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Spices and seasonings – taco powder
Tacos appear fairly regularly on the menu at home – once a month or so. Packets of seasoning mix vary in price between “quote reasonable” and “are you kidding me?!!?”. As usual, my answer is to make it myself! 6 teaspoons chili powder 5 teaspoons paprika 4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 1/2 teaspoons onion…
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Spices and seasonings – chili powder
Who doesn’t like a good chili? But take a moment to think before you answer – I am talking about a good chili, one that leaves you wanting more, not one that leaves you feeling like something really bad just happened in your mouth or your stomach! I tend to prefer foods on the spicier…
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Pancake syrup
This is what I think of as an “almost-recipe”. It is substantially right, but there is one thing it falls down on that makes the recipe fail: if you read the comments, people complain about it recrystallising. Recrystallisation comes as no surprise, because there is nothing in the recipe to prevent it. Table sugar is…
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Make your own yoghurt
It’s stupidly easy, laughably cheap, and takes next to no hands-on time. 1 quart (946ml) milk (any kind but not “ultra-high pasteurised”/UHP or “ultra heat treated”/UHT) 1/4 to 1/2 cup non-fat dry milk (optional) 2 tablespoons existing yoghurt with live cultures You can easily scale this up – I made a gallon batch, added 1…
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Cheese straws and obesity
You should make this recipe as soon as possible, because it is that awesome. But I will identify why I think this sheds some interesting light on the obesity problem: Cheese Straws 1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened and cut into…
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Seasonal Eating – March
Continuing my ongoing series on eating and canning seasonally, what’s new for March? As the weather is still treacherous, only robust stuff is coming into season. Thankfully there’s more to choose from this month: * New this month *Asparagus Green Cabbage Fingerling carrots Peas Scallions / green / spring onions *Spinach Turnip Greens – turnip…
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Red beans and rice
So you have taken care of your leftovers in a frugal manner and are looking for a dish which can soak them up and turn into something really tasty as well as being laughably cheap? Red beans and rice! A Creole favourite, it uses simple basic ingredients which you should already have in your pantry…
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Corn relish
What do you do when your local grocery store is charging 15 cents an ear of corn? Well, if you’re like me, you roast some and use the rest to make corn relish! Yield: approximately 6 pint jars 4 cups white vinegar 1.25 cups white sugar 2 tbsp salt 8 cups corn kernels (fresh, frozen,…
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Fruity banana chutney
Ah, chutney. A loanword from the Hindi chatni, it means “spicy preparations to accompany a main dish”. It is also an awesome accompaniment to grilled foods, roasts, and cheeses. As an added bonus, chutney is a great way for parents to sneak extra fruit and veggies onto the plates of fussy eaters! This recipe combines…
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Bread and Butter pickles
Supposedly so tasty all you need to have with them with is bread and butter, these are the perfect accompaniment to burgers, cold cuts, cheese, and so on. The pickles should be sweet, tangy, and crisp. Bread and Butter pickles 10 cups sliced trimmed stuff* 4 medium onions, thinly sliced ½ cup pickling or canning…