We have also lost sight of what we are putting in our
bodies on a daily basis. I have a friend that has several children,
and when asked if she thought she was a good mother she said,”Yes!”.
In her defense, she has more than 2 school aged children. So she
tends to rely on prepackaged lunches or school meals to feed the
children during the day, which is not unusual these days. What
surprises me is if you ask any mother “Would you allow a total
stranger, with no references to care for your child for a day?”
any sane person would say NO! But strangely, we allow big food
companies and government programs that get their food from the lowest
bidder to do just that. If we don't know what is in it and how it is
made why do we eat it? I'm not advocating bringing down the food
companies or becoming a hunter/gathering society, I like my bar food
like the next man. But what I am saying is, why have we lost track
of the skills that we use to use on a daily basis?
The intended purpose of this experiment is two fold,
- To make items that I would normally buy thus increasing my culinary knowledge and skills.
- To find ways of saving money, reducing waste, and understanding how our grandparents and great grandparents did things
What is not included ( easier than listing what is
included)
- Extruded pasta and pastas that require special equipment. (couscous comes to mind)
- Cured meat ( some possible exception exist)
- Wine (I've never had a good homemade wine)
- Beer (I will be brewing some beer)
- Spirits
- Vegetables (I have no room for a garden)
- Meat (if I have no room for a garden I don't have room to raise livestock)
- Cleaning supplies and soap
- Some condiments (Mayo comes to mind, I don't trust raw eggs)
- Spices (Do I need to explain this one)
- Cheese (also possible exceptions exist)
- Butter ( there is no money to be saved making butter)
- Fruit
- Dairy
- Soda
- Cooking oils
- Cereal
- Basic canned goods (beans, tomatoes, vegetables, tomato paste, etc)
- Grains
This list unfortunately is not all inclusive, I will
add to or take away from this list as my research evolves. ( I have
already discover that couscous might be able to be made at home)
So what does all this mean? If
I want to have a sandwich I have to bake bread. If I want potato
chips I have to cut and fry them. If I want pasta for dinner I have
to make it and the sauce, and finally if I want a salad I have to
make the dressing and the croutons.
So this is were I start to learn. Yes, START to learn.
I don't have all these skills either, that is the purpose of this
experiment. So a list of skills and equipment that I currently
possess is in order.
Skills
- I'm kind of a foodie and good cook.
- I have a good grasp of research.
- I have a friends and family that have some of the skills and knowledge that I lack.
- Working (if not ugly) kitchen
- Crock pot (everyone should have one or 3 )
- Freezer space although I think I might need more.
- A pantry and shelf space
- Decent cookware
- Working Appliances
- Cookbooks, family recipes and the Internet.
Now a list of skills I will need to learn.
- Canning
- Sausage making
- Bread making
- Pasta making
- Baking
Equipment that may be needed or improvised
- Canning supplies
- Pasta machine
- Smoker
- Containers
So how to proceed? Slowly. I currently have a stocked
pantry with some items on the prohibited list, so when they are gone
I will have to find ways to make them. This means that I will have to
plan weekly meals. I have a large collection of cookbooks and the
internet to find resources. Planning is going to be key to prevent
myself from doing something easy. I have found weekly meal planners
on line, so I see no reason to reinvent the wheel on this one.
Shopping will be done on a weekly basis, and I have several markets
and butchers that I intend to use. This will allow me to have a wide
selection of sources to get the item I will need to make the thing I
have to make.
I guess at this point you are asking a question, or
maybe a whole lot of questions. The first would be “ Is this guy
mad?” . Well I would say that I not so much crazy as ….........
Okay I'm crazy. I'm mad as a hatter. This project is meant to be a
challenge in a challenge-less life. I wanted something that would be
difficult but obtainable. If this sound like something that interests
you, I invite you to follow me ( At least in reading) and try to
understand what we have lost. It's going to be a long year.
This sounds interesting Mike. This could lead to happier and healthier life style by knowing exactly what is in the food your eating. Please, post recipes that you use. Tom Kelly
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