Foods from scratch
My boyfriend and I are about to move in together so, since he doesn't cook, for the first time in my life I will have my own kitchen! I love to make things from scratch and I'm really looking forward to finally being able to make stocks, bread, yogurt, etc. from scratch. What are some other "building blocks" type things that I can make? The new kitchen has tons of storage so that's not an issue.
Thanks for the suggestions!
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21 Comments:
Be prepared to make mass quantities of everything - if your bf is anything like mine he will devour everything in sight (seriously, I have to make 'distraction food' to keep him from inhaling food I make for myself for the week to take to work the second it comes out of the oven).
I tried making my own granola recently, and I'm going to do so again soon, as well as granola/powerbars. If you're gung-ho to take on bigger challenges than I, you could try canning or jam/preserve making too! Best of luck !
joyyy at 4:23PM on 07/10/08
Salad dressings from scratch make a huge statement, as do most sauces: I make ketchup, cranberry sauce, horseradish sauce, pesto: both basil and cilantro, fudge sauce, melba sauce, tartar sauce, marinades and rubs all because it all just tastes better than the stuff with the preservatives. My herb garden ties into the recipes I make most often, and the pantry stocks the rest of what I need. My sons are still amazed that I cook from scratch when I can buy all of this at the upscale stores. I cook from love of cooking and from love of them. When someone cooks for you it says they love you.
ocarol at 4:24PM on 07/10/08
Baking of all sorts- homemade cakes, pies, rolls, bread, etc... as well as all the sauces and salad dressings mentioned by ocarol above. My son (who is nine) loves being at home versus his father's house because all the food here is homemade. Even at nine he can tell a world of difference between my lasagna (all homemade... to include the pasta) and his father's frozen excuse for a dinner. Ha! Who would have thought- a cooking post in which I get to speak ill of my ex-husband. Wunderbar! lol
sbelle at 5:26PM on 07/10/08
ocarol - Do you have a recipe for ketchup that you'd be willing to share?
KateRuby at 5:27PM on 07/10/08
Congrats KateRuby! Having a kitchen of your own is really exciting!
We pre-make a tomato meat sauce to use for 'budget' weeks
(aka - run out of money)--it's really handy for hangover nights too.
Just freeze it! You can use it in spaghetti, sloppy joes, or chili!
hungrychristel at 6:03PM on 07/10/08
What a great project! We are slowly making more and more items from scratch, and it's usually such an improvement on store-bought that after each project, we're no longer able to convince ourselves that the short-cut is okay...
In addition to the great suggestions above, we make our own vanilla extract. It makes a world of difference in baked goods. Method here:
http://ayearinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2008/04/homemade-vanilla.html
ricestein at 6:38PM on 07/10/08
Happy to you! How wonderful on many accounts-- why not try to make everything you normally purchase-i.e. mayonaise ( so much better made in small batches and from excellent quality ingredients by your own loving hands) mustard, ketchup, chili sauce, tomato sauce and pasta sauce, dry biscuit mix, pancake mix, jams, jellies... well, go wild! i did when my now 20 yr old son was born and for years he preferred "our" condiments to any purchased from a store (organic or not). You have such a wide open window because you have storage, a new life and kitchen- dream large and use the interwebs for your recipes and research. Best of luck and happiness-hobcat.
hobcat57 at 7:28PM on 07/10/08
oh yeah-- plant a garden! plant a container garden! your own herbs, tomatoes, onions, sqush, cukes, etc--they are integral recipe ingredients that you can grow with just a little love and attention and the process of sed to plant to flower to fruit to food is so tremendously fulfilling- and if your bf is anything like my husband, he will respect, admire and just plain love you so much more because of the thought and effort that you are putting into the nourishment of your lives!
hobcat57 at 7:32PM on 07/10/08
hobcat: How long does homemade mayo last? I have only made it a few times and used it immediately.
izzy's mama at 8:56PM on 07/10/08
I suggest learning basics that can be used for many foods. Like a good pasta sauce, chicken soup, learn the process for cream of.... soups and you can sub any vegetable you have on hand. Learn to make a good pizza dough that you can keep in the freezer and top with anything you like.
Once you have the basic cooking techniques down, you can experiment with flavors both of you like. Learn to roast a chicken, or at least brown boneless, skinless, or bone-in, skin on breasts and make simple pan sauces. Same for steaks, pork chops, and burgers.
I totally agree with planting your own herbs or garden if you have the space, or use box containers. AND most importantly get to a farmer's market, once you start using great tasting, organic ingredients it will be easy to put meals together because you can go the simple route since the flavors of these foods are so much better than anything processed.
Good luck!
bobcatsteph3 at 11:55PM on 07/10/08
@KateRuby- one of the greatest joys of having my own kitchen was learning canning. Make a project of it. Tomatoes, jam, dominic of zenkitchen's wine jelly.
Do it up.
Kerosena at 12:54AM on 07/11/08
@kateruby....I haven't tried this recipe yet, but it was in our latest issue of Artvoice newspaper....the author, Joe George, is a pretty reliable source of recipes.....I'll be trying it when our tomatoes are ready.
Spicy and Smoky Tomato Ketchup
Yield: 2 cups
2 pounds ripe tomatoes
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Remove the cores of the tomatoes, and make a small X-shaped incision on the opposite ends. Drop the tomatoes in the water a few at a time and blanch them for only about 45 seconds, just to loosen their skins. Transfer the tomatoes to a bowl of iced water. Peel away their skins, cut them in half, squeeze out their seeds, and dice them. Transfer the tomatoes to a small pot with the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower to a low simmer. Cook for about an hour, until it becomes quite thick. Transfer to a blender and process until smooth.
mepolo at 9:24AM on 07/11/08
@mepolo - WOW, thanks! I am making that ketchup this weekend!
@sbelle - your homemade lasagna sounds amazing - made with homemade pasta, that is really impressive!
@KateRuby - congrats on moving in together! I agree with sbelle about homemade baking. One thing I love to do is make all kinds of cookie dough, scoop it into little balls (I use a small ice cream scoop), freeze the balls on a sheet pan. When they're frozen, I transfer them to freezer bags and freeze again. Whenever you want a treat, you can just bake up a few homemade cookies in 10 minutes! So nice after a long day.
I also think homemade pie crust is soooo much better than any store-bought kind or mix. I usually swap in an egg yolk in place of some of the ice water - I find it makes the dough easier to roll out.
Enjoy!!
CookiePie at 9:34AM on 07/11/08
oooh... cookiepie... what a great tip! I will have to do that the next time I make pie crust. Don't be too impressed by the homemade pasta (I use a machine... lol). Hope everybody has a GREAT weekend!
sbelle at 12:01PM on 07/11/08
Hi! would anyone be willing to share a recipe for homemade tomato/marinara sauce? I would like to make it this weekend. Thank you!
terabithia at 12:53PM on 07/11/08
Buy a hand-crank pasta machine - the lasagna noodles are a snap to make and fettucini noodles to die for.....
3/4 cup of flour and a large egg will make more than enough for a dinner for two and the nooodles will amaze you.
thirty years ago, I took a "basics" cooking class and I still use the techniques today. Go to bookfinder.com and look for THE HOME CHEF by Judith Ets Hokin - it's a great primer explaining basic techniques for stock, sauces etc. Another great book is The Saucier's Apprentice by Raymond Solokow/ Both books are probably out of print but available for pennies on the dollar.
suegsf at 12:54PM on 07/11/08
I should have added that you really want to find a "need" before investing in a lot of "gadgets" that will sit around unused. Buy good basic equipemnt only as needed.
A kitchen Aid mixer and a Cuisinart food procesor will be your best friends and, if you can afford All Clad cookware, it will last you all your life. Good knives are a necessity, of course
suegsf at 12:59PM on 07/11/08
Be warned: there are lots of cool looking tools out there that really dont make you any cooler. They take up a lot of space and ... that's about it. I totally second the good mixer (always KitchenAid), a good blender, and good knives. Even with the knives, until you know what you like using, you dont need to feel pressure to have a whole fantastic set. A couple basics will do quite nicely.
Also to you ketchup makers: If you can leave the skins on and skip the blancheing step if you are going to run it through the blender. You never know the difference.
My ketchup recipe is npot that spicy but you can flavor it a ton of different ways. My favorite thing to do with a little homemade ketchup is make frie sauce. 1/2 kethcup, 1/2 mayo. O and homemade mayo can last a while if you keep it cold.
jdshd at 3:18PM on 07/11/08
Nothing is better for soups and sauces than homemade stock, and it freezes well -- do it in one-cup or half-cup containers for easy use. Raising my son I mixed the dry ingredients for pancakes and waffles and stored it in a big jar, adding the egg/milk/butter for quick weekday pancakes from scratch.
litagent at 2:37PM on 07/13/08
I'd say tomato/pasta sauces would be a good thing to have on hand, or how about homemade doughs for bread, pizza, etc. I bet your kitchen is going to smell wonderful!
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 11:11AM on 07/15/08
@kateruby, I thought I had posted the ketchup recipe here, but I must have put it somewhere else. It is William Sonoma's recipe found on their website and it uses canned tomatoes which makes it awesome when you can't get the fresh ones. I am sorry it looked like I ignored you!
ocarol at 11:07AM on 07/20/08