Following on from the 'shit cooks' thread......All you amazing cooks out there, what do you make from scratch?

[Boogalooblue]

I never use stock cubes or powder and always make my own stock.

This goes as far as to get free beef marrow bones from the local butcher to make beef stock - our food tastes yummy .

So how far will you go when it comes to from scratch?

I think there was a similar thread to this just recently....

I make pretty much everything ( meat stocks, mayonaise and other sauces, bread, salad dressings, fresh pasta)

I don't make my own pastry dough or ice cream as I don't have an ice cream maker and am still waiting for a larger kitchen to get my kitchen aid mixer.

I also use Marigold vegetable bouillion powder instead of making my own veg stock (need a larger freeser!)

So come on, how good/excellent are you really?

I have come a long way since having kids, we were a ready meal couple , but don't think one has been in our house for over a year now[smug emoticon]

pretty much everything - was a commis chef whilst a student by blagging my way into it -buit that is another story. made all my own organic baby food

Always make my own curry pastes from scratch, cant stand the jar ones now, I find it quite therapeutic to grind and toast the spices and then I make up little jars so I can use it later in the week.

I grow my own tomato's and basil to make pasta sauce

Ahhh yes MG, if only we had a bigger kitchen , I have the yoghurt maker, the pasta maker and the juicer all waiting in the shed for that time when we can a)afford and b)tolerate the builders to come and double the size of our kitchen.

I cannot believe how much I have changed my cooking habits since having children - I never cooked before them .

I employed a nanny once who proclaimed that she didn't see the point of buying good food for the children - only processed cheap shit - I didn't agree and told her

clueless, that's impressive - how do you do it? Would love a link if you know of one?

Anything and everything

Seriously, once you know the basics, anything can be made from scratch.

Most things, own stock, curry etc though I don't make pasta yet.
Make all my own pastry though (morningglory I think pastry is better made without a mixer, with a mixer there is always the risk of letting it go too long, then your pastry goes hard, by hand you know exactly when it is right).

dont know a link, quick curry paste is

fry mustard seeds
onion
garlic
chilli
ginger
curry leaves

then add spices
coriander
cumin
cinnamon
nutmeg
star anise
loads black pepper
chilli powder
turmeric
cloves
bay leaves

toast quickly then add some raw meat top up with water and cook really slowly, the longer the better, you can add loads of other stuff to it, tomatoes, coconut, fruit, peppers, lemon, and there is a slightly different one for fish but that one works really well for any sort of meat

I won't go particularly far at all to make from scratch. It can all get a bit ridiculous.

unless you'd count cooking as a serious hobby

Eating - now that is a serious hobby

I don't count cooking as a serious hobby. I object to all the preservatives and flavourings put in our foods by manufacturers.

Having grown a very small amount of veggies this summer am amazed how much nicer they are than the good old supermarkets.

My veg garden next year should be amazing .

You are what you eat I am a courgette

but makign own pasta. That would be A Hobby, no?

After reading the shit cooks thread, I was inspired to start making my own sauces again. Have not done that for ages, laziness really.

I do not make mayonaisse, ice cream or stock from scratch but can manage most sauces.

A hobby? No I don't think so, I am intending to get chickens in order for us to know what/who we eat.

No doubt we will have a surplus of eggs, hence the pasta making,

I suppose it is all about lifestyle choices, I am choosing to live one with fewer additives, preservatives etc and fortunately for me, we are in a position to be able to do this

If we have roast chicken for Sunday lunch, I will boil the carcass for stock, but otherwise I use Kallo organic stock cubes.

Make own stock, sauces, soup, bread, pizza, pastry, cakes.

Grow my own veg & fruit. Shoot game frequently.

I also make my own ice cream (eggs from our own chickens, natch) but I don't use a machine. I hand-churn during the freezing process. It does mean it's rock hard and has to be out of the freezer for 10 minutes before serving but you get used to doing that. Homemade blackcurrant is amazing, particularly the colour. And if you have the rum raisin, I'll have to take your car keys off you.

my cooking has definitely regressed since having kids, not enough time.

always make: chicken stock, cakes, shortcrust pastry

sometimes make: veg stock, pizza base, mayo, ice cream, custard

don't make: bread, pasta, puff pastry, yoghurt

my culinary adventures aren't totally stalled though. i did make a huge batch of restaurant curry sauce off cr0 the other week that involved going to our asian supermarket and buying one bag of everything made it into individual portions of rogan josh, dopiaza and korma. was astonishingly good if i say so myself. guess the magic korma ingredient...

oh and i make falafel (only works with dried not tinned chickpeas).

according to marco pierre white knorr stock cubes are the best and most required thing in a kitchen!!

puppydavies - is the magic korma ingredients Knorr Stock Cubes

MPW is a misogynist tosser (IMHO)

I'm not mad enough to make my own puff pastry but do my own shortcrust. I think modern society has conned us into buying convenience food by making us think that doing it from scratch is really hard.

I've become a much better cook since having kids and have been surprised how easy it is to make things like pastry & bread.

Now it's autumn it's soup time - yum!