So after two years of thinking about it, this happened....
(Here Im making home made vegetable stock concentrate from fresh veggies, fresh picked herbs from the garden, salt and olive oil. It's an awesome base to soups/casseroles/risotto, you name it.)
Yep, I joined the dark side and bought a thermomix. It is a SERIOUS piece of kitchen equipment.
Primarily because of this oven. I fell in love with her sturdy, vintage, solid charm but I just don't want to be tied to her all day while I cook everything I need from scratch....and well, she is a little bit of a moody thing compared to modern ovens. (I have to type that quietly or I SWEAR she will hear and burn my porridge, the second I turn my back....)
Also the reality is my microwave died a year ago, my stick blender is on the verge of death, my ken-wood food processor/blender is sparking at me when I turn the dial, and my blender is lagging in power, also dying a slow death. Essentially the bulk of my appliances are either finished, or on their way out. It bugs me that things are only build to last a few years these days.
So instead of cluttering up my kitchen with several new appliances, I decided to buy just one. And make it the BEST I possibly could. These are built amazingly well, and whats more actually built to be repaired, rather then thrown out. Which appeals to me on so many levels. I simply cant afford to buy crap that breaks at the first sign of serious work, which seems to be a common place in retail today.
And I must say its a little bit of love. I was concerned I would not use it enough to warrant the hefty price tag, but I can see I'm reaching for it constantly. Its going to mean I have to change the way I cook a bit, but its a change for the better. Which came as a surprise, I must be honest. Its going to help me to really lean into cooking from scratch to a deeper level then I have ever been able to, or had time to do before, in a more relaxed manner.
It is a luxury, a lifestyle choice if you will. You see I love to eat, I love to eat fresh, home made food. But I'm NOT in love with being tied to the kitchen. I don't mind cooking, at all. If fact I quite enjoy it. But you know what I like more? Hanging out, reading and being with my boys. I'm happy to include them in cooking, this certainly wont replace all the prep work we do. But it will HELP. The other day we had a simple risotto with home made broth, and custard for dessert for lunch. For LUNCH people! Hot meals for lunch a a real treat here, and this was virtually effortless! Soo many less dishes too. William helped me weigh/pop the veggies in, and then while it cooked, stirred and did its thing, we all sat and I could give them 100% of my attention. It was just lovely. That machine is just so smart. Those German designers really know their stuff.
When we bought this house, we intended to replace the oven, but now as we are keeping it, we bought the thermomix with the money we had budgeted for the oven. The reality is the old stove is gorgeous, but it is a two burner, and I use more then two burners at once often. I have ZERO desire to crank up the wood oven in our 40+degree summers! LOL!
I thought I would share the recipe for the vegetable stock concentrate. You don't need a thermomix to make it. You could finely dice the veggies, then simmer gently until cooked through and whiz with a kitchen whizzy stick thingo also. But no matter how you make it, its awesome, fresh, and lasts for about 3 months in the fridge.
If you ever cook with stock cubes and are looking to get that base flavor quickly, while cutting out colors/flavors/preservatives this is the perfect recipe. Its all fresh, healthy and incredibly simple to make.
Note: The recipe is high in salt but when you use 1-2tblsp in a dish it balances out, I promise. The salt is a preservative also as your dealing with fresh veggies. It allows the paste to keep for 3 months in the fridge in a well sealed jar. This recipe is also not mine, but grabbed from the "Thermomix Basic cookbook"
vegetable stock concentrate.
200g celery stalks
2 carrots
1 onion
1zuccini
1 tomato
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1-2 sprigs basil
1-2 sprigs sage
1-2 sprigs rosemary (leaves only)
8 sprigs fresh parsley
150g rock salt
1 tbsp olive oil
Dice/grate all veggies, cook well on gentle heart with olive oil, add salt, whiz up. Store in clean containers, will keep for approx 3 months.
This recipe can easily be altered. Basically you need 850g fresh veggies to 150g salt. This ratio must be kept but add mushrooms, whatever herbs you have on hand. What ever takes your fancy pretty much and is looking dodgy in your fridge. (That's how everyone else meal plans, no?)
Anyway, I'm off to make salted caramel sauce and vanilla sugar as a little Christmas gift for our extended family!
Much Love,
Emma
xx
Yep, I joined the dark side and bought a thermomix. It is a SERIOUS piece of kitchen equipment.
Primarily because of this oven. I fell in love with her sturdy, vintage, solid charm but I just don't want to be tied to her all day while I cook everything I need from scratch....and well, she is a little bit of a moody thing compared to modern ovens. (I have to type that quietly or I SWEAR she will hear and burn my porridge, the second I turn my back....)
Also the reality is my microwave died a year ago, my stick blender is on the verge of death, my ken-wood food processor/blender is sparking at me when I turn the dial, and my blender is lagging in power, also dying a slow death. Essentially the bulk of my appliances are either finished, or on their way out. It bugs me that things are only build to last a few years these days.
So instead of cluttering up my kitchen with several new appliances, I decided to buy just one. And make it the BEST I possibly could. These are built amazingly well, and whats more actually built to be repaired, rather then thrown out. Which appeals to me on so many levels. I simply cant afford to buy crap that breaks at the first sign of serious work, which seems to be a common place in retail today.
And I must say its a little bit of love. I was concerned I would not use it enough to warrant the hefty price tag, but I can see I'm reaching for it constantly. Its going to mean I have to change the way I cook a bit, but its a change for the better. Which came as a surprise, I must be honest. Its going to help me to really lean into cooking from scratch to a deeper level then I have ever been able to, or had time to do before, in a more relaxed manner.
It is a luxury, a lifestyle choice if you will. You see I love to eat, I love to eat fresh, home made food. But I'm NOT in love with being tied to the kitchen. I don't mind cooking, at all. If fact I quite enjoy it. But you know what I like more? Hanging out, reading and being with my boys. I'm happy to include them in cooking, this certainly wont replace all the prep work we do. But it will HELP. The other day we had a simple risotto with home made broth, and custard for dessert for lunch. For LUNCH people! Hot meals for lunch a a real treat here, and this was virtually effortless! Soo many less dishes too. William helped me weigh/pop the veggies in, and then while it cooked, stirred and did its thing, we all sat and I could give them 100% of my attention. It was just lovely. That machine is just so smart. Those German designers really know their stuff.
When we bought this house, we intended to replace the oven, but now as we are keeping it, we bought the thermomix with the money we had budgeted for the oven. The reality is the old stove is gorgeous, but it is a two burner, and I use more then two burners at once often. I have ZERO desire to crank up the wood oven in our 40+degree summers! LOL!
I thought I would share the recipe for the vegetable stock concentrate. You don't need a thermomix to make it. You could finely dice the veggies, then simmer gently until cooked through and whiz with a kitchen whizzy stick thingo also. But no matter how you make it, its awesome, fresh, and lasts for about 3 months in the fridge.
If you ever cook with stock cubes and are looking to get that base flavor quickly, while cutting out colors/flavors/preservatives this is the perfect recipe. Its all fresh, healthy and incredibly simple to make.
Note: The recipe is high in salt but when you use 1-2tblsp in a dish it balances out, I promise. The salt is a preservative also as your dealing with fresh veggies. It allows the paste to keep for 3 months in the fridge in a well sealed jar. This recipe is also not mine, but grabbed from the "Thermomix Basic cookbook"
vegetable stock concentrate.
200g celery stalks
2 carrots
1 onion
1zuccini
1 tomato
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1-2 sprigs basil
1-2 sprigs sage
1-2 sprigs rosemary (leaves only)
8 sprigs fresh parsley
150g rock salt
1 tbsp olive oil
Dice/grate all veggies, cook well on gentle heart with olive oil, add salt, whiz up. Store in clean containers, will keep for approx 3 months.
This recipe can easily be altered. Basically you need 850g fresh veggies to 150g salt. This ratio must be kept but add mushrooms, whatever herbs you have on hand. What ever takes your fancy pretty much and is looking dodgy in your fridge. (That's how everyone else meal plans, no?)
Anyway, I'm off to make salted caramel sauce and vanilla sugar as a little Christmas gift for our extended family!
Much Love,
Emma
xx
