Grief & healing: To bake or buy? Time to try new things

I’ve always thought homemade is better — if the cook is a good one.

Healthier, more tasty. And one knows what ingredients, and what quality, are actually in the dish.

For instance, I always made my mother’s pecan pie at holiday time. Well, this last holiday season I had a big surprise — I bought a pecan pie from my local grocery store bakery. It looked good, but I didn’t really know what to expect. It was only for me, so I thought I’d experiment.

It turned out to be just delicious. It seemed just like my mother’s recipe and baked to perfection. How about that?

Things have really changed when it comes to deli and other store bought foods.

Time to rethink.

And this is not limited to baking. For instance I bought a grocery store deli sage stuffing that was terrific. It was actually better than I could make myself.

I think between improvements in labeling that now require detailed disclosure of ingredients, the banning of certain harmful oils and additives, and increased consumer demands — there are many quality ready-made foods in the stores.

There is a lot of increased demand from busy families and singles who don’t have time to cook.

All this has resulted this in a wealth of easy to make or ready to serve foods. Not just for holidays but also for regular, week-night, at home dinners.

Busy people are no longer limited to “fast foods” or “junk foods” for an easy meal anymore.

There are lots of excellent options, including home delivery from your favorite local restaurants. And there are many tasty frozen dinners and warm-up deli dinners available at grocery stores.

I know many people who just do not cook anymore and others who never developed an interest in cooking.

And there are also special gourmet catalogs offering everything under the sun. Delivered to your doorstep. Some a little pricey but delicious. Yum.

So the point is: Not only have things changed, but changed in an appealing way. And it’s a good idea to be open to the new options — consider buying instead of baking or cooking.

As much as I enjoy cooking, I’m already thinking what to try next. Time for a visit to a wonderful nearby Polish deli! They have “homemade” everything ready to go!

• Susan Anderson-Khleif of Sleepy Hollow has a doctorate in family sociology from Harvard, taught at Wellesley College and is a retired Motorola executive. Contact her at sakhleif@aol.com.