What Did You Cook From Scratch Today?

[amandajane]

I've been really motivated to get into cooking again since reading more about frugality. I'm not an accomplished cook though but thought it might be fun to make the recipes and then post a photograph of it? Anyway:

I'll start.

Hearty Hock and Veggie Soup

Dried soup mix
Vegetable stock
Pork hock
courgettes
onion
carrots
silver beet
cauliflower



With Soda Bread - first time making this and it's really yummy! Can you tell I'm surprised, lol. I got the recipe from here:

Yeast Free Wholemeal Bread Recipe | Recipezaar



And for morning tea tommorrow

Wholemeal Apple Muffins (an old recipe of mine, I need bigger muffin tins though)



:0) I've had a productive day, and made enough food for a few days.

Next time I'll cost them up. I didn't think about it today, but whatever it is a lot more frugal than buying convenient ready made food, and ultimately I'm a lot more satisfied :0)

[soupkitchen96]

The food looks amazing Amanda. What a wonderful idea for a thread.

But you've made me sooooooooo hungry.

[amandajane]

Thank you, that's very kind of you to say so :0)

Um, I think my monitor needs calibrating, there's no way those carrots should be that bright, lol.

[Jess]

Wow, those all look phenomenal! And I envy your soda bread, it looks perfectly done. For the life of me, I cannot bake - even when there's no yeast involved!

Last night I made tilapia french with artichokes and mushrooms. Mmm. Definitely making this again!

[jhanseth]

Those all look beautiful! I love whole-grain apple muffins... yum.

I've got some yeast bread going through its first rise right now. Rye, oat bran, whole wheat flour, maple syrup, and olive oil. And I'm going to two potlucks over the weekend. I think for the first I'll whip up some sort of white bean dip and bring homemade baguettes, and for the second... not sure, maybe some sort of casserole.

(The hostess for the second is allergic to wheat, pork, and eggs, so I have to be careful.)

[Joanne]

I hope this thread inspires me to actually cook something. If not, I'll just live through all of you. lol
AmandaJane, everything looks so yummy! When can we come over for dinner? lol

[Tnmiller21]

Those pictures look so tempting! I've also recently been trying to cook more at home. Not only is it healthier, but it's also a heck of a lot less expensive than eating out every day!

With the cold weather, I've been experimenting a lot with soups and chilies. Some recent favorites include Chicken and Wild Rice, Chicken Chile, and Albondagas Soup.

[amandajane]

:0)

Jess I've never heard of tilapia french with artichokes and mushrooms. Sounds very interesting, I've never used artichokes either, I'll have to look into it. :0)

jhanseth Sounds great! That's another thing I've never cooked, bean dip. :0)

Is a potluck dinner a gathering where everyone brings a plate of food? I remember coming to New Zealand and someone telling me to "bring a plate" - I didn't have a clue why, lol.

Joanne lol, come over for dinner sometime - it'd cost a bit for the plane trip though ;0)

Tnmiller21 Sounds lovely. I'll have to look out a recipe for Albondagas Soup, I've not heard of that before either.

Thanks for the inspiration everyone :0)

Today's ingredients so far are 400 gms mung beans and 400 gms of chickpeas. Not sure what I'll make, maybe some fritters. I'm going to google a recipe. Hopefully they'll be soaked enough by the end of the day and I'll be able to make something and post a photo.

[Jess]

amandajane, if you've ever heard of chicken french, it's done exactly the same way (although I use white wine with tilapia instead of Amontillado sherry [what I used to use with chicken]). The key is to do it in egg, then flour, and then egg again (not flour, egg, then flour again, like I had originally been doing it). The result is a much crispier piece of fish

Tonight I made angel hair pasta with a sun-dried tomato, feta, and parsley sauce (base of the oil packed by the sun-dried tomatoes, onions, and garlic). I think this is one of the best meals I've ever made - light, simple, and incredibly flavorful.

[amandajane]

I haven't heard of chicken french either, maybe I've had a more sheltered life than I thought, lol. I have an old copy of a 'world cookery' book here that I dig into sometimes, must check it out.

Your Angel hair pasta sounds delightful :0)

Right I'm hungry now, lol