Cooking from scratch - Food staples bought in bulk

[orbital]

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Having some good hard aged cheese on hand to add to dishes.

Couple days ago I made some spicy black bean soup that was blended to be a condiment sauce to go over Jasmine rice.
After the 'sauce' was done I added about a 1/2 cup of diced aged white cheddar,,,, it just melted into the sauce & gave another good layer of flavor. The aged cheddar balanced the spice component... worked well.

Both the pot of cooked Jasmine & the Black bean sauce cost me less than $10 and I'll have food for several days..

 

[pnwoutdoors]

Cooking from scratch - Food staples bought in bulk

Let me see ...

• Beans + Lentils + Peas
• Onions
• Garlic
• Berries (frozen)
• Cherries (fresh, when in season, bought a dozen+ pounds a shot)
• Spices -- seeds, corns, whole root, then freshly ground as needed (cumin, fennel, coriander, fenugreek, szechuan pepper, cardamom, mustard, paprika, dried peppers)
• Seeds + Nuts
• Szechuan garlic sauce
• Chinese fermented bean paste
• Korean fermented gochujang by the tub
• Korean kimchi
• Soup bones -- for bone broth/stock (making ~20qts at a time)
• Meats -- mostly fish (a dozen+ pounds at a time)

Don't do much else in larger (bulk) quantities.

I go through a good amount of fresh greens and other vegetables, but that's hardly bulk. Gets eaten over several days, with what's left getting chopped, bagged and frozen. The cherries, when purchased in quantity, get pitted, halved and frozen.

The above with fresh veggies and fruits covers quite a bit of ground, for me.

 

[pnwoutdoors]

Having some good aged cheese on hand to add to dishes.

^ This. A good aged hard cheese, for me.

One of my favorite spots, on the 'net ... at least, for seeing a lot of what's out there:

Hard Cheeses - Cheese.com

All textures of cheeses

cheese.com

 

[orbital]

^ This. A good aged hard cheese, for me.

One of my favorite spots, on the 'net ... at least, for seeing a lot of what's out there:

Hard Cheeses - Cheese.com

All textures of cheeses

cheese.com

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Yes, aged hard white cheddar.
When it melts, it disappears into a sauce giving a richness/background flavor.
Act as a catalyst binding flavors too

 

[Dave_H]

Price of a can of ordinary soup has risen quite a bit; in some cases absurd, considering it is a staple for simple lunches.

I made a small batch of turkey soup. Leftover turkey bones were boiled for an hour or so, cleaned up to create broth with some small bits of turkey. Boiled a cup of rice with half a cup of dried lentils. Added a chopped carrot, diced celery (used the base, plus added the leaves). Added a bit of chopped garlic and other spices. Simmered for an hour or so (didn't need more), saved a few cans of soup.

Rice tends to swell up and thicken the soup but it's more compact for storing (glass jars) so I just add a bit of water before reheating.

BTW here celery is presently running up to $4-$5 each.

Dave

 

[SamKormak]

Price of a can of ordinary soup has risen quite a bit; in some cases absurd, considering it is a staple for simple lunches.

I made a small batch of turkey soup. Leftover turkey bones were boiled for an hour or so, cleaned up to create broth with some small bits of turkey. Boiled a cup of rice with half a cup of dried lentils. Added a chopped carrot, diced celery (used the base, plus added the leaves). Added a bit of chopped garlic and other spices. Simmered for an hour or so (didn't need more), saved a few cans of soup.

Rice tends to swell up and thicken the soup but it's more compact for storing (glass jars) so I just add a bit of water before reheating.

BTW here celery is presently running up to $4-$5 each.

Dave

Just making stock from leftovers(turkey, chicken, shrimp, etc) and freezing it is what does it for me. Works for soups/sauces like a charm for me

 

[Olumin]

I dont usually buy things in bulk except orange juice. The brand I get is better then freshly pressed, I dont know how they do it.