Cooking From Scratch 101 

Hello to you. I am a new subscriber. I am a 74 year old widow living in Southwest Louisiana. I recently was able to get raw milk on a weekly basis. Im actually making bread today with clabber instead of water. I absolutely enjoy your videos and am so admiring of your love for your family. God bless all of you.

People laugh and it’s funny, but that literally is how you accidentally become a homesteader. The further you dive into taking care of your family and controlling your food, that’s where you end up (or desire to end up.) Ruth Ann, you sharing that you used to eat too much boxed cereal or that you still buy tortillas serves to make people feel like it doesn’t take perfection. It can often feel like the people we watch on RU-vid are inspirational, but so perfect that it’s out of reach or not realistic. But you show us that you’re like us. You’ve been there and you’ve just forged ahead to show us the way by the grace of God.

Ruthann I love that you are always bare foot. I do most of my gardening barefoot as well. I love to feel the soil in my toes.

My mom was from Europe and would not let us drink any colored drink. She called it colored junk. No, Hi-C, which we kids wanted. Nothing artificial, colored, preserved. They did organic gardening. Canning. I ate plain yogurt, with some cinnamon and a bit of sugar. I ate grated raw carrots with lemon juice and apple as a treat! We loved it. Then raw oatmeal with raisins and milk as cereal. I am almost 80!

I love how you present and remind people just do a little at a time! Do the best you can today!

I just love your content ma’am! I love even more that your weeding, tilling and working your ground barefooted! You just keep on teaching what your teaching, and thank you for the deal you worked out for the discount code! Your videos are fantastic and feel like home. I know this is how we’re supposed to live, thank you for the reminder of what really matters.

Your parting message is absolute truth! Relationships, with God, family, and friends should be our priority. Have a wonderful week!

Really good talk. I was raised on a farm with no grocery stores in a tiny village. Because of that I see food differently. Additives in all our foods has become the norm and people are paying the price. Many European countries have banned additives that Americans consume daily.

Ruthann I enjoyed your talk. We love tortillas too. When I was younger and was ready to have a baby I would roll a 10 lb bag of tortillas and I would freeze them a dozen bags. So that way I wouldn't have to make tortillas after I gave birth and just got to bond with the baby. I still do that now but we are retired folks. And now I just freeze five tortillas in a bag. Because it's just us two. We follow a lot of your bread making videos. I wish I could go back and raise my children all over again and have you as my mentor. Keep doing what you're doing. God bless.

WOW! I have grown a new appreciation for what my granddaughter is trying to do with her children.

Ruthanne! You’re amazing! You are a wealth of wisdom and we are so blessed that you are willing to share your journey with us. Thank you ❤

YOU DID A REMARKABLE JOB AND YOU LOOKED BEAUTIFUL DOING IT! HOW AMAZING! LOVE THE YELLOW DRESS!!!❤❤❤

You are correct in everything I heard you say in this video. I have just learned that some of my food allergies may have been caused by a tick bite. It's called Alpha Gal Syndrome. However, most of my food allergies came from eating the same foods too often (from a medical doctor who specializes in allergies). When we were in LOCK-DOWN, I learned that I was wasting money by shopping for food too often each week. The stores put many items on display to tempt us into buying more than we need. I have learned that it is best for me to shop at the small food stores (that don't rearrange their shelves often and offer many more different items than I will ever need). The longer they can keep us in their stores the more money we will spend on items we don't need. A bigger store does not mean better foods. Go shopping with a list, stick to buying only what is on that list, and check-out of that store as quickly as possible.

In the video where you are discussing the purpose of tonsils and how if they are swollen you have a build up of toxins makes me wonder about when I was little. My mom had to push the Drs to take mine out due to me having the equivalent of sleep apnea at 5 years old. She said I was suddenly stop breathing and sit up gasping for breath. It really makes you think that if our healthcare system looked more for the root cause over slapping a band-aid on the problem we might have fewer people chronically ill.

Even though I’ve been cooking mostly from scratch for most of my marriage, this was so helpful and encouraging! I LOVED the ideas of “ change our thinking from ‘I need something different every day’ (my husband) to ‘This is good & nourishing to my body & I need a lot of this’. AND food doesn’t have to be a source of pleasure for EVERY meal or EVERY day! Have a special meal once a week and eat similar nourishing foods the rest of the time! That would make my job SOOO much easier!!! Thank you Elvin, for recording this - and thank you, Ruth Ann for sharing it here on RU-vid for those of us who couldn’t come to hear you in person! You are such a blessing!

My husband started drinking organic instant coffee and his snappy attitude has lessoned. We are born again. Some things are sin but it exacerbated the issues. Praise God for his leading and my husband's transformation.

You represent homesteading, your community and your family very well. Job well done.

I enjoy watching you. I'm 70 and stll raise most of my food. I buy very little at the grocery store. Mostly I buy flour, sugar, cornmeal, butter and some milk. I dread the day I can't or don't cook. Preservatives are what I try to stay away from. Keep educating all of us.

Hi RuthAnn and sweet family! Thank you for filming the conference with you. You definitely have the knack for teaching and explaining the concept of why people should cook from scratch and be prepared for slowly introducing it to the family. I do like the photo with Rory Feek at the end. I used to listen to his wife Joey sing, she had the voice of an angel. I hope everyone has a very blessed weekend!

WOW - great job Ruth Ann! I cannot say 3 sentences. without saying UM 10 times. You spoke like a professional speaker giving a paid workshop. Well done!

Such a great presentation! I love your humor so much. “And that’s how you’re accidentally going to become a homesteader”…. lol God bless you and your family.

When I had my daughter 4 years ago I made all her baby food with fresh fruits and veggies. I stumbled upon a group about food dyes. There is a huge difference in our daughter if she eats dye or too much sugar. So we cut them out. We started making mostly everything from scratch. Our birthday cakes, bread, dough, snacks, bone broth, pesto, gravy, brownie mix etc. I learned to can and dehydate and freeze in season fruits and veggies. We trade hay for our neighbors beef. My husband trades his mechanic skills for eggs and veggies we don't grow. All of the homesteading channels have helped me so much. I make my own ranch with your recipe. I've used your pie dough and pumpkin recipe. And also make the homemade hot pockets. We don't eat cereal anymore. Now it's fruit or homemade oatmeal or eggs. We notice if we eat out we have low energy and we often feel sick that night or the next day. Foods I used to love I notice if I have some they taste gross We still buy tortillas, organic tortilla chips and small odds and ends. When we visit the Lancaster PA area several times a year, I stock up on flour, sugar, oats, spices, local cheese etc. The savings has been insane between bulk buying and from scratch

Ruth Ann, I appreciate your comments that you share. I recently discovered your channel, and prefer listening to you about your experiences, than any television channel. God bless you and your family.

Always enjoy your videos RuthAnn. Thank you so much. God's Blessings to you and your family.

“Oh That calls for milk”. “I need a milk cow”. 😂 PRICELESS!!! Very inspiring video. Love, love, love your teaching style. 👍🏽

I do mostly scratch cooking, too many things inside those boxed foods!!! Love your channel 💕 Have a blessed day.

Love this, Ruthann! Someday I would like to meet you in person, and say hello...you are such an encouraging person...so down-to-earth, authentic, and most importantly, my sister in Christ. Watching your presentation on cooking from scratch gave me the feeling of being there in the audience! May God continue his blessing you and your family and keep you giving us these inspiring and educational videos every week...always a treat! Blessings, Marie

I enjoy your videos so much. I am 73 and was raised on a farm and all organic foods from scratch. Your videos bring such joy!!! I was watching another homesteading video and saw you giving your teaching and heard your voice. They were at the conference and filmed about 1 minute!! I was hoping to hear the entire workshop! Thank you for sharing it❤

Excellent!!!!! Bravo!!!!! When our son was attending pre-school at a private Lutheran church, they would serve hot dogs each Wednesday. I didn't want him to ingest anything with nitrites (this was 30 plus years ago before nitrite-free meats), and so I purchased all-natural hot dogs for him, and the cook was kind enough to make sure that he got what I had provided for him. Before you knew it, the other kids wanted to trade with him. I'll never forget the time that a stay-at-home mom whose son was friends with our son told him that he was invited for lunch at their home so that he could FINALLY have a nice hot home cooked meal. I had no choice but to have to work, yet I made sure that I cooked almost every dinner!

You are just so refreshing, Ruthann! It’s nice to hear a voice of reason. ❤

I also I’m so glad to hear your talk. Great job!!!!!!

Great job, Ruthann, with your presentation. I always look forward to Saturday and watching your newest video. So nice to see your family with Rory Feek, Jess/Miah. Such a blessed homesteading community.❤

Ruth Ann, You are a Wonderful teacher, and you are so much appreciated. Thank you for sharing!!!

I think that our parents lived such long lives is because they ate scratch made dinners and meals. They did not eat fast food and all of these preservatives. Grandmother, 93, Mother 92, this is a wonderful long life.

My family won't eat store bought spaghetti or Alfredo sauce because they prefer my homemade sauces.

EXCELLENT video Ruthann! Thank you❤️

RuthAnn, thank you for sharing your life with us!

You are a wise woman and a great teacher!! Bravo❤

I grew up in Northwest Missouri. I went to school to be an agronomist. I learned all about conventional farming growing up and even learned how to tell farmers how to spray their fields. Then when I hit about 40 I got really sick. Before that three out of my four children has some kind of food, allergies. Over the past 15 years I’ve changed our food over to a large percentage of whole food. We of course have treats. More than I would like, but I also want my children to come home someday after they leave. Lol. My kids are a lot more healthier than their friends. Their friends are sick all the time, and most of us even Homeschool. I tell my kids it’s what we eat. We can eat poison or we can eat medicine. Thank you for all that you’re teaching people .

So so so valuable. I can’t thank you enough for your service to those of us who are realizing the need for this content in our lives. We have to wake up to what we are putting in our bodies and believing that the food industry is doing what is BEST for us!

I make the strawberry cream pie with pineapple or Peaches or blackberries. And I don't make a crust. The result is a creamy sorbet. It takes 5 minutes to make, I didn't have to wrestle the ice cream machine, and it's a low- calorie, after dinner treat.

Nice talk. You did a good job! I’m learning through a lot of failures, to cook from scratch. Bread has not been one I’ve been able to conquer. Have a blessed day!

I attended Murray Fest and so enjoyed listening to you and learning from you. How awesome to see all of you at the end of the video. I came away from that festival even more inspired by all of you. Thank you for what you share with us.

Wow Ruth Anne, you are a natural speaker. Amazing! Bravo xx ❤❤

Thank you for sharing your talk at Murray Fest with us. I hope you are able to share other talks like this. It's a blessing to see you living your faith walk and encouraging others to be realistic in expectations on making the "drastic" changes for the health and well being of their families. God bless you, Mr. Zimmerman and your family for giving us glimpses into your lives. It's a privilege to witness all that He is doing for you 🙏🙏❤️❤️.

Good morning, Ruth Ann! You are keeping me company while I break green bean from my garden. I have never made pasta from scratch, but am going to this week. I'm almost 63 and want to learn and teach my grandchildren. This should be fun. Blessings to you and your family from Kentucky.

Wow RuthAnn you’re a gift in this world ❤! You make us all feel like personal friends and neighbors 💞 Can’t say thanks enough to God for you and what you do 🙌🏼

To me, the best take-away from this talk, and there were lot of really good things to glean, was at the end when you talked about the most important thing is your relationship with your family. Cooking from scratch is not a gateway to Heaven, I appreciate so much you saying that for all of the young mothers but really anyone who need to hear that - that your children's eternal salvation & relationship with God and their development are the most important thing. Even if it is not home made or the best homemade... so don't beat yourself up about it...if you have a relationship with your family you have not failed. What a wonderful thing to emphasize and even be the last words that you end your seminar with for ALL of the young mothers listening who really need to hear that specifically!! That is a blessing!! Thank you Ruth Ann!!

You are so encouraging! Especially as a homeschooling, homestead mama to three boys under 7 - being in the kitchen a lot is HARD. But, I've followed your advice (I've followed you on IG for years) and started slow and now we make SO much from scratch. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and skills with us!

More great information. Thank you! BUT what struck me, in this video, was your smile in the last picture. As much as we love our children, there is nothing like the joy of grandchildren!!!

ty for capturing and sharing on video! Insightful, encouraging, helpful! So nice to see a glimpse of your guests on your homestead. Bless you✨

I was there!! The highlight of the Murray Fest was meeting you! ❤ (We live in Thor.) Per our conversation, we bought a mini fridge yesterday, getting ready to try cheddar cheese. 😊 Thank you for your spirit of teaching and encouragement to add to our skills. You're a blessing to so many!

Oh, how I wish I could see you in person at one of the homestead events but it's too far for me to travel. I always learn something from each of your videos, RuthAnn. I had no idea about the tonsils being the last filter to your brain! Wow! And SO many people in my day had them taken out (me included) (I'm 74 this year). In my old age I am trying to cook so much more from scratch and eat healthier. We moved out of the city to the country with some of our kids and now I'm in charge of a huge garden. I'm trying to get everyone to eat healthier (3 generations) and it's not easy, but now I know some of your tricks, lol. I started baking bread in the last year and I even bought a mill! Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?!! With teachers like you, I am learning so much. Have a blessed week and thank you for being so inspiring.

Great video! You are a blessing and a wonderful teacher! Thank you! 😊Regina

I’m so excited to be able to see your talk. I had purchased a VIP ticket for the festival just to be able to meet you. I had to cancel my plans due to things going on here. Maybe next year. 🧡 Lorie 😊

I really love your videos and the content. Your use of the word intentional resonates within me and inspired me to name my new homestead.. The Intentional Homestead. I wish we could get cultivators like that here in South Africa.

Wow, Girl! You nailed it! Great lesson for all of us. Thank you!! And...that grandson is gorgeous!

You always teach me something! I did not know the purpose for tonsils!😊I still have mine. (76 yrs old). I am horrified with all the food dyes etc. I watch kids (grands) consume those food and I cringe. God richly bless you and your family. ❤

What a wonderful talk! I hope to someday see a conference near us! It seems like a very positive experience! Always looking to learn more! ( Even without the homestead)

Hi Ruthann, enjoyed this video. Thank you for thinking of us by sharing your talk at the show. I learn so much from you. Have a great evening. Lisa

I love that you “mosey” along like you are telling a story. You are not rushed but relaxed and comfortable. Thank you for sharing your life with those of us that are looking to become more like you. Getting those kids outside away from electronics is awesome. Love 💕 your channel.

I learned from mom and grandma how to cook from scratch. Like you I want simple. The one thing I told myself that each of my kids will know how to sew a button and cook. I’m proud to say all my children know how to do both. Thanks for a great presentation

This speech is wonderful. There's things I already knew from your vlogs and other's. But I learned more from this 1 and saved it to my pintrest on my Good to know board. Thank you Ruthanne. 😊❤

As a school teacher, I once had an opportunity to listen to an ADD/ADHD expert from Children's Hospital in Ft. Worth, Texas talk about a new book of his. I got a chance to talk with him, and his research conclusions were that before the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD, test for allergies to artificial preservatives, artificial flavors, corn, wheat and red dye #2 - basically the cereal and candy aisles of the grocery. Allergies to these compounds produce identical symptoms to ADD/ADHD. I passed this along to parents of kids who had hyper behavior and without red sodas and candies, returned to their stable behaviors.

What a wonderful talk you gave on cooking from scratch I really did enjoy it! And did i catch a glimpse of Jess and Jeremiah from Roots and refuge in the closing photos from this post? They are 2 more sweet souls I love to follow . PS. Your little handsome grandbabies getting so big❤

Wow, what good information. I'm listening to this as I'm working in the kitchen. My oldest was very sensitive to food dyes. He would get so hyperactive. Even to this day, and he's now 20, he still hates food dyes.

Great job on your presentation that you gave at the event. I learned a lot from your presentation about how important it is to eat healthy. Thank you very much. 🥇

Love and blessings +++!!!

You were awesome Ruth Ann!!!!

Thank you Ruth Ann. This was an awesome presentation. It has me thinking more about cooking from scratch. Im a 66-year-old widow. I rarely cook anymore because it's easier to eat out. My recent changes in my health are definitely related to the foods I'm consuming. So it's time for me to get back in the kitchen. I have to live a long life. My grandkids need me and i need them. Peace and Blessings to you and your family 💞💖💞

Thank you for working out a deal with Agri Supply! I have kicked myself over and over for not grabbing my dad's cultivator (and his Troy-Bilt tiller!) We get along, but that would be very nice, since I find myself doing more and more of the hard work in the garden😢 Your talk was fabulous, RuthAnn! I wish I had discovered what you did when my own eldest daughter was getting strep over and over. I figured out how to keep the other 2 from getting it, but she just kept going. She even had it in the summers! She never had tonsillitis enough times in a row for the go-ahead to do the surgery. But down the line, she developed scarletina, and later Mononucleosis, and now she has some unidentified autoimmune disease(s). Her youngest (also a girl) is now getting strep over and over. I'm going ro share this with her! Thanking God for you, RuthAnn!

I’ve been watching you RU-vid’s for only about 3-4 months . A great discovery! You are nothing short of amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and life with us.

i've cooked and baked FROM SCRATCH FROM 2 paperback books called ""MAKE A MIX, and, MORE MAKE A MIX"" FOR 50 + YEARS. TO MAKE YOUR TORTILLIA'S PUT YOUR BALL OF DOUGH IN A ZIPPED PIE SHELL MAKER, AND ROLL IT OUT PERFECT... PRACTISE MAKES PERFECT... 🧺🌻 I SO LOVE YOUR VIDEO'S.... AND YOUR BOYS!!! :) ---- AND GIRLS!!!

I so admire you and your wisdom, Ruthann. I liked what you said at the end about not beating yourself up if. I spent an afternoon canning tomatoes last weekend and I work a full time job, so we had store bought bread this week because knew I’d be tired and need to prioritize some rest time as well. Really enjoy your channel.

Very good Ruthann? I enjoyed your perspective on changing over to healthy eat slowly.

I so wish I could have attended this conference and had the opportunity to speak with you. Thank you for all the skills you share and the one that hit my heart the closest is the relationship with family. In one of your videos you spoke of relationships being eternal and I have not forgotten it.

Thank you. Love your shows, so much wisdom. ❤ Did not know about tonsils. Senior now had them removed under age 5 because I was always sick. Born after WWII in Germany.

I cook from my garden and my home canned veggies, I am so glad I have a garden and have cut the cost on our grocery bill but even doing that today we bought pet food, and my hubbies vitamins , milk and creamer and toilet paper, we paid 198.00!! Holy cow! I told hubby we must start feeding these cats our left overs and I need to raise more meat chickens so we can cut our cost even more because I don’t think if cost go hire we can have the ability to have pets, that’s a extravagance that we in reality can’t afford, unless I raise more meat chickens so I can can up what can’t fit in our mid size chest freezer. I can’t be the only one struggling

Ruth Ann, that was lovely! Thanks for sharing!

Well done, Ruth Ann! You are such an inspiration.

❤ it!! Way to go!! I especially had to scale back during holidays. Yes, everyone enjoys meals made from scratch, but I found myself dreading holidays instead of enjoying them. I will prep some things in advance, but will not beat myself up for not making everything from scratch. It is so nice to enjoy time with family instead of being completely worn out.

Thank you for recording and sharing this. I was at the festival but wasn't able to watch all of it. This was very inspiring!! It was great meeting you. Like I keep telling everyone else, I was the one with the earrings lol :) thank you so much for sharing!!

I enjoyed your talk so much and loved meeting you! I am new to your content but my Aunt has been watching you for a while. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule!

I'm new to commenting but not new to watching. I love your videos! Well said, I am 64 yrs old and was one of 7 children. Mom cooked most everything from scratch, not breads, she wasn't a baker. 😊 Birthday cakes and banana bread were about it, but my eldest brother took over then when he left I did the baking. I often wonder what happened to home economics in public schools, it's where I got my love of baking and sewing from. Keep on doing what you are doing, it is a wonderful help for new learners! 👍

I Thoroughly Enjoyed this Ruthanne, you are a wonderful teacher and speaker ❤

Thank you so much for passing along your knowledge and wisdom. Your closing statement was 100% on point and should be practiced daily♥️

Very informative and encouraging video! Thank you Ruthanne for sharing it with us. Blessings on your family and your homestead! 🌻🐛Carolyn in Ohio 🌿💚🙏💕

Today is baking day for me. It is Saturday. The kids are going to the history museum today and I will have no-one underfoot. I buy Azure Standard flour, allergen free chocolate chips, and oats. I bought the five gallon buckets for our bulk items and the one gallon jars as well because we buy five pounds of chocolate chips and five pounds of oats. I am trying to get my husband used to bulk buying from Azure Standard. We have ordered from them twice.

You are a great speaker: organized presentation, informative, and some humor thrown in! "Oh, there's milk. I need a milk cow." Cereal for Easter reminded me how I let my child pick a TV dinner once a year as a treat -- even though I didn't produce my own food, I tried to buy good ingredients and make recipes from scratch. Your channel has helped me to learn and dive deeper into cooking from scratch; my recipe box is full of recipes from RuthAnn! Thank you, and abundant blessings to you and your family.

I'm called a super taster, i can taste mushroom powder or actual mushrooms that I'm told isn't there, i can also taste spoiled meat before anyone can or taste it. Making pasta (with a machine is time consuming, especially if you're doing it by yourself, but it's fun, i haven't figured out how to keep them straight lol I started with chicken's, then moved on to dairy goat's, because we couldn't afford a dairy cow (jersey) & to get the kid's to drink it, i added it to the store bought milk. That worked until the cream separated & they thought it was spoiled. Then we started separating the milk. Made ice cream & butter. Then after awhile got a cow. I need a new cow (we lost ours a couple yrs ago) I'd like to get a couple cow's, I'm dropping my goat number's to focus on how much they produce (milk), because I don't get the help. I tried the runny tortilla option, did not like how it went so i need a better recipe or keep trying it. Thanks for sharing

Excellent class! Much good content, thank you❤️

Good Morning What a beautiful presentation I enjoy my weekly what I call my kitchen checkup….Thank You so much for keeping it real.

I make all my tortillas myself and it's very easy. It's a learning curve so just keep making them often and you'll get the hang of it. Use hot water, let the dough rest 30 minutes before making tortillas, don't forget the salt, most importantly keep trying, it'll get better in time; I promise.

Hi thanks so much for recording your talk for all of us who couldn’t travel amazing talk

New here. Love your down to earth homesteading. You have a lovely family. It's as if God hand plucked you to teach others how He intended for us to take care of our family. I'm also excited for you because you found Jesus. 🙏❤️🙏🥰

We had a large family seven children all within a then year range about 40 years ago and back then I used to fill brand name boxes with a better choice of that item and some stores carried no name brand food in black and white boxes. When I was in the hospital my husband had to deal with all the kids and this is what i heard--did i know that food comes in boxes with colors and pictures and Dad gave us cake for breakfast. Many of us did things to get better food into our family even years ago

You are such a WONDERFUL mama to NOT remove your daughter's toncils and to heal her instead. What a blessing...

Thanks for this video! My first child is on the way and I am committed to getting back to scratch cooking for him. It's so easy to slip back into old, bad habits (like buying highly processed foods from the store). I needed this video to inspire and motivate me to get back to cooking from scratch for my little one! God bless! ❤

I enjoyed getting to hear your talk! Thank you for taking us along. ❤ xo

Thank you Ruth Ann, GOD is good🙏❤️😊