vegetable stock concentrate

this is a new thing for me, and a new favourite. i've always made my own stock because i've always felt a bit odd opening a tetra pak stock, or using a cube. making my own stock has also taken precious time and effort....this stock concentrate has revolutionalised my thinking about stock. let me get on with the recipe and you can make your own judgement. the vegetables only need to be chopped roughly as they will be pureed once cooked.

1/2 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 turnip, peeled and chopped
2-3 stalks of celery (i used several of the inside stalks, including the leaves), chopped
a good handful of parsley, chopped
150 grams salt (yes, you read that correctly. it preserves the mix and provides an accent to the mix)

heat the oil in a saucepan large enough to contain the vegetables (which should weigh about a kilogram altogether).
sweat the onion and garlic until soft and slightly coloured.
add the parsnip, turnip, celery, parsley and salt and continue to gently cook the vegetables. the salt will draw out moisture, so the vegetables can soften in their own liquid.
give everything a good stir, lower the heat and place the lid on the pot and allow everything to cook slowly. check every now and then to ensure the vegetables don't catch; once everything is very tender, use the bamix to puree it all.
have some sterilised jars ready and decant the puree into them. place the lids on immediately and invert. once cooled, the jars should be vacuum sealed. store the jars in the refrigerator and use within six months.

that's it. a tablespoon is equivalent to a stock cube. use the mix as you would salt - sparingly and carefully. mixing a spoonful in water will give you instant vegetable stock. in some cases, i've found that i will use it to season food instead of salt and it's just that bit more interesting than seasoning with plain salt. remember not to overdo things because there's alot of salt in the mix, and if you go overboard, whatever you're cooking is going to be mighty salty.
for those of you with a thermomix, you'll recognise it as a thermomix recipe, but i don't see why it should be made exclusively by those with a thermomix; everyone else should try it too.

something simply garlicky

the last few days i've been going through a garlic phase and have been making things with lots of it, and have no doubt been very pongy. since i don't want to be pongy on my own, i'm sharing this recipe, so we can reek together.

hommous

2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g can chick peas, drained, liquid set aside
rind and juice of 1 lemon
a good splash of olive oil
handful of parsley
2 tablespoons tahini

i used to make this with my bamix - i'd throw everything together in a large vegemite or peanut butter jar and blitz away, adding a little of the reserved chick pea liquid if required.
since i now have a thermomix, i put the garlic in first to blitz, then add the other ingredients and blitz until i get the texture i like - it can be as chunky or smooth as you like.

essentially, this is quite a healthy dip and it makes eating raw vegetables very easy.

mayonnaise

i like making mayonnaise with my bamix - it is so easy, it's almost instant.

get hold of a 2 cup capacity container. i have been known to make mayonnaise in peanut butter jars - it's convenient - after the mayonnaise is made, you don't have to tip it into another jar or container, you just put the peanut butter jar lid on, and it's covered. one less thing to wash and isn't that the way to go? so environmentally friendly.
pop 2 egg yolks or a whole egg into the jar and blitz until the egg is nice and frothy.
keeping the motor running, start drizzling your favourite oil into the jar (your favourite oil might be olive, canola, rice bran...although i do find using all extra virgin olive oil very strong - i just use a combination sometimes). keep drizzling until the mayonnaise becomes nice and thick and luscious.....that egg will absorb about a cup of oil, so be prepared. i admit the first time i made mayonnaise, i found it really difficult to keep adding oil, but believe me, you have to do it...you have to go all the way, otherwise what you've started will be wasted.....if you can't handle it, don't start at all....
once your mayonnaise is how i've described it (nice and thick and luscious), you can stop adding oil. you can now drizzle in a tablespoon or 2 of lemon juice or tarragon vinegar.
season with a little salt, if you like.

if you want to make aioli, put a peeled clove of garlic into the jar when you're blitzing the egg and continue from there.

my personal favourite is mayonnaise with some sundried tomato in it. i just chop some up and fold it through the mayonnaise. i don't bother with either the lemon juice or vinegar in this case.