Who Knew Homemade Could Be So Easy?

Yesterday I realized that I am becoming quite the "Susie Homemaker."

It's been slowly emerging since last year when I finished hiking (see my hiking blog) and became the work-from-home, self-employed member of the household. My flexible schedule allowed me to take on the role of primary cook.

I had to brush up on my cooking skills, expanding my repertoire beyond the one-pot, rehydration meals I ate on trail. Early on, I discovered the crock-pot and have been trying different recipes once or twice a week since then. (Thanks for the crock-pot cookbook, Mom!)

Through the hiking group on Yahoo, I learned of the preserving-food group, also on Yahoo. (The two are related, as we hikers eat better on trail when we dehydrate meals cooked at home.)

On the preserving-food group, I learned about Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and, even before the book arrived, I bought a baking stone and successfully made bread, pizza crust, and English muffins from their boule dough (their online video showed me how). No kidding, it's super easy and fast! That's because it breaks from the traditional expectations for making fresh bread at home--no more kneading, rising, punching, and incantations. You make a batch of dough one day, and take from the batch as needed. It keeps in the refrigerated for up to 14 days. The English muffins were so delightful that I won't be buying the $2.99 Thomas' any time soon!

On the preserving-food group I also saw the 5-minute chocolate cake recipe that I'd seen somewhere before on the internet. This time, I tried it. OMG, a fabulous cake! And, just the right size to share with a friend and leave no guilt-ridden leftovers. Even better, members of the group suggested varying the recipe to make muffins and cornbread. I tried the cornbread today--it will take some trial-and-error to perfect, but it was pretty darned good!

As I made this week's grocery list, I included taco seasoning. Then I had the idea to Google "homemade taco seasoning," and sure enough there were two recipes for homemade taco seasoning, each requiring ~8 ingredients that are already in my spice cupboard. Awesome!

I can't really claim to be Susie Homemaker, based on the infrequency with which I use my vacuuming skills. But, I am having so much fun, feeling empowered and saving money by making quality, tasty food at home. I had no idea it was so easy!