a dip with sundried tomatoes and capsicum

my friend, bez, has just opened up her own studio for alternate therapies and invited me to the opening, and i couldn't resist asking if i could bring food. that's me, i can't help it. so from the title you're thinking i brought a dip...but i brought more - little rolls. little rolls about 7 centimetres long and 2 centmetres wide, if you must know. up until the day, i was toying with making pizzettes, passionfruit curd tarts ... anything and everything. it finally dawned on me that unless i make something less fiddly (yet delicious), the party would be over before i even got there. so i made these little rolls, for the first time, and definitely not the last. when the rolls were done, it all looked a bit boring, so to spice things up, i went with a dip. this dip .... because it was so fast (and yummy)!

100 grams sundried tomatoes
1 red capsicum, seeded and cored, cut into chunks
100 grams roasted cashews
50 grams verjuice
50 grams extra virgin olive oil

pop everything into the thermomix bowl and set the dial to close lid position. pulse the turbo button 2-3 times for a second each, or until the dip is the consistency you like.

did you know contribution disappeared even before the party had started? and i made a mountain of rolls and dip...

tomato and cashew dip

this is a really easy dip which takes next to no time in the thermomix. this is one of a medley of dips i have been making; they make a really good snack without too much effort.

1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 clove garlic
a good slurp of olive oil (or the oil from the sundried tomatoes
1 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
50 grams sundried tomatoes
2 medium tomatoes, quartered
pepper to taste

place the onion and garlic into the thermomix bowl and chop for 4 seconds on speed 6.
add the oil and cook for 3 minutes at varoma temperature on speed 1.
add the nuts, tomatoes and pepper and blitz for 20 seconds on speed 6.
cook for 5 minute at 80 degrees celcius on speed 4.

this thickens as it cools and spreads nicely on a nice sturdy slice of bread. this recipe makes enough to fill 2 dip bowls, so i usually pop one in the fridge or pass it onto my neighbour or the next person who comes over.

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.

french onion dip

i can't believe i'm adding this recipe, but add it i must because miss c went to nooms' place and had it and thought it was soooo good. miss c needs to know how to make it in case she has a craving for it one day and doesn't know what to do. isn't it ironic how miss k knows how to make this, but doesn't eat it (she's not into sour cream), while miss c has absolutely no idea about what's in it, let alone make it, but loves it?
this recipe is for the dried packet soup mix, as opposed to the french onion dip which requires onions to be cooked from scratch - i'll post that another day when i am inclined to do so.
laugh away, but this isn't bad for those occasions when you really only want junk, and you really don't want to buy ready made french onion dip, do you, when this is so easy to make yourself?
(hint: this might not be a bad addition to ones repertoire for when schoolies comes around)

1 packet french onion soup (salt reduced, because it's already soooo salty)
1 carton sour cream

combine both ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl with a small whisk until everything is nicely married together. pour into a serving dish, cover and chill until required.
serve with crackers, vegetable sticks or chippies (it's not too bad on baked potatoes either).

corn relish dip by whisks

this is super simple and is super delicious, particularly if you like corn relish. it only takes moments to prepare, so is a great standby for spur of the moment occasions.

1 cup corn relish
2 cups sourcream

mix the corn relish with the sour cream until blended and chill until ready to serve.serve with crackers, or my favourite - potato crisps/chips.