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Messages - allthingscraft

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1
Special Diets / Nut free Macarons - French Style (with photo)
« on: May 24, 2011, 11:05:27 pm »
Earlier in the year (before TMX) I discovered the wonders of baking macarons - I tried both French and Italian methods. When we discovered that my DD had tree nut allergies a few months back, I realised that these wonderful morsels of sweetness would no longer be made in our kitchen.

Until yesterday  ;D

I started experimenting yesterday with replacements for the almond meal. I used the recipe on the forum from Trissalicious http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=4050.0

For the 125g almond meal I used 100g Quinoa flakes and 25g Coconut. I ground these up first then added them to the icing sugar to further grind them together.

The results are amazing - DH thinks they are great. And best of all, DD can eat them!!

So for any one with nut allergies, definitely give these a go. You could change the ratio of quinoa/coconut. Another nut free recipe I found used coconut and black sesame seeds 50/50 ratio.

PS - I used raw sugar for these macarons, hence the more golden brown colour. Still trying to find a source for 'natural' food colours to colour my baking.

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Cakes / Re: Basic Plain Muffin Mix - add your own favourite flavour.
« on: May 10, 2011, 09:15:18 am »
Thanks for this basic recipe Nay-Nay. I just tried converting my basic muffin recipe from my Australian Women's Weekly cookbook. It has much more butter/sugar than this one - so will definitely be trying this one next.

If I was to add coconut (as we love lemon/coconut muffins) how much would you suggest so it doesn't make the mix too dry? Or would you increase the milk?

Thanks.

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Questions? Technical Issues? The Survival Guide / Re: Fruity Dream frozen fruit caused blades not to spin- overload? Have I broken TM?
« on: May 07, 2011, 07:00:31 am »
Thanks so much for the explanation Meagan. The dread in the bottom of my tummy has just disappeared.  :)

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Questions? Technical Issues? The Survival Guide / Re: Fruity Dream frozen fruit caused blades not to spin- overload? Have I broken TM?
« on: May 07, 2011, 06:18:19 am »
Yes the blades move now -  I just finished making QuirkyJo's cacao treat balls. Once I fiddled around with the frozen fruit in the bowl I was able to get the blades to move again.

Does it damage the motor when the blades get stuck like mine did?

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Questions? Technical Issues? The Survival Guide / Fruity Dream frozen fruit caused blades not to spin- overload? Have I broken TM?
« on: May 07, 2011, 04:53:53 am »
Help - feeling stressed  :'(

Was trying to make 2 lots of the berry fruity dream to have ready in the freezer for tonight. Of course, when I had the Varoma demo there were no troubles.

OK first one was with frozen blueberries - my TM chopped the berries OK but couldn't spin once the egg white was put in. Made a noise like it was trying to spin but just couldn't. I waited a bit for the berries to defrost before finishing (note: as a newbie didn't try the spatula to 'help' that time)

So next time round I thought I'd try frozen strawberries - this time it wouldn't chop the frozen berries even before putting the egg white in. Just made the noise like it was trying to spin but couldn't. Looked like a frozen strawberry had wedged under the blades and stopped it. So took the fruit out and chopped the strawberries a little before trying again. Managed to finish the sorbet.

So my big question - have a broken my TM by causing it to not be able to spin?  ???


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Special Diets / GF savoury flat bread
« on: May 06, 2011, 04:56:14 am »
Hi - I've been experimenting with a friend this morning making the gluten free bread from Cyndi O'Meara. We are now trying to find a recipe for flatbread that can be rolled without breaking.

I don't have the GF cookbook yet, but noticed a post mentioning Savoury flat bread. Would it be possible for someone to post the recipe for me? My friend is looking to purchase a TM if she can make bread for her family.

Thanks in advance.


7
Chit Chat / Re: 1 month on and Varoma demo
« on: May 02, 2011, 11:27:59 am »
Thanks Meagan - great tip about marking the bowl. I was trying to think how I'll distinguish them that will stay on when the parts are washed.

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Chit Chat / 1 month on and Varoma demo
« on: May 01, 2011, 10:34:34 pm »
Well it's been a month now that I've had my Thermomix and it's continually being used. I'm am working my way through the awesome recipes on this forum.

I had a Varoma demo last Friday. That is one full on demo - I think we were all a little 'chatty' as my poor consultant mentioned that she had never stayed so long for a demo  ;D I was able to get a copy of the Indian cookbook so I'll be starting to experiment with those recipes. My DH is Anglo-Indian so I will be able to impress him and his family!

Funny what you discover when you use a TMX - my 4 year old daughter has tree-nut allergies. I started blitzing nuts into pancakes/muffins as she wouldn't discover the 'bits' and we soon realised when she was telling us her tongue tingled and her lips started swelling that she is allergic to them (which has now been confirmed by our paeditrician/allergist). That was another reason why we had the demo in April - I ordered a second jug to make sure she won't have anything with nuts.

Just loving this 'magic' machine!

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Bread / Re: Wholemeal and Multigrain Bread Variations
« on: April 19, 2011, 02:14:40 am »
Thanks for these recipes Jabba. I've just finished making the barley/oat version. I milled wheat (200g) and barley (50g) and added the 50g oats to the soaking mix overnight.

It made a wonderful dense loaf. I freeformed it and baked on a pizza stone.

I have a really dodgy oven  :o so needed to cook it nearly double the time but it has left a beautiful crust. Yum! First time I've tried using a pizza stone for a bread loaf, as you can see from the pic it split a bit so need to read up why it did it. I'll also be getting an oven thermometer to get a more accurate temp.

Thanks - my DD loved her warm bread for morning tea!

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Jams and Chutneys / Re: Naturally Sweetened Strawberry Jam (with photo)
« on: April 18, 2011, 06:55:06 am »
Made my first lot of jams ever with this recipe. Made strawberry jam and the other batch was fig and cinnamon. Didn't have rapadura so just used white sugar. Very impressed how quick it was to make jam  :)

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Soups / Re: Creamy Chicken & Brown Rice Soup (dairy free) with photo
« on: April 13, 2011, 11:54:49 pm »
Thanks Jo have added the notes to try next time. DH loved the soup last night when he tried it. This will be a regular.

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Recipe Book Recipe Reviews / Re: Review - EDC Rock Cakes
« on: April 13, 2011, 08:14:53 am »
Made these as DH loves rockcakes and hasn't had them for years. Great fluffy texture and simple recipe. I tried half currant, half dark choc chips to tempt DD, but alas she still didn't like the 'sultanas' that she picked out and left on the plate  :-))

DH enjoyed them.

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Soups / Re: Creamy Chicken & Brown Rice Soup (dairy free) with photo
« on: April 13, 2011, 08:00:52 am »
Jo - thank you so much for a great tasty recipe. I made this for lunch and it filled the spot as it's a cold and miserable day in Melbourne today. Yum!

Could I ask - if I need to get the chicken pieces smaller would I use a higher speed in step 4 when cooking the chicken? I love the texture of the soup but just need to get the chicken smaller and don't want to puree it smooth at the end. Not sure the best way to do it and at what step.

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Recipe Book Recipe Reviews / Re: Too Easy Chocolate Cake
« on: April 13, 2011, 07:52:49 am »
Made this recipe today. Yes, the cake is small but perfect for DH and DD. I'll try a smaller tin next time. DD enjoyed for afternoon tea, warm from the oven.

This is the first cake I've made in my thermomix. Got me wondering - do I need to be sifting the dry ingredients together before putting in or does the mixing action of the machine do that? I can't see any of the recipes in the EDC mention sifting  ???

5/5

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Introduce Yourself / Re: Hello from another soon-to-be owner
« on: April 13, 2011, 07:19:43 am »
Kathy - sounds like you are having just as much fun with your machine as I am. My family are certainly enjoying everything I'm making. Yes, I've started thinking about a chest freezer as well  ;D Haven't quite worked out how to change the cooking times when halving recipes as it's just 3 of us - DH, DD4 and me. Lots more experimenting...

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