Thermomix delivered

[Teallele]

Hello all,

My name is Sue. Just purchased a thermomix and it was delivered last night. Today was my first day with it and it's been pretty good although I can't say everything I made was a complete success. My porridge had a distinct glue consistency and my hummous nearly exploded out the top like lava. I managed to destroy my chocolate chips in the cookies and the macadamias went well beyond chopped and were more like meal.  I think I've got a bit to learn about using it. I was really keen because I wanted to be able to heat to specific temps, have a really strong food processor and also be able to make more all in one meals. My other thought was to disguise veges in soups and pasta sauce, so my teenage boys get some nutrition.

Anyway, just saying hi from Tasmania. I'm sure I'll get lots of great tips here and hear about other's adventures with the Thermomix.

Cheers,
Sue

[Katya]

Hi.  Sounds like you're feeling a little discouraged but don't worry, it won't take long before you are used to the TMX and it will all go a lot more smoothly.

One tip I've picked up from here is not to go to the maximum time for cutting/grinding but to check on progress maybe half way through and then carry on in short bursts.  I think the recipes can produced varied results according to all sorts of things like the quality/age of ingredients, ambient temperature and so on but you will soon learn what works and what doesn't.

I'm afraid I can't give specific advice for porridge as it is (so-called) summer here in the UK so I'm not making it right now.  I wonder whether you had the hummus on too high a speed to make it erupt like that (did you have the cap in?).

There's a huge amount of information on this site so I recommend browsing around and seeing what you can find.  If in doubt, just ask!

Good luck

[brazen20au]

welcome sue!

yes, it's definitely easy to overdo everything when you first start and unfortunately that's even when you follow the recipe book

[Hannah]

Give the boys a go with it. I was surprised at my son's interest in it and he was so much more adventurous than I was! Things like chilli and ginger which I'd never bought before are now staples in our pantry. I bought him some prawns last week thinking he'd put them on pizza but instead he whipped up a prawn and chicken laksa - absolutely delicious!

Pizza dough is a great place to start for boys I think. They can start off with basic toppings but as time goes by they'll be whipping up tasty base sauces in TMX, experimenting with exotic toppings. Pizza was a win-win recipe for me - I would make the dough and set it to rest and son would top it and cook it when he got home. Great tasting pizzas for only a couple of minutes work... what more could a Mum want?

[Ceejay]

Welcome Sue!

Must admit to being a tad timid with my TMX when it arrived too... but my 14yo DS walked up to it and just started using it!!  Sure gave me a kick start! LOL

Good luck with the experimenting.. it is rather addictive..

[judydawn]

Hi Sue, welcome to Thermoland.  Sorry to hear your first efforts were disasters but hopefully you will continue to try things and have some successes.  Try some of the recipes off the forum - they have been tried and tested by ordinary people like us. Take on board what the others have said re the time used for blitzing - remember less is best, you can always do it for a few more seconds.  It does take some getting used to and you are at the crucial stage where you have tried, failed and are now probably disillusioned with the whole idea.  I was too to start with but one day it all clicked and away I went, especially after joining this forum and reading every posting on it - the forum was a lot smaller back then so this would be a mammoth task these days but try and read as much as you can.  Still have failures, we all do from time to time, especially if we don't read the recipe correctly but the machine can be very forgiving and some failures do end up turning out OK.  Onions for example, I only blitz for 2-3 seconds on speed 5 as I like mine with a bit of body in them, not mush. Change the blitzing times in the recipe book as you try at a lesser speed so that you don't get caught next time.  You will eventually learn which speed suits what food. I am now looking forward to hearing about some of your successes in follow up postings - good luck.

[Thermomixer]

Welcome Sue - you will improve with practice. Don't become dejected with your initial trials.

All will improve with time.  You have great teachers down in Tassie - keep in touch with your consultant too and try to get to some of Fee's classes.

[I Love Bimby!]

Hi Sue, Welcome.
Allow yourself some time to become aquainted with your TMX. I took a little while adjusting to how powerful the machine is.  Before long you'll be whizzing and whipping things up left right and centre like a pro 
As for porridge, check out some of the porridge postings under breakfast section on this forum. I don't like the ones in the EDC either - but everyone's tastes and expectations are different.
This forum is a great spot for advice and recipes to help you along. Enjoy!
Joelene

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Hi Sue,

Welcome to the forum!!!  I hope you have some happy times with your thermie very soon. It does take a little while to adjust to the new style of cooking (I'm still very much a learner), but is well worth it.

Where are you in Tassie?  We live in Forth.

Chelsea 

P.S - Cooking classes with Fee (and the crew) are terrific.  I always learn a lot.

[~Narelle~]

Hi from another Taswegian (near Launnie)

My machine should arrive this week I hope, so I think I'll probably join you for a bit.  This forum has been invaluable to me, as I already have some tips and tricks before it comes.

I hope you'll soon be back with some success stories.

Narelle

[Teallele]

Wow, thanks for the replies.
I had a better day today - made yummy foccacia for lunch - that was definitely easy and very successful. Tomato soup for dinner also worked well. The thermomix's contribution to the potato cakes was fine, but I didn't cook them too well. I've been following the book more today which is a good idea I think

Cheers,

Sue
PS I'm in Hobart

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Wow, thanks for the replies.
I had a better day today - made yummy foccacia for lunch - that was definitely easy and very successful. Tomato soup for dinner also worked well. The thermomix's contribution to the potato cakes was fine, but I didn't cook them too well. I've been following the book more today which is a good idea I think

Cheers,

Sue
PS I'm in Hobart

Glad to hear your thermomixing is going better now. The everyday cookbook is very useful.  Just remember when processing to use a slower speed and check regularly, rather than following the recipes (some of the processing speeds aren't correct).
Chelsea 

[CreamPuff63]

Hi Sue

I don't eat porridge, but my DD does. She has written in the EDC and her last entry for 1 person was - 85g porridge, 270g milk/water, and whatever that last ingredient the measurement is fine. I will confirm with her whether these measurements are the best so far. There is also a lovely porridge recipe on this forum.

When I first got the machine I made the mistake of not reading the recipe because I was too excited. Usually if I have a flop, its because I have been too impatient to read the instructions properly.