Cashew Cream

Soaked Wholegrain Chocolate Cake with Cashew Cream

Cashew cream is a delicious alternative to dairy cream, and very quick to make.  We like it on fruit salad, chocolate hazelnut brownies or cake, spelt scones with jam, or dolloped into hot chocolate or coffee!

You can soak the cashews in some water for a few hours first if you have time.

Cashew Cream:

Blend in the Thermomix for 1 minute on speed 9:
- 150g raw cashews
- 150g water
- 2 dates, or a dash of pure maple syrup or raw honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

This will thicken once it's been in the fridge for a while, or use it straight away as pouring cream.

If you want to make a smaller amount, grind the dry cashews first, then add the other ingredients and whiz up for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

To make Cashew Milk, just use 100g cashews to about 600g of water, plus the dates/honey/maple syrup.

Note: I also make an unsweetened version for savoury dishes where I need to replace the cream - for example, in butter chicken. Just leave out the dates/syrup/honey & vanilla, and add some herb salt. If I want a cheesey cream, I add a couple of tablespoons of yeast flakes as well as the herb salt. 

Cashew cream on fruit salad for breakfast - yum!

How to make cashew cream on YouTube!

Menu Plan Monday - 26th July

What have you got planned for this week?  This is going to be a really busy week for me, so it's important to have the meals planned ahead.  Yesterday I baked a couple of loaves of spelt bread, and ground grains in the Thermomix for overnight soaking to be ready to make into spelt and buckwheat bread and whole grain chocolate cake today.  (If you'd like to know more about why it's important to soak whole grains for baking, and how to do it, Chelsea from Filling Little Tummies explains it well.)  I also need to clean out the fridge and use up what I've got, as we're going away for a beach holiday next week ... YAY!!  Hopefully we'll get to see the sun again - I've nearly forgotten what it looks like ;)

Do you need help with menu planning, or recipe ideas?  Here's some ideas and recipe sites you might like to check out:
* My menu planning tips
* Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie
* The Thermomix Forum
* plus lots of great sites I've linked to in the sidebar!

You might also like to share your Thermomix addiction with your friends by following Quirky Cooking on Facebook!

Have a great week :)

[TMX = prepared and/or cooked in Thermomix]

Monday:
(lunch) Tuna Mornay (TMX), double batch, and salad
(dinner) Leftovers for family (cooking at a demo)

Tuesday:
(lunch) Spelt tortillas (TMX) with chicken pesto filling (from Chef Laurent's cookbook) (double batch)
and practicing recipes for Master Thermy Chef Challenge!
(dinner) Leftovers from practice recipes & quick vege pasta (TMX) if needed

Wednesday:
(lunch) Leftover spelt tortillas & chicken pesto filling for family (cooking at a demo)
(dinner) Pumpkin soup (TMX), steak, and salad

Thursday:
(lunch) Leftover soup & salad with spelt bread
(dinner) Potatoes baked in crockpot (while out), served with Tuna a la King (TMX) (see photo here)

Friday:
(lunch) Sausage, potato & vege frittata (TMX) and salad
(dinner) Chilli con carne (cooked earlier in TMX, kept warm in crockpot) with corn chips for family (cooking at demo)

Saturday:
(lunch) Leftovers & sandwiches
(dinner) Home demo - lots of yummy Thermomix food!

Sunday:
(lunch) Roast lamb, roast pumpkin & potatoes, peas, gravy (roast cooked in oven, gravy & peas in TMX & Varoma)
(dinner) Spelt bread sandwiches

Avoiding Pesticides in Food

Strawberries soaking in homemade produce wash to reduce pesticide residue.

There is growing concern amongst scientists and food researchers over the adverse effects pesticides and other chemicals are having on our health. We are now being advised to minimize our consumption of pesticides, as longterm studies are showing links to ADHD, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and many other problems. Children are especially vulnerable during foetal development and early childhood.  Unfortunately, in Australia we are lagging behind when it comes to chemical regulation.  Buying organic is the obvious solution... but what if you can't always afford it, or it's not always available? Here's some ideas to help you reduce the pesticides in your diet - even on a budget!

- Know which fruits and veges are worst affected by pesticides, and try to only buy them organic. Each year, The Environmental Working Group publishes a list of the fruits and veges most affected by pesticides, and those least affected. It's helpful to know this, especially if you're shopping on a budget, so you can pick and choose what you buy organic and what you don't. Print this list out and take it with you when you go shopping, or download the app for your phone. (EWG's 2013 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides here - available as smartphone app, iPad app, or PDF file.)  This year they're telling us that the fruit and veges that are the worst for pesticides are: Apples, strawberries, grapes, celery, peaches, spinach, capsicum, nectarines, cucumbers, and potatoes (top 10).  The least affected are: asparagus, avocado, cabbage, cantalope, corn, eggplant, grapefruit, kiwifruit, mangoes, mushrooms, onions, papayas, pineapples, sweet peas, and sweet potatoes.

 [Note: The Environmental Working Group is from the USA - it may not be exactly the same in Australia. Also, some farmers may use natural methods but just not be certified organic. Talk to your local growers and market stall holders, and find out what methods they use. Where I live, the macadamias are quite naturally grown with barely any pesticides, and what they use is mostly natural. But I've heard that other macadamia growers use a lot of chemicals. I actually went to the local farm and saw how they did things for myself, and I'm happy to buy their macadamias, even if they're not certified organic. Check things out for yourself, this is just a rough guide to get you started.]

- Buy your organic fruit and veges bulk, dividing the order with friends – you'll save a lot. Try local growers and co-ops, as they will be the freshest. (Check out my post on buying in bulk for tips.)

- Start a vege garden. It doesn't have to be big - lettuce, herbs, cherry tomatoes, capsicums, carrots, strawberries and silverbeet can all be grown in small gardens, or you can plant them in pots or boxes. (Strawberries, capsicum and spinach/silverbeet are amongst the worst offenders for pesticides when grown commercially.) Get a friend to grow some veges, and you grow others, and you can share your produce.

- Sprouts are easy to grow at home, and full of vitamins and nutrients. This may be the simplest way to begin cutting down on pesticides for your family.

- Eat a varied diet to reduce your intake of pesticides that may be consistently found on some fruits and veges.

- Beware of imported produce - the country of origin may not have as strict health regulations as we have in Australia, and may have a much higher percentage of pesticides. I never buy US cherries, for example, as I've read that they are one of the worst for pesticides!

- Wash your produce well, and peel off thick skins if they're in the high risk list. Rinsing (and soaking) produce really well will reduce pesticides and kill bacteria found on the skins of fruit and veges. You can buy vege washes made of natural ingredients which are supposed to remove wax and pesticide residues, but you can also make your own very cheaply. The easiest method I have found is:

* Fill your sink with cold water.
* Add four tablespoons of salt and the juice of half a fresh lemon.
* Soak fruits and vegetables for five to ten minutes (leafy greens two to three mins, berries one to two mins)
* Rinse well.

For thick-skinned produce and apples, scrub with a vegetable brush after soaking.
(The soaking helps to break down the wax layer, as well as kill bacteria and rinse off pesticides.)

- Discard the outer layers of leafy green veges like lettuce and cabbage - this will greatly reduce the amount of pesticides on the produce.

One more tip: Even organic and home-grown fruits and veges have bacteria on the outside of them. They pick up micro-organisms from the soil, people's dirty hands, etc, and these can make you sick. Make sure you wash your hands AND the produce really well before eating or cutting, even if they have thick skins (like oranges or melons) as the bacteria will be transferred to your hands or knife, and then onto the inside of the fruit or vegetable. If you're eating on the run, have a spray bottle filled with filtered water that you can spray onto apples and other fruit to clean them before eating.

Fruit Pizza

Our oldest daughter turned 13 the other day (I can't believe I have a teenager!!), and she requested Fruit Pizza for breakfast.  We love to make this for breakfast on special occasions - although it's so quick and easy you don't really need to wait for a special occasion!  And you don't have to have it at breakfast time, either...  We've had this instead of a birthday cake a couple of times, because the kids really love it.  The base is more like a pancake than a pizza crust, and needs to be cooked in a very hot oven so it puffs up.  Top your pizza with whatever fruit you like, and drizzle with either pure maple syrup for breakfast, or melted chocolate for a delicious dessert!  Makes two pizzas.

1.  Preheat oven to 230 degrees C (450 F) and melt butter or ghee in two 9-inch pie plates, then remove from oven:

- 2 Tblspns butter/ghee (1 for each pie plate)

(If you can't have butter or ghee, just grease pie plates with preferred oil.)

2.  Beat together in Thermomix on speed 5 for 20 seconds (or by hand):

- 6 eggs

- 250g rice-almond milk (or other milk)

- 100g plain spelt flour or gf flour (or use coconut flour or tapioca flour for a grain free option)

- 2 Tblspns Rapadura or 1 Tblspn honey

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

3.  Pour into greased pie plates and bake for 8 minutes.  Reduce heat to 190 degrees C (475 F) and bake about 8 minutes longer - until golden brown with puffy sides.

4.  Immediately top with sliced fruit, sprinkle with coconut (opt.) and drizzle with syrup (or chocolate), then slice and serve.

- 1 punnet strawberries, washed and sliced

- sliced bananas

- whatever other fruit you like (kiwi fruit, passionfruit, rockmelon, etc) - optional

- shredded coconut - optional

- pure maple syrup (or melted chocolate)

(Optional: If you like, you can top with a dollop of cashew cream - if you can handle dairy, you can use whipped cream or yoghurt.)

This Week's Menu Plan

As you can see I didn't get a menu plan posted this week as I was just too busy... and besides, some of the recipes I'm trying out this week are SECRET!!!  That's because I'm practising some new and interesting combinations for the "Master Thermy Chef Challenge"!  Yes, we're having our own 'Masterchef' challenge at our Thermomix cooking classes, with mystery bags of grocery items from which we have to create three dishes - all three prepared, cooked and plated up in 30 minutes!  (We get to use two Thermomixes and an oven, so I think we can manage it.)  This is to raise money for Relay for Life, so each team has to find sponsors - we have teams of five or six, and we're hoping to raise $100 each (or more if we can!).  If you'd like to sponsor my team and help us raise money for Relay for Life, or if you'd like to organize your own team, please contact me :)

If you live on the Tablelands, come along to our next cooking class to see the teams competing in the "Master Thermy Chef Challenge" - it's going to be a lot of fun, and you'll get to eat whatever we cook!

Next Cooking Class:

Monday 9th August,

6.30 - 8.30 pm

at the

Atherton Golf Club,

Golf Links Rd,

Atherton  FNQ

(Please email me to book a place at the cooking class!)

Eat More Fruit!

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away." This saying is not far from the truth - fresh fruit provides our bodies with fresh water, living enzymes which aid digestion, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, natural sugars for energy, and fibre to help clean out the body. Fruit is a perfect package!

Fruit is vital fuel for our bodies, and should be eaten regularly – at least four pieces per day, with as much variety as possible. At night, our metabolism and digestive systems slow down, and they need to be 'woken up' in the morning. The best way to wake up, get energized, and get everything moving is to begin your day with fruit. We are blessed to live in Tropical North Queensland, where there is a huge variety of delicious fruits, all year long. But wherever you live, there's sure to be ways to help you get more fruit into your families' diet! Here's a few ideas...

Breakfast Sorbet

* Start the day with a fruit salad, a fresh fruit 'cereal' or a fruit smoothie – kids love a smoothie for breakfast, and it will help them be alert and awake for school. (Make sure you add some nuts/seeds for protein, for extra energy and to fill up hungry tummies.)  Or top waffles or pancakes with fresh fruit.  Sometimes we even have berry nougat or 'ice-cream' for breakfast, made from fresh fruit of course!  (Try banana-cacao, banana-pecan or a breakfast sorbet!)

Brown Rice Waffles with Strawberries

* For a quick energy boost during the day, whiz up a 'boost juice' in your Thermomix – this is a great way to make your own juices, as the fibre is still all there, and you don't get a sugar high, then a sugar low!

* Keep a fruit bowl or basket on the table (and on your desk at work) filled with fresh, washed fruit to encourage the family to snack on fruit instead of junk. (And get rid of any junk food in the house so it's not even an option!)

Fruit Jelly (recipe coming)

* Send fruit to school in the kid's lunchbox – if they're not fussed with eating a whole apple or banana, try making them a fruit salad drizzled with some fresh orange juice.  Or make a jelly with fresh fruit, fruit juice, nuts, honey and gelatin/agar powder.  It's easy, and kids love it!

* Make it a habit to grab a piece of fruit each whenever you go somewhere in the car – this helps avoid the temptations to buy junk food while you're out.

Fruit-filled Brioche

* Use lightly cooked fruit in desserts and baking – apple pie or crumble, fruit cobbler, brioche, stewed fruit and custard, fruit muffins, apple cake, apple/berry sauce on pancakes, dried fruit in bars and slices and granolas, and even a fresh fruit 'pizza'! (Recipe coming!)  When cooking fruit, it's best to cook it very gently over low heat so you don't kill the enzymes – I find my Thermomix perfect for this – or try some raw fruit recipes.

Lime & Mint Sorbet (recipe coming)

* Make a fresh fruit sorbet or foam for an afternoon tea treat – much healthier than icy poles and ice-cream! (Takes two minutes in the Thermomix!)

Berry Foam

Remember, the key is VARIETY! Don't be afraid to try new fruits. There's a lot more out there than just apples, bananas and oranges. Eat whatever's in season, as it's the freshest, but if you can't find many types in winter, add some frozen berries and frozen mango for some variety.

Menu Plan Monday - 12th July

The school holidays are just about over here, except for two more days for the local show... it's going to be a busy week again.  I'll be cooking at the Atherton Show with some fellow Thermomix consultants, demonstrating the wonderful Thermomix - we always have a lot of fun.  So if you're there, drop by for some free samples and a chat!

I have a special offer for my readers - Ruby from Menulog (Australia's largest restaurant guide) has offered a 10% discount off your first delivery order!  You can enter your postcode and see what restaurants are in your area (they must have an 'accepts voucher' sign), order online using the voucher code 6A4C35, and you will receive 10% off your order - and that's on top of any other specials being offered!  (Order must be $20 or more.)  This offer is available until the 31st of December.  (Unfortunately Menulog hasn't reached the wilds of Far North Queensland yet, but I hope you guys further south will enjoy it!)

Menu planning is a great way to help you keep on top of things when you're busy, but wanting to eat healthy, economical meals.  If you'd like some help with knowing how to plan a menu, here's some of my ideas here, and also make sure you visit Menu Plan Monday at "I'm an Organizing Junkie".  There's lots of great recipes over at the Thermomix Forum, and plenty of Thermomix blogs to inspire you (see links in left sidebar).

Have a great week :)

[TMX = prepared and/or cooked in my Thermomix]

Monday:

Cooking at the show - Steak & veges in the crockpot for family

Tuesday:

(lunch) Cooking at the show

(dinner) Baked potatoes with toppings (including df sour cream - TMX) & salad

Wednesday - back to school:

(lunch) Creamy corn chowder - dairy free (TMX)

(dinner) Steamed chicken, cashews, veges & rice (TMX all-in-one meal)

Thursday:

(lunch) Leftovers & spelt bread rolls (TMX)

(dinner) Chickpea & spinach soup and warm Moroccon chicken & couscous salad (all in TMX)

Friday:

(lunch) Tomato & vege pasta (TMX)

(dinner) Pizza Bianca (TMX) with leftover soup & salad (TMX)

Saturday:

(lunch) Demo with friends (TMX)

(dinner) Southern style fish (with cornmeal topping), mashed potatoes (TMX), steamed veges (TMX)

Sunday:

(lunch) Crockpot roast beef & veges

(dinner) Spelt bread sandwiches

Sausage Casserole with Dumplings

When I was a kid I always loved my mum's delicious dumplings on top of stews and chicken soup - they're such a warm and cozy comfort food-ish kind of thing. 

I think they taste great on casseroles too, especially rich, tomatoey ones like this one.  I like to use my Thermomix to prepare casseroles - the baking time is greatly reduced, which saves electricity (or gas), and the preparation time is much shorter too. 

I made up this casserole a couple of days ago using sausages, and we all loved it. (You could use meat balls, diced steak, etc, instead of sausages, but it may change the cooking times.)  The sauce is prepared and cooked in the Thermomix bowl, while the sausages steam on top in the Varoma, then it's placed in a casserole dish, the dumplings are prepared in the Thermomix, dropped on top, and it goes in the oven and cooks in no time.  Hope ya like it :)

1.  Place in Thermomix and chop on speed 5 for 3 seconds:
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 or 2 garlic cloves
- 2 carrots, quartered
- 1 celery stick, quartered
- 1 red capsicum, halved

2.  Add and cook at 100 degrees, 4 minutes, speed 1:
- 1 Tblspn sweet paprika, ground
- 30g olive oil or butter

3.  Add to bowl & chop on speed 5 for 5 seconds:
- 400g tomatoes, halved
- 2 Tblspns (or so) tomato paste
- 1 Tblspn vege stock paste
- 2 Tblspns balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tblspn Rapadura
- 200g water

4. Place Varoma on lid of bowl and place sausages inside:
- 700g thin beef sausages
(Space sausages apart to let steam through - see photo below - and place lid on top.)

5.  Cook on Varoma temperature for 20 minutes, reverse speed 1, or until sausages are cooked through.

6.  Cut sausages in quarters and remove to a large casserole dish.  Pour sauce over sausages and cover with lid or foil.  (Casserole shouldn't come above halfway up sides of dish, or it may overflow, like mine did!)  Turn on oven to 200 degrees C and place casserole dish in oven while you make the dumplings.  (Rinse and dry Thermomix bowl.)

Dumplings:

1. Grind grain in Thermomix bowl for 1 minute, speed 9:
- 200g spelt grain

2.  Add and process on speed 9 for 10 seconds:
- a large handful of fresh parsley

3.  Add and mix for 5 seconds, speed 5:
- 100g white spelt flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp fine sea salt

4.  Add and mix on speed 5 until just mixed:
- 180g rice-almond milk (or other milk)
- 60g oil (olive/macadamia/grapeseed)

5.  Take casserole out of oven and drop heaped tablespoonfuls of dough onto top (using a tablespoon and butter knife), cover with lid (or loosely with foil), making sure there's room for dumplings to rise, and return to oven. 

6.  Cook for 20 minutes then remove lid/foil and cook until done and lightly browned on top.  (Pull two dumplings apart in centre with forks to check if done.)

Enjoy!

(Oops, a little too full!)

Creamy Chicken & Brown Rice Soup

This is a very filling soup that my family love - great for a quick winter meal.  Serve with some fresh bread and a green salad, and it will feed about six people for a main meal.  The soup becomes quite thick as it cools down, and could be thinned down a little more with some rice-almond milk if you like.  (We like it thick.)

If you have a big family, or like more veges in your soup, you can add more chicken to the soup (leaving the peas out) and cook at Varoma temperature with the peas and other veges steaming on top. Place the steamed veges in individual bowls and spoon the soup over the top.

1. Grind rice in Thermomix bowl for 1 minute on speed 9. Add almonds and grind 20 secs on speed 9, or until fine. Set aside.
- 50g of raw brown rice
- 50g raw almonds

[Note: raw cashews can be used instead of almonds for a smoother soup]

2. Place onion, garlic cloves, celery and carrot in bowl and chop for 3 seconds, speed 5.  Add oil (or butter) and cook for 3 minutes, 100 degrees, speed 1.
- 1 onion, halved
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 stalk of celery, quartered
- 1 large carrot, quartered
- 30g olive oil or butter

3. Add chicken and cook 3 minutes, 100 degrees, speed 1.
- 300g cubed chicken

4. Add water, stock paste, rice, and ground rice and almonds, and cook for 30 minutes, 100 degrees, reverse, speed 1.
- 1 litre water
- 2 Tblspns chicken stock paste (made in TMX - see below) or vege stock paste
- 100g raw brown rice
- ground rice & almonds

5. Add parsley and peas, cook another 5 minutes, 100 degrees, reverse, speed 1. Adjust seasonings if needed, and serve.
- handful fresh parsley, chopped
- 100g frozen peas

[Note: if you like it saltier, just add another spoonful of stock paste.  If you're using bought stock powder, you may want to add some tamari for extra flavour.]

Chicken Stock Paste

To make the stock paste, mince up 300g of raw chicken.

Add 300g veges (leek/onion/shallots, carrot, garlic, celery, celeriac - your choice), and a few sprigs fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, parsley). Chop for 10 seconds on speed 5.

Add 150g coarse sea salt, 1 bay leaf, 50g white wine (or 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar), 1 clove and 5 coriander seeds (or a dash of ground cloves and a dash of ground coriander).

Cook for 20 mins, Varoma temp, speed 2, with simmering basket on top instead of cap.

Replace cap and blend 1 minute, speed 10.

Use 1 tsp in 500g water for chicken stock.