The Things I Don't Buy

On bringing things In-House

Aug 25, 2025

I am by no means a frugal person. Quite the opposite, actually; I wish I had been given the gene that makes it hard to hand over my hard-earned dollars. Instead, I have the gene that makes me exclusively attracted to expensive things. That being said, there are a few things that I don’t buy. I’ve previously written about my unwillingness to pay for salad dressing, and this week, as I was making pickles, I realized that the list of things I’ve brought “in-house” has become substantive. It was a minor revelation for me because I used to subsist entirely on Trader Joe’s pre-packaged and frozen food. Frozen orange chicken, microwaveable rice, quick-boil ravioli, you name it, I ate it — with gusto! There’s no shame in eating any of those things, but in a world that depends on abstraction and separation from labor, food presents an opportunity for me to get closer to the work it requires to fuel my life. Sourcing, ideating, chopping, cooking, all of it is more tangible than the digital world I swim in for work and play.

So whenever I learn that something is actually pretty easy to make, or I realize that something I’m purchasing could be easily made with pantry staples (granola is just baked oats!!!!!), I bring it in-house. Here’s a list of a few things I don’t buy:

Pickles

I found some cucumbers while doing a pre-trip fridge cleanup a few months back that were soft to the touch and threatening to spoil. I’m not a huge pickle eater, and usually gladly give away my spear to the more enthusiastic pickle people in my party if I’m eating out. That said, these cucumbers presented me with an opportunity to make pickles I might actually like. I came back from my trip to the best pickles I’ve ever had, and haven’t purchased a jar at the grocery store since.

My Pickle Brine:

Rice vinegar
White vinegar
Four crushed garlic cloves
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Maple syrup

Gnocchi

Sean and I made gnocchi on our fourth date five years ago, and since then, I’ve broken up with the Trader Joe’s pre-packaged gnocchi I loved in my early twenties. I use the For Love and Lemons gnocchi recipe as a base and adjust as needed (I usually add a lot more flour). According to their recipe, you can make and freeze the gnocchi and then cook them from frozen as you want. Take that, Trader Joe’s.

Marinara Sauce

A couple of years ago, I got the good sense to ask the Italian American friend whose culinary taste I trust the most (my friend Jill) for her mom’s Sunday sauce recipe. I’ve made heavy adjustments to the recipe she gave me, pictured below, but it was the perfect base to start from. I had made spaghetti and meatballs in the past, but I never thought to add tomato paste for some reason, and that unlocked a whole new depth of flavor. I omit the wine when I want a brighter, more acidic sauce, and time is really the secret ingredient that brings the whole thing together. Everybody say thank you, Jill’s mom!!

Jill’s mom’s recipe, as told to me via iMessage

Granola

When I was living in New York, my roommate went to Eleven Madison Park, a very fancy restaurant that famously gives out granola as an after-dinner treat for patrons to take home. Purchasing the granola would run you $40…for a 20-ounce jar. As the jar of granola sat in our pantry, I had the chance to really look at the ingredients up close, and it dawned on me that granola was just…baked oats. No, really, I hadn’t actually thought about the fundamentally simple nature of granola until then. I set out to make my own granola, and now I make a big batch every few weeks or so. I also like to eat this granola as my cereal, so it’s a two-for-one. Here’s my granola formula, I mix to taste and bake at 350 so it doesn’t burn.

Granola:

Rolled oats
Slivered almonds
Pecans
Maple Syrup
Cinnamon
Salt

Most of this list is food-related, but last year I picked up knitting again, which has unlocked a whole new slate of Things I Don’t Buy, including baby blankets, hats, and scarves. Once I learn how to make sweaters, I’ll be unstoppable.