Made from Scratch Challenge!

So I recently came across a series of posts over at TheKitchn.com that discuss a question I have about many foods: make it from scratch, or buy it? I always prefer making from scratch because I like to know what is going into my foods as much as possible. Sometimes I feel like the "prep" part of my cooking takes a lot longer than traditional recipes suggest, but to me it's worth it.

Over at TheKitchn they discussed several items, and I dug through them for some items I've rarely (or never) attempted to make, which they suggested be made from scratch. I'm going to attempt to make each of these items, and I'll report my success and tips in future posts. The things I will be making from scratch includes:


Pie Crust
I'll admit I've made pie crust before. I especially love Martha Stewart's Cheese Short Crust. However, I've only ever used it to make her Cherry Tomato, Bocconcini, and Zucchini Pie (hint: Bocconcini is basically fresh mozzarella, I had to google it the first time I made the pie!). I've also purchased my fair share of Pillsbury's frozen Deep Dish Pie Crust. It works just fine for my pies and quiches, and (despite what TheKitchn says is typical for frozen pie crusts) I don't find it to be crumbly. I'm excited to make my own pie crusts to freeze for more regular use, because they will take up less space in my freezer and be tastier than purchased crusts! To be honest, I don't even have a pie pan, so before I start baking the crusts I'll have to purchase one!


Pasta
Now this is something I've never made, but have always thought would be fun to do. It does, however, seem incredibly labor intensive. To make matters worse I don't have any of the fancy pasta-making tools like a roller machine, so I'll be rolling mine out with a rolling pin. Because of this I will likely make a pasta that is typically left a bit thicker than usual. It will still be fun to try fresh pasta, which I've never eaten or made, but I'll leave this for a time when I can devote a couple of hours to making the pasta and cleaning up all the flour from rolling it out!


Sandwich Bread
I have attempted to make bread before, and I have terrible luck getting dough to rise. I've considered buying a bread machine simply because I've had such poor luck with making bread from scratch, and the taste of fresh bread is just unbeatable! When I was a child my mother would take my brother and I shopping with her, and we would always stop by a fancy international import store for my parents coffee. My mother would let my brother and I each select one item that was less than $1 to have for ourselves. My brother almost always selected a gorgeous and delectable chocolate truffle, and without fail I would always get a fresh warm mini baguette. The bread isle is still my favorite place in the grocery store; it just smells delicious to me! I'm going to attempt the no-knead recipe suggested by TheKitchn and see if I'm successful, but if not I'll be keeping my eye out for a bread machine!


Beans
I've made lentils from scratch, does that count? Probably not. My family almost always uses canned beans, but my mother will occasionally whip out her pressure cooker and make a batch from scratch. I've never tried, and I've never seen them made in a pot. I'll likely give that or the slow-cooker method a try.


Cheesecake
Cheesecake is something I've never attempted to make myself in any fashion, not even the store bought mix. I have chocolate graham crackers in my pantry, and a fairly steady supply of fresh eggs right now, so I'm excited to make and try a homemade cheesecake. Though I've gotta get a pie pan before I start this as well.


Ketchup
I've never considered making ketchup from scratch. It's just one of those things that you just buy, you know? I'm also not crazy about the fact that the ingredient list includes canned pureed tomatoes. It almost seems like cheating. I think that making ketchup from scratch when you're overrun with fresh farm tomatoes in the summer sounds like a fabulous plan, though. It make take me until next summer to attempt this one, but this winter when I'm selecting and purchasing my seeds (from the Seed Savers Exchange) I'll be keeping this in mind! 


Cake
I've made cake from scratch before with fairly decent success, but I certainly haven't mastered the skill. My supervisor at work makes the most amazingly beautiful and tasty cakes for people's birthdays, and I'm talking seriously amazing cakes here people! For my birthday last year she made a chocolate cake with raspberry compote filling and chocolate frosting. She's also made cakes with cheesecake inside, chocolate ganache dripped over the top, and she makes an amazing coconut tres leches cake! While I tend to make cakes from a box, I always make butter cream frosting from scratch. It will be fun to try making a rich and moist cake from scratch to go with the homemade frosting!