Welcome to my Thermomix world!

Hello, and welcome to my blog! I have introduced myself a little in my profile, but thought I might as well expand on how I came about getting a thermomix...I must admit I am one to be taken in by new technologies (I have had a fitbit for 2 years, back when no one knew what it was and I was constantly explaining to people what the thing around my wrist was...no I'm not on parole!!!).

I had seen the previous model, the TM31, around a year before I purchased my own Thermomix. I was pretty impressed, but couldn't justify spending that amount of money back then. Then in September 2014 when I heard about the TM5, with the fancy touch screen and recipe chips that provided guided cooking and even automated recipes, I was convinced I needed this machine! I will admit my husband rolled his eyes and called it a $2000 blender, but I was determined I was going to get one. So I booked in a demo, and signed up to receive my Thermomix...in 6 to 8 weeks! It was a long wait, but with a trip to Bali already planned during that time, it did make the time go a bit faster.

I finally got my machine at the start of December, which was great, it allowed me to experiment with making all sorts of treats for Christmas gifts. I also experimented with various bread recipes, which was an advantage on Christmas day when my family usually has a breakfast.

The TM5 and all attachments/utensils

All the Thermomix machines come with various attachments, including the Varoma (steaming bowl and tray), simmering basket, measuring cup, spatula (also removes the simmering basket) and The Basic Cook Book, and recipe chip which contains all the recipes in the book. To start with, I had a go of some of the recipes in the book, using the chip. I then graduated on to looking through the Thermomix recipe community and trying recipes on there. I found some other websites such as the The Road To Loving My Thermo Mixer (TRTLMT); Thermofun and various facebook pages that I have followed. Once I had a bit of practice using the machine, I felt ready to get back into cooking from my own favourite recipe books as well, converting the recipes to use the Thermomix to either prepare or cook the meals. Now I was getting the hang of it! I did have a few "nailed it!" moments here and there, but it is all a learning curve.

I was flicking through my Basic Cook Book (BCB) the other day, and came across a few recipes that I had overlooked. I decided to try one. It was the recipe for vegetarian sausage rolls. I had read on a few facebook thermie related pages that they were good, but when I read the ingredients I wasn't convinced.  However, I will give anything a try once. So I made them, and was completely blown away! They were so identical to a regular meat filled sausage roll, there is no way anyone would guess they were a vegetarian version. So it got me to thinking...what other little treasures have I missed? Only one way to find out!

So here I am, about to embark on cooking my way through Thermomix's The Basic Cook Book. I may occasionally blog about other recipes I have tried on the way. Some things are too good not to share!