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| What is a can of "cream of celery soup" if not celery gravy? |
From then on, I've been making my own "cream of" soups. Don't think it hasn't been a struggle. What could be easier than opening a can of condensed soup to get supper on the table asap?
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| Chicken Asparagus Casserole May not look like much now that it's gotten cool, but we liked it. One chicken breast and one leg made enough casserole for two meals. |
- If I believe in Pollan's essential message that home cooking like our great grandma's served up is the basis for good health, why buy canned soup?
- If I am sincere in my desire to reduce my packaging waste, why buy canned soup?
- If I truly believe that small economies add up to a better standard of living for my family, why buy canned soup?
Still buying it: Sweetened Condensed Milk
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| Sweetened Condensed Milk experiment I was so hopeful about! |
I made some cherry ice cream the other day and not having any sweetened condensed milk, I dug out my Aunt M's mock recipe I'd been meaning to try. Not "tasting as you go along"...BIG mistake!
What a waste of precious, hand-picked cherries...my cherry ice cream tastes like powdered milk. UGH!
Anyone have a sweetened condensed milk recipe that doesn't include powdered milk? Am I the only weird one that doesn't like to taste as I cook? (I only taste at the finish line and adjust seasonings then.)
And if you've got one, feel free to share your experiment gone wrong!
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| Looked promising but did NOT pass the taste test! |
9 comments:
I'm loving your "Not buying it" posts. I've been trying to slowly but surely increase my repertoire of homemade items that I used to always buy canned or jarred. Recently I've stopped buying both barbeque and enchilada sauce. It's been awhile since I did a "not buying it" experiment, though and you've renewed my inspiration!
I haven't bought cream soup in quite a while. It's not hard to make my own with whatever thickener is handy. Flour, cornstarch, potato starch, Mochiko (sweet rice flour). They all work a little differently, but all work well, and all taste better than canned.
As for sweetened condensed milk, I have a recipe I've never tried. I don't use a lot of it to begin with, so I just go ahead and buy it. It's a little pricy, I think, and a little processed, but the ingredient list is short and real: just milk and sugar.
I am a huge Pollan fan and a former start-with-a-can-of cook myself. Homemade is so much better in countless ways I know you are familiar with. I can't imagine it any other way now.
I can't help with the condensed milk recipe as I have never used that item before, but good luck in your quest!
Thanks for the post and have a great day!
I am real bad about buying soup. I know I could make it, just never have. I do like to make casseroles too because they take so little meat.
I have a condensed milk recipe I have made dozens of times to the tune of utter failure. I will post it sometime when I can find it.
@melissa, thx! I look forward to seeing what recipes you come up with!
@Annie, your recipe sounds like a winner to me! I'll have to experiment with making and canning my own...to have on hand for ice cream of course!
@BLD, you said it: "countless ways," yup, that says it all!
@Becky, that's why I'm a casserole fan too!
@Practical, look forward to seeing your post. As always!
i heart michael pollan too! :) just finished omnivore's dilemma days ago, actually, but it was one of those i might have been seen reading years ago. i love this post and the thoughtfulness that goes into this stuff. i grew up with can-of-cream-of-soup recipes so this has been huge for me too, but i found that with this skill, i can now make the meanest (in a good way) chowder, which comes in quite handy in a coastal fishing town. or for using up freezer veggies- just ate corn/collard green chowder for lunch on that theme, actually. :)
@mb, I've made a few bisques lately, which I guess is the same as a chowder. or is it the sherry that makes it a bisque? And you're right, I love learning a new technique that translates to yummier home-cooked foods. soo envy you living in a coastal town!
Hiya,
I too am a no taster as you cook, it doesn't occur to me. the only thing I try is pasta to see if it is cooked.
I used to love cream of mushroom soup in a can. And then I tyried making it with fresh mushrooms added and more stock. That was nice too but now I make it only with fresh mushies and chicken or veg stock that i have made myself. Far superior.
Dayla
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