Proposed Experiment

Proposed experiment:
Not buy food that I can make

I guess as an attempt get my life back into a little bit of a routine (or as some say, re-entry shock), I am formally proposing this experiment. Why?

Well, 1) I study food systems, and to say the truth, supermarkets and their “illusion of a million products which are actually all made from the same things” mentality disgust me right now (especially after living for a while where all the food was pretty much harvested within walkable distance). So this is my way of exploring an alternative and saying “screw you” to over-processed/over-packaged food.

2) I really love playing around in the kitchen (mm…don’t take that the wrong way). I love trying out new recipes (but only for myself, since 90% of the time, I’m the only one who thinks the food tastes great. I have an amazing ability to like everything I make :P). I don’t think it would be so hard to make most of what I enjoy buying from the supermarket.

3) I did a similar thing last year where I didn’t eat any kinds of pre-made candy/junk food. I had to make all my chocolate cakes, chocolate truffles (oh dear goodness…), and whatever candy I was craving at the moment (which was usually just chocolate :P). I even stopped eating ice cream for a long time!

4) I want to see how much I can push the limits of making my own food. Some ideas right now include making my own cheese (well just the simple ones, nothing like what I did for a few days in the Swiss Alps), my own chapatis (I’ve been wanting to try ever since I got back), my own bread, ugali (? not sure if I can get the suitable maize flour?), Chinese salted duck eggs etc etc.

So here’s the deal.

1) I will try to use the most basic ingredients. i.e. I will use flour, and not grind my own from wheat. I, after all, can’t devote my life to this.

2) I promise (promise promise promise) I will update once a week about a new thing I tried on the weekend. It could be a dish, or a night’s dinner I threw together with leftover ingredients, or just a recipe I’m researching. (I’m a student, and life is extremely busy right now). So watch for updates :)