Scooter wrote:
> So I was thinking, what if I only bought basic single-ingredient food
> and we made everything else ourselves from those single ingredients?
> If we want cookies, we make cookies—no more buying Oreos. Shredded
> Wheat is fine, but Honey Bunches of Oats is not. (That's okay; I make
> a damn fine granola.) Brownie mix? Nix. I buy chocolate, butter, eggs,
> sugar, flour, vanilla, and nuts instead. We don't buy anything
> prepared if it can reasonably be prepared in a home kitchen. Basics
> all the way.
>
> How would life change under this new approach? I think we would eat
> better. I think, but am not certain, that our grocery bills would be
> lower (or at least not higher). I think initially we would spend a
> whole lot more time cooking, but I think over time we would gravitate
> toward meals that were either simple and quick to prepare or were good
> enough to justify the extra effort.
>
Are you prepared to make your own ketchup? I've only made it once and it
was delicious, but a bit "thin". I make a lot from scratch and know I
could make more if I had to but don't.
I was talking to some folks I work with and they had *no* idea you could
make pudding from scratch! Worse yet, they only bothered with *instant*
<blech!> so we had a little "teaching moment" there as I explained how
simple pudding is to make from scratch.

Goomba wrote:
> Scooter wrote:
>> So I was thinking, what if I only bought basic single-ingredient food
>> and we made everything else ourselves from those single ingredients?

>>
> Are you prepared to make your own ketchup? I've only made it once and it
> was delicious, but a bit "thin". I make a lot from scratch and know I
> could make more if I had to but don't.
> I was talking to some folks I work with and they had *no* idea you could
> make pudding from scratch! Worse yet, they only bothered with *instant*
> <blech!> so we had a little "teaching moment" there as I explained how
> simple pudding is to make from scratch.


Good point, Goomba. There are things (like ketchup) that aren't worth
making from scratch. There are other things that are so much better
when homemade, it's worth the time and energy.

Another example: You can make spaghetti sauce from fresh tomatoes in
summer, but in winter the canned tomatoes taste better and are better value.

I wouldn't suggest "dumbing down" your diet to accommodate the scratch
concept completely. That would create a boring table.

gloria p

On Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:46:18 -0600, "gloria.p" >
wrote:

> Good point, Goomba. There are things (like ketchup) that aren't worth
> making from scratch. There are other things that are so much better
> when homemade, it's worth the time and energy.

That's the way I felt about chili sauce until I discovered Homade
brand and baked beans until I discovered that B&M tastes exactly like
what I made from scratch (so if all I want is a little, I buy a can of
B&M now).


--

Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.