Super Scrubbies

Following on from Super Kitchen Machine's success with the Super Spatula, Helene has now introduced Super Scrubbies.

Here is some information about them, taken directly from Helene's Super Kitchen Machine website:

Often called "the world's finest pot-scrubbers" or "Rainbow Scrubbies". Amazingly gentle and strong, they are 'scrubby' but not scratchy, ideal for cleaning stainless steel. These colorful little lovelies conform beautifully to the Thermomix bowl for a sparkling shine every time!

Tough, powerful and GENTLE super for scrubbing Thermomix bowl and machine base too!

In the kitchen: safe for: blenders, pots & pans, sinks, cast iron, enamel or ceramic stove tops, ovens, glassware, china, cutlery, glass shelving, countertops, cutting boards, stoneware.
Great for removing coffee stains from cups, scrubbing potatoes, carrots , root vegetables, compost bucket, non-stick pans
In the bathroom: cleans porcelain sinks, tubs, showers. Removes hard water deposits from chrome, tile, and glass doors
Around the house: cleans window screens, old plant pots, garden tools, BBQ racks, grills.
Body care: smoothes rough heels and calluses,cleans dirt and paint from hands.

For $54CA, approximately $52AU, you get 15 of the smaller scrubbies, 15cm x 12cm and 2 of the larger ones, 23cm x 15cm.

Just click on the Super Spatula graphic to the right of the page and you'll be taken to the Super Kitchen Machine website where Helene has some great deals happening! Postage is included and if you're in the country, your package will arrive faster than a package from Perth!

Baked Vegetable Samosas

I adore the Curry Puffs that the Malay community in Katanning are famous for and wanted to make something similar but without the deep frying.
I checked quite a few recipes and came up with my own variation. The pastry is very easy to work with and scraps can be rolled twice. You can use ready made puff or shortcrust, but it's not as nice.

Baked Vegetable Samosas
Makes about 30 cocktail size

1 onion, quartered
1 clove garlic, peeled
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into coins
2 Tbsp ghee or oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
2 - 3 tsp mild curry powder (I use one that I make myself)
500g potatoes, peeled and diced
3/4 cup water
2 tsp salt
1 cup frozen peas
Juice of one lemon
chopped coriander or mint

Pastry
290g plain flour (I use bread flour)
1/2 tsp salt
125 chilled butter, cut into cubes
1/3 cup iced water
1 egg yolk
Extra egg yolk and 1 Tbsp water

Chop onion, garlic and ginger in Thermomix on speed 5 for a few seconds. Scrape down bowl.
Add ghee and set machine to cook on 100, 3 minutes, speed 2.
After 2 minutes, add spices and continue to cook for a further minute. Add potatoes, water and salt and cook on 100, reverse, speed soft for 10 minutes or until potatoes are soft and starting to break up. (No MC).
Add frozen peas and lemon juice and cook for a further 3 minutes on 100. Make sure most of the water has evaporated. If it hasn't, drain it off. Different potatoes absorb differing amounts of water. Some may need even more. Add chopped coriander and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Wash and dry bowl thoroughly.
To make pastry, place flour, salt and butter into bowl and blend on speed 5 for a few seconds. Add water mixed with egg yolk and blend again until it starts to come together.
Turn out onto silicone mat and press together. Wrap in mat and refrigerate 20 minutes.
Divide pastry in half for ease of use. Roll out thinly and cut 10cm circles. Mix egg yolk and water together in MC. Brush each circle with egg yolk mixture and place a heaped teaspoon of filling in the middle.
Press edges of each piece together to make a semi circle.
Beginning on the right hand side corner if you're right handed, pinch the pastry together and pull away slightly, roll it over on top of itself. move to the left of this bit and repeat. Continue all the way around the edge until you have the typical plaited look of a curry puff.
Pierce pastries all over with tip of a knife (I forgot to do this with the first batch and some of them burst at the seam) and brush with egg yolk mixture. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.

Serve with  Coriander Raita or Sweet Chilli Sauce

Coriander Raita
1 cup plain yoghurt
1/2 small cucumber, de-seeded and grated and drained in a colander lined with paper towel
2 Tbsp chopped coriander

Mix together.

Megan's Magdalenas

These delicious, light as a feather little cakes came about when I was searching online for a good patty cake recipe. Apparently, these Spanish cakes are eaten at breakfast! I can't imagine eating a cake for breakfast....

Megan's Magdalenas

Makes about 16

140g raw sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
125g melted butter (melted in microwave and allowed to cool a little)
250g plain flour
1 Tbsp baking powder (yes, 1 tablespoon!)
zest from one lemon
1 Tbsp milk
extra sugar

Pre heat oven to 200C
Place patty pan liners into muffin tins.

Blitz sugar on speed 9 for a few seconds. Scrape down.
Place butterfly onto blades.
Add eggs to bowl and whip for 7 minutes/50 degrees/speed 4.
Set dial to 1 minute/speed 4 and add melted butter through the hole.
Add milk and lemon zest through the hole and continue to mix on speed 4 for a few more seconds.
Remove butterfly.
Add sifted flour and baking powder and mix with aid of spatula on speed 3 - 4 until incorporated, about 20 seconds.
Pour into prepared patty pans to only half fill.
Sprinkle with extra sugar. This is important. If you don't sprinkle with sugar, the tops will become sticky after a few hours. If you're planning on icing them, then don't bother sprinkling with sugar.
Bake for 16 - 18 minutes until they're a light golden colour.

The first time I made these I didn't ice them. They were devoured, just the same. This time, I've iced them with lemon icing.

Reinventing Leftovers

I always make large amounts of bolognaise sauce, beef stews and casseroles. I normally like to freeze the leftovers. This time, I did as my mother did before me and created a new dish from old leftovers. Not that old, only a few days!

My bolognaise sauce was made with Mediterranean vegetables of eggplant, zucchini & mushrooms. By the time I added everything, I had an enormous pot of sauce! The basic passata is made with a reduction of sautéed celery, garlic, onion and carrot in the Thermomix. Add to this canned tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and seasonings. This is then added to the sautéed mince and chopped vegetables and cooked slowly for a couple of hours on the stove top. The day I made this, we ran out of gas, so it was cooked in the oven in a large Bessemer pan with a lid.

After eating it for a couple of days, there was still a fair bit left, so tonight I made it into a casserole.

Bolognaise Casserole
Leftover bolognaise sauce
Cooked pasta - I used macaroni
1 egg

Cheese Sauce (Thermomix)
500g milk
50g plain flour
100g cheese - mix of parmesan and tasty
2 eggs
salt and pepper
pinch nutmeg

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

Place bolognaise sauce into a casserole dish and mix in cooked pasta and beaten egg.
To make cheese sauce, grate cheeses in Thermomix first on speed 7 - 8 for a few seconds and set 50g aside.
Add remaining ingredients to the other 50g of cheese in the TM bowl and cook on 90 degrees for 8 minutes on speed 4.

Add about 1/4 cup of the cheese sauce to the bolognaise in the dish and mix. Pour the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining 50g grated cheeses. Bake for about 40 minutes or so.

Asian Salad

This is a delicious but simple salad made up with ingredients I had in the fridge. Any other vegetables could be added, such as capsicum or snow peas. Instead of pine nuts, try toasted slivered almonds.

The magic of this salad is in the dressing. It's superb and can be used for other salads to give an oriental twist. You could add a drizzle of sesame oil to it, but I had run out. A touch of chopped red chilli would also be a good addition. Add some crunchy noodles if you like.

Throw in some sliced poached chicken breast and you have a light and luscious lunch.

Asian Salad
Serves 4

1/4 cabbage, sliced thinly
1/2 carrot, grated
1/4 red onion, finely diced
1 stick celery, finely slice on the diagonal
handful snow pea sprouts, chopped
handful pine nuts, toasted

Dressing
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice (try Lime for a slightly different flavour)
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Combine and shake together.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of the dressing over the salad just before serving.