Relishments

Savoring life in the Berkshires

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • About
    • Start Here
    • Relishments Around the Web
    • Flexitarianism
      • Cookbooks
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Reviews
  • The Berkshires
    • Boothbay, Midcoast Maine and More
    • Adventures in Other Places
  • Contact
    • Sponsor

Why Buy When You Can Make?

Published on April 3, 2014 By Emily. Updated on April 3, 2014

Occasionally I’m asked what my blog is about, or what my philosophy on food is – they’re both pretty intertwined.  I generally say one of two things: Michael Pollan’s “eat food, not too much, mostly plants” or my own “why buy something when you can make it yourself?”  But as much as I agree with the latter statement, it’s much easier said than done.  I like food shopping, I like trying new products, and I have a fairly busy schedule.  As with many things in life, it’s easiest to take the lazy route in the kitchen.

Last year I made a commitment to bake all my own sandwich bread.  Somehow, miraculously, I didn’t buy a basic loaf of bread all year.  Looking back, I kind of wish I’d kept count of how many I baked.  Fifteen months after imposing my own rule about bread buying, I still haven’t returned to my old ways.  Bread baking has become part of my routine, buying it seems so foreign and, as we don’t go through it too quickly, making my own is sustainable for now. 

Yet despite all that dedication to bread, my dedication to homemade hasn’t translated as well to other sections of my pantry.  Granted, I do a lot of dinner cooking and I undertake the occasional extra project, but as far as making grocery staples is concerned, I have a long way to go.  If I really want to make as many ingredients from scratch as possible, I need to improve my game.

For the immediate future, I’m going to focus on two items we use a lot around here: vegetable broth and tortillas.

The vegetable broth has been on my to do list for weeks now, ever since Heather talked about making her own on the Best Life Ever Podcast.  Why, I asked myself, if I make my own bread, can I not manage to make my own broth in the slow cooker?  But for some reason I still haven’t gotten around to it, because I apparently have weird priorities.  Hopefully this post will be just the push I need to get rolling with making and freezing my own.

My decision to start making my own tortillas is based on my current obsession with breakfast wraps and all things Mexican food.  No sooner did I have the thought than I started seeing tortilla recipes online, including this one from The Kitchn and this one from Mark Bittman.  My plan is to try them both, plus some other recipes I have saved, see what works best and get into the routine of making a batch or two regularly for consumption through the week.

Also on my list of things I want to start making: granola, crackers, granola bars and pasta (for special occasions, not regularly).  Any advice or links would much be appreciated!

Related Posts

Goals in Progress: October
2010 Resolutions in Review
The Return of Highlights from My Reader
2016’s Word: Connect
Did you enjoy this post? Share it!

Filed Under: food Tagged With: goals

« Asparagus Goat Cheese Galette (Recipe Review)
Spice Blends–My Kind of Convenience (Review & Giveaway!) »

Comments

  1. Lucy says

    April 3, 2014 at 8:24 pm

    I don’t know about vegetable broth but the smitten kitchen recipe for chicken broth (http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/11/perfect-uncluttered-chicken-stock/) is pretty amazing and very easy.

    • Emily says

      April 4, 2014 at 6:09 am

      I probably have that recipe saved somewhere…is there anything from Smitten Kitchen that isn’t awesome? Nevertheless, there generally isn’t much chicken around here.

  2. Casey @ Salted Plates says

    April 3, 2014 at 8:41 pm

    I make really great veggie broth from the vegetable scraps. I save them in the freezer until I have a gallon sized bag full then simmer for two hours. It’s basically free ( I do add a bay leaf) and so simple!

    • Emily says

      April 4, 2014 at 6:10 am

      That’s my plan! I have a pretty full bag in the freezer as we speak, but for some reason I can’t get the vegetables from the freezer to the pot. Go figure…

Trackbacks

  1. » Spice Blends–My Kind of Convenience (Review & Giveaway!) says:
    April 6, 2014 at 10:07 am

    […] that time (3 days ago) when I posted about making more things instead of buying them?  There’s another aspect to that […]

Welcome!

photo of EmilyWelcome to Relishments! Follow along with my adventures in cooking and eating in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

The Berkshires
Recipe Index
CSA Menu Plan
First Time?
 

Support Relishments on Patreon

Just so you know…

I’m just a girl who loves to cook and eat. This site is not a source for nutritional information.

Relishments is affiliated with various sponsors. Some product links on this site are affiliates; I may get portion of the sale. All opinions on this site are honest, regardless of revenue opportunities. Find out more about my policies here

relishments

Emily
Spring has finally come to the Berkshires! It has Spring has finally come to the Berkshires!
It has been such a joy to finally spend time outside regularly and see everything in bloom.

I bought myself a bike and, after the initial adjustment of learning how to ride again after a nearly 25 year hiatus, it's become one of my favorite ways to experience the outdoors. (None of these photos was taken while riding. I barely stay upright with both hands on the bike.)
.
.
.
#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #AshwillticookRailTrail
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
- House Fries with Garlic Aioli
- Fried Chickpeas
- Blood Orange Cheesecake
It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

.
.
.
#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
.
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
.
.
.
#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
.
.
.
https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
.
#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
.
.
.
Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
.
.
.
#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
.
.
.
#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
.
.
https://www.relishments.com/blog/welcome-to-winter-farm-share-csa-menu-plan-148/
.
#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
.
.
.
#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #FallFoliage #FallColors #autumn #AshuwillticookRailTrail #JaeschkeOrchards #GreylockGlen
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in