WARNING!!
**IDLE RAMBLINGS TO FOLLOW **
One result of being Winterized (ie: house-bound by the snow/cold and in need of a good 'stuff' fix) is that you have Way-TOO-Much time on your hands doing mundane chores... thus resulting in Way-TOO-Much random thinking...A couple of weeks ago, DH had surgery which left him completely house-bound, and me 'playing' nurse/maid for a few days. (Friends & Family Note: Not to worry... Out-Patient, Hernia - he's doing fine!) During that time I did Way more cooking (GASP!) than this girl has done in a long time. Now, anyone that knows me, KNOWS that I Bake. I do not cook. I do not like to cook. I enjoy baking. I like to bake. I Bake.
One night I was making 'homemade' zita - I've done this on numerous occasions - no biggie - even I can handle this one. I decided to look up some actual recipes on the computer to see if there was anything 'special' I should be doing with it other than the usual burger, pasta sauce, noodles, cottage cheese, spices, to zip it up a little - after all, poor DH had been suffering through my cooking for several meals now... The first recipe I came to had a list of ingredients a mile long!?! Upon inspection, I realized that they weren't using jarred 'Pasta Sauce' - rather, making their own with a can of tomato sauce and a bunch of spice. Not. I was fine with my jar. Was my 'jar' really that much more 'semi-homemade' than their can? What exactly defines 'homemade'? or even 'handmade' ?
What are Your definitions? Is it the number of pans dirtied? (Mrs. M!!) The number of hours spent? How much planning, time and heart went into it? Personally, I think definitions are changing with every generation - I know mine are different from my mothers! This is what 'The official' has to say...Definitions according to Merriam-Webster:
Main Entry: home·made
Pronunciation: \ˈhō(m)-ˈmād\
Function: adjective
1 : made in the home, on the premises, or by one's own efforts
2 : of domestic manufacture
Main Entry: hand·made
Pronunciation: \ˈhan(d)-ˈmād\
Function: adjective
1: made by hand or by a hand process
As defined by ETSY:
All items listed in the handmade Categories must be made by the Etsy seller;
Well that really narrows it down, now doesn't it? I guess we could all just go with 'Sandra Lee' and consider it Semi-homemade... hmphh!
Last Fall, DH passed the LEED Certification exam. If I am understanding it correctly (don't quote me!), LEED is an international system that governs the life-cycle of buildings (from concept to demolition) and their green 'foot print'. DH is a structural designer with a group of Architects/Engineers. How LEED effects them, is that in their designs they are allowed 'X' number of points for various categories (ie: Sustainable sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, etc...) - kind of a Weight Watchers Point system of sorts. Maybe a 'Homemade' points system is needed!.
... -1 pt.- I didn't make the mozzarella from scratch.... +1 pt. - shredding the cheese by hand ... 0 pt.- I didn't grow the tomatoes in my garden from seeds that I had saved from the previous season...+ 1/2 pt - recycling the glass pasta sauce jar, 1 pt for chopping up fresh onions, oh, + 3 pt - using all dried herbs from last years garden, and +1 bonus point for using meat that we KNOW is chemical free (purchased from our friend who's a 'hobby farmer').
Oh my gosh... I need a good garage sale - Soon.. PLEASE!!
(Valentine Hankie Photos are just 'filler' for lack of 'homemade/handmade' photos!)
4 comments:
OK, now my head hurts. I was with you right up until that formula stuff. Then I just started looking at all the pretty hankies!
Uhhhhh...I think we are all getting slap-happy from being home so much. I tend to think like Vintage Christmas said...I was looking at the hankies...
It's good weather for gals that like everything white...inside,outside, and all around the house..WHITE!!!
blessings,
glenda at serendipity cottage
How is your hubby doing? It sounds like your Maternal/Mothering instincts turned on after all!
I make "homemade" spaghetti sauce - but I use canned tomato sauce and paste. I don't grow the tomatoes and can them. But, I don't use the jar sauce either. I agree - "home made" just depends on your angle. These are not pioneer days where they had to grow the wheat, thrash the wheat, grind the wheat, make the flour, make the bread, bake it over a fire....OH MYGOD. I would have died at an early age because I would have slit my throat.
Spring junking is on the horizon. I can see it. Through the snow that is falling AGAIN! Stay safe ou there!
Shara
You are tooo funny. My husband is in the kitchen right now making stew. Short of butchering the cow, he makes everything from scratch which is good, as in yummy, and bad, as in there is a lot of clean up involved. My cooking is more like yours...great food but I like to keep the Campbell's soup company and kraft in business too. When I woke up this morning, the first thing I said was...well, I guess there will be no yard sales today...it is blizzarding here in Jersey.
♥, Susan
Post a Comment