Simple Salmon Family Meal

Not all meals need to be fancy right ?

'Family style'  is what usually rocks in my kitchen. Even tho I do like to indulge in a little bit of fancy every now and then !

So here's my Steamed Salmon for an ordinary night.  For that 'once a week night'  when you know you should feed the family fish ! 

Place your Salmon portions on the Varoma tray. Season with salt & pepper. Sprinkle with Coriander, or other herb of your choice. Slice a lemon (or lime) and place on top of Salmon.

Spray bottom of TMX bowl with olive oil. Chop 800grams of sweet potato into 3 cm chunks, add to bowl (there is some pumpkin in this batch - whatever is in your fridge and fresh ! ).

Add a bit of salt and 230 grams of milk.

Cook. Varoma temp.  20 mins. Speed 1. 

Add your greens (beans, snow peas, broccoli, etc) , to the Varoma bowl (underneath the tray).

Cook. Varoma temp. 5 mins. Speed 1. More if you like your greens soft ....  

Set Varoma aside. Pop the butterfly in with 15 grams of butter, and mash the potato, speed 4 until smooth,  about 10 seconds.

All done.

One full portion of Salmon for the man.

Half a portion each for the three sweet peas and I.

we all love it. 

omelette

  especially yummy with eggs from my chooks.  This omelette is made from this recipe,

Stef Bergs Omelette

 I  doubled the cheese, and used 6 eggs,  added some sliced bacon ( instead of the ham ).

Made in the Varoma tray. Needed extra time than the recipe. Was the perfect amount for 5 of us.

 no fry pan to clean !

Mr. M. has to have an extra kick of protein !  - I would have smoked salmon myself, would be lovely served with wilted spinach and baked cherry tomato's.  Must get up earlier !

little pots of goodness

Silly me ,  why have I not been making this in all the time my Thermi & I have had together so far ??

Crazy.  Concentrated Vegetable Stock. Pure goodness.

Add all your rough chopped vegies & herbs, garlic to the Thermi

Thermi chops it all up, 10 seconds.

Add oil & salt

Set Thermi to cook for 20 mins

Go have a cuppa tea, read some blogs, phone a friend

Madly dash around the house, put washing on, clean floors, tidy up - the Mr is due home tonight ! (has been in Ungarie, which is not on anyones 'go to for leisure' list)

beep beep beep, Thermi is finished.

Get Thermi to Pulverise to smooth velvety goodness.

Store in the fridge, 1 tablespoon = 1 stock cube.

So right now I am reading the label on the bought stock in my pantry.  It's supposedly a good quality one, I chose it because the packet says,

Natural

Gluten Free

Lactose Free

Trans Fat Free

Cholesterol Free

No Animal Content  ('Beef' stock - go figure)

No added MSG

ok, not bad ,  but in the Ingredients list ; palm sugar, corn maltodextrin, caramel colour (150a) among others.  Does not sound so tasty now.

Banana & Choc Bread

EDITED :    Just made this again a day or so again, and if your banana's are not already pretty soft - just about past the point of no return as mine mostly are when I decide to 'banana bread' them  ...  then, when u add the banana's , last step ,  go for reverse, speed 2, 1 minute   : )

A lucky friend of mine, has a Thermomix on loan whilst her friend is o/seas , lucky girl hey ?

I do get asked quite a bit, ' how can I use my own recipes in the Thermomix ' ?

Well you can, you  experiment, and over time you get used to a new, easier and quicker way of preparing your recipes. Perhaps even with less additives, such as 'anti-caking agents.  Win !

So here is my 'thermi-fied' conversion of the requested recipe,

Bill Granger's Choc Banana Bread 

250 grams p. flour

2 tspns baking powder

125 grams unsalted butter, softened , cut into chunks

200 grams raw sugar

4 ripe banana's (or 2 large banana's) chopped into large rough chunks

2 eggs

1 tspn vanilla extract

175 grams choc chips

• Blitz the sugar, 3 seconds, speed 9   ( hello caster sugar ! )  
• Add butter to TMX, 3 seconds, speed 7
• Add flour, baking powder, eggs, & vanilla.  15 seconds, speed 4
• Add banana & choc chips, Reverse blade, 1 minute, speed interval.

Bake in a loaf tin about 1 hour, 15 mins.

Good luck Mrs R  : )

Note :  I have reduced the sugar by a quarter, I still think it is veryyy  sweet, I will reduce by another 20 grams or so when I make this again, which will be soon - yum !

Thermomix & Me

' My ' Thermomix and I have forged a wonderfully great relationship right here in my kitchen , and on holidays ( I don't leave it behind) for nearly 18 months now.

Which means now, I am feeling a bit confident about showing Thermi off to everyone else : )

Yes !  I am a fully qualified Thermomix consultant - at your service !

www.thermomix.com.au

Family Photo's

At last !  We have had proper family photos taken !  With all thanks and credits to .Melanie Linklater photography .

Red Ramia Trading

A couple of days ago, Brad & I took a little afternoon drive to Myrtleford.  A gorgeous drive from here, towards Bright.  Myrtleford is a country town, lots of Italians.  It's sustained by grapes/ wineries, the timber industry, berry farms, hops plantations, and Brads favourite motor bike shop.
Until a few years ago, the most profitable industry there was tobacco growing.  It all finished tho - can't remember the details.  What remains is all the cute little funky shaped tobacco sheds made from steel corrugated iron.

My personal favorite shop of all time, anyplace (excluding the Queen Victoria Building ),  is Red Ramia Trading, at Myrtleford.

A huge bazaar like grouping of buildings filled to the rafters with quirky unique finds and treasures from all parts of Indonesia and Asia. All the space between the buildings is also chock full of outdoor things.  Cannons, flower pots, steel chairs, sun houses, staircases, lanterns, gates, doors, post boxes ...

Then there's also the wonderful Moroccan themed menu for lunch in the cafe.

The main entrance.

This is down the back between two buildings.

This gorgeous glasshouse is for sale. love the details and the doors and windows, the green metal work.  I can imagine this being over a swimming pool. 

Calligraphy brushes ?  beautiful ivory and other stones.

Teakwood printing blocks. So many beautiful patterns.

A Chinese carriage chair.  presumably you have your servants cart you about in it ?

A spiral staircase for sale, some iron chairs and fencing panels.

packed to the rafters.

Chapatti rollers

There are lots more amazing bits and pieces big and small i photographed, but this is a lot of photo's already : ).    The above is the most wonderfull Moroccan mint tea I had in the cafe, wish you could smell  it thru the picture...  ahhh.  

Come join me for a visit up there one day : )