A few years ago, in one of those hip-but-quaint coffeehouses, there were bags of cello-wrapped handmade marshmallows hanging out by the cash register. $7 for a bag of four didn’t seem like too much to pay for something that would delight Mr Vega so much. And they were fantastic… Fluffy, light, nothing like the half-eaten bag of stale jet-puffs that always seemed to be in the cupboard but no one remembered buying it… Or eating any

Imagine my delight when I came across Alton Brown’s homemade marshmallow recipe. The same $7 I spent on four perfect marshmallows will make me over a hundred of the very same ones at home, and they are just as delicious as the expensive ones.

And even though it’s dead simple, people think you’re kind of a badass when you make the stuff they’re used to buying.

Think about the ways in which you indulge yourself and question whether you might try making it yourself. Around here, in addition to marshmallows, we make our own kahlua, cherry liqueur, cold brew coffee, hot cocoa mix, peppermint bark candy, hot buttered rum batter, and just recently, I’ve graduated to basic body-care products, including a grapefruit salt-scrub and a whipped body butter. All for a fraction of the cost of store-bought, and we think the quality is better when we make it ourselves.

Why not give it a shot? The worst that could happen is that you don’t like it, or you find its not fun. But you’ll never know until you try!