Author: Marina

hot cross buns with a marzipan centre

hot cross buns with a marzipan centre

Traditional hot cross buns with a twist! Your favourite Easter bun with the addition of dried cranberries and a marzipan centre.

hot cross bun shortbread

hot cross bun shortbread

Fortnum & Mason hot cross bun shortbread make for a great change to the usual Easter fare. I have converted the recipe for Thermomix.

caramel bliss balls

caramel bliss balls

Craving a sweet treat but want something on the healthier side? These little balls will hit the spot. They are also great for a breakfast on the run. The protein powder is optional.

choc mint protein balls

choc mint protein balls

No need to buy store bought protein balls or bars when you can make them at home. There are a variety of different textures and flavours available at local supermarkets, health food stores and at shopping centre juice bars but nothing beats homemade.

seed nut crunch with nori from sweetveg.org

seed nut crunch with nori from sweetveg.org

Delicious seed and nut crunch – so many flavours and so many different textures. This can be adapted to be FODMAPS friendly by replacing almonds with macadamia nuts.

Heston’s banana bacon cookies

Heston’s banana bacon cookies

Both Craig and I are huge fans of Heston and his scientific approach to cooking. We have his Heston at Home cookbook and have made these bacon & banana cookies before. This time I decided to convert them for the Thermomix. They are a great combination of sweet and savoury with a biscuit crunch.

Easter chocolate treats

Easter chocolate treats

With Easter just around the corner I have started making Easter treats for my family hampers. I really do enjoy experimenting with flavours and textures in different types of chocolate.

nougat chocolate

nougat chocolate

I am a chocolate lover and a nougat lover. Toblerone is one of my favourite chocolate treats and I have discovered it is very easy to make it yourself.

tamarind, date and nut muffins

tamarind, date and nut muffins

My mother is a fan of all things Royal and several years ago I cut out a recipe for Date and Walnut loaf from a local newspaper which is the inspiration for these tamarind muffins.

honey soy chicken marinade

honey soy chicken marinade

Chicken marinated in a mix of honey and soy with a few extras tastes great especially grilled on the barbecue. Whether it be chicken thighs, wings or breasts this honey soy marinade works a treat. Throw in some chopped chilli if you like the heat!

flourless peanut chocolate biscuits

flourless peanut chocolate biscuits

Martha Stewart’s flourless peanut chocolate cookies were the inspiration for these gluten free biscuits and they taste as good as they sound! I have made them a few times with some minor changes to Martha’s recipe and converted the recipe for Thermomix.

cashew, coconut and honey slice

cashew, coconut and honey slice

Cashew, coconut, honey. Three ingredients blended for 20 seconds makes a delicious natural, no bake and gluten free slice with the option to be dairy free too!

cauliflower ‘potato’ salad

cauliflower ‘potato’ salad

If you aren’t eating potato for whatever reason or you’re looking for a change but still want to enjoy a creamy mayonnaise salad, cauliflower is a great alternative. I used my regular potato salad dressing recipe and added it to some steamed cauliflower and it was delicious.

mint choc chip ice cream

mint choc chip ice cream

My favourite type of ice cream! Mint choc chip ice cream made at home with coconut cream. You can make it with regular cream or, if you’re on a dairy free diet, you can use coconut condensed milk.

green smoothie

green smoothie

I love a breakfast smoothie and a green smoothie is even better! By adding protein powder, spinach and baby kale to my smoothie there is no need for snacks.

white chocolate macadamia slice

white chocolate macadamia slice

Cooking for busy mums’ choc chip slice with white chocolate and macadamia nuts
This is my favourite chocolate chip slice recipe. It is so easy to make in the Thermomix when you are able to melt butter and mix the ingredients all in the one bowl.

white chocolate and caramalised cacoa nibs

white chocolate and caramalised cacoa nibs

I love making Easter chocolate treats for my family. My favourite chocolate is white chocolate and I have also been a huge cookies and cream fan. However since going gluten free I haven’t been able to eat it and it’s the one thing I haven’t tried to replicate. Until now!

broccoli salad

broccoli salad

One of my favourite salads to make in the Thermomix is a broccoli salad from the recipe community. Broccoli, apple and capsicum with a honey, mustard and vinegar dressing. It is the easiest thing to pop all the ingredients into the TM bowl and let the machine do the work. Over the years I have added to the recipe and made a few changes.

banana cherry bread

banana cherry bread

When bananas start to brown I pop them in the freezer to use in smoothies or for baking. While my go to is normally plain banana bread I like to mix things up around Christmas time and make banana cherry bread when cherries are in season.

pretzel, cranberry, white chocolate bark

pretzel, cranberry, white chocolate bark

Yummy pretzel, cranberry and white chocolate bark. sweet, salty, sour, crunchy – delicious! Makes 3-4 gift sized serves. The chocolate bark recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.