What do you make from scratch?

JAWSCIENCE

Sun, Sep 04 2011, 10:23 am

amother wrote:

You use some existing Greek yogurt as a starter culture. Then you follow the usual procedure and when the yogurt is done you strain it. Depending on the time you let it strain you will get either Greek yogurt or yogurt cheese. I got a nifty strainer from DH for my birthday last year. It's great. It gives the yogurt that creamy Greek flavor and the starter culture gives it the right bacterial content. The strainer was not expensive at all. Compared tot he price of buying Greek yogurt it paid for itself many times over.

I use chalav yisroel. Can I make it with out greek yogurt?

You can strain to get thicker yogurt but part of the taste and beneficial qualities comes from the bacteria which comes from the starter culture so you really need to start with a little bit of greek yogurt. Is there no chalav yisroel greek yogurt out there? You only need to buy it once and then you just keep using a little from your last batch of yogurt to start the next batch. I know I am on the market for kosher activia so I can use it as a starter culture and then just keep it going. I saw it in Israel so maybe I will ask some family to bring me back a small container.

chocolate chips

Sun, Sep 04 2011, 1:37 pm

CHallah, pitta breads, also make my own quiche including the pastry which made my sils laugh at me dont ask me why I mean it tastes so much better than bought!
cant think what else besides for cookies and cakes etc again which seems to be the abnormality in this area Very Happy

Seraph

Sun, Sep 04 2011, 1:49 pm

Everything.
Challah, pita, crackers, cookies, cakes, muffins, bagels, pizza.
Certain cheeses.
Pasta.
Tomato sauce.
Non dairy milks- chickpea, sesame, coconut, and sunflower seed milks.
Gluten free flours.
Soy sauce!
Fermented Fish sauce.
Yogurt. Yogurt cheese. Kefir. Kombucha.
Sauerkraut, salsa, pickled veggies, pickles, olives.
Candies, fig honey, carob honey, carob flour.
Worcesterchire sauce. Mayo. Ketchup. Italian dressing. French dressing. BBQ sauce.
Vanilla sugar. Vanilla salt.
Salatim, from matbucha to charif to babaganoush to mock chopped liver to tomato dip to garlic spread to a million other things.
Even some of my own spice mixes.
Chicken soup powder!!! (My latest shtick.)
Sausage.

Pretty much the only things I don't make myself that I have in the house are mustard (tried making homemade and it didn't come out right), pickled ginger, peanut butter, some gluten free pastas, oils, certain chemical and additive free hot dogs, and rice cakes.

Everything else is made from scratch here.
I know I missed a ton.

Seraph

Sun, Sep 04 2011, 2:26 pm

saw50st8 wrote:

Seraph, I'm surprised you don't make your own PB. Thats easy.

I know its easy. The peanut butter I use is plain ground peanuts. Peanut butter is actually cheaper for me to buy per pound than it is to make it. :-D I have made my own peanut butter once but since it was more expensive and not any healthier, I decided I wouldn't anymore.

Seraph

Sun, Sep 04 2011, 2:28 pm

I also make a few different types of vinegar, and I make all my own drinks, including grape juice and wine and alcohol.

I do buy a few types of specialty vinegars, like wine vinegar, rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and apple cider vinegar.

bird

Sun, Sep 04 2011, 8:09 pm

wow seraph you sound amazig. could you post your recepies. I also make food from scratch but that is becouse I dont have a choice I live in a pla ce where you dont really get kosher food. so I make any kind of bread that my family wants to eat. wraps, jam, juice, ice cream , sorbet, mousse, mayonaise, dips, salads, pies, empanadas,pickles, cheese, we used to milk the cow before we imported milk. my husband also shects the chicken, and I cant remmber what else.

JAWSCIENCE

Sun, Sep 04 2011, 9:31 pm

Bird you should check out Seraph's blog. She posts recipes with detailed photo instructions on there.

Oh I forgot, we are devoted makers of our own sushi. And it is a big hit with company who like to watch the rolling and taste the different combos we come up with (not fish, I can't get sushi grade fish here so I only do veggie rolls).

Seraph

Sun, Sep 04 2011, 9:39 pm

bird wrote:

Thanks! I have fun doing things in the kitchen, and the more I do things, the faster I learn to do them so it takes me even less time. What recipes in specific do you want? I do share most of the above recipes on my blog.

alpidarkomama

Sun, Sep 04 2011, 11:32 pm

JAWSCIENCE wrote:

Oh I forgot, we are devoted makers of our own sushi. And it is a big hit with company who like to watch the rolling and taste the different combos we come up with (not fish, I can't get sushi grade fish here so I only do veggie rolls).

You can make your own sushi-grade fish. Our normal (not sub-zero) freezer can get down to 4 degrees on the coldest setting. If it stays at that temperature for 7 days, it's considered sushi grade. We just had seared salmon sushi (dab of mayo on the fish, on rice nigiri style, and torched with a blow torch to partially cook it)... YUM!

We make most of our own stuff too... breads, bagels, other baked goods, cheeses (only sometimes - it's more expensive to make than it is to buy!), jams, syrups, noodles, pizza, sauces, pickled stuff, yogurt, olives (YUM), spice mixes (esp zaatar and Ethiopian berber), salad dressings, soy milk (we call our machine the Soy Cow), veggie burgers, salsa, kefir (on and off; I'm a little bit fickle...)... lots of other things too... Better go to sleep before I start getting hungry! Smile

alpidarkomama

Sun, Sep 04 2011, 11:39 pm

[quote="JAWSCIENCE"You can strain to get thicker yogurt but part of the taste and beneficial qualities comes from the bacteria which comes from the starter culture so you really need to start with a little bit of greek yogurt.[/quote]

Greek yogurt is just a method of reducing the whey and making thicker yogurt (and is YUMMY!). The same starter culture can be used for both regular and Greek styles.

mom4many

Sun, Sep 04 2011, 11:54 pm

Wow I'm impressed with the list here. I have a lot to learn yet...

I make granola and corn schnitzel. (My kids love the bought soy stuff, but I can't bring myself to buy the junk.)

I also make yogurt from scratch sometimes, and make out of it strawberry yogurt by pureeing strawberies & sugar with it.

My pickles didn't come out great, and it's cheaper to buy a huge can.

I'd love to rely only on homemade bread, but then I'd have to be up before 6:30 AM so it would be ready in time for the kids. My breadmaker doesn't yield neat slices Sad

Seraph

Mon, Sep 05 2011, 12:03 am

mom4many wrote:

How do you make corn shnitzel?
Certain bread recipes slice better than others. An electric bread knife also helps make neat slices.

mom4many

Mon, Sep 05 2011, 1:52 am

The corn schnitzeel recipe is from Te'imot that comes with hebrew mishpacha mag:
1 1/2 c. fine cornmeal
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. instant mashed potatoes
1 can corn, drained
1/2 t. salt
pinch pepper
1 t. garlic powder
3 T. oil
1 c. water
2 eggs
(I add 1/2 pkg of tofu (50 g.) pureed with the eggs to add protein)

Mix all ingredients and then dip into crushed cornflakes or gold bread crumbs.
The recipe is to fry, but I sometimes bake with some oil sprinkled on top, and it comes out almost as good. I double the recipe, use a pkg. of frozen corn - cooked, and then freeze the ready, baked schnitzels, so it serves as a fast food.

My bread machine is old, and I couldn't find a replacement pan -- so the bread is really hard to get out after baking, and usually breaks in the process. Greasing in the beg. won't help, because of all the mixing done inside it. I just saw your crock pot bread recipe on your blog. That might work!

Seraph

Mon, Sep 05 2011, 2:11 am

mom4many wrote:

Does it taste like the packaged corn shnitzel? I want to try that! Where do you get fine corn meal?

mom4many

Mon, Sep 05 2011, 2:19 am

No, it doesn't taste like the packaged corn schnitzel (who knows WHAT they put inside it).
The cornmeal gives it a lot of crisp and I get it from my health food store. I think it's also sold packaged - but it can be wormy - so check first.
When I didn't have cornmeal, I changed the recipe - more flour & instant mashed potatoes, and less water.
Also I didn't mention, that with the addition of the tofu, you need to adjust the spicing.

Seraph

Mon, Sep 05 2011, 2:24 am

mom4many wrote:

I wouldn't be using tofu in mine. I'm gonna try this out, and make it gluten free. Looks good.