Raw Fruit Cereal

Here's an easy fruit and nut cereal that's delicous for breakfast or a nutritious snack... Eat it on it's own, or with some almond milk (or rice-almond milk). This recipe is based on one from "The Fit For Life Cookbook" by Marilyn Diamond. It makes about 2 - 3 servings.

1. Grind in Thermomix on speed 9 for 10 seconds:
- 10g linseeds (flaxseeds)

2. Add nuts and seeds in Thermomix bowl and roughly chop on speed 7 for 2 seconds:
- 40g raw almonds
- 15g raw pepitas
- 10g sunflower seeds

3. Add and chop for 3 seconds, speed 5:
- 2 apples, cored & quartered
- 1 large banana, quartered
- 1 tspn ground cinnamon
- dash of ground nutmeg
- 1 Tblspn pure maple syrup (optional)

4. Add and stir on reverse speed 1 for 5 seconds:
- 50g raisins or currants

Enjoy on it's own, or with some almond or rice-almond milk!

Dairy Free Chocolate Mousse

Yippee!!! I found a recipe for dairy free chocolate mousse that tastes like the real thing - light and airy and creamy and chocolatey! It's so quick and easy and very addictive! I found the original recipe on taste.com (and I think they got it from Super Food Ideas magazine). I converted it to a Thermomix recipe, changed the castor sugar to ground Rapadura, added more cocoa, and broke out into spontaneous rejoicing at eleven o'clock last night when I tasted it!!! (Probably shouldn't be eating rich chocolate desserts at eleven o'clock at night, but it was for a good cause, don't you think?) Thank you taste.com - I am pathetically grateful!

1. Measure into a small measuring jug and whisk with fork until completely combined:
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 2 tspns powdered gelatine

2. Add and stir in well until dissolved:
- 2 rounded Tblspns raw cacao powder (or organic cocoa powder)
    This mixture needs to reach room temperature - you can put it in the fridge for a little while if you're in a hurry.

3. Grind in Thermomix for 30 seconds on speed 9:
- 60g Rapadura
Tip into a bowl and set aside.

4. Separate eggs, setting egg yolks aside:
- 4 room temperature eggs, separated

5. Place egg whites in Thermomix bowl and add:
- a pinch of cream of tartar (to stabilize the egg whites - makes a light, fluffy mousse)
Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with butterfly attachment, speed 4, for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, or until stiff peaks can be formed.

6. Continue beating on speed 4, and begin to add powdered Rapadura, 1 tablespoon at a time through hole in lid.  Beat until meringue is thick and glossy.  (It won't be stiff any more - that's okay.)

7. With machine still mixing on speed 4, add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop machine.

8. Check temperature of gelatine/cocoa mixture - it needs to be the same temperature as the egg white mixture before combining them!

9. With butterfly still attached, and machine running on speed 4, slowly drizzle cocoa mixture into egg white mixture in a thin stream through the hole in the lid, until well combined.

10. Pour mixture into six small serving cups and refrigerate for four hours, or until set and chilled. Or if you're impatient like me, pop them in the freezer for half an hour! ;) Dust with some cocoa and serve.

YUMMY!!!

By the way, this recipe can easily be doubled to make 12 servings at a time - a good idea, since they'll disappear quickly! :D

Menu Plan Monday - 4th January

Happy New Year everyone!! I thought I'd better start off the new year right, and get my menu planned for this week, even though I didn't feel like bothering... had a big day! Nanna and Poppy arrive tomorrow for a visit, and we only see them once a year, so we'll have to plan some special meals for them...

I hope you all cooked lots of yummy food over the holiday break - our favourite was probably the chocolate sorbet - (wish I had one right now)... although that could have been because we had such nice friends to share it with :) Ever noticed that it makes all the difference to a meal if you have good friends and family to eat with? "Meat eaten without mirth is ill of digestion." (Or something like that...) So, what was your favourite meal last week? If you'd like recipes for any of these meals that don't have a link, just let me know.

Today I joined "Top Mommy Blogs" - if you like my blog, you can click on the link in the side bar and it will count as a vote for me :) Check out their website for links to great blogs by mums all over the world!

If you'd like some menu planning ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com for some help. If you're a Thermomix-er, you'll find some great recipes at the Thermomix forum.

Have a great week!

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

Monday:

(lunch) Out at a demo - kids at my sisters

(dinner) Leftover chicken & gravy with rice (TMX), plus some fish my dh caught on the weekend!

Tuesday:

(lunch) Russian Potato Salad (TMX), tossed salad, spelt bread rolls (TMX)

(dinner) Spaghetti bolognaise (sauce made in TMX) with spelt pasta & salad

Wednesday (dh starts night shift so main meals at lunch time):

(lunch) 'Fried' Rice (TMX) with grilled chicken breasts

(dinner) Leftovers or minestrone soup (TMX)

Thursday:

(lunch) Steak, & dairy free potato bake (sauce made in TMX with this recipe), & beetroot salad (TMX)

(dinner) Leftovers & tuna salad sandwiches (on homemade gluten free bread - TMX)

Friday:

(lunch) Sunny Scalloped Eggs & Broccoli

(dinner) Hamburgers on spelt buns

Saturday:

(lunch) Baked potatoes, dairy free sour cream (TMX), carrot & grape salad (TMX) with homemade mayonnaise (TMX)

(dinner) Meatball, bean & vege soup

Sunday:

(lunch) Chicken in crockpot with cashew satay sauce (TMX - made ahead, poured over hot chicken), salad

(dinner) leftovers

Crustless Macadamia Nut Pie

This pie recipe has got to be the easiest I've ever made!! There's no crust (so it's gluten free, and even grain free), and the actual making of it takes a couple of minutes at the most! (Plus cooking time, of course.) The original recipe was for a pecan pie, with lots of corn syrup and sugar, which I changed to agave syrup and Rapadura, using a bit less, and adding some sea salt to cut the sweetness a little.

This recipe makes two pies if you use regular pie plates - I made one pecan and one macadamia. (Sorry, don't have a photo of the pecan pie, it got eaten too quickly!) You can make it dairy free by using coconut oil instead of butter - a hint of coconut flavour goes well with macadamias.

1. Cover the bases of two lined pie plates with a single layer of nuts:
- 3 cups of macadamia nuts or pecan nuts (sorry, forgot to weigh them)

2. Place in Thermomix bowl and grind on speed 9 for 15 seconds:
- 150g Rapadura

3. Place remaining ingredients in Thermomix bowl and mix on speed 6 for 20 seconds:
- 350g agave syrup or rice malt syrup
- 6 eggs
- 2 Tbspns butter (or coconut oil)
- 2 tspns vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp celtic sea salt

4. Pour the syrup mixture over the nuts, dividing between two pans. Bake at 170 degrees C (325 degrees F) for 25 - 30 minutes, or until browned and firm to touch. Cool before slicing - store in fridge.

Viola! Easiest pie ever! Yummy served with cashew cream, or if you can have a bit of dairy, a blob of unsweetened whipped cream.

Cooking for New Year's Day

If you're up for some cooking for New Year's Day, here's a great recipe to try - Breudher (Dutch New Year's Cake)!

I made some today, and it's so delicious I'll probably have to make it again before New Year's Day! The recipe makes 3 loaves/cakes, so I've put one in the freezer, so hopefully it will last there for two more days, and I'll warm it up in the oven for New Year's Day breakfast. I've added some photos to the original post, so I thought I'd let you all know so you can have a look. (Btw, it does have butter in it, a fair bit, but I decided to make it anyway - I really don't think you could substitute anything else that would taste as good!)

Happy Cooking!

Breudher

Menu Plan Monday - 28th December

Hi all - just a quick menu plan this week - I'm a bit late! But I know what happens when I don't plan my menu - we end up with late meals and an unbalanced diet! If you'd like some menu planning help, advice, ideas... go to Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com.

Have a great week! :)

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

Monday:

(lunch) Tuna pasta (TMX)

(dinner) Baked chicken, basil & tomatoes on brown rice (TMX)

Tuesday:

(lunch) Spelt tortillas (TMX) with tuna & salad

(dinner) Lentil bolognese (TMX) with spelt spaghetti

Wednesday:

(lunch) Spelt bread rolls (TMX) with salad (& probably tuna, again!)

(dinner) T-bone steak, baked potatoes & salad

Thursday:

(lunch) Vege pasta with gf pasta noodles (TMX)

(dinner) Leek quiche with oat almond crust (TMX) & salad

Baking Breudher for New Year's! Yum!

Friday (New Year's Day):

(breakfast) Breudher!

(lunch) Baked potatoes with toppings (including mushroom sauce - TMX)

(New Year's Dinner!) Homemade lasagne (dairy free) with homemade spelt lasagne noodles (sauces & pasta made in TMX), spelt garlic bread (TMX), greek salad, chocolate sorbet

Saturday:

(lunch) leftovers (I hope!)

(dinner) Tuna mornay (df TMX) on brown rice (TMX)

Sunday:

(lunch) Roast chicken & veges

(dinner) Spelt rolls and leftovers

Holiday Cooking

I hope you're all enjoying the Christmas break - isn't it nice to have some time off! I didn't get around to taking photos of everything I made at Christmas, but here's a few photos from our holiday cooking... using my Thermomix, of course! If you want the recipe for any of these, let me know. They are all dairy-free and naturally sweetened.

Happy holidays!

Raw Dairy-Free Berry Cheesecake

Chicken & Potato Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing

(from the Thermomix Festive Cookbook - the dressing is amazing!

Kiwi Fruit, Lime and Mint Sorbet
(So refreshing!)

Sabayon with Poached Meringue and Pistachios
(Very rich - take my advice and don't eat it late at night - you won't be able to sleep!)



Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Cranberry & Pistachio Stuffing

(Steamed in Varoma with sauce cooking in bowl, sliced potato steaming in small basket in bowl, and broccoli on top - delicious!)


Mini Steamed Puddings
(Steamed in Varoma - a bit rich for me!)

Crustless Macadamia Pie
(Delicious and very quick! Also made a Pecan version, which we liked best - no photo, must have eaten it too quickly!)

Holiday Jelly Salad

(A family favourite - homemade jelly made with cranberries, green apple, orange segments & juice, pineapple pieces & juice, pecans/walnuts, celery, honey & gelatin.)

Christmas Wreath Bread

(Homemade spelt & seed bread braided into a wreath shape - made these for gifts.)