Food! Glorious Food!

     Food is an amazing thing. However, we live in an age of the packaged everything. We often forget the truth: food is never more glorious than when it is made from scratch.

There's No Taste Like Home is all about making foods you would normally buy in the grocery store from scratch. Explore the recipes and find out how much better food can be when you make it yourself!

Why you should make your own bread

Today, people hardly ever bake their own bread. This is a shame. Bread is so readily available at the grocery store, and there are so many choices, that people don't even think twice about picking up a loaf on every trip to the grocery store. However, if you do this, and never make your own bread, you are missing out. There are a lot of reasons that homemade bread is better than store bought. Here are a few:

• Lower Cost: An initial investment in flour and yeast will make you a bunch of bread, and the price works out to be significantly less than store-bought
• Healthier: Bread should only contain flour/grains, oil, sugar, salt, yeast and water. Most store-bought breads contain many more ingredients than this.
• Freshness: There is nothing like eating a fresh slice of bread right off the loaf. Even if you keep the bread for a week before finishing the loaf, chances are it is fresher than any store-bought bread, which is baked, packaged and transported on a truck to the store before you buy it.
• Taste: There is a distinct difference between homemade and store-bought bread. You have to taste it to understand. Trust me.
• Smell: Nothing makes your house smell better than baking fresh bread. The yeast gives the house a wonderful smell that just makes you feel warm and cozy inside.

You can either make bread with a bread maker, or knead it by hand. Though a bread maker is less work, I believe everyone should knead their own bread at least once. It is satisfying to eat a slice of bread knowing you did all the work by hand, and kneading bread is also a great stress reliever. Baking bread is a great activity for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, and then you have a fresh loaf to use for toast or sandwiches all week. (P.S.- If you are looking to make a delicious sandwich, consider spreading some hummus on your homemade bread).

Get Bread Recipes

Canned Soup Isn't Worth Your Money

Let's face it: canned soup is inferior. You can't make something that needs to survive without refrigeration for months taste as good as homemade. No matter how much you pay for your can of soup, it won't be worth it. Canned soups are laden with sodium, MSG, weird chemical names I can't pronounce, and more. Plus, they pick up a distinct "canned" taste. Once you have homemade chicken noodle soup, or chili fresh out of a crock pot, you will never be able to go back to a can. And you wouldn't want to.

Don't be scared of making your own soup. It isn't hard at all. Most soups simply require a bit of chopping, stirring and simmering. And if chopping is too extreme for you, you can use pre-chopped frozen vegetables, and the soup will still be miles above canned.

When you start making your own soup, you will be tempted to use canned broth (boxed isn't much better). Although this is convenient and quick, I encourage you to make your own broth. It takes very little time, and you will notice the difference. My family sometimes eats the rotisserie chickens that you can buy at the grocery store. Once you eat the meat, these are perfect for broth. Simply place the bones, skin, and any other miscellaneous parts in a large pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, then simmer for a few hours. Then, all you have to do is strain the broth into a different container. It is really that simple!

So please, don't waste another bowl of soup on a can. Make a big pot over the weekend, then heat up leftovers for lunch all week. Your taste buds will thank you.

Get a Soup Recipe