Scratch Food with a Side of Geek Mom and Pop Culture.
It’s been crazy busy lately, and I’ve been trying to clean out the chest freezer for the annual defrost (which I happened to miss last year, and possibly the year before, and *maybe* the year before that as evidenced by the package of bacon I found in the bottom from 2010). Hey, it was in the…
I almost always walk home with the bird carcass from any family gathering. Nobody ever fights me for it because nobody knows how to make delicious soup from it. Or they can’t be bothered. Their loss! It makes me giddy because I love soup, and I’d rather have the soup than huge chunks of leftover…
If someone had asked me what I thought my most popular post of all time would be, I would not have guessed it would be Chinese fry batters. It consistently is in my top three posts every day. The people have spoken! And they want to make their own Chinese food. This suits me just…
My food processor might just be my new best friend. I mean I love my KitchenAid stand mixer too, but I might just love my food processor just a little bit more–at least, until I get the pasta attachments for it. Then those two will be a love match. Pasta’s been on my to-do list…
My holiday traditions have changed greatly since I moved away from my family and married. For many years, I was content to do Christmas as my husband’s family did: visiting his grandfather on the farm on Christmas Eve, doing the Christmas day thing with my husband’s parents, and then Christmas dinner at whoever’s turn it…
You may know that carrot, celery and onion make a great base for all kinds of soup and sauces. Did you know the mixture has a specific name? It’s called Mirepoix (meer-pwah) after the French Duke of Mirepoix. Common standard then in French cooking for the moniker to come from the aristocratic patron; the Duke…
My grass-fed cow is set to hang on October 29, and I’ve been enthusiastically emptying my chest freezer in preparation. Don’t worry, everything is going in our belly! I have to admit though I’m a bit of a chest-freezer hoarder at times. As I’ve been making freezer space, I’ve been finding some hidden gems that…
This sweet & sour sauce uses palm sugar and unsweetened pineapple juice for a more natural, lower-glycemic treat. Make with homemade ketchup to avoid all HFCS and refined sugar. Serve over sweet & sour breaded chicken or pork, if you wish! Or maybe with meatballs 🙂
I’m not a huge fan of spicy, but I do love General Tso’s (pronounced General Chow’s) Chicken. This home-made version is every bit as good as from a Chinese restaurant, with none of the MSG, mystery meat or food colouring attached! You can use cornstarch battered and fried chicken for this recipe, or use julienne’d strips of…
A true heirloom recipe always comes with memories attached, and this is what you are really handing down to your children and grandchildren. This was my great grandmother’s recipe for meatballs, which makes me the fourth generation user. Although I knew great-grandma Sylvia, (she died at the ripe old age of 94!) by the time…