Cooking from Scratch

So one of the things that I know can be much cheaper and much healthier is that of cooking from scratch. However while in thought this morning, it crossed my mind at how much easier and cheaper it used to be to cook from scratch when more individuals lived on a farm or had more access to fresh dairy products. When you needed eggs or milk, you could just go out to the barn to get what you needed without too much thought. Flour and sugar were also bought in much greater bulk and stored in big bins that were accessible in the kitchen.

All this crossed my mind as I contemplated making my granny's pecan rolls this morning. While they are delicious, the recipe calls for eggs, milk, and butter---all of which we are currently running low on and none of which are sold organically in the corner store. And when we're purchasing free range, organic eggs, 2 eggs out of a dozen for one recipe is still a decent lil sum of money just to bake from scratch. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that most of the time when I do cook from scratch using dairy products, the final product (while definitely healthier and providing more entertainment) costs more than any comparable product from the store.

In contrast, watching the film Julie & Julia yesterday motivated me to cook some part of dinner from "scratch" last night using items that we had on hand. However after looking up several recipes online about how to make stuffed bell peppers (3 of which had been languishing in our fridge for weeks), I decided to try to improvise my own version...and I think they turned out fairly well. (I'm sure the husband was thrilled to wake up from his nap to the news that I wasn't exactly sure what I was concocting in the kitchen....especially when I almost ruined his frozen pizza the night before just by putting it in the oven.....)

In the cupboards I'd discovered a bag of asparagus risotto and in the freezer we had a bag of frozen veggies given to us months ago by another couple. The risotto took forever to make (even though the instructions said it'd take under 20 minutes) but turned out well. I also made a small pan of stuffing using bread, celery, and spices--improvising vegetable stock with hot water left over from boiling the peppers, white wine, and salt & pepper. The peppers themselves were stuffed with a mix of the risotto, stuffing, and veggies with Parmesan cheese and more breadcrumbs for additional flavoring. Since I know that stuffed peppers aren't a favorite of the husband, I also did a side of pasta with sauce to boot. Turned out well, took two hours, and I used quite a few of the ingredients that had been hanging out in our fridge and cupboards for weeks--altogether worthwhile!

So I guess the moral of my morning thoughts is that at times cooking from scratch makes more sense than others from a simplicity and cost effectiveness stand point. Although, the bottom line is that made from scratch is almost always the healthier option.....