Scratch-made or store-bought?

Swimming again

I started swimming again now that I’m fully vaccinated. A little stiff in my behind, but I take that as a sign it’s good exercise, so I’m glad I’ve resumed. I still don’t use the locker room, instead sliding off my wet swimsuit from under the canopy of a swim poncho. I’m sure the whole thing looks pretty weird to someone who might be observing.

By the way, those are swim shorts drying on the rack. Best invention ever.

This is a busy week on the tour, as Dale calls my golf schedule. I’m playing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday! I usually don’t do that, but the weather is getting nice, and that makes the game so much more fun.

I’m still only playing courses I can easily walk. I prefer to walk anyway, but the cart policies aren’t consistent. Sometimes they have one person per cart, but other times they run out and hang a piece of plastic between the seats. No, thank you.

Most of my playing partners are also older and fully vaccinated, so I’m more comfortable chatting a bit during the game. And there might even be a beer outside afterward!

Scratch-made or store-bought?

When I start to goof off more, there’s a direct hit to our food supply. We routinely make a lot of “staples” from scratch, and all that takes time. Some foods are what I call situational. Depending on the day, the dish or whatever – we might make them from scratch, but we might use store-bought as well.

The situational list … sometimes scratch-made and sometimes store-bought … is long. The list includes chicken stock, beef stock, tortillas, bread, English muffins, naan, pasta, salad dressing, mayonnaise and barbeque sauce. Additionally, Dale makes pizza from scratch nearly every Friday, but occasionally we will order out.

I was rather surprised by the list of so-called staples we always make at home and never purchase from a store. We don’t do it to save money. It’s mostly about the purity of ingredients and taste. We pretty much ate this way pre-retirement, but it’s a whole lot easier to manage the cooking schedule without that pesky job getting in the way of progress.

And there’s always the art of compromise. I used to make my own yogurt, but my failure rate was high, and I was wasting ingredients. I buy yogurt now, but I select plain to avoid the added sugar. We always use dried beans for refried beans and most other dishes, but we sometimes use canned beans for quick-cooking soups, stews or casseroles.

In the spirit of sharing, here’s the never store-bought list:

Cookies

I’m sure someone is saying, oh, really? You never buy cookies? We don’t. We really don’t. Waste o’ calories, in my opinion. I have three go-to cookie recipes, and I keep a rotation of them in the freezer.

Salsa

Dale makes three kinds of salsa – green chile, jalapeño and scorpion pepper. As you might guess, store-bought isn’t zingy enough for us.

Spaghetti Sauce

We do buy canned tomatoes, but they are used to make sauces from scratch. A simple sauté of carrots, onions, garlic and tomatoes makes a wonderful pasta sauce.

Enchilada Sauce

Dale makes chile sauce from dried Ancho peppers, garlic, onion, etc. We freeze it in small tubs and use it mostly for huevos rancheros and enchiladas.

Breakfast Cereal

Although I love the taste of packaged cereal, it’s mostly packaged junk. I refuse to eat it and make my own granola instead.

Soup

I always have several pint containers of homemade soup in the freezer.  

Pie Crust

Mine is not always perfect, but it’s always delicious, and I can’t imagine buying it pre-made from the store. This includes pastry crust, as well as graham cracker crust.

Guacamole

Easiest thing ever to make. I only learned this year to put a just-ripe-enough avocado in the refrigerator, where it hangs on way longer than you could imagine.

Hummus

I like to cook a pound of dried chickpeas and freeze them in small containers (in their liquid) to use in dishes like hummus and chana masala. I’ve eaten and enjoyed store-bought hummus, but I have never purchased it myself.

Pesto

Another easy pasta sauce. All you need is a bunch of fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese and olive oil. Whiz in the food processor.

Croutons

We keep leftover French bread in the freezer. Defrost, cut in cubes, toss with butter or olive oil, season with salt and bake in the oven until crisp. I make them on demand when we have Caesar salads, so I’ve never tried re-freezing them or storing them long-term.

Scones

I always have homemade scones in the freezer. Current supply includes cranberry and raspberry.

Rotisserie Chicken

I don’t recall ever buying one. Dale roasts a whole chicken in the oven. I prefer it to fried chicken. I also love the leftovers. I just froze four servings of chicken enchiladas made from leftover roast chicken, homemade tortillas and homemade enchilada sauce.

17 thoughts on “Scratch-made or store-bought?”

  1. That’s a great list of items you always make. You must have a large freezer? Freezer space is an issue for us. Once I bought an instant pot, I started making yogurt weekly because it’s so easy and because it’s about $1.50 a quart instead of the $5 a quart for my favorite Greek yogurt. Make granola, too, using a recipe by Alton Brown, but cutting back on the sugar and maple syrup plus no dried fruit. It’s so easy to customize stuff when you make it at home. And you have time.

    1. We do have lots of freezer space, which is great. I have a yogurt maker, and it used to work well, but now I’m not so sure. Maybe I should try making it in the Instant Pot. Do you happen to have a link to the recipe you use?

  2. My sons were 7 and 10 when my daughter was born so the boys remembered more actual baking in the kitchen but I think the last pie I actually made myself was baked before she was born. By the time she was 5, I was back at work. We were planning the Thanksgiving meal that year and were discussing where to buy the pies. My daughter piped up and said that we should make them from scratch. I had no idea that she even knew what that term meant (since she hadn’t seen me do that) so I asked – What do you mean, make them from scratch? She said – “You know – you take the box out of the freezer and then take the pie out and bake it in the oven.” I should feel a sense of remorse that I didn’t correct her understanding of the exact definition of “from scratch”. We just redefined it to suit us. The boys didn’t care how the pies got to the table.

  3. I’m curious what you wear as a top with the swim shorts? Those shorts would cover up my “crepey” thighs:)

    1. I had a mastectomy without reconstruction, so tops are hard. When it’s chilly, I like a thermal top. I love this one, but it looks like it’s not available anymore:

      https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032JTKYI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

      When it’s warmer, I like the sleeveless rash guards from Athleta. Again, they’ve changed the design, but this is close:

      https://athleta.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=657805002&cid=97464&pcid=97464&vid=1&nav=meganav%3ASWIM%3ACATEGORIES%3AUPF%20Rashguards%20%26%20Cover-ups&grid=pds_21_41_1#pdp-page-content

      Any kind of rash guard should do the job! But if you need breast support, some sort of tankini top with a built-in bra would work. Bikinis and such might be stylish, but I don’t think we owe the world a view of our nether regions.

      1. My rather snobby HOA has rules about swim shirts. I have no understanding of the reasoning behind that rule.

        Thanks for the info though.

  4. OK, you KNOW we are gonna ask for those 3 cookie recipes!

    I also love to cook dry beans,bread,I HATE the bitter tinny taste of canned enchilada sauce so homemade is always in my freezer,too. Spaghetti sauce; I am Italian,that tells you all you need to know. (Gravy is always homemade in this house..) I WISH Ken or I could make a homemade pizza..have never tried..

    I have some pesto cubes in the refrig from our basil plant. Have never made my own hummus but that is on my list to do.

    Knowing the freezer is full of soups and breads and Sauces feels good! Home cooking is a hobby, but this past year, we REALLY were grateful we like our own kitchen.. we have no desire to return to some of the places we used to go out to eat! AND prices have gone through the ceiling!!

    1. Sounds like your habits are very similar to ours. Restaurants are usually disappointing when you make such good food at home. Still, we are planning to eat out soon — an uncrowded spot with outside seating. I’d be happy with onion rings and a beer.

      As for the cookies in my rotation, they are peanut butter, black pepper and chocolate chip walnut. It has been awhile, but here they are again for your reading and eating pleasure:

      https://www.retirementconfidential.com/2020/06/21/black-pepper-cookies/

      https://www.retirementconfidential.com/2020/05/02/signs-of-a-new-normal/

      https://www.retirementconfidential.com/2019/04/03/a-cookie-to-kill-for/

  5. I am beyond jealous that you are back to swimming! I miraculously scored a slot for my vaccine a couple of weeks ago (very competitive here, and I didn’t think I had a chance); I’m due for the 2nd any day now. So mid-April I hope to feel protected enough to return to swimming at the gym. I miss it more than I can say. I think I will tour several gyms, though, and will probably move my membership. The gym I had been going to has (gasp) carpeting in the change area. It always creeped me out, and now I Just.Can’t.

    I love your list of things you always cook at home. I am more hit and miss, but I feel so fortunate to have a fantastic local small batch hummus available. I can’t think mine could be better than his Buffalo or red pepper hummus.

    1. It does feel so good to be back in the pool. Yet another thing that was hard to keep up with when I was working. Go retirement! I hope you return to swimming soon! I would definitely buy local hummus — I’ve never actually looked for it, but I bet they sell it at the farmer’s market.

  6. Like you, I’d rather eat my own cooking than go out to eat. It really has to be an occasion. I process tomatoes & beans from my garden and peaches in season. I also freeze carrots, kale, and foraged berries (saskatoons) and fruit (rhubarb). I make salsa (with beans & corn – so delicious); only 2 qts left in the cold room. I make hummus using canned chick peas and sometimes add jarred roasted red peppers. I often make pizza at home including the crust but sometimes I do pizza on store-bought naan bread, not homemade like yourself. Soups are always homemade but I will cheat with store bought stock if I don’t have any on hand. This winter I bought dried beans and made some of the best pork & beans that I’ve eaten in a long time. I’m happy to be handy in the kitchen.

    1. We don’t have much room for a garden, so I envy you there. Tomatoes and hot peppers, that’s about it. My husband uses an heirloom bean from Maine to make pork and beans, and I love it. To go with, he makes what they call cabbage salad. It’s basically coleslaw with chopped green olives and celery seed. So fantastic. As you say, it is good to be handy in the kitchen!

  7. Your ha it’s are similar to ours. How about a link to your favorite enchilada sauce recipe?

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