Yes, you can DIY!

Are you tired of all the additives in the food you buy?

Spend a bit of time in your own kitchen, rather than cruising the grocery store (though that is good exercise these days!).

Pizza, baked from scratch

I used 1 and 1/2 cups of flour, a half packet of dried yeast, a half-teaspoon of honey to help the yeast 'rise' quicker, and enough warm water to make a sticky dough--I wanted a 'more bready crust' this time. Put this in an olive oil-coated bowl and allow to rise for at least 15 minutes.

Place the dough in an olive-oil-laced pizza pan or cookie sheet. Pat it with olive oiled hands to reach the edges and proceed to add the toppings.

I also used a 'vodka sauce' pasta sauce as the base, and added dried minced garlic, dried onion, dried crushed red pepper, a generous sprinkle of Italian Seasoning, sliced black olives, and sliced Crimini mushrooms. All that is topped of with hand-grated mozzarella, and a scatter of Athenos Tomato and Basil Feta Cheese.

Bake in a 375 degree pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese gets a bit browned--and enjoy!

I've also recently made my first batch of homemade hummus, for quite a bit less than it costs at the grocery store (in my case, Dominick's in Chicago, where everything, including 'local' produce, costs an arm and a leg!).

Fire-roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Last year, I bought an Oster Hand Blender. This appliance proved its usefulness in this hummus experiment.

I used one can Safeway Organic Chick Peas, drained, but I reserved the liquid. I pulverized the chick peas and added 1 large fire-roasted red pepper (from a jar), dried minced garlic, a shake of dried crushed red pepper, a dash of olive oil, and a bit of the chick pea liqueur to moisten the lot.

I only had Keebler Club Crackers, but any pita would have been my preference.

It was delicious beyond belief, and cost way less than half what prepared hummus costs. I will be trying other varieties, including black olive hummus, over the next few days.

The benefit of both the pizza and the hummus:

NO ADDITIVES!