You like it, we make it.

So today I took a new friend shopping at the supermarket. After my car being out of order for three months, I have it back and I was ready to assist a new-comer. We arrived at the store this morning to discover new ways to make old recipes.

As we meandered through the aisles, she would ask me things like, "Where do you get such-and-such?"

"We make it," I would simply say.

A few minutes later she would again repeat, "Where can I get..." and I would again calmly reply, "we make it."

I realized that I sounded like an I've-been-here-two-years-and-know-everything type of person, but it's true. If you like it, we make it. When I first moved here, I homemade chili. That's about it. I have always been a cookie aficionado, but meals were somewhat hard to execute. Now I make things beginning with a roux (that's a French word for butter/flour) including cream soups. I make my own bread, sorbet, and hummus. I don't balk at making Greek, Indian, or Asian food. My heart skips a beat when I think of my food processor, my rice cooker, or my crock-pot. Who knew?

So today, in the spirit of making things from scratch, I tried making soft pretzels. Oh-my-word! They were sooooo delicious. I invited an old friend to come enjoy them with me because she too appreciates the toil of our home cooking.

Though I still prefer things that come fresh from the farm, I found the complimentary side to the pretzels was melted Velveeta, which has no natural origin at all. I guess there are some things that can't be made.