Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I am so sorry, I remember that. I lived on several variations of creamed potatoes (hot sauce, sour cream and chives, etc.), but maybe mashed avocado (skip lime juice) would give you some good fat? I think I pureed a meaty chili at some point, too. A good curried lentil soup might be nice, as well. Hope you heal quickly.

Make sure to keep some frozen butternut squash puree in your freezer at all times. If nothing else, you can take it out and put it on your forehead when you get cold. It's pretty self-explanatory, but cut the squash in half, scoop out seeds, put both halves flesh-side down on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until it's done (that means a fork goes into all parts easily...don't worry, really hard to overcook...usually takes me a half hour or a little more). Let it cool for about 10 minutes (not too long--then it gets hard to work with) and scoop the flesh out from the skin with a spoon, so that all you waste is the little bit of skin. Put the flesh into a blender, puree, then let it sit in a collander lined with wet coffee filters for a few hours to get the excess water out. It sounds like a lot more work than it really is, and the final product is so velvety and beautiful that I usually just want to eat it right away. Stick it in the freezer and take it out when you want to make muffins, stir it into oatmeal, pancake batter, anything that calls for pumpkin, etc. I really love the beautiful orange tint it gives baked goods. Also, straight-up this is great wholesome baby food.

I did some of this for one of my food columns:

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/102008/10012008/409738

Time is a big factor, but if you enjoy time in the kitchen, then it's probably less of a "cost" than if cooking is not fun for you. I feel like taste is much better on homemade. There are a lot of things to balance, but on many items it's a personal choice.

@Raiders757....OK OK I was being sarcastic...but thanks for the warning, that confirms my hunch never to go to Va. BBQ. I heard a rumor that they were shipping pre-cooked meat in from Siler City NC, at least where I am. Not sure if that's true, though. I totally agree with your observation of the use of the word, "barbecue." If you have friends over and fire up a grill to cook hamburgers and hot dogs, that is a "cook out." Not a "barbecue." And grilling chicken and slathering sauce from a bottle that says BBQ on it is not barbecue-ing either.

Also...the photo. The slaw is not the right color. It should be pinkish, not white and greenish. And it should be ON THE SANDWICH, not to the side. Just offering some constructive criticism...;) You need some hush puppies, too.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I had a great birthday, and ended up making a Hummingbird Cake, two layers with rich cream cheese frosting. Hummingbird cake is a Southern cake that is so easy---it's basically like making banana bread with pineapple and cinnamon in it and then pouring the batter into cake pans instead of a loaf pan. And since there was fruit involved, it doesn't even count as my birthday indulgence, right?

I totally agree, JerzeeTomato. Nothing tastes like homemade, not even the most expensive bakeries, in my opinion, though the high-end cakes are definitely good, they seem to be missing something that you only get when you make something in your own home, and you see all that goes into every crumb of it.