Recipe Book Tweaking and Reviews!

[wombleydoo]

I don't like custard made with flour (as per the TM everyday cookbook). I use cornflour instead. The flour is very overpowering in flavour.

[Amanda]

I don't like custard made with flour (as per the TM everyday cookbook). I use cornflour instead. The flour is very overpowering in flavour.

I agree and with 3 eggs in it, I doubt that there is much need for very much cornflour, either.
I wonder who tested this recipe?

[Harmony]

Recipe Name: Bechmael Sauce (white sauce
Book Name: Everyday
Tweaking details: Increase butter to match the amount of flour (equal weights) and it is soooo much nicer!
Review: It then makes the most wonderful white sauce, even with gluten free flour (I use White Wings)
Score: (out of 5*) 5/5

[riv_mum]

Recipe: Chineese style stirfry vegies
Book: Everyday Cooking

Review: Love this one - perfect every time. Instead of oyster sauce I sometimes use soy and a tbsp of honey or add a couple of tbsp of bought stirfry sauce. You can also add chicken or beef stir fry strips  - just give them 2 min cooking before you add the veg. A very quick meal. Bulk it up by stirring through hokkien or singapore noodles.

[cookie1]

Cathy, your comment re the custard was interesting. I've made it heaps of times and could never taste the flour. Then the other night it seemed to taste of nothing except the flour. Will take your advice and use cornflour instead. I MAY even try it without .

[judydawn]

Well Cookie1 and Riv Mum, I have done it.  However, a slight tweaking took place at the end because I like a sauce with my chinese vegies.  I dissolved 2 teaspoons cornflour in a little water, added that to 1/2 cup boiling water and l chicken stock cube. Poured that through the lid and cooked a further minute at 100o on reverse and soft speed.  I had cooked the vegies prior to that for 9 minutes and the texture was just perfect for me. I loved it, best recipe I've done! Added 1/2 packet of singapore noodles and put it in the thermo dish to keep warm whilst I steamed the dim sims to go with it.  Poured a little ketjap manis over the dim sims - as nice as everyone has been saying. Have frozen the left-over dim sims for now - have a plan for them though so will get back with that idea when I do it.

[wombleydoo]

I could taste the flour when I tried the custard at the demo I went to. Its much nicer with the cornflour.

[brazen20au]

judydawn, my buttermilk bread ended up a shape in between a loaf and a foccaccia

[bron]

Only problem for me is that all these recipes aren't in my book.
 
Any chance you could put up the ginger beer, please

[judydawn]

Ginger Beer

180g brown sugar (or to taste)
2 lemons, washed and peeled, pith removed
150-200g ginger, peeled and cut into cubes (I used 150g)
1000g Mineral Water chilled

Place sugar, lemon and ginger into TM bowl and blend for 20 seconds on speed 8.

Add 350g mineral water and mix for a few seconds on speed 8.

Strain mixture through basket into a jug and add the remaining mineral water.

Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Halve the recipe for 2 people.

[Amanda]

That was a great review of the Strawberry tart Amanda - even though the recipe was very hard to work through, you stuck at it.  I didn't buy the calendar for this very reason, the recipe books etc suck! This is what I find most disappointing with my purchase of the Thermomixer - the recipe books, not the machine itself. I'd love to see them collaborate with the editors of Womens Weekly magazine and let them come up with a recipe book which we could all trust.  What recipe from the Womens Weekly doesn't work?  Triple testing is the key to this problem and by someone who is good at it.  We need reviews like yours to show people responsible for them that it is just not good enough.

Cathys remark about cornflour instead of flour - I agree wholeheartedly.  I always use cornflour, never flour.

Thanks Judy.
The problems with the recipes and recipe books does seem to persist and has been a major irritation to me since I first discovered the machine 18 months ago.  I have raised it several times with Perth and I think that the only answer is for Thermomix Australia to spend some serious money on a test kitchen.
It does the machine no service to have very poorly formulated or not properly tested recipes and must cause all sorts of disappointment and frustration to people who may not have as much experience with cooking.

[baf65]

the Vegetarian Cookbook is out!! and its been written, tried and tested by Tenina so here's hoping its a goodie, I saw some of the things that are in it last night and it sounds great!

[brazen20au]

yippee!!!!!

and i agree amanda, the mistakes in the book don't bother me too much as i tend to just fly by the seat of my pants anyway, but there are lots of people who need a recipe to follow and they are likely to be turned off using the thermomix if the recipes aren't right.

[cookie1]

Excuse my hopeless ignorance, but how would I go about buying the Vegetarian book?

[brazen20au]

you'd need to find a consultant / demonstrator cookie