Shopping List

I've been trying to come up with a shopping list for the food storage.  Something that outlines everything I need, yet can get a little at a time. I found a wonderful website that has been an immense help.  Actually, I think its a group of 3 or so sites by the same 2 or 3 women (I'm not really clear).  Anyway, the first one I found is called foodstoragemadeeasy.com. There was another caled everydayfoodstorage.com and another called theobsessiveshopper.com.  I'm not sure anymore which was which or what I found on which one. They were all very good and all had some great ideas.

One of them has an excel sheet that helps you figure how much of which ingredients you need to feed your family three meals a day, plus snacks, for 3 months.  I downloaded it yesterday and started filling it out.   It will take a while, I'm afraid, but it will be another month before I have money to go grocery shopping again anyway.  

I did my shopping for September yesterday.  I was able to get some things from Costco for the food storage.  For now, I've been setting aside $100 a month to put into the food storage.  Usually I go to Costco and get things that can be stored easily that we use regularly.  Or sometimes I will go to the Emergency Essentials store and get some items in #10 cans. 

I also started re-organizing my kitchen cupboards and putting items into plastic containers that stack and have straight sides so as to be able to get more in the cupboard and see where everything is. 

I've drawn up a floor plan of how to arrange the food storage in my extra bedroom.  I've just got to get some shelves in there that I can put things on.  I already have some self-rotating can racks that will sit on the shelves.  I love these things by the way--they hold a lot in a small space, rotate the can automatically, and I can see at a glance what I need when its time to go shopping.  The are called "cansolidators" and are sold by a company called Shelf Reliance.  I will add a link to their website to the list.  

So all in all, we're off to a good start.  As soon as I get the shelves moved into the other room, I will need to inventory the items I already have, then we can get a better idea of what I need.

Made bread yesterday

Well, I made bread yesterday.  Two batches.  The first one was low on flour and very sticky.  The loaf didn't rise above the edge of the pan.  Tastes good though.  The second batch, I put more flour in, but it seemed kind of stiff to me.  We haven't cut into that loaf yet, so I'm not sure how it came out.  It did rise above the edge of the pan, but is not as rounded as it should be.

A friend suggested adding a cup of gluten flour.  I'll give that a try and see how it comes out.

To Do list

Image by Pieter Pieterse via Flickr

OK, where to start?

I guess the first thing is going to have to be organizing places to keep all this food.  Right now, its shoved in my hall closet and various cupboards in the kitchen.  

I have an extra bedroom that is only in use by my desk and a few boxes of books.  I'll move some shelves in there and arrange the food so it can be easily found and inventoried. 

Then we'll need to start researching some recipes.

One of the worst things about food storage, in my opinion, is powdered milk.  It is impossible to drink!  echh!  I found a recipe on a site called everyday food storage (see link list) for making powdered milk drinkable.  I'm going to try it and I'll let you know.  Then I think we need to work on making bread.  Since moving to Utah, I haven't been able to make a decent loaf of bread!  I can only assume its the altitude.  I'm definitely going to have to experiment with that.  I gave up on making my own bread several years ago because I just got too discouraged.  But I'm willing to give it another try.  I've always wanted to try making my own sourdough bread, and I should probably experiment with multi-grain breads, as that is better for my diabetes than plain white bread.

I would also like to try making my own cheese.  I have a book that shows how to make a cheese press from a number 10 can and make cheese from powdered milk.  We'll give that a whirl sometime down the road, too.

But first things first.  Organizing the space is going to have to be the subject for September.  I'll keep you updated!

Change of Plan

Well, the lemons sounded like a good idea until I went to the store and priced them.  We're out of season!  I should have realized.  They are way to expensive right now, I think I'll wait a bit on that.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, anyway.  With the current political climate of not only the US, but the entire world and with epidemics such as the swine flu going around, I can see a lot of reasons why we may have to rely on our food storage sooner than we'd like.  I've decided to start living on our food storage now.  The reasons for this are many.  But it seems to me if we are going to be able to live on our food storage in an emergency , then we need to be used to eating those foods.  It is well known that children and the elderly, especially, don't do well with a sudden change in diet.  They will stop eating altogether rather than eat things they are not accustomed to.  My challenge to myself, then, is to learn to live on what we've stored. 

Also, I have diabetes.  This means low carb/high protein eating.  The number one recommended storage item is always wheat, followed by sugar.  Both high carb items!   I need to find food storage options that take the diabetes into consideration as well.  (Challenge number 2.)

And, to top it all off, my daughter and I are both pretty picky eaters.  I try to eat a large variety of things, but i have to admit that I find it very difficult to gag down vegetables.  So challenge number 3, then, is to find recipes we both will like using items that store well. 

I'm looking forward to this journey.  If you'd like to come along, please feel welcome.  Together, we might just learn something, eh?

Disclaimer

First of all, I feel I need to post a disclaimer.   The sole goal of this blog is to give me a place to 1:  journal; keep track of my progress in learning to live with my food storage and 2: give me some writing practice.  I've always liked writing, but haven't had the opportunity to use it much. 

I have no intention of capitalizing on other people's success or hard work.  I have every intention of crediting every person or organization I get ideas from.  I also plan to furnish links to any website I find helpful in this regard. I truly don't care if anyone else reads this.  The blog is for my use and edification.  If I provide entertainment or inspiration for anyone else, so much the better.

First Month's Topic

I spent the afternoon at the library yesterday, researching lemons.  Or trying to, anyway.  There was only one book in the entire library about lemons.  Its title:  Lemons:  Growing, Cooking, Crafting, by Kate Chynoweth and Elizabeth Woodson.  Its not very big, but it was quite informative. 

Did you know that lemons originated in India?  I had no idea.  I would have guessed the Mediterranean.  Or that the best lemons for cooking are the Eureka and the Lisbon?  Although, many people prefer the Meyer lemon, which is not strictly a lemon, but rather, a cross between the lemon and an orange, or possible a mandarin.  (The jury seems to be out on whether it was an orange or a mandarin.  Either way, I believe I want to try it.)

An internet search was much more productive. I found a lot of recipes to try, including several varieties of lemonade and a chicken-lemon rice soup that sounds delicious.

When buying lemons, one should look for heavy fruit with bright yellow color that is firm to the touch.  Although, if you plan to use the lemon zest, you should buy organic lemons, as they have not been sprayed with chemicals for bug control or covered with wax to make them shine.   If you can't get organic, then you should be sure to wash them thoroughly to remove these elements.

Adding some lemon juice to rice as it cooks will make it fluffier.  Who knew?  I will definitely be trying this one next time we have rice.  And, of course, a small wedge of lemon in a glass of ice water improves the taste immensely.

Lemons are extremely healthy.  They are packed with vitamin C, which is why they are good for colds.    They also contain antioxidants and cancer-fighting properties.  One site I looked at said that they were good protection against rheumatoid arthritis.

A sore throat remedy:

Mix 1 cup of honey with 1/4 c. of hot water and 3 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice.  Store it in a jar in the refrigerator.  Use about 1-2 tblsp. to soothe a sore throat.   I've been using this one for years.  It really does soothe the throat and tastes yummy! 

So, September will become Lemon Exploration Month in this home.  We will start with that Lemon-Rice soup I believe, and will also try keeping a bowl of lemon wedges in the fridge for use on veggies and whatnot.  See you soon, and happy experimenting!

A little history

It occurs to me that maybe you'd like to know a little about my background. Where I'm coming from experience-wise, if you will. Well...

First of all, I am the oldest of 8 children and the only girl for about 8 years. I have four brothers between me and my oldest sister. And the next important thing to know is that my mother HATED to cook. So, as you can probably guess, I got pressed into service at a young age. I knew how to follow a recipe and make cookies by myself by the time I was 8 years old. I believe I also made my first cake (a Wacky Cake) about then as well. When I was 13, my mother got really sick and was down in bed for about a month. You guessed it--I became chief cook and bottle washer from that day on.

My mom was a middle daughter who grew up on a farm. She not only hated to cook, she didn't really know how when she got married. Her mother and her older sister did all the cooking and she helped the boys on the farm. So, you can imagine the cooking tuition I got from her. Put the pan on the burner, turn it up to high, turn it down when it starts to scorch. (OK, it was probably not quite that bad, but you get the idea.)

When I was a teenager, I started scouring (and collecting) cookbooks looking for new recipes. I learned to bake pretty well. My specialty now is cheesecakes. Love 'em. Eat em. Freeze 'em so you don't eat 'em all in one sitting! But I grew up in a house of vegetable haters where Steak and Potatoes (or Macaroni and Cheese) reigned supreme. I or one of my sisters would bake a batch of cookies once or twice a week for the family to enjoy while watching TV. As you can probably guess, my hips are a leeetle bit wider than I'd like. Most of the things I know how to cook are plain, simple fare without the gourmet touches. I still like that kind of food.

But when I got divorced, about 10 years ago, I realized that I really hated figuring out what's for dinner every night. And, even more, I hated cooking for two people when one of them is a picky child. The poor thing, she's even pickier than I am, and I didn't think that was possible. And depression didn't help any either. So, as she got older and more able to do for herself, we kind of drifted into this short-order kitchen type of arrangement. She fixes what she wants for dinner and I fix what I want. Which means, unfortunately, that she eats Top Ramen and I eat cereal or a sandwich most nights. And mostly, we both eat by ourselves, whenever we happen to get hungry.

This is not good. Its time to change that. So...off we go on this adventure of eating real food and learning to enjoy cooking again. (Although my daughter doesn't know this yet...)

Oh, and for the record, my mom did become a decent cook over the years. But she never did like it.