Thermomix Chicken Cubes Potato Stew

Ingredients:

1. 4 large potatoes (peeled and cut into 4 parts)
2. 600gm chicken breasts (cut into cube size)
3. Sunflower oil (or any other cooking oil which suits you)
4. 1 teaspoon of sea-salt
5. 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
6. White pepper (optional)
7. 3 stalks of chives/spring onion (the green part) chopped into fine pieces
8. 500gm water
9. Cornstarch (or potato/tapioca starch)

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1. Pour the cooking oil into the TMX jug.

2. Set 2mins/Varoma/Reverse spoon.

3. Add the potatoes, water, sea-salt, maple syrup and cornstarch.
    (Do not add the chicken cubes at this stage as they will be broken up. The dish will not end up with chicken cubes!)

4. Set 25min/Varoma/Reverse spoon.

5. Once 10 mins have passed, add the chicken cubes through the hole in the lid. Cover back the hole with the MC.

6. If you want the potatoes to be softer, then add another 5 minutes.

7. Pour the dish into a serving dish and garnish with the chopped spring onions/chives.

Bon appetit!

THINK DIRTY!

I found this app and thought that it was very apt for people like me!

It's called 'THINK DIRTY'.

It lists down the ingredients of beauty products and their information on whether they are safe to be used or not.

You can scan the barcode of the products you have in your house and compare it with the list that they have in their database.

This product is a no-no. 

Nellie's laundry soda is clean!

Thermomix Sourdough Bread

(I used the TMX baguette recipe for this.)

Ingredients:
1. 330gm water
2. +/-500gm high protein bread flour
3. 150gm sourdough starter
4. Salt

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1. Place water into TMX jug and set 2min/37C/speed 2.

2. Add the flour, salt and sourdough starter and knead for 3 mins.

3. Place the dough into a bowl and let it rise.

4. Once it has risen, punch it back down and place it in the fridge for 24 hours.

5. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

6. Take out the dough from the fridge and knock the dough back down and place it on the baking tray. Allow it to rise for another 2 hours. Using a sharp knife, cut some lines on the top of the dough.

7. Preheat oven at 250C.

8. Bake for approximately 35mins or until golden brown.

9. Allow to cool.

Bon appetit!

Sourdough Starter

Ingredients:

1. Ground wheat (100gm)
2. Kefir grains and kefir water (150gm)

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I bought organic winter wheat groats and used the TMX to grind them.

I then added 100gm of this to the 150gm of kefir water and kefir grains to start the sourdough starter.

It multiplied at such rapid speed that I had to place the jar in the fridge as I couldn't keep up.

Once it expands, remove half in this jar and add another 100gm wheat and 150gm of kefir water again. (You can keep the amount you have removed in another jar. You can use it for pancakes or bread.)

Repeat this process for about a week or two.

Your sourdough starter will be ready to be used.

Year of the Oink

Once upon a time, there was a pig who went by the name of Oink. Oink was chubby, pinkish and piggish just like any other pig. Oink had a big heart (and tummy) and was well-liked and loved by almost everyone on the Farm except for one animal. It was the Red Hen.

Red Hen could not stand the sight of Oink as to her, he was filthy, fat and had no class whatsoever. She was mean-spirited, smug, bitchy and bossy as she felt that she was the epitome of perfection. Red Hen thought very highly of herself. She constantly pruned and preened herself. She saw herself as the perfect picture of class! Everyone else was below her.

Red Hen refused to let her little chicks play with Oink in the mud even though they adored him. She told them that they do not mix with the lower caste. Furthermore, Oink was unclean. 

Years went by and Oink became chubbier, pinker and BIGGER. Red Hen became, well, bitchier.

Every year, each animal would take turns to host the barn festival. This year was Oink’s turn.

The animals hung up the banner at the barn which said ‘The Year of the Oink!’ There were lots of food and games. Laughter filled the air. The atmosphere was joyous and warm. 

Suddenly a gust of cold wind blew in. At the door of the barn, stood an emaciated looking creature. It then collapsed.

All of the animals rushed to it (except for Red Hen of course). It was so sickly and thin that no one could recognise it. Oink then realised that it was Alfie! He was Oink’s cousin from another farm many, many miles away. With whatever strength that was left, Alfie told them that he had come to warn them of the drought that had come so suddenly. Then came the long-famine. Almost all the farm animals where Alfie lived had died. 

Alfie then died.

A sense of doom blanketed over the party.

Red Hen cackled so hard that she turned purple. Drought?! They had rain! Their land was ripe and flourishing. 

Red Hen laughed at the look of despair on the faces of the animals. She believed that she was Miss Lucky and no bad thing could happen to her. She brought luck to everyone! What nonsense had Alfie talked about? Besides, he was Oink’s cousin. The low caste creatures. Who knows he could have lied to get free food from them! 

Everyone told Red Hen to shut up and to show some respect.

Red Hen snorted. No one could tell her what to do. 

She strutted out of the barn and clucked at the top of her voice that nothing bad could happen to her. She was untouchable!

The days then started to become dry. Rain became scarce. Slowly, the land became barren. Drought set in. Dry winds brought news from other farms that the long-famine had struck.

The animals were feeling jittery. They had never experience a famine before. What would they do if the land that they lived on could no longer feed them? The food in the barn house would slowly but surely run out. Gloom and despair began to set in.

Red Hen blamed Oink’s cousin Alfie. She blamed Oink too. If it had been the Year of the Chicken, this wouldn’t have happened. Oink had brought upon this curse. He was the cursed one.

The long-famine came, and things were bearable until one day. Father Farmer had a bad fall. He was bedridden and the help that he had hired stole the food that he had stored and ran away.

Father Farmer became weaker and weaker. Without Father Farmer, all the animals knew that they would die.

What should do they do?

Oink looked at everyone. All of them had begun to show signs of starvation. Red Hen even took to eating whatever she could scavenge from the ground. She even snatched whatever her chicks found right from their beaks. She took anything from anyone whenever she could. So much for good luck.

Oink thought deep and hard for a week. He then made up his mind. He went to see Father Farmer for one last time. He nuzzled his head on Father Farmer’s hand. Father Farmer was so gaunt looking. He could barely move. He had not eaten in a while now. Oink licked Father Farmer’s hand and face. Father Farmer gave him a faint smile. Oink then left.

Oink started the machine. The machine roared to life. Oink took one last look around the barn and the farm and then he walked into the machine.

5 years later...

The farm survived the long-famine. And that was because of Oink’s sacrifice. His whole chubby body fed the farm. Father Farmer sold some parts of Oink in exchange for hay, grass and grains. The rest of Oink was frozen. Father Farmer regained his strength and became well. On the first anniversary of Oink's death, he miraculously found an underground well on his land which was at the location of Oink’s pig pen.

Every 12 years, on the day of Oink's ultimate sacrifice, Father Farmer would have a big feast and celebrate with spectacular fireworks show in remembrance of what Oink did for them.

What happened to the Red Hen? She was now old but she was still as mean-spirited, smug, bossy and bitchy as ever. One day while she was pruning and preening herself as usual, she heard a peculiar sound. Curiosity got the best of her. She hopped up her chicken coup to try to pinpoint the source of the sound when she tripped, slipped off the roof and hit her head on the ground. Her chicks didn’t bother about her. They stepped all over her head and body. Mrs Duck just waddled away. The horses just continued neighing. The farm dogs did not even blink at her direction. As she lay there dying, a snake slithered in, bit her and pulled her out into the woods.

What was that peculiar sound? It was the squealing of a dozen piglets!

*Happy Chinese New Year everyone!*

*picture taken from HERE