Hello?....Hello?.... run.... run for your lives!  Warning...read at your own peril. Cranky person in the kitchen today - Lord have mercy!
There are three things I would like to share today. Okay, confession time. I am mad at myself, and this was my own *!#% fault!  This post is not about a recipe, but about making life easier in the kitchen when you have had a long day, or are too tired to cook. And it is about Real Food.  First, let me say I make everything from scratch, everything.  Correction....I will not make homemade mayonnaise.  Why?  Because I am a mayonnaise freak.  If I made homemade mayonnaise, I would no sooner pour it into a bowl, then I would grab a spoon and eat it all.  Seriously, I would.  I need to have some self discipline in life somewhere don't I?  So, no homemade mayonnaise in this house, although, I do dream about it.  Nope, not gonna go there, just not.
So now for the confession part. The other day, after a long day, I just did not want to cook. We rarely eat out because most restaurants serve industrialized, hormone/antibiotic filled meats.  Therefore, the more I cook from scratch, the better I like my own food.  There are days however, when I really, really miss the convenience of being able to go to a restaurant and eat a good meal.  Here is what happened this particular day:
I had taken out Hormone/antibiotic free ground turkey to defrost thinking I would make meatballs and pasta.  Lo and behold what did I see at the back of my pantry? One lowly jar of organic pasta sauce.  I cringed.  It was from yesteryear.  I checked the date, and it was still good.  So what did I do?  I used  it.  Well, lesson learned.  It was okay, bordering on lousy, but  never again.  I do not care how tired I am, I will make homemade pasta sauce and freeze it.  I can not believe there was actually a time when I thought this stuff tasted good!
I have a huge repertoire of pasta recipes...Ina, give your head a shake, what were you thinking?
Mercy...then I watched JAIMIE'S FOOD REVOLUTION, L.A.  I am still trying to catch my breath.  Wow!  Have you watched it?  If you know me, you know I am a huge Jamie Oliver fan.  Love his food, love his cooking shows, so - so love his movement towards real food.  This is worth watching:

Then it gets even better.   I happened to check out the lovely blog Mrs. Ed's Research and Recipes (thanks Mrs. Ed!)..she had a link to this youtube video, which could not say it any better:

I salute Jamie Oliver and so support all of his endeavors.  I am behind him all the way.  Go Jamie Go!
I salute this eleven year old...yeahhh! Out of the mouths of babes...bless his heart! There can not be enough said about naturally raised meat, vegetables, fruit...food to sustain us, food that is healing and can be so abundant if we are willing to produce it in a natural way.
The same goes for homemade food, nothing will ever taste as good.  Just like the homemade Ketchup recipe from Chef Michael Smith.  Or how about homemade BBQ sauce, or homemade chicken stock, or homemade Gluten Free Bread or Pancakes, or Muffins or homemade salad dressings? And the list goes on and on.  And honestly, when it comes right down to it, it is about being organized. So if I want homemade delicious food, I have to make it myself.  I will have to plan ahead, freeze what I can to make life easier when life gets hectic.  And the best thing.....it is always way more delicious than any package or jar could deliver!  This is about REAL FOOD.  Real food not filled with chemicals, and words we can not pronounce...
So...I ask you:
How do you make life easier in the kitchen when you just don't feel like cooking?  Is Real Food important to you too?
p.s.  thank you for letting me squawk...I feel better now...mercy!