What foods do you love so much, you'd make from scratch if you couldn't buy it?

[Subtle_badger]

Back in my carb eating days, I would definitely make bread from scratch if I had a bag of flour and some salt. If I was given a bag of wheat, I doubt I would buy a grain mill; I would learn to live without bread.

I made pasta once; too much effort for the result.

I would definitely make yoghurt, presuming I could source some starter, and labneh. I would probably make other cheeses if none were available to buy, but there is no individual cheese I'd miss enough that a different variety would not be a substitute.

What favourite food that you buy now would you make in your kitchen if that was the only way to have it?

[Isinatra]

👋I recently had just that situation. I love Dirty Rice which has been deleted from my favorite fried chicken outlet menu. I have a cook book from Louisiana that has a recipe for it. By the ingredients listed in the recipe, I think it will be even better than the take out fare. Yum! I can’t wait!😋

[Subtle_badger in reply to Isinatra]

That sounds nice, indeed. Making it yourself it will almost certainly be healthier, because you get to choose the oil, rather than just use the cheapest one.

Will you include chicken liver? it's very cheap and super nutritious.

I might try making it with cauliflower rice,

[Isinatra in reply to Subtle_badger]

Liver, to me,is the main flavorful ingredient in it. Never tried cauliflower rice. Does it have similar consistency of plain rice?

[Subtle_badger in reply to Isinatra]

Very similar, though you would never mistake it. I tried cauliflower risotto, disaster. It just doesn't transform into almost a creamy sauce the way rice does.

But I think something that relies on rice keeping it's grains separate would work better.

[Isinatra in reply to Subtle_badger]

Thank you, Subtle. I think I’ll keep the traditional use of rice in the mix. 👍🏼😁

[Hidden]

Hi Subtle_badger I bake my own gluten free bread cakes cookies and puddings because I don’t like processed foods E no’s artificial sugars etc. So I bake using the healthiest ingredients that I can like quinoa. I’ve also made yoghurt in a thermos and it’s really easy to do.

[Subtle_badger in reply to Hidden]

Ah, I guess you already do, then.

[Cooper27 Administrator]

We kinda face this in my household, as my partner is coeliac and I can't eat gluten either. To be fair, we miss far fewer foods than I thought we would, but there's a few I enjoyed making over lockdown to brighten up our weeks, like Calzone and Peshwari Naan.

I had to bring gluten back into my diet for a little while in Feb, and I realised all the foods I really miss (as opposed to the ones I just think I miss): Samosas, Bridies (like a cornish pasty) and Pork Pies. I hope to try making them at some point, but I could be happy to eat them <once a year.

Most of our other food is cooked from scratch anyway, but I guess I'd have to try making sausages if I couldn't buy them any more.

[SquirrelNutkin in reply to Cooper27]

A good sausage - definitely with you there. Just think of the good times you could have mixing and matching flavours and seasonings.

[Subtle_badger in reply to SquirrelNutkin]

I would make sausage patties, I think. The effort involved in pushing it into skins would not be worth it to me.

[SquirrelNutkin in reply to Subtle_badger]

Oh yes. From bowl of goodies to cooking in the pan as quickly as possible. I bet a good meaty “sausage” could be rolled into a sausage shape with skin anyway?

[Subtle_badger in reply to Cooper27]

We have similar tastes. A good calzone (or wood fired pizza) is a treat, as is naan. I could happily just eat the centre of a pork pie myself, never a huge fan of the pastry - though many years ago I cycled through Melton Mowbray at 6am on a Sunday morning, so was sad I didn't have the opportunity to try them.

[SquirrelNutkin]

Don’t buy much “made” food. I suppose I would have to have a try at cheese and butter making. I know it’s two but this is a nightmare situation right?

[Subtle_badger in reply to SquirrelNutkin]

Yes, dark days.

I can live without many foods, but butter and cheese? 😱

[Imaaan]

Kefir is on my to do list one of these days and the process of making it is pretty straightforward. Id like to learn how to bake the bread I purchase.

$8 a loaf

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to Imaaan]

Water kefir or milk kefir?

I used to have water kefir grains, but I never quite mastered the second ferment. You'll have to report back if you figure it out

[Imaaan in reply to Cooper27]

I've purchased coconut water kefir a few times in the past and thought to make it as well but the goat milk is top of my list. I'll defn share when I do, God willingly.

[Subtle_badger in reply to Imaaan]

You should definitely try baking. I had my own, wild-caught sour dough starter. My bread was so much better than anything in stores.

I've never tried to sprout anything but mung beans. Is commerical rice capable of sprouting?

[Imaaan in reply to Subtle_badger]

Thnxs for the encouragement but I find baking gluten free bread daunting cuz it's a little less forgiving since there is no gluten. The one I purchase is made and sold fresh from the bakery in smaller batches once or twice a week and the expiration is 7days if I recall.

I've never sprouted anything but do enjoy its benefits. Since its organic brown rice maybe it lends itself to sprout more easily?????

Just quickly Googled sprouting rice and saw this below:

culturesforhealth.com/learn...

[Subtle_badger in reply to Imaaan]

Yeah. I have only eaten gluten free bread inadvertently (yellow stickered sandwich) and it was bad. No structure at all, just disintegrated in my hands. There must be better versions, because I couldn't imagine anyone bothering to make it.

As a baker, I learnt to love gluten, and the way the dough transforms with kneading and proving.

[Imaaan in reply to Subtle_badger]

I've never baked anything in my life. I'm trying to figure out the proportions used on my bought bread. I think I would be more comfortable trying it, if I had an idea.

As for gluten free bread, it was a battle to find one that remained intact and tasted okay. I've tried a few until I settled on this and another company that are small owned and use 3 or 4 ingredients that I'm comfortable with. I hate additives, gums to use as binders etc.

If I had my way, I'd be eating regular bread from local bakeries but I can't ignore that my antibodies dropped when I stopped eating gluten nor can I ignore that it improved my menses.I can however say that I truly miss it. The smell of regular fresh baked bread is heavenly to me...lol

[Subtle_badger in reply to Imaaan]

I am sure Hidden could share some baking tips and recipes. You'd be best getting to know what to do with a tried and true recipe, and then develop your own (using the ingredients as a guide), when you know what works.

[Hidden in reply to Imaaan]

Hello Imaaan here’s a link to our gluten free bread related topics that you may find interesting:healthunlocked.com/healthye...

[Imaaan in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Jerry

[thara9643]

salad

[Hidden]

Hi well I usually but ready done chips microwave box ones or frozen oven chips actually tonight I'm having new potato chips from scratch cooked in microwave then fried in frying pan in bit of cold pressed rapseed oil as it doesn't saturate at high temperatures so they say so less saturated fat I call them healthy chips and as there almost cooked don't soak up loads oil so less fattening too 🤗😻

Half cooked

[Hidden]

Here all done 😁

😁

[Subtle_badger in reply to Hidden]

Looks good, but are you eating any protein at all? 😯

[Hidden in reply to Subtle_badger]

Had boiled egg I had cheese sandwhich for supper today I'm.having chicken scewer at mam's n salad I do eat eggs regular nearly every day I'm not very hungry lately with the heat I have milk on series too 🤗

[Hidden in reply to Subtle_badger]

Oh and I swollowed a fly 🙄😁

[Imaaan in reply to Hidden]

Luv your humour, Mandy. Looool...you got yourself a wee bit of protein from the fly

[Hidden in reply to Imaaan]

😂😂😂🙄

[thara9643]

and cheese

[Hidden]

Let’s not get personal or make false assumptions please folks as we all know that Subtle_badger advocates a low carb diet.

Whole meal bread is far more nutritious than white sliced and even more so if home made.

So please let’s just respects one another’s dietary needs and choices.

Thank you,

Jerry.

[Eryl]

For my health I try to avoid all processed foods, I do not eat bread. The few processed fods that I do eat are very dark low sugar chocolate. and (around once a fortight) faggots because they're the nicest way to eat liver which is highly nutritious.

[Subtle_badger in reply to Eryl]

So if there was no chocolate bars, would you buy cocoa nibs and make your own? I thought that was a crazy idea, but then I googled it, and you just blitz them with whatever extras you like in a high powered blender. I am now curious to try it myself. thethingswellmake.com/homem...

I don't think I have ever had faggots, and until now thought they were another name for what I called rissoles, but rissoles are more like thick beef burgers. Where do you buy them? Google only found these, and I am sure you are not eating this nasty mess!

Sauce (62%) contains: Water, Lard, Wheat Flour, Modified Cornflour, Tomato Puree, Salt, Colour: Caramel (E150c), Yeast Extract, Sugar, Onion Flavour, Spice and Herbs Extracts (Celery), Pork Faggots (38%) contains: Water, Rusk (Wheat), Rehydrated Pork Rind, Pork Liver (15%), Onion, Pork (4%), Wheat Flour, Salt, Sage, Spice Extracts 🤢🤮

Mr Brain's Pork Faggots.

[Eryl in reply to Subtle_badger]

No not those, here in Wales some independant butchers make their own. Check the traditional recipe on Wikipedia.

[Subtle_badger in reply to Eryl]

Yup. Will do.

Though I actually enjoy liver (you mustn't overcook it or it turns into gravel) so don't need a way to disguise it.

[Eryl in reply to Subtle_badger]

Yes I quite like it when I see it on a menu cooked properly with onions and bacon but parts can be bitter if it's not washed properly.

[MTCee]

When I first went gluten free, I made my own bread because the offerings at the supermarkets were so dire. Nowadays I’m low carb too and I make almost all of my own food because decent low carb gluten free food is difficult to find. Recently I’ve made my own chicken burgers, Swedish meatballs and gnocchi because I can’t find what I need in the shops. If I couldn’t get eggs, I’d consider keeping chickens. I’d probably also make my own cheese and butter if I couldn’t buy it. I grow a lot of my own veg and salad leaves because it’s tastier and you get more variety. I’m currently looking into making my own biltong because the products in the shops have yeast extract in them.

[Subtle_badger in reply to MTCee]

Excellent.

I actually made Swedish meatballs, too, early in the first lockdown. That was because I had a sudden craving for them, and ikea was closed. I found a recipe on the ikea site, but then I remembered that Diet Doctor is Swedish, and made theirs. And unless you know someone who makes sells fresh pasta, you can't buy authentic gnocchi

👍👍

[MTCee in reply to Subtle_badger]

Yes I used the diet doctor recipes. They’re very good. I also recently made some low carb courgette bread which made a very yummy bacon butty 😋 But I’m retired so I have time to do these things. No sure how I’d manage if I was working all week.