I LOVED the yogurt making. I've lost count of the number of batches I've made since it seems like I make one every few days. Bread making still intimidates me (1) because I have never made it before and (2) because I am afraid I will eat it ALL because I <3 bread. Among the other things I make myself are mufifns and cookies. Sometimes I make my own frozen convenience foods like cooked frozen chicken, beef patties that I can just nuke and eat. One thing I've always DREAMED of doing myself is making jams and preserves. That always scared me too because you have to boil everything and there is room for contamination from some of the stories I've heard. But wouldn't that be great mixed in with yogurt or on fresh baked bread?!?!?!
I have been inspired to make my own bread and yogurt by threads in this topic.
Do any of you make some other basic food item that people usually purchase at the store?
I do a fair amount of canning (although not as much as I have in the past). We have canned fruit (almost done), jams, hot sauce, salsa, tomato sauce, pickles, and I'm probably forgetting something. I use a dehydrator in the summer and dry usually cherries and roma tomatoes. I'm baking most of the bread we're eating, oh and I made thin crust whole wheat mini pizza shells on the weekend.
I've stopped canning tomatoes. It's just so much easier to buy 8-can packs at Costco. Even the tomato sauce I don't can much of anymore. What I have is actually meant to be a pizza sauce (a mix of tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and dried tomatoes). Although I'm not working at the moment (which makes some of this easier) the canning I've done most years while working full time.
I've always wanted to have a go at making homemade pasta, but I don't eat enough of it anymore to consider it. I did make my own tortillas a couple of weeks ago (from oat flour - not the best choice). They weren't bad, and I'll probably try them again.
Hmmm, I don't make yogurt, but I do make bread, and other baked goods. I have made pesto and will again - it's so nice to have on hand. I've made jam/jelly for years, as well as canning veggies and pickles.
I LOVED the yogurt making. I've lost count of the number of batches I've made since it seems like I make one every few days. Bread making still intimidates me (1) because I have never made it before and (2) because I am afraid I will eat it ALL because I <3 bread. Among the other things I make myself are mufifns and cookies. Sometimes I make my own frozen convenience foods like cooked frozen chicken, beef patties that I can just nuke and eat. One thing I've always DREAMED of doing myself is making jams and preserves. That always scared me too because you have to boil everything and there is room for contamination from some of the stories I've heard. But wouldn't that be great mixed in with yogurt or on fresh baked bread?!?!?!
Oops, I guess I didn't think of that. I do a lot of frozen meal cooking. In the winter there's almost always beef stew, gumbo, meat sauce, chili, individual lasagne, and ready to cook meat loaves (also individual). At this time of year it's more skewed to raw meats (divided), hamburgers, and a couple of sauces (tomato and curry) to use.
Jams and preserves are easier to make than you would think. I know most of the recipes I see now tells you to sterilize the filled jars, but we don't. You heat the jars and rings in the oven for more than 10 mins at 250F and boil the sealer lids (~7 min) and keep them hot while filling. If your jam is at the right temperature you really shouldn't need to boil the filled jars afterwards. You just need to know that if the lid doesn't stay pulled in - don't eat it!
Getting jams the right consistency is the only real trick. Even after 15 years doing it I still don't always get it right. And asking my mother (who has at least another 15 years on me) doesn't always help. You know though, even if it's thin it's still great. When fruit is inexpensive during the summer buy 12 jars and give it a shot. Once you've had your own jams you likely won't buy them again. My favourite is what I call 'mixed' jams. We toss home grown fruit into the freezer during the summer. In early fall or even early winter I see what I have and make jam. This last batch I think is a 6-fruit jam (raspberries, gooseberries, boysenberries, rhubarb, plums, and cranberries). The last two weren't grown by us, but just in the freezer.
The trick to bread is to never slice it when warm. I can usually avoid bread once it's cooled (although I slice it fast and usually freeze it), but it can be tough to avoid if you slice just a little piece off to taste when it's hot out of the oven.
Oh I forgot to say that I've been making my own salad dressings. It is fun and they taste better than anything you can buy.
Hmmm... I'm making those as well. Neat tip for people - Oil Substitute - mix 1 cup of water with 1 Tbsp of cornstarch. Heat on the stove, stirring until thickened. Cool and use instead of oil in salad dressings. I tend to make 2 cups at once and put it in the fridge until needed. The only difference I find is that you need to cut back on the peppery ingredients in the dressing.
I make my own jelly, marmalade, jam and pickles. Last year I put up 100 jars of guava jelly (and yes, I work full time, more than full time, but I don't have any kids). I make muffins and I used to make my own bread, but I'm not that into bread these days. I've even made my own pasta, but IMHO it was more work than it was worth. Occasionally I make my own salad dressing. I also make my own pesto and freeze it in 1 tbsp servings (an ice cube tray is very helpful for this). Right now I have basil pesto and sage pesto in my freezer and both are only 35 calories per tbsp, which is quite a bit lower than most commercially produced pesto. If you have a food processor, pesto far easier to make than you think.
I make my own ground chicken and my own ground pork, but you need a food processor to do this (but if you have one, it's super easy--just cut the meat into big hunks, put it in the food processor and process for a few minutes). You can use much leaner cuts of meat than they use for the pre-ground meat.
And I make my own bread crumbs in the food processor. It's a great use for stale bread and I can use my special high-fiber, low calorie bread. I make up a big batch and store the crumbs in the freezer.
I've heard that it's possible to make your own tofu, but I've never tried it. Same thing for peanut butter--I guess you can just grind up peanuts in your food processor, but I've never tried it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gastronome
One thing I've always DREAMED of doing myself is making jams and preserves. That always scared me too because you have to boil everything and there is room for contamination from some of the stories I've heard. But wouldn't that be great mixed in with yogurt or on fresh baked bread?!?!?!
Actually, you don't need to bother with boiling and sterilizing the jars. In fact, you don't need the jars at all. Just make a small batch of jam or preserves and then store it in the fridge in a Tupperware container (you can also freeze jam or preserves if you make more than you can eat in a month). I make a great strawberry jam that is super easy and we just store it in the fridge. To make a small batch, mix 2 1/2 cups halved (quartered if large) strawberries with 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar and bring to a boil over med heat. Boil until it gets to a jam-like consistency, then add 2 tbsp brandy. Cook for a minute or so longer. It will keep in the fridge for several weeks. You could use just about any type of fruit in this recipe.
Jam and preserves are easy. I make my own cranberry compote/jelly every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas and I've even made my own marmelade (orange and grapefruit) for years.
Soup bases ... stocks and broths .. I always make my own. It makes homemade soups so yummy and adds a lot of flavor to things like beans, lentils, etc.
Pesto - I always plant enough basil for multiple batches of pesto so I can freeze some.
Spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, and salsa ... every year I make tons of both from our homegrown tomatoes and peppers. I can some and freeze some and it's always yummy and fresh tasting, unlike what you buy in jars or cans at the store.
Pickles are easy to make and sooo yummy and you can pickle just about anything, not just cucumbers. I pickle green beans, okra, beets, pearl onions, etc.
Fruit butters are also easy to make ... I make apple butter and pumpkin butter every year and they're great for healthy snacks.
Hm. I know there's more I make, but I don't think of it as being unusual, so I'm not sure what else to list. I rarely, even before my weight loss, ate packaged or pre-made foods. I Love to cook and experiment and I'm used to making a lot of my own stuff.
Anne, I am going to try your tip with the cornstarch. I find that most of the fat free/low cal dressings are too tart for me. Maybe this will mellow it out a bit.
I am interested in raising some sprouts! That sounds like fun, as well as some jam to put on my homemade bread or in my homemade yogurt.
I make pesto in my food processor and store it in ice cube trays. I also make lots of chicken stock because I cook so much chicken. I store the CS in various sized containers, so I can always find one the right size for my recipe.
Sometimes we can get a garden to grow. It is somewhat problematic to garden in the desert. We usually have tomatoes which I consider a "staple".
I almost forgot! We have chickens. We really enjoy the fresh eggs. I am of the "don't throw out the yolks" school. I don't eat that many eggs, and I just can't stand to throw half of it away.
Last edited by gailr42; 05-07-2008 at 10:47 AM.
Reason: make an addition
What else can we make?
Among the other things I make myself are mufifns and cookies. Sometimes I make my own frozen convenience foods like cooked frozen chicken, beef patties that I can just nuke and eat. One thing I've always DREAMED of doing myself is making jams and preserves. That always scared me too because you have to boil everything and there is room for contamination from some of the stories I've heard. But wouldn't that be great mixed in with yogurt or on fresh baked bread?!?!?! 
I don't eat that many eggs, and I just can't stand to throw half of it away.
