Still Going Amish

One thing that I have definitely noticed since I was diagnosed with cancer is my complete loss of appetite for packaged processed food or drink.

I used to drink my share of soda and sweetened iced tea. Quite frankly I would never drink water. Now water is all that I drink. Soda just turns my stomach sour.

Barb has become quite the bread baker, from loaves of crusty French bread to English Muffins, the taste as well as the smells that fill the house are just incredible. Widely distributed bread brands pumped out in volume, in factories, just all taste like cardboard to me now.

I used to think nothing of microwaving a couple of Hot Pockets, or heating up a Tony's frozen pizza in the oven. What was I thinking? If I tried to eat any of those types of things anymore I would just feel sick.

We don't mind cooking. We feel it's worth taking the time to treat ourselves well, and to live healthier. Plus it can be a very creative and fun endeavor. And what better reward than to sit down and taste the fruits of your labor?

Cooking from scratch with fresh ingredients is just plain sexy.

Heating up a Hot Pocket in the microwave is not.

For the past couple of weeks I've been telling Barb that I'm going to start making my own macaroni salad. The macaroni salad at the butcher is good, and so is the macaroni salad across the street at the deli. It's fresh made. But it has a little too much egg for my taste. And it's expensive, around two dollars for a little container.

So yesterday I made my first batch of macaroni salad. Barb and I agreed. It was very good.

For the cost of a small container at the butcher, the deli, or the grocery store I made a HUGE bowl full. Now my only problem is having too much.

It was easy to put together. Boil some elbow macaroni. Mix it with chopped hard boiled eggs, onion, celery and carrots. Then stir in a sauce made of mayonaisse, mustard and vinegar, and voila awesome macaroni salad.

It costs me little. It took little time. And I've got enough macaroni salad to appease a giant family picnic for both sides of the family.

Our lives become so busy and so crazy that we don't have time anymore for the simplest of things.

We're still going Amish here. We're still supporting local businesses as much as possible, and we're still trying to return to a village concept of society. I see no value in letting large companies run the bakeries out of every town, as is now done. What have we gained by this? Well a few became rich. And we're eating stuff that tastes like cardboard and is laced with chemicals and preservatives.

Now I just have to get the homemade Detroit-style potato salad recipe from my Mom.

For a good laugh, check out this comedian's take on Hot Pockets.