I've been on a scratch cooking kick lately. The thing about cooking from scratch is that once you start doing it, it becomes progressively easier. No, really. You know that you have the basics in the house: flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, yeast, milk or milk powder, eggs, oils and butters, and spices. It means that whipping up a batch of muffins, pancakes, bagels, or cookies is just a matter or measuring out what you already have on hand. It is almost as easy as dumping a box mix in a bowl and adding egg and oil. But with scratch cooking you know exactly what you are feeding your family.
Xavier has loved to help cook since he was about 18 months old. I'll measure and he'll put things in the bowl. He "stirs" and then I stir after him. He can put paper cups in the muffin tin. He likes to watch things bake through the oven's glass door. One of the easiest ways to scratch cook is to find catch-all recipies. I have a basic bread recipie that can use honey, brown sugar, or any other kind of sweetener, as well as butter, olive oil, veggie oil or any other fat as the, well, fat in the recipie. I also have a basic muffin recipie to which I can add overripe bananas, raisins, even leftover mashed sweet potatoes. Scratch cooking is a great way to use up leftovers and boost nutrition at the same time.
A few weeks ago I found an online recipe for yogurt that didn't involve getting a yogurt maker (which just means one more one-use gadget cluttering my small kitchen) or using a heating pad (I'm a little squeamish about using non-cookware for dairy products). Instead this recipie used one of my favorite tools: the crockpot! Here's the recipie itself. I find that letting the yogurt sit a little longer than 8 hours (say 10-11) produces the best results. I put the finished product back into large and small yogurt containers I've saved from store-bought in the past. Just make sure to use a sharpie and masking tape to label the "use by" date on each container.
Now here's how you can extend the recipie even further. If you have fruit that is just this side of overripe, puree it in the blender and freeze into ice cubes. When you're heading out the door, pop a cube into a small single-serving container, fill up with yogurt, pop it in the diaper bag, and you're good to go with a snack.
Another way to extend the useful life of your yogurt, mix it at a 1:1 ratio with water and you have "buttermilk." Make pancakes, pound cake, salad dressing, veggie dip or any other recipie you have that calls for buttermilk. In the past I've always avoided them because really, who buys buttermilk? What do you do with the leftovers?
Lastly, don't forget to freeze a few cubes of yogurt (equal to 1/2 cup) for using to make your next batch of yogurt.
Xavier has loved to help cook since he was about 18 months old. I'll measure and he'll put things in the bowl. He "stirs" and then I stir after him. He can put paper cups in the muffin tin. He likes to watch things bake through the oven's glass door. One of the easiest ways to scratch cook is to find catch-all recipies. I have a basic bread recipie that can use honey, brown sugar, or any other kind of sweetener, as well as butter, olive oil, veggie oil or any other fat as the, well, fat in the recipie. I also have a basic muffin recipie to which I can add overripe bananas, raisins, even leftover mashed sweet potatoes. Scratch cooking is a great way to use up leftovers and boost nutrition at the same time.
A few weeks ago I found an online recipe for yogurt that didn't involve getting a yogurt maker (which just means one more one-use gadget cluttering my small kitchen) or using a heating pad (I'm a little squeamish about using non-cookware for dairy products). Instead this recipie used one of my favorite tools: the crockpot! Here's the recipie itself. I find that letting the yogurt sit a little longer than 8 hours (say 10-11) produces the best results. I put the finished product back into large and small yogurt containers I've saved from store-bought in the past. Just make sure to use a sharpie and masking tape to label the "use by" date on each container.
Now here's how you can extend the recipie even further. If you have fruit that is just this side of overripe, puree it in the blender and freeze into ice cubes. When you're heading out the door, pop a cube into a small single-serving container, fill up with yogurt, pop it in the diaper bag, and you're good to go with a snack.
Another way to extend the useful life of your yogurt, mix it at a 1:1 ratio with water and you have "buttermilk." Make pancakes, pound cake, salad dressing, veggie dip or any other recipie you have that calls for buttermilk. In the past I've always avoided them because really, who buys buttermilk? What do you do with the leftovers?
Lastly, don't forget to freeze a few cubes of yogurt (equal to 1/2 cup) for using to make your next batch of yogurt.
1 comment:
Wow--homemade yogurt. If Lola had always been fed on food of this quality, we wouldn't be working on weaning her from a Kraft mac and cheese diet. : )
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