We made play dough today.

[conuly]

I couldn't find the boughten play-doh, so we made our own. Scented it with a little bit of rose water. There's something viscerally good about seeing children playing with undyed play dough, and knowing that you did that yourself. It smells so... wholesome, it really does. Like the store bought kind, but moreso.

Play dough is really easy - just about two parts flour to one part water, and as much salt as you think it needs. I always have it too sticky like that, so I keep adding flour until it's right. Takes about five minutes of my life - less if I make the kids do it, and they think it's fun.

It's like cakes all over again. So many things we buy as a matter of course, we assume make our lives easier. And I guess they do, sorta - but it turns out that the homemade replacements aren't actually that difficult to make, or even that time-consuming.

I was reading a review on Amazon.com about a cookbook, and somebody commented that parts of it were "too time-consuming" because she's a mother of a pre-schooler, so she substitutes (this is her example) canned beans for dried. I didn't get it. From where I'm sitting, soaking the beans is the easiest part of cooking! Sure, it takes several hours, but you don't need to be there. You don't even need to be awake. Just put some water over the beans and go to bed, and by tomorrow they'll be ready to cook. They're healthier that way, and cheaper, too, and it's so easy. I suppose if you start cooking every day by looking in the fridge and seeing what you haven't run out of yet, it makes sense, but that costs more money and time to do, and stress as well.

I was inspired, after the play dough, to look up some recipes for glue, for paint. Why, it's easy to make glue, and not that hard to make paint that'll stand up to the needs of a very young child. (It's not like your very young child is Picasso and needs good quality art supplies just to make a mess on the table, right?)

I read just the other day an excerpt from an old cookbook, preaching frugality. It is the height of waste, I was told, to buy vinegar. One should buy some vinegar once, and then just keep topping it off with this and that - old cider, sour beer, whatever. It sounds so simple, but who makes their own vinegar now? Or stock - why do we buy stocks? What could be easier than dumping your vegetable garbage and bones in a pot and watching TV for a few hours?

Our garden last year was so simple, we didn't touch it, and we had fresh veggies all summer and into fall.

What else is there that's really just so easy to do, that people generally don't do? And why don't we? I appreciate that people don't know how, but why don't people know how, or think of it?

Edit: To be clear, since I don't think I was, I don't mean "This way is better than that way" except for tangible things - these things are easier than they're portrayed (even if they're not totally easy), and they do save money.

I mean, more along the lines of "Why don't people see these as options? Why don't they know these options exist?" It's one thing to know your choices and make an informed choice to do this or that because it's easier for you. It's totally different to make your choice because you think something is impossible for you when it's not, or to not even make your choice because you don't realize you have one.

So like, to be specific, planning meals in advance *is* cheaper. But if it can't work for you, or if it's not a priority, that's your business. This is me, totally not caring (except if you're my mom, in which case, I really wish you'd stop buying food that looks good now, but that never gets made and goes bad in the fridge or freezer) because it's not my concern at all.

*deep breath*

I'm running off now.

Comments

[rantinan.livejournal.com]

Rice. I second this motion.\
Eggs. Incredibly versitle, nutrious &C.
Pick a green vegitable I like peas, becasue of hte versitility. My favorite sort is snowpeas, which is a cop out since you shouldnt cook em, just wash em and use for garnish, greens, &C
Cheese. there are 10 zillion types of real chese out there. I recomend a good vintage chedder for learning with, it has a nice sharp taste and a firm texture. might be to strong for kids tho Mozzeralla is also wonderfull to work with, not jsu shreadedo n pizza
Beef. In different places in the world, different cuts of beef have different popularities. so prices, cuts, and similar vary wildly. there are inumerable specalities you can look up. Beef is one of the more universaly available meats, and so is worth learning.
A fish. If oyu live in a costal area, it;s a crime not to know how to prepare fish. I hate most salt water fish, but i still know quite a few very solid recipies.
Chili. IMNSHO the absolutely most fantastic spice on the planet. dried and groud, fresh, pickeld, preserved, seeded or unseeded, salted, roasted, and in several hundred varieties (although only expect to be able to find 2 or three unless you live in a country where it is worshiped)
Salt and pepper. Classics for a reason. learn their secreats. master tasty food.
An oil. Butter, peanut oil, oliveoil, or similar. make your choice and learn to use it. pay for something good, not the random "vegitable oil" crap. Once you perfect one source of greasey goodness, you will be able to use lots of others. Even a teaspoon in the rightplace can have an amazing effect on foods.
Something unique to where you live. For obvious reasons
Something awesome from far away. Something i like to use in stews is south african Biltong (dried, spiced beef). I have to buy it from an import delictessian, and it costs, but is it worth it? yes. by trying out ingredients form other culturs than your own, you expose yourself to otherstyles, and broaden your understanding of food.
Pork, or another pig product. Unless you have religeous reagons agisnt it, it;s even more common than beef, and usualy a bit cheaper. learn to use it both with an without fat. a lot of people who "dont like pork" actualy dont like the traditional euro high fat cuts. Butterfly medelions.
Chicken. Versitle food. Try to use freerange, tougher, but it has flavour.
beans. Boil em, fry em, roast em, refry em, soup em. Hundreds of varieties. cheap as hell.
Noodles. So many varieties, each wiht their individual uses.
Boquet garni. A combination of eurpoen spices. an excelent starting point for beginners.
this is the sort of thing i use in my kitchen all the time.

[jedirita.livejournal.com]

Good list!

[marveen.livejournal.com]

I have digestive problems with pork, which is distressing, since I love ham, sausage & bacon. (A nicely prepared pork chop is lovely as well, but while I may like it, it doesn't like me.)

I agree with much of your list. (Where do you live, anyway? There's a high enough Hispanic population around here that I can choose from a dozen different varieties of chilies just at Safeway, with five or six fresh, three or four dried and many more packaged preground.)

And I adore peas, especially cooked with butter & green onions.

[rantinan.livejournal.com]

I'm in Australia. I can get great chinese variety localy, but centeral american spices are thin on the ground. SO i substutite thai spicings instead. Preserved, Minced chilis with honey and vinegar is good once you work out ways of rolling with the sweetness instead of fighting it. And easy to obtain.
But yeah, i have 2-3 fresh, 1-2 preserved, and 2 dried varieties of chilli in my local supermarket. Not enough

[rantinan.livejournal.com]

Ah i see the confusion. I should have said 1 or 2 varities of FRESH chilli. My apologies. I'm sorry to hear about your problems with prok, have you tried smoked turky or smoked beef instead of bacon?

[marveen.livejournal.com]

For sausages, turkey and beef pretty much have it covered*, but bacon....the "beef bacon" I bought was just nasty (ground & formed, with cartilage and little bony bits in it, yuggh), and "turkey bacon" isn't even close.

*Can you get beef summer sausage down there? It's a wonderful "substitute" for pork sausage that's even better.