Saturday, March 7, 2009

Made From Scratch

This book was written by a woman in her late twenties who takes you through her experiences in "discovering the pleasures of a handmade life". She recounts the let downs as well as joys in her trial and error approach to bee keeping, chicken raising, dog sledding and other homemade adventures. A fun to read story that I recommend you take a peep at if you are interested in this type of lifestyle.

Ever wonder where the term "made from scratch" originated? Me too. Try this answer on for size: This use of scratch derives from a line or mark drawn or scratched into the ground to indicate a boundary or starting-point in sports, especially cricket and boxing. That meaning of scratch goes back to the late 18th century. From there it came to apply specifically to the starting point, in a handicap, of a competitor who received no odds: "Mr. Tom Sabin, of the Coventry Bicycle Club, has won, during last week, three races from scratch." (Bicycle Journal, August 18, 1878). It was later applied figuratively with the meaning "from nothing", and it was used thus by James Joyce in Ulysses (1922): "A poor foreign immigrant who started scratch as a stowaway and is now trying to turn an honest penny." Thereafter it was taking up in cooking once boxed mixes and prepared foods became widely available. Today it is a badge of honor to be able to say one made a culinary delight from scratch.

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