Saturday, June 29, 2013

Baby's First Foods: Butternut Squash

perfect puree
Great timing! we got a small butternut squash in this week's CSA basket.  It is super simple to turn the squash into puree with my Thermomix.  I have a few sets of instructions for purees.  I will be posting a simple guide, "Comidas Infantiles", in English that I made from my mother-in-law's Thermomix book in Spanish. Her Thermomix is the previous model. Basically, [20 minutes/100 degrees/speed3] and then [puree 20 seconds speed 6] Today, I followed how to make simple purees from What Caroline Cooked. See here: http://whatcarolinecooked.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/baby-food-6-8-months.html

What you need:

350g organic fruit or vegetable of your choice, peeled, seeds removed and roughly chopped
1 MC water

What to do:
Place fruit or vegetable into TM bowl and chop for 5 seconds/speed 4.
Scrape down sides and add water
Cook for 10 minutes/varoma/speed 1  (I ended up adding more water and cooking 5 minutes longer!)
Puree for 20 seconds by slowly turning dial to speed 9
Place into serving dish, cool slightly and serve.

                    
Perfectly Cute CSA Squash

Friday, June 28, 2013

Cleaning your Thermomix: avoiding cross-contamination

all clean and ready to puree!
Tomorrow I will prepare butternut squash as my baby's first food.  I want to make sure that no traces of this morning's oatmeal remain.  I know that his rashes could be an indication of true food intolerance or allergy.  So, I best be careful and avoid any cross-contamination with thorough cleaning.



I learned these methods here:
http://tickofyum.webs.com/apps/blog/show/17146017-cleaning-your-tmx-bowl

Basic Cleaning Put 50-100g of vinegar and 500g of water into your TM bowl, and cook on 100oC for 10 minutes, speed 4.  

Super Cleaning: Put 500ml of white vinegar and 5 g of dish soap into your thermomix bowl and cook on 100oC for 6 minutes on speed 4.  This will FROTH up amazingly - it's meant to.  LEAVE IT sitting in the froth until it all cools down. Then, add a good dose of baking soda and rub down with a clean sponge.  Now do the same to the blade, scrubbing with your little blade brush, which you will find at: http://thermomix.superkitchenmachine.com/collections/all/products/thermomix-silicone-spatula

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Afternoon Date Shake

An absolute favorite afternoon pick-me-up. And so easy to make! I always have dates in the refrigerator to serve to guests instead of nuts.  Perhaps a small bowl of dates, small bowl of unsulphered dried apricots with some roasted chickpeas.

What you need:

3/4 cup of whole milk (I like Mill-King Creamery)
1/2 cup ice
1/3 cup of pitted dates (bagged Whole Foods, I avoid bulk due to fear of cross-contamination with scoop or "that" hand that reaches in bins to "try")

What to do:

Place ingredients in Thermomix bowl and blend on speed nine until frothy. 

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Fresh Cream Becomes Butter and Buttermilk

So far, the best low-temp pasteurized heavy cream I can find easily here in Houston is from Mill-King Creamery.  We have been enjoying their milk over the past few months: http://www.mill-kingmarket.com/mill-kingmarket.com/Mill-King_Market.html I pick it up at Whole Foods or Revival Market. This is the first time I have attempted separating cream into butter and buttermilk since moving here last year.  In Toronto, I bought fresh cream in glass bottles almost weekly at the local markets with the idea that I could turn one product into several: butter, buttermilk, and whipped.  I paid a Toonie, or 2 dollars, deposit which I got back when I returned the bottle after use.  I regularly stored the buttermilk in the same, original glass bottle as the cream, and the butter in two glass bowls: half for immediate use in the fridge and the other half in the freezer to be pulled as needed.   Since the cost of butter was higher than I was used to, purchasing the cream and making fresh butter was more than worth the effort.  But then again, it's no effort at all with the Thermomix to make your own butter weekly! A week after posting, I came across "Meeting the Moment" in a weekly favorite food mediation:http://www.thekitchn.com/meeting-the-moment-with-apricot-jam-weekend-meditation-190983 and I began to reflect on how my Thermomix also facilitates being able to be "present for the delights that are inherent in this activity, they register more deeply and become a brighter, more significant thread in my emotional makeup."   
See how I use my butter in the rustic tart posted below.  Also:
http://kidfriendlyallergykitchen.blogspot.com/2011/01/oat-and-spelt-crackers.html
http://kidfriendlyallergykitchen.blogspot.com/2011/03/buttermilk-scones.html  (along with buttermilk!)
http://kidfriendlyallergykitchen.blogspot.com/2011/01/oat-squares.html

VIDEO RECIPE:http://www.superkitchenmachine.com/2012/17213/how-to-make-butter-thermomix.html                                                                            

Good reading on making your own butter and culturing the cream first: