Thermomix - Vanilla Glazed Hot Cross Buns

These are basically the Hot Cross Buns from the Every Day Cookbook (EDC), with a couple of tweaks:

I replaced the lemon peel with orange peel, as I think its a little sweeter and works better with the spices in the buns.  I also added vanilla to the glaze, because I have a jar of sugar that I add my vanilla beans to if a recipe calls for the seeds and not the pods - you could get the same flavour by adding the seeds from 1/4 vanilla bean or adding a little vanilla bean paste to the glaze ingredients.  And I didn't have any currants or other fruit on hand so I only put sultanas in.

I separated a third of the dough before adding the sultanas in order to make fruitless buns, as I don't like dried fruit much.

Its a little fiddly because it takes so long proving and has multiple proves, but was worth it.  They smell AMAZING while baking, the whole house smelled lovely.

Fortnightly Meal Plan I (Fri 2 May 2014 - Thurs 15 May 2014)

I've decided to start posting our fortnightly meal plans, as I seem to be discussing them frequently on Facebook and a few forums.  I use my Thermomix most days at least once, though often not in dinner preparation but for smoothies and snacks, cooking for my baby.  I will mark Thermomix recipes with a (TMX).

Our family grocery budget is $150 per fortnight.  Not per week - per fortnight.  Although its blown out slightly in the initial phase of introducing food to our baby.  Every now and then I see a thread on Facebook or a forum asking how much folks spend on their shops and people seem stunned that our shop is this cheap.

I usually plan meals at the start of the fortnight that use fresh herbs, salad leaves, fruit or veg that would spoil swiftest, and meals toward the end that use vegetables that last well eg (potato, onion, pumpkin), comes tinned (crushed tomato, corn, beans) or frozen (peas, beans, corn), and uses herbs that I grow (currently lemongrass, tarragon, rosemary, oregano, thyme).

Without further ado, here's this fortnight's meal plan:

Friday - Chilli con carne (TMX - Cooking for your Baby & Toddler) served in taco cups (TMX tortillas - Steph Berg)
Saturday - Octopus & Haloumi salad (based on the recipe from Taste.com.au)
Sunday - Roast Chicken with roast veg and salad
Monday - Oven Tray Fajitas (made with leftover TMX tortillas - Steph Berg)
Tuesday - Lentil & Roast Veg Salad with Pork Belly
Wednesday - Broccoli & Blue Cheese Soup (TMX - Choothefat's Thermomix Adventures)
Thursday - Beef and feta burgers

Friday - Steak, cheesy rice and salad
Saturday - Afternoon tea for dinner (a platter of veg sticks, fruit, crackers, cheese and cold meat)
Sunday - Chicken parmigiana and coleslaw
Monday - Singapore noodles (Save with Jaime)
Tuesday - Salmon patties and salad
Wednesday - Grated rainbow salad with feta and sesame fritters (Save with Jaime)
Thursday - Spaghetti & meatballs

Snacks and desserts:
Mini Cherry pies (Based on recipe Taste.com.au, made in muffin pan with pastry made in TMX)
Carrot & pineapple muffins (Based on recipe from Taste.com.au, made in TMX without icing and baked in muffin pan)
Lactation Biscuits (Peaceful Parenting)
Slow cooker fruit pudding
Pumpkin ice cream (TMX)

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some recipes and photos.