Some Sourdough Basics and Recipes

I promised this post to some people several weeks ago.  But I'm a slacker!  Sorry!

Favorite sourdough websites (click on names to go to the websites; I linked them to where they talk about sourdough):

King Arthur Flour  They have great info and recipes

Cultures for Health
Articles with lots of great tips

Kitchen Stewardship
The easy way to make a starter, and recipe links at the bottom of the page

GNOWFGLINS
This link is to a video with information on how to make a starter (and I think some benefits of sourdough?)

Sourdough Home

Basic Information:

How to feed sourdough starter and maintain it in the fridge

Favorite Recipes: (First I must say that these are my favorite recipes.  My husband does not like sourdough, at this time.  My goal is to become more proficient in it so that it's not quite so sour, and my husband will like it.  This will be an ongoing list, so as I find new recipes that I like, or recipes that I like better than the one I have  linked here I will change them.)

Bread
Crackers
Crepes (yes, this is the right link-I have never fried them for tortilla chips-my husband does like this recipe)
Pancakes (I like the recipe down near the bottom of this page)
Pizza Crust
Waffles

Do you have a favorite sourdough recipe?  Let me know!

Introducing Quinoa!

 I cooked quinoa (a very healthy grain) earlier this week for the first time.  My husband has never had a good thing to say about quinoa, but liked this meal.  One big hint I learned is to cook it in broth.  This gives it so much more flavor.  Otherwise it is very bland.
I found this Mango Quinoa Salad recipe at ourbestbites.com.  I didn't think I'd make it any time soon, because quinoa is not cheap.  In fact it is expensive.  But when I saw that Lee's had red peppers and mangoes on sale, I couldn't resist.  More information on quinoa can be found here.

75 cents off milk!

How would you like $.75 off of 2 gallons of milk?  Click HERE to get the coupon.  You can also access these same coupons on Swagbucks and get 10 swagbucks just for using the coupon! 

Be sure to print the coupon twice!

Emergency Preparedness at Kitchen Stewardship

Katie at Kitchen Stewardship is doing a series on emergency preparedness and food storage.  She has already done a post on storing several of the main groups of healthy foods:  proteins, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats.  So, if you're interested in a healthy approach, you should check it out.
While I'm on the topic, on of the reasons that I love food storage is because most of the basic foods that are easy to store (wheat, beans, oats...) are so healthy! 
Two methods of storing food that Kitchen Stewardship doesn't talk much about are pressure canning and storing foods air tight (by using a FoodSaver).  I haven't written about either of these yet.  (Will someone remind me to write about these sometime?)

When Tornadoes Hit--Staying Gluten Free in an Emergency

I receive a weekly gluten free online newsletter.  With permission, I share last Friday's (April 29, 2011) newsletter.  Although she is speaking specifically of gluten free foods, it all applies to everyone, regardless of what we typically eat.

 

Staying Gluten Free in an Emergency

 

Yesterday my husband and I drove through the community of Phil Campbell Alabama.  An enormous tornado whipped through that town Wednesday afternoon and miles and miles of homes were completely destroyed.  We didn't even realize that we were getting close to the town as we drove because all of the physical landmarks were completely gone.  Homeowners stood by the road looking at a landscape of debris trying to figure out what to do next. And unfortunately, the same sort of scene could be found throughout Alabama yesterday.

 

Our house did not sustain any damage - a tornado went by in the air early Wednesday morning while we were asleep and a tree fell to within feet of our home.  As I saw the destruction yesterday and read more coverage online, I began to think about whether our pantry reserves are large enough and whether we were prepared to obtain and cook gluten free food during an extended emergency period.  Unfortunately, the answers were "No" and "No".

 

Here are a few lessons learned from our experience.

 

Lesson #1:  Having cash on hand is essential.  We use debit cards or online banking for 99% of our transactions.  However, when the power is out debit cards and online banking are useless.  And unless your bank has a generator you won't be able to get cash from the bank or ATM.  We ate breakfast at Waffle House on Wednesday morning (beware cross-contact from the grill) and they let us leave a check until we were able to get cash from an ATM and come back and pay our bill.

 

Lesson #2:  Food preservation requires planning.  I was pleased that we were able to salvage most of the food in our refrigerator and freezer. We have one large cooler and I packed it full with frozen fruits and vegetables and the refrigerator perishables.  There was enough frozen food that we didn't need (or have room for) ice, but everything kept cool for two days. 

 

In the past we've stored lots of food in an upright freezer. I'm not longer a fan of this because there is the potential to lose so much food in a power outage.  Unless a generator is available, I think canned food storage is the way to go for food stores that cannot be consumed within 48 hours.

 

Lesson #3: Heat is required to cook. We ended up leaving Birmingham and going to my parent's farmhouse because they have a gas stove.  We knew that the power might be out there, but at least we'd be able to cook easily.  (Little did we know that the tornado devastation near the farmhouse was much worse than what we had at home). 

If that hadn't been available, then we would have needed to cook on the grill. I've done some grill cooking in pots, but not much. It's something that I plan to practice.Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a gas campstove available for emergencies. If none of these are an option, then I think it would be good to keep produce on hand that keeps well.  We ate a good bit of salad and fresh fruit while the power was out.

 

Lesson #4: A stash of GF convenience foods will keep you sane.  I don't keep a lot of GF processed foods on hand. We're not eating a lot of grain-based foods right now, and when we do I generally make it by hand.  That being said, I was very grateful for my Mom's stash of GF food that she keeps at the farm.  It was so helpful to be able to whip up a batch of GF pancakes for the kids on Thursday morning (Thank you, Betty Crocker and Mom).  

 

John and I talk a good bit about gluten free food stashes in our ebook, The Gluten Free Survival Guide.  After the past two days, I think we need to restock the food stash in the Yukon.  Cheetos, nuts, juice boxes, and bottled water go a long way towards keeping everyone happy if you need to drive out of a disaster area. (On that note, I'm also thinking that I'd like to keep more gas in the Yukon)

 

Lesson #5: Be prepared for the long-haul Between my pantry and the food Mom had left at the farm, I was able to cook very good meals without doing any shopping for two days. However, if we had been without power for a longer period, then we would have been having some very strange meals and run out of food pretty quickly.  Some communities in Alabama will not have power for at least a week (the main transmission lines in many areas of the state were destroyed).  Ice storms in the winter can knock out the power for two - three weeks. 

 

Based on my experience this week I can count on frozen food for 2 days refrigerator food for 2 - 3 days, fresh produce for 2 - 5 days, and canned food indefinitely.

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I've sent this recipe out before, but it's such a good one.  Only 4 ingredients, and it's stuff that you usually have around the house. As long as you have a gas stove (or can figure out how to bake over a grill), then this cookies will go a long way towards cheering you up.

 

1 c. sugar
1 c. peanut butter
1 large egg

1/4 - 1/2 c. chocolate chips

 

Mix sugar, peanut butter and egg together until thoroughly combined. Stir in chocolate chips and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet. If you put plenty of space between them then they are less likely to run together.Bake at 350 for approximately 15 minutes (but it may take more).  The will be slightly browned, but still soft when they are done.  Let them cool for a few minutes before removing them from the bakings sheet and they will harden up a bit. 

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Hopefully we'll be back to a somewhat normal schedule next week. We are having a huge yard sale this weekend to sell all of the stuff that we won't be taking with us when we move. It's been amazing to see how much stuff we've put into the garage and haven't missed at all.  However, due to the two days that were lost due to power outages, John and I have a ton of work to do tonight to get everything ready.

Yogurt Update

Last week I tried making yogurt in a crockpot, according to the recipe at Everyday Food Storage.  At first I thought the idea was kind of silly.  Why heat milk for hours in the crockpot when I can heat it on the stove in a fraction of the time?  The only reason is because this makes it a great one pot dish.  I used far less dishes by making it start-to-finish in the crockpot.  The other great thing was that I didn't have to worry about balancing jars in water in the cooler or my kids dumping the cooler over.  The best part of all was that I only let the yogurt sit and cultivate and breed all of that good bacteria for 7 hours.  In the past I've always done that for 12.  The result was that the yogurt wasn't nearly as tart.  It tasted so good!  My husband even admitted that "it's good for plain yogurt."  My mom liked it better than the plain yogurt she buys at the store.  This is a keeper method!  Check it out here.

Living off of Food Storage

I found this article by a lady who fed her family off of their food storage for two years.  It's really interesting.  You can find it here at the Prudent Homemaker.
It's an interesting read!

Orange Cleaner

Have you been eating tons of oranges lately?  Here's something to do with the peels!  Just put them in a jar, cover with vinegar, let sit a couple of weeks, then use as a cleaner!  It works great!  The full recipe can be found here at Penniless Parenting.

Vetetable Bouillon

A while back I mentioned that I cook with chicken bouillon quite a bit.  One of my readers told me about a vegetable bouillon recipe at a blog called Simple. Healthy. Tasty.  I have to admit that I was a little skeptical.  First, the main ingredient is nutritional yeast.  I had never heard of this.  And second, the blogger claims that it tastes like chicken bouillon in recipes.  Turns out I didn't have anything to fear!
Nutritional yeast is described here on Wikipedia.  It can be bought in bulk bins at WinCo, Smith's Marketplace, and natural food stores.
I like using this bouillon!  So far I have used it in stroganof, enchiladas, and vegetable soup.  I will post more about each of these later.  I am not going to use this bouillon exclusively right now.  I just bought a mega-huge container of Knorr chicken bouillon for only $4.98 (WalMart).  So I need to use that.  But I really do like the idea of making my own bouillon.  I like knowing what's in the food I eat.  Part of the beauty of cooking from scratch.
My one suggestion.  The recipe says to add 1 tablespoon to every quart of water.  I would recommend using 1 tsp. to every cup of water.
 And by the way:  My husband liked this too!  He just thought some of the recipes weren't quite flavorful enough.  (Note the hint above.)

Rising food prices

Loved this post about rising prices!  She says that corn prices are rising, meaning corn syrup is too.  And this is in everything you know....  One person commented that chickens eat corn.  So, chicken prices would also be rising.  Yikes.  (Good thing I bought 40 or 50 pounds earlier this month!)

Here's my view on corn syrup:  sugar is sugar.  It is usually found in very processed food, though, which is not healthy.

A Thought

I found this article on Preparedness Pro a few days ago.  I have not read the entire entry.  But I loved the beginning:

To me preparedness is not about storing lots of food, ammo, or creating a 72 hour kit. Those are simply activities that in which someone might be engaged as a result of their convictions of preparedness. Some might be surprised to hear that my idea of preparedness doesn’t even acknowledge the word “emergency.” Instead, I look at preparedness as a state of independence and effort to be independent of providing for myself, my family, and those others I love in the event we’re in the path of one of Life’s Curveballs.

"Life's Curveballs" happen to all of us.  That's why I prepare.  To learn more, find out why I have food storage.

More Reasons to Buy in Bulk.

In my Beginning Food Storage post I give a lot of reasons to store food.  I've mentioned that I buy wheat in bulk.  What I haven't written about, though, is why it can benefit to buy in bulk.  I found this article listing a lot of reasons to buy in bulk.  It lists reasons like less trash and transportation costs.  Good article.

Shopping Secrets

I bought all of these groceries (plus 2 cheesesticks) for $24.07. The regular price for these items would total over $60. So how did I get over 50% savings? Coupons! Because of coupons, the package of Olay bar soap, 2 packages of Ricola cough drops, and 3 cans of cream of chicken soup were FREE! The Chunky Campbell's soup was 50 cents per can, the 32 oz. Dannon plain yogurt was 50 cents...You get the idea. So how did I find the coupons? Grocery Smarts. This website takes the advertised sales of stores, and compares them to coupons, both online and in the circulars found in Sunday newspapers. So, even if you don't get the newspaper, you can still do a lot of couponing, and save a lot of money. All you need is the Internet, and a printer.
Another thing that I like about Grocery Smarts, is that it rates each item, using stars, telling you know how good of a sale it is. You can find stores in your state by clicking on your state in the drop down menu on the top left side of the main screen. There is a tutorial on how to use the site here.

Coupon Mom offers a similar service. It has some features, like sorting, that I really like.

Last Day of Challenges

If you haven't been to Food Storage Made Easy this week, I would encourage you to.  Every day there has been a new challenge.  I have done little, if anything, on each of the challenges, but it has got me thinking.  Today's challenge is to clean up and organize your food storage.  I definitely need to do this one, but I don't know if I'll get to it today.  I am hoping to dehydrate more apples, and I'd like to make apple butter.  We'll see if I get to that.

Challenge Day 2

Well, I completely failed yesterday's challenge of not using water from the tap.  Thinking about the toilet was as far as I got.  I put a plastic quart-sized milk jug filled with rocks and dirt into the back of the toilet so that it required less water.  Does anyone have any ideas of things to put in the back of a toilet to conserve water?  My toilet still requires about a gallon of water to refill it!  My husband said if we really couldn't use water inside our home we would build sometime of "bathroom" in the garden.  More like a tarp being held up by something.  And we would fertilize the garden.  Yuck! 
Well here is today's challenge: cook everything from scratch.  This is more my style.  I think I can do this one.  I've already made oatmeal.  I just put oats, water, powdered milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, and raisins in a bowl, and stick it in the microwave.

This could be fun!

Head on over to Food Storage Made Easy and join the challenge!  7 day challenge begins today.  No water today!  Good luck!

More About Water Storage

I had a question about why we should not store water on the ground.  And you know, I don't know.  I know that plastic is permeable to vapors, and should be stored away from gasoline, kerosene, pesticides, etc.  But that doesn't answer the question about storing on the ground.  That is just something that I have always read and been told.

Preparedness Pro says that it is okay to store water on cement as long as it is not hot.  Here's her full quote:

Water Storage Myth: Don’t store your water barrels on cement.
Water Storage Fact: Actually, there’s always a missing component to this myth. The key is not to store your water barrels on HEATED cement, and even that’s questionable advice. To store your water in your basement on the cement floor is just fine. There’s no need to make your barrels less stable by putting them on 2 x 4s. Cement only leaches chemicals when it gets hot. If you’re going to store your water in your garage, where the sun heats up the connecting driveway cement, then yes, I’d consider raising your barrels up on floor boards or such.

 I wish I knew her sources on this,  but I don't.  But to me, it makes sense.  I would appreciate my readers' comments on this.  The rest of the article is excellent.

Here is another article on water storage.

Self-Reliance Quiz

I heard about this self-reliance quiz on the radio a few weeks ago, and was immediately intrigued.  The article that this quiz is connected to is from the Sutherland Institute, a conservative think tank in Salt Lake City, Utah.  So, of course the article is very politically driven.  I don't want to talk politics right now, so we'll never mind that.  I just want to point out the quiz.  It is on page 11 of the article.
How self-reliant are you?

Coupon Mom

I just discovered couponmom.com.  It is really neat.  I just choose from a drop down menu what state and store I wish to look at, and it will tell me what is on sale at the store and what coupons I can use to help me save even more money.  I ordered a weekend subscription to a newspaper this week, so I am on my way to saving.