dead insect

I haven’t had a microwave for a couple of years now. Our last one broke and I made a point of not getting a new one. I wasn’t sure what the point was exactly, but I really enjoy not having one now.

One thing I really missed was microwave popcorn, so a couple of months ago, someone showed me to make popcorn from scratch for the first time since kindergarten. I’m now really obsessed with it and eat it all the time (3+ times per week), to the point where I can make it consistently, quickly and easily.

The point of all this is that the other day I ate microwave popcorn again for the first time in months. Without meaning to be snobbish, it’s very, very bad in comparison to pot+fire+oil+heat+butter popcorn. It’s on the same level of difference as a microwave burger (e.g. Rustlers) to any kind of real burger. So I tried to give the unwanted microwave popcorn to Dog, but he turned his nose up at it, at which point I realised that (a) that’s the first microwaved thing he’s ever been given and (b) that it must be really, really, bad.

There is also the point that microwave popcorn is 3-4 times more expensive than real popcorn, even after you factor in the butter costs.

I’ve also recently been inspired by Tristan’s homemade drinks and syrups, which I’ve been trying out, and seeing that often, the only difference between store bought and home made is a load of industrial processing and flavouring.

So my resolution is:
For cooking food at home, I will only use scratch-built ingredients. This applies to anything used in the quantity of more than a few dashes.

For example, I will only use scratch-built ketchup and mayo, but I am not going to ferment my own soy sauce or balsamic vinegar. It does not apply to drinks, and I also exempt bread, as I love crusty white bread and refuse to entertain the thought of frequently running out of it.

If I eat out or take out, it’s anything goes.

This shouldn’t be too hard, since I usually cook very simple stuff, and don’t even cook very often, perhaps 3-5 times a week. It also gives me an excuse to make more stuff, which over winter, tends to be spent more in the house and kitchen rather than shed or park.

Things I commonly use/eat in my kitchen that now need to be scratchbuilt or scrapped:
Frosties, Paté, Coleslaw, Jam, Walls Vienetta (joke), fish fingers (F*#K!!).

So there we go. I’ll keep updating on new things that I make from scratch, stuff that turns out very tough, or more things that I exempt myself from.

I also have other resolutions like cut my hair, stop spooning the dog, get some proper adult clothes, and stop being a wastrel, but those are all boring.

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