# Bringing the food home.



## Radams1265 (Mar 2, 2016)

So I am the primary cook in our house. I worked as a chefs assistant for a few years.(Prepping everything for a 4-5 chef). And now that I have left the industry. And work construction ( Hard to have a family and a life in the restaurant business) I have been able to grab control of our lives and I want to start working towards a healthier lifestyle. I’m not talking about Salads for every meal. I want to get away from all the processed foods we have in our lives. And I want to see every ones recipes for the basic items that most people would buy at the grocery store. I have been making my own sour dough breads, bagels, and pizza dough. And I’m trying to make my own mozzarella for my first cheese but I have a failed A few times!


----------



## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

I think this is a great goal


----------



## dmm1976 (Oct 29, 2013)

Hey there! Fellow ex chef here. I went to le courdon bleu in chicago. I do keto and I have cut out all processed food , except for cheese. I don't eat sugars in any form. Not even sweeteners. Nothing "refined" no grains, no soy. I eat alot of vegetables. Mostly in the form of a salad cuz its easy . sometimes steamed with melted butter. I have at least 3 servings of protein a day. And fill in the rest with fats. Lately I've been trying to just get my fats and my protein together naturally but I do still have a keto coffee in the morning. I'm so used to it now I don't even want the junk. I see food for what it is now. Fuel. As I read more i tweak my nutrition. But I've found it's not necessary at all to consume 75% of what's on the shelves in the supermarket.


----------



## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

dmm1976 said:


> Hey there! Fellow ex chef here. I went to le courdon bleu in chicago. I do keto and I have cut out all processed food , except for cheese. I don't eat sugars in any form. Not even sweeteners. Nothing "refined" no grains, no soy. I eat alot of vegetables. Mostly in the form of a salad cuz its easy . sometimes steamed with melted butter. I have at least 3 servings of protein a day. And fill in the rest with fats. Lately I've been trying to just get my fats and my protein together naturally but I do still have a keto coffee in the morning. I'm so used to it now I don't even want the junk. I see food for what it is now. Fuel. As I read more i tweak my nutrition. But I've found it's not necessary at all to consume 75% of what's on the shelves in the supermarket.


75% of the "food" in stores is man made crap


----------



## dmm1976 (Oct 29, 2013)

It might even be a higher percentage than that lol. I just didn't want to be over exaggerating.


----------



## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

dmm1976 said:


> It might even be a higher percentage than that lol. I just didn't want to be over exaggerating.


Lol


----------



## dmm1976 (Oct 29, 2013)

Sorry I didn't have any recipes. Mostly I dry brine my meats and bake or Crock-Pot. I make my own rubs, but I probably make them different every time lol. 

Oh but I do have chickens so I get lots of eggs!


----------



## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

I do quite a bit of cooking at our house. Most of my meals are simple stuff, but nutriscious and tasty. I use meat as the cornerstone. Beef, pork, chicken primarily with the odd road kill now and then, some wild game too but not an avid hunter.

Veggies are important, we eat quite a bit of cabbage, a wide variety of beans, home grown green beans, store bought pintos, navy, Limas. (Dry) lettuce, carrots, beets, sweet corn, maters, several kinds of squash, butternut, acorn, spaghetti, yellow summer squash, and of course Kershaw. I also use lots of onions, garlic, peppers, both sweet and mildly hot, sweet Peas, broccoli, califlour etc.

Starches come in with lots of taters, fried, mashed, baked, lots of ways to get them on a plate. Then I bake honey wheat bread, corn bread, (goes good under them beans) biscuits for sopping up gravy, and a few other treats. Then of course there is all those wonderful varieties of pasta.

Of course eggs get used in lots of ways. Real butter, not much margarine around our house. Milk, and a wide variety of cheeses all add to the protein side of the equation.

I have posted several of my favorite recipes here in the cooking section. You should be able to find them with forum search function. There's also a ton of other great recipes from a multitude of people that actually know how to cook! Me? Plain old country food for a plain old country boy. 

Here's one fer pumpkin pie.
I start by shucking the hide and innards of a good sized Kershaw squash or two. (Punkin can be used instead) Cut up the meat into chunks and boil just until tender, drain off water, mash well with tater masher. When cool I measure it into quart freezer bags, one pint each. Toss in freezer til I want a pie. On pie day, I take two bags out let thaw. Once thoroughly thawed I dump contents into mixing bowl with a cup of sugar, two cans of condensed milk, 4eggs, three heaping teaspoons cinnamon, one teaspoon ginger, and quarter teaspoon nutmeg. I have one of those cool kitchen aid mixers for this job and love it. I set it on its lowest speed and blend everything together until it's creamy smooth, gently pour into two pie plates that are ready. I was making pie crusts rolling them out and chilling while waiting on squash to thaw. Once you have filled those pie plates plum full, put them in the oven, bake at 300 til done. 30 minutes or so. A kitchen match will pull out clean and dry when done. Set aside to cool. When cool, top it with some whip cream and dig in.


----------



## tiffanysgallery (Jan 17, 2015)

I eat so simple that I don't use recipes. Tonight I ate half of a sweet potato, half of an apple, and a slice of gluten-free cheese and a glass of milk. By the time I ate the cheese, I was full.

I'm not sure how my tonight's meal would work with children, but since I've cut out all processed foods, salts, less sugar, etc, and went to basics, I feel better and have more energy.

It seems important in a diet to change out fruit and vegetables each week and while in a grocery store, outside the aisles have, mostly, everything one needs.

I don't know why your mozzarella cheese failed OP, are you using whole milk, or maybe too much rennet...
https://cheesemaking.com/products/mozzarella-cheese-making-recipe-cultured

edited: to add link


----------



## dmm1976 (Oct 29, 2013)

tiffanysgallery said:


> I eat so simple that I don't use recipes. Tonight I ate half of a sweet potato, half of an apple, and a slice of gluten-free cheese and a glass of milk. By the time I ate the cheese, I was full.
> 
> I'm not sure how my tonight's meal would work with children, but since I've cut out all processed foods, salts, less sugar, etc, and went to basics, I feel better and have more energy.
> 
> ...


Gluten free cheese? Isn't all cheese naturally gluten free? Unless it's processed amercian maybe.


----------



## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I find that seriously fresh food tastes better, and so I serve a lot of lightly cooked food or even raw.

I adore green beans cooked in a bit of oil with garlic and soy and such: basically the Chinese buffet green beans. Or I simmer them in salted water until they are half-tender and just serve them like that. Bell peppers and cucumbers and such I simply cut into strips and serve on a plate. I microwave the potatos and sweet potatos, unless I am simmering tiny Irish potatos and then I finish them by frying them in a bit of butter. Or I simply toss the cooked whole tiny potatos with pickles, eggs, and mayo for Potato salad.

Since I am a diabetic I make a baked apple by simply cutting it up peel and all and baking it with a little butter. When it is cool enough I stir in a little nutrasweet. This works with peaches also. Spices are used for variety.

And, I use eggs freely for angelfood cake or deviled eggs or whatever. I saw a cunning recipe I want to try: an egg white is stirred into a half pound of shredded potatos and baked in a buttered muffin pan to make hashbrown cups. Into this cup some chopped ham and such is added, a raw egg is added on top, and the whole thing goes into the oven until the eggs are cooked. This makes 3 little breakfast cups.

I have found that when the raw ingredients are of high quality that the finished dish is usually superior, even for a mediocre cook such as my younger self was


----------



## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

dmm1976 said:


> Gluten free cheese? Isn't all cheese naturally gluten free? Unless it's processed amercian maybe.


Yep, most hard cheese is gluten free. The issue arises when grain products are added in some of the processed cheeses. If one has problems with gluten, best check the label on "cheese products" or "cheese like products".


----------



## dmm1976 (Oct 29, 2013)

Cheese whiz and Velveeta are gluten free. Who knew. On the celiac education website they say be aware of cottage cheeses and shredded cheeses. Oh and dairy free cheeses. 

I lead a gluten free lifestyle but not from a health need. Just seems to align naturally with my preferred nutrition.


----------



## tiffanysgallery (Jan 17, 2015)

*Gluten Free Applesauce Muffins*
https://homesteadersofamerica.com/gluten-free-dairy-applesauce-muffins/


----------



## tiffanysgallery (Jan 17, 2015)

This recipe looks swanky OP...
Gluten-free & Vegan Double Chocolate Baked Donuts (Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Peanut & Tree Nut Free; top 8 free )
Author: Allergy Awesomeness 
Cuisine: Breakfast
Ingredients

DONUT:
1 cup _gluten-free flour_
½ cup sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
1 and ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup rice milk
½ tsp. apple cider vinegar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2. Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
¼ cup measured, then melted coconut oil
CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
1 and ½ cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1 - 3 Tablespoons water
¼ cup cocoa powder
Instructions



  






For the donuts:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, stir all of the dry ingredients until the cocoa powder is fully incorporated. Next, add all of the wet ingredients and stir until everything is well combined.
Grease your donut pan well. Either carefully spoon the mixture into the donut pan, filling just below the top, or put your batter in a baggie, snip the end and then squeeze it out into the donut rims.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Once they are done, turn them out onto a wire rack to cool. While they cool, assemble the glaze.
In a bowl, place all of the ingredients and whisk until combined. Be sure to start with only 1 Tablespoon of water to see what your consistency looks like. I ended up doing all 3, but you may want yours thicker. The less water, the thicker it will be.
Once the donuts have cooled, drop them gently into the bowl with the glaze. Gently pull them up and place them back on the wire rack. They will drip a bit, so be sure there is something underneath your wire rack to catch it. Once the glaze has set a bit, dip them again to get a nice, thick glaze. They're delicious plain, but if you want to do sprinkles, be sure that you add the sprinkles when the second coat is still wet so they'll stick well.
Keep covered.


----------



## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

Radams1265 said:


> So I am the primary cook in our house. I worked as a chefs assistant for a few years.(Prepping everything for a 4-5 chef). And now that I have left the industry. And work construction ( Hard to have a family and a life in the restaurant business) I have been able to grab control of our lives and I want to start working towards a healthier lifestyle. I’m not talking about Salads for every meal. I want to get away from all the processed foods we have in our lives. And I want to see every ones recipes for the basic items that most people would buy at the grocery store. I have been making my own sour dough breads, bagels, and pizza dough. And I’m trying to make my own mozzarella for my first cheese but I have a failed A few times!


.

Don’t give up on making cheese; you’ll get it. It is so much easier with fresh milk rather than store bought milk. 
We cook every night at our house. Partly because there are no restaurants close by; we’d have to drive an hour to get to anything decent. Plus, we like to cook. We don’t do gluten free anything...just give us the real stuff. . I use as many fresh veggies from the garden as I can, we raise our own chicken and if lucky, put a deer or two in the freezer. I, too, make my own bagels, bread, and pizza dough. I use to make cheese but when we moved I sold the goats. I’ll get a couple in the spring and once I’m milking again, will add fresh yogurt, cheese, and milk to our line-up. I don’t really use recipes per say, just a little of this, a little of that, and dinner’s done.


----------



## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

No good donut recipe ever contained teaspoons, tablespoons or fractions of any sort. Threw out all those cursed measuring devices out years ago. 
Properly prepared donuts and most any tasty recipe are created with pinches, dabs, dashes, splashes, a smidge, a taste, sprinkles, dollops, "a chunk", a cut of sugar, a knob of butter, a dot of chocolate, a fist full of flower, two thoughts of cayenne, a baton of carrots...and love.


----------



## Radams1265 (Mar 2, 2016)

Thank you all. Sorry I forgot about this thread after my wife was diagnosed with IBS so it Threw a curve ball in our cooking


----------



## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

hiddensprings said:


> .
> 
> Don’t give up on making cheese; you’ll get it. It is so much easier with fresh milk rather than store bought milk.
> We cook every night at our house. Partly because there are no restaurants close by; we’d have to drive an hour to get to anything decent. Plus, we like to cook. We don’t do gluten free anything...just give us the real stuff. . I use as many fresh veggies from the garden as I can, we raise our own chicken and if lucky, put a deer or two in the freezer. I, too, make my own bagels, bread, and pizza dough. I use to make cheese but when we moved I sold the goats. I’ll get a couple in the spring and once I’m milking again, will add fresh yogurt, cheese, and milk to our line-up. *I don’t really use recipes per say, just a little of this, a little of that, and dinner’s done.*


 I expand on your basic recipe... I also use some of these and some of those.


----------

