Pioneer mode
I really do think I'm turning into my grandmother, slowly but surely. I've become obsessed with making everything from scratch, totally O.G. Old school.
Example: Here I am, up at 7am on a saturday to make all day chicken and vegetable stock for soups and sauces. That's to go in to the freezer with my other stocks from pork and beef.
No more buying sodium laced bland-o-slop stock in a box from the store or <shudder > a bouillon cube.
And so simple. 1. Save up leftover veggies and bones in a bag in the freezer. 2. Dump the chicken bones from last weeks braised chicken, some onions and carrots, a few aromatics from the garden (thyme, bay, rosemary) into my stock pot and cover it with water. 3. Heat it up to a low simmer and walk away for 5-6 hours.
Strain and ladle into mason jars.
Kaboom. My soups and sauces and stews have never, NEVER tasted so good as with my own custom stock.
Easy, but do I stop there? No way. I am a pioneer.
Last wednesday I made a batch of home-built mayonnaise. Some eggs, some oil (and a touch of garlic and dill -- just because I said so) and a lot of whisk work and I had the most amazing textured mayonnaise you've ever seen. Mixed with some fresh albacore tuna (thank you California for having an ocean nearby), some diced sweet pickle and two dollops of my fresh parsley/oil/garlic pesto (from Sunday's bbq) and a couple of slices of fresh Ciabatta and I had a sammich one only dreams about.
Salsa and dips and staples I make from scratch constantly:
Toum (lebanese dip for meats, crackers, veggies),
hand pressed corn tortillas (nuff said One of my torillas and you will NEVER buy the floppy cardboard tortillas from Safeway again)
Example: Here I am, up at 7am on a saturday to make all day chicken and vegetable stock for soups and sauces. That's to go in to the freezer with my other stocks from pork and beef.
No more buying sodium laced bland-o-slop stock in a box from the store or <shudder > a bouillon cube.
And so simple. 1. Save up leftover veggies and bones in a bag in the freezer. 2. Dump the chicken bones from last weeks braised chicken, some onions and carrots, a few aromatics from the garden (thyme, bay, rosemary) into my stock pot and cover it with water. 3. Heat it up to a low simmer and walk away for 5-6 hours.
Strain and ladle into mason jars.
Kaboom. My soups and sauces and stews have never, NEVER tasted so good as with my own custom stock.
Easy, but do I stop there? No way. I am a pioneer.
Last wednesday I made a batch of home-built mayonnaise. Some eggs, some oil (and a touch of garlic and dill -- just because I said so) and a lot of whisk work and I had the most amazing textured mayonnaise you've ever seen. Mixed with some fresh albacore tuna (thank you California for having an ocean nearby), some diced sweet pickle and two dollops of my fresh parsley/oil/garlic pesto (from Sunday's bbq) and a couple of slices of fresh Ciabatta and I had a sammich one only dreams about.
Salsa and dips and staples I make from scratch constantly:
Toum (lebanese dip for meats, crackers, veggies),
Sekrit pesto (great on toast, lamb, and surprisingly in my mayo for making tuna fish sammiches)
hand pressed corn tortillas (nuff said One of my torillas and you will NEVER buy the floppy cardboard tortillas from Safeway again)
Pico de gallo (Takes less than 5 minutes to make just the right heat and spiciness that you love, and you will laugh at the poor lazy folks who buy pre-made from the store)
Next up is canning my own tomatoes for next winter's pastas, should i have enough of a garden free from the damned dirty deer this year.
Other misc things I make myself:
- apply pies from my tree's apples
- honey from my hive (no sugar in this house)
- plum and cherry ice cream from our own trees
- Eggs for omelets and quiches from my neighbor's lovely chickens
- rosemary and mint plucked off the vine from my front yard
- Beer. Yes, Glorious ales, IPA's and stouts. Nothing beats home brew beer
There is really something extremely soulful about doing things for yourself and getting off the processed, corporate food train as much as possible.
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