As eager as I was to try out the Thermomix, I knew it was probably best to take baby steps. I had just been to Valerie’s house where she whipped up four dishes in no time but Valerie’s a pro when it comes to this machine, and I was a neophyte.
I needed to go easy. I also needed to wrap my head around weighing food instead of using measurments like cups and litres. By weighing ingredients, you get true measurements.

I already had a couple of duck breasts ready to go into a fry pan, but I needed a side dish. We’re big fans of cauliflower puree, a really easy side to prepare. The My Way of Cooking cookbook that Valerie loaned me had a recipe for potato and vegetable puree. Perfect. I’d be able to use a few things I had taking up space in my pantry.

The Thermomix has a built in scale. Of course it does. It has everything else, why should a built in scale surprise you? This makes weighing ingredients easy – zero out the machine with one push of a button and off you go. Put the veggies in the basket (the Varoma receptacle is the official name) and steam for about 18 minutes. I cut them into fairly small pieces which required less steaming time than what the recipe stated. While that was taking place, my duck sizzled on the stove.

Transfer vegetables to the mixing bowl, add milk and nutmeg, cook and blend for a couple minutes then puree for about 20 seconds. Voila. Easy peasy.

A super simple, healthy side dish to accompany our meal. Total time including prep: 25 minutes.

A final note: You could alter the potato and vegetable puree recipe to make baby food. Choose your own ingredients…organic, seasonal or straight from your garden. There would be no preservatives and one batch would make several servings that you could freeze and have on hand. Feeding baby would be easier on your time, your budget and your conscience.