Here's a true story....

early 1980's, my teenage son had a friend to sleep over and the next morning I made them waffles, in an old waffle iron that I had picked up at a Goodwill store for 25 cents 10 years earlier..one of those marvellous big heavy all metal ones, ( still have it, btw)

The friend raved and raved about the waffles, and asked me what "brand" they were.

I brought him into the kitchen and showed him the waffle iron and let him "make" one.

He said he had no idea you could make waffles, all he knew was the frozen kind.
Then I pointed out the butter and syrup were also home made.
He stated at me like I was an alien or something, but later on my kid said I now had a reputation for being "way cool".

I found it all kinda sad.

then don't ever watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution:

I really liked that story. But, I was all set to get your recipe for tofu, darn it!

I have to buy it in the 1 lb cube. You got a better way???

I got the original recipe out of an old cookbook called Laurel's kitchen, that goes back to the 70's.
I bet an online search for "homemade tofu" would yield results.

To be frank, I am the only one who eats tofu in the house now, so I just break down and buy it.

I do remember that recipe. I thought it (at the time) to be too involved.

But, I have always loved making the mayonnaise recipe from there, plus a few other cherished ones.

Damn!

and yearh, making tofu is involved. Basic steps, but takes time.
I did all the homemade stuff cause I was on my own schedule running a small organic farm.
Discovered how to make butter in a blender, too.....

It's what she grew up eating.

Just so she knows.


Cher

Which I stole from James Beard's Pasta book, with some adaptations

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon Tabasco
½ pound macaroni elbows or double-elbows
½ pound grated cheddar
4 oz grated parmesan/asiago/pecorino romano
Some panko for a topping

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cook and drain the macaroni while making the sauce. Put the macaroni in a buttered baking dish.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, and stir it with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes, until the roux is frothy and the taste of raw flour is gone. Meanwhile, heat the milk in another pan or the microwave. Add the warm milk gradually to the roux, stirring all the while. Turn up the heat and cook, stirring, until the sauce is just at the boiling point. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for a few minutes. Now add the pepper and Tabasco. Don’t be afraid of the Tabasco: it will help to bring out the taste of the cheese.


Mix the grated cheeses into the simmering sauce. As soon as it melts, combine it with the drained macaroni. Sprinkle the top with the panko, and bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

and I thought I'd made it up. LOL. I do a couple of things differently. I sauté a little bit of finely diced onion in the butter before adding the flour and also add a little brown mustard to the sauce. I don't use Tobasco at all. Now I'm craving mac & cheese.

in place of prepared mustard. I just had some leftover mac & cheese for lunch.

Funny thing, everyone always raves about my mac & cheese, but my 8 yr. old nephew won't eat it because it's not the kind in the blue box and because I use white cheese instead of orange.

A long time ago I bought one of those blue box meals because I wanted to taste it since so many people are hooked on it. Yech! It's horrible.

I tried the Creamy Macaroni and Cheese made with cottage cheese. The flavor is great but it had a bit of a grainy texture. I'm not sure if it was that I didn't puree the cottage cheese in a blender (I used a stick blender) or if it was the pre-shredded cheddar I use (since it was already in the refrigerator). I added a bit of minced garlic but otherwise followed the recipe except for using the fat free milk we had on hand.

I'll make it again, though I might use ricotta instead of cottage cheese. One thing I really liked about this recipe is that I didn't have to cook the pasta before mixing it in. Frankly, the pasta texture was better the second day than the first - I guess I should have cooked it a little longer.

Tonight I made the Katherine Hepburn Brownies. All I can say is YUUUUMMMMMMMM! And that is with really old Hershey's Cocoa. I'm trying to use up all my old cocoa so I can buy some better brands.