Welsh Tea Cake

This authentic recipe for Welsh Tea Cake is exactly what you need! It is low in refined sugar, high in whole food ingredients, and simply tastes wonderful! 

Welsh Tea Cake keeps well (in the refrigerator for the long term), and can be frozen for future enjoyment. I have been baking for over 50 years, but it was not until recently, that I started weighing ingredients, for baking. The scale I use is nothing fancy or expensive, but it does have a tare setting and that makes it very easy to use! 

This loaf of  Welsh Tea Cake is the first recipe I have baked weighing out ingredients. A fine beginning if I do say so myself! The scale has been used for pasta and many other foods through the years, but now I have a strong desire to try my hand at more cakes and bread recipes calling for ingredients by weight. 

Creamy Paprika Salad Dressing and a simple salad

Creamy Paprika Salad Dressing seems very simple and plain, but don't let looks fool you! It is so good. I am sure it is the lime juice. Lime juice always makes everything just a little bit better! Break some lettuce into your favorite salad bowl, slice some tomatoes, and drizzle on this Creamy Paprika Salad Dressing for a quick, enjoyable salad, that everyone will love. 

The Finest Salad Dressing...

Hello, once again, and welcome to Salad Dressing Week at Scratch Made Food! and DIY Homemade Household. We are offering this unusual but mighty good recipe for The Finest Salad Dressing!

Encouraging Hearts and Home 06.25.2020

A Patriotic Flag, Fiber Feathers, Lemon Sugar Cookies, and Black-Eyed Susan Planters are this week's featured posts. 

Hello and Welcome!

We have had chilly weather at camp, but that did not stop the campers from arriving and enjoying as much as they could of the beautiful mountains and the lake! I have to admit at this point in my life's journey, I prefer comfort over adventure, but back there in the memory bank I too have stories of how I braved the cold, the wet, and the wind during a camping trip. 

There was this one day, however, that we had non-stop rain! And for the most part, the campground was empty save for our trailer and the camper of the second host. This gave me time to get my commemorative afghan completed. When we set out for Montana I began a Weather of the Day afghan for our first year in Montana. And finally, this piece has been completed! I had to take a break from knitting for a while due to a broken wrist (I recorded the day's weather for accuracy) because the first year also brought a fall on a frozen puddle during a hike one day...

But here is my completed piece, still a novice knitter, however, I enjoy the process and try to add a skill to each new piece I make. For the record, this piece is plain knit stitch. The color key I chose was blue for sun, white for snow, grey for overcast and purple for rain...

The afghan fits nicely along the bottom of the bed in our little 5thwheel while we travel, and is a great source of warmth during those cold evenings. 

Parsley Honey and Lemon Salad Dressing

Looking for another salad dressing to make for your family? You have come to the right place, welcome to Salad Dressing Week, here at Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household. Our recipe today is this Parsley Honey and Lemon Salad Dressing.

Parsley Honey and Lemon Salad Dressing

Now that we have settled into our home in Montana, we have big plans for a raised garden, but until that is completed, we took the time to make a small potager right outside the back sliding glass door. We have Tuscon Kale, Swiss Chard, and lots of containers of various potatoes along with zucchini and tomatoes. 

Encouraging Hearts and Home 06.18.2020

Easy, reusable face shield, 111 Best Dad Jokes, Grilled French Fries, and A summertime Bucket List are this week's featured posts. 

Hello and Welcome!

It has been very cold from time to time at our campground. Some mornings there is a fresh dusting of snow on the mountain caps! But when the sun comes out, it is the best place to be to hear the birds sing, breathe in the fresh piney air, and see so many families having a great time with each other. 

Our tubs of Swiss Chard proved to be too easy for the ground gophers to keep out of, but they ate well until we brought them back home on our days off! I will say I am never afraid to try something new...tubs of growing vegetables was in fact something new!

We are hoping to hike around the lake to see the waterfall on the otherwise along the mountains. We have been told it is running faster than ever before, due to all the snowmelt. It will be a fun day... and a good bit of exercise, around the lake is 7 miles!

Easy to Make Toffee, no candy thermometer needed!

Do you want to make candy? But think that making candy is really hard? Well, so did I until I found this recipe for Easy to Make Toffee! You will love it, and so will everyone you share it with! Let's make Toffee, shall we?

Homemade Bay Leaf Seasoning

Do you love the flavor of Bay Leaves in your food? Learn how to make Penzy's Bay Leaf Seasoning! One of the most versatile seasonings to keep on hand in your kitchen! If you love the flavor of bay leaves in your recipes, you will love this seasoning mix.

How to Make Roasted Garlic, the easy way!

How to make roasted garlic the easy way! Are you looking for the easiest method to make Roasted Garlic? Take a look here, this method is foolproof and requires no special equipment!

Easy Red Wine Marinade for Beef

How easy is it to get dinner on the table and all of your other tasks and chores completed? Quite easy with our Easy Red Wine Marinade for Beef! Quick to put together, and a delicious dinner for the whole family to enjoy.

Vegetable Bouillon Concentrate

Looking for more ways to add flavor to your home-cooked meals? You have come to the right place, take a peek at our recipe for Homemade Vegetable Bouillon Paste...up the flavor in your food!

Super Fruit and Vegetable Breakfast Squares.

Presenting a delicious and nutritious recipe for Super Fruit and Vegetable Breakfast Squares. Because eating a great breakfast is always a good idea! 

This recipe is not only delicious; it freezes very well, which is wonderful for smaller families. Plus every ingredient listed is available year-round. For those that like a bigger breakfast, it is also quite fitting to serve Super Fruit and Vegetable Breakfast Squares with eggs, simply cut into smaller squares, which is so much easier than individual muffins.

How to Make Easy to Peel Hard-Cooked Eggs.

Do you have problems with peeling hard-cooked eggs? I do did, until I came across this wonderful process! This post is about How to Make Easy to Peel Hard-Cooked Eggs! Perfect every time...

Maple Pecan Granola

Maple Pecan Granola is another easy-to-make granola with no refined sugar. With only about 30 minutes in the oven, why buy granola, when homemade is this easy? 

Who likes having breakfast easy enough so that everyone can serve themselves? I see, look at all of you in agreement! So it isn't just me. I love mornings, but I don't always want to cook a big breakfast. Granola is perfect for the serve yourself breakfast club. Maple Pecan Granola like our other favorite Honey Almond Granola offers variety while serving up good nutrition. 

Each flavor of our homemade granola calls for pumpkin seeds as part of the ingredients list. Pumpkin seeds are a good source of magnesium along with crunch and a delicious nutty flavor. That was new information to me when I began learning the nutritional value of the different ingredients included in our granola recipes. And it turns out magnesium is one of those minerals we need each day.  

Cafe Yumm Sauce, a copycat recipe!

Looking to save some money, but miss hitting up your favorite fast-food spot? If so, this recipe for Cafe Yumm Sauce is just what you are looking for!

Lemon Dill and Vermouth Mustard

Mustard fan? I hope you are because mustard is the one ingredient in cooking that can take a dish from humble to company-worthy. Why not give this Lemon Dill and Vermouth Mustard a try, you won't be sorry! 

You will find a few mustard recipes here at DIY Homemade Household, and there is a good reason for that! Commercially prepared specialty mustard like this recipe for Lemon Dill and Vermouth Mustard is often expensive. Being able to make it yourself is not only frugal but enjoyable. Homemade mustard is fairly easy to make, can include any favorite spice or essence and it makes a great gift for friends or just because you like your neighbor...

This particular mustard is great with chicken and fish. Add a touch of Lemon Dill and Vermouth Mustard to the next batch of tartar sauce the next time you serve pan-fried or deep-fried fish. Stir a spoonful into the pan drippings when frying chicken for a flavorful pan sauce to serve over your chicken, and of course, it is delicious on a sandwich of just about any variety with the exception of a PB&J! 

So, what are you waiting for, get some mustard seeds soaking...

Encouraging Hearts and Home 06.11.2020

How to regrown lettuce, Bread Vada, No-Bake Cheesecake with Rhubarb, and Tres Leches Filipino Egg Pie are this week's featured posts!

Hello and Welcome!

We have been at "camp" for a week now, and currently at home for our two days off. I had a lot to get done, with laundry, bread baking, and of course visiting here! Funny retirement seems pretty consistent with all those working years, days off simply mean a different set of chores to get done...

One thing we did differently this time for our volunteer stint was to take a couple of tubs of Swiss Chard with us. they did not take up much room in the back of the truck and so far they have provided us with a delicious side dish of cooked chard for our supper one night last week. I believe that this week the small tender leaves will provide us with a nice bowl of greens and vinaigrette to go along with one of our suppers. 

During the day they are covered with bird netting, and at night we turn a large storage tub over the top to prevent any possible Swiss Chard eating wanderers to get to our crop before we can! The cooked chard was perfect along-side grilled salmon and buttered corn...UPDATE: we still lost, they were eaten to nubs in the tubs!

Maker's Mark Honey Mustard

Sometimes kitchen experiments turn out delicious! And this recipe for Maker's Mark Honey Mustard is proof! This is a story of frugality, or "what will I do with all those mustard seeds?"

When you get to purchase matching spice racks for your kitchen on clearance, that's a pretty good day. The spice racks were pre-filled with assorted herbs and spices, but honestly, having been bought on clearance I knew that the spice in each jar would be emptied directly into the trash. No disappointment on my part. 

Each jar was opened. The herbs and spices were given the sniff test for freshness before being emptied into the trash. All went to the trash, except for the mustard seeds, the mustard seeds still smelled pungent! When emptied, all the little jars of mustard seeds filled a small bowl. Being frugal, there was only one thing to do, make a jar of mustard to enjoy...

Easy Crock-Pot Dried Apricot Butter

Easy Crock-Pot Dried Apricot Butter is easy to make. Just combine the ingredients and let it cook. Plus this small-batch of Easy Crock-Pot Dried Apricot Butter freezes well and requires no canning! 

Are you a jam maker with no fresh fruit to work with? I found myself to be in that position once here in Montana. Our root cellar had many open shelves waiting for jam, but there was not a producing tree to be found! 

We do have an apricot tree in our yard, but it is very gnarled and very old. It was in dire need of a good pruning when we got here, back in June. Actually, all the fruit trees were long overdue for pruning and trimming when sadly the owners could no longer live here and continue caring for the land. 

If we were going to have a harvest, there was only one thing to do. Get busy!

Maple Orange Sherry Wine Mustard

Maple Orange Sherry Wine Mustard is gourmet in flavor, yet easy on the cook and your pocketbook! Plus it makes a wonderful gift to take to a new neighbor or to finish out that gift basket you might be putting together.

British style Mixed Spice for Cakes and Baking

British style Mixed Spice for Cakes and Baking will have you baking up delicious "bakes" just like they do in the countryside of Britain...making this delicious spice blend handy to have on hand!

Here recently I have taken quite a shine to British food. Especially Welsh Tea Cake, known as Bara Brith. It is easy to make, and quite delicious. I have come to enjoy my afternoon cup of tea, sweetened with a bit of honey, and lightened up with a splash of cream. And for those days that lunch is but just a memory, a slice of cake spread with a bit of butter is perfect to enjoy along with my cuppa.

Super Simple "Easy Clean" Spray Cleaner

Yes, you are busy! Actually, we are all busy. The solution? I keep a bottle of this super simple "Easy Clean" Spray Cleaner handy, a couple of sprays, and a quick wipe down, and you will have a clean and ready work surface, once again! From the DIY Homemade Household side of the blog!

So tell me, have you ever had one of those days, where you walk into the kitchen to start a meal and all the counters are covered with the remains of the day? Super Simple "Easy Clean" Spray Cleaner is just what you need, because, what you will find on the kitchen counter is.

Crumbs from getting out a few crackers. Or a bit of sugar spilled from sweetening a cup of coffee or tea. And of course, that smear left behind from a knife, telling of peanut butter and jelly sandwichs...but now dinner is waiting to be made so...get out your bottle of this easy-to-make cleaner!

How to make Homemade Brown Sugar.

Homemade Brown Sugar is one of those pantry staples you might as well make yourself! It is easy to do, while you get to control the ingredients used.  

Are you interested in being more self-sufficient? Then you are in the right place!  Homemade Brown Sugar is very simple to make. You can also customize it for your family's preferences. I like to have both light brown and dark brown sugar on hand for cooking and baking. 

Quiet the rain, with Downspout Noise Mufflers

Downspout Noise Mufflers just might help you sleep better at night, you might not be able to stop the rain, but you can do something about the noise in those downspouts! From the DIY Homemade Household side of the blog!

"Hey Honey, can you hear that? It's raining again."

 "You know Hun, as soon as it stops raining again, we need to get those downspouts fixed."

But you know how it is, when the rain stops, it's outside to get a few chores done. Usually, the ones left from yesterday!

Later you stop for some lunch and a cup of something hot, to warm up our insides. Then just as you are taking that last swig from your mug, it starts raining again!

I think you get the idea. Days like that, are why some chores don't get done!

Truthfully noisy downspouts are not a problem during the day. Everyone is busy and the noise blends into all the other activities surrounding you...

Encouraging Hearts and Home 06.04.2020

A mess-free way to pit cherries, amazing Garlic Harvest techniques, attracting bees to your garden, and No Fuss Easy Dill Zucchini Pickles are this week's featured posts. 

Hello and Welcome!

We are heading out of town tomorrow, we will be volunteering with Montana State Parks as Camp Ground Hosts to open camping season here in Montana! I have been busy getting a few things cooked up ahead so our first few days learning our new duties! We spent a year traveling and working for the National Park System (2018-2019) as Interpretive Guides. It was a lot of fun, but now as volunteers, we just want to hike and camp! Once our duties are done for the day we can just kick back, camp, and relax! It is exciting to me that our parks are opening up once again...

Meatballs and Onions in Paprika Sour Cream Sauce

Are you looking for a rich-tasting ground beef dish that is just as good in the summer as it is in winter? If so Meatballs and Onions in Paprika Sour Cream Sauce is the dish you are looking for!