I love sourdough and have worked with it for over 40 years.
LOL, you wouldn’t believe some of the messes I have created in this life, learning to make things out of a book....
Your sour dough post is excellent, makes my taste buds itch.
My last one, was 125 years old, from Alaska, I was lucky enough to be invited to the Ladies night at the Mormon Church, and they offered classes, one of which was Sour Dough baking....
I am sure that I still have a starter of it in the freezer, but it is going to be 10 years old.
If you are ever invited to a Ladies meeting at the Mormon Church, go, if it is the same as the Kingman one, it is a wonderful experience, complete with samples and how to’s, that a wife and mother can use for her family.
I had a small recipe book from Alaska, that had a Chocolate Sour Dough cake in it, that took 2 days to make and it was worth it, but it has disappeared and I could never find the recipe again.
My horses loved sourdough biscuits.
You should consider this thread a work of love to all of us! It has so many great stories, ideas, recipes, etc. it reminds me of the Foxfire books I was introduced to in college. I’ve already told my husband a couple of your stories, in particular the one about the lost child you found on your land near Wellton, and the one about the flood and the guys who bought your old homemade grape-juice wine for a compressor. LOL what great stories!
That is good to hear. I have worked with Mormon folks, they are wonderful people, very hard-working. They are required by their church to have a store of food for a year and enough money for six months. They are full of faith and very practical. Great folks. There are a lot of Mormon folks in Clovis, California, just east of Fresno.
Alaskan Sourdough Chocolate Cake
This is the way most cakes were baked in Alaska in the early days before baking powder became more common.
1 cup thick sourdough starter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
Prepare a cup of thick sourdough starter the night before. Let sit in a warm spot overnight.
Cream sugar and shortening until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in sourdough starter, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon and melted chocolate. Beat with rotary beater 2 minutes. Blend salt and baking soda together until smooth. Sprinkle over batter and fold in gently. Fold in flour until batter is smooth. Pour into 2 (8- or 9-inch) greased and floured pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. When done, cake will spring back when pressed lightly with fingers and will shrink slightly from sides of pan.
Cool and frost with your favorite frosting.
Just for you, Granny.
http://7thspace.com/tasty_recipes/115620/alaskan_sourdough_chocolate_cake.html
This message contains the following:
1. Children’s Hooded Jackets with Drawstrings Recalled by R&D International Due to Strangulation Hazard (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09047.html)
2. Target Recalls Dive Sticks Due to Impalement Hazard (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09048.html)
3. Brownie’s Third Lung Recalls Air Compressors Due to Drowning Hazard (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09049.html)
4. CPSC Public Calendar
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/money/10-money-lessons-great-depression
10 Money Lessons From the Great Depression
By Jeffrey Strain
The U.S. may not technically be in a recession. After all, the U.S. Commerce Department says the economy grew at a 0.6% pace in the first quarter.
But most people look at things more like legendary investor Warren Buffett, who defined a recession as when “people are doing less well than they were three months, six months or eight months earlier.”
continued.
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46994
Shelf Life of Food Storage and other items
http://www.fmi.org/consumer/foodkeeper/brochure.cfm
After selecting food items, it’s up to you to take care of them properly.
The Food Keeper contains valuable food safety and storage advice to help you maintain the freshness and quality of foods that you purchase.
_________________
Shelf life of foods and other items- How long to keep things on the shelf and other tips.
Canned Goods:
http://www.foodreference.com/html/t...dshelflife.html
Condiments:
http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/www/Info/condiments.html
Other items:
http://www.a1usa.net/gary/expire.html
Hormel.com - for many different food groups not just Hormel Products
How to determine the shelf life of foods -
Kroger brand foods - How to read codes and tell Exp dates
Dept of Health Services - guidelines - charts with expiration guidelines of all foods
Cupboard storage chart - at bottom of this webpage This is a really good chart and is easily printed off to keep in your cupboards.
Dehydrated foods - how long to store
Shelf life of Pet Foods
Home canned foods
http://www.msnbc.com/OnAir/nbc/Dateline/Food/shelf.asp
___________________
Consumer Reports definitions
READ more about it....
“Use by,” “best if used by,“ or “quality assurance” date:
The last date the product is likely to be at peak flavor and quality. One of these dates is often placed on foods such as cereal, which may decline in flavor and quality. It doesn’t mean the food is unsafe after that date.
“Sell by” or “pull”:
An indication, to the retailer, of the last day on which a product should be sold. It takes into account time for the food to be stored and used at home. You should buy it before the date, but don’t have to use it by then. You should be able to use milk, say, for up to about seven days after the sell-by date.
Pack or package date:
The date the food—fresh meat, for example—was packed or processed. Consumers can tell which package is fresher and choose that one. A pack date isn’t an indication of safety.
“Expiration”:
For most foods, this indicates the last date on which they should be eaten or used. Eggs are an exception: If you buy federally graded eggs before the expiration date (which must be no more than 30 days from when they were put in the carton), you should be able to use them safely for the next 3 to 5 weeks.
“Born on”:
Initiated by Anheuser-Busch, it’s supposed to let buyers choose the freshest beer. According to the company, its beer is freshest and tastes best within 110 days from the born-on date.
Coded date:
A series of letters or numbers or both used by the manufacturer to track foods across state lines and, if necessary, recall them. The code isn’t meant as a use-by date.
Other words to the wise:
As a rule, high-acid canned foods such as tomatoes can be stored on the shelf for 12 to 18 months; properly stored low-acid canned foods such as meat, fish, and most vegetables will keep 2 to 5 years. Don’t use a can that’s bulging. If perishable foods are packaged and frozen properly, they will be safe to eat after the expiration date, although the food may suffer freezer burn if it’s stored for a long time. And if a food bears a date without words? Unfortunately, you’ll have to guess what it means.
____________________
Spring and Fall is a good time to Rotate your foodstorage!!!!
Check the dates on your stock pile and rotate.
Some stores have a caselot sale this week so restock your shelves!!
Monitor the usage of your canned vegies and fruits to see how much you will need to restock during the Fall months when the case lot sales are offered.
Use up your older cake mixes, pasta and other prepared mixes. You don’t want them to go stale or have weevils invade your pantry.
_____________________
Walton Feed/Rainy Day Foods - canned. (800)847-0465
New Code as of Sep 98
CODE:You’ll find 2ea 5 digit numbers on top of the can. The first number of 5 digits contains the internal code for product and batch number. The 2nd 5 digit number contains the date. The first three numbers is the day of the year. The last two digits reflect the year.
Example: 09899=98th day of the 99th year or 5 Apr 99.
SHELF LIFE: See our storage life of foods page.
Old Code Before Sep 98
Code: There’s a 5 digit number on top of the can. The first two numbers are a code for the food, the 3rd number is the year and the last two numbers are the month. Example: 47210=Oct 92; 59501=Jan 95
SHELF LIFE: See our storage life of foods page.
8 = year = 1998
200 = the 200th day in 1998 = July 19
V2140 = plant information
SHELF LIFE: Product (unopened) is good for 2 years from packing date (i.e., July 19, 2000)
7 = year = 1997
M = plant
8 = month = August
31 = day of the month = 31
SHELF LIFE: Product (unopened) is good for 2 years from the packing date (i.e., August 31, 1999)
This date is printed in white near the universal product bar code “(UPC)” and might look something like this: 1122Y320.
CODE: First number is year, next three are the numeric day of the year
The first number represents the year it was made. 1 = 2001, 2 = 2002, etc. The next three numbers represent the day of the year the product was made. In our example, the 122 (or one hundred and twenty second day) is May 2.
For instance, the 1 in our example code means it was made in 2001. A number 0 would mean it was made in 2000, 9 in 1999, and so on.
The remaining numbers and letters are plant codes, which have nothing to do with the date.
8 = year = 1998
200 = 200th day of 1998 = July 19
3 = the shift the food was packed
SHELF LIFE: Product (unopened) is good 2 years from the packing date (i.e., July 19, 2000)
CODE: Code on both: First number is year. Next three are Julian calendar.
SHELF LIFE:: Reg crisco in can has indefinite shelf life. Should be used within 12 months of opening.
**Butter flavor has a shelf life of 18 months, to be used within 6-12 months of opening.
Publix Coffee, regular brick
CODE: First 3 digits are Julian date, 4th is year.
SHELF LIFE:: 1 year
Publix Evaporated milk (800)242-1227
CODE: First digit year, next 3 is Julian date
SHELF LIFE:: 18-24 mo
Publix Jelly/Jam/Choc Syrup Has “best if used by” date stamped on label
SHELF LIFE:: 1 year
Publix Nondairy Creamer Has “best if used by” date stamped on label
SHELF LIFE:: 12 mo
Publix Peanut Butter Has “best if used by” date stamped on label
SHELF LIFE:: 1 year
Publix Veggies in can (305)652-2411, ask for Annette Vaughn at X3870
CODE: First dig is year, 2nd is month. The mo is represented by a number from Jan to Sept. For Oct, Nov, or Dec, it is represented by a O, N, or D
SHELF LIFE:: 2 years
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2132283/posts?page=2
F.D.A. Detains Chinese Imports for Testing
NY Times ^ | 11/13/08 | GARDINER HARRIS and ANDREW MARTIN
Posted on Friday, November 14, 2008 2:42:35 PM by LibWhacker
Candy, snacks, bakery products, pet food and other Chinese products that contain milk will be detained at the border until tests prove that they are not contaminated, the federal government announced Thursday.
[A little late getting this posted, but then I am that far behind on my pings...granny]