Homemade: How Far Is Too Far?

I like to cook, especially for other people. It's fun to try new things, and it's always rewarding to be complimented on something you've made that other people have enjoyed.

And I always make things from scratch.

I grew up in a house where nothing was made from a box, particularly baked goods. Brownies were about all, because the boxed ones get that sugary film on top that scratch ones don't have. We never made boxed cake mixes, never got frosting from a can and never had cookies-in-a-tube.

We were a little more lenient with non-dessert foods. Growing up, I ate my share of Rice-a-Roni and Stove Top Stuffing. Still, we never actually stuffed anything with Stove Top Stuffing, and I could probably count on one hand the times my mom served instant mashed potatoes.

So now that I am grown up and on my own, I have adopted the from-scratch philosophy. Everything tastes better when it's made from scratch, and it's not like it's that hard.

I've taken a fair amount of flack for this habit of mine. A former roommate, upon seeing my contributions to the pantry when we moved in, mumbled "guess we won't be baking cookies together" and told me she was going to teach me how to embrace the convenience food.

I made a boxed cheesecake recently and proudly showed it to her, but a week later, I broke down and made a real cheesecake with a fresh strawberry glaze and vanilla sugar.

Guess which tasted better.

It's not that I disparage the convenience food. It has its place in today's society, and I fully admit to buying up the Velveeta Shells and Cheese when it goes on sale. But I don't see what's wrong with doing a little bit of extra work for a lot of extra taste, also eliminating excess sodium and preservatives.

Yesterday, I was in Trader Joe's (one of my favorite stores in the history of groceries), and I grabbed some pita bread with a mind to eat it with hummus. I bought the hummus too, if you must know. But I did linger in the canned foods aisle for a moment, wondering if I ought to just buy some chickpeas and make some myself.

You know what would be really good, I thought to myself as I carried my purchases out to my car. I should brush this pita bread with a little olive oil and spice it a little and bake it to make pita chips.

Then I started to get a little scared, because my next thought was, I wonder if it's possible to make pita bread at home. Darn! I should have just gotten those chickpeas. Why didn't I get the chickpeas?

Am I a little crazy here?

Yes, homemade foods are definitely better, but how far is too far? Today it's just chickpeas, but tomorrow, who knows? Pretty soon, I'll start raising cattle in the garage so I can have tastier, fresher steak.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'll have to ponder it over my lunch of homemade black bean soup which I froze in individual containers for healthy, convenient and tasty meals.

And some store bought chocolate pudding.