Challenge!

I would like to challenge each family in our ward (without going into debt) to have in place a month's supply of food for their family to use in event of emergency where no more food could be obtained outside this month's supply.

December 31, 2009 is the target date to have this goal accomplished!

Also, do you know how to turn off your water or gas, have a 72-hr kit ready or where to go in an emergency? These things are all important. Having a plan and moving forward is the best way to accomplish your goals!

Wonder Box

I finally have a picture of the wonder box or wonder oven. It cooks with retained heat. This green one is a standard size wonder box.


This is a picture of a wonder box put inside a duffle bag type thing, for a more portable version. See how the pot is placed inside?

Wonder boxes are good for hot and cold as seen here with the ice cream.

I am still tracking down the pattern, but I have the information of a gal down in Elk Grove that makes and sells them for $35.

Seminar for Emergency Preparedness

Last week I attended a seminar for Emergency Preparedness. The speaker was Becky Pritt who came all the way from Utah. She and her husband outlined several interesting ways to conserve energy during everyday life as well as in an emergency.

One of the main things demonstrated was the different ways to store energy. We saw a variety of lamps, flashlights and battery generators in action. The most versitile of them was of course the battery generator. It had enough energy (300-600 watts) to jump start a car, charge a cell phone and still light up a campsite at night. Xantrex.com has a variety of battery generators for a variety of uses-- see portable and back up power section. The generator was useful in so many situations such as camping, picnics or more predictably, in power outage situations.

Other forms of storeable energy included wood, charcoal, propane (gas stoves) and butane.

One of the most exciting things demonstrated was the Wonderbox. The concept is quite like a crockpot, but with no power cord! It's basically an insulated box that cooks with retained heat. Food is brought to boil in a pot and the pot is placed inside the Wonderbox where the food can continue to cook for another 2 or more hours. It usually takes 4 times the normal cooking time, but takes no extra fuel and will keep the food HOT until ready to eat without burning! Sister Pritt had made 3 different foods for us to try: Stew, ham and bean soup and BREAD! They were all delicious and all cooked in the wonderbox. This is such a neat idea, with many applications. As soon as I can get some pictures i'll post them.

Ideas?

I am in charge of a RS activity in June. Does anyone have any project ideas that would be good for us to do? My ideas are: Emergency binder, checking out the dry pack canner or a garden class...

I'd love some imput.

Dry pack Cannery Dates

Do you need to start your food storage?
Never been to the cannery and would like to go?
Need to bulk up your supplies?

Well here's your chance! We have two cannery dates. Up to 6 people per date and time, so sign up quick!

March 11th 10:00am-Noon

March 16th 10:00am- Noon

If you would like to sign up, you can leave your info in a comment, email me or sign up on a clipboard at church.

please note: you can only can things that are bought from the cannery that day. You can't bring items from home, even if they were purchased from the cannery on a previous occasion.

Nonfat Dry Milk Price Amazingly affordable!

One year ago the price for of nonfat dry milk per #10 can from the cannery was $13.50-ish. The price today for a #10 size can from the cannery is $7.60 !! I suggest stocking up a bit at this super cheap price.

Have You Noticed?

Recently I've been paying attention to prices as I shop. I've especially noticed how Bumblebee Tuna had reduced it's price slightly so that it was more comparable to the generic brand that I sometimes buy, so I end up choosing the Bumblebee brand for a few more cents. Then I was made aware that the can size had been REDUCED from 6 oz to 5 oz! I was paying the same amount of money for a smaller size. Next time you buy tuna, notice that the cans are thinner in size and that you are being charged almost the same as when they were larger. I've noticed the same change with the 2 lb. cottage cheese being reduced to 1 1/2 lbs for the same price as well. Has anyone else noticed this?

A good quote

"When the time of need arrives, the time for preparation is past."

How to make your own can storage bins

Have you seen those food can rotators that help you with rotation? Where you put your most recently purchased cans in the top and when you need one you pull it out of the bottom and all the cans adjust down, leaving a space at the top for more cans. Check out this blog article link. It is a really good idea if you can't afford the commercial shelf rotating can systems.

http://mormonfoodstorage.blogspot.com/2008/09/pantry-paragon-or-how-to-make-your-own.html


Side note: Check out Costco for the commercial shelf rotating systems right now... I've heard they have them now for a great deal at about $20 for a set, though I haven't been down there yet myself to check it out. Update 1/27: Costco has them now. $23, holds 40 cans of adjustable sizes, isle 106 - midway down.

Recipes

I would like to put together a cook book filled with easy recipes. It would be great if they didn't use a ton of ingredients, and if they used food storage items it's a bonus!! Please send along any recipes that your family loves and wouldn't mind sharing. Thanks!

You can email them to me at sherryanne77@sbcglobal.net

New Year, New Progress

In this month's Ensign, a Random Sampler article gives us a simple but important step: START! You can't move forward with your food storage if you don't start. It's the beginning of a new year, a perfect time to get moving on your food storage goals.

As a ward we are coming closer to our 6-month goal deadline at the end of February. Check your current status and let's get moving!

Read entire Random Sampler Article:
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=e3b3515e04f5e110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1

Emergency Binder

I came across this good site that detailed an emergency binder. It's a good starting place for creating a "binder" of your own.


http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2009/01/03/emergency-binder/

Cooking a Turkey for the Freezer

1. Turkey meat is not LEFTOVERS, its good food for many meals. Use turkey meat for casseroles, enchiladas, soup, salads, stir fry, just about anything that calls for chicken meat.

2. Buy your turkeys the 2 weeks before thanksgiving… .28 cents a pound. Buy the BIGGEST turkey you can find. Most turkeys have the same size bones, so the additional pounds are ALL MEAT.

3. Cooking turkey is NOT HARD. DON’T STUFF IT. Total work time for this project is 33 minutes.

4. I use frozen turkey meat to make many FAST MEALS… most take only 30 minutes to prepare. A large turkey gives meat for 8-10 dinners or more depending on family size.
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Step 1…. Heat oven to 425 degrees, unwrap turkey (already defrosted), rinse, place in baking pan and pop in the oven. (5 minutes) I don’t even take out the neck or the pack of giblets. Note: 325 is the best temp for cooking a juicy turkey, but it is NOT hot enough to kill the nasty germs on the skin of the turkey. That is why you MUST brown it at the 425 degree temp first.

Step 2… After about an hour, when the turkey is browned, lower heat to 325 degrees and cook about another 4 hours (until its done, wiggle the leg to see if it comes loose.)

Step 3… After the turkey has cooled, remove all the big chunks of meat that easily come off and freeze in meal-sized bags. (10 minutes)Step 4…. Put ALL the rest (skin, neck, pan juice, bones) in a big boiling pot, cover with water and simmer for 3-4 hours. (3 minutes)Step 5… Cool, pour turkey broth into freezer bags or freezer containers. Then pick out the rest of the good meat and freeze in bags (15 minutes) and discard the rest. Note: when filling the containers for the freezer, leave enough empty space at the top for freezer expansion or they will break. I think quart size Ziploc zipper bags work best, easy to pour in/ easy to defrost.

Step 6… After fat has risen to the tops of the broth containers, (several hours in the refrigerator) freeze. To use the broth for a meal, defrost, scrape off and discard the fat at the top of the container and make soup, gravy or use the broth to cook rice. Note: When using the turkey juice, such as for soup, add an equal amount of water. The juice is very concentrated. I usually get about 8 quarts of juice.

Use all this within 4-6 months.

Checking out the Dry Pack Canner

My grandmother got on the dry pack canner waiting list many months ago. Finally the weekend before Thanksgiving came and we all gathered to do some dry pack canning. After a quick overview of how to use the machine, we got started.

Here I am with all my cans of pinto beans, oatmeal, rice and macaroni before we put on the lids.

Here is my Mom and Grandma working together to put the oxygen absorbers in the filled cans and then put on the lids right before sealing them up. You have to work quickly with the oxygen absorbers because they will start sucking up the air the second they are out of their bag and in the can. And if the lid isn't sealed on in a timely manner, they are just absorbing room air which makes them less effective in the can. Bottom line: work quickly with the oxygen absorbers.

Many in our family was able to move forward with their food storage. It was a really good learning experience.

Be aware: To be able to check out the dry pack canner from the cannery, you must first be put on the waiting list. The waiting list can be pretty long, and you may need to wait some months before your assigned time. You should use that time wisely to plan and to purchase your food. Also you'll need to be able to guesstimate the amount of weight of food you'll be canning because you need to buy the cans, lids and oxygen absorbers separately and unused ones can not be returned. Call the cannery to get on the waiting list if you want to dry pack at home.

Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent

William G. Hartley, “Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent,” Ensign, Oct 2001, 38

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.
“If men could learn from history, what lessons it might teach us!” wrote Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1831. 1 While it may sound surprising, a look at Church history can teach us about preparedness for our day.
Lessons from Crossing the Plains
For more than 60,000 Saints who journeyed to Utah during the wagon train period (1846–69), outdoor trail realities tested their preparation and showed what worked and what didn’t.
Lesson 1: When we ignore preparedness counsel, we can expect unhappy consequences.
Before leaving Nauvoo, members had Church-published lists of what to take with them. But when the first companies left in February 1846, several hundred members panicked and crossed the Mississippi River without proper clothes, food, or shelter. As a result, they brought suffering upon themselves, slowed down others, and drained resources from those properly prepared.
Lesson 2: Protect against nature.
Trail death tolls reveal that the highest numbers of deaths were among infants and the elderly. Some pioneers became cold and wet because wagon covers and tents were not waterproof. Others suffered sunburns when they lost their hats. Their lips chapped from the dry air, wind, and sun. Many suffered diarrhea and lacked medicine to stop it. Some travelers, while dressed properly for summer heat, lacked coats and gloves for the cold mountain temperatures experienced before reaching the Salt Lake Valley. In addition, pioneers had to guard against wildlife, particularly snakes and wolves. In many campsites they suffered from swarms of mosquitoes that badly hurt children and angered horses and cattle.

. . . . There is lots more to this article, if you want to read more go to http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=7986759235d0c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1
It really has some good information about being prepared. It also gives you some good things to think about to help you decide what is best for your family.

Food Storage-- not a matter of money but of faith!

Having a year's supply of food is not a matter of money, it's a matter of faith. If you are determined to obey the Lord and you ask for His help, the Lord will help provide a way. We just have to do our part.

I've started my food storage... where do I go from here?

~ Food Storage: Achieving your Goals~

Many of you have already started your food storage. You already have a plan, you’ve already made progress…Here are some important points I’d like to make to help you fine tune what you may already be doing.

1) Tracking your food storage. This helps you know how much you have of each item in your food storage, what you’ve used and what you need to buy. A good tracking plan goes hand in hand with rotation.
2) Rotation is the key for a successful food storage plan. Label your containers with the date you purchased it. Learn to cook with the items you store, it makes rotation easy. Rotate as many items as you can by using your food storage at least twice a week. This will allow complete rotation of a years supply about every three to four years and will help your family become accustomed to the items you have stored.
3) Store foods properly. Try to keep a minimum exposure to light, heat, moisture and air. The shelf life can be greatly diminished if foods are not stored properly.
4) Grow a garden so you can have fresh produce.
5) Don’t forget about non-food items. Have an extra supply of vitamins, medications, diapers, toiletries etc...
6) Variety. Adding variety to the items you store will help give you more options as you use your food storage. Psychological foods. Psychological foods are the goodies—Jello, pudding, candy, etc. - These may sound frivolous, but if you needed to live on your storage for an extended amount of time, these items would help normalize the situation. These are especially important if you have children.

Help! Where do I even start?

~Getting started with Food Storage~

When creating your food storage plan 3 things to consider are: space, cost and the food your family eats. Here are two examples of starting with basics:

1) Start with one week of food on hand—food you regularly eat; and plan a family menu for the week
2) Experiment with basic foods that can be easily stored—keep recipes your family likes so you can cook meals from stored items. Using those recipes you can more easily plan meals using your stored foods.
3) Learn the basics of food storage. Doing so will save you time, money and effort. www.providentliving.org or www.ready.gov are good websites to review.
4) Have a family meeting including all children and make an oral commitment to do food storage.
5) Inventory food on hand including perishables.
6) Rotate the stored foods using a carefully thought out plan.
7) Plan on storing 7 gallons of water per person for a one week supply.

A three month supply of food should mainly consist of the food you routinely eat as a family. Here’s another example of how to get started:

1) Make a list of foods you eat on a regular basis, and determine how much you would go through in three months.
2) Gradually purchase these foods in bulk as they go on sale
3) It’s important to use and rotate these foods in all your daily cooking.
4) Constantly replenish the stocks of these foods as they go on sale again. Food storage becomes more manageable when you break it down into individual steps. Remember, even if your budget allows just buying an extra can or two of vegetables each shopping trip, you are working towards your goal