One Girl and her Thermie

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cost savings

Save money with Thermomix: Icing sugar

Save money with Thermomix. It’s what we as owners and users say all the time. But finally, I’m able to share some of the cost savings with specific recipes like this icing sugar but also one that is a wow, demonstration recipe.

Why is it a wow recipe?  Well simply put it shows off the milling function beautifully.  Speeds 7 – 10 and Turbo: Grinding or miling ingredients such as sugar, wheat and coffee beans, blending to a completely smooth texture for creamy soups, smoothies, and ice-cream and chopping tough ingredients such as cured ham and hard cheeses.

Powdered sugar, also called confectioners’ sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. Powdered Sugar is made by grinding granulated sugar with cornstarch to the desired grain size. White in color, powdered sugar has a sucrose content of approximately 97.0% and a cornstarch content of approximately 3.0% to prevent caking and increase shelf life. However, making your own in your Thermomix can your money on buying ready-milled icing sugar and you can do it instantly, hence not needing any corn starch too, so 100% pure.

But we’re here to talk about cost savings, so I’ve done a quick search for some tomato soups in an online supermarket. I’ve chosen Tesco today, but I will be comparing all of them in this series of articles to be fair.

Compare this with the cost of their granulated sugar, which you can mill into icing sugar

The cost savings would be £1.15 on the Silver Spoon and only 70p on the Billingtons. 

That kind of makes sense, as Golden Caster Sugar is more expensive so you would see a saving but not as much. But image how much you could save on a weekly, monthly, or even yearly basis. These pennies can add up to pounds very quickly especially if you bake a lot which I do.

*What Is Golden Caster Sugar? Most commonly found in the UK, golden caster sugar is made from unrefined sugar cane and sometimes beets. It has a subtle buttery flavor and gives baked goods a lovely shade of brown.

Ingredients

  • 200 g sugar

Preparation

  1. Place sugar in mixing bowl and grind 20 sec/speed 10. Use icing sugar as needed.

Hints & Tips

  • Icing sugar can be stored for long periods of time in an airtight container.
  • For best results, grind sugar in 100-200 g batches.
  • If more icing sugar is needed, repeat the process.

Get this recipe on Cookidoo https://cookidoo.co.uk/recipes/recipe/en-GB/r178855

Save money with Thermomix: Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Save money with Thermomix. It’s what we as owners and users say all the time. But finally, I’m able to share some of the cost savings with specific recipes like this Red Pepper and Tomato Soup which is one of our household staples but also one that is a wow, demonstration recipe.

Why is it a wow recipe? Well, this recipe is so easy to make but showcases some of the greatest Thermomix functions – the milling and grinding of the lentils to a powder which means when they are added back into the soup to thicken and add protein, they could faster, the blending ability to not need to peel the red pepper skins which are usually so hard to do and speed which keeps this soup red and vibrant in colour, means we haven’t lost the vitamins and minerals by overcooking and boiling. I challenge many of my demonstration guests to re-do this recipe manually or using their own kitchen equipment and the Thermomix version comes out on top in texture and flavour, every, single, time.

But we’re here to talk about cost savings, so I’ve done a quick search for some tomato soups in an online supermarket. I’ve chosen Waitrose today, but I will be comparing all of them in this series of articles to be fair.

Ingredients

  • 40 g lentils
    or rice
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 50 g onions, quartered
  • 200 g red peppers, quartered (approx. 2 peppers)
  • 50 g olive oil
  • 400 g ripe tomatoes, cut in pieces (2 cm)
    or tinned chopped tomatoes
  • 400 g water
  • 1 heaped tsp vegetable stock paste, homemade
    or 1 vegetable stock cube (for 0.5 l), crumbled
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper, plus extra for sprinkling
  • ¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Preparation

  1. Place lentils in mixing bowl and grind 20 sec/speed 10. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
  2. Place garlic, onions, red peppers and oil in mixing bowl then chop 2 sec/speed 5. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula then, with simmering basket in place of measuring cup, sauté 5 min/100°C/speed 1.
  3. Add tomatoes, water, vegetable stock paste, reserved ground lentils, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper (if using) then, with simmering basket in place of measuring cup, cook 14 min/100°C/speed 2.5. Insert measuring cup then start Blend /1 min.
  4. Divide between serving bowls and serve sprinkled with pepper.

Hints & Tips

  • Serves 4 for lunch with crusty bread, 6 as a dinner party starter or 12-15 as a lovely amuse-bouche served in shot glasses.
  • For a milder flavour, omit cayenne pepper in step 3.
  • For a Carrot and Lentil Soup, substitute red peppers with 350 g carrots, cut in pieces (3 cm), in step 2 then chop 6 sec/speed 5. Omit tomatoes in step 3 and, after blending, thin to desired consistency with 50-100 g extra stock before blending again 30 sec/speed 10.
  • Steam vegetables in the Varoma while the soup is cooking. Before cooking in step 3, place covered Varoma with vegetables into position and steam using Varoma temperature instead of 100°C.

Get this recipe on Cookidoo https://cookidoo.co.uk/recipes/recipe/en-GB/r448440

Save with Thermomix and make your own Sprouts

Try making your own Brussel Sprouts this Christmas and save with Thermomix.  A simple, healthy side dish bursting with festive flavours.

Typically boiled or steamed, sprouts are considered an essential addition to the Christmas table. Here we serve them raw, shredded and mixed with lardons and cranberries in a delicious salad that is perfectly served with cold cuts on Boxing Day.

Ingredients

  • 500 g water
  • 450 g Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved
  • 140 g butternut squash, peeled and diced (approx. 1 cm)
  • 60 g unsalted butter, diced
  • 80 g pecan nuts
  • 50 g dried cranberries
  • 30 g light brown sugar
  • 30 g balsamic vinegar
  • 15 g freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx. ½ lemon)
  • ½ tsp dried chilli flakes, or to taste
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper

    Preparation

    1. Place water in mixing bowl then place Varoma dish into position and weigh in Brussels sprouts. Cover with Varoma lid and steam 4 min/Varoma/speed 2.
    2. Carefully remove Varoma lid and weigh in butternut squash, secure lid and steam a further 12 min/Varoma/speed 2 or until vegetables are tender. Transfer steamed vegetables to a serving bowl and keep warm. Empty mixing bowl.
    3. Place butter in mixing bowl and melt 2 min/100°C/speed 1.
    4. Add pecans, cranberries, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, chilli flakes, salt and pepper then cook 2 min/100°C/reverse/speed 1.
    5. Transfer to serving bowl with steamed vegetables and gently mix with spatula.
    6. Serve immediately.

    Nutrition – per 1 portion

    • Calories 1615.7 kJ / 386.2 kcal
    • Protein 4.5 g
    • Carbohydrates 14.7 g
    • Fat 18.6g

    Get this recipe on Cookidoo here: https://cookidoo.co.uk/recipes/recipe/en-GB/r491061