Shall Not Fear

Global Sun Oven

2012-01-30T10:49:00.000-08:00

I don't own it yet, although I do have a "Cook-it" solar oven, but the Global Sun Oven now has a dehydrating package to go with it. I'm so excited!!! I have an excellent dehydrator (Excalibur), but to expand that with solar dehydrating capability is awesome! I'll have to save my pennies!

See info HERE (this is not the cheapest price...so check around before you buy)

Gardening

2012-01-23T12:13:00.001-08:00

I found this great website for knowing how and when to garden: http://sproutrobot.com/elk-grove-ca/planting-calendar/95758#below_plans

Gardening for Soup

2012-01-14T23:23:00.000-08:00

My next book will rely on me having great vegetables in my garden, so I plan on planting Feb. 1st everything that I can. Yum!

2012-01-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

Gardening 2012

2012-01-01T16:44:00.000-08:00

Our garden boxes have been totally stripped, with the exception of some herbs from this past season. We refreshed and amended the soil in the 3 boxes to prepare for the new seeds and plants to be planted sometime in the early Spring.

Bread in a Bag - Available Now

2012-01-01T16:43:00.000-08:00

Bread in the Bag is finally available again, new and improved. :)

Bread in a Bag

2011-12-24T18:22:00.000-08:00

The book is redone and at the publishers...hopefully to be for sale by next week. Yippee!

Meanwhile, the only thing alive in the vegetable garden is...oh no, wait, there isn't anything alive in the garden!

Vegetables in Garden Dec 1

2011-12-03T12:30:00.001-08:00

Here it is, the beginning of December, and I still picked zucchini and tomatoes and even a green bell pepper from my yard. Truly the Lord has blessed our garden. I am so grateful that we have the space in our garden boxes to allow old plants to continue as long as they can.

ReTesting

2011-11-25T21:12:00.001-08:00

Please see www.breadinabag.blogspot.com for the latest on my re-testing the breads in my book!

guests

2011-11-25T21:05:00.001-08:00

11281 as of today.

Bread in the Bag

2011-11-23T19:18:00.000-08:00

My Bread in the Bag book has been temporarily "paused" while I do some corrections that were brought to my attention. Hey, we don't want to make a bread that has too much water in it, do we? No. :) So I am going through all the recipes again since this is a good opportunity to re-test, and then it will be back "up" for purchase. The second book is doing great and at the rate I'm going, will be up for sale soon after Bread in a Bag is back!

Time Goes By

2011-11-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

I have been working so hard on the second Bread in a Bag book that I haven't had time to do much else. Fortunately, we're deep into Fall, and my garden is quickly dying out. This year, I am not going to try to keep winter vegetables going through until January--I'll just let everything die off and the soil will be allowed to rest until I replenish it in early April. At that time, I'll put in a bunch of bags of good soil, shovel it in and prepare it for the new crop. Next year we also plan on making sure the plants are companions with each other and that the PH is proper.

As for dehydrating, I am still busy with that as needed. For example, this week I need to dry more eggs, as the breads/muffins I'm making are making me go through the last batch quite quickly. I also want to dry more prunes, herbs and perhaps a few more potatoes.

If you have a good garden that you are nourishing through the winter, please write and tell me about it! Ldswoman@yahoo.com or Pemick2@comcast.net.

Don't forget to check out my Bread in a Bag blog!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Muffins

2011-11-09T22:34:00.001-08:00

Check out the Bread in a Bag blog for today's creation!

Bread in a Bag TWO!

2011-11-08T09:40:00.000-08:00

Bread in a Bag Book Two should be done by the New Year, but if not, for certain by Valentine's Day!

Sourdough English Muffins

2011-11-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

The bread of the day today, is Sourdough English Muffins. Turned out wonderful, and ready for Bread in a Bag Book Two.

Bread in a Bag photos

2011-10-20T23:23:00.001-07:00

Go to the Bread in a Bag blog and see the photos I posted today of more of the breads I made for Bread in a Bag. Let me know what you think!

Canning Spaghetti Sauce

2011-10-20T23:22:00.001-07:00

I canned 10 quarts of spaghetti sauce today. I love it!

Bread in a Bag - Amazon

2011-10-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

My book "Bread in a Bag" has been out for two weeks now, and finally Amazon has the "Look Inside" feature available!

Please note: my book is in black and white, not color, so the "Look Inside" feature will have to be corrected to show that. For now though, enjoy the color photos! Go to Amazon.com and type "Bread in a Bag" in the search.

Gardening and Food Storage

2011-10-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

My garden has slowed down to nothing, but I'm not ready to pull out the tomatoes quite yet. Still, there are also weeds coming up. My plan is, in the next few weeks, to take out everything and put in fresh soil, then cover the boxes with weed cloth and let them rest for the winter. I do have some lettuce growing nicely (romaine) and some chard that is trying to grow, but other than that, it's all summer stuff. My broccoli died almost outright, the first year it's done that.

I hope that others are doing better than I am!

Discount Code for Bread in a Bag

2011-10-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

If you are a reader of this blog, you get a discount code for $2.00 off Bread in a Bag! Order through my estore (simply click on the photo of my book cover, on the right), go to the estore and put in the Discount Code : W85DY6JA.

Offer expires November 1, 2011.

BREAD IN A BAG

2011-09-30T16:20:00.001-07:00

My book Bread in a Bag is complete! If you click on the picture of it on the right, it will take you directly to the order page. In a few days, the Amazon.com link will also be posted, or you can look for it then yourself. I hope it is helpful book to those who wish to use their dry ingredients and food storage to make great breads! :)

Saving Tomato Seeds

2011-09-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

There are two tomato plants in my yard now that grew very late and just now are producing some tomatoes. I took off a ripe tomato from each and am saving the seeds. It's easy to do, just rinse them carefully and lay them out to dry on a paper towel, then put away in a dry cool place.

Fun Times with the Garden

2011-09-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I wrote here in my blog. The vegetables are doing well, some are done, like the cantelopes. Some tomatoes are still going just fine, but I've taken out the green beans.

Fall is just around the corner. I just planted spinach, chard, lettuce and broccoli. The chard is struggling since it's been so hot. I may end up having to replace them completley, although I also put in seeds.

I've been busy working on my book. More on that later!

Tomatoes

2011-08-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

The very best way I've seen to save energy and start the process of canning or drying tomato sauce is to solar cook the raw tomatoes first. Just put cut up tomatoes (skin and all) into your black cooking pot. Put in the plastic bag, set out in your solar cooker and let it sit in the sun all day (5 or more hours). When done, blend it up into a liquid. You can then add to onions and garlic and seasoning and cook down into spaghetti sauce or something and water bath or pressure can it, or you can freeze it, or even spread out on flex sheets and dry it to make tomato powder out of.

If you want to can it as I did, please follow authorized instructions for "tomato juice" through the Ball Blue Book. I blended the tomatos, put them through a sieve, and threw out the pulp and just had a good liquid.

Banana cream

2011-08-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

When you want to make banana bread and you don't happen to have any fresh bananas that are over-ripe and ready to go, you can take this from your pantry.

Blend 5 bananas in a blender until smooth.

Pour onto plastic wrap or flex sheets.

Dehydrate for 3 hours or until brittle.

Crumble and break into pieces and store in a clean jar with an oxygen absorber packet (or use FoodSaver to vacuum seal).

When needed, measure out about 1/3 cup of pieces and powder for banana bread recipes.

Cantelopes

2011-08-12T23:37:00.000-07:00

Finally, for the first time in a very long time, we got two beautiful cantelopes off our plant this year. There are lots of honey-dews and a bunch more cantelopes to harvest probably in the next few weeks. They were fantastic!

Dinners in the Jar

2011-08-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

If you haven't checked out these two websites, do so now!

www.dinnerisinthejar.com

and

http://preparingwisely.blogspot.com/

Zucchini

2011-08-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

Like a lot of people, I have zucchini coming out of my ears, from a fantastic single plant in my new planter box. What I do every year is dehydrate a bunch, but after two months of that, I thought: "Okay, now I have enough", but then it dawned on me. Do I have enough for a three month supply? Do I have enough for a full year?

I don't, of course.

So I have been dehyrating even more, realizing that this is the Lord's bounty that he is giving me. I am drying tomatoes as well (those we can't use), which takes forever but they taste so wonderful when dried.

Tomatoes

2011-07-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Today I took off about 1 1/2 pounds of tomatoes from my plants and cut them in quarters, put them in a black pot and put it in the solar cooker to "process them". About 8 hours later they were very soft. I blended them, strained them, and then put the pint in the fridge for me to use as a tomato sauce in an upcoming meal within this next few days!

Gardening Summer 2011

2011-07-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

So there are only a few things working right in my garden this year.

Both cucumbers are doing great, we get several off of them weekly. The zucchini is also doing very well, and we get at least 4 a week. The cantalopes are doing WONDERFUL.

The tomatoes however, are very disappointing, even with now frequent feedings. One plant, with a missing name tag (my fault I didn't write it down this year) is doing fantastic, with great tomatoes, although small, that are turning red every day. There is also a pear shaped cherry tomato that is doing very well, and a serrano that is doing good, but all other tomato plants are very blah. I do have another tomato plant that is doing great, but so far no red tomatoes, and it's almost August for heaven's sake.

There are several of them that I haven't gotten a single tomato off, and one or two that gave me one or two tomatoes. It's just sad and I don't know what's wrong. My bell peppers are very very slowly starting to produce little buds/peppers. My cabbage is doing very well, but they are being eaten alive this year and there are some that are also very overcrowded but gave up on them. The peas are gone, but didn't produce all that great.

So so far the cantelopes, cucumber, zucchini are the plants doing well.

I will carefully record all the plant names before tearing everything out (when that time comes) to make sure I record which plant did well under what conditions. I know we had a lousy beginning this year with the late rain, but this is the second year in a row I'm not producing what I need.

Next year: fresh compost for all three boxes. Next year: A row of tomato plants, at least 15, of heirlooms that performed well this year and last (not that many), a row of green beans (this year they are dismal to say the least. A strong healthy plant but only 1 or two green beans a week!!!), Next year: one zucchini, three pickle cucumbers, and several melons planted a few weeks apart. Several cabbage protected properly.

All in all, there is still so much to learn in gardening that I worry about people who haven't gardened, STILL. It takes time, effort, the right tools, fertilzers, good soil, etc., to grow a successful garden. The first several years I planted all the plants did well because the summer came early and the weather was obliging. But when the weather is strange, the garden doesn't produce well for us. Plus we are getting more shade in our garden than is good for the plants.

It is my hope that by the end of September we will have harvested many more tomatoes, melons and bell peppers, and perhaps a cabbage or two.

Oh and the artichoke plant "came back" but as of today it still hasn't produced anything.

Taro Leaves and Roots

2011-07-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

Today I am dehydrating taro root and leaves. First I have peeled then sliced the taro root into 1/4 inch slices, then gently boiled them. As you can see from the photo, I didn't do a very good job of keeping them intact, but they are now dehydrating so they should be okay (although I'm not sure how they will taste or work in recipes later). The leaves have been boiled for almost an hour (50 minutes) to make sure the "itchy" toxin is gone (I hope), and they are also now dehydrating.

Food Production and Storage

2011-07-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

WE HAVE BEEN COUNSELED TO PARTICIPATE IN HOME FOOD PRODUCTION AND STORAGE.

From the Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball:

“The Lord has urged that his people save for the rainy days, prepare for the difficult times, and put away for emergencies a year’s supply or more of bare necessities so that when comes the flood, the earthquake, the famine, the hurricane, the storms of life, our families can be sustained through the dark days.

“We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in pots and planters. Study the best methods of providing your own foods… If there are children in your home, involve them in the process with assigned responsibilities.

“I hope that we understand that, while having a garden … is often useful in reducing food costs and making available delicious fresh fruits and vegetables, it does much more than this. Who can gauge the value of that special chat between daughter and Dad as they weed or water the garden? How do we evaluate the good that comes from the obvious lessons of planting, cultivating, and the eternal law of the harvest? And how do we measure the family togetherness and cooperating that must accompany successful canning?

“…we would do well to listen to what we have been told and to follow it explicitly.”
FOOD ALLERGIES AND FOOD STORAGE
How do you collect food storage when a member of your family has food allergies?
You must figure out what they can eat and preserve it and store it.

Buy alternate food items like oats, spelt and rice. Make sure that foods that cause an undesirable reaction are replaced with safe foods. Grow a garden. Decide how you will provide bread, if desired, using the ingredients that are tolerated. Acquire what you need for them as soon as possible.
You can do this, and your family depends upon you to do it.

GLUTEN FREE SITES

http://www.ldsliving.com/story/64382-gluten-free-food-storage.

And also, did you know that Campbell Soups has a whole gluten free line? http://www.campbellsoupcompany.com/faq.aspx?section=glutenfree

Since our Father in Heaven asks that we make every effort to accumulate enough food supply for our family, where do we store it?

First of all, you want a place that is low in humidity (as much as possible) and cool, which leaves out the garage! All dry pack canning items can be stored in their sturdy white boxes and stacked six high in most closets. That’s roughly 180 pounds of something to feed your family that has a footprint of only 13 x 18 inches!
Check out your closets: Determine what clothing or sports equipment or Christmas decorations can go elsewhere and save the cool and dark places for your food.
Under Beds: You can fit at least 3 “under bed” plastic storage containers under your beds! They’re great for pint size canning jars and 16 oz. canned foods like tomato sauce, beans, etc.

Behind furniture: You can store behind a couch that’s been pulled about 18 inches or less from a wall.
Make a Table: Put three boxes of canned wheat on top of each other with a pretty cloth and make a nice table out of it.
Cupboards: Check in your cupboards and storage cabinets throughout the house. Give away items you no longer use, and use the remaining space to store your dehydrated or canned foods!

Turkey

2011-07-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

We solar cooked a turkey roast the other day and it was sooo great. It's the boned whole turkey that you can buy, that we split in two and then baked in the solar oven. It would have baked just as well if not taken apart, but it fell apart when I took off the netting. Yum!

Garden Boxes 6-2011

2011-06-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Here are two photos of my three garden boxes. I'm so glad we added the second and third boxes, to increase our harvest. I'm still not getting anywhere near the harvest that I think I should though, and for a seasoned gardener, I'm not sure why. The plants in the new box are going crazy, but one tomato plant barely has any tomatoes on it, while the other has a ton. I did get two tiny tomatoes off that one, with more to come. I lost the tag for it though, so I don't know what kind it is. I am supposed to draw a map of my garden boxes and show exactly what got put where, but I was lazy this season and didn't bother.

The old boxes are doing fairly well, but still not as good as I'd hoped, although I have taken into account the weird rain and cold weather we experienced to the first part of June.

I still have some research to do.

Pasteurize Your Own Eggs

2011-06-27T15:20:00.000-07:00

I had heard not to dedhyrate your own eggs because of salmonella. It was said that only large companies could spray dry and heat the eggs such that the bad bugs were eliminated.

Not true!

On the USDA webpage:

To pasteurize your own eggs, stir together eggs and either 1⁄4 cup sugar, water or other liquid from the recipe in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 160°F. These eggs can be safely used in recipes and require no further cooking.

When I make my dried eggs, I put a little water in them and scramble them before drying. Works great! You will notice that the USDA does not say how many eggs to the ratio of sugar or water, so I add about 1 Tbl. per six eggs.

Dried Chili

2011-06-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

It's fun to take a meal that you've created, like chili, spaghetti, stew, and dehydrate it for use later. Spread food on the flex sheets (chopping meat into small pieces) of your Excalibur dehydrator (do NOT dry meats unless you can do so at 155 to 165 degrees), and dry for 10 to 18 hours.

Adding warm or hot water for 15 minutes before eating it is all that's needed.

Oroweat Thrift Store

2011-06-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

I go to the Oroweat thrift store about once a month on the way back from the temple. Again I stopped and spent only $10 for all these items, where I would have normally spent about $30 at Bel Air, Raleys, Safeway, etc.! Everything is just a day old and very fresh and wonderful. I feel so blessed to have found this opportunity for our family. If you haven't been there yet, please do! It's located on Fruitridge Drive in Sacramento, from 99 you go right past the railroad tracks on Fruitridge (west) and on the right is a vacuum cleaner store and next to that is the Oroweat store. If you don't live in the Sacramento area, just look it up in your local phone book (try "bakeries" to see if you get more places than Oroweat).

Especially if you have a large family, you can't afford not to check out this type of thrift store. The bargains are just too good to pass up!

Chard

2011-06-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

I picked the last of the chard yesterday, here is a picture of it. So delicious cooked in an inch of water with some chicken bouillon in it. Yum! I took it all out because they are two years old and I wanted to start fresh again. Others are growing in the first box.

Potatoes and White Beans

2011-06-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

There is something so cool about pressure canning meats and beans, they are so tender and tasty when done. The only thing better is then taking a meat or bean and drying it! This is a picture of dried white beans. I took a quart of pressure canned beans I'd done and dried them for about 15 hours. Great! I also harvested most of the potato plants in my garden, and didn't find as many potatoes as I'd hoped, but still plenty, since I got about twice this amount all total, (with two more bushes to harvest).

I don't understand why I can't seem to take close up photos without blurring, though.

Food Prices and Preparations

2011-06-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

I found this article today:

It was written by Carolyn Nicolaysen

and can be found here: http://ldsmag.com/church/article/8143?ac=1

===

Here are some headlines from the past several days:

“2011 Tornado Season has seen increase in Storms, Record Death Toll”

“Missouri River Flood of 2011 one for the History Books”
“The recent floods and tornado outbreaks mark the most costly disaster in American history” "Food price shock ahead”.

All of these are headlines seen in the past few days in June. Is the time for preparing past? No, but it will now be much more expensive than it would have been just a few months ago.

The National Weather Service has announced the forecast for the coming hurricane season. Although the prediction is for more named storms this year, that alone is not the most interesting part of the story. What we should really be taking note of is the fact that we are returning to the weather patterns of the 1950s and 1960s. During those years there were serious weather conditions which hit the northeast coast of North America, the jet stream lowered its path, and temperatures were confused – it was much colder in normally warm areas, and much warmer in normally cool areas.

We have seen the results this spring with tornadoes not only in the Midwest “Tornado Alley”, but also in diverse places such as California and Massachusetts. All of this news means we can expect to have weather only our parents and grandparents remember well. The time for preparing has not passed, but the urgency has increased.

The winter of 2010-2011 has seen record snowfall in all the mountain ranges west of the Mississippi. Spring in these areas has been colder than normal, setting up a disastrous scenario for the remaining weeks of spring and summer. Rivers and reservoirs in some places are overwhelmed, and heat waves may follow the cool spring weather in many areas. Hot weather will eventually come to the West, and when it does there may be severe flooding. Four states not part of the Mississippi River system, where horrific flooding and loss of life and property have already occurred, - Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and South Dakota - have already declared a state of emergency due to flooding.

Are you prepared to remain out of your home for a month or more? Are you prepared to be without grocery and pharmacy supplies for weeks? This is already the case in some areas. Do you really still believe natural disasters can't happen to you?

We have heard so much about flooding and tornadoes this year that it should come as no surprise that some North American crops have been destroyed or not planted at all. The logical conclusion: prices will go up.

On the other hand - are you aware that in some regions there is still a drought?

Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina and Alabama all have areas of extreme drought or worse “exceptional drought.”
This is also the case on other continents:

“Several submerged sections of an imperial tomb of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) have resurfaced in east China's Jiangsu Province as a result of a severe drought that is still affecting the region. The tomb was built for the ancestors of Zhu Yuanzhang, founder and the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, in AD 1386, on the west bank of the Hongze Lake in Xuyi County of Jiangsu.
“The mausoleum was flooded in 1680, when the Yellow River broke its banks, changed course and converged with the nearby Huaihe River. Now local residents have got to take their first look at the tomb, which hadn't seen the light of day in more than 300 years.

“Stone arches and other parts of the tomb emerged on Thursday as the lake's water level continued to recede because of the recent drought. Local residents also got a look at a paved path leading to the tomb.”¹

In China, 725,000 acres of land are drying out causing not only enormous crop loss but leaving 820,000 people in the region without sufficient food and water. Where will the food come from to feed these people? Will China purchase crops normally sold to industrialized nations such as the United States, Canada and Australia, leaving them short?

Food riots have already occurred around the world. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization is warning the drought conditions in China, Europe and Great Britain may lead to the worst food inflation we have seen to date. Combine this with the loss of crops in Japan due to the earthquake and tsunami and flooding, plus drought and tornadoes in the United States and the outlook is not good for food supplies and food prices. The fear is food shortages will increase the frequency and intensity of food riots in many more countries.

The price of oil has already gone up making the cost of petroleum based items rise. The price of cotton has soared making the cost of everything from clothing to camp tents rise.

Has the time for preparing passed? No, but maybe the time to ask what we are preparing for has. It is here. Now is the time to gather your family and to discuss your priorities for the coming year. Summer is almost here and it is not too late to plant a garden. It is not too late to plan a stay-at-home vacation to save money for self reliance goals. Summer vacations from school are the perfect time to clean out used items and sell them at a garage sale or online.
There will never be a less expensive time to purchase preparedness items or to learn skills that will save you the money you are now spending on them. Now is the time. Don't make the mistake of thinking this won't affect you. It will. Don't make the mistake of thinking it can wait and looking back months from now and wishing you had taken action when prices were lower.

Rice, Apricots and Beans

2011-06-07T12:03:00.001-07:00

Today I am drying rice that I've cooked up, puried apricots from a can, and white beans that I smushed so they are more like the LDS cannery dry refried beans when done. Pix later!

Great Granola

2011-06-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

There is something wonderful about making your own convenience foods. One of them is your own granola bars. I honestly couldn't tell you if mine are less or more expensive than store bought, but I can tell you the taste if fantastic. The only thing to remember is that these don't have preservatives in them, so when you wrap them up in individual servings, make sure you use them within a few days, or refrigerate or even freeze them. You can also vacuum seal them in a Food Saver bag.

The second item is beef jerky. Who doesn't love jerky? It's very easy to make. The photos above are of jerky halfway dried, (not done yet) and the granola before I put it in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.

The granola recipe is not one I made up, but unfortunately I didn't save who did write it.

p.s. It calls for wheat flakes if you have a flaker, which is a great way to use your wheat!

Oatmeal Wheat Flake Granola Bars

1/2 cup wheat or white flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs or 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites, or dried reconstituted equivalant of 2 eggs
2 Tbl molasses
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbl canola oil or butter or 2 tsp dried butter with 1 T oil or water
1 cup oats
1 cup wheat flakes (or oats, or forego the oats and just use wheat flakes)
1 cup dried fruit (I use dried cherries and cranberries)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or almonds
(you can also add some chocolate chips, but I didn't)

Preheat oven to 350. Coat 9 x 13 baking pan with nonstick spray.

Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt (use a whisk). Mix peanut butter, brown sugar, eggs, molasses, honey, vanilla and oil until smooth, add to flour mixture.

Mix really well, then add oats/wheat flakes, fruit and nuts. Plop into the 9 x 13 baking pan (I used a Pyrex 9 x 13 casserole), smooth out evenly using some plastic wrap or oil on your fingers to push it down.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes. You want them to be evenly, lightly browned. Put a knife blade into the middle to see if it's moist but not wet. Let cool a bit, then cut into squares and finish cooling. I get about 12 good size bars out of this recipe.
===

Beef jerk is very easy. First you go to your local grocery that has a butcher area so you can ask the butcher to cut up meat for you for jerky. Yes, that's exactly what you say! It's usually top round or another good meat. You don't want too much fat on it, keep it as lean as you can, because fat won't dry well at all.

My recipe is:

about 3 pounds of top round, cut into jerky slices (fairly thin, a little less than 1/4 inch)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup worchestershire sauce
garlic powder, sprinkled lightly over all pieces as they marinade
garlic salt, " "
pepper
coarse pepper combination
red pepper flakes, in the amount you like, if any

In a 9 x 13 pan, put a layer of sliced meat on bottom, sprinkle with above spices and some of the soy/worchestershire sauce. Add another layer, and do until done.

Let marinate overnight, turning once or twice as you can to let all pieces marinate.

Drain for a few minutes on paper towels so they're not sopping wet, and then put in dehydrator on shelves. Dry for 6 hours or so, checking after that to make sure they are done. They will be leathery and good!

Jams and Hamburger

2011-06-01T13:30:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow I'll be making pressure canned ground beef and multi-berry jam!

White Beans - Dehydrated

2011-05-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

There are a few recipes that I want to include in my 72 hour kit and also in my Dinner in a Jar setup, and that is using beans. Well, beans typically take a 12 hour soaking, or at least more cooking, than I want to do. So I decided if the LDS cannery could offer refried beans, dried and ready for use anytime, then I could do the same with any bean. The pressure canned ones are on the left, and the cooked and dried ones are on the right.

These are white beans that I have cooked and dehydrated (taking about 8 to 10 hours). I can't wait to try them!

Herbs and Beans

2011-05-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

This morning I put some mint leaves and chamomile flowers in the ove at 120 degrees to dry today, and in the dehydrator I have cooked, cooled, rinsed and smashed white beans to dry. I will then be able to cook them "instantly" for Dinner in a Jar type soup or meals.

I'll add photos later of the completed items. Any questions, let me know. :)

72 hour kit dinners and Navy Beans!

2011-05-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I created two more kinds of 72 hour kit size "Dinners are in the Jar", which I just need to add boiling water to (and boil in a container...it won't work just adding boiling water, although it's probably possible it would work in a wonderbox oven scenario), and today I pressure canned white beans from the cannery. Yum!!! So tomorrow night we'll have Virginia's beans. Fantastic stuff!

Also you can see my red potatoes I harvested today. Yum!

Using Solar Cooker as a Refrigerator

2011-05-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

I went to a solar cooking class today and this information was presented. I am beyond amazed!!! You can find the best info on what was paraphrased to us today here: with directions to make here

How to Use the Solar Funnel as a Refrigerator/Cooler

A university student (Jamie Winterton) and I were the first to demonstrate that the BYU Solar Funnel Cooker can be used—at night —as a refrigerator. Here is how this is done.
The Solar Funnel Cooker is set-up just as you would during sun-light hours, with two exceptions:
1. The funnel is directed at the dark night sky. It should not “see" any buildings or even trees. (The thermal radiation from walls, trees, or even clouds will diminish the cooling effect.).
2. It helps to place 2 (two) bags around the jar instead of just one, with air spaces between the bags and between the inner bag and the jar. HDPE and ordinary polyethylene bags work well, since polyethylene is nearly transparent to infrared radiation, allowing it to escape into the “heat sink” of the dark sky.
During the day, the sun's rays are reflected onto the cooking vessel which becomes hot quickly. At night, heat from the vessel is radiated outward, towards empty space, which is very cold indeed (a “heat sink").
As a result, the cooking vessel now becomes a small refrigerator. We routinely achieve cooling of about 29 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) below ambient air temperature using this remarkably simple scheme.
In September 1999, we placed two funnels out in the evening, with double-bagged jars inside. One jar was on a block of wood and the other was suspended in the funnel using fishing line. The temperature that evening (in Provo, Utah) was 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a Radio Shack indoor/outdoor thermometer, a BYU student (Colter Paulson) measured the temperature inside the funnel and outside in the open air. He found that the temperature of the air inside the funnel dropped quickly by about 15 degrees, as its heat was radiated upwards in the clear sky. That night, the minimum outdoor air temperature measured was 47.5 degrees—but the water in both jars had ICE. I invite others to try this, and please let me know if you get ice at 55 or even 60 degrees outside air temperature (minimum at night). A black PVC container may work even better than a black-painted jar, since PVC is a good infrared radiator—these matters are still being studied.
I would like to see the “Funnel Refrigerator” tried in desert climates, especially where freezing temperatures are rarely reached. It should be possible in this way to cheaply make ice for Hutus in Rwanda and for aborigines in Australia, without using any electricity or other modern “tricks.” We are in effect bringing some of the cold of space to a little corner on earth. Please let me know how this works for you.

One style of funnel solar oven he's talking about is here: http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Fun-Panel

Gardening Gardening

2011-05-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

The gorgeous greens in the garden makes the effort to have one all the better. Here is a picture of our potato plants and our potato, chard and tomato plants...just a few of many more. Also the chamomile plant is doing so wonderfully, I usually have tea every other day or so!

More dehydrating and New Garden Box

2011-05-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Below is the latest and greatest vegetable garden box!

Below is my latest dehyrating, herbs from our garden. It includes rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, cilantro and oregano!

The New Garden Box and Dehydrating Herbs

2011-05-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

We have our new garden box in now, thanks to my husband's excitement about it! We filled it with good soil and planted a few things to start. I have some seeds to plant also, but for now we have a tomato, two cucumbers, a zucchini and um, now I forgot what else!

I also took a bunch of herbs (now is the time) and began to dry them: oregano, rosemary, parsley, cilantro, sage and thyme. Yum!!! What joy this will bring to our dinners!

Dehydrating Days

2011-05-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

Been doing a lot of dehyrating for Dinners in a Jar and just for general use. I love how easy and fun it is! Above are baby carrots, yogurt, pizza sauce, pineapple, and two peas/carrots.

Gardening and Stuff

2011-04-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

More photos of our garden as of late. Hopefully we'll have photos of our newest box by June 1st!

This shows our current garden and fruit trees. The lettuce and chard are just fantastic tasting. The fava bean plant is doing great still, and the tomato plants are also growing well. The herbs are so pretty. They are a nice addition to the second box. Onions are on the left side behind the fava beans and are also doing well!

Dinner is in the Jar

2011-04-22T23:27:00.000-07:00

Kathy Clark's book Dinner is in the Jar has helped me help the people in our ward to create their 3 month supply of food so easily. Here are some jars I made with the help of my trusty assistant Amanda, about half of what were actually done. It was exhausting but fun work, and now we have more sisters who are ready for what is to come!

Garden 2011

2011-04-22T23:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my fruit trees and garden boxes for this year. We are building a third garden box within a few weeks I hope. The winter/spring veggies are coming up nicely...so much more to plant though. I need to put in carrots, broccoli, fresh cabbage, more tomatoes, cucumbers and so much more!

Dry Ranch Dressing Mix

2011-04-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

Dry Ranch Dressing Mix 1/2 cup dry buttermilk powder 1 tablespoon dried parsley, crushed 1 teaspoon dried dill weed 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon dried minced onion 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper Combine all ingredients in the container of a food processor or blender and process on high speed until well blended and powdery smooth. To use mix: Combine 1 tablespoon dry mix with 1 cup milk and 1 cup mayonnaise. Mix well. Makes 2 cups salad dressing."

The Wonderful World of Dehydrating!

2011-04-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

Is there anything more cool and noteworthy in our lives than to store food to feed our family? If you feel overwhelmed with the idea of pressure canning or water bath canning, try dehydrating. It takes a good dehydrator to do it right, (altho you can do it out in the sun or even in the oven, but not as easy), but it's so very simple and the rewards are amazing!

Although these vegetables I have dried are not from my garden, they are still beautifully preserved and will last many years to come.

If you don't have the vegetables from your garden to use, and especially if you want an inexpensive, fun way to dry all the vegetables you'll need, start with inexpensive frozen vegetables that are on sale. I purchased bags of frozen CORN, PEAS, CARROTS, and GREEN BEANS for less than $1.00 a pound!

You simply pour the frozen vegetables on your drying trays and turn on the dehydrator and let them dry for 8 to 14 hours. Mushrooms take slightly less time. You buy them on sale, rinse them, dry them, cut them into thick slices, then dry with the other items. Frozen CORN is also easy to do and a hoot to use later! So pretty, aren't they?

The other thing I've done is cook up some rice, dehydrate it, and when you need rice for your favorite rice dish, just rehydrate the rice with a little hot water (or throw into a soup or whatever) and it cooks up in less than 5 minutes! Talk about fast!!!

Hand Warmers

2011-04-06T10:08:00.001-07:00

I'll be getting some of these!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV_0C8AMUtA

Wonderful spectacular chard!

2011-04-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

This beautiful bowl of chard from my garden is ready to steam for dinner. It's awesome to taste this vegetable from your garden, and it's so easy to grow. Chard and kale grow year around here in Sacramento area. Try it! To cook: remove green leafy part from thick stem, especially on larger leaves. Pile in a large saucepan with about an inch of water in it with some chicken bouillon. Add some pepper to taste, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. When tender, always strain using a collander to get the extra water out. It tastes so great!

72 Hour Kit Homemade Soup

2011-04-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

This soup is excellent, very flavorful and uses dried rice. What is dried rice, you ask? Simply cooking the rice normally, (1 cup rice to 2 cups water, simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until done and fluffy), then let it get to room temperature and then spread it out on drying sheets in your dehydrator (or oven at 130 degrees) for 5-8 hours until brittle. This creates your own instant rice!

Pam’s Spicy Tomato Soup - serves 1 or 2

In mylar bag, ironed shut, w/ABS
*1/3 cup dehydrated rice & *2 T corn meal
*1 tsp dried sour cream & *1 tsp cheddar powder
*1 ½ tsp chicken bouillon, & *¼ c dry refried beans
*1/8 tsp dried lemon zest, & *1/8 tsp dried onion
*1/8 tsp garlic salt, & *1/4 tsp cumin
*1/4 tsp garlic powder, & *1/4 tsp cayenne or chili powder
*2 T tomato powder, & black pepper to taste
Directions:
Bring 3 cups water to a boil. Remove ABS. Pour in all ingredients.Cover, turn off heat, let sit 5 minutes. Bring to a simmer, stirring often to prevent sticking, for 8 minutes. Serve.

Water

2011-04-02T00:13:00.000-07:00

Storing water is critical to our future safety. There are a few ways to store it, this is our way:

liter bottles: we take liter bottles of soda, clean them, fill them with tap water, date them, and put them in a storage bin so if any of them leak it will be contained. Once a year they are completely changed out and re-dated.

55 gallon drum and 7 gallon containers: outside we have placed a 55 gallon drum (more on the way) for misc. water needs, and 7 gallon containers for additional water needs. All this water is potable as it's cleaned frequently and bleach is inside the drums (1/2 cup).

Make your own Laundry Detergent

2011-03-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

My friend Amanda just posted on her daughter's blog that she made her own laundry detergent, so of course I have to post my version. :) I printed this out long ago on an emergency newsletter that I publish at church.

It works beautifully and I use it all the time....so cheap!

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 bar of soap, your preference. Fels Naptha, is commonly used, or Ivory or another plain pure soap. I have used Fels Naptha but now I use Pure and Natural bar soap.

2 cups of washing soda (not baking soda... (Wal-Mart and Winco)
2 cups of borax
¼ cup Oxy-Clean powder

HOW TO MAKE IT:

Use a cheese grater to grate up the bar of soap.
In a large container with a sealable lid, mix together the grated soap and borax, then ..
Add in the washing soda and oxy-clean
Put the lid on the container, and shake the container to mix the contents well.
When you do laundry, use about 1/4 cup, or if your machine is a front loading type, just use a heaping tablespoon.

Found at: http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/

Gardening Beginning 2011

2011-03-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

Here it is mid March already. I mostly have winter/fall vegetables still out there producing, but I also just planted a couple tomatoes just for fun...and of course it's crazy rainy out, but ah well. I like to try early. I have lots of other things going on as you can see. I'll post again in mid April when I hope to have all summer veggies planted.

Dinner is in the Jar

2011-03-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

For the past three months I have been putting together many dried dinners from the Dinner is in the Jar book. All of them are excellent...Kathy Clark is to be commended!

I have gone from putting them into jars to placing them in mylar bags. Here are two pix of how I'm doing them...put a label on the outside of what it is and how to refill and cook the item, then seal up with an iron. Works great. I also put in an oxygen absorber.

Seedlings 2011

2011-03-03T19:00:00.000-08:00

I started my seeds beginning of last month, now they are ready for transplant into larger cups. I made them from 8 1/2 by 11 white paper, only because I didn't have any black and white newspaper to use this time (too lazy to go get a paper).

They are doing great and will stay in the garden box with the "cover" I made over them until ready to plant into the garden box itself.

Canning Spaghetti Sauce

2011-02-27T14:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of the spaghetti sauce still boiling inside the jar after pressure canning it for 75 minutes and letting it sit for over an hour. It is so interesting to see it continue to boil under pressure!

Tomorrow I'll be canning ground beef and then later this week I'll be doing chicken again.

Dried Dehydrated Eggs

2011-02-25T22:51:00.000-08:00

Last night I dehydrated about two dozen eggs that my friend Jan gave me from her chickens. They were very fresh and good, and I dried them for about 10 hours in my dehydrator, then ground them up. Great results. Sorry for the blurry image, but you get the idea.

I can use them anytime I need eggs in a recipe, fun and so inexpensive compared to buying!

Quiche

2011-02-17T22:30:00.000-08:00

I made this lovely bacon, cheddar, broccoli quiche using storebought broccoli and my own broccoli from the yard (brocolini), and it was sooo good!

Recipe I've used for years and years:

Broccoli Quiche

1 9 inch pie crust
1 cup shredded cheddar
½ cup chopped onion, fried with bacon
3 chopped mushrooms
4 eggs, beaten into 2 cups ½ and ½, or evaporated milk
1 large broccoli, steamed until tender and in pieces
½ pound bacon, chopped and sautied until crisp.
420 degrees 15 minutes, 325 45 minutes

Wheat Flake Granola

2011-02-16T11:04:00.000-08:00

I flaked up some wheat (using my flaker, found here: Flaker and put it in a granola bar recipe that called for oats. I used half oats (1 cup) and half wheat (1 cup), and instead of using 1/2 cup of wheat flour, I used white. It turned out great. It would taste great with wheat flour too, but my husband doesn't love wheat like I do.

Oatmeal Wheat Flake Granola Bars

1/2 cup wheat or white flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs or 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites, or dried reconstituted equivalant of 2 eggs
2 Tbl molasses
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbl canola oil or butter or 2 tsp dried butter with 1 T oil or water
1 cup oats
1 cup wheat flakes (or oats, or forego the oats and just use wheat flakes)
1 cup dried fruit (I used dried cherries and cranberries)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or almonds

(you can also add some chocolate chips, but I didn't)

Preheat oven to 3530. Coat 9 x 13 baking pan with nonstick spray.

Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt (use a whisk). Mix peanut butter, brown sugar, eggs, molasses, h oney, vanilla and oil until smooth, add to flour mixture.

Mix really well, then add oats/wheat flakes, fruit and nuts. Plop into the 9 x 13 baking pan (I used a Pyrex 9 x 13 casserole), smooth out evenly using some plastic wrap on your fingers to push it down.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes. You want them to be evenly, lightly browned. Put a knife blade into the middle to see if it's moist but not wet. Let cool a bit, then cut into squares and finish cooling.

If you can wait until they are cool they are better than eating fresh out of the pan!

Ground Beef and Chicken Canning

2011-02-04T19:56:00.000-08:00

I canned ground beef last night, which turned out fantastic, and then today I did 14 pints of chicken (breast and thigh combos). I kept a good solid inch of headspace on both chicken and the groundbeef as you're supposed to, so all appears well.

I did discover that my canner won't do more than 7 pint jars--you can't stack them as it isn't high enough.

The beef now has about a half inch grease layer on top, but it sealed well and I'm glad for the grease. The beef tasted fantastic, so I'm very happy with it!

Orange/Pineapple Marmalade

2011-02-02T14:02:00.000-08:00

I made orange / pineapple marmalade today. They are so pretty. Hopefully the jam will set up properly.

Gardening and Flooding or is it Flooding and Gardening?

2011-01-26T23:50:00.001-08:00

FLOODING

As the rains come and go in our region, flooding is always possible. Here are some U.S. Department of Agriculture’s guidelines:

• Freeze containers of water to create blocks of ice that can help keep food cold in the freezer, refrigerator or a cooler if you lose power.
• Freeze refrigerated items—leftovers, milk, fresh meat and poultry. If you then lose power, this will help keep them at a safe temperature longer.
• Know where to buy dry and block ice.
• Have portable coolers to keep food cold longer.
• When arranging food in your freezer, keep packages on top of and around each other (touching) to keep them cold longer.
• If you’re told that power will be out for an extended period, you can purchase 50 lbs. of dry ice that should maintain an 18-cubic-foot full freezer for 2 days.
• Throw away perishables—meat, poultry, fish, soft cheeses, milk, eggs, leftovers and deli items— that have been in the refrigerator more than 4 hours without power.
• If the food in your freezer still contains ice crystals or is at 40°F or below, then the food is SAFE to cook and eat, or re-freeze. However, if power has been out for more than 48 hours, throw it out!

REMEMBER:

• Don’t wade through the water. Flood waters have sewer and refuse materials. Drink only bottled water if flooding has occurred.
• Thoroughly wash all metal pans, ceramic dishes and utensils that have come in contact with flood waters, in clean, hot, soapy water. Sanitize by boiling them 15 minutes in a solution of 1 teaspoon of chlorine bleach per quart of water.
THE BOTTOM LINE
When in doubt, always throw it out!

If you have specific questions about food safety, call the USDA’s toll-free Meat and Poultry Hotline at (888) MP-HOTLINE from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (EST) Monday through Friday.

"God…will open doors and means in a way we never would have supposed to help all those who truly want to get their year’s supply….All we have to do is to decide, commit to do it, and then keep the commitment. Miracles will take place; the way will be opened, (and) we will have our storage areas filled."
Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, May 1976

GARDENING 2011

Did you know you may start planting your garden soon? Mid February is a good time to get an early start on Spring vegetables.
You can plant the following in February:
Asparagus, Beets, Bok Choy, Carrots, Chard, Leeks, Lettuce, Bulb Onions, Peas, White Potatoes, Radish, Rhubarb, Spinach, Turnips
p.s. Don’t forget bare root fruit trees are available now!

Go to www.gardeners.com. In their ‘search box’, type in “kitchen garden planner” for a free online vegetable square foot gardening tool!
Try to plant on a sunny day when it’s going to be above 45 degrees. Turn the soil over and over and add a bag or two of fresh soil.
Talk to the nursery folks if you need more info, or make sure you have good gardening books for help.

Water Bath Canning Using Steam Canner

2011-01-16T14:35:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled to hear that finally, someone has tested the steam canner to be used in lieu of the water bath canner (NOT the pressure canner, which must always be used for meats and vegetables). However (yay!!!) Note the following info as given in Utah:

Steam Canners

The USDA does not recommend the use of steam canners due to inadequate research and testing. However, Utah State University has tested the steam canners and has found them to be safe and adequate for processing certain foods if used according to instructions and safe canning procedures.

Due to botulism poisoning potential, steamer canners may NOT be used for for meats, tomatoes, and vegetables.

If you choose to use a steam canner for jams, jellies, or fruits, only USDA approved and tested recipes and canning times should be used. Processing times for boiling-water bath canners may be used for the steam canners. It is very important to follow instructions and be sure that an 8 to 10-inch plume of steam is present during the entire processing time and the water must not run out before the end of processing. http://extension.usu.edu/utah/htm/fcs/food-preservation-canning/

(Pam's note: notice the steam canner has a place for the water to boil under the jars, and then the lid is placed on top of that. They are SO much easier to use than the water bath!!!
You can use this canner for fruits and jams/jelly's, all done with proper recipes of course)

Dinner is in the Jar

2011-01-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder what to do to get more of the 3 month supply in? Or how to get meals prepared quickly and efficiently?

Well look no more. Go get the book "Dinner is in the Jar" by Kathy Clark and make up bunches of dinners in advance! They are all placed in jars for you to take out anytime and use, and they taste great!

I bought the extra stuff I needed, like sour cream powder and dried celery from Shelf Reliance, but most of the other items needed are found in your own pantry or at the grocery store!

Let me know how it works for you!

January Blues

2011-01-13T10:34:00.000-08:00

Can it be that Spring is just around the corner? Here it is January, the typical blue soggy month that is difficult to like--except we do. We love winter first, then fall, then spring then summer. The only thing I really like about summer is the resulting harvest from early spring and spring planting!

Right now I still need to prune the old grape vine branches, prune down the artichoke, and clean up in general. Next month I'll buy a couple new bags of soil to mix with last year's soil in the boxes. In March I'll buy the herbs and other plants that I want to plant early into the ground, and first thing in March will be potatoes.

Baby Food, Lighting and Honey

2010-12-22T09:48:00.000-08:00

L. Tom Perry Nov. 1995

Quote re: Self Reliance and Emergency Preparedness

"Acquire and store a reserve of food and supplies that will sustain life. ... As long as I can remember, we have been taught to prepare for the future and to obtain a year's supply of necessities. I would guess that the years of plenty have almost universally caused us to set aside this counsel. I believe the time to disregard this counsel is over. With events in the world today, it must be considered with all seriousness." L. Tom Perry, "

If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear," Ensign, Nov. 1995.

STORING HONEY

(from thefarm.org)

One pound of honey is about 1-1/3 cups.

Honey can be used in many ways. It makes a good spread for breads, muffins and biscuits and a tasty sandwich filling when mixed with dried fruits, peanut butter or cottage cheese. Honey can be used as a sweetener for fruits and beverages. It also can be used in any food that is sweetened, including frozen desserts, baked products, meat glazes, custards, frostings, pie fillings, cobblers, puddings, candied vegetables and salad dressings.

Honey can be used to replace some of the sugar called for in many recipes.

When making either cakes or cookies, first mix the honey with the fat or the liquid. Then mix it thoroughly with the other ingredients. If this is not done, a soggy layer will form on the top of the baked product.

Honey keeps best in a dry place at a cool temperature between 50 and 70 degrees F. Keep it in a tightly covered container so it does not absorb moisture or odors from the air.

Honey will start to form crystals as it gets older or if it is refrigerated. To make it liquid again, place the honey in an open container in a pan of warm water until it is clear. (You may also warm it up for a few minutes and then place the bottle of warmed honey in the Wonderbox oven).

Do not have the honey in a plastic container when you set it in the warm water.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Honey and products made with honey must not be fed to infants younger than one year, because honey can cause "infant botulism." Spores of the bacteria that cause botulism are present in honey. When these spores get into the intestinal tract of an infant, they grow and produce a toxin that results in serious illness and death.

Remember that these spores in honey are not destroyed by regular cooking or baking methods.

Making Baby Foods from Stored Foods

It is important to remember baby's needs when planning for emergencies. There are a couple of different approaches you may choose to take in order to provide for baby when it is most critical. You may choose to store ready-to-eat baby foods, but you also may want to know how to make your own baby foods from other stored items. The ingredients for these foods generally store longer than the canned baby foods, and of course they are more versatile. Things like rice, wheat, and dehydrated vegetables can be used for making baby foods and in cooking meals for the rest of the family as well.

Food mill For making your regular table foods into pureed baby foods, a baby food mill is a great tool. Keep this item on hand and you will find it useful for everyday use as well as emergency situations when you cannot go to the store to buy jars of baby food.

Baby food recipes: When baby is just starting on solid foods, it is important to follow allergy-conscious guidelines, even in emergency situations. Introduce one new food at a time. For rice cereal, simply grind rice finely in blender.

Use dehydrated foods Reconstitute dehydrated fruits and vegetables by soaking them in water. Blend the fruit, vegetables, and water until desired consistency and add more liquid (such as breast milk, formula, or juice) if needed. If a blender is not available, a hand-powered food mill is a good option.

(Above adapted from preparedness.families.blog)

LIGHTING WHEN POWER IS OUT

This time of year, the power can go off anytime, just like in the middle of a hot summer—PG&E and SMUD are overtaxed at times. If you want lights for your evenings, even without power, a good battery operated lantern is a must, like the Coleman one shown above. Check out the camping supplies at Wal-Mart or REI!

Month of December!

2010-12-22T09:46:00.000-08:00

GARDENING

Technically in Sacramento, you can still plant right now in December, although with these frosts we’re having I don’t recommend it. However, if you want to try, you can plant lettuce, broccoli, onion sets, mustard, pea, radish and spinach.

Be prepared to place straw or plastic over soil to help keep warm, and always check a good gardening book for wisdom.

FRUGAL LIVING

If you want to buy fresh and day-old bread at fantastic prices, check out the Entenmann’s-Oroweat Outlet on Fruitridge Blvd.! I’ve been going there for years, and have found you can’t beat the savings anywhere else. Flour and corn tortillas, hamburger buns, biscuit mix, pretzels, donuts, loaves of wheat bread, English muffins and more, all for fantastic, unbeatable prices that are well worth the trip.

For each $7 you spend you get an item for free. In my case, I bought $14 worth so I got TWO items for free.

Try stopping by when you’re on your way back from the temple or downtown Sacramento. It’s off of Hwy 99 and Fruitridge Blvd. West.

Entenmann’s-Oroweat, 2475 Fruitridge Rd., Sac, CA

916-731-7138

STUMPED FOR GREAT INEXPENSIVE CHRISTMAS GIFTS? TRY THESE!

• Layered dry beans in a canning jar w/pretty ribbon top

• Child's artwork, framed

• Journal with special inscription

• Mug with chocolate milk packets

• Yard or two of pretty material and a simple pattern

• Home baked bread, and/or home canned jam

• Basket of Dollar Store stuff

• Decorative napkins and napkin rings

• Gardening gloves with seeds

• Photo album or picture frame

• Food storage items, like a can of wheat or nonfat dry milk

• Homemade cookie or brownie mix

• Different pretty yarn skeins

• Popcorn with jar of cheddar topping

• Barbeque sauce with basting brush

• Pancake mix and a bottle of real maple syrup

• Movie theater tickets

• Board games

• Jar of honey with biscuit mix

• Note cards and book of stamps

• Picture frames, buy them on sale!

• Specialty cookbook

• Pretty glass jar filled with candy’

• Muffin mix with muffin pan

• Books (look for sales)

• Set of dish towels and dish cloths

• $10 “credit” cards for restaurants

• Baking pans and supplies

• $15 I-Tunes gift card

• 72 Hour kit supplies

• Christmas ornaments

• Puzzles

• Flashlight

• Solar Oven (CookIt)

• Calendars

• Special soaps and bath puff

(above from the www.betterbudgetiing.com web page with some additions)

SAFETY WITH TURKEY FRYERS

As a former fire official, I’d like to caution against turkey fryers. They are extremely dangerous. If you plan on frying your turkey for Christmas this year, please note:

• Many units easily tip over, spilling the hot oil from the cooking pot.

• If the cooking pot has too much oil, it may spill out of the unit when the turkey is placed into the cooking pot. Oil may hit the burner or flames, causing a fire to engulf the entire unit.

• Partially frozen turkeys placed into the fryer can cause a spillover effect. This too may result in an extensive fire.

• With no thermostat controls, the units also have the potential to overheat the oil to the point of combustion.

• The lid and handles on the sides of the cooking pot get dangerously hot, posing severe burn hazards.

May I suggest that you see this online video. Go to YouTube and type in the search: “Underwriters Laboratories Turkey Fryer Demonstration”

Gardening Winter Style

2010-12-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

Winter is still in full force here, without much of a break. We've had continual cold weather (between 32 and 56 degrees for weeks), which is very unusual here. It's also been raining consistently for weeks as well, I haven't had to water the garden at all, which is also very unusual! My carrots and lettuce are doing okay, as is my broccoli and cabbage, but not much to harvest. Still, it's nice to have them in the ground. I look forward to the Spring for one reason only: planting veggies! :)

Frozen Garden

2010-11-29T08:27:00.000-08:00

I have never seen such a hard freeze happen here in the Sacramento area this time of year. It's not even December yet, but all my vegetable plants in my two boxes are frozen solid. Also amazing because they are built up boxes, not just plants stuck in the ground. See the pix of some of the plants here. I hope I can salvage some of them. I should have covered them but it would have taken me putting the cages back on and then sheets of some kind on top, and I didn't get to it. Next time I'll take the frost warnings seriously!

Bread Store

2010-11-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

There is nothng better than an excellent sale or bargain on something that you must have anyway. Although I can make my own bread, I prefer to buy it for the majority of my bread needs, and my favorite is Oroweat wheat bread.

I go to the Entenmann’s-Oroweat, 2475 Fruitridge Rd., Sac, CA, 916-731-7138 store about once a month, and feel so wonderful for doing so. Check out this photo of what I got yesterday for only $15!!!

Fall

2010-10-22T22:04:00.001-07:00

We harvested an artichoke off the plant yesterday, so cool that it's still producing! I've been working on my other blog preppygirlskirts.blogspot.com but still have a ways to go before I'm ready to show the skirts. Meanwhile, my garden is, as always, a peaceful place to be. The broccoli, cabbage, carrots, etc. are all doing fine!

Pressure Canning Spaghetti Sauce

2010-10-05T23:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I pressure canned for the first time, making homemade spaghetti meat sauce. It's awesome! It went very well. My electric Maytag range burner did very well...and I just stood there and adjusted the temperature often until it settled in. I made sure it never went below 10 pounds (and in fact kept pretty much at 13 pounds) for 75 minutes as required by the Blue Preserving Book for spaghetti sauce. Tomorrow we'll have spaghetti but I'm using what's left from the process instead of opening up a newly canned jar.

But I'm so excited. Chicken breasts are next.

Cantelope

2010-10-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

Yahoo!!! Our first cantelope of the year! Awesome color and flavor. We're very happy about that!!!

Fall Garden

2010-09-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

My fall garden items have been in the boxes now about a month and are doing well. I have peas, broccoli, carrots, radishes, lettuce, fava beans, and onion. I keep meaning to put garlic in the ground but haven't yet. My tomatoes are still more green than red, my green bean is fading, my cantelopes doing great but I hope they ripen before the end of the season! Here are pictures of the garden as it looks today.

New Outfit

2010-09-03T23:13:00.001-07:00

I about went crazy with the collar, but finally figured it out with the help of a friend and a lot of prayer. Outfit is great, fits perfectly and is done!

Butter and Canola Oil

2010-09-01T23:40:00.000-07:00

I buy a processed butter product that allows for easy spreading... However, it's expensive, and so I looked up recipes for how to make my own spreadable butter.

The recipe is:

two cubes butter, softened (not in the microwave)
3/4 cup canola oil

Mix it up well, pour into glass jar, OR into the last spreadable butter product's container.

It's great tasting and fun to make!

I have not checked out the price for the amount of butter/oil that I use for this to see how much less, if anything, it is from the store product...but it's fun to do!

Pears

2010-08-27T23:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a very busy week. I canned pears, dehydrated pears, and made pie filling out of them. They are delicious.

Cantelope

2010-08-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

I found one lonely cantelope that was growing inbetween the garden box and the wood slat fence! I couldn't budge it! So I took the vine away from it and did what I should have done long ago. I put the plant vines up on poles, and now I can see there are several cantelopes growing. Hopefully this will keep them in the sun and develop into large tasty melons by the end of Sept!

Jar Sealing with my Food Saver

2010-08-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I sealed into mason jars:

butter powder
egg powder
yeast
cheddar cheese powder

Very easy with the Food Saver attachment! Worked like a charm! Now my plastic bags of these products are gone and the food is in clean, neat jars!

Sewing Project 2 - second skirt

2010-08-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

Here is another skirt I made yesterday, and I'm happy to say that I FINALLY understood the directions. Wheew! Took me forever. Now I can make partial elastic waistband skirts to my heart's content!

Sewing Project

2010-07-31T22:58:00.001-07:00

Today I made a lovely skirt for a friend. It only took a little over an hour. Easy peasy, and so fun!

Cucumbers potatoes cabbage - the garden continues

2010-07-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

Ah dear friends, how my garden grows. Or not.

My cantelope is still in the flower stage, with only one tiny little start of one that I can see so far. It's probably because the neighbors beautiful tree is shading it enough that I only get about 6 hours of sunlight in that particular spot.

My zucchini are doing great, as usual just enough zucchini for us. Perfect.

The garlic and onions have been harvested, and are drying.

In the new box, the tomatoes seem to be doing okay, the plants themselves I mean...but the tomatoes are, like so many others here in Sacramento County, not turning red and the number of actual tomatoes starting is much less than it should be, considering how many plants I have. Still, my Early Girl is producing enough for us, and we did taste an amazing Amish Paste, but that's pretty much it so far.

The cabbage that we picked (see picture in previous post) was awesome. I made cole slaw out of it and it was great! I have 4-5 other cabbage plants that were planted slightly after the first one, or they are simply slower because they were a bit crowded, they they are starting to produce heads. I expect by the end of August to have two more cabbage heads, if not more. Here is the new one.

The carrots have all been harvested as of today. About 1/3 were 3 or 4 inches long, but the majority of them, thanks to my inefficient seeding, were much smaller.

The lettuce plants were harvested and gone a few weeks ago.

The beets have been most disappointing. A friend of mine has a huge garden and he gave us 3 inch beets. Mine have barely produced anything, and the few I did get were only about an inch across. Not sure what's up with that since they have unlimited depth they can use and the soil isn't clay (where my friend's IS).

The green beans are finally coming out again. I have 3-4 huge plants up on poles that should be producing like crazy, but they have been a bit sporadic. Not sure what's going on..but for the most part, I get a handful or two a week. I hope that goes up just a little more.

The cucumbers are so fun! First time growing those and they are doing great. I've gotten two good cucumbers off the plants (2 plants) with more on the way.

I have cleared out the carrots and peas and now have plenty of room for more items. I have ot think about it where exactly I want them, but my next planting, probably within a week, will be carrots, broccoli, peas, potatoes and lettuce and spinach for Fall harvesting.

And lastly my beautiful artichoke plant is doing just great...starting to die off a bit, and I've let most of the remaining artichokes flower. I cut them all off after this photo was taken, and will see how many more I get before the plant stops producing. It has heavily produced for over a year.

Second Coming of Jesus Christ

2010-07-24T18:40:00.001-07:00

This is an excellent video!Second Coming

Garden 7-21/2010

2010-07-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to find the first cucumber on my plant for this year! I've never attempted them before. There is one more I found on the backside of a smaller plant, but this one I just picked and will sample this evening. I hope it's good!

Plus the cabbage looks ready to pick. I will do that sometime before Sunday. Cool!!!

Excellent Article

2010-07-07T09:43:00.001-07:00

http://ldsmag.com/emergency/100707myths.html

How the Garden Grows and Harvesting Seeds

2010-07-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

The garden is continuing to grow nicely, although I usually have more tomatoes by now. The zucchini leaves are huge and the plant is gorgeous, but my zucchini are growing slowly. There is a tree next door that shades the plants there now a little in the morning. Not sure that hinders it or not. The cantalope is growing, but again, very slowly, and I'll be surprised if we actually get fruit by the end of the season. Meanwhile, the green beans are prolific, the cabbages are starting to form heads, the soy beans are flowering, and the one additional heirloom tomato is flowering as well. The artichoke plant is still providing lots of artichokes!

I harvested some lettuce seeds today. See the plant and the little black seeds? Very cool!

Tried to harvest spinach seeds but had a hard time telling which was which. I hope I got it right.

2010-06-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

On May 22, 2009, I took a photo of our first (and only) artichoke plant. Here is a picture of it at about a month old.

As you can see from the post before this one, it's gotten huge this past year! It seems to love its corner of the yard. We ended up taking out the rose bush behind it, and I do have to circle it with snail bait powder once and awhile, but other than watering and the occasional fertilization, I don't do anything else with it. This year already I've harvested about 15 artichokes. Pretty good!

Artichoke

2010-06-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

Such an amazing artichoke. We've been watering it deeply and often and it's responded so beautifully. Can't see the 10 artichokes, but they are there!

Solar and Wonder Oven cooking

2010-06-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight we're having chili, which I tried to make both in my solar oven and wonderbox oven. It didn't work, which is good to know. The day isn't hot, it's mild, but the sun should have gotten the chili hotter, however, the more volume there is in liquid the longer it takes to cook sometimes, and there was a breeze that was wicking away the heat, so it's not unusual.

The breeze died down enough to put bread into the solar cooker, and although I only left it out 1.5 hours (should be 3 or more), it baked enough that it just needed 10 more minutes in the oven.

I'll try the chili again when it's hotter, probably this coming weekend as temps are going up to 93 degrees, and do it during the middle of the day.

Here are some photos of how I put the chili together.

Raw hamburger with raw onion and spices...

Then add the beans...and put it in the solar oven "Cook-IT" for about 4 hours or so. The extra liquid in this means it must be cooked a bit longer.

Safe Food when Power is Out

2010-06-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

After leaving out stew meat all night because I forgot to defrost it properly (I just took it out of the freezer and laid it on the counter while bringing together the other ingredients. What I neglected to do was put it back!), this morning I looked up the USDA chart for when food is no longer safe outside of freezing/refrigeration.

I wanted to print it here for those of us who may have forgotten how crucial it is to keep food cold! Remember, if power goes out, you are going to lose any food that you can't safely cook using your barbeque, solar oven, or other such method.

ANY food that IS HELD AT 40 degrees for more than two hours: (MEANING YOU HAVE KEPT IT COLD FOR MORE THAN TWO HOURS, BUT AT A HIGHER TEMPERATURE THAN REQUIRED)
MEAT, POULTRY, SEAFOOD

Raw or leftover cooked meat, poultry, fish, or seafood; soy meat substitutes

Discard

Thawing meat or poultry Discard

Meat, tuna, shrimp,chicken, or egg salad Discard

Gravy, stuffing, broth Discard

Lunchmeats, hot dogs, bacon, sausage, dried beef Discard

Pizza – with any topping Discard

Canned hams labeled "Keep Refrigerated" Discard

Canned meats and fish, opened Discard

CHEESE

Soft Cheeses: blue/bleu, Roquefort, Brie, Camembert, cottage, cream, Edam, Monterey Jack, ricotta, mozzarella, Muenster, Neufchatel, queso blanco, queso fresco

Discard

Hard Cheeses: Cheddar, Colby, Swiss, Parmesan, provolone, Romano Safe

Processed Cheeses Safe

Shredded Cheeses Discard

Low-fat Cheeses Discard

Grated Parmesan, Romano, or combination (in can or jar) Safe

DAIRY

Milk, cream, sour cream, buttermilk, evaporated milk, yogurt, eggnog, soy milk

Discard

Butter, margarine Safe

Baby formula, opened Discard

EGGS

Fresh eggs, hard-cooked in shell, egg dishes, egg products

Discard

Custards and puddings Discard

CASSEROLES, SOUPS, STEWS Discard

FRUITS

Fresh fruits, cut

Discard

Fruit juices, opened Safe

Canned fruits, opened Safe

Fresh fruits, coconut, raisins, dried fruits, candied fruits, dates Safe

SAUCES, SPREADS, JAMS

Opened mayonnaise, tartar sauce, horseradish

Discard if above 50 °F for over 8 hrs.

Peanut butter Safe

Jelly, relish, taco sauce, mustard, catsup, olives, pickles Safe

Worcestershire, soy, barbecue, Hoisin sauces Safe

Fish sauces (oyster sauce) Discard

Opened vinegar-based dressings Safe

Opened creamy-based dressings Discard

Spaghetti sauce, opened jar Discard

BREAD, CAKES, COOKIES,PASTA, GRAINS

Bread, rolls, cakes, muffins, quick breads, tortillas

Safe

Refrigerator biscuits,rolls, cookie dough Discard

Cooked pasta, rice, potatoes Discard

Pasta salads with mayonnaise or vinaigrette Discard

Fresh pasta Discard

Cheesecake Discard

Breakfast foods –waffles, pancakes, bagels Safe

PIES, PASTRY

Pastries, cream filled

Discard

Pies – custard,cheese filled, or chiffon; quiche Discard

Pies, fruit Safe

VEGETABLES

Fresh mushrooms, herbs, spices

Safe

Greens, pre-cut, pre-washed, packaged Discard

Vegetables, raw Safe

Vegetables, cooked; tofu Discard

Vegetable juice, opened Discard

Baked potatoes Discard

Commercial garlic in oil Discard

Potato Salad Discard

Artichokes

2010-06-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

We returned from our two week vacation (where I fretted about leaving our vegetable garden with only a 3 day a week, 30 minute watering from the drip hose) to find our artichoke plant had obviously doubled in size and gave us a bunch of new artichokes. When we left, we examined all the plants carefully to see where they were "at". The artichoke plant had one baby artichoke on it, that was it.

We returned to find at least 8 of them. I cut a bunch off and cooked them today. Great for dinner tonight!

Here is a photo of them in a nice bowl from yesterday. Awesome, aren't they?