Thermomix Chocolate Frappes

I blame Phil for this one.  He loves the chocolate Frappes they sell at McDonalds.  Complete with creme etc.  They're a little too icy for me - very cold drinks trigger my asthma, but I do like their frappes after an hour ;D


I thought I would treat the kids to one just before they return to school (bittersweet - I enjoyed having them home these holidays).

 Mmmm don't they look delicious!

This is what I used to make them:-

• Three handfuls small ice cubes
• Drinking chocolate (I used Cadbury's, of course)
• Cream
• Milk
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar/blitzed raw sugar

How to put together:-

• If you're using raw sugar, blitz 2 tablespoons raw sugar on speed 9 for 30 seconds.  If not, omit this step
• Fill the bottom of the Thermomix up with ice cubes, until it comes level with the top of the blades.  Don't turn on yet.
• Add in milk until the ice cubes are just covered.
• Throw in your icing sugar if you're omitting step 1.
• I probably used about 1/4 cup drinking chocolate (or perhaps it was 1/3 cup...I love that stuff!).  Cocoa powder would probably work better - perhaps only 1/8 of a cup - but I didn't have any left in my pantry cupboard.
• Add about 2 tablespoons cream
• Okay, now you're ready to blitz away.  Speed 6 for 10-15 seconds.  Check that all the ice has been crushed up.
• Pour into glasses, top with whipped cream and more drinking chocolate if you wish.  Enjoy!

Serves 4 or three if hubby is absent, and a daughter has three glass fulls of the stuff!  My son and I had two glasses each.

It's like a chocolate slushy.

If you want it more icy, add more ice.


You may not want the sugar in it either.  Omit if you're unsure, you can always add it at the end and blitz for 10 seconds.


I'm going to try and melt some 'real' chocolate, then add the other ingredients once the chocolate has cooled a little, but not today.  I think my body needs a break from all the rich foods!

Saucy Tuna Pasta in the Thermomix

I can't take full credit for this recipe.  I got the basic one from my Home Science teachers back in High School.  So I guess it's a big thank you to Mrs McKenzie and Ms Johnston for giving me this recipe and teaching me how to cook so I could practice on my Dad ;D

You'll need:-

• 50 grams butter
• 50 grams plain flour
• 1/4 capsicum (de-seeded)
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 small can corn (drained)
• 1 large can tuna in brine (not drained)
• pre-cooked pasta *(I added in about 4 cups of macaroni)

1. Chop capsicum on speed 4 for 4 seconds.
2. Place butter, plain flour, and milk in Thermomix.  Speed 2.5 at 90 degrees C for 5 mins.
3. Add tuna juice and cook for further 3 mins on speed 2 at 90 degrees.
4. Add tuna chunks  and mix on speed 2.5 for 30 seconds.
5. Add corn, then cook on reverse speed, 90 degrees for 6 mins on speed 1.
6. Add cooked pasta and chopped basil.  **Taste and add seasoning if you think it needs it.  Mix for 2 mins, 90 degrees on reverse at Speed 2.

*You possibly could add raw pasta at step 2, but I already had some cooked leftover pasta in the fridge that had to be used up.

**I love the fact that the biggest hint for this dish from Mrs McKenzie was to add the tuna juice.  It adds its own salt to the dish, and intensifies the flavour.  I don't add any more salt but you are welcome to.

 My kids informed me it looks a little runny, but they devoured it!

I added a little Parmesan cheese to each bowl once served

You could add other herbs and veggies to this dish.  Grated carrot, zuchhini, peas etc.  My kids don't like capsicum, but they didn't even know it was in there!  Mwahahahah :D

Rain and a Backyard Flood

Well, not a big enough flood to cause any damage.  Yet.

 No need to fill up the pool for a while.

 It poured!

 Eek, getting a little too close to my kitchen door

 My mini flood

 A Tarp to protect the boy bunnies from the sun and the rain.  It works!

 Luckily I cleared the drain before it started to rain.

 The cleared up corner

 Storm staying dry.  Clever boy has learned to put himself back in his hutch when he doesn't want to get wet.

 Just as well, because the water was getting rather close to his hutch!

Lots of rain!

You know what the biggest shame is?  I don't have a rainwater tank yet.

Apple and Prune Thermomix Muffins

I love these for a quick Sunday brunch.  They're really easy to make, and are pretty much failproof.  I can even do it with my crazy new oven that I really don't like, but will have to get used to.

The recipe is here:-

• 1 apple (cored and peeled)
• 1/4 cup prunes
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups self raising flour
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

I haven't put the Thermomix 'weights' of the milk or flour as my Thermie is not as reliable with measuring as I would like. It probably has slightly dirty feet.

Method:-

1. Throw apple and prunes into Thermomix.  Blitz away until chopped to your liking (I do speed 6-7 for 5 seconds).
2. Add to Thermomix all other ingredients.  Mix on speed 3 for 10 seconds.  You may have to scrape down the sides a little after you finished mixing it, but that's fine.
3. Spoon mixture into a greased muffin pan and into a moderate oven (180 degrees C) for 10-15 mins or until golden brown.
4. Serve hot with butter.

Makes 12 muffins.

These muffins are great to freeze individually and put in school lunchboxes.

*Instead of the apple and prunes, you could drain a bottle of berries, pat dry and fold them into the mixture at the end.

Gardening With Some Hopping Help

Just before the rain hit, I decided to clear out a corner of my garden that has been bugging me for about 6 months now.  There is so much to do, and so little room left in my green bin to things into.  I was able to salvage some of this rich dirt, but the top bits weren't good.

 All swept up now

 A 'before' shot.  With a little help from Storm, this is now all clear too

 A few posts ago I mentioned Storm and the new love of his life...my broom.  Here they are together :D

 Bunny kisses!

After a hard afternoon's work, it's time to relax and guard the escaping worms. That worm did get picked up, and put back into the garden.

It is so fascinating to watch Storm learn and grow.  It has been a fun-filled holiday having him out every day, and he is now confident enough to approach us and flop down in front of us if he wants to be patted.  He even bounded in circles around Phil's feet when he came home from work yesterday.  For a bunny who would get mad at Phil for being anywhere near me to hopping around his feet happily is a big thing!

How much do I love my Dad?

This much *arms outstretched*

He loves me so much, he brought me this...

Apparently there is a Darrell Lea Factory Outlet near my Aunty's place (where my Dad was staying), and they had boxes in the midle of the shop that were lucky dips, selling for $5 per box.  The only thing was that you didn't know what you were going to get - hence 'lucky dip'.

So my Dad purchased 3 of them.

I think I'm pretty much set for Easter now!

And yes, my Dad informed me that he had taken some chocolate with him too (and that he was possibly going to head back to the store the next morning to buy some more boxes). LOL!

I'd share it with y'all, but you're going to have to fight Phil for this stuff ;D

Ginger Beer with Ronda

Just before Christmas, Ronda (on her Down-to-Earth blog) posted up a recipe for Ginger Beer.  I thought it was something interesting I could do.  Phil thought it was a great idea too, as he loves that kind of thing.  Not the alcoholic kind, just the home brewed drinks - Bundaberg style :D

So I started our own ginger beer plant.  I thought it was doing pretty well, until I mixed it in with the water, sugar and lemon juice, then it seemed to die.

I am currently testing whether adding a tiny bit of yeast each day, then draining some of the 'plant' into the bottle ginger beer helps.  It seems to be doing a much better job.  Obviously I don't have enough air circulating around my kitchen.  The rainy weather possibly isn't helping at all either!

Anyways, here's the link to Ronda's blog with detailed instructions.  http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2012/01/making-ginger-beer-from-scratch.html The comments are helpful as well, especially the bit about leaving the tops off your plastic bottles when you have them sitting on the bench full of ginger beer so that air can still circulate (doh, didn't know about that until this morning).

 Fresh Ginger and a teeny tiny little grater

 20 cups of water in a giant tub.

 My Ginger Beer plant - it needs lots of stirs during the day to get the air circulating into it.

 Pouring the first bottle

Ladles and Ginger Beer

I have a second Ginger Beer plant bubbling away happily on my bench which is looking a lot more promising than the first one.  The three bottles I have from my first batch, which I added a little bit of the second plant seem to be doing much better today.  There is definitely something happening in them now.  Just have to wait a few more days to find out if they will work.