bonellilou

          Today's post is Homemade Bread Crumbs, though this is not a big recipe, I just wanted to have it in my basic posts. Whenever I bought bread crumbs, I used a small amount and most of the time the remaining got trashed, because it crossed the expiry date. I prefer making it at home, that way, I can make just the amount I needed, and also, we can add different seasonings or flavors to the bread crumbs..

Need To Have

• Bread Slices - 4 or 5 slices

Method


          You can either bake the slices whole or tear it into pieces like shown in the picture, bake it at 180 C for about 7 to 10 minutes or till the bread pieces become crispy. Cool it and pulse it in a blender or mixie, till they look like rava/semolina.


Note
The basic idea is to toast the bread till very crispy, you can do this on a tava too, then just grind the bread slices.
Add seasonings like Italian or Mexican when you grind the bread to get flavored bread crumbs.
If you need to store more than a week, it's better to store it in the freezer.
We can use the bread crumbs for coating patties, cutlets, to get a crispy topping while baking pastas or vegetables and other bakes.

         Ricotta cheese is available in India, at least in the big cities, but somehow I didn't like the texture of it. Ricotta ( meaning recooked ) is actually made from the whey left from making cheese. But when we make it at home, the method is almost similar to how we make Paneer/Indian Cottage Cheese. The texture of homemade Ricotta was creamy and it tasted very good. We can have it in sandwiches, use it in baking or in pasta dishes, I used my batch of ricotta to make ravioli and some cookies, will be posting them soon..

Need To Have

• Milk - 4 cups
• Fresh Cream - 1/2 cup
• Lemon Juice - 3 tablespoons

Method


          Take the milk and fresh cream and bring it to a boil. Switch off the stove, then add the lemon juice and leave it for 10 to 15 minutes. The whey and milk solids would have separated.


          Now strain it through a muslin cloth, don't squeeze, just leave it in the cloth for about an hour, for the whey to completely drip off. Then remove and use it or refrigerate it.


Note
I didn't use whole milk, depending on the thickness of the milk, you might need more or less lemon juice, the key is for the whey to separate.
Also depending on how thick the cloth that we use for straining, the time taken can vary, but you can also decide on how dry you want the cheese, the cloth that I used was a little thick, and I like the cheese to be creamy, not very dry.
It can be stored in the fridge for a week.

          Couple of days back, I had made some soup, and I had to use vegetable broth/stock in it. Initially, I was thinking of buying the canned one, but as we know, in India, not all shops carry canned stock/broth, so then I decided to make my own. I had all the veggies in hand, making broth is actually very easy, it takes some time though, like about an hour or so, at the end of which you'll have this clear and healthy vegetable broth..

Need To Have

• Onion - 1 medium
• Carrots - 1/2 cup, chopped
• Green Beans - 1/2 cup, chopped
• Broccoli stems - 1/2 cup
• Mushroom Stems - 1/2 cup
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Method


           Heat some oil, add the onion pieces and saute till it turns pink, then add the all the vegetables and mix.


          Add about 6 cups water, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour. Switch off and strain, as shown, extract as much as possible from the vegetables.
The broth is ready, if you want to have it as such, add some salt and pepper and serve.


Note
Can use spring onions and cabbage pieces also.
Broth is not only used in soups, it can be used for cooking couscous, quinoa and even rice too.
I got about 5 cups of broth.