About Me
Hi, I’m Jennifer and my challenge for 2022 is to cook all my meals from scratch—nothing pre-prepared. I love cooking, and I think this is the best way to really learn and understand the art. To avoid becoming the most annoying person on Earth, however, I will allow myself occasional meals from restaurants and I can accept food from friends, but anything I cook myself will be from scratch. This will mean I make all kinds of things that I’ve previously bought at a grocery store: sour cream, ramen noodles, tortilla chips, crackers, mustard, soup stock, tomato sauce—I suspect the list will grow. Some of these foods I’m already making regularly, like soup stock, and others will be completely new.
Am I ready for this? Probably not. Always the planner, I try to control the uncontrollable, but this year will likely be a lesson in humility. I’ve heard it said many times, “if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans…” So I’m setting out on a journey, and we’ll see how it turns out. Thanks for joining me.
Why cook from scratch?
I can list many reasons why I’d like to prepare food from the most basic ingredients. It’s nice to know exactly what I’m putting in my body and know there are no additives, artificial sweeteners, or extra salt. I also believe the food will taste better because I can cook it to my own preferences. I love garlic, so I can pile on as many cloves as I like. I don’t like feta, which is fine because I can substitute with another cheese (I’ve been known to use Gruyère…). But the truth is that I want to do it because I like to make things, and I love knowing I did something myself. Maybe I didn’t milk the cow or grow the tomatoes, but I collected the raw ingredients and made something from start to finish.