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Wild Garlic And Cashew Dip

Wild Garlic DipWild garlic fills my head with romantic images of rolling hills, blue skies and sparkling oceans  – probably because of the two places I’ve found it growing in the wild. It’s a beautiful herb or plant or whatever it is. It is pungent, and fills the air with the smell of delicious food, but sweet… it’s hard to explain – a non-offensive garlic. Truly beautiful.

The flower itself is a pretty white, delicate little thing, hard to miss, and it brightens my day whenever I see it. You can eat the leaves as is – they are delicious with deli meats on fresh bread, and you can also add a bit more oil and turn it into a pesto for pasta, or even in omelettes or scones.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful plant as much as I do!

Wild Garlic And Cashew Dip
Recipe Type: Dip
Cuisine: Foraged
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2
I love wild garlic. It’s a plant that actually excites me, and I’ve only seen it in the wild in Somerset and on the Isle of Wight. I’m sure it grows in other places – I know it does, since I transplanted some into my back yard! This dip takes less than a minute to prepare once you have your ingredients together. Eat it with crackers, or, ahem… just eat it!
Ingredients
  • 10g Wild Garlic & Flowers
  • 40g Cashew
  • 30g Hard Cheese
  • 20g Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Add the wild garlic, cashew, cheese and olive oil to your food processor.
  2. Blend until it’s the consistency you like. Blitz for 15 – 30 seconds depending on your preferred consistency. (Thermomix: Speed 4/ 20 – 30 Seconds)
  3. Season with salt and pepper
  4. Decorate with Ransom Flowers

 

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Ginger, Garlic, Lemongrass and Pecorino Stuffed Mushrooms

Mushrooms, Ginger, Garlic, Lemongrass, PicorinoI’ve been having major problems with my gall bladder recently, which is why these pages have been a little like tumbleweed, with nothing going on – I haven’t been able to eat much of anything, so I haven’t really been cooking.

Now that I’m able to eat again, I’ve been trying to focus a lot of my eating energy on gallbladder-friendly and cleansing foods, including a lot of ginger, garlic and lemongrass.

One thing I’m really missing at the moment is a good bit of meat though – so I decided a good meaty mushroom would have to do. Cheese is really high in fat, which with having to avoid animal fats at the moment is another thing I miss, but I decided to top these with Picorino cheese – less than half the fat of cheddar, a strong taste like Parmesan, but slightly more melty.

Garlic, Ginger, Lemongrass and Pecorino Stuffed Mushrooms
Recipe Type: Gallbladder Friendly
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
The amounts for ginger, garlic and lemongrass here are suggestions. Add more or less as you prefer. I like them as strong flavours especially as part of a cleanse.
Ingredients
  • 2cm ginger
  • 2 peeled cloves garlic
  • 1 stem lemongrass
  • 5g olive oil
  • 35g Pecorino or other hard cheese
  • 2 large Portobello mushrooms
Instructions
In the Thermomix:
  1. Put the grill on in your oven.
  2. Place ginger, garlic and lemongrass in the Thermomix and whizz for 15 seconds on speed 8.
  3. Scrape down the sides, drop 5g olive oil through the lid, and cook 4 min/ 100C
  4. Add the cheese, 7 secs/speed 10
  5. Scoop half the mixture into one mushroom, then the rest into the other
  6. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, but watch from 10 minutes so that the cheese doesn’t burn.
  7. Your mushroom should still be firm and meaty but soft and juicy enough to eat.
Regular way:
  1. Put the grill on in your oven
  2. Place ginger, garlic and lemongrass in a blender or chop finely
  3. Add olive oil and cheese, grated or blended too.
  4. Scoop half the mixture into one mushroom, then the rest into the other
  5. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, but watch from 10 minutes so that the cheese doesn’t burn.
  6. Your mushroom should still be firm and meaty but soft and juicy enough to eat.

I hope you like it!

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Stained Glass Window Jelly

Stained Glass Window

It was my daughter’s second birthday today, and following on from a month of absolutely no food-mojo, I didn’t prepare anything healthy for this party at all. There were fruit cups, but they were slathered in cream. Yum, but not healthy, really. Anyway, it’s a party, I’m not going to beat myself up about it. Especially when what I did make was as playful and tasty and fun as Stained Glass Rainbow Jelly.

Stained Glass Jelly

I can’t take credit for this recipe – I originally found it at Food Librarian – and considering that I haven’t had any success at all with make from scratch gelatin recipes in the past, I was dubious, but it looked perfect for a Messy Play Party, so I had to try.

Here are a few tips you don’t have to learn for yourself:

  • With the coloured jelly, you can cut them into shapes if you’ve made them into thin enough layers. I made some flowers, and it worked well. I threw the ‘unused’ bits of the jelly into the mix anyway, since the shapes are all haphazard, it doesn’t matter.
  • When you layer them, however, don’t layer the shapes – i.e. the flowers – horizontally, as when you cut it, you cant see the shapes. You need to place the shapes in your dish vertically so you can see them when they are cut.
  • If you make these two days ahead, and store in a sealed container, they are still good. I was worried making them on Saturday that by Monday they would be rubbery, but they were delicious. It takes pressure off doing them the day before and being worried they won’t set in time.

Stained Glass Jelly

We use Farmlea condensed milk so as to avoid feeding the Nestle machine.

For this recipe I used Dr Oetker Gelatin – first time I’ve used it, and my first success. Coincidence? 😉

Want something a little healthier, highly nutritious, but tasty and no-bake? Click here for ‘Chocolate Bliss Balls’!

Stained Glass Window Jelly
Recipe Type: Sweet, Desert
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 40
A fun party food, easy to make, but with great impact. Everyone loves them!
Ingredients
  • 4 packets jelly
  • 1 can condensed milk
  • 2 packets gelatin
Instructions
  1. In four separate shallow containers, make the four jellies. IGNORE THE PACKAGE INSTRUCTIONS. Just mix each packet with one cup of boiling water. Once the jelly is dissolved, pop it in the fridge for at least four hours.
  2. Once the jelly is set, gently remove it from the shallow containers, and cut into squares or shapes.
  3. Next, pour 1/2 cup of cold water into a bowl.
  4. Add the two packets of gelatin and leave it to ‘bloom’ (absorb the water and swell up).
  5. Add 1.5 cups boiling water, mixing till the gelatin is dissolved.
  6. Add the can of condensed milk, mix it all together.
  7. Leave the condensed milk mix to cool a bit. If you pop the jelly in straight away, it my melt.
  8. Once it’s cooled down (about 10 minutes) add the jelly squares and return it all to the freezer.
  9. Leave for 4 – 6 hours, or over night. Loosen the sides with a butter knife, and tip out.
  10. Cut into squares or shapes.

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DIY Homemade Chai Rooibos / Redbush Tea

A few weeks ago I made a spur of the moment decision to enter a competition in my local blogging network. The competition requires us to come up with a recipe in one of five categories, featuring Schwartz spices and blog them.

Redbush Chai TeaWell, I didn’t read the fine print, and as it turns out, not one of the five categories falls into a strong area for me: I don’t like beans, so don’t eat a lot of Mexican or Brazilian food, I don’t really drink tea, am not a big curry eater and for compact spaces problem of modern living? Well, I use a Thermomix!

As a result I’ve had to dig deep and learn about a few spices and flavours that are completely new to me. So over the next few weeks, you’ll see a little something different from me.

I’m a huge coffee drinker, and not much into tea at all, but I do have a fair supply of Redbush tea – Rooibos, as we call it – in the cupboard, because it’s good for a number of things, including colic in babies, so the children have it too.

I have had chai in the past, but always bought, so when I looked at some of the spices I was sent, I thought I’d try a spiced tea, using some flavours I do love – cardamom, cinnamon and ginger. I added nutmeg and cloves, two more beautiful spices when used correctly, and hey presto! Beautiful aromatic, sweet chai that even my children enjoyed.

I hope you enjoy our foray into incorporating more spices into our cooking!

*This is not my official entry… that’s coming!

Spiced Redbush Chai Tea
Recipe Type: Drinks
Cuisine: Asian, South African
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 cups
You can use any teabags, but I use Redbush for it’s healing properties, and the lack of caffeine or tannins, which I don’t enjoy. You can use whole spices or ground. You can also make up a larger amount, and keep them for making a cup or two of Chai Tea at a time. Keep them in an airtight container so they don’t lose flavour though!
Ingredients
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • Up to 170g honey (1/2 cup)
  • 500g boiling water (2 cups)
  • 500g cups milk (2 cups)
  • 2 Redbush tea bags (or your favourite)
Instructions
  1. Place the cardamom in the Thermomix bowl reverse speed 8/3 seconds. Remove the shells.
  2. Add the rest of the spices in the Thermomix bowl and whizz on speed 10/4 seconds
  3. Add honey, water and milk, and boil on reverse speed 2/2mins/Varoma
  4. Add tea bags boil for 5 minutes 100C/reverse speed 2.
  5. Pour through a sieve or into a caffetier and serve.
Without a Thermomix
  1. Place the spices in a pot, add the honey, water and milk. Bring to the boil, add the teabags and simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. Strain and serve.

 

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Raw Lime Coconut Chocolate Bliss Balls

Raw Lime and Coconut Bliss Balls

It’s Valentine’s Day next week, and while don’t particularly celebrate – not my choice, I love an occasion! – there’s no reason why I can’t treat myself with something tangy, sweet, smooth and delicious, while staying guilt free.

Raw Lime and Coconut Bliss BallsI tested these on a few friends who were surprised when I revealed the lime. It’s not overpowering, but all works together in a beautiful ensemble of flavours. I think so anyway.

These can be rolled into balls by rolling a small ball of white, then rolling a ball of chocolate mix, flattening it in the palm of your hand, and then working it around the white ball before refrigerating. If you use a mould, a silicone one works well as you can just pop the shapes right out. We use a silicone mould similar to this one.

Raw Lime and Coconut Bliss BallsYou don’t need a Thermomix for this recipe, but any high powered blender will make it a quick and easy recipe to make. A regular blender or food processor will do the job too, but you may need to do it parts. I think a big part of this recipe is having it smooth.

For more flavours, perfect for Valentine’s day (like chilli and chocolate, rum and raisin, salted caramel, all sugar free and raw. There’s even a chocolate chip cookie dough one for those not feeling the love) have a look at Bliss Balls For Beginners.

Raw Lime Coconut Chocolate Bliss Balls For Valentines Day
Recipe Type: Snack, Gift
Cuisine: Raw
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 20
Ideally keep these in the fridge, they are lovely cold. It’s not a deal breaker though.
Ingredients
  • Top Layer
  • 150g Cashews
  • 40g Shredded Coconut
  • Second Layer
  • 10g Cocoa
  • 40g Coconut Oil
  • 60g Shredded Coconut
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 6 Dates
Instructions
  1. Add 150g cashews and 40g shredded coconut to a bowl.
  2. Mix until smooth – speed10 /30 secs
  3. Remove from bowl and spread on a tray or in shapes.
  4. Add the cocoa, coconut oil, shredded coconut, lime juice, and dates to a clean bowl.
  5. Mix until smooth – speed 10/30 secs
  6. Remove from bowl and spread over the white layer.
  7. Store in the fridge for long enough for the coconut oil to set, about half an hour, and serve. If gifting, keep these cool. They should be kept in the fridge if it’s really hot where you are.

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Thermomix Wontons For Chinese New Year

Thermomix Wontons

**If you don’t have a Thermomix, you can mix the ingredients in an ordinary bowl and knead the dough for about 10 minutes till it is pliable and smooth**

I can’t actually recall that I’ve ever eaten wontons before, but I liked the look of them when my children and I were doing craft activities for Chinese New Year, so thought I’d give them a try. I found a recipe in an old book, so had to convert it for the Thermomix, and have been really happy with the end result.

It is my understanding that wontons can be either steamed or fried. Obviouly steaming it in the Veroma is going to be healthier than deep frying, so we went for that option.Thermomix Wontons

For fillings – the options are as vast as your preferences. Our first attempt was with a minced beef (a few seconds, roughly, in the Thermie), tomato and coriander. The second attempt was with cooked ham, garlic and kale. Both were lovely.

If you’re planning on making a lot of wrappers but only using a few, I’d suggest laying them in a single layer on a baking tray, and freezing them like that. Once frozen, put them together in a container. If you don’t they’ll freeze as a solid lump!

These are really quick and oh-so-easy, although rolling the dough thinly enough might require some practice, or a pasta maker.

Thermomix Wontons For Chinese New YearI
Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Chinese
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 20 wontons
Here’s a great idea for Chinese New Year. It’s really easy, and depending on your skill with a rolling pin or pasta maker, quick too.
Ingredients
  • 250g / 2 cups flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup water
  • milk for brushing
Instructions
  1. Add the flour to the bowl, and pulse two or three times
  2. Add egg, salt and water
  3. Mix for 5 seconds/speed 5
  4. Knead for 90 seconds/dough speed
  5. Set aside for 30 – 60 minutes for the dough to rest.
  6. Follow manufacturer instructions for the pasta maker to make the dough as thin as you can. Otherwise roll it as thinly as possible, before cutting into squares.
  7. If you’re not going to cook immediately, use corn flour to separate the sheets (normal flour will be absorbed)
  8. Lightly brush the edges with milk or egg
  9. Scoop a spoon full of filling into the centre of your square, then take opposing corners and bring them together.
  10. Squeeze the corners together to seal, then twirl them around.
  11. Place them inside the Veroma
  12. Fill the Thermomix Bowl to the 1 litre mark, place Veroma on top and boil at Veroma speed/20 mins.
  13. Serve hot.

 

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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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Fruit Bottom Compote For Yoghurt

Fruit Compote

I’m a bit of a boycotter – of companies whose ethics are beyond reprehensible – and as a result I had to give up not one, but two of my favourite brands of yoghurt. I had to learn to make my own though, because once the nicest were no longer an option, it seemed all that was left was the very sugary, the 0% fat, or the artificially sweetened, none of which were ideal to share with my children. (With the exception of Yeo Valley, which I will still buy when I’m buying, because they’re more or less local, I’ve seen their cows with my own two eyes, and they’re actually yum and good for you at the same time. I didn’t know about them when I started making yoghurt, however.)

So the recipe I’m sharing with you now is just for the fruity component of my own fruit bottom yoghurt. For the yoghurt recipe, have a look at yesterday’s post.Fruit Compote

Fruit Bottom Yoghurt
Recipe Type: Breakfast, Snack
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 100ml
In this recipe I’m using a mix of summer fruits. You can use any berries, or any fruit. You can also use fresh fruit, but you may need to add a few teaspoons of water when you start cooking. There’s little wrong or right, really. This makes about 80 – 100 ml, which should go well with about 500ml yoghurt.
Ingredients
  • 100g frozen fruit
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar or rapadura
  • 1 teaspoon honey
Instructions
In the Thermomix:
  1. Add all the ingredients to the Thermomix bowl.
  2. Cook at 70C/Speed Spoon/ 10 mins
  3. Check that fruit is soft and pour into sieve. Drain off the fluid and pick out some of the whole fruit, avoiding as many seeds as you can. Discard seeds and pulp (or save for fruit leather)
  4. Pour into container and top with yoghurt.
  5. Seal and keep in fridge for 2 – 3 days
On a stovetop:
  1. Add all the ingredients to the stove and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. You don’t want the sugar to burn.
  2. When fruit is soft, and some liquid has formed, remove from heat,
  3. Pour into sieve. Drain off the fluid and pick out some of the whole fruit, avoiding as many seeds as you can. Discard seeds and pulp (or save for fruit leather)
  4. Pour into container and top with yoghurt.
  5. Seal and keep in fridge for 2 – 3 days

I tend to remove the seeds as far as possible as they get stuck in the yoghurt pouches we use, or worse in my teeth. Quarter fill your yoghurt container with the compote, and top the rest with yoghurt.

Mix it all together before serving, topped with muesli or on it’s own. Yummy, no additive, no preservative, no colouring, no fake sugars. Just good for you, and only cost about 55p to make.

 

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Tabouleh Plus Recipe

Tabbouleh, Tabouleh

I love Tabouleh, Tabbouleh, Tabbouli or Tabouli. Whichever way you spell it, it’s a bulgar wheat warm salad, often made (incorrectly) with couscous. It’s still good though, so don’t be put off using couscous or even quinoa if that’s what you have on hand. I’ve made it with all three and love it still.

If you Google for a recipe you’ll be hard pressed to find two recipes exactly the same, and now I’m throwing another into the fray. But I stand by it. It’s really good.

The basics, the essentials, are the garlic, parsley, mint, lemon juice, onion and tomatoes, but saying that, in the picture you’ll notice no red flecks. I didn’t have tomatoes, so went without.

Anything else is optional though. My guests are big meat eaters, so I added bacon. We’re all halloumi lovers, so I added two blocks, rather than one.  It’s pretty flexible.

Tabouleh Plus
Recipe Type: Main, Side
Cuisine: Turkish
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
A lovely filling main course warm salad, or a side dish, this adds to a traditional tabouleh. There are a plethora of recipes for tabouleh, but this is how we make it.
Ingredients
  • 1 Red onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 3 large or six small tomatoes
  • Bunch parsley
  • Bunch mint
  • 30g (60ml) lemon juice
  • 30g olive oil
  • Optional:
  • Pack bacon
  • 2 avocado
  • 2 packs Halloumi
  • 450g Bulgar wheat
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the thermomix:
  1. Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, parsley, mint, lemon juice and olive oil (and cooked bacon and halloumi, if using) to the bowl. 30 Seconds/Speed 4 – check to see that it’s fine enough for your liking.
  2. Add the avocado, mix 10 Seconds/ Speed 3.
  3. Set aside.
  4. Cook bulgar wheat to manufacturers instructions – around 17 minutes, Veroma speed.
  5. Stir together, and sprinkle parsley roughly chopped before serving.
Traditional cooking:
  1. Cook Bulgar wheat according to package instructions.
  2. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion, garlic, tomatoes, parsley and mint and add bacon, halloumi and avocado, if using. Mix in with lemon juice and oil.
  3. Mix in the warm bulgar wheat and serve, sprinkled with parsley.

A Very Thermie Christmas This recipe features in A Very Thermie Christmas, where you can find it and 50 other recipes perfect for a Thermomix assisted Christmas. Read more about it here.

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Soft Cherry And White Chocolate Thermomix Fudge Recipe

White Chocolate and Glace Cherry Thermomix Fudge

Charlotte, who contributes here from time to time, shared a fudge recipe on her Facebook page recently that, as a lover of both fudge and Thermomixes,I had to try. My first attempt following the recipe was only mildly successful, but for the second attempt I went with raw sugar, golden syrup and glace cherries and it is fantastic. So good, in fact that it has made it into the Christmas gift hampers for this year.White Chocolate and Glace Cherry Thermomix Fudge

If you have a last minute gift or party to cater for, these are so simple and totally worth it.

I use a brownie pan to pour it into, then cut using the guides, and cut each of those in four too, to bring them down to a snackable size.

We use Farmlea condensed milk to avoid using Nestle.

Soft Cherry And White Chocolate Fudge
Recipe Type: Sweets, Desert, Gift Basket
Cuisine: English
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 54
Delicious soft fudge, cut into bite sized squares to counteract the supreme sweetness. Thoroughly delicious though, and makes a big enough batch for gift baskets, or a party.
Ingredients
  • 1 can Farm Lea condensed milk
  • 250g raw sugar
  • 25g golden syrup
  • 125g butter
  • 200g white chocolate
  • 100g glace cherries
Instructions
  1. Add condensed milk, sugar, syrup and butter to the Thermomix bowl.
  2. Cook without MC at 100C speed 3 for 8 mins.
  3. Scrape down sides if needed, then cook Veroma, 20 mins speed 3 still without MC
  4. Add chocolate and cherries and mix on speed 4, reverse blades for 20 seconds.
  5. Pour into brownie tray
  6. Refrigerate for 3 -4 hours, cut and store in airtight container.