Fast forward a mere handful of weeks, and guess what happens? A brand spanking new, touch screen, larger & quieter Thermomix model is gleefully released via the Thermomix Facebook page/website. For just $50 more, this new model has lots of new features that the TM31 doesn't have... and folks were NOT happy. Why?

Because the new model was kept a secret. Because people asked their consultants, or head office, about this 'rumour' and were constantly assured that this wasn't happening. Because the old model was not reduced, and they could have purchased the newer model for virtually the same price. Because the monetary value of the TM31 dropped almost instantly with customers selling theirs off to ensure they had the newest, shiniest appliance. Because the customer service team at Thermomix issued the same generic statements in regards to all complaints & questions left and seemed to have no compassion as to why their customers were frustrated.

I've seen so many scathing posts from folks online. Why complain, you have a fantastic machine - get over it!

Am I complaining about my machine? No. I love the things I've achieved with my TM31 and will continue to use it regularly in my kitchen. Am I impressed that I can now get this same exact machine on Gumtree or Ebay for almost half of its retail value? Not really. Am I embarrassed to have recommended the product to others, after the dismal way this whole release was handled? Absolutely.

There's something to be said for demonstration-only products. Word of mouth is so, so important. Yes, consultants can pull of a whopping great demonstration and try to sway people into purchasing - but I can tell you right now that the majority of sales come via consumers speaking with their friends, reading reviews online, and watching models in action - especially before committing to an almost 2k sale. I feel that Thermomix has used their existing TM31 customers {myself included} to pimp out their run-out model at FULL PRICE, and then slapped them in the face by introducing the new model with no warning, no remorse, and no care in the world that they've let people down.

So.... my husband is awesome & has bought me the best 30th birthday present ever - AND I got it early, since my birthday isn't until July. We've invested in a Thermomix! What is that, you say? It's a you-beaut cooking machine - and it is all sorts of amazing. It costs a pretty penny, but the idea is that it replaces a whole stack of your other cooking appliances in one machine, and it lasts for a loooooong time.

Since I've had it, I've been experimenting with different recipes and am so happy with how they've turned out. I've made things I would never have normally tried, like my own breads and pastries. It's VERY cool. The first day, I whipped up a garlic & herb pull-apart bread, and some potato & leek soup. Oh, heaven. Over the next couple of days, I also made beef strogonoff, mocha pudding, and veggie soup with some leftover bits & pieces.

They were great! As was the delightful coconut cake I made for morning tea - rough and crunchy and YUM.

I've cooked for a few people {my guinea pigs, haha} since getting the machine, and it's made a great amount - fed six people pretty easily, mostly with leftovers. Since I loved the bread so much, I did it again; this time paired with minestrone soup. Sweet and sour pork meatballs & veggies were our main, followed by sticky date pudding.
It's tough to choose my favourite item cooked, but the lemon meringue pie I made from scratch last night was pretty awesome. The most ridiculously crumbly shortcrust pastry; amazing tart lemon curd; fluffy peaks of meringue.
I'm really enjoying cooking, and the Thermomix is certainly helping me get my mojo back. I've used the Everyday Cookbook that comes with it for a lot of things, but also started dipping my toes into the forums, which are filled with recipes from other owners. Can't wait to see what else it can do!

Have you used a Thermomix before? Any recommendations or favourite recipes that I should try? :)

And we're now back to our scheduled rambling.. with just a dash less whinging. I'm sure the job thing will work itself out eventually - and in the meantime, I'm going to keep looking, keep applying & invest in a few 'lucky' objects to push me in the right direction.

Moving completely along though, I'm doing my best to become a whiz in the kitchen. I don't cook every night - probably every other night? But I'm starting to experiment with different things a little more, and I'm like the results. Jase got a slow cooker from my parents for Christmas {such an awesome gift!... for me) & we broke it in last week - it is delightful! We had guests over for the evening yesterday and I whipped it out again - threw in my apricot chicken go-to recipe, and served it up to rave reviews. I even baked a chocolate cake in two layers! All it needed was some frosting. Plain, simple, chocolate frosting.

Unfortunately, this is my kitchen weakness. I cannot make icing. I've tried the simple icing sugar/liquid/cocoa powder ratio. I've followed recipes to make cream cheese frosting. And last night I experimented with a chocolate and sour cream (!) icing - and it STILL went runny. Apparently all of my cakes are meant to look like drowned, chocolate covered space-ship domed blobs. Lucky they still taste good.

So I have the ultimate question for you: How do you make the perfect frosting? Spill the beans!

I'm one of those girls who would love to be able to cook but who doesn't really have the know-how. Because it's just been the two of us living in our partially-furnished rental apartment here in London, we don't really own any fancy kitchen equipment. We don't even have a mixer or food processor. In fact, the most technological of our appliances are a toasted sandwich machine & a blender; which we inherited from friends when they left the country.

There's never been much point in investing a lot of money into buying new and fancy products because it's not like we can just throw them into our moving van and take them to our next flat when we move: because we'll be moving abroad. Again. So yes, we've been living off limited kitchen resources for the past three years, and this is how it will stay until we move home and stock up our own kitchen! {I'm SO excited to do this, you have no idea.}

We also tend to have fairly basic ingredients in our pantry too; being that there is just the two of us, we buy things that we cook and eat as we go. The past few months have seen me stockpiling basic baking ingredients, but I certainly can't just fling my cupboard or fridge doors open and find certain spices/flavourings/cooking products.

What that means is that I'm constantly on the lookout for simple recipes, using simple ingredients, using single equipment. That's not a lot to ask right? Oh wait, yes, it also needs to be low calorie. Easy, no?

Today I was feeling really uninspired. I was mooching around the apartment and craving something sweet - I tend to get the munchies either in the middle of the afternoon or just after dinner. As you know, I've been following a healthy eating plan for the past few weeks but I don't like to limit myself as to what I can or can't eat.. so it's nice to be able to plan meals in advance when you know what your likely downfalls are going to be. I have a lot of low calories snacks in the house - cheddar oat bakes, low GI chocolate chip oat biscuits, random bits of fruit and even the occasional Cadbury big bar of chocolate. (3 squares of deliciousness = just under 100cals, yes please!)

Today, none of those snacks would do; I wanted something different. I wanted to bake something. So what does any hungry girl on a diet do? Why, she googles, of course. She googles naughty, naughty things and ends up craving all sorts of Sugar! Carbs! Sugar! Starch! Sugar! Did I say Sugar!? Mmm. Baked things. Cakes. Pies. Macaroons. Muffins.

I didn't cave, you guys, because we didn't have the right ingredients to make any of them I am a strong willed healthy machine. But I did still find myself really, really snackish, so kept on looking.

I settled on stewing some apples, thinking that I'd have some of them with custard or yoghurt to satisfy the sweet cravings. Then I got to searching for apple crumble recipes.. and I found one which I adapted to suit my current ingredients & equipment {or lack thereof.} And wouldn't you know, it was pretty darned good. It was super easy to make, it tasted great considering how little was involved, and I made do with my own estimates at amounts.. because er, we don't have kitchen scales and I like/need to be creative with my measurements.

Unfortunately this picture doesn't do it justice either because a) it was the dodgy, fallen-apart piece that I decided to eat {so that Jase could have the nice, NORMAL looking slice, such a good fiancé I am!} and b) it is kind of a blurry iPhone pictures. Bygones.. I'll take a better one next time I make it, promise.

Seeing that I don't use exact measurements, replicating the crumble might be a little bit tricky, but it's worth playing around with if you're so inclined. Here's my take on a simple & easy apple crumble recipe that could serve 2-3 or 4, depending on how much of it you want to shovel into your pie-hole. Mmmm. Pie.

So, I'm on this quest to be healthy, to lose weight and you know, get fertile.. eventually. And as well forcing myself to visit the gym a whole lot more, I've decided to learn to cook. I bought a few cookbooks I'd read good things about - and I picked a few of the first recipes in the book, and off I went. The first recipe? Fish.

I should preface this by saying I hate seafood. Seafood including fish. The only time I'll eat fish is if it's battered and with chips, in the traditional English pub fashion. Other than that? Nope. Never. Yick. The thought of it makes me gag. The boy always makes fun of me but seriously, the thought of eating fish freaks me right out. Even just the smell of seafood. And don't even get me started on the bones inside, because that just creeps me out.

Anyway, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go - because apparently fish is healthy (aren't most awful tasting things?) and I can't have the tastebuds of a seven year old for the rest of my life, can I? (Probably. But that's a whole other blog post. You can make fun of me later.)

So, here's a quick picture recap of my first adventure into cooking - Smoked Haddock parcels with Coconut Rice.

As for the verdict? Well, my rice was pretty freaking amazing, if I may say so myself. Except, as I do, I cooked way too much of it and we ate coconut rice for the next two days, so I don't really want to eat it again soon. As for the fish? Meh. It still tasted like fish, just fish with veggies on top. It wasn't awful but it wasn't great. It wasn't even good. It was just, meh. Jase liked it, but I think I'll have to face it. I just don't do fish.

Have you got any sure-fire easy recipes that this beginner-cook can handle?