There are many people, myself included, that are striving to cook more of their food from scratch, but what does that mean? You made your own bread but did you first grind the flour? Did you grow the wheat? You made your own cheese but did you milk the cow yourself? “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” – Carl Sagan
My definition of cooking from scratch is using a variety of whole ingredients and mixing them together to create something delicious. The percentage of from scratch food we make varies depending on the seasons of our life. There was, for example, very little scratching in the newborn and baby days, or the days we were in full out renovation mode. Now that the kids are older and also more interested and capable in the kitchen, there is a whole lot more. We are far from the idealistic goal of making 100% of our food from scratch, and that’s OK. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
We lived off convenience foods for many years and it was, well, convenient. We still include these foods in our diets but are a little more conscious about our choices, compare labels, and choose to eat less nutrient dense food in moderation. Living in a rural area makes it easy for us to avoid getting food delivered simply because it is not an option. If we want take out we have to go all the way into town and pick it up ourselves and it’s usually only lukewarm by the time we get back. Much more effort and less satisfying than scrolling, ordering, and waiting… so we don’t do it often. One day, years ago, we wanted burgers but we didn’t have any buns. I got ready to go to the store to pick some up. A 1 hour mission. 20 minutes there, a stroll around the store, buying other things I don’t really need and going through the check out process added another 20ish minutes, then a 20 minute drive home. This former city girl was not used to how much longer simple errands like this would take now. Aaron suggested we make our own buns instead. The thought literally never occurred to me. I looked up recipes but most needed hours to rise. Then I stumbled across this 40 minute hamburger bun recipe and I’ve been using it ever since (I use half the amount of recommended sugar). For us, it literally takes less time to make the buns from start to finish than going to the store and they taste so much better!
I’m pretty sure I had never made any type of bread before and I was soooo proud of my first buns! I’ve always had a love for baking, and the whole bread making process felt like magic. I was addicted. I’ve been experimenting with different dough recipes for all kinds of buns and breads and have definitely mastered the hamburger buns, but looking back at those first buns I was so proud of, I realised how hideous they were! They probably didn’t even taste great, but we didn’t know any better at the time! The first bun photo shoot with these uggos is truly cringey, but it just goes to show you that practice makes progress!
Since then, we’ve tried our hand at many different from scratch recipes. Some turn out better than others. There are many things I’ve tried making from scratch that I will be reluctant to buy from a store again. Croutons for example, are so easy to make, taste so good, and are a great way to use up old bread. I also much prefer making my own salad dressings, soft tortillas, pizza dough, soup broth, pasta, sauces, and desserts. Of course our kitchen experiments aren’t always successful, but always worth a shot. One example of something that I’ve tried to make from scratch many times but haven’t mastered is ketchup. There’s nothing like a good old fashioned bottle of Heinz. Everything in moderation. I’ve also had a tough time finding a good cereal recipe, everything I’ve tried so far has been a tasty dry snack, but not great with milk… But I’m determined to find the perfect solution to this so stay tuned! (And if you have a good recipe, send it my way!)
So we love to make our own pasta and have invested in the tools to make it easy to do so. Does this mean we always make our own? No. We have everything we need to make our own bread so we never buy any from the store? Also no. We still get caught up in the hustle and bustle and fail to plan ahead. Our pantry isn’t as stocked with homemade preserves as we’d like. Switching from mostly convenience foods to mostly making food from scratch isn’t achieved overnight, It’s a long process that affects all aspects of your life. You definitely need to carve out more time in your schedule for this method of cooking. You also need to include time to meal plan, gather ingredients, prep food, plant and harvest wheat, milk a cow, create the universe, etc. A slow and steady process. If you’re new to this, I suggest dedicating one meal a week to cooking from scratch. It is easier than you think, and the satisfaction you get from making a whole meal using whole ingredients is addicting and so rewarding.
One thing that keeps me going with this is my kids reactions when we’ve created something familiar out of random ingredients. They are shocked and amazed when we make something that they’ve previously only had from grocery stores and they truly enjoy learning about the process of how it’s made. The first time we made bagels, we were surprised to learn we had to boil them before baking. We’ve whipped cream many times to accompany desserts but they were overjoyed to witness the transformation that happens when you take it past the point of whipped cream and end up with butter and buttermilk! The fact that my 9 year old child can confidently and easily make a loaf of bread (weighing and dumping ingredients into a bread maker and letting the machine do the rest) and fresh butter all by herself is so empowering for her. It’s hard to even comprehend the amount of natural learning that comes from doing these simple tasks and gaining these skills.
If you’re in the market for a bread maker, we love this one. Aaron did a ton of research and although it’s a higher price point than many it stood out as the winner. We knew we would use it a lot so it was worth the investment for us. You absolutely do not need a bread maker to make bread, we have had great success with just bread pans and the oven. Our electric oven uses a lot of power, and living off grid means we can’t always use it on the stormy days. A bread maker uses less electricity. It also doesn’t heat your house up as much in the summer months which is a bonus. Using a machine makes bread making more convenient as you just dump the ingredients in, set it and forget it, which means we make bread more often than we otherwise would. I’ve definitely seen people find great bread machines at their local thrift shop for a bargain, worth a look! This machine comes with a bunch of recipes and we love the fact that the bread maker is in a horizontal orientation so bread comes out like a normal loaf with the top being toasted as opposed to just one side of it. You can also choose between a small or large loaf for sandwich bread and set a time for it to start baking which has come in handy for us as we can prep the bread the night before and wake up to the delightful smell of a fresh loaf!
We just got our oldest child this cookbook for her birthday. It’s 100+ simple recipes for making everything from scratch which is aimed at kids and is truly simple. She loves it but I also have used it many times, a great addition to our cookbook library. Cooking from scratch is such a great skill to have, let’s learn together and start ‘em young!
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