What staples do you make?

By a staple, I mean more than a recipe you make a lot. Rather, I'm talking about a product you always have on hand, you make it yourself, and when you run out, you promptly make the next batch.

I've got two going now:
Granola: Once I learned a couple of years ago how easy it is, we now have our own as part of breakfast every morning, literally. I make a batch about once a week.
Cashew butter: This is a new one. I tried Alton Brown's recipe a couple of months ago, and the stuff just disappears. I now always have some on hand. A common late dinner after a long day of work is this stuff on rice or corn cakes.

Your turn.

Jonah

Rice.

I know. But it's super versatile, can be be eaten with essentially any cuisine, and leftover rice? Ta-daaaa! Fried rice!

Beer!!!

ok, so I only actually brew a few times a year

Flip

For sandwiches and pizzas:
- Roasted red peppers
- Caramelized onion confit

Labneh, flavored with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and zaatar. Yum!

Chicken stock

Beef stock

eatchicago wrote:Chicken stock

Beef stock

ditto

stewed tomatoes in season
hot sauce

I'm looking to finally get into home canning this Summer.

A somewhat similar discussion took place here.

My responses are pretty much the same:
Granola (although I make it closer to 4-5 times a year rather than weekly)
Pita/Crostini/Tortilla Chip Spreads (hummous, white bean mash, yucatecan pumpkinseed dip)
Salsas
Salad Dressings
And, recently, croutons

Bill/SFNM wrote:For sandwiches and pizzas:
- Roasted red peppers
- Caramelized onion confit

Bill, do you grill your peppers using a gas stove? I'm just curious what you do if you make these frequently. I know there must be an easier and more efficient way than what I've been doing (generally broiler - no gas stove).

I have been trying to make the process a little more hands-off in the toaster-oven at a lower temp, with some success.

Dal.

A 45-cent bag of yellow split peas, turmeric, garlic, green chilis, a couple of dry red peppers, a dash of oil, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. I think the whole things comes in under a dollar and it's a great meal for two -- with leftovers! -- especially if paired with steamed basmati rice.

gastro gnome wrote:
Bill, do you grill your peppers using a gas stove? I'm just curious what you do if you make these frequently. I know there must be an easier and more efficient way than what I've been doing (generally broiler - no gas stove).

I have been trying to make the process a little more hands-off in the toaster-oven at a lower temp, with some success.

gastro gnome:

I use the simple recipe in José Andrés' Tapas, A Taste of Spain in America for "Roasted Red Bell Peppers with Sherry Vinegar" which produces " a silky shiny sauce - an emulsion of the gelatinous peppers, the olive oil, and the vinegar". Plenty of garlic also! In this recipe, the peppers are coated with a thin film of olive oil and roasted in a 400F oven, turning every 10 minutes, until all side are browned.

Bill/SFNM

I'm salsa too.
Too easy to make, and jarred stuff is so bad it isn't even funny. The difference between fresh made and jarred is so great that the jarred stuff isn't even an option anymore. It's like ketchup on egg noodles vs semolina pasta with marinara.

Pickles - although, I just slice up a fresh pickle from the fruit market and then soak it in my "brine" in the fridge. One week = best pickle slices I've ever had. Extra garlic, hot pepper, and not too salty.

I always make my own giardiniera despite the warnings I've gotten here.
(I use store bought jarred chopped garlic.)

Roasted garlic - keeps forever frozen, frozen sauteed mushrooms and garlic (duxelles! Now I remember!) ditto on the peppers, which I just roast whole, seed, peel off most of the skin and freeze.

I also keep homemade pesto in the freezer for a quick dinner.

Since we are gluten-free, I keep several things here that are grain related: pancake mix ready to go and sourdough pancakes in the freezer for a fast meal. Homemade bread is always in the freezer, and sometimes I have hot dog and hamburger buns, too. I make Italian sausage a few times a year and have decided to branch out to breakfast sausage, too. I can/jar my own red sauce - usually two versions. Like someone else, I cook rice - usually brown and basmati - and freeze it. It's just so easy to take out quickly and use. . .and so much cheaper than buying cooked rice!

Lately I've kept the vinegar/carrot/jalapeno/onion mix in my fridge all the time.

Reading the other posts, the garlic sounds like a wonderful idea. I do keep chicken stock in the freezer, but not always homemade - often it's the leftover from a box or can that I opened in haste, but needed a portion thereof. That is on my to do list to start doing. I cut up some chickens yesterday and saved the backs and wings to get started. Not sure when, but soon. . .

Having an extreme obsessive compulsive personality disorder, there are quite a few homemade staples without which in the freezer, I cannot exist. The current list:

Chicken stock
Scallion pancakes
Puff pastry dough in 2# blocks
Tomato fondue (made every summer with Nichol's tomatoes)
Rolls of Oatmeal and Fruit cookie dough, ready to slice, thaw, and bake
Rolls of Cinnamon pinwheel cookie dough (from Rose Beranbaum's cream
cheese pie dough), ready to slice, thaw, and bake

And when the supply of frozen, triple wrapped one pound blocks of Plugra slips below 12#, I'm unable to sleep.

My version of the Joy of Cooking's recipe for meat sauce for lasagna (and other pasta dishes). I make a big batch of it every month or so, freeze several containers of it, and hand out other containers of it like lovely parting gifts to anyone who stops by the house.

Slightly OT, but I've never been up for learning how to do canning. But a recent article in Cook's Illustrated on how to freeze summer fruits and vegetables has me motivated to stockpile those, to see me through the next long, dark winter of my root-vegetable-weary discontent.

Two things I make:

Granola - Make a big batch about once a month.

Chicken Stock


Two things I buy:

Frozen Raw Shrimp - I used to freeze chicken and meat, but the quality seems to suffer. The shrimp already come frozen and cook very fast, so it makes an easy meal (in pasta, grilled, in a salad, plain boiled).

Canned Tomatoes. 80% of the year, canned tomatoes are better than what I can get in the stores. Great for a quick pasta sauce, or dozens of other dishes. On occasion I make a big batch of pasta sauce and freeze it as well, but I prefer it freshly made.

wak wrote:I used to freeze chicken and meat, but the quality seems to suffer.

This reminds me of something I read once, probably in The Joy of Cooking, that explained why chicken do not do well being frozen (something about the juices being extruded). Beef, on the other hand, is well suited for freezing, at least according to the authors.

Nothing new from me:
Brown Chicken Stock (some in a larger container, some in ice cube trays)

and I always have the ingredients on hand for hummous; ditto to the above vis a vis canned stewed tomatoes

Katie wrote:Beef, on the other hand, is well suited for freezing, at least according to the authors.

I have always had problems with beef - especially with the better/juicier cuts (NY Strip, Filet, etc.) Everytime I thaw frozen meat it ends up in a little pool of liquid. Appartently the water in the beef expands as it freezes and cuts through the cell walls, so that when you thaw it the liquid runs out. That liquid is the key to a juicy steak, so the frozen steaks I have eaten have not lost flavor as much as tenderness. I have a hunk of Bottom Round in the freezer now, but I'll braise it, so I'm not too concerned with the loss of moisture.

I don't want us to hijack the thread, but it seems like I've seen the suggestion that freezing in a certain way (can't remember if it's gradual or quick) helps with this issue. I'm not sure how it would though, since water molecules immediately rearrange themselves into a crstalline lattice structure at the freezing point. That wouldn't seem to change no matter how slowly you crept, or how quickly you dashed to zero.

The faster the freezing, the smaller the water crystals will be, and therefore less cell damage.

Evil Ronnie wrote:Tomato fondue (made every summer with Nichol's tomatoes)

Ronnie,

Can you elaborate on this dish? Is it really fondue that you dip stuff into?

pasta/bolognese sauce
pasta dough for ravioli (to use up certain leftovers - something I started doing recently)
rice, for the same reasons previously mentioned

stevez wrote:

Evil Ronnie wrote:Tomato fondue (made every summer with Nichol's tomatoes)

Ronnie,

Can you elaborate on this dish? Is it really fondue that you dip stuff into?

Steve,

Not a cheesy fondue in the Swiss tradition. More like the French term fondue, or melted, sort of.

In the height of tomato season, when I constantly have twenty, even thirty tomatoes on the counter, I am constantly making batches of my Tomato fondue, and freezing them for the winter.

Ingredients
Ripe tomatoes
Best possible olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sliced garlic
Optional basil leaves

Method
1. Put a large pot of water on to blanch the tomatoes. Prepare a bowl of
ice water for shocking.
2. Core and "x" the tomatoes. Blanch for 10 or slightly seconds, depending
on ripeness. Shock immediately.
3. Remove the skins. Half the tomatoes. Remove seeds and juice in a
strainer over a bowl. Save juice.
4. Peel and slice garlic.
5. Rough cut the tomatoes.
6. In your largest possible non-reactive saucepan, brazier, or casserole,
over very high heat, add a generous amount of olive oil and quickly
sweat the garlic for several seconds. Add tomatoes and juice which will
immediately begin boiling and reducing. In order to preserve the flavor,
I usually use several pans to make dual batches more quickly than one
huge batch. The whole idea is to get the sauce on and off within about
ten minutes preserving that beautiful summer tomato flavor. Contrary
to popular belief, long simmering will destroy fresh tomato flavor.
7. Remove from heat. Add S & P , more olive oil if you like, and
optional basil leaves. Taste before adding, as salt may not be necessary.
8. Quickly cool the fondue in an ice bath to further preserve flavor.

nr706 wrote:The faster the freezing, the smaller the water crystals will be, and therefore less cell damage.

That must be why the frozen shrimp fare well - they flash freeze them just after harvesting.

Sorbets

always have some fresh sorbets on hand. Mrs.Monkey likes to go to the produce store quite frequently and I love to make sorbets and then give them out to family and friends. Best of the year so far were the Blood Orange sorbets I made in May, although I think the tangerine sorbet might have been better considering Mrs.Monkey didn't leave me any!!

Also roasted garlic, simple syrup, chocolate syrup and pesto.

Stock. Mostly chicken, but always a few (? maybe 20%) pork neckbones, browned, simmered with carrots, onions and celery, and reduced 90%, poured into ice cube trays, and frozen.

Roasted Red Peppers . I roast them in my intensely (!) hot electric Weber, and freeze them, quartered.

Mushroom slices. Slice thickly, saute at massive heat in olive oil, remove to a pizza pan just when they begin to leak, spread out in a thin layer and pop in freezer. After frozen, break the frozen layer into chunks and keep in freezer.

Summer's End Meat Sauce. Buy a zillion tomatoes to add to my garden's bounty. Make extremely complicated sauce. Half-can and keep in fridge.

Geo

I used to keep lamb stock on hand as well for that "undefinable" something. Haven't found my bone source yet, though.

Scratch That: How cost-effective is it to make homemade pantry staples?

I thought this was a quick, entertaining read that actually makes me feel a little tempted to try my hand at bagel making & canning.

Hi,

The only person I know who made their own cream cheese is Bill/SFNM. Given his nature to pick just the right culture, use just the right ingredients, I can only imagine his cream cheese would be the best ever. In his hands, cream cheese is priceless experience.

Regards,