Make the Bread, Buy the Butter

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn't Cook from Scratch--Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foods | Jennifer Reese

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Have you ever been in the drive thru for KFC and thought to yourself, "My great-grandma used to kill a chicken with her bare hands & serve it for supper! I'm pathetic!" If so, you may enjoy this one. After losing her job, Reese found herself focusing on the family grocery budget. Everyone always says that making it yourself is cheaper, if you only have the time - and now that she had time, she decided to see if the cheaper part was true. ⬇️

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) I found this book to be surprisingly readable. Reese's writing style is friendly & welcoming. She's frank about her mistakes & some of her stories were genuinely funny. She looks at a lot of different foods & discusses whether it really is cheaper/more sensible to make it yourself, providing recipes along the way. Sometimes she concluded it really does make sense to buy something already made (hamburger buns were the example ⬇ 4y

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) that stuck out to me) because the professionals really do make it better. Sometimes it really is cheaper to buy instead of make (raising hens, for instance, isn't really going to save you money on eggs, something I already knew from experience haha), but sometimes it actually is not only cheaper, but not that hard, to make things from scratch. Even before I read this book, I had committed to making our bread every week, & it's been ⬇ 4y

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) an experience I've really been enjoying. There are only two of us, so we only use a loaf a week. Every Sunday afternoon I bake the bread, we use it all week, & the stale bits turn into French toast on Saturday!!

This was a fun & engaging read that I totally recommend. I love how Reese gives each recipe a “hassle“ level & discusses her costs for store vs. homemade. Surprisingly enjoyable. 4y

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TEArificbooks Have you read Animal Vegetable Mineral? I loved that book too and it is similar. 4y

TheAromaofBooks @mdm139 - I haven't read that one yet!! I'll definitely check it out! 4y

TheAromaofBooks @mdm139 - Now that I looked it up - the author of this book references Animal, Vegetable, Mineral several times in her writing!! I recognized the author rather than the title haha 4y

robinb Wonderful review! Sounds eye-opening! 👀 4y

Scochrane26 I‘ve been through this with making soap. I‘ve bought homemade soaps for a long time from small businesses. My friend & I took a class once, & she & her husband got into making soap. We decided that for 1 or 2 people it wasn‘t cost effective unless you are going to sell it. So, I just continue to buy from vendors. 4y

Scochrane26 Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a great book & might make you want to go to her restaurant. I went a couple of years ago (it‘s about 4 hrs from me). @mdm139 @TheAromaofBooks 4y

TheAromaofBooks @robinb - It was really interesting!! Some of the things she experimented with aren't of interest to me (some of the fancier “restaurant“ dishes), but she also made me think of things that I do buy, & made me want to do my own experiments to see if it makes more sense to make them. She was by no means a wholehearted “always make it“ person - several times she concluded that it's just not worth the hassle! 4y

robinb @TheAromaofBooks I like those honest unbiased DIY books. And it‘s nice to get tried-and-true advice. 😊 4y

TheAromaofBooks @Scochrane26 - Yes! A friend of mine also was making soap for a while & just didn't find it cost-effective, although she said that if she ended up getting dairy goats in the future, it may be, since she was using it in her soap. It's the same with eggs - yes, it's great to have home-raised eggs instead of ones from factory chickens, but it really doesn't make financial sense to raise your own unless you're going to raise enough to sell also. ⬇ 4y

TheAromaofBooks @Scochrane26 - Of course, I just love chickens & find them hilarious, so mine are really pets who also happen to produce eggs haha 4y

janeycanuck We grow two big gardens of veggies every year and I spend almost all of August canning it all. People always comment about how much money we must save and I‘m always pointing out how much TIME we spend tending the garden and canning everything! 4y

robinb BTW, thanks for the inserts and extra goodies! 🦇 Beautiful as always! ❤️ 4y

TheAromaofBooks @janeycanuck - Exactly!! Many things of that nature are only money-saving if you value your time at $0 haha For me, the garden is a similar category to the chickens - I do it because I enjoy it, & the fact that I get something back is a bonus. I'm not very good at canning produce, though. 4y

TheAromaofBooks @robinb - Yay!! Glad it got there safely!! I always like to include a little treat for repeat customers & you have definitely turned into one!! 😊 4y

Freespirit Wow it sounds great! We have a farm so grow our own veggies, some fruit and nuts and have chickens for eggs. It‘s good for my soul as much as my purse..thank you for a great recommendation and review😊 (edited) 4y

TheAromaofBooks @Freespirit - I agree! Gardening & chickens make my life more fulfilled & I love feeling connected to the food I eat. This author didn't get too much into gardening, but she did talk about raising chickens & goats. Her conclusion was that if you're just doing it to save money, don't bother because you won't. But if you also enjoy having the animals, that is also worth something & should be taken into account. 4y

Freespirit Thanks😊 4y

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KarenUK

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn't Cook from Scratch--Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foods | Jennifer Reese

#aprella
This is a really fun book...
My hubby has Cystic Fibrosis and is a type 1 diabetic, so for me #dinnerfortwo is my way to take care of him the best I can...... with lots of food! (I‘m a bit of a Monica!)
He needs LOTS of calories and very low sugar, so I try to avoid hidden sugars in processed foods. I picked up this book to help with working out what I can make from scratch in the time I have!

Cinfhen, Reviewsbylola, emilyhaldi, Mdargusch

Cinfhen I‘ll be the Rachel to your Monica 😘great post ~ miss u 6y

emilyhaldi Wow good for you! This sounds like a lot of work but I‘m sure it‘s very rewarding 🍽 6y

julesG If you're the Monica and @Cinfhen is Rachel that'll leave me being Ross. 😁😁😁😁 That book sounds good. 6y

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KarenUK @Cinfhen 😘😘😘 6y

KarenUK @julesG 😂👍💕 6y

KarenUK @emilyhaldi some weeks I do better than others! 6y

Reviewsbylola He‘s lucky to have someone who cares enough to make such an effort. ♥️ 6y

Mdargusch I have this book but I haven‘t read. Such a sweet way for you to take care of your hubby! 6y

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