What don’t you make from scratch these days?

Desserts. I used to make desserts from scratch when I was younger, but there are plenty of decent ones in the shops these days.

Pies. If we fancy a pie I go for the more upmarket bought pies, e.g. M&S Best Ever, or By Ruby chicken leek and bacon pie.

Chips
Custard
Mashed potato

I still make pastry, though it’s really my trusty old Kenwood Chef doing all the work.

Only the other day I made a big batch of tomato sauce for pasta - tinned toms, onion, garlic, celery, herbs, veg stock cube, tomato purée, a little sugar. Honestly took very little time, blitzed it once cooked in the blender.

I make beef burgers from good quality mince, again takes v little time. I make 4 - 2 for now, 2 for the freezer.

As for mashed potato, unless it was just for me, I can’t imagine buying it ready made - we want such a lot, mashed with butter and milk, 😋.

Making jam can work out quite expensive if you're buying the fruit - I only ever make it if I get fruit for free, either from our own garden or if someone gives me some.

My Christmas cake and rice pudding.

Pastry and pesto.

I'll probably make jams and jellies when we pick our fruit!
Blackcurrant jelly is the best.

Allira

I've made chutneys, jams, passata etc but there are such good readymade ones now why would I slave over the hob?

I'd suppose some just love to cook. I know we do.

Far less expensive as well. Less when I do the sums.

I've made chutneys, jams, passata etc but there are such good readymade ones now why would I slave over the hob?

I use tinned tomatoes and passata where previously I bottled.

I've used frozen fruit.

Mostly I scratch make meals.

I buy chutneys and Thai curry paste. I buy passata and tomato concentrate. Does that count?

I have bought pastry as it's rather good.

But I love to cook from scratch. It's mainly quick and easy. Eggs, rice dishes, salads, mushrooms, fish.
I have tried ready meals and so called short cuts but wasn't impressed.

I buy pasta sauce, then add to it. Also a jarred butter chicken sauce; Patek's. I will buy frozen meat pies, and on occasion a frozen lasagna. Puff or phyllo pastry I buy frozen, but make my own shortcrust.

Most things are made from scratch. Today I had:
my own pre-mixed oatmeal (don't do the little pre-mixed pouches - too much sugar!)
home make beef barley soup, yogurt with fruit (I did not make the yogurt!), and a home made high fibre muffin.
Dinner will be salmon, potatoes done in the air-fryer and green beans, so nothing pre-made.

horseradish cream
Surely you make your own Jaxjacky? 😂 My Dad used to! He grew it and make horseradish sauce. He used to grow and pickle onions too.

Grow your own mustard seeds to make mustard? I can find you a recipe.

Let's get back to basics.

Curry, stock (sometimes), horseradish cream, desserts for visitors/family (we rarely eat them), salad dressings, passata.

Mashed potato.

I actually do make my own pastry both shortcrust and flaky . Flaky for sausage rolls and cheese straws ( which family and friends say are pretty good) shortcrust for savoury and sweet pies . Shop bought pastry doesn’t compare at all

There is very little I don’t make from scratch, I made a batch of Bernaise sauce on Saturday, so was left with the egg whites, so I made meringues, my husbands waistline would have been much better of had I just bought a jar of the stuff!

Pastry these days, think that's a No brainer and custard.

I think homemade tomato pasta sauce is much nicer. And home made pastry. But I buy pesto ready made

and preparing a new Japanese garden

Intrigued! Tell us more (perhaps on the gardening thread?)

Whitewavemark2

I will make everything from scratch if I feel so inclined.
I am not, however, a martyr to the cause and will not if I cba make anything I feel disinclined to make.

So for example tonight was going to be Smokey hake and beans with spinach.

It is now going to be fish and chips from the village shop, delivered to the door. Why? Because I’ve been this morning cleaning all the windows as well as the conservatory and living rooms, and this afternoon in the garden planting strawberries, and preparing a new Japanese garden. Too knackered to cook.

Well done!

We were going to have a ready meal but didn't have time to go in the Farm Shop.

However, I do have something I made earlier which needs some tweaking.

Well deserved fish supper Whitewave . Enjoy .

Puff pastry, of course. Shortcrust is fine courtesy the food processor.

DH buys jars of curry sauces sometimes and gravy granules but mostly we cook from scratch.

I will make everything from scratch if I feel so inclined.
I am not, however, a martyr to the cause and will not if I cba make anything I feel disinclined to make.

So for example tonight was going to be Smokey hake and beans with spinach.

It is now going to be fish and chips from the village shop, delivered to the door. Why? Because I’ve been this morning cleaning all the windows as well as the conservatory and living rooms, and this afternoon in the garden planting strawberries, and preparing a new Japanese garden. Too knackered to cook.

Was just about to say marzipan. Think I was about the last woman in the western world to discover that marzipan could be bought ready made. Home made tastes better of course but oh the sweat of rolling it out and getting it to stick to the apricot jam on the sides 😫was far too much to make it worth it.