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From Scratch: More Than 200 Handmade Pantry Essentials and Life-Affirming Kitchen Miracles
From Scratch is a cheerful collection of recipes, and a simple guide to making your own food and staples, starting at the very beginning. If you are looking for a connection with what you eat, then this book is for you. More than 200 straightforward recipes – from basic pantry items and essential dairy products to decadent cakes, tasty dips, crackers, ferments and drinks – will give you the confidence to leave industrialized packaged goods behind. Author Fiona Weir Walmsley paints a beautiful picture of life (and work) at Buena Vista Farm in Gerringong, NSW, and of the joy of making, sharing and enjoying things 'from scratch', no matter how busy you are. And, sampling your own mayonnaise, yogurt, kimchi, muesli bars, mustard, ice cream, chai tea, bacon jam, chewy caramel or lemon slice (the list goes on!) might be just what you need to find your happy place.
Complete with stunning images, From Scratch is all about kitchen time being fun, instructions without preachiness, and the deep satisfaction of being able to make all the things yourself – when you have the urge (or when you run out of baking powder).
Complete with stunning images, From Scratch is all about kitchen time being fun, instructions without preachiness, and the deep satisfaction of being able to make all the things yourself – when you have the urge (or when you run out of baking powder).
320 pages, Hardcover
Published October 18, 2022
3 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 9, 2022
Absolutely wonderful cookbook full of delicious and do-able recipes to make many of the staples we mindlessly buy from the supermarket, everything from yoghurt and peanut butter to rice crackers. Beautifully written and brimming with personality, humour and stories about life on a farm, Fiona is an encouraging and passionate guide to making many everyday pantry items - and by no means do you have to ditch convenience completely (Fi shares many relatable stories of bad days when you CBFed!) but you’ll always taste the difference and be glad you made the effort when you make something from scratch. A must for every keen home cook who loves a well stocked pantry!
November 26, 2024
4* - excellent for its genre.
This is the gorgeous cookbook I needed in my life! This isn't a book of meal recipes, it's a book of recipes for the things we buy because it's convenient - sauces, breads, biscuits, crackers, baked beans, and so on.
Fiona accompanies these recipes with photos and anecdotes from her life, which includes living on the land, raising a family, and running a business. This is a lovely touch, and also helps make the whole making-things-from-scratch thing seem more doable.
The life-changing crackers recipe is a fave of my family, and easy to make a batch on the weekend (they store for four weeks, but we never take that long to eat them!)
Highly recommend for anyone interested in making more of their food from scratch.
This is the gorgeous cookbook I needed in my life! This isn't a book of meal recipes, it's a book of recipes for the things we buy because it's convenient - sauces, breads, biscuits, crackers, baked beans, and so on.
Fiona accompanies these recipes with photos and anecdotes from her life, which includes living on the land, raising a family, and running a business. This is a lovely touch, and also helps make the whole making-things-from-scratch thing seem more doable.
The life-changing crackers recipe is a fave of my family, and easy to make a batch on the weekend (they store for four weeks, but we never take that long to eat them!)
Highly recommend for anyone interested in making more of their food from scratch.
December 24, 2022
Thank you Fiona for sharing your recipes and memories from your kitchen. I have found this a real Aussie from scratch cookbook and in just a few days cooked up a number of recipes. I am currently visiting my daughter who is new to cooking and I feel another copy might end up being her first grown up cookbook. Congratulations on this book.
March 16, 2025
Sooo many good recipes!! Great book!
September 29, 2022
From Scratch is a stunning homage to Fiona Weir Walmsley’s home on Buena Vista Farm, Gerringong, NSW. (Just down the road from Gerroa. 😎)
In it, Fiona shares her joy of making a sourdough starter, breads, broths, brownies, bacon jam, béchamel - and that’s just the beginning! Filled with fabulous photos and personal stories, From Scratch is simply gorgeous.
In it, Fiona shares her joy of making a sourdough starter, breads, broths, brownies, bacon jam, béchamel - and that’s just the beginning! Filled with fabulous photos and personal stories, From Scratch is simply gorgeous.
June 4, 2023
I borrowed this from the library and immediately knew it was one I needed to own. I now have my own copy and just made the 'Life-Changing Wheat Crackers'. So good.
March 26, 2023
Love the simpleness of this cook book. It has hundreds of staples you would find yourself cooking over and over. I found myself wanting to try around 98% of the recipes.
Fiona's writing style is funny and I felt like I knew her, just from her writing, like a longtime friend.
So happy I convinced my family to bring this one over. Well worth it!
Fiona's writing style is funny and I felt like I knew her, just from her writing, like a longtime friend.
So happy I convinced my family to bring this one over. Well worth it!
August 15, 2024
not what I was hoping for
It had wonderful writing with good character. I liked the blurb with each recipe just not the recipes picked. I had higher hopes.
It had wonderful writing with good character. I liked the blurb with each recipe just not the recipes picked. I had higher hopes.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews