Batch from Scratch

What am amazing weekend, the weather was beautiful, it is David’s Birthday Weekend. Plus we were both off this weekend.. Both David and I love to cook together!! We both love cooking from scratch. For Davids Birthday I made his fave meal Oriental Honeyed Pork!

Cooking from scratch, it does take a little planning ahead, cooking in a batch, in the long run saves money!! Scratch cooking is along lost art.. cooking from scratch means that we put homespun, nourishing meals on the table for our families, saving money and knowing what gone in to the food we feed our families.. I usually plan a few days ahead. With both David and I have started new jobs this is even more important to plan a head!! I highly recommend creating a loose meal plan every week!! Batch cooking you freeze meals , get them out in the morning to defrost.. I have a few fave recipes to batch cook, Spaghetti Sauce, which David made this weekend, Colin and Bailey wanted some so we dropped it off for them !! I batch make Butter Chicken, Soups, Stews.. I made an amazing Acorn Squash Soup today . We will have this tomorrow with Salad and a sandwich!! I make an amazing salad dressing

I call my cooking!! How I show my love, I love to cook , I cook with the heart, I feel what needs to go in to the food.. Learning how to cook from scratch can be a very easy process if you break it down.  It is definitely a process.  One, that for a lot of people, happens over time.   Start slowly, don’t rush in to this..

For David and I 2015 , I was ill and we decided to change our diet, we watched a few Documentaries , We needed to get our gut health on track, we eat very little processed food and very rarely eat out. We have always loved to cook, changing the way we eat made cooking a challenge, we eat a plant based diet and meat is an ingredient not the main part of our meal. We do have a steak once in a while, yeaterday David Bbq’d some chicken breast. I cook a lot of different bean dishes, David likes to the these to work for lunches or snacks..

• Keep your pantry and fridge stocked
• Don’t be afraid to substitute
• Can your own produce
• Use a garden in acceptable seasons in your area
• Use your crock pot
• Prep your meats before you freeze them
• Make breads and freeze them for later
• Make meals in bulk and freeze them for later
• Make your snack food
• Practicing once a week or month prep helps you to be more committed as it is easier
• Plan your meals
• Use your leftovers
• I have many different dries Peas and means
• I keep Gravies for future curries
• If you have a chicken, I boil the bones to get a stock and freeze for future use.
• Flour and yeast I bake a lot of bread

The Tourtière: A French-Canadian Meat Pie Recipe!! I mixed up a batch about 12 months ago, enough for 4 Pies, I made the pastry in my FoodProcessor, or wazz we as Jamie Oliver calls it!! The Pizza was also home made and delicious!! The Stew is a veggie stew with a veggie stock and 2 different kinds of beans!! This is for David for his lunches at his new job!!

Here is a quick meal I love this Chicken Curry with Peas

1 small yellow onion

2 tablespoons Olive oil

salt 

2 tsp crushed garlic

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala 

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 lb boneless chicken thighs cut in to cubes

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/2 cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt 

1. Place a large straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat. While the pan heats up, finely chop the onion, about 1 heaping cup. olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Add the onion and a large pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, add minced Garlic, tomato paste, onions along with the curry powder, garam masala and 1/4 cup water. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the chicken stock and bring to a strong simmer. add chicken cubes , and stir into the sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes.
2. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and stir in the peas and 1/4 cup yogurt. Cook until the peas are just warmed through, about 1 minute.Serve with home made Naan bread quick and easy! https://rasamalaysia.com/naan/

Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/4 oz. (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon oil
• some oil, for greasing the skillet
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions in a small bowl, add the sugar, warm water, and yeast together. Stir to combine well. The yeast should be activated when it becomes foamy, about 10 minutes. Transfer the flour to a flat surface and make a well in the middle. Add the yeast mixture, yoghurt, salt and oil, knead the dough until the surface becomes smooth and shiny, about 10 minutes. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm place (for example: beside the stovetop or warm oven). The dough should double in size, about 1 hour.Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Roll the dough to a 8” circle using a rolling spin. Heat up a skillet (cast-iron preferred) over high heat and lightly grease the surface with some oil to avoid the dough from sticking to the skillet. Place the dough on the skillet. When it puffs up and bubbles and burnt spots appear, flip it over and cook the other side. Repeat the same until all dough are done.Brush the naan with the melted butter, serve warm.

Spinach and Sweet potato Tortilla Found this on Good Food site not my pic , the recipe looks amazing I am going to ty this

Ingredients

• 300g bag baby spinach leaves
• 8 tbsp light olive oil
• 2 large onions , thinly sliced
• 4 medium sweet potatoes (800g/ 1lb 12oz), peeled, cut into thin slices
• 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
• 8 large eggs

Method

• STEP 1Put the spinach in a large colander and pour over a kettleful of boiling water. Drain well and, when cooled a little, squeeze dry, trying not to mush up the spinach too much.
• STEP 2Heat 3 tbsp oil in a 25cm non-stick pan with a lid, then sweat the onions for 15 mins until really soft but not coloured. Add another 3 tbsp oil and add the potatoes and garlic. Mix in with the onions, season well, cover and cook over a gentle heat for another 15 mins or so until the potatoes are very tender. Stir occasionally to stop them catching.
• STEP 3Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, tip in the cooked potato and onion, and mix together. Separate the spinach clumps, add to the mix and fold through, trying not to break up the potato too much.
• STEP 4Add 2 tbsp more oil to the pan and pour in the sweet potato and egg mix. Cover and cook over a low-medium heat for 20 mins until the base and sides are golden brown and the centre has mostly set. Run a palette knife around the sides to stop it from sticking. 5 To turn the tortilla over, put a plate face down onto the pan, then flip it over. Slide the tortilla back into the pan and cook for a further 5-10 mins until just set and golden all over. (Don’t worry if it breaks up a little on the edges as you’re turning it – it will look perfect when it’s cooked through and set.) Continue cooking on the other side until just set and golden all over. Again use a palette knife to release the tortilla from the sides. Allow to rest for 5 mins, then tip onto a board before cutting into wedges.

Cooking from Scratch Def changes your tastebuds.. Do a little research first there is some great websites on Plant Based eating and recipes Eat to Live and not Live to eat!! Stay Safe Y’all Love and miss you all