Andrea

BigM!

Just checking out old posts. I think that this was one of her last. (((suzyq322)))

Have you tried Jerusalem artichokes? I can also send you some New Zealand spinach seeds of you'd like. Another thought would be to plant an apricot tree in the middle and then let shallow rooted herbs & veggies enjoy the filtered Sun.

What a cool idea! I never even thought about growing sesame and it's so nutritious! I'm off to do a bit of research.

I'm definitely going to dehydrate several heads of cabbage but was wondering the best way to preserve red potatoes? Has anyone dehydrated them? I think I might give it a shot. If anyone has any recipes/suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated! Also, for those who do corned beef, now is a great time to stock up! Not sure if it can be canned, but I know it freezes well.

On the same theme, Emergency Essentials has some really great deals this month as well as free shipping on orders of $150 or more.

Then I would definitely send him with some food! Nuts, peanut butter, jerky, and some canned tuna salad would be easily portable protein sources. I would also slip in a few bags of dried fruit and maybe even some dried vegetables. This brand is really tasty and it's sold at several local retailers. Sending prayers your way!

Is your DH military? My husband has been to the middle-east the last two years, only for a 10-day stint each time, and he said the food on the military bases was incredible. I'll ask my dh for more details, but I know he felt completely safe in Saudi Arabia. Both times he went I sent him with lots of snacks and he brought it all home with him. But again, your husband might have a different set up. Anyway, sending prayers your way! P.S. Set up your skype accounts now. My husband downloaded a skype app on his cell phone and that's how we were able to chat most nights for free using wireless. The only time it was a little spotty was in Afghanistan (so glad he made it safely home from that trip).

I vote for Adorable!

dogmom - SaveMart has the 10lb bags of leg quarters on sale for 68 cents/lb. Cheapest I've seen it in a long time. My family doesn't like dark meat, although I'm running low on broth, so I'm tempted to buy it and grind the meat into chicken burger, and boil the bones for a few days. There is nothing better than bone broth! But we'll see. I've got a lot on my plate and I'm not sure I'll have time to drag out the canner . . .

Too cute!

Sprouted Wheat Crackers recipe comes from the Dead Sea Scrolls 2 cups sprouted wheat (about 1/4 inch long sprouts) Grind with meat grinder or food chopper; liquefy in blender or pound with tamper on hollowed out log or rock. The mashed wheat can be flavored to make a sweet cracker by adding honey, brown sugar, or any sweetener then sprinkled with cinnamon. A savory cracker can be made by adding onion, garlic, or other herb salts. Spread mashed mixture about 1/8 inch thick on well greased Teflon cookie sheet and bake in 300 degree oven for about 2 hours or spread out on rock or flat wood surface in the hot sun until crunchy, about 2 to 3 hours. (My note: I bet you could make these in a dehydrator as well) From The Amazing Wheat Book by LeArta Moulton

How to make Bulghur Cracked dried cooked wheat, or bulghur, rehydrates and cooks quickly when added to casseroles. Ingredients: 2 cups slow-cooked wheat Prepare cooked wheat. Preheat oven to 150F. Spread wheat in a 13" x 9" baking pan. Bake 2 hours or longer with oven door ajar until wheat is dried. Process dried cooked wheat in a blender or food processor until wheat is cracked. When added to casseroles or dishes having excess moisture, 1/2 cup bulghur will absorb 1/2 cup liquid. Bulghur can also be boiled 5 to 10 minutes with an equal amount of water. Bulghur doubles in volume when rehydrated with an equal amount of water. Makes about 1 cup. (My note - I don't see why you couldn't use a dehydrator instead of the oven) from Cooking with Stored Foods Hamburger and Wheat Casserole 1 lb. lean ground beef 1/2 cup hot water 2 tablespoons dried chopped onion 1 tablespoon dried chopped green peppers 2 tablespoons dried chopped mixed vegetables 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 to 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning 3/4 cup bulghur 2 cups boiling water 1 cup tomato juice 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce In a large skillet, lightly brown ground beef*. Add 1/2 cup hot water, onion, peppers, vegetable flakes, salt, cumin, marjoram, black pepper, and poultry seasoning. Simmer over medium heat 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 325F. In a 3-quart casserole, combine meat mixture, bulghur, 2 cups boiling water, tomato juice, and tomato sauce. Bake uncovered about 1- 1 1/2 hours until bulghur is tender. If casserole has absorbed most of liquid after 1 hour, cover for final 30 minutes. Makes about 6 servings. from Cooking with Stored Foods * I've made something similar using a pint of seasoned ground beef or turkey from the Ball Recipe Book. I've also done something similar using black beans instead of the beef or adding it to the beef. I usually ditch the poultry seasoning, add a lot more cumin and some chili powder, and instead of tomato juice and sauce, I'll use two pints of home-canned salsa. If I made my own bulghur and used my home canned foods, this would be an ultimate stored foods recipe. (Sorry for the double post - it's also in the wheat thread. I occasionally use a modified version of this recipe and I'd like to be able to locate it easily)

How to make Bulghur Cracked dried cooked wheat, or bulghur, rehydrates and cooks quickly when added to casseroles. Ingredients: 2 cups slow-cooked wheat Prepare cooked wheat. Preheat oven to 150F. Spread wheat in a 13" x 9" baking pan. Bake 2 hours or longer with oven door ajar until wheat is dried. Process dried cooked wheat in a blender or food processor until wheat is cracked. When added to casseroles or dishes having excess moisture, 1/2 cup bulghur will absorb 1/2 cup liquid. Bulghur can also be boiled 5 to 10 minutes with an equal amount of water. Bulghur doubles in volume when rehydrated with an equal amount of water. Makes about 1 cup. (My note - I don't see why you couldn't use a dehydrator instead of the oven) from Cooking with Stored Foods Hamburger and Wheat Casserole 1 lb. lean ground beef 1/2 cup hot water 2 tablespoons dried chopped onion 1 tablespoon dried chopped green peppers 2 tablespoons dried chopped mixed vegetables 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 to 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning 3/4 cup bulghur 2 cups boiling water 1 cup tomato juice 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce In a large skillet, lightly brown ground beef*. Add 1/2 cup hot water, onion, peppers, vegetable flakes, salt, cumin, marjoram, black pepper, and poultry seasoning. Simmer over medium heat 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 325F. In a 3-quart casserole, combine meat mixture, bulghur, 2 cups boiling water, tomato juice, and tomato sauce. Bake uncovered about 1- 1 1/2 hours until bulghur is tender. If casserole has absorbed most of liquid after 1 hour, cover for final 30 minutes. Makes about 6 servings. from Cooking with Stored Foods * I've made something similar using a pint of seasoned ground beef or turkey from the Ball Recipe Book. I've also done something similar using black beans instead of the beef or adding it to the beef. I usually ditch the poultry seasoning, add a lot more cumin and some chili powder, and instead of tomato juice and sauce, I'll use two pints of home-canned salsa. If I made my own bulghur and used my home canned foods, this would be an ultimate stored foods recipe. (In fact, I think I'll add this post to that thread)

I'm trying to keep our food storage rotated but it's not always easy to keep things rotated and keep my family happy! Last night I improvised a food storage turkey pot pie. It turned out pretty good and I was able to throw it together in about 20 minutes. Food Storage Turkey Pot Pie Crust: Combine 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 4 Tablespoons shortening or margarine (I only used 2) 1 cup sour cream or yogurt (increase flour by 2 T if using yogurt) (I used reconstituted powdered sour cream) 2 egg, beaten (I used dehydrated & reconstituted) Stir together. May be slightly lumpy. Spread thinly with back of spoon on bottom and sides of shallow greased 12'x9' casserole dish. Reserve a bit to put "dollops" on top. (Crust may be stirred together in advance. Refrigerate until ready to use) Also, don't worry about the crust sliding down the sides of the pan, when you put the filling in, it forces the "crust" back up the sides of the pan! (This crust recipe is from the More with Less Cookbook - I simply doubled it and used food storage items for the dairy) Filling: 1/2 cup butter, shortening, lard 1 cup reconstituted, well-drained onion or fresh chopped onion 3/4 cup flour salt & pepper to taste 2 cups milk (I used powdered milk) broth from 1 quart of turkey canned in broth (maybe 1 1/2 - 2 cups? proportions don't need to be exact) turkey from quart, diced 2 cans of mixed vegetables, rinsed and drained (and a significant portion of the gross carrots picked out and composted!) Any other leftovers - I used an additional cup of leftover peas from the fridge. Dash of tobasco Melt butter on low in large saucepan. Stir in onion and cook until opaque. Stir in flour and salt & pepper. Stir constantly until mixture is blended and pasty. Add broth from canned turkey, raise heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Mixture should be quite thick. Remove from heat, stir in milk, place back on burner and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add additional salt if needed and the tobasco to taste. Stir in turkey and vegetables. Pour into casserole slowly so the crust will creep back up the sides of the pan. By teaspoon, drop dollops of leftover crust mix haphazardly over the casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, until crust is a golden brown and pie filling is hot and bubbly.

Bump - we're having rice & bean burritos on Sunday. Going to try these!

I sprout my wheat berries, dehydrate them, and then grind them into flour for bread. They are pretty crunchy straight out of the dehydrator and I'm not sure my body would digest them very easily. I've attempted to throw them into soups and chili but my family didn't care for them that way. The best way I've found to sneak them into our diet is to mix cooked wheat berries into a cold corn salad. I also make a black bean and bulgar dish that my husband loves, but again, bulgar is easier to digest than whole berries. I've been watching this thread with interest - I have a LOT of hard red wheat berries in storage and we're not using them nearly fast enough. (Good thing they store forever!)

WELCOME! What a wonderful introduction!I look forward to getting to know you and your daughter and listening to your fowl stories!

Thanks for the idea, Suzyq322 - I'm passing this one on to my daughter!

Welcome Mr. Annarchy! (I think?)

I've been getting the virus pop-up for the past several months. I stayed away for several weeks and finally decided to just ignore it.

My fingers are crossed for you, I hope you get it!

A few weeks ago I was really sick with the flu, couldn't hold anything down, all I wanted was a bowl of plain pinto beans and cornbread!

Does it have to stick together? Can it be sort of a meat salad, like you make with tuna? You don't have to use mayo as a binding ingredient. I've used hummus or fat free sour cream in the past. But as far as creating something bologna or salami like, I'm stumped. You could try making a meatloaf maybe by grinding the meat and then binding it together with eggs and oatmeal (lots of spice too). You wouldn't need or want to cook as long as you would meatloaf made from uncooked meat, but it might work?

I think I'm going to jury rig a bucket/hose system from the upstairs bathroom shower so that we can collect the water that is currently wasted while we wait for it to heat up. It won't look great, but the upstairs bath is only used by family and if water restrictions are tightened here in California, I want to be able to keep my perennial edibles alive at the very least. So, I need a rain barrel or two to collect the water. The bathroom is conveniently located right above my garden, which is in the back yard so I don't have to worry about being noticed, although someone might notice the garden house running down the wall. I went to price rain barrels and they are stupidly expensive. I think I can make three for the price of purchasing one. Have any of you ever made one? If so, any tips? I'm thinking about something along these lines: http://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/tools/make-a-rain-barrel-save-water/