Things you didnt believe were so easy to make from scratch

[Unorganisedchaos2]

After saving for ages I finally own a kitchen aid stand mixer and Im living my middle ages dreams 😆

Had a go at making butter at the weekend and I cant believe how quick and easy it was, Im not sure I'll buy it again.

Going to give Mayonnaise a try tonight as we also get through loads of that.

Im trying to reduce our UPF's - has anyone started making things from scratch that they were surprised how easy it was?

I'd like to know this too!

Ah @SpaceOP I forgot to mention the big squeeze of lemon!!

Curry you need ghee and some whole spices, corriander seeds, fenel seeds, onion seeds.

You also need some ground spices, turmeric and cumin as a minimum.

For heat use garlic and or chilli.

Melt the ghee in a frying pan or wok, then add the seeds and 'roast' them until they pop.

Add the other spices then chopped garlic and onions, stir so they are covered with spices.

Add what you want to curry, meat, veg, whatever.

Add boiling water and simmer.

Once it has reduced to a curry consistency serve.

well that's a relief! (vinegar better - FYI!

I just use the spices already prepped, or paste. This is one thing I don't feel the need to do. I have an Asian relative, and even he does this; it's too much faff!

Soup, I have about 3 that I make on rotation through winter every week ok a Saturday morning.

I would never buy soup, my soups taste way better.

Roasting vegetables in the air fryer has made it even faster.

Sorry but you can't just chuck on the meat / veg, you need to slowly cook the onions for quite a long time to get a proper curry sauce.

That's a good point about garlic butter.

I do make it but only on the day we want it, I hadn't thought about storing it. Would you mind sharing how you make and store it?

I want to do this more as shop bought garlic bread has become so expensive unless you buy the basic baguettes.

In a similar vein, here's my recipe for Sunday roast.
Heat oven.
Put in meat.
A bit later, put in potatoes.

I put it in my potatoes before the meat 🤣 meat should be done first, not over cooked then taken out to rest (minus the gravy juices of course)

Yummmm homemade granola. Will gooe some recipes. Might take a tub on holiday for nibbles

Slow cooker is a safe bet surely?

I started keeping fully Kosher a few years ago and now make a lot of stuff from scratch with kosher ingredients, such as pesto, pastry, humus, quiche bases.

@murasaki , That sounds like the voice of experience, I have never done that , not me , ooooh no not I not never 😳

I also make my own butter because I can add flavours to it like garlic, pepper or herbs .

Sounds amazing!!!

Agreed - for me, learning to rest meat properly before serving it has made a huge difference to its texture and flavour.

always reduce it if freezer space is limited. just add water when cooking with it.
there is a wonderful Russian/american cook on you tube who not only uses her meat carcasses but the bones left on the peoples plates and the raw trimmings. She cooks the trimmings and freezes the whole lot until she can make a big batch of stock to freeze.

Balsamic dressing - balsamic vinegar and virgin olive oil, plus some salt and pepper. That’s it!

Thousand island dressing - my dh makes his own now.

And a bit later the Yorkshire puddings , which are also very easy to make (heat oil in pan, then equal measures of flour, egg and milk).

How did I not think of this? Next time I make it, I'll use the slow cooker. Thank you.

I often accidentally make halloumi when I’m trying to make mozzarella. It’s just the same but you’ve got the water too hot.

(make curds with vinegar or lemon juice and rennet if you are getting fancy but not really necessary. Then cut them and heat the whey. Stretch the cheese and pop it in cold whey to set.). Salt in the stretching bit or hens is nice.

I house shared with an Indian girl. She always said my curry tasted authentic. Mind she couldn't actually cook.

I lived with a British Indian girl when I was a student and she taught me how to make the most amazing egg curry. I know it sounds weird but it's delicious!

It's basically a spicy tomato sauce - sauteed onions, garlic, ginger, chill, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric, black pepper, salt (and probably more spices that I've forgotten) and then tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and lemon juice. Cook, blend and then add hard boiled eggs to the sauce for the last 10 minutes or so. The egg white becomes yellow with turmeric when it's ready.

Yum.

Edited to say that @sashh reminded me of this!

Halloumi you will need some some veg rennet tablets and some calcium chloride and some cheesecloth. Easy bought online for a couple of pounds or from a local brew shop if you have one.

then follow this recipie. Its is delicious! So much better than any bought I’ve had. I add some dried mint in the salting stage.

Easy to make before a BBQ!

https://www.madmillie.com/recipe/halloumi