This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
At Annabel and Grace, we firmly believe that we are not too old to do things or embrace new experiences and this applies just as much to our husbands or partners. I decided that it was time for my husband to get involved in the kitchen though he does make the best egg mayonnaise!
I am extremely spoilt because many years ago my husband bought me a Thermomix® and more recently he upgraded my old Thermomix® to a TM6. I absolutely love my Thermomix®. Apart from cooking brilliant recipes via Cookidoo (more about that later) but it has become my assistant chef and makes cooking so much easier.
For those of you who don’t know what a Thermomix® is; it’s a blender that also cooks and stirs your food at adjustable temperatures and speeds. It also comes with a built-in scale, a steamer attachment, and a touchscreen that will walk you through recipes for everything from mushroom risotto to meringues.
It connects through your wifi to Cookidoo which is a recipe resource with all recipes arranged specifically for your Thermomix. You can create your own recipe collections so that they are just a click away. It will also add the ingredients to your online shopping bag with Ocado or similar. It is simply a brilliant kitchen gadget and is used in many professional kitchens and restaurants.
Making sauces or gravy has never been simpler and one of the great advantages is that you can leave something cooking with no concern that it will burn. For example, dicing an onion and frying it in the Thermomix® means it will not burn so you don’t have to keep stirring or checking. Mondays during the winter have become soup days with any leftover vegetables. It chops, cooks and then liquidises them to a smooth soup – job done in about 40 mins.
I am also a great fan of the Varoma option as I can steam fish and vegetables for a really healthy meal. Also cooking rice in the basket means it comes out perfectly – no more stodgy mess, rice stuck to the bottom of the pan etc.
This Christmas my girlfriend, Jane (The Page Turner), and I gave our husbands a Thermomix® cookery lesson with Janie Turner, the Thermomix® Queen. As our husbands had bought us both a Thermomix® we thought they might be wondering why this piece of equipment costs so much. A lesson would demonstrate all the Thermomix® skills to them. We also went along for the fun and I wanted Janie to show me how to make meringues in the Thermomix®.
The boys made Sous-vide Rare Beef Steak with Bernaise sauce and some Mojito cocktails. Meanwhile, Jane and I made a Chocolate Beetroot Cake and Raspberry and Chocolate Swirl Pavlova. It was all delicious and the boys were hooked.
My husband came home and decided to host a mini-dinner party and cook duck with blackberry sauce and celeriac mash. Once again it was a triumph and since then he has been fighting me to get to the Thermomix®.
I think men love the Thermomix® because it sets the temperature and the time and you just have to weigh the ingredients into the bowl and turn the speed dial to the correct setting. On that note, you cannot turn it past the correct setting so another clever addition to make sure nothing is ruined.
The latest addition to Cookidoo is the opportunity to turn your own favourite recipes into a Thermomix® recipe and add it to your collection stored online.
Finally, it is so easy to clean, either in the dishwasher, by hand, or it has its own cleaning system so you just pop some water and detergent in the bowl and turn it to the washing setting and minutes later you have a clean bowl.
I think you may have gathered that I love my Thermomix® however, it is expensive and you have to be someone who will be seriously committed to using it. The more you use it the more versatile and useful it will become in your kitchen.
I have recently purchased the attachment for £30 which is great for peeling potatoes and is needed for the sous-vide Beef steaks.
When Grace was over this week I cooked Salmon and Leek Parcel with New Potatoes – see the recipe here. If you don’t have a Thermomix® this recipe could easily be made without one, however so much simpler with one!
Click HERE to see the recipe.
If you would like a demonstration by Janie Turner, in your home or on Zoom, please contact her by email Also you can follow her on Instagram or on Facebook.