Make do (even if you won't have to do without)

I love making do.

That might not come as a surprise because I'm a knitter. I always thought that the image of someone who knits was kind of a genteel hobbyist, someone who appreciates serenity and has great patience. My clever niece pointed out, though, and quite correctly, that knitters are more closely related to brave pioneers and subsistence gardeners. We know how to do for ourselves. By being involved in the creation of garments that most people never even think of as homemade — like socks — we tend to be a 'get down to brass tacks' kind of group. What does it take to make a thing happen? How do we take something and turn it into that very useful, or even essential, item?

The percentage of knitters who keep chickens, for example, is much higher than in the general population. (I'm basing this on my own casual survey of my knitting friends. I'll conduct a controlled scientific study the minute I have a minute.) We also tend to spin, sew, weave, can, hunt, grow our own vegetables and herbs, brew our own beer, collect rainwater for irrigation and reuse things more than most people.

I'll tell you, there's something extremely satisfying about thinking you'll buy something and realizing that you can make it yourself instead. It's way better.

So I'm actually fine with living on a budget. Of course, I'm also fine with never having to think about money and just buying whatever I feel like. But I find being thrifty rather fulfilling.

And besides, my name isn't Campbell for nothing.

And in that same vein, there are a few kitchen…well, staples isn't exactly the word. Ordinary ingredients might describe them, I guess, or at least not-exactly-exotic ingredients. There are some things you can make yourself that you might not have thought of. One is extracts. After using commercial orange extract to make some really disappointing Creamsicle Fudge, I investigated and learned that it's easy as pie to make your own, as long as you don't need it for a month.

You can slap a label on it. It doesn't have to be straight.

Homemade Orange Extract

What you'll need:

An orange or two, with a nice, bright firm peel
Vodka
Glass jar with a tight fitting lid

To make:

Wash the orange. Zest it (I used my handy Oxo Good Grips peeler), taking care to only remove the orange part. No white. Chop the strips of orange zest into smallish pieces.

Put the pieces of zest in the jar. Add enough vodka to cover the zest. Put the lid on.

Make note of the date. Your extract will be fragrant and ready to use in a about month.

This works with lemons, too. It's much better than most of the commercial brands, and a whole lot cheaper.

You can also make your own sweetened condensed milk. Personally, I'm fine with dropping a few bucks on Eagle Brand, but I also only use it sporadically. If I do buy it when I'm not planning a specific recipe, I all too often end up discovering the can at the back of the cabinet a few years later, after its "use by" date is long past. So it's nice to know I can make it when I need it, instead of having to make a trip to the grocery store. (Thanks to Dish Away blog for the recipe!)