Do they EVER cook from scratch? or garden?

[samira_catlover]

4 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

 

(snip)  I've been binge watching the BBC series on life in previous eras (Victorian, Tudor, etc) and after watching those I don't feel like I've ever cooked anything from scratch!  Ruth Goodman took the wheat that they'd grown and milled it by hand, hauled the water from the creek, milked the cow and churned the butter, raised the chickens that laid the eggs, prepared the milled flour for use, heated up a stone oven until she knew it was the right temp by the color and movement of the flames, raked the burning coals out of the oven and put the bread in to bake, sealed the oven door with dough to keep the heat in, and knew when the bread was done by the warmth of the outer stones.

Not to mention if you wanted powdered sugar spending literally hours with a mortar and pestle grinding it.  (snip)

Have you read Goodman's How to be a Victorian yet?  It rocks, and am seriously coveting the BBC-based books on the farms. Are the videos really that fantastic?---am kind of a dead-tree gal over here.

[PennySycamore]

My husband would like some sheep and chickens in our backyard and I have had to put my foot down.  Our backyard is not suitable at all.  It isn't too small for chickens but it does slope down towards our house.  All the crap from the chicken yard would wash down the hill towards the house when it rains and it rains often.  We do have neighbors who keeps chickens and my husband can get eggs from them, fortunately.  

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

1 hour ago, OnceUponATime said:

 

 if you read the comments the top comment says "we do have cows!"

 

Honestly, I don't believe it. I mean, these are the same people who regularly adopt cats and they're never seen again.

the most I can see them doing is what my friends parents do, which is they buy the rights to a calf. The farm raises the calf and when it's old enough, it's sent to the slaughterhouse and they get the meat. 

[maple802]

5 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Oh - just in case anyone can use a tip in this area...I can make a hell of a pie crust, but if pressed for time Pillsbury's in the refrigerated section is really good.  My gramma - who could bake like a BOSS - taught me that trick.  She was famous for her pie crusts but once she got older and had a tough time standing to roll out the dough she went Pillsbury and out of our entire ginormous family only her sister could tell the difference without being told.

They pass the fork flake test.  

My Grandma also taught me that trick. The secret to both my Grandma's and Pillsbury's pie crusts: LARD. Yep, I said it. Capital L-A-R-D. Makes the best pie crusts, IMHO.

[busdrivingmom]

1 hour ago, maple802 said:

My Grandma also taught me that trick. The secret to both my Grandma's and Pillsbury's pie crusts: LARD. Yep, I said it. Capital L-A-R-D. Makes the best pie crusts, IMHO.

I can tell the difference between vegetable shortening and lard pie crusts.  I think cause both grandmas, my mom and aunt used it when they made pie crust.  My hubby also hates pie crusts with lard, so I have a tough time finding one with vegetable shortening if I don't go to a whole foods type store.  I tried to make my own (with butter) and I need a lot of work at it.

I've heard about the pie crusts with lard are best, but I just can't eat it after the first bite.  

[sophie10130]

On the topic of lard, I think it's starting to come back into foodie fashion. Apparently it's better for you than Crisco. 

Crisco was created and to bump up sales (why buy Crisco when you can get lard?) they put out a smear (shmear?) campaign against lard and that's why people these days think Crisco is healthier for you than lard and that lard is gross.

Planet Money did a podcast called "Who Killed Lard?" and it's very interesting!

[maple802]

Yep, old Crisco had trans fats (and I think still technically has a trace) in order to make it shelf stable. Lard doesn't have any, being that it's perishable and must be refrigerated.  My Grandpa (Grandma's Husband, Mom's Dad) was a farmer.  He had a small dairy (30-40 head) and always raised a hog every year, along with a huge garden.  They raised most of what they ate.  

[Arete]

Some of my relatives with 2-4 kids and maybe a grand living with them subscribe to half a cow at a time.  Pay your money, wait a bit, get shipped the half cow in packages.  Last I asked before beef went through the roof it came to 3 USD a pound, an excellent price for the amount of ground beef, ribs, roasts, tongue, steaks, etc they were getting.  The taste is also superior to the supermarket cuts.

My great aunt would install a henhouse in a NY minute if her house was zoned for it.  Luckily, there are local farms around us so fresh eggs are very easy to get April through November.

I don't expect the Duggars to raise livestock, but I do expect them capable of cracking open a book or getting on the Internet and learning some healthy recipes.  I suspect the hay in the pictures above may be JB renting land to farmers.  A lot of states give property tax breaks for that.

[quiverofdoubt]

1 minute ago, AreteJo said:

Some of my relatives with 2-4 kids and maybe a grand living with them subscribe to half a cow at a time.  Pay your money, wait a bit, get shipped the half cow in packages.  Last I asked before beef went through the roof it came to 3 USD a pound, an excellent price for the amount of ground beef, ribs, roasts, tongue, steaks, etc they were getting.  The taste is also superior to the supermarket cuts.

My great aunt would install a henhouse in a NY minute if her house was zoned for it.  Luckily, there are local farms around us so fresh eggs are very easy to get April through November.

I don't expect the Duggars to raise livestock, but I do expect them capable of cracking open a book or getting on the Internet and learning some healthy recipes.  I suspect the hay in the pictures above may be JB renting land to farmers.  A lot of states give property tax breaks for that.

I didn't think books were allowed in their home? I've seen : the bible, the bible, wisdom booklets, their own books (20 and counting, a love that multiplies), the bible again, and those "waiting for prince charming books" and "chivalrous knight" books for the kids. Oh, and the bibles.  But other than that I've never seen a book.... i'm friends with lots of homeschool families. Typically, they are obsessed with learning and education and their houses are full of books of all kinds.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

2 hours ago, busdrivingmom said:

I can tell the difference between vegetable shortening and lard pie crusts.  I think cause both grandmas, my mom and aunt used it when they made pie crust.  My hubby also hates pie crusts with lard, so I have a tough time finding one with vegetable shortening if I don't go to a whole foods type store.  I tried to make my own (with butter) and I need a lot of work at it.

I've heard about the pie crusts with lard are best, but I just can't eat it after the first bite.  

I always make mine with butter (lard isn't easy to find where my parents live and I only make pies there, and my mom can't have soy anything so vegetable shortening is completely out of the question). It's super easy the way I do it, you just cut cold butter (like think straight from the freezer) into the flour and sugar until the pieces are coated in flour and about the size of peas or smaller, then add 2/3 cup of ice cold water to the mixture and squish it all together. It's a little time consuming to cut the dough cause I do it in my hands with a pairing knife (I start by slicing it before adding it to the flour and cutting it smaller), so I'll usually turn something on on the TV and watch it while I cut away.

2 hours ago, sophie10130 said:

On the topic of lard, I think it's starting to come back into foodie fashion. Apparently it's better for you than Crisco. 

Crisco was created and to bump up sales (why buy Crisco when you can get lard?) they put out a smear (shmear?) campaign against lard and that's why people these days think Crisco is healthier for you than lard and that lard is gross.

Planet Money did a podcast called "Who Killed Lard?" and it's very interesting!

Lard is actually really good for you, as is any animal fat. Crisco used to be lard, but they switched to shortening during the war and never switched back. 

1 hour ago, quiverofdoubt said:

I didn't think books were allowed in their home? I've seen : the bible, the bible, wisdom booklets, their own books (20 and counting, a love that multiplies), the bible again, and those "waiting for prince charming books" and "chivalrous knight" books for the kids. Oh, and the bibles.  But other than that I've never seen a book.... i'm friends with lots of homeschool families. Typically, they are obsessed with learning and education and their houses are full of books of all kinds.

Books lead to questions and questions lead to answers and answers lead to the devil. 

[PennySycamore]

I always make a pate brissee or pate sucree with butter.  I would sometimes make a lard crust, but lard is a not on the menu for a vegetarian.  My grandma did use lard though and she made the best biscuits ever.  Different fats lead to different pastry textures.  Butter yields a tender, somewhat crumbly but still flaky pastry while lard yields the flakiest of crusts.  Oil based crusts give a crumbly pastry which is not flaky at all.

[patsymae]

Didn't Jana and Michelle go to Weight Watchers? Is Jana still supposed to be watching her weight while everybody else pigs out on crapola?

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

1 minute ago, patsymae said:

Didn't Jana and Michelle go to Weight Watchers? Is Jana still supposed to be watching her weight while everybody else pigs out on crapola?

Jana apparently went for herself. She wasn't expected to. There's been a lot of talk about how she shouldn't have been allowed to, but I'm sure Michelle liked having an accountability partner. 

Anyways, as has been mentioned a lot in this thread: the older girls all eat salads and such. So it's not like Jana is all alone. Plus, they regularly chose their healthy foods off TTC and other shit, so I'm sure they they actually prefer it that way. 

[Gossamer1]

On 1/25/2016 at 4:02 AM, SoybeanQueen said:

Given that one can find a recipe for just about anything online nowadays, and probably even super-sized amounts of said recipe, it's odd that they seem to have the same canned crap all of the time. Surely one of them could purpose to find some new dishes on Pinterest!

On allrecipes.com there is an option to change the number of servings of a recipe. At least they used to, they redesigned their site and it's more cumbersome now.

They wouldn't even have to do any math!

[ALM7]

On 1/25/2016 at 6:33 PM, MoonFace said:

And these people time share a brain.   When it's their week to have the brain JB rents it out for the cash.    

@MoonFace, I think you've found our epigram!

[church_of_dog]

5 hours ago, AreteJo said:

I don't expect the Duggars to raise livestock, but I do expect them capable of cracking open a book or getting on the Internet and learning some healthy recipes.  I suspect the hay in the pictures above may be JB renting land to farmers.  A lot of states give property tax breaks for that.

My theory is that they grow some alfalfa or other feed on some of their acres.    The hay on that trailer is more than what would normally be brought out for a feeding unless it was a really large herd of cows -- to me it says "today was baling day".  Whether they lease the land and the tenant does the work, or whether they do it themselves, either seems possible.  The actual cutting and baling is only a few days out of each year (depending on how many cuttings they get each year, and on acreage, or course, but I doubt they have too big a spread) so I theorize that the boys actually do it themselves and then just sell the hay (if they don't truly have cows).

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

17 minutes ago, church_of_dog said:

My theory is that they grow some alfalfa or other feed on some of their acres.    The hay on that trailer is more than what would normally be brought out for a feeding unless it was a really large herd of cows -- to me it says "today was baling day".  Whether they lease the land and the tenant does the work, or whether they do it themselves, either seems possible.  The actual cutting and baling is only a few days out of each year (depending on how many cuttings they get each year, and on acreage, or course, but I doubt they have too big a spread) so I theorize that the boys actually do it themselves and then just sell the hay (if they don't truly have cows).

That is, of course, assuming they had anything to do with that hay. From what I could tell, there were no Duggars in that picture. They could very well have just taken a picture as they passed it. The Duggars aren't above pretending they're something they're not -- like a wholesome family that was able to build and furnish their house all on their lonesome -- so I don't think it's that surprising that they'd take a picture of something they had nothing to do with. 

[church_of_dog]

12 minutes ago, DuggarsTheEndIsNear said:

That is, of course, assuming they had anything to do with that hay. From what I could tell, there were no Duggars in that picture. They could very well have just taken a picture as they passed it. The Duggars aren't above pretending they're something they're not -- like a wholesome family that was able to build and furnish their house all on their lonesome -- so I don't think it's that surprising that they'd take a picture of something they had nothing to do with. 

Yes, you're right, it is making that assumption.  I know they're not beyond lying, but that would just seem so blatant if they really didn't have any connection to it other than the photo op.  I could very easily see them stretching the truth, though, for example if the tenant is the one doing the haying, and they boys "helped" by opening the gates, and maybe it took several people to roll each bale up a ramp, or secure the tie-downs, or whatever.  So in that scenario they did indeed help but saying or implying "the boys did the haying" is pretty much stretching it.

[CherylV]

On 1/25/2016 at 11:20 AM, church_of_dog said:

 

And 3) before long this wouldn't be so stressful as people would discover various favorites, or shortcuts (ie cooking in advance or for a few days at a time, for the foods that are conducive to that).  Or find some "one-pot meals" that have the veggie and the starch 

Yes! We are a family of 9 here with 5 teens. I cook real meals and have one kid assigned to help with meal prep and 2 more on cleanup. I often will double t have leftovers or freeze and when family is.visiting I do.Duggar sized cooking and it can be done - esp with that many big.kids who can help peel, chop, wash up dishes!  We use crockpots  and 9 do freezer meals a lot - doubled at least whatever the recipe was! 

I work from home part time as well - do the books/office work foe my husband's business but some weeks I am needed on site with him and for those days having the ability to start a crockpot or two is useful. There is no reason they can't do that!

[ALM7]

On 1/25/2016 at 1:33 PM, MoonFace said:

Even Josie is old enough to peel carrots and then have a bigger kid cut them up.

Hum... Perhaps Josie should be assigned another job, not involving food prep. If I remember correctly, she's a little licker.  She could wash the pots!

[ALM7]

On 1/25/2016 at 4:27 PM, HerNameIsBuffy said:

More science for ol' JB...I looooove broccoli and never understood how anyone could hate it until i learned that it's one of those things that tastes radically different depending on your genetics.  So to some people broccoli is bitter the way cilantro tastes exactly like soap to me and I can't believe anyone considers it a food.

http://www.livescience.com/39578-why-some-hate-broccoli.html

We could science up the whole project from dirt to table!

TASR38, comes in two types. People who have only one type or the other may be at the extremes — they are either very sensitive to bitterness, or don't taste it unless it's very strong. But most people are somewhere in between, having one copy of each type. Sourced from above link.

Interesting article, now I know why I like everything.  Well, except stewed okra and tomatoes, poured on white bread toast. My Grandma served it, and of course I gingerly ate it, she never knew of my aversion to slimy food.

OH NO...I just saw this article on the Live Science link. Earth's Mysteriously Light Core Contains Brimstone  http://www.livescience.com/51249-earth-core-contains-brimstone.html

There is a hell, and I'm going there in a hand-basket!

[ALM7]

13 hours ago, quiverofdoubt said:

So i do think it is naive to say "why don't they just raise xyz for meat?"

Well now, that convinced me! @quiverofdoubt, why must you be so logical lol.

I think I'll stick to my tomatoes, peppers, and herbs!

On a serious note: Thank you for putting it in perspective, very well said.

[samira_catlover]

9 hours ago, quiverofdoubt said:

I didn't think books were allowed in their home? I've seen : the bible, the bible, wisdom booklets, their own books (20 and counting, a love that multiplies), the bible again, and those "waiting for prince charming books" and "chivalrous knight" books for the kids. Oh, and the bibles.  But other than that I've never seen a book.... i'm friends with lots of homeschool families. Typically, they are obsessed with learning and education and their houses are full of books of all kinds.

*whimpers softly*  You ARE kidding about a DuggarDrought on books, right? (Remember, I've seen only a couple episodes, tops.)  How the heck do you keep kids amused, or backup just about any kind of skills teaching, without plenty of "print" material?

@ALM7: (snip) >>Interesting article, now I know why I like everything.  Well, except stewed okra and tomatoes, poured on white bread toast. My Grandma served it, and of course I gingerly ate it, she never knew of my aversion to slimy food.<<(snip)

Hon, you DO know that one serving of okra has enough mucus to meet the RDA for a week, right?

[Percy]

We live in the city so mainly have herbs in the garden and lettuce on the balcony.  We have chickens for eggs.  We cook a mixture of from scratch and prepared.  Tonight the vego child cooked risotto with bought stock, rice, mushrooms, onion, wine and butter and cheese. We bought bread rolls and had a salad of lettuce from balcony.  Both girls can follow a recipe.

I think the a Duggar older girls eat healthy, I think Ben has been an influence.  In the later shows there always seemed to have a salad option.  It was what they added to the salad.. I remember an episode with cucumber and the boys added salt and vinegar to their cucumber, a LOT of salt.  I don't think they know a great deal about good nutrition.

[PraiseDog]

Wow, such a wonderful discussion, love it!  So many great comments that I would want to quote, so I just went around upvoting all the great comments and ideas, instead of creating a big "wall-o-quotes."

It's true that gardening isn't as simple as throwing some seeds in the ground and hoping you end up with bountiful meals 3 months later (like the Nauglers seem to think.)  I've gardened for a couple decades off and on, but only really seriously for the past 6 years since we bought this property.  I still consider myself a beginner, but every year our garden is more and more successful, and every year I make different mistakes, research and ask experts how to make corrections, plan for the next year, and keep learning so much..  
Every year is different in terms of weather, rainfall, early or late frosts, etc...Better for some plants or trees than for others. I'm finally starting to figure out that gardening doesn't need to be a total crapshoot!   Simple things like making a cheap cloche out of baling wire and plastic shrink wrap - or pruning the apple tree at the right time - can make the difference between a freezer full of tomato sauce or apple sauce, or a field full of blackened, rotting crap.  My big source of pride this past year: I finally managed to raise some eggplants!  After 3 years of failing!

All this said, even several years ago when I started out cluelessly gardening by myself with a 4x12 community plot and minimal knowledge, except from other experienced gardeners who I asked for help. Thanks to them, I managed to raise:
1. Several large grocery bags full of carrots, definitely enough to thank my horses for their manure donations, after I learned from my gardening mentors how to compost all that shit.
2. Several huge broccoli plants, which tasted really good after learning the best time to harvest them.
3. One Zucchini plant, which kept producing, and producing, and producing! I learned that our local food bank likes zucchini at certain times of the year as long as we harvest them small, like the grocery sells them small.