Whatcha Wanna Know?

"But...wait," someone inevitably asks. "What about beer?"

When I initially thought of Made It Myself May (which has to get acronymed - MIMM!), it was pretty straightforward. Everything I cooked for myself for the entire month would have to be stuff I made from scratch. Ever the carb-lover, my mind immediately went to recipes for bread and pasta. And then...it went to everything else. Canned beans or dried? Frozen vegetables or only fresh? How do I make tofu? And dear lord, what about Coke Zero?

As it turns out, my analytical friends and family were thinking along the same lines. Here are some of the questions I've been asked the most, as well as some of the ponderings I've been having.

Really, why are you doing this?
Honestly, I like a challenge. I think this is a good opportunity for me to be more self-disciplined, and I hope it gives me something interesting to think and talk about. There's a lot going on right now related to food and its origins - the push for healthier food in schools, the sudden burst of community farms and gardens, the First Lady's attempts to curb childhood obesity - and I'm interested in that. I also think this will help me establish some good habits that I hope I continue after the month is over.

Then did you plant a vegetable garden? Did you start pickling and canning things two months ago? Are you keeping chickens and cows in the backyard?
It's MADE It Myself May, not GREW It Myself May. While I'm definitely working hard to rely on fresh ingredients and things that aren't pre-processed, I also have a full-time job. I'm very lucky to work just a few blocks from a huge farmers' market, and Dara (my roommate/best friend) recently started a subscription to Farm Fresh to You, which means we get a box full of delicious, locally grown produce dropped on our doorstep every two weeks. (Please don't steal it.) I'm looking for milk and meat that don't have things added to them. And while my dad is angling for me to adopt a bunch of chickens, I'm pretty sure my landlord would frown on livestock.

Uh-oh. Does this mean no restaurants?
Absolutely not. Restaurants are still a-okay - within reason. I definitely can't afford to eat out every night, and doing so would sort of negate the whole purpose of this endeavor. So the occasional dinner out is fine, but every meal in a row? Nope. Additionally, certain items are off-limits. A cup of coffee from Starbucks is fine, but a sugar-free soy caramel macchiato? Delicious, and my favorite, but since I suspect it's full of the kinds of things I'm trying to avoid, I'm going to have to go without for the month.
But there is one restaurant I have to completely forbid myself from going to. I have to confess an absolute and abiding love for McNuggets and McDonald's french fries. They're salty and greasy and hot and crunchy - and run completely counter to everything I'm trying to do this month. It's over, McDonald's, but I promise it's not you, it's me. (Actually, it's a little bit you.)

If you come over to my house to eat, are you going to be all weird and picky?
Not even in the slightest - at least, no weirder than usual. This is my own challenge, but it doesn't extend outside of what I'm cooking for myself. I would love to come over to your house, and I'll even bring cupcakes for dessert.

So. What about ________?
The most important question, and the one I really have been asked most frequently. Everyone wants to know the "rules" of MIMM, and what happens if I break them. The easiest answer is that there really aren't any rules - because I'm making this up as I go along. It's easier for me to list the things that I won't make myself than the things that I will, because that list is significantly shorter.

• Ironically, while this all started with yogurt, I'm not going to be making most dairy and dairy-esque products myself. I'll buy soy milk and margarine. I don't have a dairy farm, and I'm not exactly set up to make cheese or butter. Plus, I don't want to accidentally poison myself. However, so many of you have pointed out that it's easy to make yogurt from scratch (usually by saying, "But I've made yogurt before!") that I'll at least make an attempt. I would like to point out, though, that my mom told me that she used to make her own yogurt - and then said that that's probably how she got salmonella. Awesome.
  
• I'm not going to be milling my own spices or flour, or mining my own salt.
  
• Dara and I don't want to battle swarms of bees on our ways to our cars in the morning, so a backyard apiary - and homegrown honey - are out.

But here's what I will be making: everything else. Pickles; tofu (millions of Japanese people can't be wrong!); mayonnaise; ketchup; mustard; bread; pasta, crackers;peanut butter; applesauce; frozen yogurt; fruit juice. I've decided that shelled nuts are fine, and that I'll be using only dried beans, not canned. Frozen veggies are only for an absolute emergency; there's no reason to let all that great produce go to waste. Any broth I want to cook with, I'll make myself, and canned tomatoes - probably the most frequently used product in my kitchen - are out. And finally, though it kills me to do it, I'm going to eliminate soda. I'm not calling it a challenge for nothing.

But seriously. What about beer?
Are you kidding? Beer and wine are in in in. I think I'm going to need them.

The Challenge

Apparently my life was too boring.

About a month ago, I was idly reading the ingredients in the yogurt I was eating as part of my lunch. There was milk, there were active cultures, there was...cornstarch? While I don't know a lot about the yogurt-making process, I know enough to realize that it doesn't have to contain cornstarch to look, smell, and - most importantly - taste like yogurt.

I told you. Boring.

This got me started thinking: I don't assert very much control over what goes into what I eat. I certainly spend a lot of time thinking about food - reading restaurant reviews, deciding where I want to go for lunch, making plans for dinner. However, I rely a lot on food that has gone through a significant preparation process before it gets to me. I use a lot of bottled sauces, for example, from Trader Joe's; I steam frozen potstickers; I make quick breakfasts with that nonfat egg stuff that comes in a carton. There's a lot of good that can be said about all of these products - they're convenient, quick, and tasty. But because they are so accessible, I've stopped thinking critically about what I cook and eat.

And that's how the Made It Myself May food challenge was born. For the month of May, everything I cook for myself - with very few exceptions - will be made completely from scratch. Yes, this means bread; yes, it means pasta. It also means tofu, mayonnaise, sauces, chicken broth - whatever it is, I'm making it myself. I really hope that this will help me become a better cook, and I hope it gives me a chance to think about what's in my food and how it got there. I'll try to post daily about my progress, and include recipes and pictures wherever possible. I'll also try not to eat omelettes every day for a month - but no promises on that one.