Fast & Furious!

I think that aptly describes life most of the time :)

So much so that I haven't written for a while, nearly a month in fact. Not that I haven't been experimenting with lots of Thermie cooking, I've even been taking photos (new camera just last week...JOY!!...finally) Just having the time to sit and write about it has escaped me.

I'm largely putting this down to my new venture that I started at the beginning of this month. Being a consultant for Vorwerk the maker of Thermomix. I've started doing cooking demonstrations and so far so good. Everyone who sees Thermie in action falls in love straight away :) How could you not?

I've been trying to make a few brand new dishes each week out of the Thermomix cookbooks. Today I made spelt bread, Anzac buscuits (as per hubby's request), vege stock concentrate AND for the first time an Organic Beef stock concentrate which is just FABULOUS! Keep in a container in the fridge for MONTHS just like the Vege one!

Yesterday I made the most DELICIOUS Spiced Plum Jam....my goodness...I had some with ricotta on mountain bread today for lunch...MMmmmm...I didn't just have 1 either ;-)

And I did all that around my usual happenings of the day, it's just so quick, set it....leave it...and it tells you when it's done!

One thing that I think is pretty cool is the multi-level cooking that it does. That is...making the sauce in the bottom, cooking rice in the basket, steaming meat/veges in the Varoma on top. I've shyed away from it a little bit at it seems just so much going on at once! But it's soooo useful and quick that I wanted to try recipes that use it so that i get used to it and gain the confidence to make up my own creations.

Chicken Marinated With Summer Vegetables

from the Full Steam Ahead cookbook.

The recipe stated serving it with couscous, but being married to an Italian who isn't into couscous...pasta is always the prefered sause-soaker-upper-er.

1. I started by marinating 5 chicken breasts for 1hr in the juice of 1 lemon, 1tsp salt, pepper, 1tsp curry (I had masaman curry powder on hand)

2. chop 1 onion and 4 garlic cloves for 5secs speed5.

3. Add 50g olive oil and 70g tomato puree (I used tomato paste...Oooops, just realised then hehe) and cook 5min/Varoma temp/speed 1

4. Place 4 chicken breasts into Varoma receptical and cut the other chicken breast into pieces.

5. Add chicken pieces, 400g tin crushed tomatoes, left over marinade and 100g water to mixing bowl and mix 5 secs/speed 2

6. Slice up whatever veges you'd like and pop them into the simmering basket and insert the basket, and the Varoma on top  (with additional veges in it if you like) and cook 20-25mins/Varoma temp/speed 1. or until chicken is cooked.



simmering basket in, full of veges, ready to go!



Chicken in base of Varoma and some Kale ready to go in the top.



7. While cooking you can place 300 g couscous in a bowl and cover with 300g water, add half tsp salt and 20g olive oil stir will and leave to stand for 5minutes. Put couscous into Varoma tray for last 15min of cooking. Otherwise you could just cook some rice or some pasta to have with it.

8. When cooked place Varoma and steaming basket aside. Add 100g Creme Fraiche (I used ricotta) into the mixing bowl and mix 40sec/speed 10.





Thick and creamy sauce...

And the verdict...i thought it was quite yummy...as did hubby. Although I think I'd leave the curry powder out next time...personally I think it was a little confused whether it was an indian or italian dish :) And I don't think the sause needs those few pieces of chicken in it to bulk it up...as I used ricotta it was quite thick anyway.

And certainly it was quick and easy :) And I can't wait to use the Varoma to steam more and more dishes :)

Do you steam alot? If so...what??