...but these sorts of things are so much more satisfying, and often better tasting, when you make it yourself.
Bread
Okay, yes, I have a bread maker, but before I did, I was rather inspired by Jo's Apricot loafs and Anya's occasional sweet bread creations. They made these loafs in bread pans and baked them in the oven. Admittedly, if you want to make a plain wheat loaf in a bread pan, there's going to be a little more labor involved (kneading, rising, kneading, rising, and so on). So, if you don't have a bread maker, I can see how in this fast-paced society that this would cost you a few nerves you don't have to lose. Still, a weekend here or there, if you made a big loaf on the weekends, it could last you all week.
For the lucky people with bread makers, you have bread at your fingertips! All you need to do are place ingredients in the special pan (usually wet ingredients first), push the button, and you'll have fresh baked bread in a few hours. There's a paddle in the drum that performs the task of kneading for you and then there's a heating element in the machine that does the baking. And there's no end to the breads that you can make. While I tend to stick to either whole wheat or multi-grain loafs, some people I know have made savory tomato and herb breads or chocolate chip breads. At home, we try to have fresh bread regularly or I'll occasionally make French baguettes... it takes a little more effort, but I've had people asking for more...
For the lucky people with bread makers, you have bread at your fingertips! All you need to do are place ingredients in the special pan (usually wet ingredients first), push the button, and you'll have fresh baked bread in a few hours. There's a paddle in the drum that performs the task of kneading for you and then there's a heating element in the machine that does the baking. And there's no end to the breads that you can make. While I tend to stick to either whole wheat or multi-grain loafs, some people I know have made savory tomato and herb breads or chocolate chip breads. At home, we try to have fresh bread regularly or I'll occasionally make French baguettes... it takes a little more effort, but I've had people asking for more...
Canned Goods
It used to be a regular practice to can your own tomatoes or beans. Of course, it used to be a regular practice to have a garden bursting with vegetables if you go back far enough...
Still, in the late months of summer, gardens are booming with hot weather veggies (particularly tomatoes!) and there are few people that I know that are able to eat but so many tomatoes in a sitting. One of my favorite scenes in Barbara Kingsolver's ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE describes all the counter space in her kitchen piled with the juicy red orbs. Knowing that there would be no local tomatoes once winter set in, she canned her tomatoes for sauces, soups, salsas, etc. I have one friend who is reviving this lost art in her kitchen and offering canned tomatoes from the bounty at our local farmers' market to us... her lucky friends and family. I have a feeling that when I open my can up in the fall, for my first pot of vegetarian chili, that this will be my tastiest batch yet.
It used to be a regular practice to can your own tomatoes or beans. Of course, it used to be a regular practice to have a garden bursting with vegetables if you go back far enough...
Still, in the late months of summer, gardens are booming with hot weather veggies (particularly tomatoes!) and there are few people that I know that are able to eat but so many tomatoes in a sitting. One of my favorite scenes in Barbara Kingsolver's ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE describes all the counter space in her kitchen piled with the juicy red orbs. Knowing that there would be no local tomatoes once winter set in, she canned her tomatoes for sauces, soups, salsas, etc. I have one friend who is reviving this lost art in her kitchen and offering canned tomatoes from the bounty at our local farmers' market to us... her lucky friends and family. I have a feeling that when I open my can up in the fall, for my first pot of vegetarian chili, that this will be my tastiest batch yet.
Ice Cream and Sorbet
I'm guilty again of having a handy-dandy machine, but the first ice cream I ever made was in France with my host mother. She had this iron dish into which we poured a gooey, lemony mixture. The next day, in the heat of Southern France, we had enough ice cream for the two of us for a week! Now, it wasn't the perfect creamy consistency that you find in Breyers or Edey's ice cream, but it was cold and delicious.
Now I have my own ice cream machine that helps me get closer to that creamy texture from the grocery store. I've created a number of different kinds of ice cream and sorbet. My first attempt was this grape, lime, and mint sorbet I made for Tu B'Shivat. I moved on to strawberry sorbet, strawberry ice cream (two very different processes... sorbet is more time consuming but more friendly to those who can't digest dairy), berry swirl ice cream, and what David has labeled "champagne sorbet" (it's made of orange, lemon, and lime juices). By making it myself, I'm able to adjust the sweetness and the flavor to my choosing or to the dietary needs of my guests. It's so very rewarding, too, to make something that seems unmakeable by mere mortals...
I'm guilty again of having a handy-dandy machine, but the first ice cream I ever made was in France with my host mother. She had this iron dish into which we poured a gooey, lemony mixture. The next day, in the heat of Southern France, we had enough ice cream for the two of us for a week! Now, it wasn't the perfect creamy consistency that you find in Breyers or Edey's ice cream, but it was cold and delicious.
Now I have my own ice cream machine that helps me get closer to that creamy texture from the grocery store. I've created a number of different kinds of ice cream and sorbet. My first attempt was this grape, lime, and mint sorbet I made for Tu B'Shivat. I moved on to strawberry sorbet, strawberry ice cream (two very different processes... sorbet is more time consuming but more friendly to those who can't digest dairy), berry swirl ice cream, and what David has labeled "champagne sorbet" (it's made of orange, lemon, and lime juices). By making it myself, I'm able to adjust the sweetness and the flavor to my choosing or to the dietary needs of my guests. It's so very rewarding, too, to make something that seems unmakeable by mere mortals...
Bread crumbs
I make a handful of breaded foods... green tomatoes, sometimes turkey, sometimes eggplant... and it's somewhat time-consuming. One dips the sliced food into flour, then egg, and finally into bread crumbs. We've all seen them in the store and we've all bothered to get them when we're making chicken parmesan or what have you...
But, why? Do you know what's in it? Brumb crumbs and spices. That's it! So, I have those things... I toast my bread, stick it in my Cusinart (I'm sure a good blender on the right setting would do the job, too), toss it with Oregano, thyme, basil, and pepper, and I'm ready. I've come to find that my bread crumbs are less salty than the store-bought kind. I sort of feel foolish now whenever I succumb to a recipe list of ingredients and buy a can of bread crumbs that I make better on my own.
But, why? Do you know what's in it? Brumb crumbs and spices. That's it! So, I have those things... I toast my bread, stick it in my Cusinart (I'm sure a good blender on the right setting would do the job, too), toss it with Oregano, thyme, basil, and pepper, and I'm ready. I've come to find that my bread crumbs are less salty than the store-bought kind. I sort of feel foolish now whenever I succumb to a recipe list of ingredients and buy a can of bread crumbs that I make better on my own.
Pizza
This is the most time-consuming of the DIY projects I've mentioned here... but I've ruined myself forever. I actually have notcied that I feel sick to my stomach after eating any store bought or delivery pizza... but I'm right as rain when eating my own...
The major issue is making your own dough. So, those of us with bread makers are good to go there... but it is certainly possible to make your own dough without one. I know it's true (I saw that episode of Reading Rainbow, didn't you?)! One that's done, there's no idiot teenager to argue with about your toppings - just slice whatever's in the fridge that you like. Pizza sauce is a little time consuming to make... if you have left over spaghetti sauce, however, that works just as well. Then you know how to do the rest!
It's not practical for everyone to make any of these things themselves, so, thank goodness for the markets. But, when you feel like experimenting, have a little time to prove to yourself that you can do this, there are few things as ego-boosting as making something yourself that people like... probably something healthier for you than the preservative-injected freezer goods in the market. Something custom made to you and your tastes.
The major issue is making your own dough. So, those of us with bread makers are good to go there... but it is certainly possible to make your own dough without one. I know it's true (I saw that episode of Reading Rainbow, didn't you?)! One that's done, there's no idiot teenager to argue with about your toppings - just slice whatever's in the fridge that you like. Pizza sauce is a little time consuming to make... if you have left over spaghetti sauce, however, that works just as well. Then you know how to do the rest!
It's not practical for everyone to make any of these things themselves, so, thank goodness for the markets. But, when you feel like experimenting, have a little time to prove to yourself that you can do this, there are few things as ego-boosting as making something yourself that people like... probably something healthier for you than the preservative-injected freezer goods in the market. Something custom made to you and your tastes.
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