I was babysat by my great-grandparents quite often as a child. They taught me so many things.
- Never take anything for granted, not even food.
- Be kind to everything and everyone.
- Working hard is a part of life, but so is enjoying it.
- You can make, fix, grow, create or try anything.
- Imagination is joy manifested.
- Technology is great but so is fishing, gardening, crafts, and cooking.
My great-grandparents grew up through the Great Depression. They never wasted a thing. Grandma washed margarine containers and tinfoil and grandpa ate a lot of leftovers and wore the same clothes until they wore out. They had a garden half the size of a basketball court well into their eighties. Not for fun or something to do but because that’s where a lot of their food came from.
We take food for granted in many places on this planet. We get it from the grocery store, markets, restaurants, and convenient stores. There is food literally everywhere we go. Even in hospitals, schools, and airports. We forget but that wasn’t always the case. In my great-grandparents life, there was food scarcity everywhere instead. Even if places had food, people simply couldn’t afford to buy it. This meant they had to make due with what they had. If they ran out of something, they either used an alternative or made something else.
The Great Depression changed how people stored food as well. Canning was already around but it became vital again. Not everyone had a freezer and the microwave wasn’t popular until the 1970s.
All this meant that my great-grandparents had to grow a lot of their own food, preserve or store it and cook with it. Sounds so simple but it is more and more rare.
Cooking from scratch is all about using food you have available. Sure, many of us can run to the grocery store every week and buy our food and do just that. I will get into meal planning in another post.
What is cooking from scratch then? It’s making meals with each items individual ingredients. Noodles can be made with flour, water and salt. Pancakes can be made with ingredients most people already have. You can make french fries at home and freeze them yourself. Same for bacon, egg and cheese biscuits.
Why though? Why not just buy the frozen bag of ready to go biscuits, french fries or a thousand other things. There are a lot of reasons. Let’s go over some.
- Save money: base ingredients are often cheaper
- Healthier: less preservatives and manmade chemicals and more fresh nutrients
- Can customize recipes: can make things for picky toddlers or adults, avoid allergens, adjust amounts based on family size, and more
- Can be more fun: can add new flavors, ingredients or try things different than you’re used to
- Can make alternatives if you run out of the instant version
Cooking from scratch also doesn’t have to all or nothing. I do not enjoy making noodles from scratch. I’m not good at it and they just don’t taste right to me. I buy those in a box instead. However, I can and have made pasta sauce from scratch. It was a lot of work but delicious!
I think one of the biggest reasons I love to cook from scratch, grow and can food, make an apple pie and many other things is every time I do I feel my great-grandma’s hug. I hear her encouragement and feel her gentle soft and kind presence.
Why do you cook from scratch? Or why not?
Let’s start with my favorite from-scratch recipe. Here is my great-grandma’s No Fail Pie crust recipe.
Makes two pie crusts. Freezes well.
No Fail Pie Crust
Ingredients:
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups butter or Crisco
- 1 egg
- 1 T apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
Directions:
Cut together: flour and butter (or Crisco)
Mix Seperately: egg, vinegar, water, and salt until well mixed
Cut liquid ingredients into flour/butter.
Sprinkle with more flour if too sticky.
Refrigerate for a few minutes for easier rolling (optional)
Flour surface or two sheets of wax paper.
Cut dough into two pieces.
Roll each piece out until desired thickness.
Place into pie dish. Can easily tear and reattach pieces to fit.
Roll top edge inward and make scalloped edges if desired.
Cut a few lines into bottom of crust.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or follow pie directions.
Enjoy!
The Sides to a Story 
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