We aim to make most things from scratch. To that end, we spend plenty of time cooking. Because we love to eat, cooking does not feel like a chore. Still, I was curious exactly how much time we spend in the kitchen. Like last year's gardening time study, I recorded every person hour in the kitchen this week. This was a fairly typical week for our three person family with one lunch at a conference, one dinner at friends', one dinner at family, two dinners hosted here, and breakfast and lunch at home every day where not noted. Our menu for last week is here. There were also two 'special' events: sausage making and stock making. In sum, we spent 12 hours 40 minutes cooking this week.

The breakdown is as such:

Sunday - 10 min. breakfast, 2 hours sausage grinding and stuffing, 15 min. prep dinner at friends. (We snacked our way through lunch.)

Monday - 10 min. breakfast, 10 min. lunch, 30 min. beans, 20 min. dinner

Tuesday - 20 min. active bread mixing, 60 min. bread baking, 10 min. breakfast, 15 min. lunch prep, 20 min. food saving, 30 min. dinner prep., 15 min. dinner serving.

Wednesday - 10 min. breakfast, 10 min. lunch packing, 30 min. dinner prep, 30 min. making stock, 10 min. loading stock in freezer

Thursday - 10 min. breakfast, 5 min. knife sharpening, 15 min. cookie prep, 20 min. cookies baking, 10 min. lunch prep, 30 min. dinner prep, 30 min. dinner cook

Friday - 10 min. breakfast, 5 min. lunch prep, 5 min. afternoon snack, 30 min. pizza prep, 15 min. bread prep, 15 min. pizza baking, 60 min. bread baking

Saturday - 10 min. breakfast, lunch at volunteer event, 15 min. dinner salad prep (communal dinner with Rachel's parents)

I know that nearly 13 hours sounds like a lot. For us it is time well spent because we enjoy cooking and eating simple made-from-scratch foods. We also know that home cooking is healthier than processed food and cheaper than dining at quality restaurants.

Coming later this week: Tips to Save Time Cooking