My Adventures in Scratch Cooking

A few years ago I figured out that I was allergic to a protein in milk. This realization opened my eyes to all of the ingredients on boxes of food that I couldn't pronounce. The whole idea of not being able to pronounce the ingredients in the food I eat bothered me. So I started on a quest to start making more food from scratch.

I honestly don't remember what the first thing was that I made from scratch. I do, however, know that for the last 16 or so years I have been trying to make biscuits from scratch with very little success until this year. This year a friend of mine sent me a short video of this older lady making biscuits the same way her mom and grandmother made them. So, I decided to give it a try. The recipe is only 3 ingredients, and isn't really a recipe at all. The lady simply said add some flour then squish in some lard or shortening, once it's all mixed in then you can start adding in the buttermilk. She just poured some in as she was mixing it together with her hands. Then when she got it to a certain consistency she took the dough out and put it on the table with some flour. Then she kneaded it a little and patted it out and started cutting her biscuits.

I have now made this "recipe" 3 or 4 times and have, in my opinion, perfected it. lol My husband even said last night that "these are the best ones yet." lol It has definitely been a journey of patience. But since perfecting my biscuit making, I have decided I'm going to start trying to include more homemade recipes. Over the years I have learned how to make many things from scratch. Pancakes, waffles, biscuits, gravy, and the list goes on. I've started making my own salted butter and saving the buttermilk to make different recipes with.

I recently decided I wasn't going to be buying french fries, tater tots, hash browns or anything like it anymore because they're just so expensive. (And let's be honest, it can't be that hard to make those things at home) I tried my hand at making my first batch of french fries a few weeks ago, and they turned out okay. They were still a little mushy and not quite crispy, but they were good for my first try. Last night we decided to have breakfast for dinner, but we only had eggs and bacon. That just wouldn't do; we needed biscuits, and hashbrowns as well. So, I proceeded to whip up a batch of homemade butter, so I could use the buttermilk to make some biscuits. Then I jumped on the internet and looked up how to make hashbrowns from scratch. After the debacle that were my french fries I wasn't super confident they would turn out. Boy was I wrong!! I'm glad I was, because they were very yummy.

Hashbrowns and french fries aren't that hard to make. They're quite easy to prepare, it's the cooking process that can be a little tricky. With hashbrowns, you simply peel, or wash, the potatoes then shred them. Take the shredded potatoes and put into a bowl with cold water and let sit for a few minutes. (The recipe I found didn't give an exact amount of time, so I just let them sit in the cold water while I prepped the biscuits) Then I strained them out of the water and put them into a clean towel to wring out as much water as possible. Once that was finished I put them in my electric skillet with a bit of oil and forgot about them. No, really!! I forgot about them while trying to get everything else started. I had to get the eggs made, and the bacon fried up, and there were still the biscuits to bake. When I started to hear the sizzle I glanced over and realized they had browned on the bottom and started to turn them. They didn't take but a few more minutes and they were finished. They turned out amazing, and I dare say better than store bought.

My adventure in cooking from scratch has only just begun, but boy, has it been fun. Getting back to our roots, and way of life is my goal. So, here's to another adventure in learning how to cook from scratch.