Cooked and frozen beans. No reason I can’t cook and freeze dry beans, but mostly I don’t get around to it.
Chicken broth. I buy the boxes at Trader Joe’s, but wish I had enough time to buy chicken at my organic butcher and make enough to can each year. Maybe next winter? I make stock out of chicken or turkey carcasses when I have them, but we only eat a whole chicken or turkey a few times a year. (We are not big fans of poultry though we use the broth.)
Some cheeses: My sister learned to make cheese a couple of years ago and now makes mozzarella routinely and also some others. You can even use the whey from mozzarella to make ricotta. I will never, ever do this on my own though it seems like a lovely idea.
Vinegar: Colin Bevan, the No Impact Man, mentions making this from fruit scraps. I haven’t tried it yet. Have you done this? How did it turn out?
Baguette bread, pita, tortillas. I’m never making these, although I could. The available choices where I live are really tasty, locally made from good ingredients, reasonably priced and not overpackaged.
Power bars. My kids love Z Bars. I hate the packaging, the expense and the amount of sugar. I wish I had a decent recipe for something similar that my kids might actually eat. All alternatives I've tried have been soundly rejected.
Home canned salsa. Amy’s brand is the only store brand I think tastes good. It is also insanely expensive. If my kids had been in child care a few extra days this summer I could have made a year’s supply.
Frozen peas, frozen corn. The little plastic bags of organic are pricey. Peas would be way too much work, but I bet I could cook and freeze a year’s worth of corn in a few hours. You know, with all that spare time I have.
Condiments. It turns out that ketchup is my line in the sand. Ketchup is a junk food, and unusual or homemade ketchup just misses the point. So while I will not waver in my devotion to the yummy red sugar in a plastic bottle, I would consider making mustard. I’m capable of making mayo, but we don’t eat enough to bother. Ditto for pickle relish. Hot sauce might be worthwhile.
Beer. Somehow, though we live in California, Dave and I are beer drinkers (I like to think it’s my Wisconsin upbringing.) While it would be technically possible for me to brew and bottle beer at home, I think this would be contrary to the spirit of beer consumption, i.e. a wish to be lazy and relaxed.
Refried beans. I really should make and freeze these. We eat a lot of quesadillas, and refried beans are one of the only things we still buy in cans.
Canned tomatoes: Whoops, I went and made these this summer. We'll see how they turn out.
This leads to a bonus failure within a failure: in the first batch of canned tomatoes I accidentally added pectin instead of citric acid (similar-looking powder in a simila-looking jar.) So that batch will get used first and be extra gelatinous.
Sauerkraut. Yes, I like sauerkraut, and cabbage is really good for you and lacto-fermented foods are great and it’s never happening. Sheesh.
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