What food would you buy rather than make?

I do disagree with you about dried pasta though...good quality dried pasta made from durum wheat tastes amazing and if you buy the ones extruded through a bronze die then you also get the perfect slightly rougher surface. My favourite dried pasta brand is De Cecco, but I'm also happy to use Barilla and Garofalo. I steer well clear of the cheaper brands though.....anything not made with 100% durum wheat just isn't worth it.
Per your recommendation, I will have to give this another look. My experience has been one of uninspiring uniformity, but I'm happy to hear that there are differences out there. Thanks for that!
 
Per your recommendation, I will have to give this another look. My experience has been one of uninspiring uniformity, but I'm happy to hear that there are differences out there. Thanks for that!

The brands which are good are generally Italian imports so don't know how available in the US. They are more expensive but worth it...
 
The Italian markets we go to have a whole aisle dedicated to nothing but pasta and the vast majority of it is imported. I don't remember them even carrying Barilla until the last time we were there and I noticed it. I'm sure Detroit has an Italian community with similar markets. Even our regular grocery store has started carrying a couple of imported pasta brands.
 
The Italian markets we go to have a whole aisle dedicated to nothing but pasta and the vast majority of it is imported. I don't remember them even carrying Barilla until the last time we were there and I noticed it. I'm sure Detroit has an Italian community with similar markets. Even our regular grocery store has started carrying a couple of imported pasta brands.
Yes...there certainly are plenty of places I can look. I had stopped trying to look because of bad experiences, but I'm happy to learn that not all dry pastas are created equal.
 
I try to make most things from scratch but there are foodstuffs that I'm useless at making.

Bread
Pasta
Pastry
Soups (for sauces)
Baked beans.
 
The other things on your list I sort of understand - but soup has got to be one of the easiest things to make. What's the problem?

It's for sauce bases. We cannot get fresh cream here unless you count that stuff in an aerosol.
 
I would rather make than buy almost anything -- but, there are limits. Croissants, for example. I can make croissants just fine, but why? I can get perfectly good ones at the neighborhood bakery. So let them do what they do best. Likewise stuff like tofu, yogurt et al. If I can really do better than they do, I'll make it. If not, let them ply their trades.

On the pasta thing, I used to be a homemade pasta snob. But some of the types are a real pain to make and after reading Marcella Hazan, who is just fine with commercial pasta, I decided to focus more on the sauces than the pastas. If she's OK with store bought, so am I.
 
Oh - well that explains it.

I am intending to cook a chicken supreme in the very near future and, because of the unavailability of cream I shall use yoghurt or condensed soup, more likely the latter. There is a chance that my wife will like it!

The yoghurt will go in the chicken tikka masala this weekend.
 
I like tempeh, but I don't think I'd go to the bother or making it myself. Or, miso. At least as long as ConAgra isn't making either for me.

Since I know of a couple local bakeries that make breads without all the additives, I'd generally go to them if I want bread (which isn't as often as most people do, to begin with.) I have, however, made onion bread and so forth, in the past.

Right now, I'm actually working on making my own chickens and my own eggs (well, my chickens are making the eggs) so we will see where that goes!
 
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