Homemade Mayonnaise - The Super Simple Way

I am going to apologize now for the poor pictures.  It was a combination of trying to adjust to my new camera and take pictures while making the mayonnaise. 

 

First I am taking part in a Nothing Extra Challenge with some online friends.  This is different from a No Spend Challenge in that you try to purchase nothing if a substitute is available.  I thought for certain that I had an extra jar of mayonnaise in the pantry.  Therefore I did not purchase mayonnaise when it was on sale earlier this month.  My current jar of mayo is nearly gone, and I cannot bear to pay full price for it.  That was the kick I needed to try making my own. 

 

I have lived my entire life thus far thinking that mayonnaise was nearly impossible to make at home.  If one did make it, the process was very precise and the slightest misstep would ruin the very delicate process.  Anyone else feel this way?  Do you want to know what changed my mind?  The instructions found here.  I had all of the ingredients on hand.  I did not use pasteurized egg yolks.  This is a choice since I personally know the hens that lay my eggs, and I am very certain that they are fresh.

 

While I started with the recipe and instructions referenced above, I was not crazy about the mustard taste of the mayonnaise.  I had a second recipe bookmarked and decided to use the method from recipe one and the ingredients from recipe two.

 

 

I dumped all of the ingredients in a 2 cup measuring cup.  You want to use a container with narrower sides.  A wide mouth pint jar would have been perfect, but I did not have one.  I inserted my immersion blender and pulsed it on high a couple of times.

 

 

You can see that immediately a layer of mayonnaise forms in the bottom.  Once this happens lift the immersion blender up slightly and pulse a couple more times.

 

 

I know that picture is super bad, but I hope you can make out the thin layer of oil that remains.  At this point you want to stop blending.  I did not personally experience it, but apparently if you keep blending the emulsion will break and you will end up with a runny mess.  I simply used a spoon to stir in the last bit of oil.

 

 

This looks similar to the store bought stuff, but the color and taste are a bit different.  Since mayo is usually not eaten straight up, the flavors are fine.  I do think I will decrease the amount of vinegar and lemon juice to 1 ½ teaspoons each.  I found the flavors a bit strong for my liking.  The mustard batch of mayo will not be wasted.  I plan to use it in potato salad since I add mustard to that anyway. 

 

I am not sure I will always make mayonnaise myself.  I would not use it in a potluck dish.  Just because I am okay with eating my hens’ raw egg yolks does not mean everyone would be.  I am just amazed at how very simple it is.  If this is something you have wanted to try, I highly encourage you to do so!

Weekly Savings

I decided to start keeping a daily log so I am less likely to forget stuff.  Here goes!


Monday - I spent the day at home.  When W came in from work, he fixed an outside water spigot at my parents' house and also did one at our house.  The one at our house allows me to reach the bird baths with a hose.  I am not sure what it would have cost to have someone come in and do the work.  W has always done all of our plumbing work.  It has been hot and dry here so I know the birds appreciate the water.  I am happy not to have to haul buckets of water across the yard to fill the bird baths.  He opted to go ahead and insulate the pipe.  Rather than purchasing pipe insulation, he used a piece of pool noodle that was rescued from the trash at church after Vacation Bible School.


I gave Leo a bath at home.  We have never taken him to be groomed.  He actually does well with a bath in the bathtub.  Secretly I think he loves being clean although he would never admit that to his outside dog friend. 


Tuesday - Another day at home.  We ate meals from items on hand.  I drained some homemade yogurt to use for ranch dressing.  W has still not noticed a change, and I am not going to point it out to him.  The drained yogurt tastes so much like sour cream that I think I will use it rather than buying sour cream.


We picked another quart of cherry/yellow pear tomatoes.  The rabbits ate Swiss chard and kale from the garden.  Supper was a tomato tart - pie shell with roasted garlic in the bottom and filled with halved cherry and yellow pear tomatoes.  Once the tomatoes are roasted well and the crust begins browning, I top it with a bit of cheese.  Best of all it can be baked in the toaster oven so the house does not get overheated.


Wednesday - This is my usual grocery day.  I opted to stay home.  I only needed lettuce (too hot to grow it here now), and my mom offered to pick it up for me.  This kept me from spending on any impulse purchases. 


I used vegetables from the garden, homemade gnocchi, and a homemade Alfredo sauce for lunch.  Coated in the sauce W ate eggplant without a fuss. 


Thursday - A good shower of rain meant that the garden did not have to be watered.  It also cooled down the temperature enough that we could turn off the air conditioner. 


I worked on my Christmas gift lists and card list.  I prefer to make some gifts and do not like to wait until the last minute.  I have some good ideas but will keep them to myself for now since some friends read my blog. 


W found several debit cards that we had received for rebates and forgotten that we had.  I used the debit cards to order Amazon gift cards. 


Friday - I ordered two magazines for free using gift cards that were emailed to me.  I chose subscription lengths that were within the amount of money on the cards so I owed nothing out of pocket. 


Saturday - I went to a fish fry at church and needed to take along some side dishes and a dessert.  I made pumpkin cinnamon rolls using pumpkin (from the garden) I froze last year.  I made a corn salad using some vegetables from the garden and items on hand. 


This Week - I discovered that Amazon Prime Instant Video includes exercise videos.  This was the extra push I needed to start exercising again.  There are enough videos available to keep me interested.  The fact that it is free is even better.

Testing, Testing - Trying Out New Recipes

I am horrible about saving every recipe that looks remotely good to me.  This can be online, from magazines, or cookbooks.  The problem is that I rarely get around to making the recipes.  I am going to do my best to try out one recipe a week and post the results on Saturdays. 

 

Up first is Cranberry Coconut Breakfast Cookies from One Hundred Dollars a Month.  I chose this one because I had some bananas in the freezer.  I had been looking for a way to use them up. 

 

 

The ingredients came together quickly – just dump and stir.  At first I thought the cookies would just fall to pieces.  After baking they held together quite well even though I am sure that the amount of banana I used was off. 

 

Verdict – They were average.  I liked them but am not sure I would ever make them again.  I think this is more a reflection of our personal tastes than the recipe though. 

Are you a recipe collector?