Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Tuna and Pineapple Casserole

A quick and easy recipe given to me by a friend to which I've added some extras to make it go further. The original recipe didn't have noodles, peas or corn. Since I'm also feeding my Father-in-Law, I wanted to add some vegetables to make sure he's getting his daily serve!
I made the sauce in the Thermomix, but it's easily made on the stove top.


Tuna and Pineapple Casserole
The Bush Gourmand


2 onions
60g butter

2 or more tsp curry powder to taste
2 Tbsp plain flour
1 1/2 cups milk


1 large tin tuna, drained
1 x 450g can pineapple pieces (I only had crushed pineapple, so used that)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn niblets
1/2 cup vermicelli soup noodles
salt and pepper (I used 3 tsp chicken stock powder instead)
Home made breadcrumbs
melted butter

Peel and cut onions into quarters. Chop for 3 seconds/speed 5. Scrape down and repeat. Add butter and saute on speed 3/reverse/100, setting timer for 5 minutes.
At the 4 minute mark, add flour and curry powder and continue sauteing for a further minute.
Set dial to speed 2/reverse/1 minutes and gradually add milk. Cook on 100/5 minutes/Reverse/speed 2-3
Add noodles and pineapple, including juice and continue cooking for a minute or so.
Place tuna into a casserole dish with peas and corn and pour sauce over. Mix gently.
Mix breadcrumbs with melted butter and place over the top of the casserole.
Bake for 20 minutes in a moderate oven.

Friday, October 12, 2012

What's For Dessert?

The question is now answered with a great new e-book written by the queen of desserts and all things Thermomix, Tenina Holder.

This great new e-book can be downloaded from the Super Kitchen Machine site by clicking the link on the right hand side of the blog page - Super Spatula.

There are more than 23 easy recipes with full colour photos. If you know Tenina, there'll be a lot of chocolate involved!
Recipes include cakes, tarts, ice cream and pies and all are super delicious and easy to make.

At only $15 Canadian, this book is a steal. You can download it up to three times in case your computer has a hissy fit or you forget where you saved it...  Good idea is to print a couple of copies off and keep it in a plastic display folder.

Enjoy!
Megan




Hayfever = Gluten and Dairy Free Diet

October is hay fever month here in the bush. The rye grass is playing havoc with everyone's sinuses, including mine.
Today is horribly windy, making it a hazard to even step outside without covering my nose and mouth. Every time I head out, I tie a tea towel around my face and look like a bandit from a bad western movie.

Previously, when I suffered hay fever for months on end, a naturopath recommended a gluten, dairy, sugar and yeast free diet. This was way back in the 90's when it was nigh on impossible to buy anything that was gluten free. I lost kilos because I couldn't eat anything. I managed to stay on this restricted diet for 6 whole months and didn't suffer from hay fever again for years and years.

It returned with a vengeance around this time last year and lasted the whole month. This year, I'm going on a self-imposed gluten and dairy free diet to see if it makes a difference. It's so easy these days and especially easy if you have a Thermomix.

Recipes are easy to find and ingredients are readily available, even in stupidmarkets.
The first place I will search on the internet for good GF and DF recipes is Quirky Jo's blog. She has an amazing array of ideas and recipes and is a mine of information.
I also like Forum Thermomix (the first and the best) for ideas and help with recipes and ingredients.

Today, I made a GF bread using my own recipe and Jo's Buckwheat and Almond Crepes/Tortillas
The bread has just gone into the oven. The crepes worked brilliantly - they're cooked in the sandwich press!
I used two together for my chicken wrap:


They were super soft and easy to roll. Because they were quite thin, I used two together. As crepes, they would be just as delicious.

I'm not a big dairy eater anyway - except for cheese! I love Jo's Cashew Cream as a replacement for regular cream. Cashews are very nutritious and are quite sweet, so work well in this way.
I drink soy milk - a left over habit from when I was dairy free for six months. One thing I could never go back to was cow's milk. Can't stand the smell or taste. I also like Cashew and Almond Milk, but find that soy is better for menopause symptoms. Nut milks are good for custards and sauces, though.

Hopefully, my hay fever symptoms will be fewer and less severe this season. I'll report back!

Megan

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Thermomix Forum



Forum Thermomix is my go to place whenever I'm looking for a recipe to make in my Thermomix.
Looking for a Thermomix recipe? Then this is the best site on the internet.

Not only is there an amazing array of TRIED and TESTED recipes there, but there are honest reviews of many of the recipes in the Thermomix Recipe Books. Do a search for thermomix recipes and google should take you to the right place.
There's nothing worse than wasting a mass of ingredients on something that either doesn't work out or just isn't nice.

My advice to anyone who owns a Thermomix is to sign up to www.forumthermomix.com and check out the place. There's a bunch of great people there who will help you with any queries that you have. Many have had their machines for years. A couple of them are consultants, but most are just enthusiastic users who will offer their years of experience.

Don't put .au at the end of the link. That will take you to the official Thermomix recipe community. While many of the recipes there are good, the forum isn't active so there's very little interaction with other Thermomix users.

The original is always the best: www.forumthermomix.com