!

So.... over the last few ...

John, the love of my life, has a few defects.  One of them is that he hates cooked pineapple.  To me, that had excluded one of my favourite sauces... sweet and sour.

Googling through recipes one day I came across this AMAZING (yes, it IS worth capitals) sweet and sour recipe.  What makes it so good?  Well, it isn't really the type of sauce when you think of Sweet and Sour - it isn't clear and sweet - it is thick, a LITTLE sweet and REAL tasty!  Almos...

My friend of many years (and very recent new Thermomix owner) gave me this recipe more years ago than I would like to admit to :-)

While you CAN make the puff pastry in the Thermomix, and grate the cheese in the thermy, it isn't really a thermy one so you can do this even if your thermy is at home and you're out somewhere.

They are DELICIOUS, super quick and absolutely moreish.... enjoy!!

Jan's Party Pleas...

The very first time I EVER made a salad (A coleslaw) I actually made coleslaw juice.  Does that sound familiar??

Ever since then, I NEVER wanted to make coleslaw mush ever again.  And I didn't.....  I learnt a trick... easy peasy salad... YOU can make the best salad in the blink of an eye.

To add even more value to this post, I'll add the recipe for my favourite style of coleslaw - and name it after myself..... Why??  Because I can :-). ...

Gifts made in your Thermomix

It has clicked over to October - although it is hard to believe at the moment, there are only a few weeks before we all start thinking about what to get whom... where from... how... and so on.

It is fantastic that we can make our own gifts so very easily in the Thermomix - some can be made at the last minute... some take a little time.. but with some forethought and just a few easy steps, you will be...

It doesn't surprise me that Jo Whitton, from Quirky Cooking, had beaten everyone to the salted caramel craze! I remembered making her Rapadura-Maple Syrup Butter Toffee when she first posted it, in 2011 and LOVING it - but then forgot about it.

It came to mind a couple of weeks ago, as I had bought my first big bag of Rapudura sugar (always used Raw Suga...