ankita, Author at One Girl and her Thermie

Almond and tomato salmorejo

Leave a Comment / Soups, Starters, Vegan & Vegetarian

Salmorejo, gazpacho’s richer, deeper cousin, is a cool, creamy soup. I found this almond and tomatoe salmorejo recipe in the Guardian’s ‘20 best easy summer recipes – Part 1‘ and having read the recipe was so easy to convert to the Thermomix.

Salmorejo is a purée consisting of tomato and bread, originating from Cordoba in Andalucia, south Spain. It is made from tomatoes, bread, oil, garlic. Normally, the tomatoes are skinned and then puréed with the other ingredients. Of course, using a Thermomix we don’t have to waste time skinning the tomatoes as when we puree the dish at the end, the Thermomix will beautifully blend skin, pulp and seeds into one smooth soup.

Written by Monika Linton, this salmorejo de tomate con almendras ‘zoco’ – almond and tomato salmorejo is absolutely delicious. She advises to choose the ripest, tastiest tomatoes you can find. Traditionally, the soup is served with grapes or little cubes of piel de sapo melon.

Monika Linton, founded Brindisa in 1988, retailing products from some of Spain’s best food producers. She opened the first Tapas Brindisa restaurant in 2004 and there are now four Brindisa restaurants across London.

Photo credit: Almond and tomato salmorejo. Photograph: Martin Poole for the Observer

Watermelon Juice

1 Comment / Breakfast & Brunch, Drinks

Watermelon juice couldn’t be easier to make. You don’t need a fancy schmancy juicer, just a blender. Nice and refreshing with plenty of crushed ice, it’s easier to make than you may think with Thermomix. I thought my watermelon juice was perfectly sweet without any added sugar, but I added a squeeze of honey for that extra zing.

Watermelons are mostly water — about 92 percent — but this refreshing fruit is soaked with nutrients. Each juicy bite has significant levels of vitamins A, B6 and C, lots of lycopene, antioxidants and amino acids. There’s even a modest amount of potassium. Antioxidants help prevent damage, and cancer. Your body uses vitamin B6 to help break down proteins, so the more protein is consumed, the more vitamin B6 is needed. Potassium, although a relatively small amount is in watermelon, helps balance fluids in your cells. Low potassium levels sometimes cause muscle cramps.

Brown Rice, Herb and Fennel Salad

Leave a Comment / Gluten Free, Noodle, Pasta & Rice, Salads

Now that I’ve tried it, I highly recommend this brown rice, herb and fennel salad.

Are you one of those people (like me) who read this title and quietly said to themselves, “Brown rice, no. Fennel, no”. Well, that was me and my words of wisdom are ‘don’t knock it, until you’ve tried it’. This delicious brown rice, herb and fennel salad recipe comes from Tenina Holder’s, Tenina’s America cookbook and when Tenina came to London recently, this little recipe was on the class menu and by far once of the real winners of the day. So good, that in just I’ve already made it six times in the past 3 weeks. It gets the kids thumbs up and fussy husband ate it too.

Brown rice adds so many great qualities to the salad. It has a nuttiness and slightly chewy texture that makes it just delicious. You can serve it alone, as I have done many times since the class or pair it with jerk chicken or a piece of salmon to add some protein.

Peri Peri Chicken

Mini Apple Loaf Cakes

Leave a Comment / Baking (Sweet), Dessert, Snacks

These apple mini loaf cakes truly are a heavenly combination of cake and fruit, lightly spiced with vanilla and cinnamon. I made them recently for my mother-in-law’s birthday (you can’t have a celebration without a cake, right?) Mama isn’t keen on standard cakes or cheesecakes, so I thought something slightly different would do the trick. These certainly were a huge hit.

These apple mini loaves are great for gift giving and make a wonderful bread to serve at breakfast and to pack for lunch. It’s so simple to make individual portions and decorate them beautifully. I don’t know why I don’t this more often.

Credit: This recipe is in Everyday Cakes Collection produced by Thermomix UK and also available on Cookidoo Platform. Link to this Apple Mini Loaf Cookidoo recipe for guided cooking is here.

Peel garlic

Sugar & spice scrub

Leave a Comment / Non-food

This sugar and spice scrub is Christmas in a jar or at least that’s how my kids describe it. Another sugar scrub twist with the sugar and spices so you smell like Christmas morning. Use as is for a body scrub or add more coconut oil and it can also be used as a massage oil. I tend to use this in the shower and then dab dry. You don’t want to be washing the oil off.

Now, I appreciate it’s May when I’m posting this recipe. My excuse is that this one one of the most best recipes in my former website and I’m slowing re-blogging them. But why do I feel this is important to be published now and not in December in time for the festive season? Well, the reason is that sugar scrubs are so good for the skin, anytime of the year.

Natural sugar is full of glycolic acid which has skin regenerating properties, it helps reduce fine lines and wrinkly, hydrate the skin and protects from toxins. When the sugar is mixed with a type of oil, it worked as both an exfoliate to remove the dead skin cells and a moisturiser. Sugar scrubs are great for dry skin but especially good for eczema. When you use a sugar scrub for your eczema, it will help to facilitate the removal of dead skin cells to prevent your skin from flaking or cracking. Most average soaps and exfoliants claim to do the same thing, but in reality they have a lot of harsh chemicals that strip the skin of its natural oils. Using a sugar scrub will leave your skin soft and smooth while still retaining its natural moisture. A sugar scrub works best for dry types of eczema. If you have flaky, crusty eczema on your hands, feet, or scalp, that needs to be exfoliated gently, then a sugar scrub would work for you! A sugar scrub also works for removing blackheads, whiteheads, acne, and scars.

So with all these health benefits, a sugar scrub should be welcome anytime of the year.

Disclaimer – Thermomix® is a cooking appliance intended to be only used for food preparation.

However, the recipes here are using food ingredients – sugar, spices, coconut oil, food colouring etc. which I do cook with so I am happy to make ‘beauty’ products using my Thermomix. I also have multiple TM bowls, so I can safely use separate bowls for making these without any cross contamination. If in any doubt, don’t make them.

Hangover Cure Smoothie

Play dough

Ingredients:

10 g salt
250 g water
15g cream of tartar
250 g plain flour
15g oil coconut, vegetable etc. are all fine
food colouring

Recipe:

Place the salt into the Thermomix bowl and mix on Speed 10 for 5 seconds.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the water and cream of tartar and cook for 5 minutes, 60 degrees, Speed 3.
Leave to cool for 5 minutes.
Add the plain flour and the oil and mix together for 50 seconds, Speed 4.
Knead for 1 minute on speed spoon/ interval speed.
Check the texture and if it’s a little sticky, add some more flour and knead for a further 30 seconds.
Separate the playdough into several bowls.
Add 1 tiny drop of food colouring to each bowl and mix together with your hands until the colour is evenly dispersed (wear gloves!).
Wrap the playdough in cling wrap and store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

Disclaimer – Thermomix® is a cooking appliance intended to be only used for food preparation.

However, the recipes here are things I do with my own Thermomix. I also have multiple Thermomixes and TM bowls, so I can safely use separate bowls for making these without any cross-contamination. I also clean the bowls thoroughly with soap, then vinegar, and finally run it through the dishwasher to ensure that it is thoroughly clean before making a food recipe in my bowl. If in any doubt, don’t make them.