Inspirational Thought

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary 

so that the necessary may speak."

~Hans Hofmann

Inspirational Thought

"First say to yourself what you would be;

  and then do what you have to do."

~Epictetus

Inspirational Thought

"There is no dignity quite so impressive, 

and no independence so important

 as living within your means."

~Calvin Coolidge

Self Reliance: Buttermilk

Did you know that you can cultivate your own buttermilk?  I found a tutorial online, and was going to link to it, but now I can't find it anywhere. (If anyone knows the link, would you please post it in the comments?)

Basically you get a container and put 1 part buttermilk in. Then put 3 parts milk. Shake it and leave it on your counter for 24 hours.  After 24 hours shake it again and if it is thick and clumpy, the cultures of the buttermilk have spread and created more buttermilk.  Now store your buttermilk in the fridge and use it for recipes!  Always keep 1 part in your container so you can continue replenishing the buttermilk using the same instructions.

I used this quart jar, so I put 1 cup of buttermilk and followed it with 3 cups of milk.

I put my label right where the 1 cup measurement is, so I will always know that's where I stop pouring out my buttermilk.

It's so nice to always have buttermilk on hand for pancakes and waffles!

Have any of you ever made your own buttermilk?

Food Storage Friday: Almond Butter

 

Almond butter! No more will I have to beg my mother-in-law to bring jars of you from Costco to me in her suitcase!  You are simple and quick to make! Ahh, self-reliance, how good you taste.

 Ingredients: almonds

Yep that's it.  Although you will need a food processor or a heavy duty blender.

 I'm using roasted and salted almonds. But you can use raw, some people prefer the taste of raw. I just happened to have the roasted kind because it's good for snacking.

 Put the almonds in the processor, with the knife blade attachment.

 Turn the processor on. It helps if you have an overeager 4 year old to help with this step.

 Let the processor run. You can already see that there is a layer at the bottom which has already passed the crumb stage and the oils from the almonds are being released.

 A few more minutes and it's clumping into a ball of almond dough.

 Just a brief note about my processor in case you're interested. This is the only one I've ever had, so I can't compare it to others, but it made quick work of the almond butter.

I've seen around the web, this taking about 15-17 minutes to process so I guess it depends on your machine.  Also, raw almonds will take a bit longer to process than roasted ones.

If you prefer the taste of roasted and you already have raw, just pop them in the oven or on the stove top to roast them for a bit (at a low temperature, stirring frequently).

 After only 3 minutes, at this point I stopped the processor and scraped down the sides.

 After 6 minutes:  my white balance is off on the camera so the almond butter didn't actually get yellower, but check out how smooth that is.

 Put it in a container and refrigerate.  After testing it of course.

Almond Butter

2 cups of almonds

Process in food processor until smooth, pausing every few minutes to scrape down the sides with a spatula.  Store in the fridge.

*********************************************
If you're feeling wild and crazy try this recipe:

4 Ingredient Dark Chocolate Almond Butter

Or if you prefer peanuts:

Classic Crunchy Peanut Butter

Have any of you made your own nut butter before? 
It was so simple I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner!

Food Storage Goals 2012

It's that time again. Time to go through last years goals and kick ourselves for not doing them evaluate how we did, and make some new goals for the next year.

Last year my food storage/emergency preparedness goals were:  

1. Go through and "revitalize" the following:

• Car kit  Car Kit Revamped! Check out the post here.
• 72 hour kits  Not even close...although I did "go through" them and used all the cash for my kid's school lunches when money was tight this fall. I guess we can count that as rotating?
• 3 month supply menu plan  Yep, this didn't happen either.

2. Eat up current food storage

• Make bread often (eat only homemade bread) Well, I wouldn't say we ate only homemade bread, but we eat mostly homemade bread. It just tastes better.  I even have a new favorite bread recipe that I'm sharing this week for our Food Storage Friday recipe. It's delicious.
• Keep ground wheat flour in freezer for any cooking/baking Check! It's definitely easier to make the choice to have whole wheat pancakes, or healthy up a recipe when I have whole wheat flour already ground and ready to use.
• Eat the pantry and freezers clean I did a great job of this! I think we only moved one box of "pantry food" (maybe it was two) but it was mostly spices and things like that. Moving is good for cleaning out cupboards. Not great for much else.
• Make a 3 Month Supply Menu plan and grocery list (catered to our family) so that when we move into our new home I'll know exactly what to buy  This didn't happen, I have definitely not been on top of this.
• Buy as much of our food storage as budget allows when we move into our new home Due to some financial strains this fall, the budget didn't allow ANY food storage to be purchased.  But luckily, things are looking up and we should be back on the bandwagon soon.

Considering all that happened in 2011, I'm pretty pleased with my little attempts at my food storage goals. 2011 was a tough year for me, but 2012 is already looking great.  I'm very excited to get going and get my family prepared.

Here are my  

2012 Food Storage/Emergency Preparedness Goals

1. Write out a 3-Month supply Menu plan and grocery list and BUY IT!  No more excuses, just get 'er done.

2. Redo the 72 hour kits, adding the baby items, and replacing the money.

• Rotate the food in the 72 hour kits/batteries etc, every six months (or 2 times this year)

3.  Buy more candles/matches/flashlights/batteries and stock them where I can find them easily.

4. Make a family emergency plan and practice it with my family.

5. Can triple or quadruple the amount of salsa I made in 2011. Because I only have 3 jars left and it's only January.

What are your food storage and emergency preparedness goals for 2012?

Preparing for Sick Days

 

One of my earliest memories of Hannah is when Mountain Man and I both had food poisoning (ground turkey not cooked all the way?).  We had one little baby and we were so sick. I called Hannah and she brought us over some gatorade and crackers. Ever since then I have been a firm believer in having sick foods on hand!

We've talked a little bit about being prepared for "sick days" and including "sick foods" in your three-month supply.  I decided this year that I was going to allot some money, and make a list for stocking up my "sick foods" in preparation for winter and the inevitable sicknesses that will come. 

On my list:
-saltines
-orange juice concentrate (my favorite juice when I'm sick with a sore throat)
-a few varieties of soup (so I won't have to cook--also easy on the stomach of who is sick)
-7-up (or Sprite) for an upset stomach
-Gatorade!  Do you know they make clear gatorade now? Genius! It's still flavored (this one is watermelon-strawberry), but if your kid throws it up, it won't stain!

Something I still need to get is hand sanitizer. I like to keep a large container that I get from Sam's Club around in the winter time for refills of the little bottles I keep in the house and the car.  I also really love the chlorox/lysol wipes for wiping down door knobs and faucets and other things so germs don't spread.

After I get my sanitizer, the total for my "sick food prep" will be just under $20.  So for twenty bucks I've given myself a little peace of mind.   I kind of hide these foods so we won't use them just because they're there, and I'll be sure to restock them as needed.

Don't forget to get extra fever and pain relievers too! You don't want to have to run to the store at 3am if you or your kid develops a fever.

What are some other must-haves for sick days? 
 Mountain Man's mom always fed him warm jell-o water.  

Are you planning on stocking up on sick food for the winter?

Basic Cooking Skills: Quesadillas

Every other Thursday we will post about different basic cooking skills. Knowing how to prepare meals from scratch is a very important step in becoming self-reliant, which in turn is a crucial component of being prepared. Being able to cook meals for your family will give you confidence, more family togetherness time, and lower your food budget=more money for food storage! If you have a basic cooking skill you'd like to learn, email us! These meals contain perishable food items as this is a different series than our food storage recipes.

Granted I have been making quesadillas all my life, it's a classic snack and quickly became a common meal in college. My grocery list consisted of: cereal, milk, tortillas, sharp cheddar cheese, salsa and Mike 'n Ikes. Just because I love them. But Rachael Ray made a quesadilla once (I saw her do it on the tube) and it made so much more sense than the way I had always done it. And it's perfect every time.

Heat up a skillet over medium high heat and toast ONE side of the tortilla.

When the ONE side of the tortilla is nice and toasty brown, flip it over.

Now cheese. You can use ANY kind of cheese in a quesadilla, and add ANY type of toppings to make a quesadilla from a snack into a meal (think black beans or cooked chicken) but here's one thing I'm not going to fudge on: shred your own cheese! Not only is it cheaper to buy cheese in the block, but the cheese is fluffier when you grate it and it melts nicer. More nicely. Nicerly.

So, on the toasted side of the tortilla, sprinkle freshly grated cheese over HALF of the tortilla.

With a spatula, flip the un-cheesy side over onto the cheesy side. Look! The other side is toasty now!

Cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly inside.

Remove said quesadilla to a cutting board

Slice into wedges with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter!

Cheese quesadillas are a super lunch idea, especially for kids who like to eat the "slices." Or have a quesadilla buffet (Brittany's idea) and have all sorts of difference toppings and serve them for dinner.

Basic Cooking Skills: Roasted Carrots

Every other Thursday we will post about different basic cooking skills. Knowing how to prepare meals from scratch is a very important step in becoming self-reliant, which in turn is a crucial component of being prepared. Being able to cook meals for your family will give you confidence, more family togetherness time, and lower your food budget=more money for food storage! If you have a basic cooking skill you'd like to learn, email us! These meals contain perishable food items as this is a different series than our food storage recipes.

One of the things that I am absolutely LOUSY at, is feeding my kids veggies. Try as I may, I just don't like canned veggies. And frozen veggies get old real fast. Except for those awesome "steam in a bag" veggies, but hello, pricey. Fresh veggies can be pricey too, but I've learned that whole carrots are a great deal for your buck. Here's a way to make them tasty too.

Any vegetable roasted is delicious: potatoes, squash, (why is that all I can think of?) Just the way it's cooked releases great flavors without removing texture. That's my non-culinary trained opinion.

Grab a few carrots. I know people shy away from buy whole carrots because it's SO much work to wash and peel them, as opposed to buying a bag of baby carrots and well, opening it.

But whole carrots are so much less expensive and taste fresher. Try peeling and slicing a whole bunch one day and sticking them in little baggies to last through a week.

Okay, back to the post at hand. Peel and rinse all the carrots. And yes, that's my toothbrush. I often brush my teeth at the kitchen sink. At least I take my oral hygiene seriously.

Using a sharp knife (really, you'll like the kitchen a whole lot more if your knife is sharp) slice off the tops and bottoms of the carrots and throw them away.

Now slice the carrots into inch or so size chunks, cutting them on an angle makes them look nicer, but doesn't affect the taste. I promise.

Toss all the carrots into an oven safe dish and dot with butter. You don't need to use a lot to get the flavor going. You can also drizzle the olive oil if you are going for a more healthy approach.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper

and maybe add a few more of your favorite spices: cinnamon and nutmeg, or cumin or parsley or dill!

Roast in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until tender when pierced by a fork. Go ahead and try it, they are delicious and inexpensive, and believe it or not, your kids will love 'em. At least mine did and they are VERY picky.

Basic Cooking Skills: French Fries

Every other Thursday we will post about different basic cooking skills. Knowing how to prepare meals from scratch is a very important step in becoming self-reliant, which in turn is a crucial component of being prepared. Being able to cook meals for your family will give you confidence, more family togetherness time, and lower your food budget=more money for food storage! If you have a basic cooking skill you'd like to learn, email us!

I love fries. I could eat them every day. I just thought I would announce that.

Fries that you get at most restaurants are fried (not so much healthy for every day consumption) and much more expensive. You can buy potatoes fairly inexpensively and they are so versatile: baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, baked potato soup, and fries. You can buy one bag and use it over the course of several weeks for many different meals.


Ingredients: potatoes, salt, oil

I usually will cook up, one potato per adult, a half a potato per child.

Or all of them if I open the pantry and they look like this.

Gee, these potatoes are a little past their prime wouldn't you say?


Seriously.



Give all your potatoes a good wash. My mum has a potato scrubbing brush--I scrubbed it over really well with my fingers. Potatoes are always dirty so it's important to wash them well. This is a great job to give to a child/teenager/spouse. You can't really mess up scrubbing a potato.




I like using my fingers so I can pop off all the sprouting 'eyes' from the potatoes with my fingertips.



Dry the potatoes off with a towel




And look the potatoes over for any dark spots. Especially if you've had the potatoes for a while.


If your potatoes have dark markings on them, or are sprouting, don't worry. They are still edible. Just carefully cut away the bruised spots and pop off the sprouts.



If when you cut away the dark spots, it is dark underneath, keep cutting until there isn't any more dark. The rest of the potato is fine. At least, I haven't died yet. If you have to toss a whole potato, that's okay too.



Most of the time, if you use your potatoes in a timely manner, you won't have to worry about the "maintenance." When your potato looks fine cut it in half lengthwise.


Then turn the potato cut side down for stability, and slice it into wedges.



Now depending on how you like your fries you can do two things. One, keep them nice and thick for steak fries, or keep slicing them until they get to the size you like. Mountain Man loves a good steak fry. I'm partial to the skinny minny.



If you see a dark spot, no worries



Just nip it off quick with your knife



After you've cut up all your potatoes, layer them on a cookie sheet and drizzle with oil (olive or veggie). You can line your baking sheet with foil if you want, but keep in mind the oil will probably sink down around the foil so you'll likely be washing the pan anyway.



Sprinkle with salt



Use your hands to toss the potatoes around so they all get covered with salt and oil



Bake at 450 degrees F. Pull out the pan and stir it around every once in a while so the fries get evenly browned. Cooking fries can take any where from 40 minutes to an hour, depending on how many potatoes you are cooking and how brown you like them. Be sure to keep checking and stirring them so they don't burn. It's a good idea to start your fries first, and then make the rest of your dinner while they are baking.



It's a great side dish, kids love 'em and you won't feel guilty about eating them because, potatoes are a veggie right?

One year ago on SGI: How to make Strawberry Jam (canning method)