Expanding Our Homemade Pantry
>> Tuesday, August 22, 2017
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen my many food adventures this month. Stephen and I are trying to continue out frugal accomplishments by making more and more of our foods from scratch. Many of you have been interested in the recipes and methods we follow, so I figured a post was in order.
Today I’ll cover the more frequent items we’ve been cooking up. But I’m sure I’ll add to this list in the future. And be sure to check the links at the end for a more comprehensive list of the things we regularly make to stock our homemade pantry.
Yogurt
Ah, yes. Yogurt. I waited years to try making this on my own because the idea of it was daunting to me. Thing is, you can easily make yogurt in your slow cooker. A gallon of milk costs me around $1.65 to $2 and yields 8-9 cups of the stuff.
I currently follow this recipe in my crock pot. It is for Greek-style yogurt . . . but that really just hinges on how much you strain it. I tend to do a slightly thicker than regular and thinner than Greek consistency. That’s the beauty with homemade yogurt -- it’s customizable.
Now, I am investigating a few more that might create less waste and yield even more result. I hear if you use powdered milk, it thickens the batch so little straining is necessary. I began my batch by using a cup of the Siggi’s plain yogurt as my starter. The first batch was very similar to the Siggi’s and later batches (using homemade starter) have been more sour. But you can sweeten them up with honey, maple syrup, or -- my favorite -- peanut butter.
Also: I always use non-fat milk.
// Mozzarella Cheese
Mozzarella was also on my bucket list for many years, but actually buying vegetable rennet made the whole thing feel like a production. Oh, and I suppose I should also mention that I only very recently bought a rapid-read food thermometer, which has been a game changer for making all things dairy. Oh, and cheesecloth. Lots of cheesecloth, though the less-waste in me has started experimenting with nut milk bags.
I follow this recipe for mozzarella (the image is also from this site -- I somehow deleted mine). You simply heat the milk, add in the rennet and citric acid, strain curds, knead, etc. Then you get this delightful ball in less than half an hour. I’ve made this a few times now. With practice it becomes much more automatic. There’s nothing cooler than looking at a ball of fresh cheese you’ve made from scratch.
Also: I always use whole milk.
// Paneer
Speaking of cheese, I am addicted to paneer. One way we’ve gained some independence from takeout meals is by making our own Indian food. I buy the simmer sauce at Aldi and make the cheese a day or hour ahead of time. It’s even easier than making mozzarella. All you need to curdle the milk is something like vinegar or lemon juice.
From there, it’s all about pressing. Here’s the recipe I follow for perfect paneer. I’ll be making it tonight -- with whole milk.
// Ghee
After making paneer, ghee was a natural next step, right? It’s wonderful on homemade naan (getting there in a minute -- just you wait!). It’s also great for cooking stir-fries, eggs, etc. I’ve only made one batch so far, but it’s was super easy.
Here’s the recipe I followed. It keeps on the counter for a few weeks to a month. I used unsalted butter.
// Naan
You guys know I’ve been making my own naan-like creations for years. It all started in college when I lived with a graduate student named Aggrey. He used to roll out these unleavened dough balls and cook them on the stove-top like he did back home growing up in Africa. I slowly developed my own version of a flattened, more savory pancake.
My favorite recipes include the following. We make different kinds according to our moods.
// Sandwich Bread
I searched far and wide for a suitable sandwich bread recipe. Something reminiscent of store-bought, but oh-so much better. And about a month ago . . . I found it. The perfect white bread recipe. It turns out flawlessly every single freaking time. My only sub is that I use canola oil in place of butter inside the bread. I may start brushing the top with ghee.
I’d like to slowly modify this to include more whole grains, but bread can be tricky. I’ll report back soon.
// Jarred veggies in brine
We’ve started jarring + pickling lots of veggies in the fridge -- from zoodles to jalapeños and more -- and I basically just chop them up and pour in this brine. The instructions say to wait until the brine is cool to add it to the veggies, but I actually like it hot with things like jalapeños. It makes them so soft and delicious.
// Seitan
It had been years . . . but we dusted off the old seitan recipe.
Now we make this stuff weekly. So much less expensive than buying Field Roast. I’ll have to do an updated recipe, too. We’ve been seasoning it in all different ways. We’re still making seitan dogs, too. And the other night, Stephen made a pulled-pork-esque thing with BBQ sauce! Did you know that vital wheat gluten is full of protein? It’s true.
// More pantry goodies
Homemade Almond Milk
Our Go-To Pizza Dough
Homemade Ciabatta Bread
Homemade Muesli
Adventures in Cereal-Making
Homemade Bagels
White + Whole Wheat No Knead Loaf
Three Seed Crackers
Homemade Flax Crackers
Homemade Pancake/Waffle Mix
Awesome Couscous Crackers
My Favorite Hummus
Stephen’s Homemade Pickles
Homemade Applesauce
Red Curry Kimchi
Read more...
