Reading and Eating...my version of DIY.

You might have guessed that I love to read.  And I love to eat.  So reading about eating is kind of my favourite thing.  And I love cookbooks.  

My big hesitation around sampling/eating through a cookbook is food cost (not to mention the cost of the books!), specifically random ingredients that I am going to use in tiny portions and be left with a bag full of when the meal is complete.  Not my thing and not my stage of life.  I need recipes that are simple, delicious, healthy and cheap.  And, I am learning, this is completely doable.  

To my great joy, I found The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making by Alana Chernila.  Here plentiful book contains great pictures, captivating stories and (what I hope are) delicious recipes.  I started reading this book when I should have been napping and my fingers have been itching to start creating a pantry full of treats ever since (Thanksgiving kind of got in the way).  

My library-borrowed book now looks like this (picture is also a mini-plug for the ease of these removable tabs):  

I'm excited to get started and see if this book is a buyer (ie, I'll buy it) or a library books (ie, borrow and use intensively for a short period of time).  On my list to make...well, everything!  Butter, ricotta, creme fraiche, instant oatmeal, ketchup, hummus, pesto, roasted tomatoes, granola bars, fish sticks, hot chocolate, marshmallows, butternut squash soup, graham crackers, cheese crackers, caramels and potato chips.  To start, anyway.  I *might* need more than a two week loan!  

This weekend we made cornbread (perfection -- exactly how you want cornbread to taste -- a little sweet, buttery and amazing dipped in chili) and potato chips (time consuming but worth it!  Will absolutely do again.  The crunch and flavour were fully addictive).  I'm going to keep going...so far this one reads and tastes like a winner!