We Don't Have to Buy It Cos We Can Make It Thread!

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juliewn, Jul 25, 4:52pm
Here in this thread, we can share our recipes for goodies which we might otherwise have purchased. And ask questions too, including for recipes you may be looking for and are wanting to make at home. By making these goodies ourselves, we're providing good nutrition for our families, friends and ourselves. We'll know what the ingredients are - and we'll save money too. . Give them a try - and you'll see how quick and easy they are to make, and how good they taste. . I hope the thread will be helpful, and that it will inspire us all to toss together a few ingredients, and create delicious, and health giving, goodies... from our own kitchen's... ... Enjoy...

juliewn, Jul 25, 4:53pm
Peanut Butter: Place 3 cups of peanuts (with or without skins) into an oven dish or microwave dish. Toast at 150°C/Medium microwave temp, stirring often, until the peanuts are only just beginning to change colour. Leave till completely cold. Place 2 cups of the peanuts in a food processor bowl and whizz until a smooth paste has formed. Add the remaining 1 cup of peanuts, and pulse to chop the nuts just a little for super-crunchy peanut butter, a little more for crunchy, or till smooth for smooth peanut butter. Add salt to taste if you need to, or enjoy your own peanut butter just as it is. . Makes about 1 & 1/2 cups

juliewn, Jul 25, 4:54pm
French Dressing: Place in a food processor bowl: 3 tablespoons white vinegar, 2 tablespoons oil (use your favourite 'good' oil, canola, olive, etc. . ), 1 tsp sugar, 1 tablespoon parsley sprigs, firmly packed and 1 clove garlic. Whizz all together. Season to your taste. To make by hand: Chop the parsley and garlic very finely, and place into a small bowl or jug. Add the sugar and crush the ingredients together with the back of a spoon. Add all other ingredients and stir together well until all are blended. Store in your fridge. Makes about 1/2 a cup. Make larger quantities if you want.

juliewn, Jul 25, 4:55pm
Tangy Citrus Dressing: Place in a food processor bowl: 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (or lemon juice if a more tangy dressing is preferred), 1/2 small onion or shallot, 1tsp dry mustard powder and 1 tablespoon firmly packed parsley or mint. Whizz till smooth, and season to taste. Serve as a rice or pasta salad dressing, or with a vegetable salad. Makes about 1/2 cup.

juliewn, Jul 25, 4:56pm
Mayonnaise: In a food processor bowl, place: 3 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, and pepper to your taste. Whizz till blended. With the motor still running, drizzle 1 & 1/4 cups of your favourite 'good' oil - canola, olive, etc. . Process until well combined and creamy. Season to taste, and pour into a jar or container. To make by hand, enlist some help. . use an egg beater to beat the egg yolks, salt, mustard powder, vinegar and pepper. Ask someone to drizzle the oil in as you keep beating, until well combined and the mix is creamy. Using an electric mixer works well too. Keep in your fridge. Makes about 1& 1/2 cups.

juliewn, Jul 25, 4:57pm
Peanut Satay Sauce: for stirfries, marinades, kebabs, etc. . Place in food processor bowl: 1 onion, peeled and quartered, 2 cloves garlic, 2 cm cube of green ginger, peeled and halved, 1 tablespoon of your favourite 'good' oil - canola, olive, etc. . 2 tsps curry powder, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup fruit chutney or tomato chutney, 1& 1/2 cups water. Whizz together till well blended. Add 200gms peanuts and whizz till as smooth as you want, or whizz lightly to keep the peanuts chunky. Use to marinate beef, chicken or lamb, to use as a curry sauce for beef, chicken or lamb, or toss through stirfries just before serving. . To make by hand, purchase a bag or two of chopped nuts (available in supermarket baking sections). Chop the onion, garlic and green ginger finely. Mix well with the other ingredients. . and add the chopped nuts. Mix well. Makes about 2 & 1/2 cups.

juliewn, Jul 25, 4:58pm
Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing: Place in a food processor bowl: 1 small clove garlic, 1/2 cup firmly packed fresh chives, 1/4 cup sour cream (or lite sour cream), 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (recipe above), 3 tablespoons milk, 1/2 tsp prepared mustard, 1 tsp lemon juice, 100gms blue vein cheese. Whizz till smooth, and season to your taste. To make by hand: chop the garlic and chives very finely, chop the blue vein cheese on a dinner plate, then mash the cheese well with a fork. Mix all ingredients together and beat or whisk well. Season to taste. Serve with salads, added to cottage cheese or cream cheese as a dip or to use as a spread for sandwiches, pita breads, wraps, etc. . or toss some through hot cooked pasta for a tasty dressing. Makes about 1 cup.

juliewn, Jul 25, 4:59pm
Pesto: Creating your own recipe is easy when making this delicious spread/dip/pasta topping, etc. . Use fresh herbs - basil, or parsley is good at this time of year - you could also add other herbs too. . tips of lemon verbena, lemon balm, pineapple sage, etc. . wash the herbs, shake well to dry, remove stalks if you want, then place in a food processor. . whizz till smoothish. . Add some garlic if you want, then some parmesan cheese to taste - from a piece of cheese is nicest - the powdered doesn't taste anywhere near as good. Add lots of lemon juice to taste. . then drizzle some oil in - I use canola - or you could use olive oil. Whizz well and season to taste. . When it's as you want it. . add some of your favourite nuts (pinenuts, cashews, walnuts, etc. . ) or seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin. . ) and whizz till lightly chopped. . Pile into jars and freeze any you don't want to use straight away. . and enjoy your own Pesto on toast, crackers, as a dip, on sandwiches, in pita bread, tossed through hot pasta, on pizza, etc. . etc. .

juliewn, Jul 25, 5:00pm
Hummous Variations: Add some sundried tomatoes after processing the above, and whizz till slightly blended or till smooth - your choice... Add and whizz in some de-seeded olives, or some roasted or boiled kumara or pumpkin, or fresh herbs - parsley goes particularly well with hummous. If you use quite a lot of herbs in the mix, you'll end up with a cross between hummous and pesto - which also tastes good. Some nuts or pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds can be added and either whizzed till smooth, or once the hummous is as you want it, add a handful and whizz lightly just to break the nuts or seeds a little. You can't go wrong - have a go and create your own masterpieces. .

juliewn, Jul 25, 5:01pm
Home-Made Lemon Drink: In a 1. 5 litre fizzy bottle, place 1 cup sugar and the juice of one or two lemon's. Half fill the bottle with water, place the lid on and shake well until the sugar is dissolved. Fill to the top with water. Chill well and it's ready. .

juliewn, Jul 25, 5:02pm
Variations: For Lemonade: Once the lemon drink is made, add 6 sultanas or raisins to the bottle and place the cap on firmly. Leave in a warmish place for a few days - keep a check on it. When the bottle feels tight, it's fizzy. Chill, and enjoy. .

juliewn, Jul 25, 5:03pm
Shortcake Pastry: For Apple Shortcake, Marshmallow Shortcake, Fruit pies (rhubarb, apple, berries, apricot, etc. . ) Christmas Mince Pies, etc. .
Place into a food processor 200gms flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 100gms SOFT butter . Whizz till blending slightly. In a bowl, beat 1 egg and 1 dssp sugar till thick and the sugar has dissolved. Add to the flour mix and pulse to combine. If doing by hand, sieve the flour and BP into a bowl... use your fingers to mix in the soft butter. Continue as above, mixing the thick egg and sugar in well. Mix the dough lighly together in your hands to form a smooth ball. Roll out and cut in circles to fit your pie dish, patty tins, etc. . - an upside down cup or small bowl might give the right size, so circles cut around that will cover the bottom and sides of your tin. Lightly spray or grease your tins and place the circles in, pressing down into the shape of the tins gently. Fill as you want, top with pastry, or strips of pastry, or leave open. Bake at 180°C till only just beginning to change colour.

juliewn, Jul 25, 5:04pm
Jo Seagar's Beer Bread: Mix well together: 3 cups flour, 3 heaped teaspoons baking powder, 1 tsp salt and a can or small bottle of beer made up to 500ml with water. Pile the mix into a greased baking paper lined loaf tin. Bake at 200°C for 50-60 minutes for a large loaf tin, or 30-40 minutes for the smaller loaf tins, till a skewer comes out clean. Alternatives. . use a cup of wholemeal or mixed grain flour in place of a cup of white flour. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese and or sesame or sunflower or pumpkin seeds - or add the seeds or cheese to the mix. Sprinkle rosemary, flaked sea salt or paprika over the top. Make stuffed bread. . pile 1/2 the mix into the tin - top with onion marmalade / chargrilled peppers/lightly cooked spinach leaves/ pitted olives etc. . Pile the rest of the dough on top and bake.

juliewn, Jul 25, 5:05pm
Variations: When mixing the ingredients, add sundried tomatoes, bacon, cooked lentils, cooked chickpeas or other legumes. Use tomato juice or beef stock in place of the water. Add some savoury yeast - this is available at Binn Inn type shops - it has a flavour similar to marmite/vegemite. Add cooked spinach or silverbeet, olives, pineapple, pesto, basil leaves, etc. . Vegetables like carrots, broccoli, potatoes, kumara and pumpkin, etc. . can be cooked and whizzed in too. You can design your own creation. . :-)

juliewn, Jul 25, 5:06pm
Variations: Onion Sauce: finely chop a small onion, and zap with the butter, with a paper towel on top of the bowl, until the onion is tender. Continue as above and use as above.

juliewn, Jul 25, 5:07pm
Curry Sauce: Add1 tsp ground turmeric and 1 - 2 tsps curry powder to your taste. Make as above, with or without onions. Add halved hard boiled eggs, to make Curried Eggs, or add fresh fish pieces and heat again till the fish is lighly cooked for Curried Fish. Add cooked pasta and top with grated cheese for a variation of Macaroni Cheese.

juliewn, Jul 25, 5:08pm
Smoked Fish In Sauce: Cut smoked fish into pieces, removing bones. Add to the white sauce, stir through and heat again till hot. Stand a few minutes for the flavours to blend. Add chopped parsley if you want. Serve on toast, or pile into an oven dish, top with mashed potato and smooth the top with the back of a fork. Bake at 180°Ctill the top is golden.

juliewn, Jul 25, 5:11pm
There will be many variations of the recipes above ... would you like to share your variations, and/or your favourite home-made tried and true recipes, so we can build this thread into a great resource for making nutritious goodies. . Cheers. . Have a great weekend. . :-)

carterne, Jul 25, 6:38pm
Julie May I be the first to say... ... you are a legend. In a time when we are all getting back to basics, these recipes have been around for ever but we went to the shop and bought the prepared jars. This is what I have needed for my kitchen. A million thanks to you and to others who will add to the thread. Best wishes. Erica

jenna68, Jul 25, 7:35pm
Well, julie, all I can say is ... holy shit! What an excellent idea for a thread, in this day of expensive groceries, perservatives, colourings and other unnatural ingredients, it would be great to, as carterne says, 'get back to the basics' and stop being so blardy lazy and popping down to the shop for a jar or bottle of something. Give yourself a huge pat on the back, well done! Tracey xx:o)

kob, Jul 25, 7:41pm
well good for you julie if i didnt have bacon cooking at the mo i could get carried away but i will wait till the house is quite and then ill devulge but ... . . great thread

carterne, Jul 26, 2:07am
Stock from bones Now, I know that many people get put off making their own stock. My advise is to start simple. The easiest homemade stock involves just the bones and water. From htere you add whatever you like/have/grow in the garden etc. So To statrt, I roast a chicken for the fmaily and we carve it and eat what we like of it. Then I get the juices from the pan (fat and all) and all the bones left with the meat taken off. Put the carcass in a big pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about thirty minutes. Strain into an icecream container. . Chill in fridge until the next day. Take the fat off the top and you are left with stock. Easy. an be frozen or use as it is to make soup, casseroles, rissotto etc.

carterne, Jul 26, 2:11am
flavour To add more flavour to the stock add onion, celery, carrots garlic herbs, seasonings to taste. It really doesn't matter so long as YOU like it. This makes a fantastic base for soup. If you have added these flavours for the simmering, take them out and discard when straining and add fresh to make the soup. I use carrots, peas, beans, small pasta shapes, tomatoes depending on what I have. If there is any chicken left over, shred and add to the soup.

rebecca18, Jul 26, 2:31am
PEANUT BUTTER - I have been making this for years Just wanted to say that I have been making my own peanut butter for years. Very, very delicious. A 400g pkt of peanuts probably makes around 2 cups of peanut butter. I tend to rest the food processor motor intermittently when grinding the peanuts, so it does not have to work too hard. It is worth noting also: The oil begins to release itself just when you think it’s never going to happen. Be assured, it will happen!

juliewn, Jul 26, 3:20am
Hi Everyone. . :-) thanks for your lovely comments Hope you're all safe and warm on this stormy Saturday afternoon. . a good afternoon to do some cooking. . I'm looking forward to seeing all the recipes, tips and suggestions. . there's a wonderful wealth of knowledge and experience among the people who share this messageboard. . and there'll be a way to home-make... anything!