Macadamia and Brown Rice Cookies

Biscuits are so much fun to invent!  Mainly because I find them quite forgiving and it is hard to go wrong when making a biscuit recipe.  Even if they don't turn out exactly as they should, unless you burn the life out of them, they wont suffer from issues such as sinking in the middle or not rising as commonly occurs with cakes or other demanding delights!
These filled our house with such wonderful aromas - macadamias toasting, a subtle hint of vanilla and that delicious buttery goodness!
Whilst they won't be able to set foot in the lunchbox (unless your school doesn't follow a nut free policy!), there are plenty of other occasions for these maca treats - after school snack, morning tea at the office, a gift to show someone you care, road trips, and the list goes on!
I'm sure other nuts will work too, although there is something that works so beautifully with butter and macadamias! Not to mention the fact that Macadamias are indigenous to Australia - with growers spanning from the east coast of New South Wales right up to the far north of sunny Queensland!  Please ensure that when you buy your macadamias, support our local industry and Buy Australian!

If you are using a Thermomix and raw brown rice, you'll get a little crunch in the bikkie which adds to the experience although if you prefer a really smooth result, once you grind the rice you could always sift it to remove the gritty bits.
These are so quick and easy to make with simple ingredients, it really isn't necessary to buy packet biscuits!  Avoid those processed ingredients, make a double batch, and freeze half for another time when the doorbell rings unexpectedly!
Enjoy...

Macadamia and Brown Rice Cookies

Ingredients

100g raw brown rice (or brown rice flour if not using a TMX)
100g macadamias
100g gluten free self raising flour
65g rapadura sugar (coconut sugar, brown sugar, or raw would also work)
55g unsalted butter, cold
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method - Conventional

1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.  Line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. Add the macadamias to a food processor and pulse until a fine meal is achieved.  If you do not have an appliance to do this, finely chop the nuts.
3. Place brown rice flour, macadamias, SR flour and sugar into a bowl or food processor and combine.
4. Add butter and vanilla - either pulsing in food processor until mixture holds together well when pressed into a ball, or mix through butter and vanilla with fingertips until butter is evenly distributed through the mix and then stir well until mix holds together well when pressed into a ball (this will take a bit of elbow grease to get a moist dough!).
5. Press tablespoons of mixture into balls then gently press down with a fork to flatten slightly.
6. Bake in preheated oven for approx 15 mins (checking regularly after 10 minutes as all ovens are different) or until golden brown.
7. Allow to cool completely on tray before storing in an airtight container. 

Method - Thermomix

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.  Line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. Place rice in TM bowl and grind on speed 10 for 1 minute.
3. Scrape sides, add macadamias to ground rice and process on speed 7 for 10 seconds.
4.  Add flour and sugar and mix on speed 4 for 5 seconds.
5. Add butter and vanilla and process on speed 5 until combined (approx 20-30 seconds).  Mix should come together into a ball easily.
6. Follow steops 5-7 above.

Date & Coconut Slice with Lemon Icing

Some of my favourite moments these days involve spending time with good friends.  I treasure it now more than ever before, and consider myself so very lucky to have such dear friends with whom I can cry with, laugh with, bounce ideas off, and solve the worlds problems with!  But most of all just that companionship, that understanding (even when we may see things differently), that support and knowledge that someone is really there for you - as much as you are there for them.  I mean, you can't trivialise that.  That true friend is often years in the making, or sometimes not many years at all.  But either way, it's a precious thing I have in my life, and I try not to take it for granted, ever.
So this is to you, my dear friends.  You know who you are.  You are special to me and I thank you for giving me such richness in my life.  I try hard to give that back to you.  Here's to you and me, and the good times we've had, and the good times that lay ahead.  The greatest way I give love is through food.  And here is some love in a slice!  How lovely it would be to know that this slice created another special moment between two good friends.  Enjoy...

Roasted Tomato and Capsicum Soup

Over two years on and my Thermomix still never ceases to amaze and impress me!
Today I scored just under a kilo of deliciously juicy and sweet tomatoes and two large red capsicums.    Soup came to mind straight away, but generally with homemade tomato and capsicum soup you would need to remove the skins in most recipes.  And anyone who knows me knows that those kind of tedious steps in a recipe really turns me off!!
Well I decided to put my trust in the power of the TMX and ditch the skinning step - and I'm here to tell you the TMX made light work of those pesky skins!  Blitzed them right into oblivion!!  The end result was smooth, yet layered with a complexity of flavours coming from the roasting.  The sweetness of the tomatoes, capsicum and garlic shone through, complemented with a slight smokiness, the richness of the olive oil, then cut through with the fresh basil and cracked pepper.
A solid entree or even hearty lunch with a chunk of fresh bread, this soup will surely impress its recipients, but most of all, it impresses the cook, because in just two simple steps and as many dishes, you are done and dusted and free to entertain in front of the crackling fireplace; glass of wine in hand, cracker of a soup at the ready!  Now what could be better than that in the dead of winter?!
Enjoy....

Carrot & Pecan Brownie Topped with Lemon Curd

 Half a lemon each, a spoon in hand and the sugar jar in our lap.  Sitting on the trampoline on a warm summers day is a distinct memory of my cousin and I many moons ago.  Two girls.  Footloose and fancy free.  The warm breeze in our hair. Chatting about everything and nothing.  Our dreams, our friends, the big issues.  All the time in the world.  A sprinkling of sugar, a taste of the sweet juice, another sprinkling of sugar, and on it would go!  Where did that time go?

I love love love lemons!  Lemon juice, lemon water, lemon cake, lemon slice.
Lemon lifts.  Lemon builds.  Lemon cuts through sweet and salty.  Lemon adds another dimension.

Chocolate Zucchini cake/muffins - Gluten free, nut free, dairy free

My chocolate and beetroot fudge cake has proven to be a huge hit, both amongst friends and family as well as on this blog!  The benefits are not having to cook the beetroot before cooking, and of course sneaking vegetables into a decadent chocolate cake makes eating one slice too many almost acceptable!

Well, here is another option of adding a vegetable to a chocolate cake, no-one any the wiser! 
I'm not suggesting this as a way to get vegetables into your children and to therefore serve it next to their pork chop on the dinner plate!  But actually the zucchini creates a beautiful moistness in this cake, and if that can be done from a vegetable, why not!

Blood Orange Tart with an almond base - Gluten Free

There's something really exotic and mysterious about blood oranges.  Is it their unusually short harvest season (approx 2 months) that creates a sense of urgency and desire? Their stunning and unique flesh colours?  Or the beautiful flavour combination of both citrus and raspberries?  Either way, I absolutely love seeing blood oranges hit the markets and always stock up to make as many treats as possible!

This year I couldn't go past blood orange sorbet.  The colour is striking and the flavour sharp and citrusey yet refreshing!  Making sorbets in the Thermomix is oh so easy that it is almost worth buying one for that benefit alone!

Blood Orange Sorbet made in the Thermomix

But with a bowl of sorbet chilling in the freezer I still had a lot of blood orange quarters peeled and pipped and waiting for another creation.  So a blood orange tart it was!  I was looking for a decadent tart yet something quite light in texture to ensure the citrus notes were not drowned out.    And of course I find it hard to create anything without a touch of nutrition added, and so almonds and chia were made a part of the base and I stuck to minimal sugar and the lesser processed rapadura at that.
You need to excuse my pictures, as per usual, as I am far from a good photographer but take my word for it, this tart was YUM!!
One of the best features of this recipe is the requirement for just one bowl, whether it be a TMX bowl, a food processor bowl or the old traditional, well, bowl!  Serving this up at the table in front of friends will be sure to impress, and yet you needn't disclose the minimal fuss you have gone to!  I won't tell them if you don't!
Make it the day before to let the flavours settle if time allows, and serve up with anything from a reduction of extra blood orange juice, double cream, vanilla ice cream, segments of fresh blood oranges or indeed a scoop of homemade blood orange sorbet.  Enjoy...

 Blood Orange Tart with an almond base (gluten free)

Ingredients

BASE
100g butter
100g raw almonds (or almond meal if you don't have a processor to mill almonds)
200g gluten free plain flour (I used Orgran brand)
40g rapadura or coconut sugar
10g white chia seeds
1 egg

FILLING
300g blood orange flesh (skin, pith and pips removed)
100g rapadura or coconut sugar
2 eggs
180g cream
1 heaped teaspoon gluten free cornflour

Method - Conventional

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius.  Lightly grease a 24cm shallow pie case with a removable base.
2. For the base, if you are using a food processor, add almonds and chia seeds to the bowl and process on high speed until a meal consistency is achieved. 
3. If not using a food processor, place almond meal, chia seeds, sugar and flour in a large mixing bowl.  Add butter and work through with finger tips until mixture resembles bread crumbs.  Add beaten egg and work through until mixture comes together.  Continue at step 6.
4. Add butter, sugar and flour and process just until mixture resembles bread crumbs.
5. Add the egg and pulse until just combined.  
6. Press mixture evenly into pie case both into the base and the sides.  Place on a baking tray for stability and blind bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside.
7. For the filling, add orange flesh and sugar to the food processor bowl.  Blend until fine pulp is formed.
8. Add remaining filling ingredients and process until smooth and well combined.  
9. Pour over base and bake in oven for 30 minutes or until set.  The filling will still wobble when you move it however is actually set.
10. Allow to cool to room temperature before storing in fridge.

Method - Thermomix

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius.  Lightly grease a 24cm shallow pie case with a removable base.
2. For the base, place almonds and chia in the TM bowl and mill on speed 10 for 10 seconds.
3. Add flour and sugar and combine on speed 5 for 5 seconds.  Add butter and process on speed 5 for 10 seconds. 
4. Add egg and mix on REVERSE, speed 4 for 10 seconds.
5. Press mixture evenly into pie case both into the base and the sides.  Place on a baking tray for stability and blind bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside.
6. For the filling, place orange and sugar in TM bowl (no need to clean from making the base, just ensure as much of the base has been removed as possible) and blend on speed 9 for 20 seconds.
7. Add remaining filling ingredients and blend on speed 4.5 for 30 seconds.  Pour over base and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until set.  The filling will still wobble when you move it however is actually set.
8. Allow to cool to room temperature before storing in fridge.

Perfect with a cuppa - Apple Hazelnut cake

I should be trying to tie this post into Fathers Day, shouldn't I?  Hmm, well I haven't perfected my Bourbon soaked shanks recipe yet and I'm not sure an apple tea cake would be at the top of every dads wish list for Sunday!!  Gee, that was a bit sarcastic and stereotypical wasn't it?!  My hubby actually doesn't mind apple tea cake, and quite liked this cake too!

The apples I'm now getting from Petty's Orchard are so tasty at the moment.  When I made another batch of my brown rice and quinoa baby rusks recipe the other day, I actually didn't even need to add sugar as the half apple that you add to the flour was so flavourful and sweet that sugar wasn't needed.

Steamed choc caramel puddings

This weather just doesn't seem to be warming up quick enough for my liking!!  But then, I know I could quite happily live in a climate that wouldn't ever dip below 25 degrees. I'd be as happy as a pig in mud!

But, living in Melbourne, that will never be the case so I may as well make the most of the cooler days while they last, and for me that means comfort food.  And when we have visitors or go visiting, that can mean a little indulgence with the comfort I reckon!

Healthy grain cherry macaroon cake (coincidentally gluten and dairy free!)

 

This creation actually came about not from an abundance of seasonal produce being put to good use, but from my next favourite option, frozen stock!  The great thing about buying frozen fruits (or freezing your own home grown crops) is not just the bleeding obvious, being able to eat them all year round, but the nutrition status can often be better than their fresh siblings due to being snap frozen only hours after picking.

Fig, nut and puffed rice bars

I am constantly trying to think of new and tasty snack ideas for the family that ticks all the boxes - providing nutrition whilst at the same time being something that is enjoyed and not eaten 'just because its healthy'!

Although my boys are a little way off school yet, I know it is such a difficult thing for parents to come up with lunchbox fillers day in and day out.  Not only that but many schools now have 'no nut' as well as minimal packaging (nude food) policies, further reducing the options available.

Espresso, hazelnut and cinnamon ice cream

When coming up with flavour combinations, for me it is often the coming together of imagery, to the point where I can pretty much taste it.  Sometimes its from the senses of smell and touch, and often it stems from an ingredient I have in my kitchen that I want to play with.

Obviously it is underpinned from years of trawling blissfully through glossy food magazines, walking past cafe and restaurant windows with one eye on whats on offer, watching endless food related tv series, and even learning on my travels, where the focus for me is always on the local flavours!

And so when I noticed a tub of cream in my fridge coming close to the expiry, the wind howling and rain coming down hard and fast outside, it seemed to suddenly come to me that the warming flavours of cinnamon, coffee and toasted hazelnuts would excuse, and maybe even warrant the need to make up another batch of ice cream - specifically in celebration of these final weeks of the cold! (Those who know me know that ice cream is not a seasonal treat in this house - its a year round indulgence!)

Gluten free profiteroles - with or without the Thermomix

For some reason the profiterole, and choux pastry in general, has fear factor written all over it for many home cooks.  This fear makes the elusive croquembouche a task most just won't even attempt, seeing it more as the ultimate Masterchef challenge handed down by the 'all things sweet' pátissier master himself, Adriano Zumbo!

Well, quite a few years ago now, when I was making gluten free wedding cakes 'on the side', I decided to try conquering not only choux pastry, but gluten free choux pastry!!!  From memory I had even written it off as a failure before I began, assuming it would be just one of those things that could not be replicated as gluten free.

Gluten Free Chicken and Vegetable Pie

Gluten free and pastry don't generally go together very successfully - anyone on a gluten free diet could attest to that.   I've been diagnosed for about 12-13 years now, and let me tell you, being a Coeliac now versus the early 2000's is so so much easier.  For those diagnosed many years earlier than that, I take my hat off to you and wonder, truely, how you managed to eat!  Things have changed in many ways.  Restaurants, cafes, and other eating places outside of the home have not only become aware and accommodating, but many have actually embraced it by offering gluten free menus, or even creating a whole establishment dedicated to gluten free dining.

Chestnut, cacao and pomegranate multi-purpose mix!

I would say that chestnuts are the complete package.  They have a great nutrition profile, and they also lend themselves beautifully to both savoury and sweet dishes and are even a great idea for a snack.  They have a delicate, slightly sweet flavour and a lovely smooth texture.  Unlike other nuts they are quite starchy,  often used as a substitute for potatoes in some European and African countries.

Gluten free cheese and herb loaf - perfect accompaniment to winter soups!

By reading my earlier post on ice cream I'm sure you would think I was living in Far North Queensland (I WISH!).  But sadly I'm braving yet another chilly winter down here in Melbourne, and although there are few things I actually like about the thermostat plummeting, I must say that soul warming soups and rich, slow cooked meat dishes are something I look forward to.

I tend to find a soup each year that quickly becomes a favourite and this year I have already found one that the whole family enjoys, Quirky Jo's creamy chicken and brown rice soup.  This soup is like a blanket, wrapping itself around you and warming you through to your core, whilst lifting the soul!

Fresh mint and raw cacao ice cream - no fuss!

I know I know, it STILL isn't the right weather for ice cream!  But you know, somewhere it is, and I'm going there tonight!!  Coming with me?
So as you saw in my last blog entry, I have recently been introduced to the world of raw cacao and have been busily 'playing' around with it, making custards, drinks, raw bliss balls.... but when I noticed the other day that my mint had been quietly getting away from me and invading my other herbs, a flavour invaded my taste buds... choc mint ice cream!

Fudgy chocolate beetroot cake

Ever made red velvet cake?  All the recipes I have seen vary from 1-2 tsp of red food colouring to 1-2 TABLESPOONS!!!!  Deary me.  Well to me this is screaming out to be 'renovated' and yes I couldn't resist the obvious opportunity to add some nutrition in there too ( ;
So here is my renovated red velvet cake - made with beetroot!!!!  Actually, as the story goes, these cakes were originally made with beetroot, before food colouring made their appearance!  The magic about this recipe is that you don't specifically taste the beetroot flavour, but what it adds is a depth of flavour (the earthiness of the beetroot pairs beautifully with the earthiness of chocolate) and a beautiful moist cake that will keep for days (if of course it can be resisted that long!).

What you may not know about honey!

 

Honey - the ancient wound healer

So my latest 'fascination' is honey!  Those of you who I speak to regularly probably know that due to a recent pimple outbreak (I know, ridiculous, I felt 13 again!) I went searching for natural remedies and remembered my Omi used to rave about putting honey on her face each night.  At the time I thought 'just another crazy Omi story' but I decided to look into it and due to its natural antibacterial qualities, it actually was a valid remedy for pimples! 

Finding this out prompted me to research further into what else is great about honey.  

• Honey is essentially bee spew!!!  The foraging bees swallow the nectar which goes into their special honey tummy.  They then regurgitate this up to the worker bees in the hive and they make it into honey!!  Mmmmm ( ; 
• Honey is a natural preservative!  So use honey instead of sugar when making homemade breads and cakes and you'll find they last longer and stay moist too!
• Honey is sweeter than sugar so less is needed in cooking to achieve the same sweetness, hence reducing kilojoules!
• Honey contains small amounts of vitamins and minerals such as copper, iron, vitamin B, manganese, calcium, potassium, sodium, phosphorous, and magnesium, among others.  Also 'friendly' bacteria such as lactobacili and bifidobacteria!
• Never give honey to an infant under 12 months of age, due to increased risk of botulism in their 'weakly immune' bodies.
• Different types of honey (depending on the flowers the nectar is taken from) provide different levels of antibacterial properties.  Manuka honey has a very high level. 
• Most commercial honey has been heat treated to stop it from crystalising and making it easier to process.  Unfortunately the heat kills a lot of the enzymes, vitamins and minerals so if all of that is important to you, buy raw honey which can be found in health food stores, or if your lucky like I was today, you may pass a little stall on the side of the road with honey taken straight from the owners own hives!!!  Now that's special! (And the boys loved my little lesson on bees and honey on the way home - well, that's my story anyway!)

 

Ok, I think tha'ts enough reason to make one of my favourite recipes using honey, Breakfast granola!  Why is it my favourite?  Cause I think breakfast is the most important meal of the day and with so much 'rubbish' on offer for brekky on the supermarket shelves these days, this is a way to get back to something more natural and healthy without all the processed sugar!  If this doesn't make you want to get out of bed each morning, I don't know what will!!!  Till next time......

Granola

 Ingredients

4 c rolled oats
1 c nuts, coarsely chopped (try hazelnuts, almonds, macadamias or a mixture of these)
1/2 c sunflower seed kernels
3/4 c honey
50g butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 c dried fruit (try raisins, chopped dried apricots, cranberries or goji berries)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius
2. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
3. Combine oats, nuts and sunflower seed kernels in a bowl.
4. In a small saucepan add honey, butter and cinnamon and stir over low heat until butter melts.
5. Pour over oat mixture and mix thoroughly.
6. Spread over the baking tray evenly.  Bake in oven, stirring occasionally, for 35 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
7. Stir in dried fruit and store in an airtight container.

Play around with this to your liking.  You could mix up the grains by using a mix of rolled spelt or barley with the oats, add some of your favourite spices such as ground ginger, substitute sunflower seed kernels for any type of seeds such as linseeds, flaxseed or pumpkin seeds.
For a gluten free version, substitute the oats for puffed buckwheat, rice, corn, amaranth, and/or rolled quinoa.

Thermomix owners - nuts can be chopped on speed 4 for 3 seconds.  Set aside.  Honey, butter and cinnamon can be melted and mixed together for 2 minutes/50 degrees/speed 2.  Then add back nuts, oats and sunflower seed kernels and mix on soft/REVERSE until it all comes together.

If your mind is like mine and eager to know everything about the fascinating bees and their work, look no further than http://www.honeybee.org.au/


(Original recipe from Good Taste magazine, 2007)

Veggie loaded Bolognaise - Thermomix style

Vegetable packed bolognaise - Thermomix or no Thermomix!

I have been making this vegetable packed bolognaise sauce for a couple of years now so don't turn off if you don't have a Thermomix!  But in saying that, it now takes me literally seconds of preparation with a few less dishes!  This recipe is brilliant for a couple of reasons.  1.  It is loaded with veggies that the kids wont even realise are in there (more on that in my next post on kids and fussy eating) and 2.  It tastes delicious (I'd love to hear if you think so too) and is all natural (especially when using the Thermomix vegetable stock concentrate!).  You really don't need to use those jars of pasta sauce any more!

We actually had this for dinner tonight and the stars seemed to have aligned because the boys were having a ball entertaining themselves this afternoon, so I decided to make the pasta from scratch too!!  Well, actually it sounds a lot more fancy than it really is.  The Thermomix mixes and kneads the flour, eggs and olive oil into a pasta dough in just two minutes so the most laborious part is rolling the pasta through the pasta machine, which I actually find quite cathartic!!  And what got me really excited (!!) was popping out to my herb garden to add the final touch to my sauce, freshly picked basil and oregano.  Seriously satisfying.  Oh, and when Liam gave me the 'well done Mum this tastes amazing', well, that was the definition of an awesome day!

So anyway, here is the recipe, both Thermomix and non-Thermomix methods!  I hope it becomes your 'family recipe' just as it is ours.

Ingredients:

2 carrots, chopped in 3 for TMX or finely grated 
1 zucchini, chopped in 3 for TMX or finely grated
1 onion, peeled and halved for TMX or finely diced
5 mushrooms, left whole for TMX or finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole for TMX or finely chopped
30g olive oil
450g minced beef (or half half mix of minced beef and pork)
1-2 tbs TMX vegetable stock puree or 2 tsp commercial vegetable or chicken stock
70g dry white wine
150-200g tomato paste
1 tin tomato puree (or crushed tomatoes if you prefer)
1 handful fresh basil and oregano leaves, finely sliced  (or 1 tbs each of dried basil and oregano)

TMX Method:

1. Place carrots, zucchini, onion, mushrooms and garlic in TM bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 7.
2. Add oil and minced meat and cook for 10 minutes at Varoma temperature on Reverse + speed 1.
3. Add remaining ingredients except for herbs (if using dried, add now) and cook for 20 minutes at 100 degrees Celsius on Reverse + speed soft. 
4. Stir through fresh herbs if using and serve. (or place in Thermoserver to keep hot)
5. Serve with cooked pasta of your choice.

Traditional Method:

1. Heat oil in frypan on medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until onion is transparent, taking care not to colour the garlic too much.
2. Add the meat and brown, breaking up into a fine crumb.
3. Add wine and allow to reduce slightly.
4. Add the remaining veggies, stir through, then add remaining ingredients (except herbs if using fresh).
5. Simmer for at least 20 minutes but the longer it cooks the richer the flavours become.  Add water if needed.
6. Serve with cooked pasta of your choice.

 I tend not to cook with precise measurements a lot of the time but I've done my best to quantify everything here!  Sometimes I might add a stick or two of celery, you could change the herbs if you have others you prefer, red wine instead of white, or even add some chopped prosciutto when browning the meat.

Now don't mind my bad food styling for this pic!  By this stage the boys were screaming at my feet for food so there was no time for pretty placement of noodles ( ;  If you are reading this Donna Hay, I would style it MUCH better for your magazine!!! (One can dream!)

Bon appetite ( :

UPDATE - 27th April 2012
If anyone was inspired to make fresh pasta, I just wanted to let you know I saw K-Mart (Australia) are selling pasta makers for just $15!  Not endorsing or recommending as I haven't used one but if nothing else its an affordable way of trialling pasta making in your house and if you really get into it, perhaps the more expensive Italian models will then feel more feasible!  And funnily enough, the other night I gave Dan shop bought pasta cause I only thought I had enough fresh left for the boys (poor Dan I know!) but then there was enough fresh for him to have a second serve.  He said the bought spaghetti was noticeably more salty which isnt a word he would have thought to describe it previously.  Interesting (and scary) how our taste buds adapt....  

Icecream in the Thermomix

I know I know.  Its no longer the season for ice cream you say.  Well, I have a sneaking suspicion there is someone out there who thinks, like me, that ice cream is a food for all seasons, not to be restricted to just a few warmer months in the year!  And its a great base for incorporating fruits and flavours of the season - quince, rhubarb, mandarin, apple, pear, caramel, cinnamon, star anise in the cooler months and berries, stone fruits, mango, lychee, lime, mint, in the warmer months.
Having made my own ice cream on and off for many years now after purchasing an ice cream maker back in my early twenties, it was always quite a process, making the custard base then having to wait for it to chill before churning it and chilling again.  Now I can be quite impatient but when my oldest son, Liam, started helping me in the kitchen (with much enthusiasm) I pulled the old ice cream maker out and suggested we make some, knowing full well his patience wouldn't stretch to cooking, chilling and then churning before he could taste the fruits of his labour!!  So it got me thinking of a more simple recipe.  I've tweaked it here and there to get it to a result I am now really happy with!  Now prior to my Thermomix purchase, I was using a blender which was giving me an ice cream that had good viscosity for the first night or so after making it but then seemed to get too hard to scoop after that, and would often crystalise.  Enter the Thermomix!!  The unmatchable power in the whipping action of the Thermomix has now provided me with an ice cream texture that matches that of any commercial ice cream, Sara Lee, Connoisseur, you name it.  And with only 4 ingredients!      
I've put the basic recipe below (and flavour ideas below that!) and although you will get to know that I generally cook by my senses rather than measurements, I have tried to quantify the ingredients for you.
Oh and perhaps now is a good time to say that I believe everything is good in moderation!  So yes you do use full fat cream and condensed milk and yes condensed milk does have sugar in it but this is something you eat a small amount of and savour it! And probably the best thing about making your own ice cream, just like anything, is that you know what is in it and you are avoiding all those nasty additives.  OK, now for the recipe!

Mels no fuss Thermomix ice cream

500ml cream (I just use the thickened stuff but I'm sure the pure cream would work just as well)
1 tin condensed milk (I tend to use slightly less than a whole tin but the sweetness level is up to you)
2 eggs (free range organic give a lovely rich, creamy colour and are obviously the more ethical choice)
1-2tsp vanilla extract

1.  Secure butterfly into Thermomix jug.  Add all ingredients and whip on speed 4 for a few minutes (2-3) until you get a thick, glossy consistency.
Keep your eye on it to avoid over-whipping and curdling it/turning it into 'butter'!

2.  Prepare your ice cream maker according to instructions and pour mixture into the machine.  Churn as per manufactures recommendations.  I have an old Philips machine which I set on the soft serve setting and let it churn until it really starts to labour (probably 10 minutes past when the light starts flashing).
3.  Work quickly to get the ice cream out into a freezer proof container and place immediately in the freezer.
It can be served immediately or leave to set even more for a few hours.

If you don't have an ice cream machine you could freeze the mixture after its time in the Thermomix and once quite firm but not frozen solid, take it out of the freezer and cut it into rough pieces, quickly blending it again on speed 7 or 8 for 20 seconds then return to the freezer. 

Flavour ideas:

1.  Any fruit, chopped roughly or pureed - your choice.  Just be mindful that due to the high water content in most fruits, a degree of crystalisation will most likely affect the ice cream.  The fruit can either be mixed through the ice cream in the mixing process or afterwards the fruit can be swirled through before placing in the freezer.
2.  Go for some texture by smashing up some nut toffee (easily made yourself) and good quality chocolate and swirling through.
3.  Apple crumble - saute some diced apples with brown sugar and cinnamon until soft but still holding shape.  Chill and stir through ice cream.  Just prior to serving sprinkle over crumble (mix oats, shredded coconut, flour, butter and raw sugar into small clumps.  Scatter onto paper lined baking tray and bake in 180 degree oven for 10 minutes or until browned.  Allow to cool then break up into a crumble consistency)   
4.  Toasted coconut and banana - Place shredded coconut on baking tray and place in 180 degree oven until browned.  Alternatively brown in frypan.  Cool.  Stir through ice cream with small chunks of organic banana.