Thermomix Menu Planning & Updates & Restaurant Review!

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I've had a chance to get any blogging done, so there's lots of news to share!  If you're looking for the menu plan, scroll down past all the photos and you'll find it somewhere at the bottom... Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the photos and news update! :)

Two weeks ago I flew to Perth to do my Junior Group Leader training for Thermomix.  What an amazing week! On the way we stopped off at Ayers Rock (Uluru) for a quick look (my girls were with me, as they were going to stay with Nana and Poppy in Perth for the week) - what a beautiful place... I was amazed by the colours and wished we had more time there...

It was difficult getting Miss C back on the plane - she really wanted to keep chasing birds, catching grasshoppers, climbing trees, and playing in the red sand!

We finally made it to Perth, the girls went off to Nana's and I got to meet lots of lovely Thermomix ladies over dinner, at a restaurant near our resort. It was a bit of an exhausting first day - I was up for 22 of the first 24 hours!  Actually, we had a lot of late nights, but it was worth it... We had a great week, learnt heaps, met some great people, made lots of new friends from all over Australia (and New Zealand), and were totally inspired! 

Room-mates! Vanessa, me & Bronwyn

Sandy & Tina

Julie & Rene

Yvonne & me

What a wonderful bunch of people belong to the Thermomix world... All the consultants and group leaders I met love their job, and I didn't meet anyone who thought of it as 'just a job' - even the staff at the office love their Thermomixes and were happy to have a chat about what they'd been cooking - it wasn't 'just a job' to them either! I was very impressed by the atmosphere at head office - everyone was so friendly. What a great company to work for.

I stayed a few extra days, as I was running an Allergy Friendly Cooking Class at the Thermomix headquarters on the Friday night, so I was able to go along to the 10th Anniversary celebration for Thermomix in Australia on the Friday morning. That was really exciting - it was great to hear Grace (the lovely lady who brought Thermomix to Australia) tell how it all started, and how it was a good five years before there was much interest, and how quickly it's growing now! Did you know there are over 35,000 Thermomix owners in Australia now?? Wow! And we are the fastest growing distributor in the world, so watch out world, here we come! Grace's energy and passion are catching, and I love her attitude - in her speech she said, "It's all about customer care... We don't teach our consultants 'selling skills'. The product sells itself. We teach consultants 'people skills', and that's really important."

Happy 10th Anniversary, 

Thermomix Australia!!!

Grace presenting bouquets to the three consultants 

who've been with Thermomix for the whole 10 years! 

Anne, Zofia & Karin

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We had a lot of fun at my Allergy Friendly Cooking Class on the Friday night - the ladies who helped were wonderful, and it all went smoothly. Except for the chocolate mousse mixture turning to jelly before it got drizzled into the egg whites, because I forgot to take it out of the freezer where it was cooling - lol. But Anne and Meagan sorted it out, so it worked in the end. (Thanks guys!) :)  It was great to meet lots of the people I often talk to on the Thermomix forum and my blog - a lovely bunch of Thermomix addicts who I would've loved to have spent more time with!  Here's a few photos of the class...

Chatting before the class...

(Meagan & Anne working hard in the background!)

I absolutely LOVED the kitchen - there are cameras over the two Thermomixes which show what you're doing on a screen overhead!  It's so good when you've got a crowd - they can all see what's going into the bowl, and what you're doing... only thing is, they can also see any mistakes you make!! Ha ha...

Me cooking, Anne explaining...

Making the gluten free pizza bases...

Thanks again to all of you who came along - I loved meeting you all, and I definitely want to come back to Perth again - loved every minute!  If you'd like to try any of the recipes I made at the class, they're listed here on the Thermomix Recipe Community, with links to each recipe.

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"The Greenhouse" restaurant, Perth

One of the highlights of my week in Perth was getting to go to "The Greenhouse" for dinner!!! Ever since Matt Stone went up against Neil Perry on Iron Chef, I've been dying to go to his restaurant - partly because they use the Thermomix there (yay!), but also because I just thought Matt was so amazing and innovative in his cooking and his way of presenting his dishes. (I still think he should have won!) So when I found out I was off to Perth for training, I was determined to get there... and a few others had the same idea, so on our night off we took a taxi into the city to visit The Greenhouse.  And you'll never guess what we saw as we walked in...

They were using the Thermomix!! YIPPEEE!! Of course, we were all jumping around like silly schoolgirls, calling out to the chefs and asking them what they were doing and what they used their Thermomix for, and how many they have*, and telling them we'd come all the way from the East coast to check out their restaurant, and taking photos and videos... they thought it was pretty funny, and enjoyed all the attention. :D

Unfortunately, Matt wasn't there, as he'd gone to Sydney to set up a 'pop-up' Greenhouse restaurant that will be open for only 10 weeks - so if you live down that way, don't miss it!  It's at 'The Rocks', Sydney harbour, open Mon - Sat (7:30 - Midnight) Sunday (10am - Midnight), for only a few more weeks. Check out this video of the pop-up restaurant, designed by Joost - it is SO cool! *(They only have one tmx in each restaurant, but they wish they had more, and Matt wants one at home - someone give him one!!)

Us at The Greenhouse - Front: Denise, Bronwyn & Vanessa; 

Back: me, Amanda, Rochelle & Sue

They grind their own grains and make their own breads at The Greenhouse (and the flatbread I ate was delicious - I wonder if they'd give me the recipe if I ask for it...)  Everything's rustic and recycled, and the theme is 'waste not, want not' - even the toilets are water-saving, and the hand towels are calico squares that get washed, not chucked in the bin!

Yummy wholegrain breads...

A wood-fired oven for cooking the breads & pizzas...

An interesting water jug...

The food was brought out on wooden boards, about 5 or 6 courses, and we all shared... we ended up paying about $30 each for the main meal, and we were all very full! Although we did manage to fit in a little bit of dessert :) Here's a few of the dishes we had... (Sorry the photos aren't too good - the light was very low, and I only have a little 'point & shoot' camera...)

An amazing dish of chorizo sausages, fried croutons, piquillo peppers, and a slow cooked egg that you mix in as a 'dressing'; and chickpea falafel in the background - so yum!  

Babaganoush (lovely smoky flavour) with whole grain flat bread

Polenta & poppy seed crusted cuttlefish 

with iceberg lettuce and a dressing

The BEST slow cooked lamb shoulder, with flat breads, 

and a salad topped with slivers of pickled onion, and aioli

It was all just delicious! And the atmosphere was great - a very friendly, helpful waitress, friendly chefs, and a great group of friends to enjoy the experience with. :)  What a great restaurant! Anytime I'm in Perth, I'll be going there again, for sure.

Me & Vanessa at The Greenhouse

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So now I'm back home trying to get into the swing of things as the Group Leader for the Atherton Tablelands and Cassowary Coast... It's an exciting new focus for me, and I'll be working on building a team of great consultants up here, so if you'd like to join us please let me know! I love this job, and I know a lot of you Thermomix addicts would love it too. :D

This week is already flying by, so before it gets too far along I'd better post my menu plan! It helps keep me on track, and makes cooking for my family a lot easier. Here's my plan for this week... Keep in touch, and I hope you all have a great week. :)

[tmx = prepared and/or cooked in the Thermomix]

Monday:

(lunch) Chicken & vege soup (tmx)

(dinner) Grandma's chicken/beef pot pie (tmx) & chocolate pudding (tmx) - G'ma made dinner for us :)

Tuesday:

(lunch) Pasta e Fagioli (tmx) - a family favourite, quick & easy

(dinner) Cabbage Patch Soup (tmx) - a cabbage & mince soup topped with mashed potatoes

Wednesday:

(lunch) Koftas (tmx - Indian cookbook) with garlic quinoa (tmx) & salad

(dinner) Steak/hamburgers & salad

Thursday:

(lunch) Oriental Coleslaw (tmx) with Lime, Chilli & Garlic Fish & baked potatoes

(dinner) Gluten free olive & sun-dried tomato foccacia (tmx - using my gf pizza base recipe) & leftovers

Friday:

(lunch) Lamb stew (tmx)

(dinner) Leftover stew in steamed buns (tmx - steamed in Varoma)

Saturday:

(lunch) Tuna a la King (tmx) on brown rice (tmx)

(dinner) Roast chicken & veges (gravy in tmx)

Sunday:

(lunch) Pie made with leftover roast (tmx)

(dinner) Leftovers/sandwiches (bread & mayo made in tmx)