Mr Bean's Chocolate Cake

Got this from a friend and tried it out today, it was great!  Kids would not even know it was made with no flour and stacked full of beans.....I still think it's quite funny really.....I mean i've done the good old beetroot cake and could understand that, but this one, with no flour and a whole can of beans.....CLASSIC!  Will be making it again for sure. 

400g/420g kidney beans, canned drained
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
70 g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon GF baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
125 g Butter
5 eggs
180 g sugar

Puree beans with the water, 1 egg and vanilla on Speed 5 for 20 seconds (scrape and redo a bit longer if necessary) You want a nice smooth consistency.  SET ASIDE

Add the butter and sugar, Speed 4 for 30 seconds 

Add the remaining eggs, Speed 4 for 20 seconds 

Add bean mixture, Speed 5 for 10 seconds

Add the cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and  mix a bit by hand to help incorporate anything stuck on the sides then - Speed 4 for 10 seconds.

Pour batter into greased ring tin pan and bake 180 degree oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.   

If you like cover with icing......I will be packing it for school lunches so don't ever do icing....but if you're serving at home, icing would go beautifully!  

ENJOY YOUR MR BEAN CAKE!!!!!

Maple Syrup Roast Pumpkin Risotto

Ingredients

• 100g parmesan cheese
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of Garlic
• 100g semi-sundried tomato
• 30g oil
• 400g pumpkin cubed
• Maple Syrup
• 350g Arborio rice
• 120g white wine
• 950g water
• 2 Tbspn TM vegetable stock
• Handful or 2 of pine nuts (lightly roasted first if desired)
• Handful of baby spinach

Method

Cut pumpkin into cubes and drizzle with maple syrup.  Place in hot oven for 20 minutes or so (unitl just cooked)

Place spinach in the ThermoServer and set aside

Grate parmesan 10 sec speed 9, set aside in a small bowl

Place onion and garlic, chop 5 sec speed 7

Add oil and cook 3 min 100C speed 1

Add semi-dried tomato, Speed 7 for 5 seconds.

Add wine, rice. Cook 2 min 100C, reverse, speed 1

Add water, half the pumpkin, half the pine nuts and stock concentrate. Cook 16 min, 100C, reverse speed 1

Pour risotto on top of baby spinach in ThermoServer, add the remaining pumpkin and pine nuts, gently stir and leave to stand for few minutes.

Sprinkle with Parmesan as serving.

I love the sweetness in this risotto - the maple syrup is just a 'great' touch!  

Macadamia and Lemon Cookies

Have just made these delicious cookies.....now my cookies never seem to be great because - well who know's why - I always blame my oven....but these cookies have actually turned out great - i'm pumped and everyone loves them.....we've eaten far too many today already....

The recipe is from the new Devil of a Cookbook - I have altered it slightly.  I know macadamias are expensive but a treat sometimes is worth the expense.

100g raw macadamias 
60g sugar
Zest of 1 lemon (avoid as much white pith as you can)
170g Self Raising Flour
120g butter
1 egg

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line baking tray with mat or baking paper
Place macadamias in bowl and chop for 15 seconds on speed 4/5 - you want some texture, so not too long. (SET ASIDE)
Place sugar, zest and 1 Tbs of flour into bowl and mill for 10 seconds, speed 9 (I didn't bother to clean my bowl)
Insert butterfly and add butter, beat for 1 minute, speed 3
Add egg and beat for a further minute on speed 3
Remove butterfly and add flour and reserved macadamias and mix for 30 seconds on speed 3 or until well combined (I did push it all down half way through)
Form into small balls and place onto tray at least 5cm apart, bake in oven for 10 minutes or until firm on the bottom.....

Mine didn't go golden on the top, whether it is because of my oven or the recipe - but they taste DIVINE....definitely a must.  Next time might try with some other flavours too!

* Recipe taken and slightly adapted from "Devil of a cookbook"

Chicken Noodle Soup - Asian style

I got this recipe from a friend who is always trying recipes that her kids will love!  She said this was a winner, I've made it - it's delicious and thought i'd convert it to a Thermomix Recipe....it's very simple.

• 2 Tbsp dried Shitake mushrooms (I mill mind first - see how on my blog Here)
• 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil or 20g butter
• 1 onion peeled and halved 
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2cm nob of ginger
• 2 carrots sliced thinly
• 800g water
• 2 Tbsp chicken stock paste (see Quirky cooking recipe Here) - it's at the bottom of the soup reicpe
• Half a bag of egg noodles (cooked and drained first)
• 200g Broccoli 
• 250g sliced chicken
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoons rice vinegar
• Sesame oil to taste

Place garlic, ginger, onion in Thermomix, chop speed 7 for 3 seconds 

Add oil/butter and saute on 100 degrees, speed 1 for 3 minutes

Add carrots, chicken, water, stock, mushrooms to bowl and cook on 100 degrees, speed 1, reverse for 12 minutes 

Add broccoli, noodles, soy sauce, rice vinegar and cook on 100 degrees, speed 1 for a further 5 minutes. 

Add sesame oil, stir gently and serve. 

Hope this is also a winner in your household, kids and all!

Enjoy

I am wondering if i could get away with not cooking the noodles first.....just putting them into the soup raw....perhaps i'll try that next time??!!! 

Vanilla Custard

If you've been to one of my demo's you may have tasted this lovely vanilla custard......It's the basic custard recipe with a tsp of vanilla bean paste!  It is just delicious and the specks of vanilla bean are stunning!
I buy my vanilla bean paste from Gaganis bros - it is 320grams worth, so it's pretty expensive but it lasts a long time.  If you don't go to Gaganis then you can get the small tub from most supermarkets in the cake decorating section....it's about $10 for 65g.

90g raw sugar
30g cornflour
2 eggs or 3 for a richer custard
700g milk
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Put sugar and cornflour in Thermomix, mill on speed 9 for 10 seconds.
Add eggs, milk and vanilla bean paste - 90 degrees, 7 minutes on speed 4.

As easy as that.  It is a runny pouring custard - nice with puddings or just on it's own or even with sliced banana it's good.  If you want it thicker just reduce the qty of milk.

Enjoy!

Mushroom and Baby Spinach Quinoa Risotto

Mushroom and Baby Spinach Quinoa Risotto

1 garlic clove

1/2 red onion

20g EVOO

100g white white

340g soaked quinoa (overnight preferably) 

10 swiss brown button Mushrooms sliced

200g tomato puree

700g water

2 Tbsp vegetable Stock concentrate 

100g baby spinach

Place Garlic and onion in bowl - Speed 7 for 5 seconds

Add oil and saute on 100 for 3 minutes, speed 1

Add wine and drained quinoa and saute on 100 for 3 minutes speed 1 - Reverse

Add remaining ingredients and cook on 100 for 30 minutes speed 1 - Reverse 

Place baby spinach at bottom of Thermoserver and pour quinoa on top, let rest for 5 minutes then stir well.
Top with Parmesan if you wish.

Thanks Quirky Cooking for helping me get my measurements correct - quirkycooking.blogspot.com

NB:  IF you're using soaked Quinoa you might want to lower the water content by 150g or so.  Depending on how you like your risotto texture to be....obviously when it's been soaked it's holding a lot of water already.  Hope that makes sense.

How much can you SAVE??

Item	Qty	Shop Cost	TMX Made Cost	Difference
Takeaway Pizza	x 2	$20.00	$10.00	$10.00
Loaf Bread Bakers Delight	x3	$9.00	$3.00	$6.00
Yoghurt 1kg Ski	x1	$5.00	$1.50	$3.50
Daily Juice 2 L	x 2	$9.00	$3.00	$6.00
Chicken Tonight Jar - Stroganoff	x1	$3.50	$2.00	$1.50
Cakes/Biscuits/Slices	x3	$12.00	$5.00	$7.00
Jams/Spreads	x1	$4.00	$2.00	$2.00
Hommus dip	x1	$3.50	$1.50	$2.00
Stock 1 Litre	x2	$7.00	$1.00	$6.00
		$73.00	$29.00	$44.00

BASED ON A FAMILY OF SAY 4 OR 5 OR LIKE MINE 6......


I wanted to put this up to show everyone either who owns a Thermomix or is thinking of buying a Thermomix how it DOES save you money.  


This is only 9 items, think of how many other things you put in your grocery trolley each week.....so many more savings....but at the least you'll save $44 a week.  
Love to hear comments back from those who own a Thermomix and how it too has saved you money on everyday items like above.....


I've been VERY realistic with my figures and perhaps you'd even pay more at the shop than what I've listed, but i wanted to make it realistic and show even those who are on a budget how it really works.  


It worked in our household, when i first got my Thermomix I was saving this much within the first week, my cupboards and fridge looks so different now with what's inside.  


AT $44 a week do you know how much you'd save over 5 years?


OVER $11,000......what do you or would you do with $11,000 every 5 years????