I started making cornbread a while ago and found it's very cheap to
make from scratch. You get a 4 lb bag of cornmeal for $4 and 4 pound
bag of flour for $2 and some other stuff and you can make many big pans
of cornbread.

I just bought a can of Hershey cocoa powder for about $4.19, and OMG it
goes a long way. You can make a cup of hot cocoa with only 2 or 3
teaspoons of cocoa. That's a helluva lot cheaper than Swiss Miss, isn't
it? I wish I had found this out a long time ago, cuz I would've had hot
cocoa more often. I made a couple of batches of chocolate pudding and
still have most of the cocoa left.

Can you guys name other stuff?

> Can you guys name other stuff?


I don't know about cheaper but making fresh pasta is DEFINITELY more fun
than boxed!!!

Andy

Andy wrote:

> I don't know about cheaper but making fresh pasta is DEFINITELY more fun
> than boxed!!!
>
> Andy

Making just about anything from scratch is more fun than buying it
pre-made.

-Mike

Mike Pearce wrote:
> Andy wrote:
>
> > I don't know about cheaper but making fresh pasta is DEFINITELY more fun
> > than boxed!!!
> >
> > Andy
>
> Making just about anything from scratch is more fun than buying it
> pre-made.

That's not true... when was they last time you ate meat that you
gutted... I don't consider preparing a package of chicken quarters from
scratch... I don't see the fun in gutting a chicken and then an hour
later eating same. A package of chicken parts is more like cooking in
kit form, same as paint by numbers. Today most all foods are purchased
nearly prepared... you must be very young. I'm willing to bet most
folks reading rfc have never gutted a chicken, many have never cut one
up, or even touched one with bare hands. I've been invited to dinners
where I was served reheated rotisserie deli chicken, served with the
pretence of home made from scratch... the only from scratch was
transfering it to a fancy serving platter, with tongs.

Sheldon

Sheldon wrote:
> Mike Pearce wrote:
>> Andy wrote:
>>
>>> I don't know about cheaper but making fresh pasta is DEFINITELY
>>> more fun than boxed!!!
>>>
>>> Andy
>>
>> Making just about anything from scratch is more fun than buying it
>> pre-made.
>
> That's not true... when was they last time you ate meat that you
> gutted... I don't consider preparing a package of chicken quarters
> from scratch... I don't see the fun in gutting a chicken and then an
> hour
> later eating same. A package of chicken parts is more like cooking in
> kit form, same as paint by numbers. Today most all foods are
> purchased nearly prepared... you must be very young. I'm willing to
> bet most
> folks reading rfc have never gutted a chicken, many have never cut one
> up, or even touched one with bare hands.

I've never plucked and gutted a chicken but my dad sure did, many times.
It's no wonder people prefer packaged chicken - I let the butchers deal with
their job, which is butchering.

I have most definitely cut up whole (purchased) chickens - it's much cheaper
to buy a whole chicken than it is to pay for a package of chicken breasts.
(The back, neck and wings go in the freezer for stock.) By the same token,
it's cheaper to buy a package of bone-in skin-on chicken breasts and skin
and bone them yourself than it is to buy the boneless ones. (Said bones
also go in the freezer for stock.) Now if I could just figure out how to
bone chicken thighs, which I prefer, neatly (a.k.a. not mangling them).

I've been invited to dinners
> where I was served reheated rotisserie deli chicken, served with the
> pretence of home made from scratch... the only from scratch was
> transfering it to a fancy serving platter, with tongs.
>
> Sheldon

Lots of people do that. I don't really understand why. I mean, I
understand the convenience. But by the same token, I've never had anyone
serve up a spiral-sliced ham and pretend they did the spiral slicing
themselves. In fact, it's usually announced - hey, we got a spiral-sliced
ham!

Jill

jmcquown wrote:

> But by the same token, I've never had anyone
> serve up a spiral-sliced ham and pretend they did the spiral slicing
> themselves. In fact, it's usually announced - hey, we got a
> spiral-sliced ham!
>
> Jill


Jill,

We served a spiral-sliced honey-baked ham at a party and nobody ate it
because they were all waiting for it to be carved! Once the word was
out, it went fast.

Andy

jmcquown wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
> >
> I've been invited to dinners
> > where I was served reheated rotisserie deli chicken, served with the
> > pretence of home made from scratch... the only from scratch was
> > transfering it to a fancy serving platter, with tongs.
> >
> > Sheldon
>
> Lots of people do that. I don't really understand why. I mean, I
> understand the convenience. But by the same token, I've never had anyone
> serve up a spiral-sliced ham and pretend they did the spiral slicing
> themselves. In fact, it's usually announced - hey, we got a spiral-sliced
> ham!

Well, then those boneheads need to learn how to bone a ham. duh
They'd save a lot of money, and it would be better ham too... spiral
cut is
low grade ham at a high grade price.

Btw, serving ANY smoked ham is never from scratch, not unless you
smoked it yourself. Smoked ham is strictly a convenience food... all
preserved foods are... you mean like opening the lid on a can of tuna
makes that tuna salad a from scratch creation, no way... then you may
as well call your morning flakies from scratch because you poured in
the milk and sugar yourself.

Sheldon

"Sheldon" > wrote

> jmcquown wrote:

>> Lots of people do that. I don't really understand why. I mean, I
>> understand the convenience.

I'm not being a snob, I really don't get the convenience at
all. What's to making a good roast chicken, even if you don't
have a rotisserie? The chickens I've had from supermarkets
are really sucky, but I don't know where else I'd get one.

>> But by the same token, I've never had anyone
>> serve up a spiral-sliced ham and pretend they did the spiral slicing
>> themselves. In fact, it's usually announced - hey, we got a
>> spiral-sliced
>> ham!

I bring them to my mother's at Easter, all the better to avoid
the can o' ham. This way, also, I can just heat it up and bring it
warm to the house.

> Well, then those boneheads need to learn how to bone a ham. duh

Why would I want to bone a ham? Something weird about a
boneless ham, I guess it's canned ham flashbacks.

> They'd save a lot of money, and it would be better ham too... spiral
> cut is
> low grade ham at a high grade price.

Depends. I've had some very good ones, but I've also had really
crappy unspiral sliced hams. Hams are iffy in my opinion.

> Btw, serving ANY smoked ham is never from scratch, not unless you
> smoked it yourself. Smoked ham is strictly a convenience food... all
> preserved foods are... you mean like opening the lid on a can of tuna
> makes that tuna salad a from scratch creation, no way... then you may
> as well call your morning flakies from scratch because you poured in
> the milk and sugar yourself.

Now, now, not all of us have a smokehouse and months to cure
hams ... never mind the pig!

nancy

Sheldon wrote:

> That's not true... when was they last time you ate meat that you
> gutted... I don't consider preparing a package of chicken quarters from
> scratch... I don't see the fun in gutting a chicken and then an hour
> later eating same. A package of chicken parts is more like cooking in
> kit form, same as paint by numbers. Today most all foods are purchased
> nearly prepared... you must be very young. I'm willing to bet most
> folks reading rfc have never gutted a chicken, many have never cut one
> up, or even touched one with bare hands. I've been invited to dinners
> where I was served reheated rotisserie deli chicken, served with the
> pretence of home made from scratch... the only from scratch was
> transfering it to a fancy serving platter, with tongs.
>
> Sheldon
>

Only some of what you say is true. Depends where you live. There is
nothing better than a "fresh" chicken, IMHO. Used to have them all the
time when I was a teenager... And yes, I do touch raw meat with my "bare
hands". These days, most people do go to the local butcher or fish
monger for their "fresh" meat, poultry or fish, but that is still much,
much, better/healthier (and cheaper) than buying those pre-made dinners
or having "fast-food" every day.

--
Cheers
Cathy(xyz)

Sheldon wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>> Sheldon wrote:
>>>
>> I've been invited to dinners
>>> where I was served reheated rotisserie deli chicken, served with the
>>> pretence of home made from scratch... the only from scratch was
>>> transfering it to a fancy serving platter, with tongs.
>>>
>>> Sheldon
>>
>> Lots of people do that. I don't really understand why. I mean, I
>> understand the convenience. But by the same token, I've never had
>> anyone serve up a spiral-sliced ham and pretend they did the spiral
>> slicing themselves. In fact, it's usually announced - hey, we got a
>> spiral-sliced ham!
>
> Well, then those boneheads need to learn how to bone a ham. duh
> They'd save a lot of money, and it would be better ham too... spiral
> cut is
> low grade ham at a high grade price.
>
> Sheldon

It's usually been in a company party "pot luck" type setting where the
company provides the ham, generally around the holidays. Unless it's set up
in a fancy hotel banquet room there isn't the professional staff to be
boning ham for up to 200 people. And you wouldn't want to trust some of the
employees with sharp pointed implements

Jill

kr_gentner wrote:

> Most baked items are cheaper to make than to buy. You can also use the
> flour and cocoa to make cake. A good selection of staples allows you to
> make a wide variety of things. Add yeast and you can make all sorts of
> breads cheap too.

Some things just aren't worth the work. We have an Italiian bakery in our
town that makes wonderful and sells it for $1.40 per loaf. With just two of
us in the house, and my wife not eating bread, it just isn't worth all that
work to make a batch of bread if I can pick up a loaf that is better than I
can make. However, their cookies as pies aren't very good. I can do much
better at home. Most Nanaimo bars are much cheaper to buy than to make, but
the real thing home made is far superior.

I make most of my own jam, and I can get 6-7 jars out of a batch. It would
cost me as much for one jar of good jam as it costs me to make the whole
batch. Good Seville orange marmalade is very expensive, and I can make more
than a dozen jars of it for less than it would cost to buy one jar of the
good stuff.

Ice cream is another matter. By the time I buy the cream, eggs, milk and
flavourings I could easily get a quart of a premium brand, and I come out a
little ahead because I get almost 1 1/2 qt. in a batch.

Most home made pies are a bargain compared to bakery prices, and if you find
pie making easy it is well worth it to do it yourself.

It does pay to have a good supply of staples and other ingredients, and it
really pays to buy in bulk. I used to buy flour in 5 pound bags, and then I
realized that for about 50% more I could get four times as much. Vanilla
extract is much cheaper in larger quantities.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>I started making cornbread a while ago and found it's very cheap to
> make from scratch. You get a 4 lb bag of cornmeal for $4 and 4 pound
> bag of flour for $2 and some other stuff and you can make many big pans
> of cornbread.
>
> I just bought a can of Hershey cocoa powder for about $4.19, and OMG it
> goes a long way. You can make a cup of hot cocoa with only 2 or 3
> teaspoons of cocoa. That's a helluva lot cheaper than Swiss Miss, isn't
> it? I wish I had found this out a long time ago, cuz I would've had hot
> cocoa more often. I made a couple of batches of chocolate pudding and
> still have most of the cocoa left.
>
> Can you guys name other stuff?


Most baked items are cheaper to make than to buy. You can also use the
flour and cocoa to make cake. A good selection of staples allows you to
make a wide variety of things. Add yeast and you can make all sorts of
breads cheap too.

Kathy

cathyxyz wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
>
> > That's not true... when was they last time you ate meat that you
> > gutted... I don't consider preparing a package of chicken quarters from
> > scratch... I don't see the fun in gutting a chicken and then an hour
> > later eating same. A package of chicken parts is more like cooking in
> > kit form, same as paint by numbers. Today most all foods are purchased
> > nearly prepared... you must be very young. I'm willing to bet most
> > folks reading rfc have never gutted a chicken, many have never cut one
> > up, or even touched one with bare hands. I've been invited to dinners
> > where I was served reheated rotisserie deli chicken, served with the
> > pretence of home made from scratch... the only from scratch was
> > transfering it to a fancy serving platter, with tongs.
> >
> > Sheldon
> >
>
> Only some of what you say is true. Depends where you live.
> These days, most people do go to the local butcher or fish
> monger for their "fresh" meat, poultry or fish,

*Depends where you live*... not in the US... in the US the vast
majority shop for meat at stupidmarkets, and almost always not out of
choice, very few locations have butcher shops, poultry markets, and
fish mongers anymore.

Must you in every post remind everyone that you live in a third world
country... WE HEARD YOU... everyone else participating in this thread
lives in more advanced circumstances and is commenting from that
general consensus... you on the other hand obviously have nothing
appropriate to contribute, you're just being a juvenile pest with a
desire to barge into adult conversation... your "Depends where you
live." comment has long ago lost its novelty, its no longer
appropriate, it's a put-down, it's ignorant, it's RUDE! If you want
people to respect your life style choice stop harping on it... self
praise is no recommendation. I for one have long ago figured out from
your snide sideways comments that you are not happy with where/how you
chose to live, you'd return in a flash if only you had the means. Only
the wealthiest of Americans can adapt to retirement living in Central
America, and even many of the wealthy cannot, they are too used to
those common comforts that most Americans enjoy and take for granted
that are just not available anywhere there, not at any price. The
wealthy that do adapt fly backwards and forwards on a weekly basis for
major shopping and all medical needs. I know of what I speak, I lived
in Central America and traveled there extensively. I was one of those
who could have afforded to live there financially and almost did but
decided at the last hour that I didn't want to spend my retirement
going without the niceities I've grown accustomed to. I know a number
of Americans who did choose to retire to Central America, who became
elderly and frail and had to return anyway, they are in US nursing
homes, couldn't survive but a few months in what Central America calls
a nursing home, those are much closer to very crude hospices. Central
Americans don't go to hospitals to get cured, they go to hospitals to
die.

Sheldon

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> kr_gentner wrote:
>
> > Most baked items are cheaper to make than to buy. You can also use the
> > flour and cocoa to make cake. A good selection of staples allows you to
> > make a wide variety of things. Add yeast and you can make all sorts of
> > breads cheap too.
>
> Some things just aren't worth the work. We have an Italiian bakery in our
> town that makes wonderful and sells it for $1.40 per loaf. With just two of
> us in the house, and my wife not eating bread, it just isn't worth all that
> work to make a batch of bread if I can pick up a loaf that is better than I
> can make.

And then there are school bake sales,
where you can often find a REAL bargain . . .
:-)

In article .com>,
"Sheldon" > wrote:

> cathyxyz wrote:
<snip>
> >
> > Only some of what you say is true. Depends where you live.
> > These days, most people do go to the local butcher or fish
> > monger for their "fresh" meat, poultry or fish,
>
<snip>
> I for one have long ago figured out from
> your snide sideways comments that you are not happy with where/how you
> chose to live, you'd return in a flash if only you had the means. Only
> the wealthiest of Americans can adapt to retirement living in Central
> America, and even many of the wealthy cannot, they are too used to
> those common comforts that most Americans enjoy and take for granted
> that are just not available anywhere there, not at any price. The
> wealthy that do adapt fly backwards and forwards on a weekly basis for
> major shopping and all medical needs. I know of what I speak, I lived
> in Central America and traveled there extensively. I was one of those
> who could have afforded to live there financially and almost did but
> decided at the last hour that I didn't want to spend my retirement
> going without the niceities I've grown accustomed to. I know a number
> of Americans who did choose to retire to Central America, who became
> elderly and frail and had to return anyway, they are in US nursing
> homes, couldn't survive but a few months in what Central America calls
> a nursing home, those are much closer to very crude hospices. Central
> Americans don't go to hospitals to get cured, they go to hospitals to
> die.
>
> Sheldon

Hey Cathy(xyz), welcome to Central America! Say hi to Sandi while you're
there. (snicker)

Regards,
Dave W.

--
Living in the Ozarks
For email, edu will do.

Regardless of what doesn't happen, there's always someone who knew it wouldn't.
R. Henry

Mark Thorson wrote:

>
> And then there are school bake sales,
> where you can often find a REAL bargain . . .
> :-)

LOL. Let's not go there again :-)
I only go to them to buy things these days. I refuse to contribute to them.

Mark Thorson wrote:
> Dave Smith wrote:
>>
>> kr_gentner wrote:
>>
>>> Most baked items are cheaper to make than to buy. You can also use
>>> the flour and cocoa to make cake. A good selection of staples
>>> allows you to make a wide variety of things. Add yeast and you can
>>> make all sorts of breads cheap too.
>>
>> Some things just aren't worth the work. We have an Italiian bakery
>> in our town that makes wonderful and sells it for $1.40 per loaf.
>> With just two of us in the house, and my wife not eating bread, it
>> just isn't worth all that work to make a batch of bread if I can
>> pick up a loaf that is better than I can make.
>
> And then there are school bake sales,
> where you can often find a REAL bargain . . .
> :-)

Um, don't you have to have children enrolled in the school in order to
attend a school bake sale? This may not be the case all over. It wasn't a
bake sale but in a fit of nostalgia when I was 30-something I stopped by my
old high school to have a look around. I couldn't just wander around. I
was directed to the office where I had to sign in and state my reason for
being there. Long gone are the days of public "car washes" as fundraisers
(at least not without a teacher or two or some parents present) and bake
sales and "cake walks" open to the general public. There are just too many
nuts running out there for whom schools are a major attraction.

Jill

kr_gentner wrote:
>
> Most baked items are cheaper to make than to buy.

That's not true, not if equal quality... just lighting your oven most
times negates any savings. And of course your time and effort are
worthless, right... baking is generally labor intensive and time
consuming... just a couple loaves of bread requires your attention for
many hours. Bakeries buy in volume, they pay less than half for
ingredients than you, and by baking in volume they can sell for the
same price as your cost or less, and still turn enough profit to cover
all expenses and show a profit. There is no way the homemaker can
compete price wise with a successful bakery... some items you'll pay
more for at a bakery, those that are labor intensive, like cookies, but
with most items you'll pay less than your cost to produce the same at
home... if you're willing to spend most of a day baking cookies and
only compute ingredients but don't include your time and labor then you
are saying your time and labor is worth nothing. If you're an
exceptional baker you can probably outdo the quality available at the
typical corner bakery, but the higher quality ingredients you use the
greater the spread in cost in favor of the bakery if they chose to also
up their quality... it's not that they can't out bake you, they choose
not to. Businesses, sucsessful businesses, tend to produce what will
sell at a price their market will bear. If the product at your local
bakery is mediocre it's because mediocre is the price range most folks
in your neighborhood are able/willing to pay... they are not going to
produce Champagne in a Budweiser neighborhood. Bakeries are like any
other business, they produce whatever will increase their volume.

Sheldon

wrote:


> I just bought a can of Hershey cocoa powder for about $4.19, and OMG it
> goes a long way. You can make a cup of hot cocoa with only 2 or 3
> teaspoons of cocoa. That's a helluva lot cheaper than Swiss Miss, isn't
> it? I wish I had found this out a long time ago, cuz I would've had hot
> cocoa more often. I made a couple of batches of chocolate pudding and
> still have most of the cocoa left.
>

YOu could probably use a lot less than 2-3 spoons of cocoa for one cup
of cocoa. I make a cup often (microwave the milk) add 1 teaspoon of
cocoa and some splenda. It tastes like milk, instead of just sugar like
those instant things you were used to using. Blech.

I'm just curious though... how come you never knew this stuff before?
Goomba

"Sheldon" > said:

> Must you in every post remind everyone that you live in a third world
> country... WE HEARD YOU... everyone else participating in this thread
> lives in more advanced circumstances and is commenting from that
> general consensus... you on the other hand obviously have nothing
> appropriate to contribute, you're just being a juvenile pest with a
> desire to barge into adult conversation... your "Depends where you
> live." comment has long ago lost its novelty, its no longer
> appropriate, it's a put-down, it's ignorant, it's RUDE! If you want
> people to respect your life style choice stop harping on it... self
> praise is no recommendation. I for one have long ago figured out from
> your snide sideways comments that you are not happy with where/how you
> chose to live, you'd return in a flash if only you had the means.

Cathy was born in Rhodesia and lives in South Africa. She can't return to
a place she's never lived.

Carol
--
http://www.manilowfund.com/

"You Deserve a Break Today" by Barry Manilow

On 10 Sep 2005 04:53:06 -0700, wrote:

>I started making cornbread a while ago and found it's very cheap to
>make from scratch. You get a 4 lb bag of cornmeal for $4 and 4 pound
>bag of flour for $2 and some other stuff and you can make many big pans
>of cornbread.
>
>I just bought a can of Hershey cocoa powder for about $4.19, and OMG it
>goes a long way. You can make a cup of hot cocoa with only 2 or 3
>teaspoons of cocoa. That's a helluva lot cheaper than Swiss Miss, isn't
>it? I wish I had found this out a long time ago, cuz I would've had hot
>cocoa more often. I made a couple of batches of chocolate pudding and
>still have most of the cocoa left.
>
>Can you guys name other stuff?

Almost anything baked is better done at home... baking isn't the
arcane art that a lot of people seem to think it is - just follow the
recipe and put it in the oven and out comes a cake or cookies or a pie
or whatever...

I don't make my own bread - raw yeast irritates my skin, and it's a
LOT of time and hassle to do yourself because you've got to get
temperatures right and knead it etc... but if you've got a breadmaker
even that becomes quick and easy! (wish we had one...)

And whatever Sheldon says about 'from scratch' meaning 'first catch
your cow', I count cooking from scratch as going to the store and
buying raw materials and preparing them.

--
~Karen aka Kajikit
Crafts, cats, and chocolate - the three essentials of life
http://www.kajikitscorner.com
Online photo album - http://community.webshots.com/user/kajikit

Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> "Sheldon" > said:
>
>
>>Must you in every post remind everyone that you live in a third world
>>country... WE HEARD YOU... everyone else participating in this thread
>>lives in more advanced circumstances and is commenting from that
>>general consensus... you on the other hand obviously have nothing
>>appropriate to contribute, you're just being a juvenile pest with a
>>desire to barge into adult conversation... your "Depends where you
>>live." comment has long ago lost its novelty, its no longer
>>appropriate, it's a put-down, it's ignorant, it's RUDE! If you want
>>people to respect your life style choice stop harping on it... self
>>praise is no recommendation. I for one have long ago figured out from
>>your snide sideways comments that you are not happy with where/how you
>>chose to live, you'd return in a flash if only you had the means.
>
>
> Cathy was born in Rhodesia and lives in South Africa. She can't return to
> a place she's never lived.
>
> Carol

LOL. Thanks, Dams. Couldn't have said it better myself. Put it this
way... the good news is: while he is picking on me, he is leaving
someone else alone.... heh heh heh.

--
Cheers
Cathy(xyz)


Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French.
Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce
makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good.

Alice May Brock

Sheldon wrote:

<snip, snip>

...... never mind....

--
Cheers
Cathy(xyz)

cathyxyz > said:

> Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> >
> > Cathy was born in Rhodesia and lives in South Africa. She can't return to
> > a place she's never lived.
>
> LOL. Thanks, Dams. Couldn't have said it better myself.

I know it was actually Zimbabwe when you lived there, but I don't know how
to spell that, so I went with Rhodesia. LOL!

Carol
--
http://www.manilowfund.com/

"You Deserve a Break Today" by Barry Manilow

Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> cathyxyz > said:
>
> > Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> > >
> > > Cathy was born in Rhodesia and lives in South Africa. She can't return to
> > > a place she's never lived.
> >
> > LOL. Thanks, Dams. Couldn't have said it better myself.
>
> I know it was actually Zimbabwe when you lived there, but I don't know how
> to spell that, so I went with Rhodesia. LOL!
>

Actually it *was* still known as Rhodesia when I was born, so I guess I
am not as young as Sheldon likes to "assume" Anyway calling me
"juvenile" is actually a compliment <blush> heh heh heh heh heh heh
ROFL heh heh heh heh. <sorry, it was sooooo funny>

Cheers
cathy(xyz)

jmcquown wrote:

> Long gone are the days of public "car washes" as fundraisers
> (at least not without a teacher or two or some parents present)


The high schools and church youth groups hold car washes practically
every weekend at the local Sunoco gas station. It's got a large parking
lot that borders traffic N-S and E-W. There is parental/teacher
supervision, but naturally the girls showoff (yelling and waving at
traffic at the stop light, etc.), and have they fun UNTIL near the end
when the Fire Companies roll the trucks up for spitshining! It never
fails. LOL!

Andy

On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 14:29:03 -0400, Karen AKA Kajikit
> wrote:

>Almost anything baked is better done at home... baking isn't the
>arcane art that a lot of people seem to think it is - just follow the
>recipe and put it in the oven and out comes a cake or cookies or a pie
>or whatever...

I disagree with that. First, let's be frank- not everyone who
aspires to bake does everything (or anything) really well. Some
simple things take practice and the right recipe. Major example:
pies. They are not as simple as you say. The crust take practice,
and fruit fillings are tricky if made with fresh fruit because the
sweetness and juiciness of the fruit varies. You have to make many of
these to get the feel for doing it; it's not just following a recipe!

Good bakeries have the skill, the time, and the equipment to do
things beyond what most of us can do easily. I've seen recipes for
sfogliatelle, but I don't know anyone who makes them. Very
labor-intensive. If I want one, I just pick it up at the bakery.
Same with cannoli, little babas, and all the specialty cake slices and
jaw-dropping creations on display. Granted, these are not "cheap."
And the local bakery makes treats depending on how the owner/baker
feels that day. Unfortunately, he hasn't felt like making the pear
mousse tarts for a while

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

jmcquown wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
> > Mike Pearce wrote:
> >> Andy wrote:
> >>
> >>> I don't know about cheaper but making fresh pasta is DEFINITELY
> >>> more fun than boxed!!!
> >>>
> >>> Andy
> >>
> >> Making just about anything from scratch is more fun than buying it
> >> pre-made.
> >
> > That's not true... when was they last time you ate meat that you
> > gutted... I don't consider preparing a package of chicken quarters
> > from scratch... I don't see the fun in gutting a chicken and then an
> > hour
> > later eating same. A package of chicken parts is more like cooking in
> > kit form, same as paint by numbers. Today most all foods are
> > purchased nearly prepared... you must be very young. I'm willing to
> > bet most
> > folks reading rfc have never gutted a chicken, many have never cut one
> > up, or even touched one with bare hands.
>
> I've never plucked and gutted a chicken but my dad sure did, many times.
> It's no wonder people prefer packaged chicken - I let the butchers deal with
> their job, which is butchering.

I have assisted in the process with chickens, cattle, deer, ducks,
squirrels, and fish and frogs. I think that's everything:I don't think
I helped with the pig. I will take a good bucher shop or fishmonger's
anyday.
>
> I have most definitely cut up whole (purchased) chickens - it's much cheaper
> to buy a whole chicken than it is to pay for a package of chicken breasts.
> (The back, neck and wings go in the freezer for stock.) By the same token,
> it's cheaper to buy a package of bone-in skin-on chicken breasts and skin
> and bone them yourself than it is to buy the boneless ones. (Said bones
> also go in the freezer for stock.) Now if I could just figure out how to
> bone chicken thighs, which I prefer, neatly (a.k.a. not mangling them).

It is not easy but if you have a good boning knife and patience it can
be done. I'm up to about 75% non-mangled. I, too, prefer them.

> But by the same token, I've never had anyone
> serve up a spiral-sliced ham and pretend they did the spiral slicing
> themselves. In fact, it's usually announced - hey, we got a spiral-sliced
> ham!
>
Hi Jill,
What is a spiral-sliced ham? I don't think I've ever heard of one.

Sheldon wrote:
> Mike Pearce wrote:

> > Making just about anything from scratch is more fun than buying it
> > pre-made.
>
> That's not true... when was they last time you ate meat that you
> gutted... I don't consider preparing a package of chicken quarters from
> scratch... I don't see the fun in gutting a chicken and then an hour
> later eating same. A package of chicken parts is more like cooking in
> kit form, same as paint by numbers. Today most all foods are purchased
> nearly prepared... you must be very young. I'm willing to bet most
> folks reading rfc have never gutted a chicken, many have never cut one
> up, or even touched one with bare hands. I've been invited to dinners
> where I was served reheated rotisserie deli chicken, served with the
> pretence of home made from scratch... the only from scratch was
> transfering it to a fancy serving platter, with tongs.
>
> Sheldon

Other than fish I've never gutted any meat I've eaten, nor have I grown
my own wheat to make bread. I do almost always buy whole chickens not
parts and I do grind my own whole grain flour. I buy white flour.

I'm not all that young unless you consider pushing fifty young.

I'd actually like to raise my own chickens for both meat and eggs, but
I don't want to make the trade-off to live somewhere else where raising
chickens would be practical.

Take care,
-Mike

wrote:
> I started making cornbread a while ago and found it's very cheap to
> make from scratch. You get a 4 lb bag of cornmeal for $4 and 4 pound
> bag of flour for $2 and some other stuff and you can make many big pans
> of cornbread.
>
> I just bought a can of Hershey cocoa powder for about $4.19, and OMG it
> goes a long way. You can make a cup of hot cocoa with only 2 or 3
> teaspoons of cocoa. That's a helluva lot cheaper than Swiss Miss, isn't
> it? I wish I had found this out a long time ago, cuz I would've had hot
> cocoa more often. I made a couple of batches of chocolate pudding and
> still have most of the cocoa left.
>
> Can you guys name other stuff?

Soups. Besides tasting much better, they make the kitchen smell great
while they're cooking. My standby is a hearty vegetable beef w/barley
which I make in a big stockpot and freeze for later. Many meals for
your dollar.
Made a big pot of clam chowder last night to celebrate our first fall
rain. Incredibly easy and one of the ultimate comfort foods. Made
enough to serve 4 very generously for roughly the same price as one can
of Progresso. Canned soups, loaded with sodium and shy on meat &
veggies aren't much of a bargain. Think you make out better on most
counts if you make your own.

That said, I'm not ready to give up my Campbell's Tomato Bisque. It's
the only way to go when it's grilled cheese time. I'm a comfirmed
dunker...drives my DH nuts...but it's soooo good.

Nancy T

"cathyxyz" > said:

> Actually it *was* still known as Rhodesia when I was born, so I guess I
> am not as young as Sheldon likes to "assume" Anyway calling me
> "juvenile" is actually a compliment <blush> heh heh heh heh heh heh
> ROFL heh heh heh heh. <sorry, it was sooooo funny>

Yeah, ya ol' bat! <EG>

Carol

Sheldon wrote:
> cathyxyz wrote:
> > Sheldon wrote:
> >
> > > That's not true... when was they last time you ate meat that you
> > > gutted... I don't consider preparing a package of chicken quarters from
> > > scratch... I don't see the fun in gutting a chicken and then an hour
> > > later eating same. A package of chicken parts is more like cooking in
> > > kit form, same as paint by numbers. Today most all foods are purchased
> > > nearly prepared... you must be very young. I'm willing to bet most
> > > folks reading rfc have never gutted a chicken, many have never cut one
> > > up, or even touched one with bare hands. I've been invited to dinners
> > > where I was served reheated rotisserie deli chicken, served with the
> > > pretence of home made from scratch... the only from scratch was
> > > transfering it to a fancy serving platter, with tongs.
> > >
> > > Sheldon
> > >
> >
> > Only some of what you say is true. Depends where you live.
> > These days, most people do go to the local butcher or fish
> > monger for their "fresh" meat, poultry or fish,
>
> *Depends where you live*... not in the US... in the US the vast
> majority shop for meat at stupidmarkets, and almost always not out of
> choice, very few locations have butcher shops, poultry markets, and
> fish mongers anymore.
>
> Only
> the wealthiest of Americans can adapt to retirement living in Central
> America, and even many of the wealthy cannot, they are too used to
> those common comforts that most Americans enjoy and take for granted
> that are just not available anywhere there, not at any price.
> The wealthy that do adapt fly backwards and forwards on a weekly basis for
> major shopping and all medical needs.

Good thing they're wealthy. It's close to $800 a pop round trip to
Houston right now. No one is realistically flying back and forth on a
weekly basis Sheldon.

>I know of what I speak, I lived
> in Central America and traveled there extensively.

Belize if I recall...one of the most expensive of the Central American
countries in which to live.

> I was one of those
> who could have afforded to live there financially and almost did but
> decided at the last hour that I didn't want to spend my retirement
> going without the niceities I've grown accustomed to.

Thank heavens you chose to return to the states. If you behave in
person the way you behave online, you're one of theose "ugly Americans"
that give the rest of us a bad name. Those niceties you had to do
without are quite available if you know where to look and where to
shop. I haven't had to have anything sent in from the US in ages. I
just bought a Toshiba Satellite laptop in this third world country. We
just bought an Epson Stylus Photo R320 here also. I've found Jennaire
kitchen equipment, Viking stoves, Villeroy & Boch china, Mallorca
pearls, a great selection of Chilean wines, American and European
liquers, American meats, cheeses, spices, convenience foods, ice
creams, etc. We have Sears - with all the brands they carry in the US
including linens. Pricesmart=Costco - same brands as Costco plus bulk
local goods. Restaurants - Tony Romas, Applebee's, TGI Fridays, the
usual assortment of fast food franchises, Argentinian restaurants with
imported beef, a wide variety of Asian and Middle Eastern restaurants,
Cafe du Monde - yes a branch of the new Orleans establishment complete
with beignets and chicory coffee. Kitchen cabinetry - I can have it
custom built or I can by pre-fab from Sears, any number of home centers
(yes..they are calling them home centers and not ferreterias now)or
even Home Depot. Word on the street is Gutemala City is in line for the
next Latin American Wal-mart to be built.Yeah..we have do do without a
lot of stuff here.


>I know a number
> of Americans who did choose to retire to Central America, who became
> elderly and frail and had to return anyway, they are in US nursing
> homes, couldn't survive but a few months in what Central America calls
> a nursing home, those are much closer to very crude hospices. Central
> Americans don't go to hospitals to get cured, they go to hospitals to
> die.

Public hospitals are death traps. Private hospitals are a different
story with American and European trained doctors staffing many of them.
I don't know any Americans who return to the US for health care except
those who are using the VA...and IMHO VA hospitals are on a par with
central American public hospitals - death traps staffed by incompetent
boobs masquarading as doctors.

SD

cathyxyz wrote:
> Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> > "Sheldon" > said:
> >
> >
> >>Must you in every post remind everyone that you live in a third world
> >>country... WE HEARD YOU... everyone else participating in this thread
> >>lives in more advanced circumstances and is commenting from that
> >>general consensus... you on the other hand obviously have nothing
> >>appropriate to contribute, you're just being a juvenile pest with a
> >>desire to barge into adult conversation... your "Depends where you
> >>live." comment has long ago lost its novelty, its no longer
> >>appropriate, it's a put-down, it's ignorant, it's RUDE! If you want
> >>people to respect your life style choice stop harping on it... self
> >>praise is no recommendation. I for one have long ago figured out from
> >>your snide sideways comments that you are not happy with where/how you
> >>chose to live, you'd return in a flash if only you had the means.
> >
> >
> > Cathy was born in Rhodesia and lives in South Africa. She can't return to
> > a place she's never lived.
> >
> > Carol
>
> LOL. Thanks, Dams. Couldn't have said it better myself. Put it this
> way... the good news is: while he is picking on me, he is leaving
> someone else alone.... heh heh heh.
>
> --
> Cheers
> Cathy(xyz)

he can pick on me...LMBO..'cause I live in Central America and if you
read my reply to him you can see just how much stuff I have to do
without. I'll live without the Villeroy & Boch china...I can get it
here...just like in the US...but I don't need it!

Sandi

jmcquown wrote:
> Mark Thorson wrote:
> > Dave Smith wrote:
> >>
> >> kr_gentner wrote:
> >>
> >>> Most baked items are cheaper to make than to buy. You can also use
> >>> the flour and cocoa to make cake. A good selection of staples
> >>> allows you to make a wide variety of things. Add yeast and you can
> >>> make all sorts of breads cheap too.
> >>
> >> Some things just aren't worth the work. We have an Italiian bakery
> >> in our town that makes wonderful and sells it for $1.40 per loaf.
> >> With just two of us in the house, and my wife not eating bread, it
> >> just isn't worth all that work to make a batch of bread if I can
> >> pick up a loaf that is better than I can make.
> >
> > And then there are school bake sales,
> > where you can often find a REAL bargain . . .
> > :-)
>
> Um, don't you have to have children enrolled in the school in order to
> attend a school bake sale? This may not be the case all over. It wasn't a
> bake sale but in a fit of nostalgia when I was 30-something I stopped by my
> old high school to have a look around. I couldn't just wander around. I
> was directed to the office where I had to sign in and state my reason for
> being there. Long gone are the days of public "car washes" as fundraisers
> (at least not without a teacher or two or some parents present) and bake
> sales and "cake walks" open to the general public. There are just too many
> nuts running out there for whom schools are a major attraction.

If it is an in house, during school hours, probably yes - that you have
to be a parent, or employee of the school. If they are having it as
part of a holiday crafts fair, probably no. At least in our district in
the US, the holiday crafts fair and bake sale was open to the general
public. The crafts were genuinely high quality stuff - stained glass,
basketry, ironwork from a local blacksmith, etc. The school did the
bake sale. The craftsmen rented space and donated 10% of their sales to
the school district clothing closet and food pantry (we had 60% of the
students at or below poverty level at times).

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
>
> I don't make my own bread - raw yeast irritates my skin, and it's a
> LOT of time and hassle to do yourself because you've got to get
> temperatures right and knead it etc.

But obviously, and by your own admission you don't bake, so who are you
to have an opinion?!?!? duh Nobody! Nothing! Gar-Bage!

Sheldon

On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 19:56:44 GMT, (Curly
Sue) wrote:

>On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 14:29:03 -0400, Karen AKA Kajikit
> wrote:
>
>>Almost anything baked is better done at home... baking isn't the
>>arcane art that a lot of people seem to think it is - just follow the
>>recipe and put it in the oven and out comes a cake or cookies or a pie
>>or whatever...
>
>I disagree with that. First, let's be frank- not everyone who
>aspires to bake does everything (or anything) really well. Some
>simple things take practice and the right recipe. Major example:
>pies. They are not as simple as you say. The crust take practice,
>and fruit fillings are tricky if made with fresh fruit because the
>sweetness and juiciness of the fruit varies. You have to make many of
>these to get the feel for doing it; it's not just following a recipe!
>
Same problem with making biscuits. It is very, very easy to overknead
them and then have hockey puck type biscuits. It takes a very light
hand to make good biscuits.

That being said, homemade biscuits are cheaper and better than those
bought in a tube.

On 10 Sep 2005 13:37:57 -0700, "ntantiques" >
wrote:


>> Can you guys name other stuff?
>
>Soups. Besides tasting much better, they make the kitchen smell great
>while they're cooking.
>Nancy T

Stocks and broths, along these same lines.

I sometimes would buy canned broth, but soon found out that even a
cheap broth is more expensive than a good homemade broth/stock. For
the price of a chicken you can make much more broth/stock, plus you
can use the chicken meat (if you don't cook it to death) for
something else, such as chicken salad.

I found that for the amount I paid for one or two big cans of broth, I
could make at least double or triple that amount of homemade, and the
quality was much, much better.

Now, when I start a new traveling nurse assignment, one of the first
things I do is get a chicken and make stock. I then reduce it down,
and put it in ice cube trays, and it lasts the length of my whole
contract. Much, much cheaper!!!

Christine

jrkrideau wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>
> Hi Jill,
> What is a spiral-sliced ham? I don't think I've ever heard of one.

It's a U.S. thing. Store bought, usually honey-glazed, smoked ham. As the
name indicates it is pre-sliced after cooking, all the way around the bone
in a spiraling fashion. All the host needs to do is slice across the bone
to release the slices of ham. Takes away much of the work, which in a party
setting can be ideal. The ham may be gently reheated or served cold. An
image of one is he

http://www.honeybakedonline.com/HBOn...062:1159953371

Jill

wrote:

> I started making cornbread a while ago and found it's very cheap to
> make from scratch. You get a 4 lb bag of cornmeal for $4 and 4 pound
> bag of flour for $2 and some other stuff and you can make many big pans
> of cornbread.
>
> I just bought a can of Hershey cocoa powder for about $4.19, and OMG it
> goes a long way. You can make a cup of hot cocoa with only 2 or 3
> teaspoons of cocoa. That's a helluva lot cheaper than Swiss Miss, isn't
> it? I wish I had found this out a long time ago, cuz I would've had hot
> cocoa more often. I made a couple of batches of chocolate pudding and
> still have most of the cocoa left.
>
> Can you guys name other stuff?
>
baked beans
stewed tomatoes
just about anything I home can or freeze
flavoured vinegars
lasagne & most casseroles
99% of our meals

Sheldon wrote:
> Mike Pearce wrote:
>
>>Andy wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I don't know about cheaper but making fresh pasta is DEFINITELY more fun
>>>than boxed!!!
>>>
>>>Andy
>>
>>Making just about anything from scratch is more fun than buying it
>>pre-made.
>
>
> That's not true... when was they last time you ate meat that you
> gutted... I don't consider preparing a package of chicken quarters from
> scratch... I don't see the fun in gutting a chicken and then an hour
> later eating same. A package of chicken parts is more like cooking in
> kit form, same as paint by numbers. Today most all foods are purchased
> nearly prepared... you must be very young. I'm willing to bet most
> folks reading rfc have never gutted a chicken, many have never cut one
> up, or even touched one with bare hands. I've been invited to dinners
> where I was served reheated rotisserie deli chicken, served with the
> pretence of home made from scratch... the only from scratch was
> transfering it to a fancy serving platter, with tongs.
>
> Sheldon
>


You gotta pluck them too. BTDT, a *long* time ago.

Best regards,
Bob