Home Cooking - New Zealand

Moorf

26th August 2008, 05:35 PM

After talking to someone on sunday :D

99% nowadays (but then I do have the time and work from home). I guess it'll be 99.5% once the lambs are in freezer!

I have always loved to cook at the end of the day, apart from my busy days in London when I looked to St Michael to help me out.. alot.. :o (Reminds me of when I first invited our neighbours in London round for dinner - they were from Pondacherry in India and I was determined to impress them (I love cooking Indian food).. time ran short and I worked late so I prayed to St Michael and managed to get away with pretending I'd made it all .... :laugh... 'fessed up once we got to know them!!)

mcacmartin

26th August 2008, 05:38 PM

Not as much as I should but we're trying to start doing it more often. It's often cheaper and its definitely better for you.

It's hard to get into the groove though eh?

dharder

26th August 2008, 05:38 PM

We do, or rather, my partner does.

We do have sauce jars for emergencies (and me being home alone with the kids usually constitutes an emergency :)) so I can do the pasta shortcut.

But apart from that, my OH buys ingredients rather than food... :)

Daniela

peebles16

26th August 2008, 05:46 PM

I'd say about 90% we cook from scratch - actually make that 'I' cook from scratch as OH is pants cook :) I am terrible at making white sauces so if we have lasagne or macaroni cheese I go for the jars :o The rest is trial and error but according to eldest son I should have cook show on the telly - tis amazing what praise a batch of homemade muffins gets you :laugh

Karenx

nippa&pippa

26th August 2008, 05:47 PM

We do have sauce jars for emergencies

Me too, only in pasta sauce although because can't find curry jar without milk or milk protein in it. I use curry paste instead. Moorf, don't forgot recipes please ;)

Also got breads in freezer for emergencies too just in case I can't make bread.

benandclare

26th August 2008, 06:46 PM

We're pretty much all "home cooking" apart from occasional frozen pizza/oven chips .

Altho thinking on does using a can of chopped toms in your spag bol count as home cooking ?

Moorf

26th August 2008, 06:53 PM

I hope so otherwise I'm down to 80% homecooking!! :D

Potato

26th August 2008, 07:13 PM

100% home cooking, funny thing about this thread, I had never thought of doing it any other way until I read it!
However, I don't make my own pasta or bread, grow my own rice or raise my own chooks for eggs....so maybe I cheat a little.

Tia Maria

26th August 2008, 07:26 PM

Oh no, I'm the only one that doesn't....... walks off hanging her head in shame.....

Cheers

Tia

mgbridges

26th August 2008, 07:37 PM

Oh no, I'm the only one that doesn't....... walks off hanging her head in shame.....

Cheers

Tia

I'll come and join you in the corner Tia!

DS is such a fussy eater (yeah, yeah, its all my fault should have done something about it when he was younger, I was working, he was with a childminder etc, etc :o ) that he'd starve without the chips, fishfingers & chicken nuggets that are in the freezer.

OH is the cook in our house and we try to cook from scratch but do use the good ole Chicken Tonight, curry sauce options. We've got better as time has gone on we just need to plan ahead a bit better.

Anneliese

jubjub

26th August 2008, 07:53 PM

i generally make my own stuff, pasta sauces, curries etc. Love the crockpot for making things like that a bit less labour intensive! However for quickness I do sometimes use one of those fresh pasta sauces out of the fridge section... Oh, and I knock out a mean cake...

but saying that I use oven chip, fish fingers, frozen veggies (cant be bothered with all that darn peeling and chopping!) use shop bought bread & biccies.

Id say about 60% of all our food is made in the house?

Tia Maria

26th August 2008, 08:22 PM

I'll come and join you in the corner Tia!

DS is such a fussy eater (yeah, yeah, its all my fault should have done something about it when he was younger, I was working, he was with a childminder etc, etc :o ) that he'd starve without the chips, fishfingers & chicken nuggets that are in the freezer.

OH is the cook in our house and we try to cook from scratch but do use the good ole Chicken Tonight, curry sauce options. We've got better as time has gone on we just need to plan ahead a bit better.

Anneliese

:clap We can sit in our corner sipping cocktails, while the others cook up a culinary masterpiece. :D

Cheers

Tia

irishliz

26th August 2008, 08:30 PM

We pretty much do things from scratch but with a bit of help when we need to. We have oven chips and sauces when we have to. We buy bread but I love the breadmaker, crockpot and stirfrys.

Peebles - a fail safe white sauce from Delia and dead easy.

425ml milk 20g white flour 40g butter salt and pepper to taste - put all ingredients together in pan, put on heat and whisk until simmering and it thickens (looks smooth and has a shine). Then put it down to lowest possible setting, and cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then season to taste. For cheese sauce grated cheese when cooking at end.

Sam B

26th August 2008, 09:59 PM

We are 100% cook from scratch - well J does most of the cooking whilst I boss him around and drink cocktails ... you've just gotta lick'em into shape Tia. We sometimes make bread, but mostly buy it. We v occasionally use curry paste in one recipe. I just don't like processed food, except M&S and obviously that's out now...

Derv

26th August 2008, 10:04 PM

I'll join Tia in her corner, as long as we can have chocolate there as well as the cocktails!

In our house, we do some home cooking, such as making bread, pizza, stews, icecream, muesli, cakes etc, but we also have no shame at all about having ready-prepared food either (including buying bread, icecream, muesli etc etc). Tonight for tea, we had mince-and-cheese pie from New World and frozen chips, and we both really enjoyed it.

We can both cook and both enjoy cooking, but we don't always feel like it, so why should we bother when there are plenty of alternatives out there (though not as many as there were at M&S food hall:wah)

I firmly believe that life should be a balance, and as long as you don't overdo the ready-made food, it's not a problem.

Let's go and sit in our corner and watch the others work, Tia!:exit

JandM

26th August 2008, 10:05 PM

That white sauce - I do very similarly for cheese sauce, only I fry off some onion, chopped small, and some streaky bacon snipped into tiny strips, in the butter, till the onion goes clear, before adding the flour to sizzle for a minute (stirring hard), then turn the heat down while the milk goes in a little at a time as it will mix (stirring well - the flour clumps to start with, but then 'gives'). Then I season with salt, black pepper, a little cayenne paper and a little Worcester sauce, and add the grated cheese The cheese melts and the thickening happens all at the same time while the mixture heats and cooks through.

Familyofmonkeys

26th August 2008, 11:47 PM

.......goes off to look in pantry :D

We must do about 95% home cooking......we both enjoy cooking when kids aren't screaming "feed me now". We make own bread, yoghurt, soft cheese, pizza etc. Use lots of pulses to make stews (alternatively known as veggie slop :laugh). We do have some emergency pasta sauce, supermarket bread in freezer and some veggie sausages. We occasionally buy jars of veggie pesto because it would cost more to make it from scratch by the time we'd bought the basil and pine nuts and it's also cheaper to use tins of chopped tomatos than trying to make sauce with fresh tomatos. Found a jar of curry sauce at back of cupboard.....OH been trying his own sauces recently, bit hit and miss but getting better at it as we really miss having a decent curry. Also trying to get better at making own pasta and have successfully made own jam this year too :)

chocolate cake

26th August 2008, 11:50 PM

99% home cooking here too, plus often make own bread too.

Moorf

27th August 2008, 12:00 AM

Hmm, I can't claim 99% if I don't make my own bread so I'm lowering mine to 80% :o

Familyofmonkeys

27th August 2008, 12:08 AM

(I love cooking Indian food)

Do you have any recipes for korma/mossala or similarly mild sauces.....tried a few and non taste quite right. Unfortunately kids too young to eat anything more spicy yet.

The Hodges

27th August 2008, 10:12 AM

We do most of the cooking from scratch. Mainly because I really enjoy it and also I then know what goes into our food. I dont make my own bread, but I would like to give it a go.

Clare

dusk

27th August 2008, 10:57 AM

I'm more of a 'combiner' than a cooker I'm afraid, sauces for most things are in my cupboards!

LesleyS

27th August 2008, 11:09 AM

Love cooking, and say I do 90% from scratch. Even make my own Pizza from scratch now, it tastes far nicer than anything processed.
Tried the jars of curry sauces and Maggi, but they're miles away from authentic. It's time consuming, but worth the effort.

That said, I always have a bag of oven chips in the freezer, just in case the teenager gets peckish and I'm not there. The house would burn down otherwise!!

BkyMonster

27th August 2008, 11:19 AM

I buy pasta, sauce and bread at the moment because my kitchen isn't big enough (nor do I have enough dishes what with moving in a few weeks) to make everything I'd like to.
I've experience with making everything from scratch --even down to grinding my own flour, so I don't think it will be hard to go back to. Looking forward to making own bread, pasta, cheese and sauces in the future, though I must say the first appliance on my list for NZ is a sewing machine!

YouMeAndThree

27th August 2008, 11:36 AM

Do you have any recipes for korma/mossala or similarly mild sauces.....tried a few and non taste quite right. Unfortunately kids too young to eat anything more spicy yet.

Just butting in - but I have seen this website (http://www.curryhouse.co.uk/rsc/index.htm)quoted an awful lot by curry fans.

As for home cooking, hmm, I try but I do occasionally go for an easy option to get food as quickly as possible onto the table (especially as I'm here alone with 3 wee ones at the moment trying to pack a house :() Would hate to put it to a percentage, but I think it's slightly more than 50%.

peebles16

27th August 2008, 12:05 PM

Thanks for the white sauce recipes - mine always seem to be lumpy but heck I'll give it a go again :) Think might have to reduce my % a bit too as do buy bread, biscuits etc but I do cook more from scratch here than I did back in Scotland :yes The kids also eat better now and are much less fussy about food since we've got back to eating together every evening. Still can't get them to eat a curry though :(

Karenx

nippa&pippa

27th August 2008, 12:53 PM

Just butting in - but I have seen this website (http://www.curryhouse.co.uk/rsc/index.htm)quoted an awful lot by curry fans.

Thnaks for link as just I need it. Got left over lamb from dinner last night, cooked in slow cooker (it was very nice Moorf ;)) and OH request lamb curry tonight!

Nettie 2

27th August 2008, 01:43 PM

Familyofmonkeys

27th August 2008, 01:50 PM

Still can't get them to eat a curry though :(

We usually give ours some yoghurt to swirl into their curry and naan for dipping.....they seem less fussy because it is so much fun playing with their food :laugh

nippa&pippa

27th August 2008, 01:55 PM

Or serve mint dips with it ;) our kids (apart baby) love it, just mix colman's mint sauce (had to be colman's, lucky to find it at woolworth?) and yoghurt then chilled in fridge.

Georgebulldog

27th August 2008, 04:04 PM

I'm with Tia on this one. Hope it's a big corner! I can't abide standing in the kitchen when the sun is shining and I could be out walking. I can cook but don't really enjoy it, seems a waste of time to me. I'm afraid I would take eating pills if they were available! Give me a big bar of chocolate any day! :)

OK after reading all your posts I feel I need to be a bit more honest, I reckon I could be down to 75%, no bread making here & only the occasional cakes/biscuits, because I would eat them all in one go :yes
I think like Nettie if there were pills I'd take them apart from chocolate & I'd quite happily join Tia in the corner with a cocktail

KerryS

27th August 2008, 06:40 PM

I try and cook the majority of my food from scratch - I've even attempted pasta a few times, but it's a bit of a hassle...
I have lots of things in bottles and jars in my fridge though: soy, chilli sauce, worcester sauce, various mustards etc
I don't use jarred pasta or curry sauces - I bulk cook a basic tomato sauce and keep it in bags in the freezer to use as a base for pasta sauce, and I like to vary my curry by mixing different spices together, sometimes more successfully than others.
I have various tins in my cupboard too - tomatoes, baked beans, tuna, some chick peas and beans as I can't always be bothered to soak them, and they're a great easy lunch with some salad leaves and a dash of balsamic vinegar.
I keep emergency bread in the freezer, but I think the last loaf has been in there since I moved house, as I don't actually eat bread very often.

I am a lazy cook most of the time - the majority of my meals recently have consisted of stir fried veg with noodles or rice.

dilanium

27th August 2008, 07:07 PM

Well I'm baking my first loaf of bread in NZ.

Just Irish Soda bread for now, but I've got the ingredients for more if this turns out well. :)

nippa&pippa

27th August 2008, 07:30 PM

Glad to know there is some of us are similar cos I get funny looks at checkout :D to see me carry items like few bags of flour in 10kg :yes, 5kg sugar, 1kg brown sugar, jar of yeast, jar of baking soda, 4 carton of milks, several cartons of rice milk and few carton of dairy-free butter, lots of fruit and veg, tins of tomatoes, curry paste, herbs & spices etc
Oh yes one bulk order of my youngest two's special biscuits, need to be fetch from supermarket soon :exit

What is your reasons behind "home cooking"?
For me, it is cheaper, I find it relaxing to cook (I know, but there is odd moments I get fed up!) and knowing it is not full of preserative, additives and colouring (Moorf have seen my children react to her fizzy squash!!:roll) and I know it is very safe food to lower the risk of allergy reactions.

Jo Jo

27th August 2008, 07:52 PM

We cook from scratch because I'm vegetarian, and there is virtually no pre-made vegetarian food available where I live. My husband does eat meat and fish, but we don't buy any ready-prepared meals for him, either, as he catches the fish he eats, or his father does, and he gets his meat from his sister, who is a farmer (he just got a whole cow in exchange for some fly-screens he made!)

It's quite a change for us, well, for me, anyway, because when I lived in London I lived off ready-meals, takeaways and eating out - the only things I made from scratch at home were cocktails! :D

Moorf

27th August 2008, 08:20 PM

My basic curry sauce. This sauce is the basis for my curries - make it in bulk and freeze, then just bring out and add whatever you fancy for various different dishes.

Amounts are a bit hazy as I make this from memory nowadays.

Enough sauce for a curry for 2 (hungry horse portions!) plus sauce for another in freezer:

4 onions - roughly sliced
2 inches ginger - diced
6 cloves garlic - roughly sliced
Water
Tinned toms (or tomato puree)
Turmeric
Nice big dollop of Ghee (or about 5 tblspns canola/veg oil)
Bay Leaves - 4
Salt

Heat oil and gently fry together the onions, ginger, garlic, pinch of salt and bayleaves. Once soft add tumeric. You want to cook the onions slowly so they become sweet and soft and a light brown colour - you should be able to squish onion with back of spoon. If you don't cook the onions long enough you are left with a very "green" raw oniony tasting sauce which isn't nice.

Remove from heat. Leave to cool slightly, remove bay leaves and then place the oniony mixture in to a processor. Add a tin of toms (or tom puree + water) and whizz until very very smooth and the consistency of ketchup (add more water if too thick).

That's it - from this you can make a variety of dishes.

To make, for instance, a quick chicken and spinach curry with the above sauce I would:

Pop chicken in pan with ghee/oil. Colour up. Add in chilli to taste, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fry for 2 mins or so. Add in the basic sauce as above, fry off for a couple of mins then turn down and simmer. Add in spinach (I use pureed frozen lumps when it's not in season) and simmer for another 15 mins or so - it's done only when the oil has separated to the top of the pan.

I hope I got that down right!

Funnily enough, tonight we're having a chicken and potato curry from the freezer :)

Moorf

Familyofmonkeys

27th August 2008, 09:31 PM

Thankyou.......will give that a try :)

Familyofmonkeys

27th August 2008, 09:42 PM

As for us and home cooking........we both enjoy cooking when we're not under pressure to produce quick meal. Even when we are tight for time (fairly often with 3 young kids), it isn't hard to dish up some pasta or rice with some stir fried veggies/beans etc. Then there is us being vegetarian.......we know what is in the food we make ourselves. Lastly, we don't want to spend more on our grocery bill than we need to........it is one area where we can definitely control our spending as other things like utility bills are harder to control. Can't wait to be able to grow some of our own veggies and fruit, and we really want to have a go at making own cheese.....once OH will let me buy the neccessary equipment.