Challenge 21 days clear: how to cook more

Making bread is not a piece of cake

It is very difficult to make a good bread especially when you need to do it almost every day. I have searched and experimented with various recipes. Finally, the one made in a roasting bag was the winner: Mixes 125 g of water, 20 g of baker's yeast, 20 of oil and 500g of strength flour. You knead, put in a cold oven roasting bag (without preheating) and bake at 200º for 40 min.

You feel great when it goes well

I have baked and kneaded many loaves during these 21 days. This is one of the best ones. You feel great when it goes well, but above all, when you share it. It also represents a great saving. I'll explain how much I have saved after the photo gallery.

The yogurt challenge

Making yogurt is super easy. You need a yogurt, 1 liter of milk and powdered milk. Mix, put in the yogurt maker and in 8 hours, ready! My problem was the speed with which yogurts are eaten at my house. I hardly had time! In fact, I bought more glasses so I could keep up. The most successful ones were the yogurt with jam and chocolate chips, why is it?

Pizza night

A good Friday at my house includes pizza and a family movie. Usually I bought it or opted for a pre-cooked one. It has been a lot of fun cooking it together: making the dough, filling it with ingredients and watching it change color in the oven.

Homemade sweets

Movies don't look as good if they're not accompanied by popcorn.

Same as Sunday afternoons, they are better with a giant cookie.

The cons of the challenge

I think I've been completely locked up in the kitchen every weekend. Cooking, washing dishes, baking … During the week I have less time, so I need to carry out work on the weekend. It has been intense and very rewarding but I ate all my free time.

Cupcakes for everyone

They are simple to make, they solve you breakfast or a snack. In addition, they freeze and thaw very well, so you can put them frozen in the school backpack and at recess they are already ready.

Even coffee

Being half Amish, I started creating my own coffee pods and here it does save a lot. Of course, you have to be aware not to throw away the recyclable capsules - and to always leave them ready - so as not to lose your mood first thing in the morning.

And chocolates!

It is not the best photo in the world nor does it look wonderful, but they are delicious. And what an easy thing! Of course I followed the recipe on this same website (they are easy recipes and they always work). I had never made chocolates and I loved it. By the way, compare the photos! This really is a full- blown "expectation vs. reality" .

A special dinner

As the culmination of # reto21díasClara, we celebrate the typical company Christmas dinner, but tailor-made by the Clara team: on Black Friday (first shopping and then dinner) and with a mini delicatessen menu. And, of course, it was my turn to do it since it coincided with the last day of the challenge. In the photo you have the first step of some cheese balls.

Fun and stressful!

I did everything, thank goodness Carme and Raquel helped me:

Quince, cheese and blueberry tartlet.

Cheese balls (goat roll and spread mixed together) filled with jam and "battered" in crocanti almonds.

Homemade blinis with salmon.

Also, white martini jelly with olives, salmon and avocado tartare, seafood canutillos and second roast chicken.

The canutillos

I only made the filling, I bought the canutillo done. The next time I do it, I'm going to try to make the canutillo myself. I will keep you informed!

Unforgettable

We spent an exceptional evening full of laughter, anecdotes and good wine.

It was the end of the challenge. If I have complied with it to the letter, how much I have saved and what I have learned, I will explain it to you in the text below. But I already anticipate that if the challenge ends again with a dinner like this, I would start it again without hesitation.

21 days cooking everything

I'm Mamen, director of Clara Magazine and my # 21díasClara challenge was to cook everything I ate for 21 days, including things as seemingly simple as bread or yogurts. And no, it has not been easy.

At home we usually eat quite healthy. But my problem is time and leaving me last on the list. I explain. Generally, I schedule dinners for the whole week on Saturdays, depending on what the children eat at school, and so I do the shopping for what I really need. (Yes, I follow Clara's advice ;-)

The problem, as I said, was that he did not program anything for me, so he used to eat the remains of the children the next day and complete with a can (tuna, mackerel) if necessary.

With the # reto21díasClara I have gone from cooking little - and never for me - to cooking everything. From eating hummus (bought!) Or tuna sandwich, to tasting a salmon en papillote with dill or a delicious chicken in sauce.

Results of my challenge

I don't think I have eaten better or more varied in my life. Not to mention the pleasure of making bread at home, what an experience! I recommend it without hesitation. And the pleasure of eating your own yogurt - and even more - that your children devour your yogurt and like them more than the ones in the store.
I have also saved. I estimate that I have saved approximately € 60. Approximately each homemade half kilo bread has cost me € 0.76 and each yogurt about € 0.20. Not to mention the homemade pizzas, sweets, etc. Do the math.
New recipes. On the last day of the challenge, Clara's entire team had dinner at my house. It was our early Christmas dinner. And it was crazy and a joy. I did everything: gelatin, blinis, chocolates, cheese balls, tartare, bread, roast chicken… Thank goodness Carme and Raquel gave me a hand! I have to admit that, although it is hard to cook absolutely everything for yourself every day, doing it for people you appreciate is, on the other hand, a joy. I took the recipes from our website and everything was delicious.

I've learned?

I think the biggest learning has been to take time to cook from under the rocks and to take things more calmly. Although it seems contradictory things. Test passed? More or less. One day I had bakery bread for breakfast because there was nothing left of mine. But little else. I have felt very committed to the Clara challenge, but above all to myself. At first I doubted that I would achieve it, but the kitchen has something that hooks you and in the end it has been a pleasant and very instructive experience.

The challenge remains for me to cook more (I have not thrown away the can yet) and homemade bread, yogurts, muffins and cookies for the weekend. Also, this Christmas I plan to repeat the recipes I have learned and I really want to continue experimenting more and more.

These have been the pros

I've taken care of myself more
I have fulfilled the 5 fruits and vegetables a day better
I have saved
I have felt great … (when it turned out well)
I have come out of the "jack, horse, king" in the kitchen, I have tried many new recipes
You discover corridors and shelves - previously unknown - of the supermarket