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Peppermint Salt Scrub Recipe

peppermintI really love this Peppermint Salt Scrub for being both refreshing and having only a few ingredients, all of which you can find in your kitchen, and with names you can pronounce, like… salt… and oil. Now, if you have a sensitive skin you may want to test a patch of this Peppermint Salt Scrub first, as it can dry the skin out a little (although the oil should balance that out for normal skins). You should use it as a body scrub, but salt crystal are probably a bit harsh on the face.

A salt scrub is deliciously soothing, and will leave your skin titillating and radiant looking.

Sweet Almond oil has calming and anti-inflammatory has calming and anti-inflammatory properties, it moisturises, restores and softens skin.

Peppermint essential oil is used to relieve skin irritation and itchiness and also helps to reduce skin redness, where inflammation is present. It is used for dermatitis, acne, ringworm, scabies and also relieves itching, sunburn and inflammation of the skin, while at the same time having a cooling action. Peppermint oil should be used sparingly in pregnancy, when breastfeeding or on children under 7.

I was making this for Christmas, so wanted to make a candy cane effect you often see in DIY products on Pinterest, but I didn’t see the point in using organic salt, peppermint essential oil and an organic sweet almond oil, and then add a red food colouring… so I used dehydrated beetroot instead. This is non-essential. You can leave it white. Or you can make it all coloured, nice and pink for Valentine’s day would be good.

Peppermint Salt Scrub
Recipe Type: Beauty
Cuisine: Non-Food
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 cup
A quick and easy DIY beauty product, a very simple gift, and a lovely way to pamper without the chemicals or great expense
Ingredients
  • 1 cup organic rock salt (not fine salt and definitely not table salt)
  • 1 cup sweet almond oil
  • 6 drops peppermint essential oil
  • Optional dried beetroot powder to colour
Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients to a bowl.
  2. Mix
  3. (If you are doing layers, halve the mix, add the beetroot and mix again. Dish tablespoonsfull into the container, alternating white and pink/red)
  4. Scoop into a clean glass container.
In the Thermomix:
  1. Put everything in the bowl
  2. Speed 2/Reverse/ 30 seconds
  3. (If you are doing layers, halve the mix, add the beetroot and mix again. Dish tablespoonsfull into the container, alternating white and pink/red)
  4. Scoop into a clean glass container.

 

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Winter Spices Sugar Scrub Recipe

winter spice sugar scrubI made this and a peppermint scrub for my friends for Christmas, and while that season is now long gone, I’ve been meaning to share the recipe and I think leading up to Valentine’s Day a no-bake, no fuss, incredibly cost-effective but luxurious and creamy sugar spice recipe is just the ticket. A couple of the recipients of these gifts have come back to me saying that they loved them, so I’m more than happy to share the recipe with you.

As it’s no bake, no boil, no anything, it’s a great recipe for children to help out with, and if you add something or take away something else, it’s not going to cause you any harm.

While you can, of course, use the generic supermarket versions of these products, to really gain the benefits from it, you should use the organic versions.

While sugar isn’t great for anyone’s body, there are actually benefits to using a sugar scrub. (Brown sugar is softer than white, so can be used on the face. White sugar is okay for a body scrub. Always wear moisturiser if going out in the sun after a scrub, as it removes a layer of dead skin.)

Sugar is a natural source of alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) which penetrates the skin and breaks down the “glue” that bonds skin cells, encouraging cell turnover and generating fresher, younger-looking skin. It is a natural humectant, so it  draws moisture from the environment into the skin and make an excellent topical exfoliant, removing dead skin cells.

Winter Spices Sugar Scrub Recipe
Recipe Type: Beauty Products
Cuisine: Non-food
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 cup
This is a body scrub. It’s probably a bit rough for the face, although with a soft brown sugar, you should be able to use it on your face. Do not use on broken skin – it will burn! If you’re going out in a harsh sun after your body scrub, be sure to use sun block.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground dry ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
Instructions
  1. Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl.
  2. Add the coconut oil and mix well.
  3. This will probably set, unless you’re in very warm weather, so just soak in warm water to get it to liquid form again.
  4. Store in a glass container.
For the Thermomix:
  1. Add all the ingredients into the bowl.
  2. Mix on reverse/speed 2/30 seconds
  3. Store in a glass container.

 

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Sweet and Salty Popcorn

PopcornWho doesn’t love popcorn!? We love popcorn in our house. It’s one of those healthy snacks that feels like such a treat. Either for a family night in snuggling & watching movies, or for a lunch box or afternoon snack. Popcorn is always a winner. Although I have to admit I was getting bored with the same old salted popcorn, so what did I do? I added sugar of course! This recipe makes such a big batch that the sugar isn’t too ‘naughty’, unless you eat the whole batch.. hehehe.

This recipe would also make a great gift in a hamper for Christmas time. You can swap the salt for a sprinkle of cinnamon for that warm festive touch.

Sweet & Salty Popcorn
Recipe Type: Snack
Author: Charlotte
Serves: 8-10
Who doesn’t love popcorn!? We love popcorn in our house. It’s one of those healthy snacks that feels like such a treat. Either for a family night in snuggling & watching movies, or for a lunch box or afternoon snack. Popcorn is always a winner. Although I have to admit I was getting bored with the same old salted popcorn, so what did I do? I added sugar of course! This recipe makes such a big batch that the sugar isn’t too ‘naughty’, unless you eat the whole batch.. hehehe This recipe would also make a great gift in a hamper for Christmas time. You can swap the salt for a sprinkle of cinnamon for that warm festive touch
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup Vegetable oil, I use refined coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup Sugar, I use Rapadura sugar
  • 1/2 cup Organic popcorn kernels
  • Salt, I use pink Himalayan salt
Instructions
  1. Heat oil with 3 test kernels in large, deep, heavy pot with the lid on.
  2. Once the test kernels pop, your oil is hot enough. Add sugar, popcorn kernels & stir a bit, then cover.
  3. Shake pot every few seconds, it must be done so the sugar & popcorn won’t burn.
  4. Once popping has slowed, remove pot from heat and keep shaking until there’s no more popping.
  5. Tip into a BIG bowl. My biggest bowl isn’t big enough so I use a wok!
  6. Use a big spoon to mix it up and add a couple pinches of fine salt.
  7. Break up any clumps, and let cool just enough to dig in!
  8. TIP: Now Is a good time to put some into snack bags for lunch boxes..so it’s not all eaten at once!

 

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Red Wine Bacon Chunks With Rice And Steamed Vegetables

Red Wine Bacon, Veg & Rice

I’ve always wanted to try an Asian style dish in the Thermomix, because it’s something I really enjoy, but I’ve had a hard time finding recipes that ‘suit’ us. When I opened my meat box to find chunky bacon I decided it’s time to try something different, and here we have it. My husband actually said it’s the nicest chunky bacon meal we’ve ever had, so that’s got to count for something. Even my children enjoyed it. That’s saying something too!

You can adjust the vegetable to what you have, and I’d probably sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on it too, if I had any, but as it was it was delicious. Hope you enjoy it too!

Red Wine Bacon with Rice And Steamed Vegetable
Recipe Type: One Pot Meal, Mains
Cuisine: Asian
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3
Ingredients
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tsp ginger (grated or powder)
  • 3 small or 1 large garlic clove(s)
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 500g bacon chunks +- 3cm
  • 3 tbs soy sauce
  • 3 tbs chinese cooking white wine
  • 2 tbs rapadura
  • 2/3 cup (160ml/ 120g) red wine
  • 5g corn flour
  • 250g rice
  • Carrots (optional)
  • Asian greens like boy choy, pak choy, or other winter greens like rhubarb chard or similar.(optional)
Instructions
Traditional cooking
  1. Finely chop onion, ginger and garlic and shallow fry in sesame oil until onion is translucent.
  2. Add the bacon, soy sauce, cooking wine and rapadura (or brown sugar) and simmer for 7 minutes.
  3. Chop vegetables and place in steamer (Or in a colander that fits over the pot with the rice in it)
  4. Add red wine and corn flour and boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and keeping an eye to make sure the wine doesn’t dry up.
  5. At the same time, boil the rice.
  6. Drizzle sesame oil over the steamed vegetables and serve hot.
With Thermomix
  1. Place onion, ginger and garlic in the TM pot. Turbo for two seconds. Add sesame oil and cook for 3 minutes/speed 2/100C.
  2. Add the chunky bacon, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine and rapadura (or brown sugar). Cook for 7 mins/spoon setting/100C.
  3. Chop and slice vegetables and place in Veroma.
  4. Add red wine and corn flour and cook for 10 mins/spoon setting/Veroma. Add Veroma and steam vegetables.
  5. Meanwhile, cook rice in your preferred way. Under season your rice as the bacon is quite salty already. (If you’re going to wait and prepare the rice after the meat, keep the meat warm in a separate pot).
  6. Drizzle sesame oil over vegetables.
  7. Serve hot.

 

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Vegetable Stock Cubes / Bouillon

I want to share a really basic recipe that I use in a lot and should add here to refer to. It was the very first recipe I made by Thermomix: Vegetable Stock Cubes / Bouillon.

Vegetable StockAt first I wasn’t sure if it was worth bothering, to be honest. Vegetable stock cubes are so cheap, and having them in a box is so convenient. But then I had a look at the ingredients and I realised that an attempt at cutting preservatives and additives out of our food falls flat if the very basic underpinning foundation ingredient contains those things.

Here are the ingredients of our usual vegetable stock cubes:

Salt, vegatable oil, potato starch, yeast extract, sugar, carrot (1.5%), tomato (1%), herbs (parsley, tarragon), spices (turmeric, pepper, celery seed), bell pepper (0.2%), garlic, leek (0.1%), flavourings (contains mustard), caramelised sugar, maltodextrin, dextrose

It’s not exactly poison, but compare it to this:

celery, carrots, onion, tomato, courgette, garlic, mushrooms, basil, sage, rosemary, parsley, oil and salt.

If I were to lay those ingredients out on a two plates, I know which one I’d go for.

While this recipe is an adaptation from the Australia Every Day Cookbook and is written for the Thermomix, there’s no reason why you couldn’t mix it in any high powered blender and make it part of your every day seasoning.

You cant freeze this stock, due to the high salt content, but it lasts really well in a jar in the fridge, and can be topped up with whatever you have on hand, really, but here’s a great starter recipe.

Home Made Stock Cubes/Bouillon {{Thermomix Recipe}}

Cuisine: Basic
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 litre
Don’t taste this recipe and fret over the salt. It’s VERY salty, but it’s a concentrate. A tablespoon full goes into a litre of liquid, i.e soup, of which you have a cup at a time. It’s lower in salt per serve than an egg! If you lower the salt amount you will have to freeze the stock, but with the correct salt, it won’t freeze at all but can keep in the fridge. The great thing about this recipe is that it is very flexible. You can use whatever you have in the fridge. I know a few people who pop all their vegetable scraps into the freezer to keep particularly for making this stock concentrate.
Ingredients
  • 2 celery stalks, with leaves
  • 2 large carrots, cut into chunks
  • 1 onion, peeled and quartered
  • 1 tomato, quartered
  • 1 courgette, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • 50g mushroom (optional)
  • a teaspoon each of basil, sage, and rosemary
  • 20g parsley
  • 30g olive oil
  • 200g sea salt or pink salt (don’t use table salt, it’s very high in Sodium, which is what you want to avoid in a healthy diet)
Instructions
  1. Chop all the vegetables and herbs for <b> 10 seconds on Speed 7 </b>
  2. Add the oil and salt, and <b> cook at 90 for 20 minutes on speed 2 </b>
  3. It turns into an unappealing looking green gloop, but adds amazing flavour to all your dishes.
  4. Leave to cool and place in a jar in the fridge for up to six months.
  5. If using less salt, freeze in spoonfulls or ice cube trays and use as needed,
Calories: 2.3 Fat: 0.2 Carbohydrates: 0.2g Sugar: 0.0 Sodium: 3.8g Fiber: 0.1g Protein: 0.0 Cholesterol: 0.0

 

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Easy Thermomix Meringues

Silky Thermomix Meringues

I make our mayonnaise, and many other things from scratch, often requiring only the yolk of an egg. I hate seeing things go to waste, so I try to make something with the left over whites. While this isn’t by any means a healthy recipe, it is a lovely one. If you don’t have a Thermomix, here’s my non-Thermomix recipe.

Unless you eat them all in one go, the Thermomix Meringues will last in the cupboard for weeks, if not months!

We put them in the lunch box as snacks sometimes, or have them as desert with cream and fruit – absolutely yum.

To make the colours like in the image above, you need to separate the meringue mix into different bowls and very gently stir through the food colouring. Then use a spoon to move the batter into an icing bag, putting different colours next to each other rather than on top of each other.  As you squeeze it, the colours will mix and make pretty meringues.

If you make meringues with brown sugar they’ll come out in this golden-ish hue rather than white.

Silky Thermomix Meringues

Easy Thermomix Meringues
Author: Keeper of the Kitchen
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
You can adapt this recipe as far as you like, in terms of amounts used, so long as you use 110g sugar to each egg white. In a TM31, I wouldn’t be inclined to go beyond 6 egg whites however. I have successfully made this with just one egg white too.
Ingredients
  • 3 Egg-Whites, room temperature
  • 330g White sugar (brown if you don’t mind them not being white)
  • Pinch of Salt
Instructions
  1. Put the sugar in the mixing bowl and pulse for 10 seconds on Turbo.
  2. Place the butterfly in the bowl and add the egg whites along with a pinch of salt.
  3. ‘Cook’ at 37C for 7 minutes on speed 2, no MC.
  4. Leave the mix to cool for 10 minutes with the lid off.
  5. Mix again for 7 min/speed 2.
  6. Either pipe the mixture with a piping bag into small circles, or a large ‘pie’ for pavlova-style deserts, or dollop the mix onto a baking tray in spoonfuls, leaving space for expansion.
  7. Cook for about 60-90 minutes on 100C° to 120 min at 80C° depending on your oven and meringue sizes – as well as how chewy you want it.
  8. When finished, leave in the oven to dry out while cooling down.

 

*original recipe found on the Thermomix forums

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Chick Pea Patties

Chick Pea Patties
I have a bowl full of chickpeas soaking on the counter at the moment, and I was looking for recipes to use them up with, when I remembered Charlotte had saved this lovely Chick Pea Patty recipe in the folders for us! I know you all love Charlotte’s past contributions, so I hope you’ll love this one too!

I’ll be making them tomorrow myself, I think!

If you’re not using a Thermomix, as Charlotte does below, mix the ingredients in a food processor till they make a nice pasty mix.

Chick Pea Patties {Thermomix Recipe}
Author: Charlotte
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 1-2 Tbsp ‘flavouring’ (you can choose what to add, Herbs ect.. I used dukkah)
  • ½ onion
  • 1 Clove garlic
  • 1 egg
  • A pinch of salt & pepper
  • ½ cup breadcrumbs or to make it gluten free I used some oats blitzed into flour
  • 1 Carrot -grated
  • GF flour for rolling in
  • A pinch of salt & pepper
Instructions
  1. Place onion, ‘flavouring” and the chickpeas (which you’ve rinsed and drained) and process for 10 -15 seconds on speed 4.
  2. Add in egg and breadcrumbs/oats and process 10 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides.
  3. Tip into a large bowl & add grated carrot, salt & pepper
  4. Your mixture will be soft but if it’s runny then add in some oats or more breadcrumbs. You don’t want a really stiff mixture but firm enough to fry later on. Refrigerate at least ½ hour.
  5. Tip some flour onto a plate and take a good handful of the mixture and form into a small burger shape, coating it all in the flour. Be generous with the flour
  6. Now place the burgers on a plate and refrigerate again for at least 30 minutes.
  7. Heat up a few tablespoons of oil in a frypan and once hot fry your burgers for a few minutes on each side. If they start to burn just turn down the heat.
  8. Serve with some pitta bread and salad. Or dip into home made ketchup!
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Damson Jam / Damson Jelly Recipe

Damson Jam Recipe

Autumn bounty includes Damsons in the UK, and the trees are laden with them. People can’t get rid of them fast enough. The problem with damsons is that unlike, say, blackberries, you can’t eat them raw, so they often go unappreciated till they fall to the ground.

My daughter came home from a walk in the forest with her pockets bulging with damsons, so I decided to turn it into jam, something I’ve never done before.

Damson Jam / Damson Jelly Recipe
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 200ml
Use equal parts of fruit to jam sugar, boil and store. Easy peasy Damson Jam. You can of course buy your Damsons, but half the fun is in the foraging!
Ingredients
  • 200g Damsons
  • 250g (9oz) Sugar
  • 1 orange, washed
Instructions
  1. Wash damsons and drop them into your pot.
  2. Squeeze the juice of the orange out over it.
  3. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes till the fruit is soft. (20 mins/100C/speed 2).
  4. After 20 minutes, remove from the heat. It’s useful at this point to remove all the pips. If you keep the orange in at this point, you’ll have a slight marmalade undertone to the damson jam. I’m not a fan of marmalade, so I prefer to remove the orange before adding the jam sugar.
  5. Boil for another 20 minutes at 100C/212F.
  6. Remove from the heat and tip the pot slightly. If the jam looks like it is creating a wrinkle, remove from heat and pour into steriised jars to keep for later, or into a jam jar to start using straight away.
  7. If it doesn’t seem to be wrinkly yet, cook for a further five minutes before dispensing into jars. Remember that damsons have a lot of pectin in them and will set as it cools.

 

 

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Raw Blackberry Crumble Recipe

Raw Blackberry Crumble

It’s easy to reach for comfort foods at this time of year, as the seasons change and we start going a little more insular, but there’s no reason your blackberry crumble has to be unhealthy – if fact, if you have a raw blackberry crumble, it’s fresh, good for you, and what’s more, you can make these ahead and take them out as you fancy.

I found the walnuts I used in this quite bitter, so will try different walnuts next time, or perhaps hazelnuts or something else. It’s a lovely snack to have in the freezer for when you just want something nice. These were especially good, because my daughters and I went foraging, picking the berries ourselves earlier in the day.

Take these from the freezer about half an hour before you eat them, and enjoy!

 

Raw Blackberry Crumble Recipe
Author: Luschka
Ingredients
  • [u]Crumble
  • [/u]
  • 1 cup walnuts/pecan nuts or cashew nuts
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 2 pitted dats
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract or essence
  • Pinch Himalayan or rock salt
  • [u]Filling[/u]
  • 1 cup fresh blackberries
  • 2 dates pitted dates
  • 1 Tbsp honey, local preferable
Instructions
  1. I use my Thermomix, but any food processor that can handle nuts will do.
  2. To make the crumble, add the nuts, coconut, salt, dates and vanilla to the bowl and process – (10 seconds, speed 6). You want it to be a crumble, not a paste.
  3. Take 3/4 of the mix and press into a pan, or silicone cupcake pans. Put the rest of the crumble aside.
  4. To make the filling, add half the blackberries into the food processor, along with dates and honey. Process until well blended. Add the remaining blackberries and mix lightly so there are still whole blackberry chunks.
  5. Pour the blackberry filling over the crust in the cake pan, or scoop into muffin cases and top with the remaining crumble.
  6. Gently press the crumble, and freeze. When it’s a frozen, remove from muffin trays and place in airtight container.
  7. To serve, remove from freezer about half an hour before.

 

 

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Awesome Autumn Apple Chutney Recipe

Around this time of year, the apple trees are laden with juicy, lovely fruit, just waiting to be picked. A few years ago we lived in a house with a huge apple tree in the centre of the yard, and I learned to make apple-everything! I’ve missed this beautiful apple chutney since then, but where we live now the apple trees line a public walk way, free for anyone with a long enough arm to help themselves.
20130926-124232.jpg
I’ve made a few batches of this apple chutney this year – with apples from a friend’s garden, actually – and it gets rave reviews every time. I core the apples too, but don’t peel them. If you do, however, sprinkle the skins with cinnamon and pop them in the dehydrator over night or a low oven for two hours for a lovely apple crispy snack.

Great with cheese and crackers, or mixed in with mince or other cooked meats, this is my favourite home made apple chutney.

Awesome Autumn Apple Chutney
Recipe Type: Chutney, Condiment
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 500ml
Ingredients
  • 5 green apples, cored
  • 3 large tomatoes, quartered
  • 2 large onions
  • 5g fresh ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 80g raisins
  • 30g orange juice
  • 20g lemon juice
  • 225g soft brown sugar
  • 200g apple cider vinegar
Instructions
  1. Chop the ingredients finely. (Chop lightly in a food processor if you can)
  2. Add the liquids and sugar into a pot and stir till the sugar has dissolved.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients.
  4. Simmer on low heat for 2 hours.
  5. Pour into warm sterilised jars and keep for up to a year.
In the thermomix
  1. Add the apples, tomatoes and onions to the Thermomix and chop 10 seconds/speed 4
  2. Remove to a large container.
  3. Add the ginger and garlic to the Thermomix and chop, 5 seconds/speed 8
  4. Add the raisins, orange juice, lemon juice, sugar and cook for 3 minutes/speed 3/ 90C
  5. Add the apple mix back to the Thermomix with the apple cider vinegar
  6. Cook at Varoma temperature for 40 mins/REVERSE speed 2 without MC.
  7. If it’s still too runny, do the same for another 20 minutes. Just keep an eye on it.
  8. When it’s finished and looks like chutney, pour into sterilised jars.