From Scratch (1 Viewer)

[Dktr. Faustus]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html?_r=1
this recipe makes all other yeast bread recipes obsolete. and it involves no kneading and no oil. it's amazing

 

[sweetoblivion]

I love making things from scratch but I get a bit carried away as I like everything (except cakes, ahem) I make to be pretty healthy (although if you put a Wispa in front of me I'd scoff it in two secs, but them's the breaks) so I spend ages researching recipes and then I just modify things to how I want them.

If you're interested in eating healthily, then cooking from scratch is the way to go.

Homemade pizza is next thing to try I think!
Thanks for the bread recipe

 

[minka]

hmm, let's see...

things i always make from scratch:
salad dressing
pasta sauces (actually, any sauces, stuff from a jar is almost invariably gack)
soup

things i sometimes make from scratch but not always:
stock (i do this pretty often, but otherwise it's marigold stock powder time)
bread/pizza base
curry paste

things i have not yet made from scratch:
cheese
yoghurt (my mam did this all the time when i was a kid and it was yum)
ice cream (though am plotting where i'd fit an icecream maker in the kitchen)
pasta

i also tend to go for tinned beans rather than dried, because i am disorganized.

 

[Wobbler]

hmm, let's see...

things i always make from scratch:
salad dressing
pasta sauces (actually, any sauces, stuff from a jar is almost invariably gack)
soup

things i sometimes make from scratch but not always:
stock (i do this pretty often, but otherwise it's marigold stock powder time)
bread/pizza base
curry paste

things i have not yet made from scratch:
cheese
yoghurt (my mam did this all the time when i was a kid and it was yum)
ice cream (though am plotting where i'd fit an icecream maker in the kitchen)
pasta

i also tend to go for tinned beans rather than dried, because i am disorganized.

I'm nearly the exact same as Minka.

 

[sweetoblivion]

Anyone ever tried making Almond Milk or a similar milk?

 

[тхеодоре кацзынски]

no,but i would be interested in it.you any idea or looking for ideas yourself?

 

[sweetoblivion]

saw a recipe for it on a site recently I think, I'm not sure if I'd try it though - I don't really use that much of any milk so it might go to waste.

 

[тхеодоре кацзынски]

send it to me,ill happily drink it,tryna get off the soya as apparently it causes a marked decrease in sperm count
how you make it anyway?just a rough idea like....

 

[sweetoblivion]

ha! yeah there's a lot of conflicting reports about soya...plus it can be so processed, which isn't brilliant.

The almond milk recipe is simple! Just found it: http://www.drbenkim.com/almond-milk-recipe.htm
note that you should probably soak the almonds where as he doesn't in that recipe - see the comments.

 

[тхеодоре кацзынски]

deadly,gonna give that a try,looks simple and easy enough even for me.plus i think the left over pulp looks most appealing.

 

[sweetoblivion]

It looks simple alright! report back if you do it!

 

[Wobbler]

I do think the whole "from scratch" thing is a load of nonsense though. Something you cook should be judged by how nice it is (or if you're that way inclined, and I often am, how economical, healthy or quick it is to make) not by how much you did for yourself. I make my own pasta sauces because a) it's not very difficult and b) because jars of pasta sauce are absolutely minging. I sometimes make my own stock because although it's time consuming, it's not labour intensive and is certainly not hard. Homemade stock makes a huge difference to some dishes but minimal difference to others. Other dishes don't need stock at all.

The whole "from scratch" thing pisses me off, because I reckon it makes cooking like this appear difficult and beyond the reach of your average cook. Jarred pasta sauces sales go up, because people think that throwing a tin of tomatoes and a few herbs into a pot must be hard.

 

[plug]

send it to me,ill happily drink it,tryna get off the soya as apparently it causes a marked decrease in sperm count

sounds like a selling point to me!

so, I made that soda bread last night. it was a fucking nightmare trying to find buttermilk. who'd have thunk? anyway, it was ridiculously easy and surprisingly nice. nice wan!

 

[egg_]

I'm nearly the exact same as Minka.

Same here!

I don't see what the fuss is about dried beans, I honestly can't tell the difference except for the dried ones end up a bit harder in the finished dish.

 

[sweetoblivion]

I do think the whole "from scratch" thing is a load of nonsense though. Something you cook should be judged by how nice it is (or if you're that way inclined, and I often am, how economical, healthy or quick it is to make) not by how much you did for yourself. I make my own pasta sauces because a) it's not very difficult and b) because jars of pasta sauce are absolutely minging. I sometimes make my own stock because although it's time consuming, it's not labour intensive and is certainly not hard. Homemade stock makes a huge difference to some dishes but minimal difference to others. Other dishes don't need stock at all.

The whole "from scratch" thing pisses me off, because I reckon it makes cooking like this appear difficult and beyond the reach of your average cook. Jarred pasta sauces sales go up, because people think that throwing a tin of tomatoes and a few herbs into a pot must be hard.

Do you mean the phrase 'from scratch'? It probably does conjur up ideas of the dish being hard to create for some people; others might embrace the DIY element of making a dish without added, well, crap.

I suppose either you enjoy putting the effort in or you don't...but if you give it a try it's amazing how much you learn.

On another note - how easy is it to make homemade pasta without eggs?

 

[Wobbler]

Do you mean the phrase 'from scratch'? It probably does conjur up ideas of the dish being hard to create for some people;

Well both. I'm not sure if it's possible or even desirable to making everything from scratch. Going on about making things from scratch makes every day cooking seem inobtainable for most folk.

And yes, I do think it's often more to do with impressing people rather than making something nice.

I suppose either you enjoy putting the effort in or you don't...but if you give it a try it's amazing how much you learn.

I agree. I definitely enjoy putting the effort in and I think trying stuff is fun and a great way to learn but I think people are put off by the notion of doing things (even simple things, such as salad dressings) "from scratch"

 

[egg_]

I think people are put off by the notion of doing things (even simple things, such as salad dressings) "from scratch"

There was a vox pop on the radio last Pancake Tuesday, and not one person they talked to knew how to make pancakes without using pancake mix. And then they brought on some cooking expert who spent about half an hour telling everyone the "proper" way to make pancakes - "make a well in the centre of the flour, break in the eggs, then gradually whisk the flour in from the edges, blah blah blah"

Somehow we've ended up in a world where making the most basic fucking food for yourself is something you have to be an expert to attempt

 

[snakybus]

Check out you amateurs with yer bags of flour! I grind my own flour, from my own wheat. You people disgust me.

 

[Mormon Nailer]

I do think the whole "from scratch" thing is a load of nonsense though. Something you cook should be judged by how nice it is (or if you're that way inclined, and I often am, how economical, healthy or quick it is to make) not by how much you did for yourself.

I think it's an American thing and a reaction to the kind of cookbooks you see in the states where every recipe starts with a tin of campbells mushroom soup and some variety of frozen vegetable.

Personally I never saw the point of making fresh pasta - pain in the hole and dried is fine by me. Occasionally I get a fit and make stock but I'm not against using a half a stick cube if it will help.

On the other hand I'd never use a jar of dolmio or anything similar.

 

[Umfufu]

I don't think anyone here is saying everything needs to made from scratch all the time.
Everyone has their own level, whether it's adding a few extra ingredients to a jar of sauce or making the sauce yourself.

I made pasta this week. I'll still keep a stock of dried pasta in the press for the times I can't be arsed, or don't have the time to make it fresh. It's not like I suddenly think anyone who eats the dried stuff is polluting their body.
But at least now I know how to make it.


The best thing, for me, about learning to make things from scratch is that it demystifies cooking & makes it more accessible. It's amazing how easy a lot of these things are once you have the ingredients & the confidence to try it.


I know a lot of it is very intimidating for a lot of people (& more again just couldn't care less) but it shouldn't be.
Most of the recipes on this thread are things that beginners could easily do & I think it's good to show people how easy & relaxing cooking can be.

Last year I had never made bread, pasta sauce or gravy from scratch & wouldn't have had a clue how to go about it.