What do you cook from scratch?

[poppydoppy]

Without using anything pre made? Nothing from a bottle or packet?

How do you mean?

I think most things I cook are from scratch, but I don't go as far as making my own pasta. Is that what you mean?

My storecupboard contains a lot of condiments, a few staples in cans or bottles... mostly baked beans, passata, tuna.... there's a vast selection of herbs and spices, a stock cube or ten and you might find a Fajita Dinner Kit (!) or Pataks sauce occasionally. Because I have all of that, it's easy to make pretty much anything from scratch

I work full-time, have no ambitions to be Nigella, and I'm not a health-freak but I find ready-made stuff is either overpriced or, in the case of most sauces in jars, tastes artificial or just 'wrong'.

Cottage/shepherds pie, burgers, lasagne (oops, does it count if I use packet pasta??), spag bol, biryani, bombay tats, fishcakes, chilli, butternut sq curry, various soups....of course, I do also do spag bol and curries and stir fry using jars too because I am lazy only human!!

I have just started cooking from scratch and its a lot of work. This is probably because I'm still learning though so it really adds to the cooking time. I have no idea how working parents manage it.
At the moment I cook most things from scratch including pies, cakes, bread, cobs, lasagne, bolognese, fish pie, cottage pie, fishcakes, chicken nuggets, soups... almost everything. However, I wouldn't make my own pasta and I buy ready made jam, marmalade, ice-cream, pastry, pesto, passata etc. If it works out more expensive, wouldn't be improved upon or I wouldn't enjoy making it then I buy them. I keep ready made sauces and packet rices in the cupboard in case I'm tired or poorly and DP wants to cook.

Do you know, possibly nothing.

Curry - I use shop bought paste.
Italian - I use shop bought pasta.
Salad - I often use shop bought dressing.
I don't make my own bread either.

Hmmm. Pancakes? I make my own batter. A roast? I make everything from scratch inc the gravy.

This thread has really got me thinking.

I make my own tomato ketchup, brown sauce, marmalade and bread at the moment, when our polytunnel is up and running will do tomatoes so hopefully will be able to make some sauce for next winter. Life is to short to make your own pasta.

And we have also done this year, bacon, gammon (smoked and unsmoked) and we have a proscuitto drying at the moment. This is from our own pigs.

Pies - I buy shop bought pastry.

Fish cakes. I make them from scratch.

Chicken & fish nuggets. I make them from scratch.

I make my own pesto - so much better than shop bought.

I don't make my own tomato sauce - I just use ready made passata (sp).

I make chicken stock but use cubes for beef.

DH makes stonkingly good burgers.

Just had pasta with a tomato sauce for lunch. The pasta was spinach & ricotta from Lidl and the sauce was leftover homemade.

Pretty much everything - soups, stews, casseroles, stirfries, pasta sauces - used to make pasta but oh the faff! Am currently looking to make my own tofu because I love tofu and I'm curious...

Pretty much nothing - my flour comes in a packet.
My herbs come in a glass jar, and my tomatoes often come in a tin.

Should think the only thing made from scratch in ratatouille when Mum has a glut of courgettes and tomatoes.

No-one makes their own flour nextphase....

Damn, now I really regret buying those millstones.

Err, yes. Some people do. Just not many (or maybe any) in the UK.

Sorry, it was a bad day yesterday - I answered the question tho - pretty much everything comes in a bottle or packet.

Try as far as possible to only buy products with one or two items on the ingredients list - that's how I define from scratch! I hate the taste of processed foods.

Damn, now I really regret buying those millstones.

:o:o

I make everything from scratch, in that I never, ever buy a jar or packet of ready-made sauce or seasoning (like a fajita kit or similar).

I grind and blend my own spices for curries, make all pasta sauces fresh, don't use casserole packets etc.

I make all cakes/biscuits etc, bake my own bread about half the time and make my own pasta if we have white pasta (we prefer wholewheat, but I buy that because I struggle to find wholewheat pasta flour).

I use tinned tomatoes, passata and tinned beans (cannelini etc). I make my own stock.

I'm trying to think of anything I buy ready-made. I shopped for the week this morning. On the list was fresh meat/chicken/fish, fruit and veg, butter, cream, milk, eggs, wholewheat spaghetti and rice.

Oh, and Branston pickle, which I don't make from scratch :o

I buy canned toms, puree, tinned fish, sweetcorn, fruit and baked beans.
I buy stock cubes and packet soups to use as a base for stews. Bought condiments and herbs. Some from the garden.
I make everything mince based (spag bol, lasagne etc), fish pie(frozen fish) and fish cakes. Instant gravy granules with veg water or stock from giblets if lucky to ever find a chicken with them.
I buy bread and biscuits, cereal and crisps. I make cakes, yorkshires, granola and muffins.
I buy fresh meat, fruit and veg sometimes fish too if on offer. I cook a joint for sliced sandwich meat nowadays as kids dont eat spam (YUK) anymore.
I do buy sausages and fish/chicken in crumbs for thursay dinners as quick turn around night. HM Wedges, baked beans or peas. Sometimes coleslaw - bought - but will make my own when we start to eat more of it in the summer.