Ingredients

• 320g water (boiling hot from jug)
• 100g cooking salt
• 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
• 280g plain flour
• 15g coconut oil
• Food colouring to suit
• (Depending on the brands of ingredients used you may need to add more flour)

Method

1. Put Salt in TM bowl and mill Speed 9, 3 seconds. Depending on the brand of salt you use you may need a little longer – you want it to look like a fine powder.
2. Put cream of tartar in and then add water. Heat for 3 minutes at 60 degrees on Speed 3.
3. Once finished, look to make sure that all your salt has been dissolved, give a little stir with the spatula and heat for a further 2 minutes at 60 degrees on Speed 3.
4. Add flour and mix for 20 – 40 seconds or until well combined on Speed 3.
5. Add coconut oil, set dial to closed lid. Interval Speed 1 – 2 minutes – you are looking for small pebble like consistency.
6. I then like to add food colouring in a separate bowl and knead together as I find if I knead in the Thermomix it dries out too quickly – that being said wear some disposable gloves if you don’t want rainbow hands!

Suggestion: Once kneaded to the colour consistency you want, you can wrap the dough in baking paper and then pop it in a zip lock bag until you find some suitable pots to put them in.

Ingredients

• 250g sugar
• 1 juicing orange, unpeeled, cut in quarters
• 3 eggs
• 100g room temperature butter or 100ml unflavoured oil (e.g. sunflower, grape seed)
• 130g cream or 1 natural yogurt pot (around 120g)
• 250g self raising flour
• 1 pinch salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180
2. Grease your mould and flour lightly. Reserve (I use paper liner so can skip this step)
3. In the TM bowl put sugar, orange and eggs. 3 min, 37degrees, speed 5
4. Add the butter and cream. Mix 5 seconds speed 4
5. Add the flour, and salt. Programme 15sec speed 3.
6. Finish by folding it with the spatula.
7. Pour it onto prepared mould, gently tap onto counter to get rid of bubbles. Make sure surface is even. The mould should not be more than half full. In the oven for 30 min approx.

Suggestion: Before putting in the oven, you can sprinkle with sugar to create a little crust, or after cooked, dust with icing sugar.

A very elegant and autumnal desert that is great for entertaining too, because you can prepare it well in advance. Original recipe:”Persiana” by Sabrina Ghayour

Ingredients:
6 Pears, smooth, even sized and with stems
400g rosewater
12-16 cardamon pods
300g sugar
pistachio nuts for scatteromg
rose petals for scattering

Directions:

1. Peel the pears leaving the stems intact. Remove the cores from the bases and slice a little off the bottom so they can stand upright.
2. Add sugar to the bowl. Grind it 5 seconds speed 10.
3. Now add the cardamom pods. To crack them open program the TM 10 seconds, reverse blade speed 5.
4. Pour the rose water into the TM bowl and insert the steaming basket. Put two pears sideways unless they are small enough to sit upright with the lid closed. Pour water to just about cover the pears.
5. To poach the first two pairs, program the TM for 30 minutes, 100C, reverse blade speed 2. Always keep the measuring cup off in this recipe. When the time is finished, test to see that they are tender. If they are not soft, program for an extra 5 minutes. If they are, transfer to a dish and, in the same liquid, insert another two pears.
6. The new pears need to be poached for 15 minutes at 100C, reverse blade speed 2. Test them for doneness when the time is finished. Test and adjust as in step 5.
7. Repeat this process with the last two pears.
8. The original recipe ends here. It suggests you can serve the pears with a scattering of pistachios and to pour some of the poaching liquid over, and to decorate with a few rose petals.
9. I prefer to reduce the poaching liquid and to serve it in a more syrupy consistency. If you like that idea, keep the steaming basket in the bowl and tip out about 1 litre of the poaching liquid. Reserve the liquid you took out for making porridge, or adding to yogurt, etc. To reduce the liquid still in the bowl, program the TM for 30 minutes, Varoma temperature, reverse blade speed 2.
10. Delicious served with some vanilla ice cream, or milk and honey icecream.

A middle eastern twist on our Scottish favourite. Original recipe:”Persiana” by Sabrina Ghayour

Ingredients:

100g Pistachios, shelled, unsalted
50g Rice
250g Plain Flour
rind of 2 lemons
2tsp Vanilla paste
120g sugar
1/2tsp salt
200g unsalter butter, soft
olive oil
caster sugar and salt flakes for dusting (optional)

Directions:

1. Let’s make the ground rice: in your TM bowl put your rice and the lemon rind. Mill for 10 seconds speed 10.
2. Add the pistachios, and chop for 2 seconds at speed 5 a few times until you get a sandy consistency and some larger chunks. You want to be able to taste the crunch.
3. Now add all the other ingredients except the butter and olive oil. Mix everything by setting your TM for 1 minute at speed 3. Whilst the blades are moving drop cubes of butter until you form a dough.
4. The dough ball needs to be quite firm so you may need to add some olive oil a tablespoon at a time. Mix it in at speed 3 for 10 seconds at a time.
5. You can shape the ball into a log about 4-5 cm wide and wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. I prefer lining a baking tray with baking paper and spreading the dough roughly in a 1cm rectangle and then I put it in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.
6. When ready to bake, turn the oven on at 150. Line a large baking tray with nonstick baking paper. Once the oven is hot, take out your dough roll or dough tray from the fridge. If you have a roll, cut 1cm disks and put onto the prepared baking tray, spaced 2cm apart. If you had, as I prefer, spread the dough onto a baking tray, place a piece of baking paper over your dough and with a rolling pin roll the dough to a 1cm thickness. Use cookie cutters about 4cm in diameter to cut out your biscuits. Put them onto a prepared baking tray, spaced 2cm apart.
7. Sprinkle some caster sugar and some salt (if using) liberally over the tops, then bake for 20 minutes until the edges become slightly golden but the biscuits are generally the same colour as before they went into the oven. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
8. Leave to cook out of the tin on a rack. It will keep for a week if you wrap it in cling film.

I just presented this recipe along with Pistachio and Lemon Shortbread and Cardamon and Rosewater Poached Pears to my Thermomix Advisors group. These three recipes have been winners at home and with friends and they proved a winner with my fellow advisors.

An alluring banana bread with lovely aromas that fill your house when you bake it. The twist is that it has a much lower glycemic index than typical banana bread, and it packs extra essential fatty acids, fiber and protein with the addition of linseed and hemp. It keeps very well and it makes for great slices to put in packed lunches. Original recipe:”Superfood Kitchen” by Julie Morris. Makes one large loaf.

Ingredients:
45g Linseed
70g Almond milk
230g Wholewheat flour (spelt, etc)
35g Lucuma powder
5g mesquite
1tsp baking soda
1tbs baking powder
3/4tsp sea salt
45g coconut oil, plus some some for coating the pan
90g coconut sugar
40g agave nectar
1/2tsp coconut extract (optional)
3-4 very ripe bananas, mashed
70g hemp seeds

Directions:

1. Mill your flax seed in the TM, 5, 20s, speed 10. Tip into small bowl. Put bowl onto TM lid and weigh the almond mik in it. Leave the linseed steeping there for 5-10 min to plump up.
2. Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease your loaf tin (25, 15, 7cm) with coconut oil.
3. Put coconut oil in TM bowl, melt it 1 min, 100C, speed 1. Now add coconut sugar, the flax mixture, agave nectar, coconut extract, mashed bananas. 20 seconds speed 4. Now let’s add the dry ingredients to the TM bowl: flour, lucuma powder, mesquite powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Blend it together 10 seconds speed 3. Scrape down the inside of the bowl, program 10 seconds speed 3.
4. Now fold in your hemp seeds with the spatula.
5. Transfer mixture to prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle one tablespoon of coconut sugar over the top. Bake 45-50 min until the top is brown and a tester comes out clean.
6. Leave to cook out of the tin on a rack. It will keep for a week if you wrap it in cling film.

When your oldest son says “that is so wretched!” you know you are on to a winner.  Yes it is laborious, but it was fun and you can involve kids or adults in making it.  Glass of wine in hand, some music, and let the therapy begin!  Try it.   Recipe from  “In the Mix 1”

Smart for a dinner party and a success with children too…

Inspired by Dani Valent from her book In The Mix.

Take 120g of Parmesan cheese in chunks. 10 seconds speed 10. Reserve in separate bowl. Prepare 2 heads of broccoli in florets and stems in large chunks in Varoma dish and tray, rinse, cook 10 min steamed in Varoma speed 3. Refresh in cold water, meanwhile chop 3 cloves of garlic, 40g oil, 2 shallots, of bowl, 4 seconds speed 6, scrape down contents and sautee 5 min Varoma, speed 2. Add broccoli, 60g creme fraiche, 60g toasted pine nuts. Chop into a coarse mixture 10 seconds speed 5. You may want to help the broccoli with the spatula…

It makes approx a 1.5l jar. Remember it is light and airier than traditional pesto.

Amazing Spiced Chia Porridge with Cashew Milk.   It is stuffed with Omega 3 and protein and fiber.  A perfect breakfast of champions!

You will need: 625g water, 5-6 Medjool dates (no stones), 30g cashews, 25g hemp seeds, 1/2tsp mixed spice, 50g chia seeds, 20g dried mulberries, 3 tablespoons goji berries.

In your TM blend water, dates, cashews, hemp seeds, and mixed spice 1 minute speed 10.  Pour into a large bowl and sprinkle and stir in the chia seeds. Let is sit for about 10 minutes to plump up, then stir, and another 10 minutes of plumping up nicely.  Later add the berries and put in the fridge overnight to develop its flavours.

In the morning you can add some fresh fruit.

If you want an instant hot version,  blend water, dates, cashews and mixed spice 1 minute speed 10.  Now add your chia and hemp seeds and simmer 5 minutes 98 degrees speed 2.  Add the berries and let it sit for a few minutes to plump up more.

4 delicious and healthy breakfast servings in a flash!