In the Evil Ronnie/Donna household most things are made from scratch but now ER is in his pimento cheese spread vein.... It's so easy and so much less $ than store bought, with no added sugars.

I also stopped buying salad dressing because my family prefers freshly homemade. It's much easier and cheaper. I also used to make hummous in our blender until one day I burned the motor out. Now that I finally replaced the blender, I suppose I should go back to making my own.

We never buy pancake mix, although, like Cathy2, I love the Jiffy cornbread mix and will make it from time to time.

For years, my brother refused to buy store-bought bread. He would make his own at home. In fact, he justified the cost of his Sam's Club membership because purchasing their yeast in bulk was so cheap!

While there are many things I would prefer to make from scratch on a regular basis, I find (as so many people do) that working full time in the city and having to deal with a family schedule makes it difficult to find the time. Carpools and homework and school activities in the evenings sometimes makes it hard to even get a meal on the table at a decent hour.

Suzy

I was going to say french fries, but realized that I pass up any number of potato products, both fresh and frozen, whose existence I don't understand. Potatoes are pretty easy to keep, and most of the prep work is done for you if you buy the small ones. I mean, you still have to fry the french fries, but you want to sacrifice texture to save the minute and a half of running a potato through a mandoline?

In the summer, I buy a lot less fresh herbs as my back garden has them for me - but I do admit to wanting out-of-season basil and such during the winter.

Mhays wrote:I was going to say french fries, but realized that I pass up any number of potato products, both fresh and frozen, whose existence I don't understand.

Mmmmm.... Tater Tots (why don't we have a drooling emoticon, anyway?)

G Wiv wrote:Michael,

Interesting topic. Hummus, I agree, I just don't understand buying store bought hummus.

I don't own a food processor. Making my own is a PITA.

Cathy2 wrote:HI,
I will only buy popcorn in the raw kernal form. I have a stir-crazy as well as an air popper and if pressed can do it on the stove. If I were in a cabin for the weekend, I might buy a Jiffy Pop PopCorn where you cook it on the stove and the foil container unwinds as it fills with popcorn. I don't even know if it is still available, but I find those to be very entertaining. Microwave popcorn does nothing for me.
,

In my opinion, microwave popcorn is wayyyyyy better than air popped.
I am curious about Alton Brown's microwave popcorn recipe, though. If I had a bowl of air-popped corn and a bowl of packing peanuts, it'd be a toss-up for me which to snack on. Maybe you make some special corn.

The only thing I don't buy in the store anymore is dog food. My gf has gone BARF on me and the pup.

If Alton Brown's recipe is the one where you put kernels and oil in a brown paper bag, staple, and microwave, we do it whenever we want popcorn here. Simple, good results, and we've never had any problems with the metal in the microwave. We usually top with clarified butter and popcorn salt, and I like to add on some hot sauce.

earthlydesire wrote:Love this topic.


And so much much cheaper than your bottled sauce (and nary a preservative to be found!) I was shocked by how much sugar is in bottled tomato sauces....

shannon

Is it really cheaper? I can get a jar of sauce for $2.00. I think homemade is better -and I am sure better for you- but I don't think it's cheaper.

What wine do you use? I generally spend at least $7 or $8 on the wine.

Well, a few big cans of peeled tomatoes, half of a bottle of wine, an onion or a few cloves of garlic and a little olive oil doesn't cost much more than $10 and makes more than 5 jars worth. Just freeze the bulk of it.

seebee wrote:
3. Hot Chocolate Powder.
Seen the prices on the brands that use a decent chocolate? I can buy better cocoa powder, and then add powdered milk and sugar. Voila!
4lbs of Hot Cocoa powder.

This sounds pretty tempting. Can you give me an idea of the rough ratios? 4 parts sugar/3 parts cocoa/1 part milk?

gleam wrote:Well, a few big cans of peeled tomatoes, half of a bottle of wine, an onion or a few cloves of garlic and a little olive oil doesn't cost much more than $10 and makes more than 5 jars worth. Just freeze the bulk of it.

Bulk is the issue - my city apartment freezer doesn't have that sort of room.
How I would love a big freezer!

gleam wrote:If Alton Brown's recipe is the one where you put kernels and oil in a brown paper bag, staple, and microwave, we do it whenever we want popcorn here. Simple, good results, and we've never had any problems with the metal in the microwave. We usually top with clarified butter and popcorn salt, and I like to add on some hot sauce.

I suppose Alton Brown didn't invent this method. But I am going to try that method next time. Ilike the idea of controlling the portion size.

HI,

Air popped popcorn is not my favorite. If your popcorn is even a bit rancid, there is no hiding the flavor. No matter how it is popped, I prefer to season my own. I will give the Alton Brown microwave popcorn a try, though. Thanks for alerting me to it.

I had to look up BARF (bones and raw food). Too bad you don't have a cat. Last year I was given samples of raw cat food, which I would happily give you. I defrosted one, which had a strong odor of cod liver oil. My girl lives off of Fancy Feast, who sniffed the raw food and took off not to return until dinner was really served.

Regards,

kenji wrote:I don't own a food processor. Making my own is a PITA.

Kenji,

I make smaller batches of hummus in a blender, which works quite well. I've never made hummus in a mortar and pestle, but am guessing, aside from being a pain in the posterior, it would work quite well.

Actually, I have a mortar and pestle I picked up when Don Outlet on Elston closed that would do the trick in short order.



Enjoy,
Gary

Gleam -

1 to 1 to 1 (cocoa to powdered milk to powdered creamer)
to:
1.5 sugar
(I've only used the cheapest powdered milk and creamer - so I'm not sure
if there is a huge difference in flavor between extra cheap and name-brand)

Hummus with homemade tahini is even better than with the store bought stuff. Here's a quick recipe from an old Frugal Gourmet cookbook:

3/4 lb sesame seeds
2 t peanut oil
3 T peanut oil

Place seeds on a baking sheet and toast in 350°F oven for 20 minutes or until lightly toasted. Process in food processor for 3 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons peanut oil and process on high for 30 seconds. Add 3 tablespoons peanut oil anf process until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Sesame seeds in bulk are available at :
Middle East Bakery and Pastry
1512 W. Foster Ave.
773-561-2224

They even have bags of toasted sesame seeds, which reduces the time on the above recipe to about 6 minutes.

I forgot one more thing for this list.

GIARDINIERA!!!!

I'm really not a "saltie," so the store bought brands make me cringe sometimes. It's FAR too easy to make, and another reason to grow different pepper varieties in the garden. Most store boughts use soybean oil - I prefer EVOO. PLUS, you can actually make it hot!!! End of summer / early fall when the habaneros and serranos and jalapenos are good and ripe (or when there's a sale at your fruit market on whatever peppers you think would be good:)

Chop up yer peppers to whatever size you prefer
(I'm a very small dicer - better coverage in end usage)
Chop up whatever other veggies you want in it
( I do a SMALL amt of carrots, and an even SMALLER amt of celery.
Onions, olives to your taste)
Chopped garlic - (sky's the limit. Most store bought brands do not add NEARLY enough. Make your own - you'll see.)
Healthy sprinkle of dried basil

Soak everything for a day or two in salted water
(a measurement I do not know. I do know what salted water tastes like tho.)

Throw what you have into a good jar (s,) and cover with EVOO.
(I will give the stuff a quick fresh water rinse - this is not necessary - I do it to remove some of the salt.)

It will be hard, but don't touch it for two weeks. Then, go get yer favorite biff sammich.

A good thing:
when you remove some, replace the divot with more evoo. The oil here turns to gold! Drizzle or use on sammiches, frozen pizza, garlic bread,mashed taters, eggs, bread dip, steamed veggies, aglio/olio, marinara, STEAMED MUSSELLS!!!! , marinades.

Not sure how long this will keep - I'd imagine it's quite a while if you keep topping with oil. Mine do not last very long, so I have no idea. Haven't bought store brand giard in a few years after webbing up a recipe, and I will put mine against any brand - any time. Evoo adds MUCH more flavor,
and is much lighter than soybean oil. Veggies are crunchy since they are not 'heat canned' Makes your beef sammich 'pop'

seebee,

Are you keeping this in your refrigerator or on the shelf?

Regards,

The giardiniera recipe sounds terrific, but my understanding is that long term storage (more than a few days) of oil containing garlic is not such a great idea from a food safety standpoint. I think Cook's Illustrated mentioned something about risk of botulism, even in refrigerated oils containing raw garlic. The commercial varieties must be using salt and/or vinegar to create a less hospitable environment for bacteria.

seebee wrote:Chopped garlic - (sky's the limit. Most store bought brands do not add NEARLY enough. Make your own - you'll see.)
.....
Throw what you have into a good jar (s,) and cover with EVOO.
.....
It will be hard, but don't touch it for two weeks. Then, go get yer favorite biff sammich.

This is not only a recipe for giardinera, but a potential recipe for botulism.

If you this sort of thing do make sure you read up on garlic, oil, and the potential for botulism. Even garlic in oil in refrigeration can become dangerous and potentially lethal, especially when there's no acid involved.

Best,
Michael

Have to agree with the rest of the group. Packing the vegetables in a brine solution is essential for bacterial control. Packing in oil creates an anaerobic atmosphere which allows the growth of the botulism toxin.

Melinda Lee's website had a section on this subject a few years back.
http://www.melindalee.com

jlawrence01 wrote:Have to agree with the rest of the group. Packing the vegetables in a brine solution is essential for bacterial control. Packing in oil creates an anaerobic atmosphere which allows the growth of the botulism toxin.

Even when there's no garlic in the mix and it's refrigerated? There's a bevy of products out there which are packed in oil (capers, store-bought giardinera, roasted red peppers, etc.), some of which do contain garlic, but require refrigeration after opening.

Again, going back to my old foodservice course with the City of Chicago: botulism spores thrive in dirt - therefore, any root vegetable has the potential to contain spores, especially those that have layers that can be like onions or garlic. In order to develop the botulism toxin, the spores must be in an anaerobic environment: an improperly prepared can, or oil.

Suggestions:

*Wash all soil-contaminated produce before adding it to an oil infusion,
*Add an acidifying agent such as lemon juice or vinegar to the recipe at the rate of one tablespoon per cup of oil,
*Keep oil infusions refrigerated in order to retard the growth of any microbes,
*Discard infusions after one week, or sooner if apparent cloudiness, gas bubbles, or foul odor develop and,
*When in doubt, throw it out.

Source: Food Safety Notebook, Vol. 9, No. 4, April 1998

Would salt be the acidifying agent in my concoction? Last batch I made was in October. Still have some in the fridge, and used it on Sat. Good as ever.

I store it in the fridge. Before I toss it in the jar, it's soaked for a day or two in salt water.

sorry - I assumed that it would be understood - soaked in the fridge
in salt water for a day or two and then stored in the fridge in the jar. As for botulism, I have not had any scares of anything yet.

Seebee,

are you only soaking in salt water? Almost all commercial mixes have a noticable tang from vinegar. I like the tang and would probably pickle the mix for a few days or weeks then cover in oil, but that's just me.

Flip

Flip,

Yes, it seems to me vinegar is an -- and perhaps the -- essential element. The dish, as the name indicates, is of Italian origin and for Italians it has a second name, to wit, 'verdure sott'aceto': vegetables under vinegar. The vegetables are typically boiled (though not 'to death') in vinegar in order that they be thus flavoured and safely stored. Italian recipes I've come across typically have little garlic, sometimes none. The vast amounts of garlic in the recipe given above, without the proper cooking of the vegetables in vinegar, add danger and to my mind an unappealing imbalance of flavour, though obviously that's a question of aesthetics.

Note too that Italian preserved vegetable dishes described as "sott'olio", that is, 'under oil', also involve dressing with and/or cooking in vinegar (or lemon juice).

Antonius

Sorry to add more bad news. . .botulism doesn't give you many hints, if any, that it is there, and even when it tastes bad, a taste can literally kill you. Now, on the other hand, I recently read that the reported cases from home canned products is quite small in the US every year. On the other hand, almost all of the cases came from home canned/processed food. Here is a harrowing story of home canning gone wrong.

I recently made our favorite pasta sauce and canned 25 pint jars. I was reading the most recent canning "rules" and was surprised, as I hadn't canned in a few years. I wasn't expecting to have to add lemon juice - I think 1 tablespoon per pint - to ensure proper acidification. This caused quite a bit of consternation!

Anyway, back to botulism and giardinera - it is probably a pickling method that should be followed. That requires copious amount of vinegar to get the product within the correct acid range. This webpage provides some USDA guidelines.

Thanks for the info, and sorry for the uninformed post. I'll toss in some vinegar for the next batch, but probably not enough to put it up to code.
Stuff is too good on it's own as it is. I promise I won't track anyone down and try to sue because of mis-information. This board is a wealth of knowledge.