cyndi o meara zucchini slice disaster

[astrogirl]

Hi,

i keep having disasters and i have had my thermie for over 6 months now.  My latest  disaster was the zucchini slice in the thermomix cyndi o meara healthy eating book i recently purchased at a cooking class.    The funny thing is - zucchini slice is something i regularly do (not in the tmx ) and it is never failed before.  i thought i would try this version as it looked a bit healthier with a few more veggies in it.  I followed the recipe to the tee  carefully as i have had plenty of things not work.  i thought it odd to have oil in what was already a very wet looking recipe but went with the book.   It never cooked properly - despite longer cooking time.  was wet and sloppy in middle and i have had to throw away as my family were horrified.  i am getting a little weary of wasting both time and expensive ingredients on recipes that should be easy and simple ( have had problems with cakes, the veg nut roast, pasta dishes and now this).   has anyone tried this recipe with success?  what am i doing wrong to keep having disasters?  i find the thermomix works best for me with chopped meals and not mixed things like cakes and slices!  salads, cada, dips and soups are all great.  but cakes and loafs and the like i am not doing well with. 

anyway - sorry to whinge - pregnant and hormonal and grumpy at having to throw out food and feeling like i am a crappy cook!

[astrogirl]

just realised i should have put this in the tweaks/recipe moderation section?  apologies!

[CreamPuff63]

astrogirl, we have made this and from memory its yummy but not quite the same consistency as the zucchini slice you are probably used to. I like a chunkier texture to my fruit and vegetables, and so I normally stop 1-2 seconds before the recipe says just to see if its to my liking or whether it needs a bit more. On this particular recipe I have noted to grate the zucchini and capsicum on Speed 5, and would only have chopped for 3 secs. Things tend to go abit juicy if pulverised too much. There is a Zucchini Slice recipe in the Gluten Free booklet.

what happens to your cakes? are you converting your own or following a recipe?
and whats the problemo with the pasta dishes?

[judydawn]

Following on from CP63's questions - astrogirl have you tried recipes from our forum which have good reviews?  I did that recipe you mentioned in my early days and it was a complete disaster as I followed the chopping times etc. as you do when you are new to the game.  Nowadays I would know better and adjust them but recipes don't get a second chance in this house, they either work or they are out and I got rid of the whole recipe book because of that disaster!    I would check the recipe review section on here & see if what you want to cook has been done by anyone and reviewed or alternatively if you want to try a recipe, just ask on here if anyone has done it and what they thought of it.  Keep at it but try to do recipes others have done for your sanity.

[astrogirl]

thanks for your replies.  having calmed down a bit i went and looked at my normal zuch slice recipe and compared to Cyndis one.   my usual one does not have any oil and 80 grams of oil seemed alot at the time but i went with it.  i totally agree re the processing times for the vegies - it made them too mushy and water must have leaked in the cooking process.  also - my recipe calls for self raising flour not plain flour and corn flour ( why corn flour)?     all in all i must have over processed it and with the large amount of oil it was too wet and sloppy.   Finally - the recipe calls for it to be mixed - but not on reverse plus.  so it got even further processed.  here in lies all the errors.   sadly i no longer trust the recipes in my books!  but i guess i am being forced to be more instinctive with my cooking.   i did think i should have mixed in on reverse plus!

I have done too easy chocolate cake, best coconut cake and date and walnut cake and had issues with not being cooked enough in middle and or not rising well.  I think i will use the tmx for the chopping etc but keep the mixing for my trusty old bowl and wooden spoon!

i have had wonderful success with all the salads, dips, cada etc..  just not with cakey, slicey wet things!   

I do think for the money you pay for yout tmx - the recipe books should be spot on and not in need of tweaking except in terms of taste or variations of.   I will re attempt it the once and follow my nose more and see how it gos.  not looking fwd to it though!

[achookwoman]

Astrogirl,  don't give up.  My chooks ate very well when I first got my TMX.  Follow JD's advice and work with some of the recipes from the Forum.  Most have been well tested and reviews are honest and helpful.  Unless you are chopping,  use the reverse button .

[CreamPuff63]

also - my recipe calls for self raising flour not plain flour and corn flour ( why corn flour)?     

my book was printed in 2008 and it says 50g maize or cornflour (cornflour is normally used as a bit of a thickener) and 70g of Plain flour + 2 teaspoons of Baking Powder (which will give some rise to the flour).

What may also have happened is that after each step of ie. Step 1. chopping cheese, Step 2. then zucchini and capsicum, then Step 3. onion and ginger etc -  you are required to set them aside. If you overlooked to do this each step and the mixture has stayed in the TM jug then you would end up with a very mushy mixture  It is very easy to get excited and misread sometimes, and you could curse yourself afterwards 

With most cakes that I make that are just for simple family eating, I always use a ring tin. Why? because the hole in the middle allows for the heat to travel up through the middle and the mixture cooks evenly 

[judydawn]

I don't use the EDC for my cake cooking astrogirl. Try these recipes from the forum, everyone has success with them.  Also, have you tested your oven to make sure the temperature is accurate? Oven thermometers are available from kitchenware shops and it may be worth your while checking that your oven is working correctly.

Bimby Chocolate cake http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=1097.0

Nico's Coconut cake http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=4274.0.  Scroll down on Page 1 until you come to this one.

[cookie1]

Astrogirl try the recipes from this site. It is very upsetting doing recipes that don't work as well as being costly. Always go with your instinct, it's probably right. You can always mix or blend a little more. Good luck and let us know how things go please.

[Twitterpated]

Since joining this forum I have given up on the EDC all together. Reading some of the reviews was enough to convince me and I get most of my recipes from this site now. Sorry you are feeling so low Astrogirl. Chin up and try again!

[astrogirl]

thanks for the tips everyone - i did set each lot aside before moving on.  was all the other things i listed that caused the errors.  i will give it another go and let you know how it gos!  am currently scouring the forum for recipes for my collection and will use these for a while and not my books!  made a great raw salad today and feeling a bit better - although i still think i am a terrible cook!

[Cuilidh]

You're not a terrible cook, Astrogirl, just not used to the TMX yet.  If you want to start out by making a slice, try JudyDawn's Noodle and Cheese slice on this forum (sorry don't know the link off the top of my head, but you can easily search for it), it's very easy and delicious.  Easy and delicious is, after all, what the TMX is all about!

[judydawn]

Glad you enjoy it Cuilidh, here's the link to the Noodle & Cheese slice astrogirl   http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=3526.0

[ahoney]

I'm going to try and convert my usual Zucchini slice recipe to use in the TMX, I'll let you know how it goes I've never really tried converting anything before though! And Astrogirl you are not a terrible cook, your food always tastes yummy to me!

[Sonan]

ahoney, this is quite a good zucchi slice recipe for the TM:

Zucchini Slice
(original recipe by Tash at www.recipecommunity.com.au)
I have changed it around a bit to make it lower in fat and quicker.

Ingredients
1/2 onion (roughly cut)
175g short cut bacon (fat removed) (roughly cut)
2 small zucchini (roughly cut)
1 cup or 130g self raising flour
6 eggs
75g low fat tasty cheese (smallish dice)
Organic Herbamare or Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 170oC. Put onion, zuchinni, cheese and bacon in the TM bowl. In the closed lid position, pulse the turbo button a few times until it chops the mix to a small size (looked a bit like fried rice). Then added the eggs and flour, mix on reverse speed 4 for 20-30 seconds.

Pour into a greased 22 x 30 cm dish and bake for 30 - 40 mins until set and browned