Khaopaat wrote: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.

That bagel recipe did look pretty tempting. I printed out Alton Brown's granola recipe too. Thanks.

pimientos
yogurt
some form of crusty bread
chinese-style chicken stock

If it wasn't so much cheaper to buy premade, I'd probably make ajvar (pepper-eggplant spread) on a regular basis, too.

Salsa Ranchera (dry-skillet roasted jalapeno and garlic blended with tomato, reduced a bit, seasoned)
Kimchi (about half the price as (Korean) store bought, I make a "quick" variety with napa)

These two ingredients make for the foundations of my two most prepared dishes at home- each making it into the rotation several times a week- Huevos Rancheros and Kimchi Jigae.

Khaopaat wrote: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.

I was tempted by the strong endorsement of the homemade bagels as well.

They are not even close to the best bagels I've ever eaten, but they certainly are better than any supermarket variety and they're pretty easy and fun to make. I screwed up in several respects (most notably, trying to do the 10 minute knead with my Cuisinart since I don't have a Kitchenaid mixer--the food processor, and the dough, got much too hot), but they're still fine and I'd certainly try a second time.

I used Penzey's toasted minced onions for the onion bagels. Exactly the flavor and crunch I was looking for.

Ann, those look very, very good. I'm going to have to take a whack at them...

Mhays wrote:Ann, those look very, very good. I'm going to have to take a whack at them...

I agree! I printed out the recipe for the bagels a few days ago, when this topic went up, and I hope to try making them soon. And thanks, Ann, for the toasted onion tip.

Well, they aren't staples, but I have blackberry scones in the oven right now (with cardamom, rose and saffron)

Many of the above already mentioned (Yogurt, chicken and beef stock, pesto, bread, roasted peppers)

plus a few others
applesauce
chive vinegar
tomato juice in August, frozen until needed
A variety of garden products also frozen or canned (tomato chutney, strawberries, tomato based pasta sauce, etc.)

Hi,

Homemade tomato juice is the elixir of the Gods. Do you also make a V-8 type juice?

Regards,

Ann, your bagels look terrific. I've made bagels a few times. I'm a big advocate of Peter Reinharts bread books and used the recipe in the bread makers aprentice. Sophie VI's youngest said it was the best bagels she ever ate but I just think its because she's my granddaughter. Anyway, bagels are a very heavy dough. The first time I made them I did it in my 30+ year old 5 qt Kitchen Aid and thought I burned out the motor kneading. Didn't just overheated the machine. I've since gotten the 6Qt professional kitchen aid and did have it over heat for a couple of minutes but then it continued kneading. So lesson learned you need a strong motor or strong hands to knead bagels. Follow Reinharts recipe and they will be some of the best bagels you've ever eaten. By the way his challah recipe is fantastic and several of his other breads are also great. I have a 100% whole wheat from his whole grain in the bread box now.
Paulette

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Homemade tomato juice is the elixir of the Gods. Do you also make a V-8 type juice?

Regards,

Yes although it varies depending on what vegetables I have on hand. I almost always include cucumbers, carrots and peppers then what ever else is ripe and I have too much of. The vegetable pulp left from juicing goes either into pasta sauce, soup stock, or the compost bin.

I also tried the bagel recipe from the link up thread. I didn't have any bread flour, so used 1 cup whole wheat and all purpose flour for the rest. They are nicely chewy, but the crust has less crunch than I'd hope for. Next time I would bake them on a baking stone. But as Ann noted, they are better than store bought bagels. Used a Jenn-air stand mixer with dough hook for kneading the dough without any problems.

gastro gnome wrote: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

I have a vague memory of making croutons once a long time ago, but it's one of those foods that I forget about, that would be nice with, say, soup at home but that I just never seek out or think to stock as a staple.

Well, today, I found myself not feeling so well and trying to think of something to eat that would be on the bland side and not require me to leave the house, and I remembered that I had a giant bag of leftover bread from Argo Georgian Bakery in my freezer. Makes the best croutons! I didn't want to fry them as I was worried the oil and garlic wouldn't be the best thing given how I'm feeling today, but I cubed the bread and dry-baked it, then seasoned with some lemon pepper. A far cry from my usual afternoon treat of choice, but it turns out that homemade croutons were just what I needed today. I'm eating them like crackers. Perhaps a new staple for me:

Would I get thrown off this website and called out for blasphemy if I said Boboli pizza? I get creative with toppings, and it makes for a great, quick meal. Definitely on regular rotation in our household.

I roast red peppers and garlic on the grill at least once a week and always try to make sure I have them on hand.

I also have a lot of seasonal things: In the winter I always have homemade chicken stock, pesto in the spring, pickles in the summer, and roasted pumpkin seeds in the fall.

Would I get thrown off this website and called out for blasphemy if I said Boboli pizza? I get creative with toppings, and it makes for a great, quick meal. Definitely on regular rotation in our household.

No, you aren't going to be banned - but the topic for this thread is "What Staples do you make?" (presumably from scratch), not "What convenience shortcut foodstuffs do you use?" No offense, but there's another thread here somewhere about that topic. . .

Like some others on this thread, I've made a couple of batches of yogurt recently relying mostly on this article from Harold McGee and this episode of Good Eats.

It really is much easier than I thought. And Alton Brown's hack to use a heating pad to keep the container at temp worked very well (as did the "proof" setting on the oven).

I'm using whole milk and the results are a rich flavor, stabilizer-free texture and great tang without the sour notes you'll often find in commercial plain yogurts. I had given up on regular yogurt for greek yogurt and labneh, but the homemade yogurt is very good. And if I want thicker variants, then I can just strain and make my own.

Oh and as a recent slate.com article (discussed upthread) mentions, it can be cheaper to convert good quality milk into yogurt than it is to buy the same organic, hormone-free, tasty yogurt brands at the store.

Edited to correct salon.com reference to slate.com and add the link

sundevilpeg wrote:

Would I get thrown off this website and called out for blasphemy if I said Boboli pizza? I get creative with toppings, and it makes for a great, quick meal. Definitely on regular rotation in our household.

No, you aren't going to be banned - but the topic for this thread is "What Staples do you make?" (presumably from scratch), not "What convenience shortcut foodstuffs do you use?" No offense, but there's another thread here somewhere about that topic. . .

Please . . . when people are discussing bagels and croutons, they'll naturally also discuss pizza crust. No harm or foul here. LTH is flashlight, not laser-focused.

sundevilpeg wrote:

Would I get thrown off this website and called out for blasphemy if I said Boboli pizza? I get creative with toppings, and it makes for a great, quick meal. Definitely on regular rotation in our household.

No, you aren't going to be banned - but the topic for this thread is "What Staples do you make?" (presumably from scratch), not "What convenience shortcut foodstuffs do you use?" No offense, but there's another thread here somewhere about that topic. . .

Do you happen to have the link to that thread? I couldn't find it.

aschie30 wrote:

sundevilpeg wrote:

Would I get thrown off this website and called out for blasphemy if I said Boboli pizza? I get creative with toppings, and it makes for a great, quick meal. Definitely on regular rotation in our household.

No, you aren't going to be banned - but the topic for this thread is "What Staples do you make?" (presumably from scratch), not "What convenience shortcut foodstuffs do you use?" No offense, but there's another thread here somewhere about that topic. . .

Please . . . when people are discussing bagels and croutons, they'll naturally also discuss pizza crust. No harm or foul here. LTH is flashlight, not laser-focused.

Thanks, aschie30! I really did think that the question was about anything that you make on a regular basis. And Boboli (completely ungourmet and not made from scratch) happens to fall under that category for me.

I'm still pretty new to this site and haven't really gotten around to figuring everything out about how to navigate around here. Truth be told, I do get a little intimidated to post! I think I might go back to lurking for awhile

Please . . . when people are discussing bagels and croutons, they'll naturally also discuss pizza crust. No harm or foul here. LTH is flashlight, not laser-focused.

Sorry, but I'm afraid that I have to disagree with your logic. Buying a Boboli and topping it is equivalent to buying bagels or pre-made croutons, not making a staple. I don't understand your logic in equating purchasing a Boboli to making one's own bagels at all.

I'm not saying that there is anything inherent wrong with buying a pre-made pizza shell; it just does not make sense in the context of the thread. If you disagree, that's certainly your perogative!


BTW, Dosa Girl, if I could recall the name of the thread, which involved people discussing foods that they felt somewhat guilty about buying, I'd supply it, but something stemming from an abstract idea is very difficult to search for - not to mention that it may well have occurred in a thread titled something utterly unrelated, as frequently happens here. Sorry!

Well, back on topic:

Tomato Gravy over biscuits- almost a weekly event at my house
Shrimp & Grits - Also a weekend treat
Chicken Cordon Bleu - easy and (in my kitchen) versatile
Homemade spaghetti sauce- I make enough to feed an army, then seal and freeze
cucumber and onion salad with fish sauce and vinegar

sundevilpeg wrote:BTW, Dosa Girl, if I could recall the name of the thread, which involved people discussing foods that they felt somewhat guilty about buying, I'd supply it, but something stemming from an abstract idea is very difficult to search for - not to mention that it may well have occurred in a thread titled something utterly unrelated, as frequently happens here. Sorry!

guilty pleasures: Velveeta and Cheese Whiz
Guilty Pleasures?

Alioli - I almost always have a jar in the fridge, and put it on almost all meats, potatoes, slather it on bread...etc

MKL

just off the top of my head:

bbq rubs
bbq sauce
salad dressings
infused oils
stocks
sauces

I forgot one in my jars-o-staples:

Biscotti (aka cookies for breakfast, aka Sharon-needs-chocolate-in-the-morning)

I do those, too - but I can't call them staples, I can't keep up with the demand...

Sofrito is in my freezer, really ought to use it more often.

Of course broths, I do chicken, beef, pork sometimes veal, and chicken stock from all those backs. And rabbit stock as well.

BBQ sauce. Most stuff out there is way too sweet. My biggest problem is that I just sit and eat it sometimes.

Salad dressings

I used to do chili powder, but now I honesly make it up every time I use it. Fresh is that much better.

kanin wrote:chinese-style chicken stock

Jefe wrote:Kimchi (about half the price as (Korean) store bought, I make a "quick" variety with napa)

Could you both please post a recipe/method for these staples? I make a lot of chicken stock and wouldn't mind a new variation, and I usually have napa around, and have become addicted to kimchi - but the smell really bugs the family. Making it as needed might keep everybody happy.

HI,

Pita chips: I bought a bag of 10 pitas for 99 cents at Jerry's Fruit and Vegetable. I preheated oven to 400 degrees. I split each pita making two rounds. When I had three pitas split or six rounds, I used my bread knife to cup them in eighths. Laid them out in a single layer edge to edge, then baked them for 10 minutes.

There are various suggestions out there to brush them with various herbs, spice and/or sprinkle coarse salt. The plain ones I made could be considered the Carr's water cracker of pita chips and quite versatile.

Regards,