Hi Everyone,
NOTES:
I liked this page. LOTS of information: 7 Ways To Cook When You Lose Power – Food Storage Moms
For each of her suggestions, she has pros, cons, and what you can cook.
I also found this video on storing nuts and seeds.
Nuts are pretty short term, but I like them for granola and cookies.
GARDEN HAPPENINGS:
Time to fight powdery mildew. Here’s what I do.
*I immediately cut off any leaves (especially squash) that show white spots. The trouble is, that it usually forms on the underside of the leaf, so it’s hard to spot. Plus, it forms up and down the stem. Just today, I discovered a squash plant that had gotten away from me and was totally covered in mildew. I just cut it off at the stem and threw the whole thing away. It’s SO hard to recover from that.
*When you are watering, try NOT to get water on the leaves.
*Part of my garden has a fan blowing on it. There is less powdery mildew on those plants.
Treatments:
# Mix 1 TB baking soda with 1 tsp liquid soap and spray on plants every 7-10 days. This has never worked for me.
# Mix 1 part milk and 3 parts water and spray on plants, ideally on a cloudy day. This also does not work well for me because we seldom have a totally cloudy day.
# 2-3 TB vinegar per gallon of water can help to control powdery mildew. Control does NOT equal cure, merely help prevent.
# Neem oil can be used as a fungicide and insecticide. Follow directions. The first time I used Neem oil, I did it in the morning and it literally fried all the plants!
LONG TERM STORAGE: potato flakes
**If you add 1/2 c. of potato flakes to your bread, it will give you a nice soft texture. This trick has been used since pioneer days when women would use the cooking water from potatoes in their bread to make it soft. Potato flakes deposit sticky starch into the bubbles that form in baking bread, keeping the air from escaping.
Potato flakes are available in any grocery store. If you are looking for long-term storage, you can buy them at the Home Storage Center.
Home Storage Center Locations $9 for a #10 can, storage life = 30 years. Augason Farms has #10 cans for $13.99 from Amazon. Shelf life = 10 years (because there are butter products in it). Still, you don’t need butter and milk — it’s add water only which might be a plus in an emergency.
SHORT TERM STORAGE: vegetables
You can buy freeze-dried, or dehydrated vegetables of all types.
I particularly like and use dehydrated: onions, celery, green peppers, and carrots. I HAVE dehydrated garlic, but since I LOVE the smell of fresh garlic, I usually try to use that. This year is the first year I actually grew garlic ON PURPOSE. Also, dehydrated carrots are usually “diced” not “sliced”. If that makes a difference to you, you can easily dehydrate your own carrots.
Vegetables I like and have freeze-dried: broccoli, green beans, sweet corn, peas, and spinach. One thing to remember about freeze-dried food — it does NOT shrink. Think of a can full of fresh cut broccoli. How many servings would that be? The #10 can I have says 34 servings of 1/3 c. But 1/3 c. broccoli is NOT very much unless it is chopped! Just keep that in mind. Freeze dried broccoli has a shelf life of 30 years.
Canned vegetables I like: corn, beans, diced tomatoes. Pros: You don’t need water. Cans won’t break. Cons: Cans are heavy. The shelf life is shorter.
Whatever you decide, this month is the time to stock up.
72 HOUR KITS: sanitation kit
Next time you go to Walmart, pick up some washcloths. They come like 18 in a pack for about $4. Cut a few of them in 1/2. In a sandwich bag, put 1/2 washcloth, and a small bar of soap from a motel. Don’t have any, use a soap sliver from a bar of soap you have used. Don’t have any? Use a kitchen knife to cut a chunk off a new bar of soap. OR just use a whole bar of soap. Soapy water can do wonders to clean a wound or just make you feel better. Bars of soap last MUCH longer than liquid soap, which will clump and not dissolve after a long time.
FOOD STORAGE RECIPES:
Recipes today come from I Can’t Believe It’s Food Storage by Crystal Godfry
Basic Mashed Potatoes
Makes 9 servings
3 c. boiling water
3 c. potato flakes
1 tsp salt
1/4 c. butter or margarine
1 c. milk
** You can substitute sour cream or cream cheese for part of the milk.
Don’t need to make 9 servings??? Try this one:
1 c. boiling water
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 TB butter
Boil together and add
1/2 c. milk
1 c. potato flakes. Let sit 1 minute and fluff.
Deep-Dish Hamburger Pie
4-6 servings
1/2 lb hamburger
1/4 c. chopped onion or 1 TB dehydrated onion
Brown together until meat is brown and onion is tender. If you use dehydrated onion, reconstitute in a small cup of hot water for 10-15 min. Then strain and add to the meat.
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Season the hamburger.
1 can cut green beans, drained
1/2 can tomato soup
1/2 c. ketchup
(I have also used tomato sauce for this)
Stir into the meat and transfer to a 1-quart casserole dish.
Spoon mashed potatoes on mixture and top with cheese. Bake until hot and top is slightly brown. About 30 minutes.
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Makes 4-6
4 cloves garlic, peeled – roast garlic under oven broiler until brown, flipping once. It cooks quickly.
Chop roasted garlic and add to
4 c. prepared mashed potatoes
2 TB fresh rosemary sprigs or 2 tsp dried rosemary
Add garlic to prepared mashed potatoes.
Marti Shelley
