THE SHOPPING THREAD :-)

[cookie1]

I believe The first Aldi's open in Perth very soon.

[*suzanne*]

8th June in joondalup Aldi opens, I'll give it a few weeks before I go

[Cuilidh]

Chookie, I think your shopping self control is about to be tested! 

[achookwoman]

Has been tested already.!!!  I am amazed at the number of cars always in their car park.
Perth girls, remember to take your shopping bags as they have no plastic bags other than those that you buy.
As I walk around I lookout for empty cardboard boxes and stick these under the trolley. I always forget my bags.

[judydawn]

We're used to having to take our own bags here in SA, have had to do it for years but like you Chookie, in the beginning I often used to forget to take them too.  A lot of the time the problem was I only went in for 1 or 2 items and bought too much!  There's certainly a lot of competition between supermarkets now, not before time either.

[achookwoman]

Judy, love the competition.

[cookie1]

NT has bring your own bags too. We always forget.

[astarra]

We have to take our own bags here in Tas too 

[Jamberie]

We take our own bags in the ACT too...it's been that way for years but I still forget, and get a bit of a (guilty) thrill when we go to NSW and bags are provided!

[achookwoman]

I reuse the plastic bags to line the bins in the kitchen. Don't feel so guilty then, although I do know they are not good for the environment.

[cookie1]

I do exactly the same Chookie. If we ever get too many I return them to the recycling bin at the supermarket.

[Jamberie]

I've bought a lot of things lately....one of my favorites being the Tupperware Pressure Cooker...I hosted a party so I got to choose something to buy for half price, naturally I decided to buy the most expensive thing 😄
I really like it, much less scary than a regular pressure cooker. This is a delicious version of mac & cheese that has become a regular

[consumerate]

I recently bought an immersion sous vide and have been having a pretty good time with it. I think perhaps some forum members would be interested in them. Certainly not for everyone and a bit different but I think it compliments the thermomix nicely.

See:
http://anovaculinary.com

So far I've cooked:
- vegetables - beans, carrots, corn and beetroot at 83c. The beans were ok, better boiled really but the carrots, corn and beetroot were excellent.  Evenly cooked and very tasty.
- chicken liver mousse at 68c for 1.5 hours- mixture blended in thermomix then put in jars to sous vide. This was amazing and really easy because there is no risk of overcooking in the sous vide
- steak at 55c for 1.5 hours - best way to cook steak for a steak sandwich. Won't cook it any other way again! It went quickly onto the bbq to sear after it came out of the water. My butcher kindly vacuum sealed the steaks for me.
- chicken breast at 63c for 1.5 hours - this was cooked absolutely perfectly. I browned it at the end in a frying pan. Definitely a good way to cook chicken breast so that it doesn't dry out or get too stringy. I put each one in a zip lock bag as I didn't feel like getting the vacuum sealer out.
- pork chops at 60c for 1.5 hours - these didn't turn out that well as the pork was still quite tough. We aren't generally that fond of pork chops so that probably didn't help either. Won't bother doing them again.

Going to try minced chuck steak burger patties next. And I haven't done eggs yet!

The most helpful online information is from serious eats (the food lab)
http://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab

[Cornish Cream]

It looks as though you are having fun cooking in your new sous vide consumerate.

[cookie1]

From memory some forum members tried using the thermomix for sous vide cooking some time ago.