Coconut Vanilla Sorbet

Spring is here, and the weather is finally beginning to warm up, yippee! At least, it is here, up in the mountains in Far North Queensland. 

For the last couple of months I've been putting off testing ice cream recipes for my book, as it's just been too cold. But today was absolutely gorgeous, and the sunshine encouraged me to get started. I decided to begin with a coconut sorbet, and it turned out so delicious I just couldn't wait to share it. (Don't worry, I have way too many recipes to fit in my book anyway, so I can afford to pop one on the blog instead.) :)

Photo taken this evening on our street ~ Spring is here!

I got the idea for this recipe a few weeks ago, when I saw a coconut sorbet in the freezer section of the grocery store. The ingredients were: coconut water (60%), cane sugar, coconut cream and flavour, desiccated coconut, dextrose, natural stabilizers (xanthan, guar gum, carrageen, maltodextrine). I figured I could make my own with less ingredients, no highly processed sugar, no flavours, and no carrageen. For less money. So that was my challenge... I hope you'll let me know what you think of the outcome! I haven't actually tasted the one from the grocery store so I have no idea if mine is the same sort of flavour, but I love this one and am very happy knowing it's healthier and costs less.

This sorbet actually took me right back to my childhood, when mum would make ice cream for us from fresh snow. Have you ever eaten 'snow ice cream'? When I was 4-5, we were travelling around the USA in a camper van for a year. When it snowed we would go outside and scoop up the clean snow, take it back into our warm camper van, and Mum would mix in some sugar and vanilla. We thought it was the most amazing treat ever. It's funny, I haven't thought about snow ice cream for years, but with my first mouthful of this sorbet, that's all I could think of! So I popped some into a bowl and dashed down to mum's house to give her a taste, and mum and dad agreed - just like snow ice cream. Great memories.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

Coconut Vanilla Sorbet
(dairy, egg, nut, gluten, and cane sugar free)

Makes just under a litre.

800ml unsweetened coconut water (eg. Natural Raw C coconut water)
100g thick coconut cream, preservative free (eg. Ayam)
60-80g pure organic maple syrup
1/2 - 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (to taste)
dessicated coconut to serve (preservative free, available at health food shops) OR fresh coconut, grated

Freeze the coconut water in ice cube trays until frozen solid.

Place 400g of the coconut water ice cubes into the Thermomix mixing bowl, and blend
5 sec/speed 9, or until it becomes 'snow'.

Add remaining 400g frozen coconut water and blend 10 sec/speed 9, until 'snow'.

Add coconut cream (the thickest part from top of tin), maple syrup and vanilla, and blend 
1 min/speed 9, using the spatula to help it along. Remove lid and scrape down sides, reblending until sorbet is smooth and creamy, approx. 30 sec/speed 9.

Serve immediately, sprinkled with a little dessicated coconut.

Note: If you need to freeze some for later, freeze in ice cube trays and reblend when ready to serve.

Variations:

If you have fresh coconuts on hand, freeze the coconut water, and grate up the flesh to make coconut cream (see this recipe for instructions), saving a little of the freshly grated coconut to sprinkle over the finished sorbet. Delicious! (And dirt cheap!) 

Sweetener can be reduced to taste, or changed to a 1/4 tsp green stevia powder for a sugar free version.

Dairy Free Condensed Milk & Dulce de Leche

The other day I asked on my Facebook page, "What's something you reeeeaaallly wish you had an allergy-friendly recipe for (and what's the ingredient/s that is stopping you make the original recipe)?" Well. I got lots of comments. Like about 180 of them. And one that was mentioned a few times was dairy free condensed milk, so I thought it was about time I had a go at it.

There are a few dairy free condensed milk recipes online - I had a quick look for Thermomix versions and found this one over at The Thermomix Diaries, which linked back to this one on the Thermomix Recipe Community. Of course, I had to have a play with the recipe to reduce the sugar (too much for me!), change it to a sweetener I prefer, and start with a creamier (dairy free) base instead of milk. And this is what I came up with... So delicious!! 

I've made it a few times now, each time a little different, so here's two different versions - one is just a basic dairy free condensed milk made with bought coconut cream, and the other is a dairy free dulce de leche (caramel) made from homemade coconut cream, inspired by this recipe over at the UK Thermomix FB page. I'm thinking you could use the dulce de leche recipe and just cook it for less time to make a 'from scratch' version of the condensed milk - that will be my next experiment! (Thought I'd better just hurry up and get this posted!!) 

By the way, great news - not once has it boiled over, or even gotten close. I know that's the dreaded danger when you make condensed milk or dulce de leche with cow's milk. (I remember the horror stories my friend Bel told me about the sticky mess all over her countertop and under her Thermomix! Eek!) Cow's milk has a tendency to do this when boiled, but I have never had a problem with dairy free milks and creams. (Hopefully no one proves me wrong!) 

Dairy Free Condensed Milk

Place ingredients in the Thermomix bowl and cook at Varoma temperature for 45 minutes on speed 4, with the rice basket on the lid (instead of the MC) to let the steam out.

- 1000g organic coconut cream (I used 18+% fat Spiral brand)

- 200g pure organic maple syrup

Leave to cool for a bit in the bowl, blend gently again on speed 3-4 for a few seconds (as it sometimes separates a little), then carefully scrape into a glass jar. This recipe will make about 400g, so it can be used to replace a tin of condensed milk in recipes.

[Note: When it's cold in the fridge you may notice little bits of coconut cream flecked through it that have kind of solidified - don't stress, if you whiz it up they disappear. And for most recipes, it wouldn't matter anyway as it will be cooked or blended with other ingredients.]

Okay, and now for the amazing Dairy Free Dulce de Leche!

Dairy Free Dulce de Leche

First make the coconut cream. Because it's going to be cooked anyway, just make raw coconut cream, it's quicker. 

[Note: If you're thinking of making this raw coconut cream to go in your fridge to be used for other things, just be aware that it will separate quite drastically - when you cook it, it stays 'together'. If it's going to be added to a recipe straight away it doesn't matter, but if you like it in your coffee (like I do), cooked is best. (Recipe for cooked coconut cream is here.)]

1. Grind up the coconut for 20 seconds on speed 9.
- 300g organic dessicated or shredded coconut 
(you can buy preservative free coconut from the health food shop)

2. Add water and blend for 1 minute on speed 9.
- 1000g (1 Litre) water

3. Strain coconut milk through a nut milk bag into a bowl, squeezing it out really well to get as much cream as you can. 

[Set the cream aside and tip the coconut pulp back into the Thermomix. Add another 300g water, blend once more for a minute on speed 9, re-strain into a separate bowl, and you have milk for another recipe. Freeze the coconut pulp, and when you have enough you can dehydrate it then grind it up to make coconut flour.]

4. Measure the coconut cream back into the Thermomix bowl. Add other ingredients and cook at Varoma temperature for 55 minutes, speed 4, with the rice basket set on top of the lid (instead of the MC) to let the steam out.
- 1000g (1 litre) of coconut cream
- 200g organic pure maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (not essence)

That's it! Too easy. I was jumping around the kitchen in excitement when I opened the lid of the Thermomix after making this! And if you don't believe me, just ask my taste testers - they all agreed that it was totally amazing and exciting and were very happy they'd happened to stop by for a visit at just the right time!! ;)

This recipe results in about a little over a cup of dulce de leche. Sorry I can't be more definite than that - after eight people sampled it I realised I'd forgotten to weigh out the amount! Ah well, must make it again... :D

My taste testers... and the verdict was YUM!!

(You really should try dulce de leche on warm, freshly baked spelt bread rolls - mmmm!!)

Variations: 

- Try fresh grated coconut (brown skin removed) instead of dessicated coconut for the coconut cream.

- Try a different sweetener - honey, yacon syrup, rice malt syrup, rapadura, coconut sugar... different sweeteners will result in different colours, but they should all work fine. Adjust amount to taste.

- If you can't have coconut, you could use other dairy free milks, but make sure they're thick and creamy enough that you'll get a nice thick result, or just cook for longer if needed.

Raw Macadamia Lime 'Cheesecake' (dairy free)

One thing I love about living in tropical Far North Queensland is the abundance of delicious produce grown here. I love that I can go to the local markets and buy locally grown coconuts (and coconut oil), locally grown vanilla beans and cacao nibs and cacaco beans, luscious limes, macadamias, avocadoes, pineapples, lychees, passionfruit, mangoes, and I've even bought sugar cane juice that's juiced while you wait! Even better, lots of these yummy things are given to you by friends, family and acquaintances who just have too much and need to share. Love that.

Last week I did a Thermomix demo for a lady who sent me home with a big bag full of limes and bunches of fresh herbs and rocket from her garden. At other times I've come home with a box of vine ripened tomatoes, pumpkin, avocadoes, lychees and mangoes. I get given bags of passionfruit, boxes of black sapotes, chokos and lettuces. I always say to my husband, 'There's really no way you could starve living here. Why would anyone want to live in the city??' Besides, where in the city can you walk around the corner from your house and see views like this...



But I digress... back to the cheesecake.

So the other day I thought I should make something with some of the limes filling my fruit basket, and the avocados from mum's tree. I really wanted something a bit special, as I had a photo shoot with an online magazine on Friday (Confetti Mag - 1st issue, coming out in May, stay tuned!), and I thought something made with local ingredients would be a good thing to photograph. (We ended up choosing something else to make, and we had lots of fun cooking and taking photos! Two of my favourite things to do.)

{Photo taken by Karen of Confetti Mag}

I remembered a lime and avocado tart I'd made last year and really enjoyed, but I felt it needed to be creamier and less... well... tart! Okay, I know 'raw lime cheesecakes' are all over the internet and I didn't really need to make up another recipe, but I just like to play. I did get some inspiration from this lovely raw lime tart from Fragrant Vanilla Cake (a blog you really should visit if you're into raw food, vegan food, or just delicious desserts) - but I ended up changing it to make the most of some of our lovely local produce, plus whatever I had on hand.

It turned out amaaaaazing!!

My husband is very partial to a good cheesecake, and was very sceptical that my dairy free version would be something he'd want to eat... But after one bite he changed his tune and begged for more. :)

I had a lot of 'drop-ins' that day, and each one had to taste my cheesecake. I made them. (They didn't argue.) They all agreed it was a gem of a recipe, and they all told me I should save it for my book. But being the kind and generous blogger that I am, I dedided to go ahead and share it. And besides, I was a bit worried that after getting 235 comments on the photo I posted on Facebook, plus many private messages, asking for the recipe, I might have a riot if I didn't share!! (But I will have to start being a bit more secretive with new recipes I think, or there won't be any surprises left for the book!)

Consider this your Easter present from me. I think it would make a great Easter Sunday treat... because as much as I love chocolate, it can get a little 'overdone' at Easter time. I'm thinking lime will be a good change.

So here it is, the long-awaited recipe...

Oh, and just a couple of tips: buy the macadamia pieces, they're heaps cheaper than whole nuts and you don't need whole nuts for this recipe. And use organic or homegrown limes if possible, as you don't really want to be eating the zest from limes sprayed with pesticides. Just my opinion.

Raw Macadamia Lime 'Cheesecake'

(Makes one 20cm cheesecake)

Base:

Grind all the base ingredients up together in the Thermomix on speed 9 for 20 seconds, or until finely ground.

- 130g raw macadamia nuts (either unsoaked, or soaked and dehydrated)

- 70g organic shredded or flaked coconut (additive free)

- 8 fresh dates (eg. Medjool), pitted

- a pinch of fine Himalayan salt

   Grease the inside of a 20cm springform cake tin with coconut oil. Press the base mixture firmly into the base of the tin, and up the sides if you like. Set aside.

Filling:

Blitz vanilla beans and lime zest on speed 10 for 10 seconds.

- 2 vanilla beans, snipped into 4 pieces (can use 1 bean in a pinch)

- zest from 2 limes (just peel off with a sharp potato peeler)

Add cashews and grind on speed 10 for 8 seconds.

- 150g raw cashews*

Add remaining ingredients and blend on speed 9 for 1 minute, scraping down as needed, until lovely and smooth.

- flesh of 1 lime

- 320g fresh avocados (or frozen, cut in 1-2cm cubes)

- 100g pure maple syrup

- 55g coconut oil

- a pinch of fine Himalayan salt

Pour filling into springform tin, spreading over the base. Place in freezer for at least half an hour.

* If using soaked raw cashews, only soak for up to 6 hours, drain well and pat dry with tea towel, then mix with the other ingredients (lime, avocado, etc) all at once, blending until smooth.

Just look at those lovely little vanilla bean seeds in the filling.... Mmmm!

Topping:

Mix together until smooth on speed 9:

- 150g raw macadamias (soaked for a few hours, then drained and dried off a bit)

- 150g Ayam coconut cream (or other thick coconut cream)

- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

- juice of 1 lime

- 30g pure maple syrup

Pour over filling and smooth with spatula.

Decoration:

While topping is still soft, before freezing, add extra macadamia nuts and lime zest for decoration, sprinkling first the nuts, then the zest, around the edge of the cheesecake. (See photos)

- a good sized handful of macadamia nuts, roughly chopped (if you haven't bought them already in pieces)

- zest of one lime, grated with a zester

Place the finished cheesecake, covered with a plastic bag, in the freezer and leave it alone for at least 2 hours, preferably more. It's best eaten semi-frozen. It will last for weeks in the freezer... but we all know that's not going to happen. ;)

Enjoy!

Chocolate Fudge Hearts with Raspberry Swirl Topping

It's Valentine's Day tomorrow, and although I'm not into the whole commercialised idea of spending heaps of money on flowers and chocolates and fuzzy teddy bears, I do like to cook something special for the family. (Okay, I admit it. If someone bought me flowers and chocolates I wouldn't say no, as long as it was good chocolate. And fuzzy teddy bears are pretty cute too.)

Anyway, this year I came up with this recipe for dense, fudgey chocolate heart cakes, and just for fun I decorated them with a dairy free chocolate ganache spread, coconut cream, and raspberry coulis. (There's a little video clip below showing how I did the raspberry swirl heart at the bottom of this post.) Of course, we already ate them all because I had to get this blog post done before Valentine's Day. And then I didn't get time to do it til now... oops! So by the time you read this it may be too late to make these for Valentine's Day, but hey, if you love someone you shouldn't need to wait for a certain date on a calendar to show it... so just go make these anyway!

P.S. These cakes are gluten free, grain free, and dairy free. If you can't have nuts you can use flour instead. If you can't have eggs you can probably substitute for those too, I just haven't had a chance to try it.


Chocolate Fudge Hearts

I make these in little heart shaped flan tins - you could use heart shaped muffin tins too, or just make them in regular muffin tins and decorate with a raspberry swirl heart on top. Or you could use a regular cake tin, but you'll need to cook it for a little longer.

Recipe inspired by Tash's Rich Chocolate Cake 

Preheat oven to 190C.

1. Grind chocolate in Thermomix bowl for 10 seconds on speed 9.
- 200g roughly chopped dark chocolate (I use a good quality, dairy free, naturally sweetened 65-70% cocoa chocolate like Valrhona or Rapunzel chocolate)

2. Add dates and chop for 10 seconds on speed 9.
- 150g pitted dates

3. Add coconut oil and melt at 60C for 5 minutes on speed 2.
- 180g coconut oil (or butter or ghee)

4. Add walnuts, salt and eggs and mix on speed 8 for 10 seconds.
- 70g walnuts (or you can use 50g of gluten free or regular plain flour if you can't have nuts)
- 1/4 tsp fine Himalayan or sea salt
- 3 large eggs*

5. Pour mixture into tins (greased with coconut oil or butter) and bake at 190C for approx. 20 minutes for small cakes or muffins, to 30 minutes for a cake. Skewer inserted into centre of cake should come out clean.

Allow cakes to cool, then ice with chocolate ganache spread.

* I didn't have time to try these cakes with an egg replacement, but apple sauce or chia gel are both great replacements. If you use apple sauce, cut down on the amount of dates. Not sure of amounts - will test when I can!

 

 

Chocolate Ganache Spread

This is a recipe I developed as a dairy free, nut free substitute for Nutella, and I found it also works perfectly for a chocolate sauce when hot. You can pour it over a cake like ganache and it will set all firm and glossy in the fridge. Or spread it on toast when it's cold. It's a kind of multi-purpose ganache-spread-topping... for now and then of course. :)

1. Break up chocolate and grind in Thermomix for 10 seconds on sp 9.
- 100g dark dairy free chocolate
    Scrape down bowl.

2. Weigh remaining ingredients into Thermomix bowl and cook for 2 minutes at 60C speed 2.
- 30g coconut oil (or ghee or butter)
- 30g rice malt syrup (or honey)
- 200g thick coconut cream (or less if you like your chocolate darker)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

3. Place in the fridge to cool a little, then when it's slightly less runny, spread over cake/s and place cakes in fridge to set.*

If there's any ganache spread left, pour it into jar and keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. (Tastes lovely swirled with sunflower seed butter or nut butter on toast or crepes, and topped with slices of banana!)

* Note: I found it was easiest to make the raspberry-coconut cream swirl hearts on top of the cakes if the chocolate ganache was set and firm. The first batch I made while the chocolate was still warm and runny, and although it looked pretty, it was difficult to keep in a heart shape as it tended to run off the edges. (See photo below) So it's up to you - if you want a more freeform swirly heart, go ahead and do it while the chocolate is warm, then put it straight into the freezer to set.

Raspberry Swirl Topping

These  cakes are best served within an hour, once the heart swirls are made, as the raspberry coulis eventually will sink into the cream if it's in the fridge for too long. So make the cakes with the chocolate topping on them and keep them in the fridge until you're ready to finish them off. They can stay in the fridge for days, and actually taste best cold from the fridge.

For the Raspberry Swirl Topping, all you need is:
- tin of smooth coconut cream (do not shake it up!)
- a batch of Raspberry Coulis.

To make the Raspberry Coulis:

Cook raspberries and Rapadura (or preferred sweetener) in Thermomix for 4 minutes at 90C on speed 4. Strain through a fine seive to remove seeds. Set aside to cool.
- 200g raspberries
- 40g Rapadura (or preferred sweetener - see this list sugar alternatives)

Don't shake up the tin of coconut cream! When you open the tin, scoop the thicker cream off the top into a small dish. Whisk cream with a fork until it's nice and smooth.

Using a teaspoon, blob some cream onto the top of the chocolate covered heart cake in the shape of a heart, rounding edges with a butter knife to neaten.

Drizzle on a few small blobs of raspberry coulis.

Using a toothpick, swirl the cream and the coulis together - don't 'over-swirl' or it will all run together. Less is more.

Here's a little video clip showing how I make the topping. (Okay, you can't actually see the 'swirling' process, but hopefully you get the idea!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jo xx

One Bowl Thermomix Carrot Cake! {gluten free, dairy free}

  

Do you make carrot cake 'from scratch', the old fashioned way? Do you end up with a big mess? Carrot peels in the sink, bits of grated carrot sticking to the grater and scattered over the counter, a chopping board covered in bits of walnuts and pineapple, a bowl for the wet ingredients, goop from the eggs on the counter, a whisk, a bowl for the dry ingredients, a floury sieve, a wooden spoon... then once you've tidied all that up, you've got to make the cream cheese icing! Messy. And lots of dishes to wash. So you probably don't make it very often, right? I know I didn't when I had to make it that way!

Maybe you're thinking, 'Nope! I make mine in the Thermomix, or a food processor!' Getting closer... but how many steps does your recipe take? I'm amazed at all the extraneous steps in so many recipes. Cut 'em out! Who wants recipes with lots of steps, anyway? Not me. I've streamlined my carrot cake recipe to two main steps. Plus stirring in some raisins if you like. (Okay, and one more step for the icing.) First the wet ingredients go in, along with the quartered carrots and chunks of fresh pineapple - grated, chopped and mixed all at once. Then I add the dry ingredients, including the nuts, and chop and mix those for a few seconds. Then stir through some raisins. That's it. Pour it in the tin, pop it in the oven, and let the Thermomix bowl wash itself. ;-) You can even skip peeling the carrots and just give them a scrub if you like. Too easy.

By the way, this recipe makes great carrot cake cupcakes, too! I'm afraid I ate four of them today. And a slice of cake. Oops. Good thing they're healthy! :D

I've made a quick coconut cream topping for these. If you'd rather you could make a vanilla cashew cream.

For a nut free version, just replace the walnuts with shredded coconut.

This recipe makes two cakes, or a cake and 12 cupcakes.

Or about 24 cupcakes. :-)

1. Preheat oven to 165C. (Cakes made with honey need to cook at a lower temp, for longer, otherwise they'll be burnt on the outside and gooey on the inside; so don't be tempted to turn the oven higher.) Grease and flour a bundt tin or ring tin, and 12 muffin cups, or two ring tins or 24 muffin cups... you get the idea. If you're going to use cake tins, make sure they're not regular ones or the middle won't cook well - if you don't have a ring tin or a bundt tin, just grease and flour a small glass, and place it upside down in the middle of a round cake tin, and use that.

2. Weigh carrots, pineapple and wet ingredients into the Thermomix bowl, and mix on speed 5 for 15 seconds:

- 400g carrots, quartered

- 300g chunks of fresh pineapple (you can use tinned pieces, but add them with the dry ingredients so they don't get too chopped up)

- 4 large eggs

- 80g macadamia oil (or other light flavoured oil)

- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or good quality vanilla extract)

- 180g honey* (preferrably raw, unheated)

3. Add dry ingredients and mix on speed 5 for 5 seconds:

- 380g plain gluten free flour (you can make your own mix if you'd rather, see this recipe)

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 2 tsp bicarb soda (baking soda)

- 3/4 tsp sea salt

- 150g walnuts (unchopped)

* Note: for a nut free cake, leave walnuts out and add a couple of handfuls of shredded coconut with the sultanas instead.

4. Optional: stir in raisins/sultanas on speed 3 for 5 seconds:

- 80g raisins or sultanas

5. Cook for approximately 30-40 minutes for cupcakes, and an hour and a half for cakes, depending on your oven. Check by poking a skewer into the centre - it should come out nearly clean when the cakes are done. If the cake is getting too brown on top, just cover it with foil and keep baking til done. Don't cut it straight away while hot - it will be very moist inside. Let them cool, even in the fridge, before icing and eating, and the texture will be better.

* Note about honey: I buy raw, unheated honey in 2 litre bottles from local beekeepers - it's cheaper than buying honey in little containers from the grocery store, it doesn't have added glucose (which a lot of so called 'pure' honey has), it's unheated so there's more goodness in it, and it supports locals!

Coconut Cream Topping

For the topping, you'll need a cold tin of coconut cream - I keep a tin in my fridge for times like this. When it gets cold, the cream rises to the top and thickens, just like thick dairy cream.

In the Thermomix bowl, stir together the topping ingredients on speed 3 until just combined:

- 200g thick coconut cream (organic)

- 2 tsps fresh lemon juice (to make it tangy - optional)

- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or good quality vanilla extract)

- 60g raw honey (or to taste)

Pour into a dish and refrigerate to thicken again.

When the cakes are cool, top with coconut cream and sprinkle with some extra chopped walnuts or shredded coconut.

Store finished cakes in the fridge.

Sesame Salmon & Vegetables with Creamy Tikka Sauce

 

 

The other night I was so tired, and really didn't feel like cooking dinner. I was very tempted to just give in and buy fish and chips. But I pulled myself together and dug a couple of salmon steaks out of the freezer, popped them into some salty water to thaw out, and began chopping veges. In thirty minutes (yes, 30 minutes!) we sat down to this absolutely delicious meal. Thank goodness for my Thermomix. There's hardly ever an excuse to have takeaway when you have a Thermomix... you can have a restaurant quality meal in half an hour.

I thought I'd better write the recipe down so I remember what I did for next time. So here it is - try it next time you don't feel like cooking!

 

[Note: I had leftover cooked quinoa in the fridge, so I served the salmon and veges on that. You could even leave that out and just serve it on salad greens; or you could cook the quinoa in the rice basket while the sauce, fish and veges are cooking. An all-in-one meal!]

1. Cube salmon, drizzle with tamari and sesame oil, set aside.

- 2 or 3 salmon steaks, cut into 2 cm cubes

- tamari & sesame oil, to taste

2. Chop up some veges and place in Varoma dish:

- carrots, sliced

- broccoli, in small florets

- orange sweet potato, cubed (optional)

3. Place cubed salmon on top of veges. Drizzle a little more sesame oil and tamari over the veges if you like. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

4. Pour into bowl of Thermomix:

- 400g coconut cream or milk

- 400g water

5. If you're cooking quinoa at the same time, weigh the dry quinoa into the rice basket, rinse well, then place in bowl:

- 350g quinoa

   Place lid on bowl, set Varoma dish on top, and cook at Varoma temp for 20 minutes, speed 4.

6. Check that everything's cooked, set Varoma dish onto its' lid (to catch drips), and tip quinoa into a serving dish. Add the following to the juices left in the bowl and whiz up on speed 9 for a minute:

- a handful or two of raw cashews (depending how thick you want the sauce)

- 2 cloves of garlic

- about a cm of raw ginger (optional)

- a teaspoon of vege stock paste

- a large tablespoon (or two) of tikka paste (homemade, from the *Thermomix Indian cookbook.)

- a teaspoon of Rapadura (or honey)

- a dash of tamari

*This is the best tikka paste EVER - you need the Indian cookbook even if it's just for this recipe!! Oh, and also for the awesome Butter Chicken recipe. :)

7. Serve quinoa onto the plates, top with some raw baby spinach, then the salmon and veges, then the sauce.

Flourless Choc Hazelnut Brownies

Here's a brownie recipe I made up the other day in honour of my little brother who was visiting from the big city - this one's for you, bro!  These brownies are especially nice eaten with fresh strawberries, and they're even better if they're shared with those you love :)  Enjoy.

Gluten free, dairy free, naturally sweetened, easy and delicious!

1. Preheat oven to 190° celcius.

2. Weigh all the ingredients into the Thermomix bowl and process on speed 9 for 30 seconds.  Scrape down sides of bowl, and process again on speed 9 for another 20 seconds.

- 170g raw hazelnuts (no need to remove skins)
- 60g dates
- 40g raw cacao powder or organic cocoa powder
- 60g Rapadura
- 4 large eggs
- 50g coconut oil
- 30g macadamia oil or light olive oil
- 60g coconut cream
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3. Pour into a greased or lined 7" x 11" (18cm x 28cm) rectangular oven dish.  Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

4. To serve, you can dust with cocoa or powdered Rapadura if you like.

Flourless Pecan Cake (GF, DF)

I'm so excited - I've come up with a really yummy version of my favourite flourless nut cake, and it's completely dairy free and gluten free and naturally sweetened... and very moist and delicious too!!! I've given it the ultimate taste test - I took it to a church supper and gave some to the teenage boys - they are VERY suspicious of anything 'healthy' - especially if it is dairy-free, gluten free and contains no refined sugar. They actually came back for seconds and thirds, and it dissapeared in no time! Afterwards I thought that was a pretty silly thing to do, because now they won't be so wary of my 'health food' and next time there won't be much left for the adults! :)

This is such an easy recipe if you have a Thermomix, or a very powerful blender - you just chuck it all in and blend it up! No mucking around with separating eggs, grinding up sugar, scraping out vanilla beans... a simple, idiot-proof recipe.

BTW, see my original recipe here, as well as some variations such as hazelnut chocolate/coffee cake.

Isn't that a lovely texture?

Okay, enough rambling... here it is!

Place all the ingredients in the Thermomix bowl (or in a powerful blender), and blend on speed 9 for 20 seconds (or until well-blended), scraping down sides if needed:

- 170g raw pecans

- 60g dates

- 60g Rapadura

- 100g coconut cream (just scoop off the thickest cream from the top of the tin of coconut cream, or make your own - it should be thick like thickened dairy cream)

- 1 whole vanilla bean, snipped into 3cm pieces (or use 1 tsp of vanilla extract)

- 4 large eggs

- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

- 1 Tblspn arrowroot flour (or gf cornflour/cornstarch)

- 1 tspn gf baking powder

Tip into lined, 20cm round cake tin, and bake for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees, or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean.

Drizzle with pure maple syrup while still warm. Enjoy!

Coconut Lemon Chicken Soup

Whenever anyone in our family starts to come down with a cold, I get out the stock pot and make a great big batch of chicken stock so I can make lots of chicken soup! There's nothing better than old-fashioned chicken soup when you're feeling achy and miserable, in the throes of a bad cold. But when you get tired of 'old-fashioned' chicken soup, try this one for a change. This is my new favourite - it's so delicious, and the fresh herbs and spices and chilli are great for colds, not to mention the thick, jellyish, golden stock. It's a comforting remedy for colds, chills and sore throats. (Adapted from recipes in "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon.)

It really is true that a rich chicken broth - the famous Jewish penicillin - is a wonderful remedy for the flu. "Science validates what our grandmothers knew. Rich homemade chicken broths help cure colds. Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily-not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons--stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain." - Weston Price Foundation (see full article)

So get out your stock pot, and start cooking!

(P.S. You can make enough stock for this recipe in your Thermomix - just use chicken wings, necks, and backbone with cartilage; crack the bones, and cook in steamer basket with a few celery leaves, onion, carrot and garlic, covered with water, with a tsp of vinegar.)

Chicken Stock

You will need:
- 1 whole chicken (free range, organic if possible), or 1 to 2 kg bony chicken parts
- 4 litres cold filtered water
- 2 Tbspns apple cider vinegar
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 celery sticks with leaves, roughly chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (opt.)
- 1 bunch parsley

1. Cut the chicken into several pieces, sawing through bones or cracking them with a meat hammer. You can cut off the breast and put it aside for another meal (eg: a stir-fry or pasta). Just leave the fat on - don't worry, chicken fat is good for you! However, if you don't want the fat, when the stock cools it will solidify on top so you can easily scoop it off if you like. If you are using your own home-raised chicken, throw in the feet too, and even the head if you're game - the stock will have a lot more 'gel,' which is so good for you.

2. Place chicken pieces into a large stainless steel stock pot, cover with the cold water, add vinegar and vegetables (except parsley), and let stand for 30 minutes.

3. Bring to a boil, remove scum that rises to the top, reduce heat and simmer for 6 to 24 hours. I cook it on low in my slow cooker. (If you don't have time, at least simmer for 3 hours.) The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavourful it will be. About 10 minutes before you're ready to turn it off, add the parsley. (This will add more minerals to the broth.)

4. Remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and refrigerate. When they're cool, take the meat off the bones. Save 200-300g for your soup (recipe below) and store the rest in zip-loc bags in the freezer for other recipes - soups, salads, enchiladas, sandwiches and curries.  Strain the broth into a large bowl and place in the fridge until the fat rises to the top and can be skimmed off (optional). Once cold, the stock should be 'jellyish'. Set aside 1 litre of stock for the soup; place any leftover stock into small containers and freeze.

Coconut Lemon Chicken Soup (Thermomix version)

1. Chop in TMX for 5 seconds speed 7, until finely chopped:
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- 1/2 inch fresh turmeric
- 1 large clove garlic
- some fresh coriander or cilantro (to taste)
- a few fresh chives or shallots

- a piece of fresh red chilli (to taste)

[Note: For extra goodness and 'zing', double the amount of ginger, turmeric, garlic, coriander and chilli (opt). After whizzing it up, remove half to a bowl, then add it back into the soup after it's finished cooking. That way you'll get the benefit of the raw enzymes, not to mention more flavour!]

2. Add, and cook for 10 minutes, 100 degrees, speed 1, or until starting to boil:
- 1000g home-made chicken broth

3. Add remaining ingredients, and cook 10 minutes, 100 degrees, speed 1:
- 1 tin coconut cream or milk
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tsp Rapadura
- a few good splashes of fish sauce
- sea salt to taste

4. Add in the 200-300g cooked chicken reserved from making the broth. Cook for another 2 minutes at 100C, reverse speed soft. Then add in the extra minced herbs, garlic, ginger, etc if using.

5. Pour into bowls, and garnish with fresh cilantro or shallots.