make your own

Learn how to make your own homemade hard seltzer. This easy recipe will save you time and money this summer! Choose your favorite flavors and try new ones too!

Homemade Hard Seltzer

mango chunks

sweet cherries

grapefruit

limes

oz vodka

oz carbonated water

MANGO: Blend 1 cup of mango chunks in...

MANGO: Blend 1 cup of mango chunks in a blender until completely smooth.

BLACK CHERRY: Blend 1/cup of pitted dark sweet...

BLACK CHERRY: Blend 1/cup of pitted dark sweet cherries in a blender until completely smooth.

GRAPEFRUIT: Juice 1 fresh grapefruit.

LIME: Juice 3-4 limes.

In a cocktail glass, add 2 tablespoons of...

In a cocktail glass, add 2 tablespoons of your prepared fruit juice or puree.

Add one ounce of vodka, stir to combine.

Top the cup with ice.

If you're using a SodaStream, fill the carbonating...

If you're using a SodaStream, fill the carbonating jar with cold water. If you're not, open a can of seltzer water, and pour it into a prepared cocktail glass.

Install the jar into the machine and carbonate...

Install the jar into the machine and carbonate the water as much as you like. For me, that's 3 3-second bursts.

Remove the jar from the SodaStream and fill...

Remove the jar from the SodaStream and fill your prepared cocktail glass.

Knock up a quick dough base then choose one of these exciting toppings for an easy homemade Italian feast

5 easy pizza toppings

pizza base, ready-made bread mix

basil pesto

mushroom, sliced

cherry tomatoes, halved

ham, chopped

rocket

passata

green pepper, deseeded and sliced

mozzarella, torn

red chilli, sliced

pepperoni, sliced

spinach

green olives,

sundried tomatoes, sliced

soft goat's cheese

ricotta

artichoke heart, drained

black olives,

rashers streaky bacon

lean beef mince

red onion, sliced

garlic cloves, crushed

olive oil

basil leaves, to serve (optional)

To make your own base: Make up 300g bread mix following pack instructions. Don’t rise or knead – just roll into a rough 30cm circle on a baking sheet. Or you can buy a ready-made pizza base from the supermarket. Top using suggestions below.

To bake your pizza: Heat oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 8, add one of the toppings suggested below then bake for 15-20 mins until crisp.

Ham, mushroom & rocket with pesto: Spread your base with the pesto. Top with ham, mushrooms, tomatoes and some seasoning. Bake as above then top with a handful of rocket.

Spicy pepperoni & pepper: Spread your base with passata. Top with pepperoni, chilli, green pepper and mozzarella. Season, bake as above. Sprinkle with parsley.

Italian goat's cheese & veggie special: Put spinach into a colander, pour over a kettle of boiling water to wilt, then squeeze out any excess. Spread base with pesto. Top with the spinach, cheese, olives and tomatoes. Season, then bake as above.

Crispy bacon, artichoke & ricotta: Spread your base with ricotta. Scatter over artichokes, olives and bacon. Season and bake as above.

Beef, basil, tomato & mozzarella: Fry mince with onion and garlic in olive oil over a high heat for 5 mins until browned. Spread passata over your base. Top with mince mixture, tomatoes and mozzarella. Season and bake as per above. Sprinkle with some basil leaves and serve.

This homemade Baileys makes a great present to take to hosts over the festive season and is great on its own, or when used to pimp-up hot chocolate.

Homemade Irish cream

Irish whiskey

single cream

tin condensed milk

tbsp camp coffee extract

tsp vanilla extract

Pour all of the ingredients into a blender and blend on high to mix  well. Don’t over-blend as the cream will begin to whip. Pour into sterilized bottles and keep in the fridge for up to two months.

Salt beef is best eaten warm from the pot, so get a gang over to help you enjoy this as soon as it’s ready. If possible, use bagels freshly made on the day

Salt beef

1.5kg beef brisket, unrolled

onions, roughly chopped

carrots, roughly chopped

celery,

garlic, skins on,

thyme

sage

bay leaves

garlic,

cloves

star anise

juniper berries

tsp black peppercorns

bay leaf

thyme, leaves picked

soft light brown sugar

salt beef curing salt, (see notes below)

bagels

dill pickles

Put the brisket in a large, shallow bowl or dish. To make the curing mixture, use a pestle and mortar to crush the garlic, cloves, star anise, juniper berries, peppercorns, bay and thyme leaves until roughly ground. Stir through the sugar, followed by the cure mix, ensuring it has been accurately measured in proportion to the weight of the meat – follow pack instructions for guidance. Coat the brisket with the brining mixture, thoroughly rubbing it into the meat and any surrounding fat.

Put the brisket and any left-over brining mixture into a large freezer bag, zip it closed (squeezing out as much air as possible), then put into an airtight container and find a spot in the fridge. Leave to brine for 1 week, turning the brisket daily to allow the meat to cure evenly. You should notice some liquid in the bag after a day or two – this is a sign that the brining process is working.

The night before serving, remove the brisket from the freezer bag, wipe off any brine mixture and put it in a large pan. Fill the pan with cold water, put on a lid and leave the brisket to soak overnight.

The next day, drain the water from the pot and refill with enough fresh water to cover the brisket by about 5cm. Throw in the chopped onions, carrots and celery, as well as the garlic, thyme, sage and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and gently simmer the brisket for 2-2 1 /2 hours (depending on the thickness). This breaks down the collagen in the meat, turning it into gelatin, resulting in the succulent, juicy texture you want for great salt beef. Cook for another hour if you prefer the salt beef to be almost falling apart when you bite into it.

Take the pan off the heat and nestle a sheet of baking paper on top of the water to keep the beef submerged and stop it drying out. Leave the salt beef to cool for 30 minutes, then lift out onto a chopping board (use the left-over broth as the base for a soup, if you like). Slice the salt beef thickly and load straight into bagels while still warm, along with as much mustard and as many dill pickles as you can handle. Any left-over salt beef will keep for a week in the fridge – wrap in foil and reheat in the oven at 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 for 15 minutes or until piping hot.

Bake the perfect sourdough bread loaf at home with this step-by-step guide from olive's deputy food editor and ex-baker

Easy sourdough recipe

levain (recipe above)

water,

strong white bread flour

wholewheat spelt flour

fine sea salt

Start by putting the levain into a large mixing bowl and then pour in the warm water. Mix well with your fingers to distribute the levain, then add the flours and mix really well with your hands. You will learn most about the different stages of your bread by getting your hands on the dough. Even professional bakers who mix dough in 50kg dough mixers, reach in and touch, stretch and feel the dough. Open up your fingers and use your hands like whisks to really mix the flour, levain and water together well. Leave this to rest for between 20 minutes and 1 hour, covering the bowl with a clean tea towel. This stage is called the autolyse and comes from the Greek for ‘self-digestion’. This is why sourdough doesn’t have to be kneaded, as the gluten structure forms itself here, doing all of the hard work. If you’re particularly short on time, even a 15-minute rest will make a difference.

Tip in the salt (adding it after the autolyse ensures the dough develops better elasticity) and, with wet hands, mix the dough really well. Breaking the gluten bonds now will allow them to reform even stronger.

The next step is called the bulk fermentation. Leave the dough covered with the tea towel and, every 45 minutes, ‘stretch and fold’ the dough. Wet your hands, take one side of the dough, stretch it up (being careful not to tear the dough) and fold it over on top of itself. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat, doing this six to eight times. The dough will ‘tighten’ and become less slack. Repeat this every 45 minutes for 3-4 hours (so 4-5 times in total). Every time the dough is turned it should have more air bubbles and also, toward the end, feel noticeably lighter.

Next is the bench rest. This is when the dough can be encouraged into a regular shape, creating tension so that it has the strength to stay ‘bread shaped’ when baked, as opposed to flattening into a pancake. Flour a clean worksurface really well and tip out the dough. Using a dough scraper, fold the dough up and over on itself, similar to the stretch and fold method but just folding this time. Do this 4-6 times, and again the dough will tighten and hold its shape better. Add more flour to the worksurface if the bread is sticking. The dough should be relatively round now, so leave it to rest for 10-15 minutes – expect it to flatten a little.

olive's deputy food editor and ex-baker shares his bread-making expertise. Learn how to create your own sourdough starter (no yeast needed) with his expert tips

Best sourdough starter recipe

rye flour

warm-to-the-touch water

Mix 25g strong white bread flour, 25g rye flour and 50g warm-to-the-touch water (weigh it for accuracy) well, and leave, loosely covered, for 24 hours at room temperature. There may not be too many bubbles at this stage.

The next day, add 15g more of each flour to the starter and 30g of water. Mix well and, again, leave loosely covered at room temperature for another 24 hours.

Repeat this second step every day for the next four days and the starter will begin to bubble and rise more with each feed.

Before you want to make your first loaf, you will need to discard all but 4 tbsp of this starter (you can use it to make, crumpets, muffins, pancakes), feed again with the same amounts of flour and water and leave for 8 hours. This will then be the starter you will use to make loaves with – just remember to keep some of this back every time you bake to make loaves next time.

A Build-Your-Own Sandwich Platter is a great way to entertain and feed a crowd! Your guests get to assemble their favorite sandwiches and you get to actually enjoy the party without running back and forth to the kitchen.

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Homemade Hard Seltzer

5 easy pizza toppings

Homemade Irish cream

Salt beef

Easy sourdough recipe

Best sourdough starter recipe

Build-Your-Own Sandwich Platter

Top 7 make your own recipes from across the web

The most viewed make your own recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Homemade Hard Seltzer

5 easy pizza toppings

Homemade Irish cream

Salt beef

Easy sourdough recipe

Best sourdough starter recipe

Build-Your-Own Sandwich Platter

The most viewed make your own recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine