On my weekly adventure to the library I have found another cookbook that sparked my interest. It is Alana Chernila's "The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making".
I love the idea of having less packaging and less chemical filled food. Homemade is always better. Having said this, it is also very time consuming and in some ways can be more costly. If you have an expendable budget then there are many things you can afford to do at home. I for one will continue to buy ketchup instead of mixing together 20 ingredients I may or may not have lying around the house. Ketchup is 3 bucks and its taste is homey and smells of childhood, both mine and my child's, so why mess with that?
There are some great ideas for making your own pancake mixes, spice mixes, and homemade macaroni and cheese. If you have the time and space for canning then this book is helpful as well. I suppose it really matters how much time you have in your day. There are so many things I would love to do in a day and I can't get them done now. If I spent my time making these 101 foods.....I would get to sleep...maybe.
I am not knocking the validity of this book in anyway, but for me it was a bit of a strike out with having to split my time between a fiance, a child, a dog, a full time job, and being a home owner. If I want to do anything for myself time has to get sliced off one of those things. I think the best thing to be aware of is that you CAN eliminate a lot of packaged foods if you want to. I try my hardest as it is. I'm just not at this place yet.
Go to your local library and check this book out. There are some great recipes in there like homemade chai. I remember making this in Seattle when I worked at a tea house. This isn't the exact same recipe, but it is very similar. Homemade chai is loads better than store bought.
Chai
Makes 6 cups
Storage:
Fridge in a covered container with milk, 5 days, without milk, 2 weeks
Freezer in freezer safe container, without milk, 6 months. (thaw in fridge and reheat with milk on stove)
5 cups water
1/4 cup roughly chopped unpeeled fresh ginger
Three 4 inch cinnamon sticks
3 whole cloves
4 cardamom pods
3 black peppercorns
One 1 inch circular slice unpeeled orange
4 black tea bags
1/4 to 1/2 cup honey, to taste
1 1/2 to 2 cups milk, to taste
Combine water, ginger cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns, and orange slice in a medium pot. Partially cover the pot, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes.
Take the pot off the heat, add the tea bags, cover and steep 5 minutes. Put a strainer over a bowl and strain the liquid. Add the honey to taste. To store the chai in the fridge or freezer without milk, do so now. Otherwise return the tea to the pot, add milk and reheat.
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