The Thermomix Diaries, part 2

This machine rocks!  As I mentioned in my first post about the Thermomix, I've been lent this $1600 kitchen machine by a marketing agency that has been hired to increase the profile of Thermomix in Western Canada.

I started with something which I never thought I could easily replicate at home:  Nutella.  Well, at least a very reasonable facscimile of the European hazelnut-chocolate spread.

After that first success, I went on to create salsa verde which was not only chopped, but brought to a boil then simmered in the Thermomix.  It was also used to grind whole lemons and chunks of fresh ginger into an aromatic paste.

After those preliminary successes I've tried to use it whenever I would have used any of my other major kitchen appliances such as a mixer, food processor, blender or grinder.Oh yeah, it even has a scale in it so you can weigh ingredients right into the bowl.

I had picked up some fresh Coronation grapes grown in BC's Okanagan Valley the other day. They are about the same size and shape as Concord grapes, with a sweet interioor and tangy skin. The seeds are so underdeveloped you can easily eat the whole grape without having to spit them out.  That's why I used them to make a grape-studded foccaccia bread.  I mixed and kneaded the dough in the Thermomix, which took just a few minutes.  One snag…not sure if it was me or the machine, but I lost the scale function when I was adding the yeast…so just had to stop when I thought I had about 15 grams in the bowl.  After I took the dough out I 'thermomixed' some rosemary, sugar and olive oil together to brush on the bread dough after I had spread it out on a pan and pressed the grapes into the dough.  The bread turned out fine, but went stale after a day or two.  But the dough-making part of it certainly went well.

Next, chocolate chip cookies. I used the 'Bimby' (nickname for Thermomix) to cream together my homemade lard and sugar. Before the creaming, I used it to chop nuts, and grind oats.  Then it mixed the batter together and smoothly distributed the chocolate chips.  A great success.

Next task, pesto.  I put a few very hard chunks and a few softer chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into the Bimby and in 20 seconds it had reduced the chunks into beautiful, uniform gratings.  I also used it to chop together the garlic, almonds (pine nuts are too expensive), the last of the basil from our garden and olive oil. The final texture was great. Two containers for the freezer, one for the fridge to be enjoyed later this week with fresh pasta.  Hmmmm….can I make the pasta dough in the Bimby???