Posted on 02/09/2009 12:36:11 AM PST by nw_arizona_granny
In ways that still surprise me when I watch the reruns. Considering that was 40 years ago....
http://books.google.com/books?q=breadmachine&as_brr=1
This should be the full books, or so it claims, it also has several historical magazines.
http://books.google.com/books?q=breadmachine&as_brr=3
Partial books and several Gluten books.
I read the FR link you posted about the flu. This is not good that it’s hitting young people like the Spanish flu did.<<<
I heard one speaker on the radio tonight, he said that it is the spanish flu aor a version of it.
Several years ago, Pro Med Mail spoke against and begged the scientists to not go and dig up the spanish flu bodies to get a culture for spanish flu.
They did and a few months ago, the formula was published for spanish flu, others told me that with the formula as written the spanish flu could be recreated.
I know the formula went all over the world, as Pro Med Mail sent out a copy of it.
I do not have science training, so did not bother with attempting to read it and may still have it in the pro med file.
Sometimes scientists should pass the chance to dig up the old diseases.
Back in the 1960’s, people were digging up graves all over Calif. and AZ, using their metal detectors to locate them and then we started having strange ‘flu’s’, there was some talk about having let them loose, when digging in the old graves.
No, we did not do any grave digging.
Sometimes, I fear that science is going to do us in.
Do the drug manufacturers own the tv stations?<<<
I had thought about the drug dealers and tv for years, for it has to affect people, the way it is done.
And we have so many kids with problems, the ones that I know, are parked in front of a tv.
I do not understand all the anti-war people, bet they play the killing games on tv and watch all the killing on tv....
I wanted a couple games that were not card games for the computer and never did find anything that I liked, that was not fighting or spelling......LOL, I am not good at either.
NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2009
Release #09-200
Firm’s Recall Hotline: (877) 392-7095
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908
Women’s Chenille Robes Recalled by Blair Due to Burn Hazard
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Full Length Women’s Chenille Robes
Units: About 162,000
Retailer: Blair LLC, of Warren, Pa.
Hazard: Some robes fail to meet federal flammability requirements and present a risk of serious burns to consumers if they are exposed to an open flame.
Incidents/Injuries: Blair has received three reports of the robes catching on fire, including one report of second-degree burns.
Description: The recall involves the Full Length Women’s Chenille Robe with the following item numbers: 3093111, 3093112, 3093113, 3093114, 3093115, and 3093116. The item number is identified on a label in the garment’s neckline. This is a one-piece garment made of plush sculpted chenille, a shaped stand collar, and horizontal chenille front and back yolks and cuffs. The robe has a full-button front with seven matching button closures, long sleeves with self cuffs, a straight bottom with self hem, and two sideseam pockets. The robe’s sewn in label states: “100% Cotton, RN 81700, Made in Pakistan”. Robes with other item numbers are not included in the recall.
Sold at: Blair catalogs and Web site, and Blair stores in Warren, Pa., Grove City, Pa., and Wilmington, Del., from January 2003 through March 2009 from about $20 to $40.
Manufactured in: Pakistan
Remedy: Consumers should stop wearing the garment immediately. Contact Blair LLC for information on returning the robe and to receive a refund or a $50 gift card for Blair merchandise.
Consumer Contact: For more information, call Blair toll-free at (877) 392-7095 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday, visit the firm’s Web site at www.blair.com/recall, or contact the firm by e-mail at blairproductrecall@blair.com
To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including a picture of the recalled product, please go to:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09200.html
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Guide to Designing Retained Heat Cookers
January 28, 2009 — thermalcooker
The guides information is best viewed from this PDF file:
http://images.wikia.com/solarcooking/images/c/c3/Retained-Heat-Cookers_FINAL_7.11.2007.pdf
Posted in Thermal Cookers. No Comments »
The Hot Box
January 28, 2009 — thermalcooker
http://www.thehotboxco.co.za/
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the HOTBOX work?
The HOTBOX uses the principle of insulated cooking. If you can keep the heat that is used to cook food, no replacement heat is necessary to complete the cooking process.
What type of dishes can you make in the HOTBOX?
Absolutely any food or dish that you would simmer in its liquid once you have brought it to the boil. All beans, legumes, grains and pulses; all soups, stews and casseroles; custard and yoghurt; steamed veggies; basmati, white, brown and sushi rice; mieliepap, samp and even pasta.
What are all the different uses for the HOTBOX?
The HOTBOX has a wide variety of uses. It is used to cook foods, to transport and continue cooking your food, as a warming oven and also used next to the braai keeping meat and all braai foods piping hot, as a plate-warmer keeping plates perfectly hot in the dining room, the garden or on the beach, it is a cooler box which is ideal for keeping drinks ice cold and storing ice, an incubation chamber for the making of foods like yoghurt and breads, a foot cushion or ideal camera rest when doing wildlife photography from your vehicle. (Really!)
Do I need to heat the HOTBOX?
Keep the HOTBOX away from open flame or fire. The heat required to cook the food is generated conventionally with electricity, gas, fire or paraffin. The HOTBOX is never heated in any way.
How long do foods cook for in the HOTBOX?
The cooking time for different foods varies from 20min (whole rolled oats) to 12 hours (oxtail). Foods mostly cook for more or less the same length of time or just slightly longer.
What environmental impact would the regular use of the HOTBOX make?
If you used the HOTBOX only 5 times per week your household would save 119kg of CO2 per year. If 500 000 households did that it amounts to more than 60 000 tons of CO2 per year. At least 70-80% of cooking time is saved and therefore the use of valuable resources such as electricity, gas, wood, paraffin, money and time is drastically reduced.
Does it really cook my food?
Yes! It really cooks your food. To truly benefit from the HOTBOX a subtle shift in thinking is required but once you see the incredible benefits you could never look back. It cooks your food and keeps it piping hot. The more you incorporate it into your daily life, the more you will find you use it.
What if my food isn’t cooked?
A degree of experimentation is necessary to get exact cooking times for different meals. It is important to use pots with tight-fitting lids and check that you’re not opening the lid unnecessarily. Hard and dense foods that have to be soaked such as chickpeas may need to be re-boiled and placed back into the HOTBOX for the last few hours. Alternatively just boil food on the stove for a little longer before transferring to ensure that all the food is at boiling temperature and not just the water.
How long does food stay hot for?
Food stays hot for up to 8 hours and remains warm for a few more hours. After 8 hours, unopened, the temperature of the food in the HOTBOX is approximately 56 degrees Celsius.
What do I use it for when I’m braaing or on holiday?
Keep braai meat and veggies hot as it comes off the fire. Cook and keep meals hot whilst traveling or hiking. Ideal when traveling in confined spaces such as caravans or yachts because you can reduce the amount of cooking gas needed by up to 50% which frees up your space.
Is there any safety measures involved in the use of a HOTBOX?
The HOTBOX must never be heated or held close to open flame or fire due to the flammable nature of the polystyrene balls. For health reasons don’t put a partially-eaten pot of lukewarm food back into the HOTBOX without first heating it, since HOTBOXES are not only excellent cookers but also ideal incubation chambers for yoghurt and other bacteria-rich food.
Why is it a healthier way of cooking?
Once the food has been transferred to the HOTBOX, the heat drops quite rapidly from boiling point to approximately 88 deg Celsius. This heat is then maintained and very gradually drops by an average of 4-5 deg per hour. It is a known fact that high heat destroys the live enzymes in your food and therefore cooking at a lower temperature preserves nutrients. HOTBOX cooking can never over boil or burn your food and food definitely retains more juiciness and flavor.
What type of pot do I use in the HOTBOX?
The pots that you usually use at home. A nice tip is to line the bottom HOTBOX cushion with an old dish cloth to protect the base of the HOTBOX from dirty or stained pots.
How do I wash the HOTBOX?
Hand wash or machine wash on a gentle/delicate spin cycle with cold water. Wash at max 30deg Celsius. Dry thoroughly in the sun - shake during drying to move polystyrene balls and to dry equally.
Do not dry clean or iron. Machine washing is the sole responsibility of the consumer. Fabric has not been pre-washed.
Recipes
Brown and White Rice:
1. Put 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of cold water in a pot.
2. Add salt to taste.
3. Place lid on pot and bring to the boil.
4. Simmer for 1 minute.
5. Remove from the heat and place in the HOTBOX for 30 minutes (white rice) or 45-60 minutes (brown rice), or until all the liquid is absorbed.
6. Rice remains perfect in the HOTBOX for hours as it does not dry out or overcook
Lamb or Beef Stew:
1. Fry onions, garlic and spices in oil.
2. Fry your cubes or knuckles of meat until brown.
3. Add selection of chopped vegetables, tinned tomato and stock.
4. Ensure that the food is covered by the liquid.
5. Bring food to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes.
6. Transfer to the HOTBOX – bigger and tougher pieces of meat require up to 12 hours of cooking in the HOTBOX.
7. Return to stove and thicken your stew with Bisto or cornflour just before serving (optional)
8. Serve directly from the HOTBOX with rice or pasta and a green salad.
Creamy Chicken & Corn Soup (a little time consuming but delicious)
1. Place a whole chicken in a pot and fill with water, barely covering the chicken.
2. Add celery sticks, whole garlic cloves, stock powder, bay leaves, salt and pepper to the water.
3. Bring to the boil for a few minutes and transfer to the HOTBOX for approximately 2 hrs.
4. In a separate pot melt approx 100-150 grams of butter until it sizzles.(the more butter you use the richer your soup will be)
5. Add a variety of chopped veggies (such as cabbage, carrots, broccoli, leeks, onion, beans and courgettes) to the butter.
6. Stir it with a wooden spoon to coat the veggies in the butter.
7. Turn the heat down as low as possible and place the lid on tightly. “Sweat” the veggies in the pot until soft, stirring every once in a while. The sweating process takes about 30-40 minutes.
8. Once the chicken is cooked drain off the water/stock into a jug or suitable container (You will use this lovely chicken stock to make your white sauce)
9. Make a regular béchamel/white sauce with a small amount of milk and use the chicken stock for the rest of the sauce.
10. Debone your chicken – the meat will be very soft and tender – and cut chicken into small bits.
11. Add the chicken, “sweated” veggies and fresh or frozen corn to the white sauce.
12. Add a dollop of cream or Greek yoghurt to the soup and season according to your taste.
13. Garnish with ground black pepper and a small bunch of fresh coriander.
Traditional South African Mielie pap:
1. Bring 2 ½ cups of water to the boil
2. Stir 1 ½ cups of mielie meel and a pinch of salt into the boiling water.
3. Stir thoroughly whilst boiling until all the water has been absorbed.
4. Transfer to the HOTBOX and leave for approximately 30 minutes.
5. Serve directly from the hotbox.
Samp and Beans
1. Place I cup of samp & beans in a bowl, cover with water and soak overnight. Rinse and drain.
2. Bring samp & beans to the boil in 3 cups of salted water and simmer for approximately 20 minutes on the stove.
3. Bring it back to a rapid boil and then transfer to the HOTBOX for approximately 4-5 hours or until soft and all the water is absorbed.
4. Add butter, freshly ground black pepper, seasoned salt and crumbled feta cheese and enjoy as a light meal or accompaniment to a meal.
Posted in Wonderbox.
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Thermos RPC-6000 6L Thermal Cooker
January 26, 2009 — thermalcooker
[Many photos]
RPC-6000 thermal cooker with two 3L inner potsThermos also offers the RPC-6000 in a two 3L inner pot configuration which adds to the versitility of this thermal cooker. You are able to cook two recipes at the same time for example, rice and beans, rice and curry etc. or fill them both up with the same recipe for double the amount. I’ve also used it with just a single 3L pot to cook smaller portions and filled up the empty space inside the outer pot with a small blanket, towell or rag to help retain the heat better.
Posted in Commercial Cookers, Thermal Cookers. 2 Comments »
January 21, 2009 — thermalcooker
Chicken Carbonara
There is no need to precook the pasta in this dish.
Ingredients:
Meat Balls
400 grams of chicken mince
2 cloves of garlic 1 egg
1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsely
1 tablespoon of flour
A pinch of salt and pepper
Sauce
2 tablespoons of oil
2 onions coarsely chopped
1 stick of celery sliced
2 zucchini’s sliced
1 x 500 ml jar of carbonara sauce
500 ml of chicken stock
1/2 a cup of fresh parsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups of spiral pasta
Grated cheese to serve.
Simmering time on the stove top: 4 minutes
Thermal Cooking time: 1 hour minimum
Method:
1. Mix together the chicken mince, garlic, egg, finely chopped parsely, flour, salt and pepper.
2. Seperate into small portions.
3. Roll these portions into balls approximately 2 cm in diameter.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the inner saucepan over a low-medium heat.
5. Brown half the meat balls and place them to one side.
6. Brown the other half of the meat balls and place them with the rest.
7. Add the other tablespoon of oil to the saucepan and brown the onions over a low heat for 2-3 minutes.
8. Add the garlic and celery and continue to cook for a few minutes until the onions start to clear and soften.
9. Add the zucchini and stir fry for a further minute.
10. Add the meat balls back into the saucepan and stir in the Parsely.
11. Add the carbonara sauce and the stock.
12. Bring the mixture to the boil.
13. Turn down the heat and simmer gently for 3 minutes.
14. Add the pasta to the simmering sauce and continue to simmer a further minute with the lid on.
15. Turn off the heat and transfer the saucepan into the vacuum insulated outer container.
16. Close the lid and leave for a minimum of 1 hour.
17. Serve with grated cheese and a tossed green salad of your choice.
http://shuttlechef.com/main.php?mod=Recipe&file=View&id=215
Posted in Recipes - All, Recipes - Main Meals. No Comments »
January 21, 2009 — thermalcooker
Thai Green Curry Chicken
A delightful mild curry chicken that has so much flavour.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of Oil
500 grams of sliced Chicken Fillets
3 tablespoons of Green Curry Paste (Valcom Brand is wonderful) NOTE: You can increase or decrease the amount of curry paste to suit your own requirements.
400 ml tin of Coconut Cream
2 tablespoons of Fish Sauce
2 teaspoons of Sugar
1 cup of chopped Pumpkin
1 cup of Green Beans (you can use dried or frozen also)
1 cup of fresh Basil Leaves, chopped
2 Kaffir Lime Leaves or 1 cup of freshly chopped Coriander
Fragrant Rice to serve.
NOTE: The supermarkets have excellent Basil and Coriander pastes that can be substituted if required.
Simmering time on the stove top: 5 minumtes
Thermal cooking time: 30 minutes minimum
Method:
1. Stir fry the curry paste in the oil over a low heat, until fragrant.
2. Add the chicken and pumpkin then stir fry over a medium heat for a few minutes.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, lower the heat and slowly bring it to the boil.
4. Put the lid on and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and transfer the pot into the outer insulated container and close the lid.
6. Leave for a minimum of 30 minutes.
7. Serve on a bed of fragrant steamed rice.
NOTE: If you are using the double pot Thermal Cooker you can be cooking the rice at the same time in the second pot.
http://shuttlechef.com/main.php?mod=Recipe&file=View&id=14
Posted in Recipes - All, Recipes - Main Meals, Recipes - Soups.
Corn and Pork Ribs Soup
January 21, 2009 — thermalcooker
Corn and Pork Ribs Soup
We grew up drinking lots of soup made by mummy. Asian mum loves to make soups. Soups are nutritious and they really warms your heart. Hope this Corn and Pork Rib Soup will warm yours too!
Preparation Time: 8 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Waiting Time: 2-3 hours
Ingredients:
1 Carrot
1 Tomato
2 Sweet Corns
1 small bit of young ginger
1/2 kg Pork Ribs
Preparation:
1. Cut the tomato into wedges. (4 or 6 wedges, up to you)
2. Break the corns into 3 pieces.
3. Cut the carrots into little chunks.
4. Clean the ginger by getting rid of the skin and cut them in big pieces.
5. Prepare the pork by boiling a pot of water and boil the pork for 5 mins then drain.
6. Pour all the ingredients into the pot with 1.5 litres of water.
7. If you are like us, we like using Thermal Pots. This is an OEM brand which is cheaper. You can get Tiger or Le Gourmet brands which cost 3 or 4 times more, and yet work the same.
We boil the above for 5 mins and then turn it off and transfer the pot into the Thermal Pot. Wait for 2 or 3 hours.
8. When we are ready to serve, we take out the pot, boil it again for a few minutes and then serve. Add salt to your taste.
We usually prepare the soups on Saturday mornings around 9 AM. We will drink the soup at noon. We like using Thermal pots because we do not need to care about the fire.
If you realise, we use an induction cooker too! Induction cooker converts 80-90% of energy to heat, compare to other types of cooking methods (eg gas flame, hot plates) that usually only use 45% of the energy and the rest wasted.
For those interested:
Carrot: Daucus carota subsp. sativus
Domestic Pig: Sus scrofa domestica
Ginger: Zingiber officinale
Sweet Corn: Zea mays var. rugosa
Tomato: Solanum lycopersicum
Posted in Recipes - Soups, Thermal Cooking.
January 21, 2009 — thermalcooker
http://archives.starbulletin.com/2008/06/04/features/electric.html
These recipes are written for standard cooking on a stovetop or in an oven. To adapt them for a thermal cooker, use the same ingredients and follow the same steps, using the inner thermal pot.
Bring ingredients to a boil, making sure the internal temperature of the meat reaches 203 degrees (this may require 10 minutes of boiling). Place the inner pot into the insulated outer thermal pot; seal and let sit for the same amount of time as called for in the original recipe.
Sweet-Sour Spareribs
5 pounds spareribs
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 small pieces ginger, crushed
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
Cut spareribs into 1-1/2-inch pieces. Sprinkle with soy sauce and flour; mix gently.
In large saucepan, heat oil. Brown spareribs with garlic and ginger; drain fat.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer 55 minutes to 1 hour. Serves 6.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 900 calories, 62 g total fat, 21 g saturated fat, 185 mg cholesterol, 1,300 mg sodium, 41 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 35 g sugar, 41 g protein
Chinese-StyleOxtail Soup
2 pounds oxtail pieces
2 quarts water
2 large carrots, in 2-inch pieces
1 cup shelled raw peanuts
5 dried red dates
2 teaspoons salt
Put oxtail pieces into large sauce pot; add water to cover. Boil 5 minutes; drain and rinse oxtail pieces.
Add 2 quarts water and remaining ingredients. Cover and bring to boil; simmer 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Serves 6.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 250 calories, 17 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat, 40 mg cholesterol, 800 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 18 g protein.
Baked Beans with Portuguese Sausage
1 pound Portuguese sausage
1 can (1 pound, 15 ounces) pork and beans
1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, drained
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons dark molasses
1 tablespoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook sausage in water 10 minutes; drain and slice.
Put sausage, beans and onion into 3-quart baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients and stir into bean mixture. Bake, uncovered, 1 hour. Serves 10.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 350 calories, 14 g total fat, 4.5 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 1,250 mg sodium, 45 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 23 g sugar, 16 g protein
Hawaiian Electric Co. presents this weekly collection of recipes as a public service. Many are drawn from HECO’s database of recipes, accessible online at www.heco.com.
Posted in Recipes - Main Meals, Recipes - Soups
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Fireless Cookers - books
July 28, 2008 — thermalcooker
Here is a list and links to a number of books written in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s on Fireless cooking. They contain some great info on the method from recipes to how to make them and how to use some that were being sold at that time.
The Fireless Cooker ( 1908 )
http://www.archive.org/stream/firelesscooker00huntrich
Book of Caloric fireless cook stove recipes; a compilation of more than three hundred superior recipes of all kinds, meats, game, poultry, fish, cereals, vegetables … etc., especially adapted to the new Caloric fireless cookstove ([c1908])
http://www.archive.org/stream/bookofcaloricfir00calorich
The Fireless Cook Book : A Manual of the Construction and Use of Appliances for Cooking by Retained Heat : with 250 recipes (1913, c1909) by Margaret J. Mitchell
http://www.archive.org/stream/firelesscookbook00mitcrich
The Duplex cook book, containing full instructions for cooking with the Duplex fireless stove ([191-?])
http://www.archive.org/stream/duplexcookbookco00durhiala
The Fireless Cooker; how to make it, how to use it, what to cook; ( 1908 )
http://www.archive.org/details/firelesscookerho00love
http://www.archive.org/stream/highlivingrecipe00mcla (to view book)
Simple cooking of wholesome food for the farm home (1913)
http://www.archive.org/stream/simplecookingofw00richrich
Posted in Fireless. Tags: fireless cooker. 2 Comments »
Dream-Pot has added a number of recipes to their site
July 28, 2008 — thermalcooker
Check out this link to the latest recipes for the Dream-Pot thermal cooker:
https://www.dreampot.com.au/recipes/latest-recipes/
http://thermalcooker.wordpress.com/posts/
WONDER BOX RECIPE BOOKLET
July 26, 2008 — thermalcooker
WONDER BOX
RECIPE BOOKLET
INDEX
[snipped]
The recipes in this booklet have been chosen for their simplicity high food value, low cost and popularity. They are basic and should be adapted to individual requirements.
It can be used with a container or without to keep things hot or cold.
This booklet was published by Compassion of South Africa in 1978, 1979 & 1980.
This information may be freely quoted, acknowledgements being made to Compassion.
INTRODUCTION
Wonder Boxes work like vacuum flasks and are similar to the old-fashioned Hay Box. Such things are often used only to keep cooked food or liquid hot and this does not improve their flavor. If food is actually cooked in a Wonder Box it is a different matter. The slow cooking can produce even better results than normal methods of cooking.
Most people find it hard to believe that food can cook so well without fuel and at temperatures below boiling. It helps to understand how this can happen if we remember that boiling point is several degrees lower at higher altitudes due to the thinner air. Wonder cooking is therefore similar to stewing or boiling food at the top of a mountain.
Hay Box cooking was encouraged by governments of several European countries during the last two World Wars in order to save fuel. Many people remember how their porridge oats, the kind that needed long, slow cooking, used to be left all night in a wooden box lined with hay. The Wonder Box uses polystyrene, a more efficient insulator than hay, to retain the heat. This enables it to be more compact and its cushions can be washed when necessary.
We find that many foods take only a little longer than usual to cook in a Wonder Box but it can be a great advantage to be able to leave the food keeping hot until you want it, without its spoiling.
The information about the Wonder Bean, as Soya beans are sometimes called, has been included partly because these beans in their natural or dried state do not seem to be appreciated by people in the Western world. This is probably because of the long slow cooking they need which the Wonder Box can now provide.
Soya beans, combined with a Wonder Box, provide perhaps the very best way for destitute people not only to survive but also to keep healthy. And they can be a boon to people with stomach or heart disorders, diabetes or allergies caused by cows’ milk.
In these days when we are being warned of world wide shortages of food and fuel, we wonder how the sheer simplicity of this very old method of cooking and the simple methods of processing the centuries-old Wonder bean’ could be so overlooked.
-1-
Other benefits from Soya beans are being discovered every year as more and more land is given over to them. But for the poor the knowledge and means to grow the beans themselves and use them in the simple ways described here, may well be the greatest benefit of all.
INSTRUCTIONS
Boil your food on the stove first for a few minutes until the food is heated right through. Use any cooking pot, provided it has no long handle, but do not use a large pot for a small amount of food as the Wonder Box does not work well if there is a large air space.
Put the lid on the pot before you remove the pot from the stove so the lid can also get hot. Make sure the nest in the bottom cushion is ready to take the pot and that it is near by so you do not loose heat carrying the pot around.
Quickly cover the pot with the top cushion, making sure there are no gaps. Leave the top cushion puffed up, (the cardboard box lid is not necessary).
Now make sure that nobody peeps inside to see what’s happening. If they do, heat will escape. Tapes across the corners of the top cushion help to prevent this.
Do not leave your Wonder Box on a metal surface while it is being used. Metal is too good a conductor of heat and may draw off some heat through the bottom.
When cooking with a Wonder Box, remember that the more food or liquid that you have in a pot, the longer and better it will cook.
When cooking anything like a whole chicken, the liquid around it can boil before the chicken has reached the same temperature. So make sure the liquid covers it and boil it for 15 minutes or more before putting it in the Wonder Box.
The nest in your Wonder Box can be lined with a dish towel, aluminum foil or paper to protect the cushions.
-2-
The cushions filled with polystyrene can be washed with hot water and soap and hung on the line to dry. If the weather turns damp, do not leave the cushions to get moldy. Rather continue using the Wonder Box. The hot pot can help to dry them.
Our recipes have been worked out at sea level. At higher altitudes, it may be necessary to leave foods boiling a little longer because of the lower boiling temperature, though it is more effective to boil up a second time. Leaving food in a Wonder Box longer than four hours will not help to cook it more.
A Wonder Box can be used for keeping yeast or yogurt warm for setting, for keeping washing water hot or frozen foods cold.
Never replace a pot of half-eaten or luke-warm food in the Wonder Box. It should be boiled up again first to prevent it going bad.
RECIPES
The recipes in this section can, if you wish, be cooked without a stove using only a kettle, a plastic or other container and a Wonder Box.
PORRIDGE
2 cups quick oats
4 cups boiling water
salt to taste
Stir the oats into the boiling, salted water. Put the lid or a plate on the pot and tuck the pot quickly between the cushions of your Wonder Box for 15 minutes or more. Stir before serving. It will be just right to eat before rushing off to work or school.
For extra creamy porridge, boil up a full pot before going to bed. Add extra water. Leave in the Wonder Box all night. For small amounts, use a double boiler or a bowl that fits inside a pot containing boiling water.
-3-
RICE
2 cups white or 2 cups of brown rice
3 ½ cups water for white rice or 4 cups water for brown rice
salt to taste (if desired)
Put the rice (brown rice is more nutritious) into cold water in pot. Use a small pot for a small amount of rice. Bring water & rice to a good boil. Transfer pot to Wonder Box. Leave the rice cooking in the Wonder Box for 40 minutes (more for brown rice) or until you want to eat it.
With rice and other foods, you may need less water than is shown in directions and recipes because the water does not evaporate away.
BOILED EGG
To boil one egg, pour boiling water over it to cover it. Put it in the Wonder Box for 5 minutes or longer if you like it hard.
To boil two eggs you will need twice as much boiling water and for three eggs, three times as much to get the same results.
MACARONI, SPAGHETTI AND NOODLES
Put them in a pot with plenty of boiling water and a spoonful of salt. Put the pot in the Wonder Box for 15 minutes, not longer, unless you want to make a milk pudding of them.
BASIC FOODS
MIELIEMEEL
Cook in the same way as porridge oats, (above) but use about 4 cups of water to each cup of Mieliemeel. (miemiemeel is ground maize)
VEGETABLES
Potatoes, or root vegetables may be cooked in their skins. Merely bring them to the boil in a pot full of water and transfer them to the Wonder Box for about twice as long as you would normally cook them. They may be left all day without over cooking and can be more easily peeled after cooking.
-4-
…VEGETABLES CONTINUED…
For waterless cooking of vegetables or fruit, cut them up and put them into ordinary plastic bags (the crisp kind). Submerge the bags in water in a pot and boil until the fruit or vegetables have also reached boiling point. The length of time needed will vary with different vegetables, carrots being rather slow. The bag should be left open protruding out under the lid.
MEAT DISHES
How to cook stew, curry or soup in a Wonder Box.
Fry
Meat (cut in pieces)
Onions
Fat for frying
A little flour
Seasoning (curry powder for curry)
Add
Soaked beans, lentils or peas
Vegetables - any kind, washed and cut up
Water to cover (add more for soup)
Boil
Make a “nest” in your Wonder Box and line it with plastic if you wish.
Place the boiling pot in the nest.
Cover immediately with cushion.
Make sure there are no gaps where heat can escape.
N.B. Food cooks best if the pot is full.
It continues to cook for 2-3 hours in only its own retained heat, so long as you do not remove the top cushion to look at it!
IT COOKS WITHOUT FUEL LIKE MAGIC!
-5-
OXTAIL, TONGUE, HAM, POULTRY, AND JOINTS
When cooking oxtail or meat that needs long slow cooking, the meat should be covered in liquid and boiled for 20-50 minutes, according to the size of the piece(s). A large full pot that takes a long time to reach boiling point will need less time actually boiling.
Place it in the Wonder Box. After 2-4 hours add any vegetables and herbs you may wish and bring it once more to a boil. Check that a second period of cooking in the Wonder Box is necessary as ordinary joints will not need this.
Chicken and joints can be boiled in ordinary plastic bags immersed in water so they cook in their own juices. The bag should have its open end protruding under the lid of the pot. The meat can be browned under a grill or over a flame before serving.
Soya pulp (see page 11) or mashed whole Soya Beans (see page 10) make a good base for stuffing for birds or for dumplings for soups and stews. Mix at least one tablespoon of flour with a cup of Soya and add herbs, onions, salt and pepper to taste. By using Soya in this way, the protein content of a meal can be greatly increased at very little cost. Soya takes on the flavor of whatever it is mixed with.
SOUPS AND CURRY
SOUPS
Follow the instructions for meat stews, leaving out the meat and the frying if you wish, and using smaller quantities with more water. A bouillon cube or tomato puree may be added.
BOBOTIE
3 cups mashed cooked Soya beans
1 cup brown breadcrumbs
1 cup diced onion
1 cup milk with and an egg beaten together
1 spoonful oil
1 spoonful curry powder
1 teaspoon salt and sugar (each)
…Bobotie continued on next page
-6-
Fry the onion and curry powder in the oil. Add all the other ingredients except half the cup of milk and egg and mix well. Heat it all up while stirring. Transfer it to a smaller bowl and pour the remainder of the milk on top. Put a lid or plate on the bowl and stand it in a larger pot of boiling water until the egg and milk on top sets.
CURRY
4 cups ready-cooked mashed Soya beans and/or meat
3 cups water or stock
2 onions diced 1 spoonful flour
1 spoonfull oil 1 spoonful curry powder
1 beef cube salt to taste
Add any of the following:
half an apple, diced
a sliced banana
a tablespoon of sultanas (raisins) or currants
a teaspoon of sugar
a spoonful of chutney or jam
a spoonful of lemon juice or vinegar
Fry the onions in a little oil. Add flour and curry powder. Then slowly add water to make a sauce. Bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil again. Place in Wonder Box for several hours or until needed. Serve over rice.
DOUGHNUTS
1 cup Soya pulp (see page 11)
2 cups self raising flour (or brown flour & 1 teaspoon yeast)
1 cup cold water
1 teaspoon salt (and 1 teaspoon vanilla if you like)
1 teaspoon sugar (or a little more if you like)
…continued on next page.
-7-
Mix all ingredients, place in an oiled plastic bag and let rise in the Wonder Box until almost doubled. Heat about 1 liter of oil and test the heat of the oil by dropping a small piece of the dough in to see if it rises quickly to the surface. Spoon out rounded dessert spoonfuls of dough into the oil and fry until golden brown on both sides. Roll in sugar while warm.
BREAD
4 cups whole wheat, brown or white flour, or mixed as you wish
1 teaspoon each yeast and sugar mixed, added to ¼ cup warm water
1 cup warm water with 1 teaspoon salt added
Mix and knead the dough (or add another ¼ cup warm water and merely stir it well). Roll the dough in dry flour and place it in an ordinary (crisp cereal) plastic bag which has had a little oil rubbed around inside. To reduce time needed for this it can be left submerged in warm water in the Wonder Box. When it has doubled its size, it should be brought to boil in the water and boiled for about 10 minutes. Transfer the bread in the pot of water to a Wonder Box for an hour to finish cooking when it should have a soft “crust”.
JAM
Using a little water as possible, cut up and bring the fruit to the boil in your pot and put the pot in the Wonder Box until it is cooked. Pour the fruit into a larger pot and add an equal volume of sugar. Boil them together until the jam is ready to set. Test for this in the normal way.
CARROT JAM
Carrots can be used instead of fruit to make a mock apricot jam. They should first be cut up and cooked soft with a little water. Then mash them. Add an equal volume of sugar and some lemon juice to taste and cook as above.
-8-
FESTIVE FARE - at very little cost.
CHRISTMAS PUDDING
This is inexpensive, nutritious, quick, easy to make and delicious.
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups mixed dried fruits - washed
2 cups mashed whole cooked Soya beans (se page 10)
Heat the above together in a pot adding them in the order given above. The sugar should melt before the Soya and bread is added. Press the mixture into a suitable bowl and leave in the Wonder Box to keep hot and to enable it to be turned out in a pudding shape. Or it can be eaten immediately.
FRUIT “MINCE-MEAT”
Use the same mixture as for the Christmas pudding, but leave out the breadcrumbs. Heat as above. Use for mince pies and tarts.
CHRISTMAS AND WEDDING CAKES
Use the mincemeat mixture as above and add two cups brown flour. This may be stirred into the hot mixture to reduce the cooking time needed. The mixture should be spread into a baking tin which has been well greased and floured to prevent sticking. Bake in a slow oven for an hour or more.
All the above recipes can be varied to taste by adding lemon juice, spices and dates to replace half the sugar or extra dried fruit.
DRIED FRUIT
Using home-made dried fruit in your Christmas cake could make it cost as little as a loaf of bread.
Cut into small cubes a mixture of any of the following:
lemon peel watermelon rind orange peel
prickly pear pumpkin marrow
carrot similar fruits or vegetables
Add water, rather less than needed to cover them. Boil for 10 minutes. Put into the Wonder Box for them to cook soft. Add an equal volume of sugar and bring to boiling once more. Leave in the Wonder Box overnight. Next day, pour off the syrup and use this for jam or cool drinks. The remaining peel etc. should be left to dry with fresh sugar sprinkled over it.
Continued… on next page
-9-
N.B. Fruit cakes, etc. can be steamed in tins in ordinary plastic bags standing in boiling water in a pot. They should be boiled for at least 20 minutes before transferring in the pot to a Wonder Box for further cooking.
Carrot cake or pudding can be made using the same basic recipe as the Christmas cake but substituting grated carrots and 2 teaspoons cinnamon for the dried fruit. It can be boiled in a plastic bag like the bread above a lighter cake can be made by adding baking powder and using Soya pulp instead of mashed whole Soya beans.
SOYA BEANS
Dried Soya beans are small, hard and normally need hours of cooking to get them soft. So they are less popular than other beans even though they are cheaper. In fact their hardness protects them from mice, weevils and even atomic radiation. They provide us with all that our body needs and can easily be processed and used in making all our basic foods. There is no vitamin C in the dried bean but even this can be obtained by sprouting them.
We have experimented with information from overseas on soaking and cooking Soya beans and have adapted the methods to the Wonder Box which saves 75 percent of the fuel needed for cooking. We recommend the following:
COOKING WHOLE SOYA BEANS
Sort, wash the beans vigorously until the water is not sudsy and add them to at least twice their volume of boiling water to which you have added Baking Soda (1 level teaspoonful to a liter of water). Bring it to boil. Boil for a minute while you heat the lid for the pot. Place in the Wonder Box and leave for 48 hours or more.
If you do not use Baking Soda, soak the beans in boiling water which inactivates enzymes which can produce an unpleasant taste if the beans become bruised. Always throw away the soaking water. Then boil the beans twice over followed by two or three hours in the Wonder Box after each boiling.
Both the above methods, which should leave the beans soft enough to mash, will inactivate a substance in the bean which works against the protein digesting enzyme trypsin, thus making all the protein in the bean available as food.
-10-
SOYA MILK
It is important for mothers with large families or with children that are allergic to cows’ milk to know how to make Soya milk. To spread this knowledge ‘Compassion’ is undertaking demonstrations in hospitals, at churches and wherever people are gathered together who want to know more about it.
The method for making the milk, based on the Chinese method, is as follows;
1. Sort, wash and soak 1 cup of Soya beans in plenty of water overnight.
2. Mince, or grind the beans one cup at a time in a blender with 4 cups of
water.
3. Boil 2 cups water in a deep pot and add the minced beans.
Bring back to boiling. Stir and be careful it does not boil over and put
in the Wonder Box for 30 minutes.
4. Strain through a clean cloth and squeeze to remove all milk.
Add a little salt and sugar if desired.
KEEP THE PULP FOR ADDING TO OTHER FOODS
To make amasi: This makes a good medicine and food for babies with running stomachs. Add a teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar to a cupful of Soya milk and leave to stand. Yogurt can be made in the same way using a teaspoonful of yogurt instead of lemon, but leave this in a warm place to set - such as a Wonder Box.
FACTS ABOUT SOYA BEANS
From the ‘Wonder Food’ by C.E. Clinkard. In China there is practically no animal milk. Whereas only 7 lbs. of beef protein or 39 lbs. of egg protein, can be produced from one acre, 339 lbs of Soya bean protein can be produced from the same area. Its cultivation has been going on for about 5,000 years. Two and a half lbs of Soya bean flour is equivalent to 5 ¼ lbs of lean boneless meat or 67 eggs or 13 quarts of cow’s milk.
-11-
POPULAR SOYA RECIPES
SOYA VETKOEKIES
1 cup Soya pulp (or mashed soft-cooked Soya beans)
1 spoonful of flour (or flour and breadcrumbs)
For variations, add any of the following:
tomato herbs sugar grated potatoes
spice curry cheese chopped onion
Mix and drop into hot oil to fry
SOYA AND MIELIEMEEL BREAD
2 cups Soya pulp 2 (or more) cups miemiemeel
2 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt
Stir all together to make a mixture like damp sand. Spoon it into a plastic bag which has had oil rubbed around the inside. Squeeze it in the plastic into a loaf shape. Immerse it in a pot of water with the open end of the bag protruding out under the lid. Boil for at least 10 minutes and leave in the Wonder Box for about an hour.
SOYA “TURKEY”
Mince whole soft-cooked Soya beans and flavor them delicately with chicken or beef cubes, salt and pepper. Add a spoonful of flour and some oil to each cupful of beans. Boil the mixture in a plastic bag immersed in water for at least 10 minutes followed by a short period in a “Wonder Box. It should now carve and taste surprisingly like turkey.
Mix some of the above with a little minced fried liver for a delicious live pate for sandwiches.
FISH CAKES
1 cup Soya pulp 1 heaped spoon of flour
1 onion 2 sprigs parsley
salt and pepper oil
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Chop the onion and parsley and mix with other ingredients. Shape into fish-cakes with spoons and fry until golden brown on both sides. These have a delicious taste of fish-cakes although no fish is used. The taste of onion should not be noticeable.
-12-
FASOULIA
This is a highly recommended Greek Dish (Haricot beans are usually used for this)
3 cups well cooked Soya beans 1 bay leaf
half a cup of oil 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 small can tomato paste juice of 1 lemon
a little water or tomato puree 2 cloves garlic
Heat the oil in a deep pan and add the beans. Simmer gently for 10 minutes while you add all the ingredients except the onion. Cover the pan and place in Wonder Box for 4 hours. Add the onion rings. Serve hot or cold.
NUTTY SOYA SNACKS
Mix a spoonful of flour with a teaspoon of salt and sprinkle it over some whole-cooked Soya beans until they are well coated. Remove the excess flour. Drop the beans a spoonful at a time into hot deep oil. Fry until they are light biscuit color, or fry half-cooked beans in hot oil until they are golden brown; allow the oil to drain off. Sprinkle salt over them and store them in an air tight jar to keep crisp.
A WARM DRINK
Bake unsoaked Soya beans slowly in an oven or iron pot for about 6 hours or until they are dark brown but not burnt.
Grind while hot, if possible. Store in an airtight container.
To make a warm drink, pour boiling water onto a good spoonful of ground baked beans. Add a pinch of salt. Allow to stand or simmer for a few minutes. The grounds will sink to the bottom. Keep the drink hot in a Wonder Box.
FRESH SOY BEANS
Young Soya beans only need to be cooked for 10 - 15 minutes. Children must not be allowed to chew raw green Soya beans - or any raw beans or they will get indigestion.
SOYA FOR BABIES
By our Woman Doctor: Soya beans are the richest source of vegetable protein, their protein being equal in value to that in meat, milk, fish and eggs.
-13-
The milk prepared from Soya beans can be used for feeding under-weight malnourished babies to bring them back to health. Soya beans also provide a good weaning food which can be made from ground Soya beans or from the residue after making Soya milk. In some cases Soya milk is even better than cows’ milk. This is because many malnourished children have a persistent running stomach. The lining of the bowl in these children has become thin and flat instead of being thick and thrown into folds. This thin lining does not produce the substance needed to digest the milk sugar, lactose. Because of this, drinking cows’ milk will make the diarrhea worse. Soya milk is digested well as it contains no lactose.
Many adults also do not digest cows’ milk well as it causes stomach upsets because of a lack of the substance needed to digest lactose. Certain races, including Africans, are more prone to this.
Soya beans are used extensively by world health teams in feeding programs for areas where there are many malnourished children. The milk prepared by the recipe in this book contains a little more protein than cow’s milk and considerable more than breast milk.
Soya milk contains about ¾ of the calcium supplied in breast milk. (Cows’ milk is very rich in calcium and supplies far more than a baby needs). Soya milk contains no vitamin D but this vitamin is made in the body by the action of sunlight on the infants’ skin. Vitamin D is necessary to prevent rickets. It has a satisfactory content of iron, in fact more than in breast milk; also of the B vitamins (except 12 which is also absent in breast milk). It is low in vitamin A and vitamin C is absent.
One cannot unreservedly recommend Soya milk for the sole food of infants under 4 months who, in any case, should be on the breast. But it can be used for emergency or temporary feeding where the alternative is protein deprivation.
Soya can be highly recommended for feeding infants over 4 months especially with regard to its protein content. These babies can also be given mashed local vegetables and fruit and the occasional egg yolk in addition which supplies the vitamins A and D and also extra calcium. Mieliemeel mixed with either Soya milk or the pulp which is left after making the milk is an ideal combination as a source of calories and protein.
It is very rare to find a baby allergic to Soya milk but of babies allergic to cows’ milk some authorities have found that ¼ of these will also be allergic to Soya milk. The other ¾ will thrive on Soya milk.
Commercial dried Soya milk powders are fortified with extra vitamins A and D and a little extra calcium and can be used for infants of all ages.
-14-
SOYA BEAN CULTIVATION
By our Agriculturalist: Soya beans (Soybeans) can be grown anywhere in Southern Africa where ordinary green beans can be grown and they require roughly the same conditions.
The soil should be well cultivated to prevent weeds from becoming too big a problem to growing beans. Make your planting rows about 14 centimeters apart. This is about the distance from a man’s elbow to tip of thumb. For a small garden you can make the rows a little close together. For a large field where tractor or ox-drawn implements are used you can make the rows wider apart.
The seed should be planted a little later than the date on which you would normally plant mielies (corn) so as to be sure that the ground is warm enough to encourage the beans to make a quick start. If you are not able to irrigate the ground, you must wait for good rains to give your soil plenty of moisture before planting.
Put the beans about 5 centimeters, or a thumb’s length deep and 4 - 5 centimeters apart.
Under good conditions the beans will germinate in 4 to 5 days. If the soil has been hammered hard by heavy rains at this time, it must be loosened a little so that the beans can push through the soil without being damaged. Keep the young beans free from weeds for the first month at least to give them the best chance in life. The beans will be ready to harvest when the plant leaves begin to fall and the stems begin to dry out.
Soya beans have the good quality of attracting certain bacteria which extract the plant food nitrogen from the air. These bacteria are very small organisms which cannot be seen by the naked eye. While the beans are growing the bacteria will multiply greatly and will remain a long time in the soil after the beans are finished. A little soil taken from an old Soya bean plot and dusted into the rows of fresh ground where Soya beans are to be planted will therefore provide a more plentiful supply of the helpful bacteria at the outset and get the bean off to a good start. The nitrogen fixing partnership between beans and bacteria will mean that your ground will be enriched by a crop of Soya beans.
Wonder Boxes, designed by Compassion in 1978, continue to catch on, to excite people and to be a boon for many households. They are being made in at least 50 centers in southern Africa: Women for Peace in Johannesburg, Cripple Care in Pietermaritzburg and Pretoria, Centers of “Concern in port Elizabeth and elsewhere and self-help home industries and missions in rural areas.
-15-
Yet still there is a desperate NEED for WONDER BOXES TOGETHER WITH SOYA BEANS. To meet this need we ask each person who reads this to PROVIDE ONE MORE PERSON WITH A WONDER BOX.
Start a “Wonder-chain”, each person who receives one could buy or make one for someone in need - a pensioner, an unemployed person or an over-burdened working mother.
MAKE YOUR OWN WONER-BOXES
Make cushions out of large plastic bags, mutton cloth or other washable material and fill them loosely with any of the following”
polystyrene beads waste nylon materials
dried corn husks flakes of newspaper
woolen materials sawdust and wood shavings
feathers hay or other dry grasses
Put the cushions into a container such as a cardboard box and make a nest in it for your cooking pot. Cover the pot with another cushion.
Polystyrene is about the best insulation material and it is also easily washed. If you are only able to get the solid pieces which are used for packing radios etc…, you can break it up by grating it.
Compassion registered the name WONDER BOX and the logo of the kneeling figure in the hope that our new and simple ways of using the WONDER (SOYA) BEANS will go with it and be a powerful force for peace at this time.
LIVE SIMPLY THAT OTHERS MAY SIMPLY LIVE
Where to get insulation beads:
JoAnn’s Fabric Stores
DOUBLE STITCH ALL SEAMS
Cut bottom out of milk jug (gallon), Put 5 scoops of beads for top.
Put 9 scoops of beads for bottom.
-16-
Posted in Recipes - All, Wonderbox.
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Wonder Box Cooker
July 26, 2008 — thermalcooker
The Wonder Box Cooker recipes and instructions originated from a booklet published by “Compassion” of South Africa in 1978,1979 and 1980. “Compassion” registered name Wonder Box and the logo of the kneeling figure. This information may be freely quoted, acknowledgments being made to “Compassion”
Wonder Boxes work like vacuum flasks. In these days when we are being warned of worldwide shortages of food and fuel, this wonder box and it’s simplicity is designed to keep food at the temperature needed for cooking. Using very little fuel you only use about 15 minutes of energy to bring the food to the required temperature and then put it into the Wonder box. It makes it as though it were a thermos. On the flip side it will also keep ice-cream cold for about 4 hours.
Brief Cooking Instructions:
Boil your food on the stove for 10 - 15 minutes until the food is heated right through. (In practice this is too long.)
Use any cooking pot, provided it does not have a long handle, but do not use a large pot for a small amount of food. The W’box does not work well if there is a large air space. Remember that the more food or liquid that you have in the pot, the longer and better it will cook.
Put the lid on the pot before you remove the pot from the stove so the lid can also get hot. Make sure the nest in the bottom cushion is ready to take the pot and that it is nearby so you do not lose heat carrying the pot around. Place pot into the nest of the W’box, making sure that the sides are snug against the pot, so there are no air pockets. Quickly cover the pot with the top cushion, making sure there are no gaps or air pockets. Make sure that no one peeks inside. If this happens, heat will escape, and the food will not cook properly.
Do not leave the W’box on a metal surface while it is being used. Metal is a good conductor of heat and may draw off some heat through the bottom.
When cooking anything like a roast or a whole chicken, the liquid around it can boil before the meat has reached the same temperature. Make sure the liquid covers the meat and it has come to a boil. Meat must be covered with liquid! The cooking time seems to be 3-4 hours, or all day. It is sure to never burn.
Note: We had a chicken that was put in at 9:30 in the morning before church. This single dad prepared the chicken by placing it into an oven-cooking bag. He added spices to the chicken closed the bag completely (no added moisture was added to the bag) then brought the pot of water with the chicken in, to a boil and put it all in to the W’box. We ate with him at 4:00pm and as he tried to carve the chicken that was well cooked; the steam was ‘rolling’ off the chicken. It was still so hot he worked with forks to carve it. Nb: the opening to the bag was left protruding from under the lid.
The W’box was designed for cooking meals, but it can also be used for keeping food hot, cold or frozen for 3-6 hours depending on what it is For example, frozen meat will stay frozen longer than a tub of ice cream.
The cushions filled with polystyrene can be washed with hot water and soap and hung on the line to dry.
WONDER BOX Sewing Instructions
Click here for a Pattern
Material: 3 Meters (yards are 3 inch shorter than a meter) soft cotton or broadcloth so it will conform to the shape of the pot.
(½ can be coordinated …. two colors)
19 scantly filled 1-gallon ice cream pails of Polystyrene beads (it is an insulation that looks like the tiny separate Styrofoam bits that make up the protective packing in electronics, etc.)
“Polystyrene is about the best insulating material and it is also easily washed. If you are only able to get the solid pieces which are used for packing radios etc., you can break it up by grating it.”
the booklet also says “make cushions out of large plastic bags, mutton cloth or other washable material and fill loosely with any of the following:
Polystyrene, Dried corn husks, Woolen materials, Feathers, Waste nylon materials, Flakes of newspaper, sawdust and wood shavings, Hay or other dry grasses “In Canada we have a gray ‘blow in insulation’ in our attic, it would be impossible to wash without opening the wonder box but it may be added to this list as well.
Sewing instructions:
When you sew the wonder box together you sew 2 of the 4 pieces together along the longest sides. You open each of the pairs now and place them right sides together and sew those 2 together all the way around the outside, making an awkward shaped cushion affair. Don’t forget the opening to fill through. You then repeat with the 4 bottom pieces. One pair together, sew along the longest side, then the other pair. Open them up and place them right sides together, remembering to leave openings to fill through. I am adding a loop at this point to hang this by when not in use, or dry after washing.
The narrow part of the bottom pattern is the piece you will tuck into the bigger part of the bottom to make the pouch/nest for the pot to sit into.
Hoping not to confuse the issue. If you start where the bottom pattern says 90 (degrees for the angle) and sew down the right side of the pattern and stop just after the second 11 ½ ” mark, before the pattern starts back up. That will be one of the two pairs. Do the same with the other two, put right sides together again and sew it all the way around the outside edge now, into the box or ball shape. The same goes for the top cushion, start at the 100, sew down the right and stop just after the 11 inch mark. The rights sides together and sew again making the shape of the top cushion.
It will not lie flat. It will take the shape of a square cushion when it is filled with the polystyrene beads, and the bottom cushion has a cavity like a nest or pouch.
Top: Fill a little less than ½ full while the bag is hanging. Approximately 7 scantly filled 1-gallon ice cream pails.
A paper funnel works best, as the beads are very static prone. You may want to use an ice cream pail to pour from. Work with two people to fill-one to hold the funnel in and the other to pour. Spread a sheet on floor to catch beads.
Bottom: Cut 4 Fill approximately ½ full with polystyrene beads. Approximately 12 scantly filled 1-gallon ice cream pails
Once this bag is filled, tuck the small end into the center to form the pouch/nest for the pot. Find a good pot that works well in this pouch. No long handles please.
When the pan sits inside the pouch/nest of the bottom, the pan is surrounded on all sides except the top. So… that is where the top/lid comes in. It is very important to keep all of the heat inside this wonder box cooker. One of the pages and the recipes explain that the lid/top of the wonder box must go on immediately with no places for the heat to escape or it will all be for nothing.
Wonder Box Recipes
Yogurt by the Gallon
4 cups dry skim milk powder
4 quarts warm water
Mix well, heat to scald, cool to luke warm
Add
1 cup of starter (plain commercial yogurt) or product saved from this finished recipe may be used to start a new batch. Refresh monthly with commercial starter.
Mix well, put into a gallon glass jar with a lid and place into the Wonder box.
Leave undisturbed for 12-14 hours. It will thicken more after refrigeration.
May be used plain or add your favorite fruits to flavour.
For those that can afford the calories, if the yogurt doesn’t set to your liking, add instant
Vanilla pudding. (substituting yogurt for milk)
Can be reduced for smaller batches.
Porridge
2 cups quick oats
4 cups boiling water
salt to taste
Stir oats into boiling water, put lid on and place quickly between cushions of the W’box for 15 minutes or more. Stir before serving
Rice
2 cups rice
Put into
3 ½ - 4 cups of salted boiling water. NB. Because the water does not evaporate you may need less water than usual.
Place quickly into W’box, and leave for 40 minutes or longer until ready to eat.
Vegetables
Potatoes or root vegetables may be cooked in their skins. Bring them to a boil in a pot full of water and place quickly between cushions of the W’box for about twice as long as you would normally cook them. They may be left all day without overcooking and can be more easily peeled after cooking
Try waterless cooking by using the crisp kind of bags used for cooking roasts, etc. Submerge the bag into the water and bring to a boil. The bag should be left with opening protruding out from under the lid. Place quickly into W’box.
Chicken and other joints of Meat
Place chicken into an Oven cooking bag with desired spices, and close bag
Bring pot of water with chicken in it, to a good boil.
Quickly place into the W’box and place top cushion on.
Leave alone for at least 3-4 hours.
The chicken was put in at 9:30 in the morning before church. This single dad prepared the chicken by placing it into an oven-cooking bag. He added spices to the chicken closed the bag completely (no added moisture was added to the bag) then brought the pot of water with the chicken in, to a boil and put it all in to the W’box. We ate with him at 4:00pm. It was impressive.
Try soups, stews, what ever you can bring to a boil and then give it a try. The worst that would happen is the first time, you may have to bring things back to a boil and replace into the W’box for a second cooking time.
I was given other recipes from a group who called this “The Clever Cooker” but they looked just like any other kind of simmered recipe and the consistent instruction was leave for 3-4 hours,
Never replace a pot of half eaten or luke warm food in the W’box It should be boiled up again to prevent it going bad.
Posted in Thermal Cookers, Wonderbox. Tags: wonder box, Wonderbox. 2 Comments »
[There is more info on the different types of fireless cooking on the page....granny]
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Comments on cooking bread and other things in a wonderbox cooker
July 26, 2008 — thermalcooker
Comments on cooking bread and other things in a wonderbox cooker:
Steamed bread in a wonderbox — turned out fabulous. We left it in the hot water to rise then boiled it for ten minutes and kept it in the wonderbox for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Here is some detail about the wonderbox bread…
I put the whole wheat bread dough in a oiled cereal bag (the waxed-
paper-like inner lining bag in boxes of cereal). Then I twisted up the
end and closed it with a twist tie. I then placed this bag inside a
Reynolds oven bag and twisted up the end of that bag. Rather than
putting the twist tie on at that point, I folded over the twisted end,
making a loop and then secured it with a twist tie, creating a double
reinforcement and less probability of water leaking in. I have heard
it being done in a Zip-loc bag as well, but I was pleased with the
cereal bag and oven bag. When picking a bag, you are concerned with
its ability to withstand the heat of boiling and ability to get a tight
seal when closing as water seeping into the bread will ruin it.
Then I put the dough in a pan of hot water to rise. After it had
risen, I boiled it for ten minutes and then placed the pan with the
dough in it and with the lid on in the Wonder Box. I left it there for
1 hour and 45 minutes. It was perfect. The bread comes out round and
is not browned, but very moist and light. You will not get overdone,
dry bread this way.
BREAD Recipe:
4 cups whole wheat, brown or white flour, or mixed as you wish
1tsp each yeast and sugar mixed, added to ¼ cup warm water
1 cup warm water with 1 tsp salt added
Mix and knead the dough (or add ¼ cup warm water and merely stir it well). Roll the dough in dry flour and place it in an ordinary (crisp, cereal) plastic bag which has had a little oil rubbed around inside.
To reduce time needed for this it can be left submerged in warm water in the wonder box.
When it has doubled its size, it should be brought to boil in the water and boiled for about 10 minutes. Transfer the bread in the pot of water to a wonder box for an hour to finish cooking when it should have a soft “crust”.
I have fielded numerous requests from readers who are making their own wonder boxes, and wanting to know what type of material would be best for the cushions.
Cushions have to be of a soft material that will squish firmly around the top, bottom and sides of your wonder box. Another idea is to use the inners of old, flat pillows.
Another example of making bread in a wonderbox
I have been baking bread in a wonderbox for awhile now. My recipe is for 2 loaves (whole wheat). I put one in the wonderbox and one in the oven. I raise the bread by putting it in a cereal bag that has been sprayed with cooking spray. I put a twistertie on that and then put that in an oven bag, twist it up and then double the twisted part over and put on the twister tie. That part looks like a loop. Anyway I put the bagged dough in a pot of warm water to rise. When it has doubled, I bring the whole thing to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Then put the whole thing in the wonderbox and go away. Once it was in there for over 8 hours and the bread was still warm. I think the least amount of time has been one hour.
The bread does not have a crust and is usually oval, but it is moist and delicious. In fact when I have people try a bit from the oven baked and the wonderbox, they prefer the wonderbox bread hands down.
So do I.
I have reused the cereal bag. I make my own cereal so I don’t have those kind regularly. I’ve tried ziploc bags for the outside and sometimes they pop open from the rising bread. If it gets under water, the bread is ruined.
Bean Soup
I made bean soup. I soaked the beans over night, then boiled them 20 minutes, and after a couple of hours in the wonderbox, I took them out to put some bean flour in to thicken it and reheated it for another 20 minutes before putting it back in. All together it was probably 6-7 hours in there, but no burning or sticking, and I left it that long because that was when I was using the soup…
BTW, I was using the ice box cooler for the thermal outer container which I placed the bean pot inside. I first wrapped the bean pot in a wool blanket and then put a pillow on top of the pot and blanket before closing the cooler lid. I have also been using a half of a mylar space blanket in the wonderbox and the ice box cooker both to retain heat, but also to keep the wonderbox clean and dry and to keep the wool blanket dry. I think that really helps.
Posted in Recipes - Breads, Thermal Cooking, Wonderbox. Tags: bread, Wonderbox. 1 Comment »
Here are a few images which contain a pattern to make your own wonderbox.
It’s much like a beanbag chair of sorts made from fabric and filled with styrofoam beads.
http://thermalcooker.wordpress.com/posts/
A Hay Box Cooker An Old Invention – Out of New Materials
July 15, 2008 — thermalcooker
I first heard about the concept of the hay box cooker, which uses stored heat to cook food, many years ago. I made one out of straw, a pine box and a large glass casserole dish but it was not really successful. The main problem was that the casserole dish was too large so that you had to make too much food in one go, and there was not enough insulation between the casserole and the side of the wooden box. So I until recently I had gone without one of these useful devices.
While wandering through a neighbours garage sale I spied a large plastic cooleresky*, it looked well used, but it was intact and BIG (590mm x 370mm x 420mm high), so for the princely sum of $5 it was mine! To turn it into a haybox cooker I then needed to work out what cooking pot/s to use what and insulation material to use.
* Australian for cooler
[common strong ice chest that we use for camping..granny]0
Cooking Pots
I needed to work out the type of cooking pots to use, I had decided that the size of the esky would allow me to use two pots – a one litre and a two litre pot – so that I would have some flexibility depending on the number of people to be fed. The haybox cooker works most efficiently when the cooking pot is almost full of food.
Another way to improve heat retention is to ensure that the cooking pots have the least possible surface area for the volume contained, this is a sphere – which is geometrically inconvenient for my purposes, so I settled on a couple of squat, enamelled steel billy cans. The lids of the cans also have a rim which ensures that condensation on the lid is returned to the pot.
The enamelling on both pots is a dark blue and the idea was that I could use my solar oven to heat up the food and then put it into the haybox cooker to complete the process. That was the theory and for the 1 litre pot it works fine, but I found that when I tried the 2 litre pot it is just a wee to big, and prevents the glass front from entirely closing, which in turn lets the heat out. Another fine theory blown to hell due to lack of attention to detail!
Insulation
The obvious answer here was “hay”, being a traditionalist of sorts, but hay has some disadvantages in that it is not so effective an insulator as some modern materials and it tends to absorb steam and odours during the cooking process which then cause it to grow bugs (yuch!). I wanted something that was light, low maintenance and an effective insulator. As luck would have it, a friend offered me an 1800mm x 900mm sheet of polystyrene foam that wasinsulation in the haybox cooker 25mm thick and had been used as packing in a container, so I accepted it gratefully.
I still needed to cut it to shape and the classic way using a saw creates a hell of a mess with fine particles of polystyrene all over the place. So rather than do that I looked around to see if I could get hold of hot wire cutter, which makes a nice smooth cut with little or no little fiddly bits. After some searching I found a reasonably priced ($25) battery powered unit available from Hobbyco in the city (Sydney). Its limitation was that it could only cut polystyrene sheet up to 35mm thick so this was not much of a problem with my stuff being only 25mm thick.
I cut two slabs to act as the bottom insulation and then a number of strips A pillowwith holes in them to accept the cooking containers up to the level of their lids. Here the analogy breaks down! To use the rigid polyester foam over the tops of the cooking containers by carving out the correct size and shape was beyond my technology, so I remembered our family motto - “when all else fails – cheat!”. I bought some polystyrene beads, used for stuffing bean bags and made up a cushion by loosely filling an old flannelette pillowcase, which sits neatly on top of the cooking containers and acts and an insulator. I sewed the pillowcase closed, because anything less than an airtight seal and the beans escape and get EVERYWHERE!
One problem with the esky was that, in common with a lot of esky’s cooler with insulaitonnowadays, there is actually no insulation in the formed plastic top, I assume that the air gap in the lid is supposed to act as an insulator. I was not happy with this, so using a cut of funnel I persuaded a whole stack of the polystyrene beans to go into a moulding hole in the top. That was one tedious job, because the beans clearly did not want to go into the lid! Anyway once completed I sealed the hole with an (unused) industrial ear plug.
The haybox cooker was now completed.
Operation
The idea is to load up the cooking pot with your food in the same way you would a crockpot, this style of cooking lends itself to soups, stews and casseroles ie wet cooking so if you are after dry or crisp, this is not the way to hay box cooker with pots in itgo. Having filled your pots with ingredients and water up to about 25mm from the top, put it on the stove and bring it up to the boil, and boil for five minutes to get the heat into the centre of any larger lumps of ingredient. Once it has been boiling for 5 minutes quickly transfer it to the haybox cooker, smooth down the insulating pillow and clamp on the lid.
Leave everything undisturbed for 8 to 12 hours (No peeking!) and then open for a hot deliciously cooked meal.
To test our haybox cooker, I filled both containers and boiled them, transferring them straight to the cooker and then sealed it up. Early the next day, about 10 hours later, the 2 litre pot was still over 90°C and the 1 litre one was still above 85°C. The haybox cooker has served us very well, particularly during winter and I even used it to make a batch of my beef and veggie soup, a family favourite. I still looks a bit basic and I want to make a nice wooden box to go around it so that it looks like a piece of furniture rather than a well used esky…………………..eventually!
Posted in Thermal Cookers. 1 Comment »
250 Fireless Cooker recipes from 1913
July 15, 2008 — thermalcooker
Here is a great little book published in 1913 on how to build your own “fireless cooker” and how to use it.
It contains illistrations and recipes on using thermal cooking for just about any kind and type of food.
http://hearth.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=hearth;cc=hearth;sid=14b7dca8103a23f02b82218e70babe06;q1=cook;rgn=title;idno=4463127;view=image;seq=0011
Posted in Recipes - All. No Comments »
Meals that cook themselves and cut the costs
July 15, 2008 — thermalcooker
Here’s a book or maybe the instruction book from 1883 that describes how to use the Sentinal two hole fireless cooker.
Posted in Thermal Cookers.
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Fireless Cooking in an Crock Pot Adapted Ice Chest
July 15, 2008 — thermalcooker
Fireless Cooking in an Crock Pot Adapted Ice Chest
When young and adventurous, we enjoyed family tent camping. We sneered at the “wimps” who used trailers—even including those who used camping trailers. We were purists. One year, a friend loaned us a few days of relaxation in his 16 foot travel trailer. A revelation! This was living!
We learned that deprivation was not nearly as much fun as it was to be camping with all the amenities. It was made even more clear as we watched the folks in the next campsite while they stood around in a drizzle waiting for their Coleman stove to heat up water for coffee.
Recalling this episode got me to thinking about how cool or room-temperature food will add to the misery in a down-grid situation. Hot meals are just about required for making everything else endurable. But in a continuing crisis one vital concern will be how to conserve fuel, yet provide hot meals.
Here’s a slick solution: “fireless” cooking.
Your crock-pot is the latest application of this old, old idea. But the old idea as you will see is better because your homemade fireless cooker won’t require electricity.
The idea is simple: food in a pot is heated to boiling on your stove, then allowed to simmer for a few minutes; then the pot lid is clapped on and the pot is quickly transferred to a well insulated box. More insulation is stuffed around and on top of the pot, filling the entire box; then the lid is closed tightly. Now you can turn off the stove! After four hours or so (timing is not critical), the food is ready to eat. If the pot is not disturbed (peeking is not allowed!), the food will still be hot even after six or more hours.
Here’s the payoff: (1) not much fuel is used and (2), the food can be prepared well before it is needed.
Your fireless cooker can be readily created using a fiberglass ice chest. Ours has wheels and a collapsible handle. This is handy for having the chest near the stove for moving pots to it quickly, then rolling it out of the way while it does its job.
To adapt your ice chest:
1.Put a piece of plywood on the bottom of the chest to keep the hot pot from damaging the chest’s plastic bottom.
2. Use a pot which will provide enough stew to feed your family and which has small handles. Don’t use a pot which has large handles because you want the insulation to snuggle up against the pot at all points.
3. How to provide insulation for the pot:
Get a supply of styrofoam “peanuts” used for shipping and sew them up into bags that will nestle the pot. Dish towels make a nice size for these bags—or cut lengths from the legs of old slacks and sew one end shut. Sew the bags, leaving one edge open; that way you can adjust the quantity of peanuts as you create the nest. Don’t overfill these bags; they should be flexible to conform to the pot. Pin the open end temporarily. Put your pot in the chest and arrange the bags around it so that there will be no air spaces between the pot and the walls of the chest. Now remove the bags and sew them shut.
Cut a couple of old bath towels into smaller pieces to stuff in odd corners if needed to gently fill any air pockets. Make a large peanut-filled bag to cover all this so that closing the lid will result in a chest completely filled with peanut bags and a pot. Later on, you can try using more than one pot, but let’s make this basic for now.
Carefully remove the pot so that the nest is undisturbed. That’s because when you do the actual cooking, you will want to get the hot pot into its nest quickly. Now you are ready.
1. If using meat in your meal, cut it intro bite-sized pieces and gently fry it till just done, then transfer it to the stewpot. Or cook it right in the pot. Add the vegetables, water, spices et cetera so that the pot is 2/3 full—no more: the hot air between the lid and the top of the stew is important. Oh, and soft veggies, peas for example, should go in the pot 10 minutes or so before serving.
2. Heat your stew to boiling and immediately move the container into your fireless cooker; leave it alone 4 or more hours, that’s it.
3. Most crockpot recipes can be adapted for this technique—except those that call for adding ingredients while the cooking is underway. Remember, in fireless cooking, peeking is not allowed, so neither is adding anything after you’ve nested your pot, except at the very end (see above about peas).
One wonderful advantage to this process is the opportunity to eat any time after a few hours—food will still be hot, but not overcooked because the cooker is allowing it to gradually (really gradually) lose heat. This means the cook doesn’t have to be working just before the meal is served. In fact, the cook can sit and enjoy the meal with everybody at the table. And the meal doesn’t need to be ready at any set time–the meal will be ready and stay ready for several hours. So a dinnertime emergency calling the troops away won’t be a kitchen disaster
Besides the advantage of using heat only to fry meat and bring the stew to a boil, you can prepare a meal long before it will be eaten and you don’t have to stand over a stove making sure nothing burns.
Stew recipes are not only easily adapted to this cooking technique, they are very nutritious because the liquid is not poured off, throwing away a lot of food value. Add a hearty slice of two of whole wheat bread and your meals will be delicious and filling.
Prepare a meal in the morning to eat during or after a TV football game and no one has to spend time in the kitchen preparing. Or use this technique to prepare for a tailgate party—no on-site cooking!
When you get the hang of this technique, you will want to try using more than one pot to make, for example, a dessert to accompany the meal.
Practice using this wonderful technique now; it’s simple, and it will give you one more valuable tool if disaster strikes.
Bon appetit! (You can find lots of additional information on the Internet with web search for “fireless cooking”.)
Posted in Thermal Cooking.
Haybox, Retained Heat or Fireless Cookers
July 15, 2008 — thermalcooker
http://www.bioenergylists.org/en/cookers
PCIAi Guide to Designing Retained Heat Cookers
* Guide to Designing Retained Heat Cookers (English)
* Guide to Designing Retained Heat Cookers (Spanish)
Cooking in a Basket Website
* Cooking in a Basket website
Elizabeth Riddiford, Community Conservation Initiative (CCI-Kenyai), June 12, 2007
Kakamega Forest Cooking Basket
Bolivia
* Ecological Stoves David Whitfield V CEDESOL La Paz, Bolivia, presentation to Global Village Energy Partnership Latin America Santa Cruz, Bolivia, July 2003
Germany (1921)
* Self Cookers in Kochlehrbuch fuer Schule und Haus, Martin Boll, Germany, April 4, 2006
Guatemala
* Cocedora Onil, HELPS retained Heat Cookeri at ETHOS 2006, HELPSi, January 2006
Kenya
* Mrs. Mary Kavita, Haybox Cooker, Makeweni, Kenya, Courtesy Richard Stanley, Legacy Foundation, November 2005
Malawi
* Food Warmer/Fireless Cooker (Probec) How to Make a Food Warmer / Fireless Cooker (HEDONi), Christa Roth, Advisor for Food Processing and Biomass Energy Conservation in the Integrated Food Security Programme (IFSPi), Mulanje, Malawi, September 2003
Tanzania
Tanzanian Hayboxes, Stoves, and Wonderbaskets, Meg Arenberg, Sunseed Tanzaniai Trust, August 2005
Posted in Thermal Cooking. 1 Comment »
July 15, 2008 — thermalcooker
Fireless Cooking
Frederick A. Draper
The expression “tireless cooking” is not strictly applicable to the process to be here described, but is sufficiently near it to make it applicable as a short title. For many years the ” hay box” has been in regular use, and has proved of great utility for certain kinds of cooking. While not of particular value in many lines claimed by its over enthusiastic advocates, it is, nevertheless, worthy of careful consideration in every household, and this is especially true on hot summer days when a morning fire can be used to produce a hot meal to be served up in the evening.
Fireless Cooking 184The principle involved in the operation is that of retained heat. The food to be cooked is put in a suitable utensil upon the stove where it is thoroughly heated. It should remain upon the stove long enough to bring the contents to the boiling point, and continue at that temperature for an interval varying with the kind of food being cooked. The heated utensil and food are then placed in an insulated box constructed to prevent the loss of heat, where they remain for a number of hours. The contained heat in the food serves to thoroughly cook it in such a way as to retain the best flavors of the food, and it will be found that tough meat can be made much more palatable by this-process than by any other method of cooking.
The experienced housekeeper will readily understand the limitations of this method of cooking. Stews, boiled meats, vegetables and cereals are the kinds of food particularly successful. Baked beans and roast meats must be browned in a hot oven before being placed in the cooker; otherwise they will lack the color desired in dishes of that kind. As there is no evaporation of the liquid contents from the vessel, it is necessary to have the portions of food exactly as desired when served upon the table. It is necessary, therefore, to have color and flavoring ingredients exactly proportioned at the beginning of operations.
The first attempt with an experimental apparatus made by the writer was that of a 10-pound ham which was boiled for 30 minutes in a ten quart enamelled ware kettle; placed in the cooker at 10.30 A. M. and removed at 6 P. M. The ham was found to be thoroughly cooked, tender and having a most delicious flavor. Corned beef, beef stews, and vegetables were afterwards tried with marked success. One peculiarity about cooking vegetables in this way is that they do not break up as when boiled upon the stove.
The essential feature of the cooker is perfect insulation of utensil and contents, and the better the heat is retained the more satisfactorily will the food be cooked. For a small family a cooker having two or three compartments for holding kettles of different sizes will be quite sufficient. The shape known as a stock kettle is preferable as, having straight sides it can more easily be thoroughly packed.
In making a cooker it is first necessary to select the kettles to be used therein, and for a two compartment cooker, one kettle holding ten or twelve quarts and one holding four quarts, will be found to serve most purposes.
A two compartment cooker holding kettles of this size will require an outside box 36 in. long, 20 in. wide and 20 in. deep, inside measurements. Such a case can be easily made up from two shoe packing boxes, selecting the boards with matched joints. This is divided into two compartments by a division board 16 in. high placed 20 in. from one end. An inside top is then fitted to cover the division board and extending the full length of the box, leaving a space about 3 in-between the top of the inside cover and the top of the box. This is shown in the accompanying illustration.
Holes are then cut in the center of each division of a size to admit the cooking utensils with about one-half inch space between the utensil and the edge of the hole. Discs of wood are cut out the same size as the holes cut in the inside cover. Sheet tin or the sides of some large cheese boxes are cut and bent to cylindrical form to fit inside of the holes, and the wooden discs are used for the bottoms of these cylinders.
After nailing the cylinder firmly in place the box is turned bottom side up, and the space between the cylinders and sides of the box is firmly packed with chopped cork, sawdust, or old newspapers. The bottom of the box is then nailed on. If chopped cork or sawdust is used it will be desirable to first paper the inside surface of the box and cylinder to prevent the fine particles of cork or dust from sifting through any fine cracks which may have been left.
Strips of wood two inches wide are then nailed around the top side of the inner cover. These strips should have the inner edges cut to a bevel of about 45 degrees. Two covers are then made to fit inside these strips with the edges to correspond with the bevel on the strips. The cover should be carefully fitted to make the joints as tight as possible. A top cover is then made for the box, the two covers being much on the same plan as that of an ice chest and serving the same purpose.
In using the cooker it is desirable to first heat the cylindrical chambers; it can best be done by filling the utensil to be placed therein with boiling hot water and allowing it to remain there as long as convenient. The heat absorbed from the water by the cooker reduces the amount of heat which will be taken up from the food which is later placed therein. The space between the top and inner cover may also be filled with a quilted cover, or any convenient piece of cloth or rug, which will further prevent the evaporation of heat at the top. The space between the kettle and the sides of the cylindrical chamber may also be filled to advantage with old papers, or what is better, a quilted wrapper may be made which will exactly fill the space.
In using the cooker it is necessary to keep in mind that the process of cooking is slower than when using a stove, but over-cooking is not detrimental, in fact, over-cooking is almost an impossibility. It may also be stated that the advantages of a cooker are much greater than at first thought may seem possible. Readers of the magazine who are desirous of helping the feminine portion of the family to save work are earnestly advised to make a cooker as here described, as by means of one kitchen work in the summer can be made much easier and more comfortable. Food can also be reheated in the morning to serve warm at night.
Posted in Thermal Cooking.
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Golden Syrup Scones
July 15, 2008 — thermalcooker
Golden Syrup Scones
A favorite winter desert that is so easily made.
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups of self raising flour
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of castor sugar
1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of Golden Syrup
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 of a cup of milk
Simmering time on the stove top: 15 to 20 minutes
Thermal cooking time: 30 minutes minimum
Method:
1. Grease a stainless steel cake tin or loaf tin that will fit into the Shuttle Chef inner saucepan
2. Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter
3. Mix in the sugar and cinnamon
4. Add the syrup and sufficient milk to make a soft dough
5. Knead gently
6. Roll out to fit your container
7. With a knife, cut through the dough to make even sized scones (approximately eight scones)
8. Gently transfer these into the tin and cover with a suitable lid or a sheet of Alfoil
9. Place the tin on a suitable height trivet (if required) inside the inner saucepan
10. Pour in enough hot water to come 2/3 of the way up the sides of the tin
11. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 top 20 minutes
12. Place the inner saucepan into the outer vacuum insulated container and closed the lid
13. Leave for at least 30 minutes.
Posted in Recipes - All, Recipes - Breads.
Wholemeal Bread or Scones
July 15, 2008 — thermalcooker
Wholemeal Bread or Scones
A very simple “standard recipe” bread mix that produces excellent results.
Ingredients:
1 x 12 gram sachet of dry yeast
1 1/2 cups of wholemeal plain flour
1 1/2 cups of plain flour
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of oil
1 1/4 cups of warm water
Sesame seeds
Simmering time on the stove top: 20 minutes
Thermal cooking time: 1 hour
Method:
1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl
2. Add the oil and water and mix well together to form a soft dough
3. Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic
4. Cover with a clean damp cloth and allow to rest for about 10 - 15 minutes
5. Shape the dough into a loaf and place into a large greased loaf tin or two smaller loaf tins
(for rolls, you can divide the dough into 10 even pieces and shape them into individual rolls or buns and place them into greased loaf or cake tins.)NOTE: if you are using the RPC 4500 that has only one single inner saucepan you will need to cook these one at a time.
6. Brush the loaf or rolls with warm milk or water and sprinkle with seame seeds if desired
7. Make a pleat down the middle of a piece or oiled Alfoil (the pleat allows the bread to rise) and cover the bread with the Alfoil
8. Place the loaf tin into the inner saucepan or saucepans and then place the inner saucepans into the vacuum insulated outer container for 40 - 45 minutes for Bread or 20 - 25 minutes for Rolls to allow the dough to rise until it is approximately double in size. NOTE if the weather is cold you can warm the inner saucepan first or pour approximately 2 cm of hot water around the loaf tin.
9.OPTIONAL: Secure the Alfoil around the lip with string or an elastic band to prevent moisture from getting in
10. If you are using the 3 litre inner saucepans place the loaf tin on the bottom and fill around the tin with hot water to 2/3 the height of the tin.
11. If you are using the 4.5 litre inner saucepan you can place a suitable trivet into the saucepan first and then place the loaf tin on this and fill with hot water to 2/3 the height of the tin
12. Bring the water to the boil and gently simmer4 for 20 minutes
13. Transfer the inner saucepan into the vacuum insulated outer container and closed the lid
14. Leave for a minimum of 1 hour
15. Remove and allow to cool on a wire rack
NOTE: You can prepare your breads and rolls in the evening and leave them in the Shuttle Chef all night.
Posted in Recipes - All, Recipes - Breads.
http://www.archive.org/stream/practicaltreatis00deitrich/practicaltreatis00deitrich_djvu.txt
Full text of “A practical treatise on the manufacture of perfumery; comprising directions for making all kinds of perfumes, sachet powders, fumigating materials, dentrifices, cosmetics, etc., etc., with a full account of the volatile oils, balsams, resins, and other natural and artificial perfume-substances, including the manufacture of fruit ethers, and tests of their purity”
A PRACTICAL TREATISE
ON THE
MANUFACTURE OF PERFUMERY:
COMPRISING
DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING ALL KINDS OF PERFUMES, SACHET
POWDERS, FUMIGATING MATERIALS, DENTIFRICES,
COSMETICS, ETC., ETC.,
WITH A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE
VOLATILE OILS, BALSAMS, RESINS, AND OTHER NATURAL
AND ARTIFICIAL PERFUME-SUBSTANCES, INCLUDING
THE MANUFACTURE OF FRUIT ETHERS, AND
TESTS OF THEIR PURITY.
BY
DR. C. DEITE,
ASSISTED BY L. BORCHERT, F. EICHBAUM, E. KUGLER,
H. TOEFFNER, AND OTHER EXPERTS.
FROM THE GERMAN BY
WILLIAM T. BRANNT,
EDITOR OP “ THE TECHNO-CHEMICAL, RECEIPT-BOOK.”
ILLUSTRATED BY TWENTY-EIGHT ENGRAVINGS,
PHILADELPHIA:
HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.,
INDUSTRIAL PUBLISHERS, ‘BOOKSELLERS AND IMPORTERS,
‘’^-. 810 WALNUT STREET.
1892.
[The entire publication is on this page]
HowtoPrepare
foraPandemic
and Other Extended Disasters
The Complete Guide to Ensuring
Your Family’s Safety and Welfare
Water
Food
Planning,
Safety
Implementation,
Energy
andExecution
Transportation
Medical
By
William Stewart
[snipped]
Chapter One: Why Prepare?
“Chance favors the prepared mind.”
— Louis Pasteur
The world may experience a mild pandemic associated with H5N1 (or other strains). Or it could be
similar to the devastating 1918 Flu Pandemic that killed between 40 and 80 million people
worldwide or perhaps even worse. At the time of this writing, no major health organization is
willing to go on the record to make a prediction about the timing and severity of a flu pandemic,
precisely because pandemics are inherently unpredictable.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes 6 phases to a pandemic;
Interpandemic Period
Phase 1
No new influenza virus subtypes have been detected in humans.
Phase 2
No new influenza virus subtypes have been detected in humans, but an
animal variant threatens human disease.
Pandemic Alert Period
Phase 3
Human infection(s) with a new subtype but no human-to-human spread.
Phase 4
Small cluster(s) with limited localized human-to-human transmission
Phase 5
Larger cluster(s) but human-to-human spread still localized.
Pandemic Period
Phase 6
Pandemic: increased and sustained transmission in general population.
At the time of this publication, the WHO had declared the H5N1 avian influenza threat to be at
Phase 3. To understand the risk to yourself and your family, you need to understand the probability
and impact of an influenza pandemic.
Page 7
5
Probability
“About even odds at this time for the virus to learn how to transmit human-to-human. As
the virus continues to expand its range, as it’s continuing to do in Africa, India, and so on, I
think it has about a 50-50 chance of acquiring those characteristics.”
— Dr. Robert Webster, world-renowned virologist at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital,
and consultant to the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases.
Source: ABCNews
“The minister [Australian Health Minister Tony Abbott] said the risk of a bird flu pandemic,
which could result should the virus mutate from a disease spread via poultry-to-human
contact into a more contagious human-to-human form, was about 10 percent in any given
year.”
Source: Yahoo Asia News
Impacts
How does one plan for a risk when the timing and impact are unknown? By assessing what the best,
intermediate, and worst cases are and determining how prepared one wants to be. Individuals who
assume a best-case scenario with little or no preparation are at mortal risk if any of the other
scenarios are realized. The Lowry Institute for International Policy performed a study of Global
Macroeconomic Consequences of Pandemic Influenza
1
in 2006 to communicate what the risks were
at different levels of influenza virulence and mortality:
Risks Associated with Projected Pandemic Scenarios
Scenario
Description
Deaths
Global Economic
Impact
(Billion $ USD)
Mild
Similar to Hong Kong Flu 1968-69
1,421,000
330
Moderate
Similar to Asian Flu 1957
14,216,000
Severe
Similar to Spanish Flu 1918-19
71,082,000
Ultra
Similar to Spanish Flu 1918-19, but with higher
elderly mortality rate
142,164,000
4,4000
There are a number of statements from officials that directly or indirectly refer to personal impacts
and how long those impacts are expected to last;
1
http://www.lowyinstitute.org/Publication.asp?pid=345
[continues, almost a book....]
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EVERYDAY FOODS IN WAR TIME
by
MARY SWARTZ ROSE
Assistant-Professor, Department of Nutrition, Teachers College, Columbia
University
New York
1918
The time has come, the Aggies said,
To talk of many things,
Of what to eat, of calories,
Of cabbages and kings,
Of vitamines and sausages,
And whether costs have wings.
_Journal of Home Economics_,
November, 1917.
PREFACE
“FOOD IS FUEL FOR FIGHTERS. Do not waste it. Save WHEAT, MEAT,
SUGARS AND FATS. Send more to our Soldiers, Sailors and Allies.”
The patriotic housewife finds her little domestic boat sailing in
uncharted waters. The above message of the Food Administration disturbs
her ordinary household routine, upsets her menus and puts her recipes out
of commission. It also renders inoperative some of her usual methods of
economy at a time when rising food prices make economy more imperative
than ever. To be patriotic and still live on one’s income is a complex
problem. This little book was started in response to a request for “a war
message about food.” It seemed to the author that a simple explanation of
the part which some of our common foods play in our diet might be both
helpful and reassuring. To change one’s menu is often trying; to be
uncertain whether the substituted foods will preserve one’s health and
strength makes adjustment doubly difficult. It is hoped that the brief
chapters which follow will make it easier to “save wheat, meat, sugars and
fats” and to make out an acceptable bill of fare without excessive cost.
Thanks are due to the Webb Publishing Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, for
permission to reprint three of the chapters, which appeared originally in
_The Farmer’s Wife_.
TEACHERS COLLEGE, Columbia University, New York City.
December 1, 1917.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. THE MILK PITCHER IN THE HOME
II. CEREALS WE OUGHT TO EAT
III. THE MEAT WE OUGHT TO SAVE
IV. THE POTATO AND ITS SUBSTITUTES
V. ARE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES LUXURIES?
VI. FAT AND VITAMINES
VII. “SUGAR AND SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE”
VIII. ON BEING ECONOMICAL AND PATRIOTIC AT THE SAME TIME
APPENDIX—SOME WAR TIME RECIPES
EVERYDAY FOODS IN WAR TIME
CHAPTER I
THE MILK PITCHER IN THE HOME
(Reprinted from _The Farmer’s Wife_, by permission of the Webb
Publishing Company.)
There is a quaint old fairy tale of a friendly pitcher that came and took
up its abode in the home of an aged couple, supplying them from its magic
depths with food and drink and many other comforts. Of this tale one is
reminded in considering the place of the milk pitcher in the home. How
many housewives recognize the bit of crockery sitting quietly on the shelf
as one of their very best friends? How many know that it will cover many
of their mistakes in the choice of food for their families? That it
contains mysterious substances upon which growth depends? That it stands
ready to save them both work and worry in regard to food? That it is
really the only indispensable article on the bill of fare?
Diet is like a house, a definite thing, though built of different kinds of
material. For a house we need wall material, floor material, window,
ceiling, chimney stuffs and so forth. We may, if we like, make floors,
walls, and ceilings all of the same kind of stuff, wood for example, but
we should need glass for windows and bricks or tile for chimneys. Or,
again, we may choose brick for walls, floors, and chimneys but it would
not do any better than wood for windows, would be rather unsatisfactory
for ceilings, and impossible for doors. In other words, we could not build
a modern house from one kind of material only and we really need at least
four to carry out even a simple plan.
In a similar fashion, diet is constructed from fuel material,
body-building material and body-regulating material. No diet is perfect in
which these are not all represented. Now, foods are like sections of
houses. Some correspond to single parts, as a floor or a window or perhaps
a chimney; others to a house complete except for windows and roof; still
others to a house lacking only a door or two. It takes some thought to put
them together so that we shall have all kinds of parts without a great
many extra ones of certain kinds and not enough of others.
Milk is unique in that it comes nearest of all foods to being a complete
diet in itself. It is like the house with only a door missing. We could be
quite comfortable in such a house for a long time though we could make a
more complete diet by adding some graham bread or an apple or some
spinach.
We all associate milk with cows and cows with farms, but how closely is
milk associated with the farm table? Is it prized as the most valuable
food which the farm produces? Every drop should be used as food; and this
applies to skim milk, sour milk, and buttermilk as well as sweet milk. Do
we all use milk to the best advantage in the diet? Here are a few points
which it is well to bear in mind:
_Milk will take the place of meat._ The world is facing a meat famine. The
famine was on the way before the war began but it has approached with
tremendous speed this last year. Every cow killed and eaten means not only
so much less meat available but so much less of an adequate substitute.
Lean meat contributes to the diet chiefly protein and iron. We eat it
primarily for the protein. Hence in comparing meat and milk we think first
of their protein content. One and one-fourth cups of milk will supply as
much protein as two ounces of lean beef. The protein of milk is largely
the part which makes cottage cheese. So cottage cheese is a good meat
substitute and a practical way of using part of the skim milk when the
cream is taken off for butter. One and one-half ounces of cottage cheese
(one-fourth cup) are the protein equivalent of two ounces of lean beef.
Skim milk and buttermilk are just as good substitutes for meat as whole
milk. Since meat is one of the most expensive items in the food bill, its
replacement by milk is a very great financial economy. This is true even
if the meat is raised on the farm, as food for cattle is used much more
economically in the production of milk than of beef.
_Milk is the greatest source of calcium (lime)._ Lime is one of the
components of food that serves two purposes; it is both building material
for bones and regulating material for the body as a whole, helping in
several important ways to maintain good health. It is essential that
everyone have a supply of lime and particularly important that all growing
infants, children, and young people have plenty for construction of bones
and teeth. There is almost none in meat and bread, none in common fats and
sugars, and comparatively few common foods can be taken alone and digested
in large enough quantities to insure an adequate supply; whereas a pint of
milk (whole, skim, or buttermilk) will guarantee to a grown person a
sufficient amount, and a quart a day will provide for the greater needs of
growing children. Whatever other foods we have, we cannot afford to
leave milk out of the diet because of its lime. Under the most favorable
dietary conditions, when the diet is liberal and varied, an adult should
have _at least_ half a pint of milk a day and no child should be
expected to thrive with less than a pint.
_Milk contains a most varied assortment of materials needed in small
amounts_ for the body welfare, partly for constructive and partly for
regulating purposes. These are rather irregularly distributed in other
kinds of food materials. When eggs, vegetables, and cereals are freely
used, we are not likely to suffer any lack; but when war conditions limit
the number of foods which we can get, it is well to remember that the more
limited the variety of foods in the diet the more important milk becomes.
_Milk will take the place of bread, butter, sugar, and other foods used
chiefly for fuel._ The body is an engine which must be stoked regularly in
order to work. The more work done the more fuel needed. That is what we
mean when we talk about the food giving “working strength.” A farmer and
his wife and usually all the family need much fuel because they do much
physical work. Even people whose work is physically light require
considerable fuel. A quart of milk will give as much working force as half
a pound of bread, one-fourth of a pound of butter, or six ounces of sugar.
And this is in addition to the other advantages already mentioned.
_Milk contains specifics for growth._ Experiments with animals have taught
us that there are two specific substances, known as vitamines, which must
be present in the diet if a young animal is to grow. If either one is
absent, growth is impossible. Both are to be found in milk, one in the
cream and the other in the skim milk or whey. For this reason children
should have whole milk rather than skim milk. Of course, butter and skim
milk should produce the same result as whole milk. Eggs also have these
requisites and can be used to supplement milk for either one, but as a
rule it is more practical to depend upon milk, and usually more
economical.
For little children, milk is best served as a beverage. But as children
grow up, the fluidity of milk makes them feel as if it were not food
enough and it is generally better to use it freely in the kitchen first,
and then, if there is any surplus, put it on the table as a beverage or
serve it thus to those who need an extra supply—the half-grown boys, for
instance, who need more food in a day than even a hard-working farmer.
A good plan is to set aside definitely, as a day’s supply, a quart apiece
for each person under sixteen and a pint apiece for each one over this
age. Then see at night how well one has succeeded in disposing of it. If
there is much left, one should consider ways of using it to advantage. The
two simplest probably are, first, as cream sauce for vegetables of all
sorts; for macaroni or hominy with or without cheese; or for hard cooked
eggs or left-over meats; and next in puddings baked a long time in the
oven so that much of the water in the milk is evaporated. Such puddings
are easy to prepare on almost any scale and are invaluable for persons
with big appetites because they are concentrated without being
unwholesome.
The milk pitcher and the vegetable garden are the best friends of the
woman wishing to set a wholesome and economical table. Vegetables
supplement milk almost ideally, since they contain the vegetable fiber
which helps to guard against constipation, and the iron which is the
lacking door in the “house that milk built.”
Vegetables which are not perfect enough to serve uncooked, like the broken
leaves of lettuce and the green and tough parts of celery, are excellent
cooked and served with a cream sauce. Cream sauce makes it possible also
to cook enough of a vegetable for two days at once, sending it to the
table simply dressed in its own juices or a little butter the first time
and making a scalloped dish with cream sauce and crumbs the next day.
Vegetables which do not lend themselves to this treatment can be made into
cream soups, which are excellent as the hot dish for supper, because they
can be prepared in the morning and merely reheated at serving time.
Finally, the addition of milk in liberal quantities to tea and coffee
(used of course only by adults); its use without dilution with water in
cocoa; and instead of water in bread when that is made at home, ought to
enable a housewife to dispose satisfactorily of her day’s quota of milk.
If it should accumulate, it can be dispatched with considerable rapidity
in the form of ice cream or milk sherbet. When there is much skim milk,
the latter is a most excellent way of making it popular, various fruits in
their seasons being used for flavor, as strawberries, raspberries, and
peaches, with lemons to fall back on when no native fruit is at hand.
The world needs milk today as badly as wheat. All that we can possibly
spare is needed in Europe for starving little ones. In any shortage the
slogan must be “children first.” But in any limited diet milk is such a
safeguard that we should bend our energies to saving it from waste and
producing more, rather than learning to do without it. Skim milk from
creameries is too valuable to be thrown away. Everyone should be on the
alert to condemn any use of milk except as food and to encourage
condensation and drying of skim milk to be used as a substitute for fresh
milk.
When the milk pitcher is allowed to work its magic for the human race, we
shall have citizens of better physique than the records of our recruiting
stations show today. Even when the family table is deprived of its
familiar wheat bread and meat, we may be strong if we invoke the aid of
this friendly magician.
[Or get a milking goat....granny]
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CHAPTER II
CEREALS WE OUGHT TO EAT
(Reprinted from _The Farmer’s Wife_, by permission of the Webb
Publishing Company.)
“Save wheat!” This great slogan of our national food campaign has been
echoed and reechoed for six months, but do we yet realize that it means
US? We have had, hitherto, a great deal of wheat in our diet. Fully
one-third of our calories have come from wheat flour. To ask us to do
without wheat is to shake the very foundation of our daily living. How
shall we be able to do without it? What shall we substitute for it? These
are questions which every housewife must ask and answer before she can
take her place in the Amazon Army of Food Conservers.
Is it not strange that out of half a dozen different grains cultivated for
human consumption, the demand should concentrate upon wheat? One might
almost say that the progress of civilization is marked by raised bread.
And wheat has, beyond all other grains, the unique properties that make
possible a light, porous yet somewhat tenacious loaf. We like the taste of
it, mild but sweet; the feel of it, soft yet firm; the comfort of it,
almost perfect digestion of every particle. We have been brought up on it
and it is a hardship to change our food habits. It takes courage and
resolution. It takes visions of our soldiers crossing the seas to defend
us from the greedy eye of militarism and thereby deprived of so many
things which we still enjoy. Shall we hold back from them the “staff of
life” which they need so much more than we?
Can we live without wheat? Certainly, and live well. We must recognize the
scientific fact that no one food (with the exception of milk) is
indispensable. There are four letters in the food alphabet: _A_, fuel for
the body machine; _B_, protein for the upkeep of the machinery; _C_,
mineral salts, partly for upkeep and partly for lubrication—to make all
parts work smoothly together; _D_, vitamines, subtle and elusive
substances upon whose presence depends the successful use by the body of
all the others. These four letters, rightly combined, spell health. They
are variously distributed in food materials. Sometimes all are found in
one food (milk for example), sometimes only one (as in sugar), sometimes
two or three. The amounts also vary in the different foods. To build up a
complete diet we have to know how many of these items are present in a
given food and also how much of each is there.
Now, cereals are much alike in what they contribute to the diet. In
comparing them we are apt to emphasize their differences, much as we do in
comparing two men. One man may be a little taller, a little heavier, have
a different tilt to his nose, but any two men are more alike than a man
and a dog. So corn has a little less protein than wheat and considerably
less lime, yet corn and wheat are, nutritionally, more alike than either
is like sugar.
None of the cereals will make a complete diet by itself. If we take white
bread as the foundation, we must add to it something containing lime, such
as milk or cheese; something containing iron, such as spinach, egg yolk,
meat, or other iron-rich food; something containing vitamines, such as
greens or other vitamine-rich food; something to reenforce the proteins,
as milk, eggs, meat, or nuts. It is not possible to make a perfect diet
with only one other kind of food besides white bread. It can be done with
three: bread, milk, and spinach, for example.
If we substitute whole wheat for white bread, we can make a complete diet
with two foods—this and milk. We get from the bran and the germ what in
the other case we got from the spinach. _All the cereals can be
effectively supplemented by milk and green vegetables._ If green
vegetables (or substitutes for them like dried peas and beans or fruit)
are hard to get we should give preference to cereals from which the bran
coats have not been removed, such as oatmeal and whole wheat. Then the
diet will not be deficient in iron, which is not supplied in large enough
amounts from white bread and milk. Oatmeal is the richest in iron of all
the cereals.
With such knowledge, we may alter our diet very greatly without danger of
undernutrition. But we must learn to cook other cereals at least as well
as we do wheat. Without proper cooking they are unpalatable and
unwholesome, and they are not so easy to cook as wheat. They take a longer
time and we cannot get the same culinary effects, since with the exception
of rye they will not make a light loaf. Fortunately we are not asked to
deny ourselves wheat entirely, only to substitute other cereals for part
of it. Let each housewife resolve when next she buys flour to buy at the
same time one-fourth as much of some other grain, finely ground, rye,
corn, barley, according to preference, and mix the two thoroughly at once.
Then she will be sure not to forget to carry out her good intentions.
Bread made of such a mixture will be light and tender, and anything that
cannot be made with it had better be dispensed with in these times.
Besides the saving of wheat for our country’s sake, we shall do well to
economize in it for our own. Compared with other cereals, wheat is
expensive. We can get more food, in every sense of the word, from half a
pound of oatmeal than we can from a twelve-ounce loaf of white bread, and
the oatmeal will not cost one-half as much as the bread. A loaf of Boston
brown bread made with one cupful each of cornmeal, oatmeal (finely
ground), rye flour, molasses, and skim milk will have two and one-half
times the food value of a twelve-ounce loaf of white bread and will cost
little more. One-half pound of cornmeal, supplemented by a half pint of
milk, will furnish more of everything needed by the body than such a
twelve-ounce loaf, usually at less cost.
It pays at all times to use cereals in other forms than bread, for both
health and economy. Does your family eat cereal for breakfast? A dish of
oatmeal made from one-fourth cupful of the dry cereal will take the place
of two slices of white bread, each about half an inch thick and three
inches square, and give us iron besides. Served with milk, it will make a
well-balanced meal. When we add a little fruit to give zest and some crisp
corn bread to contrast with the soft mush, we have a meal in which we may
take a just pride, _provided the oatmeal is properly cooked_.
A good dish of oatmeal is as creditable a product as a good loaf of bread.
It cannot be made without taking pains to get the right proportions of
meal, water, and salt, and to cook thoroughly, which means at least four
hours in a double boiler, over night in a fireless cooker, or half an hour
at twenty pounds in a pressure cooker. Half-cooked oatmeal is most
unwholesome, as well as unpalatable. It is part of our patriotic duty not
to give so useful a food a bad reputation.
The man who does hard physical labor, especially in the open air, may
complain that the oatmeal breakfast does not “stay by” him. This is
because it digests rapidly. What he needs is a little fat stirred into the
mush before it is sent to the table, or butter as well as milk and sugar
served with it. If one must economize, the cereal breakfast should always
be the rule. It is impossible in any other way to provide for a family
adequately on a small sum, especially where there are growing children.
Next to oatmeal, hominy is one of the cheapest breakfast foods. It has
less flavor and is improved by the addition of a few dates cut into
quarters or some small stewed seedless raisins, which also add the iron
which hominy lacks. For the adults of the family the staying qualities of
hominy and cornmeal can be increased by cutting the molded mush in slices
and frying till a crisp crust is formed. This can be obtained more easily
if the cereals are cooked in a mixture of milk and water instead of water
alone. The milk supplements the cereal as acceptably as in a dish of mush
and milk. Cornmeal needs even more cooking than oatmeal to develop an
agreeable flavor. It can be improved by the addition of an equal amount of
farina or cream of wheat.
Cereals for dinner are acceptable substitutes for such vegetables as
potatoes, both for economy and for variety. The whole grains, rice,
barley, and hominy, lend themselves best to such use. Try a dish of
creamed salmon with a border of barley; one of hominy surrounded by fried
apples; or a bowl of rice heaped with bananas baked to a turn and removed
from their skins just before serving, and be glad that the war has stirred
you out of food ruts!
Cereals combined with milk make most wholesome puddings, each almost a
well-balanced meal in itself. They are easier to make than pies,
shortcakes, and other desserts which require wheat flour, and they are
splendid growing food for boys and girls.
For the hard-working man who misses the slowly-digesting pie, serve the
puddings with a hard sauce or add a little butter when making them. For
the growing children, raisins, dates, and other fruits are welcome
additions on account of their iron. From half a cupful to a cupful of
almost any cereal pudding made with milk is the equivalent of an ordinary
serving of pie.
Aside from the avoidance of actual waste of food materials, there seems to
be no one service so imperative for housewives to render in these critical
times as the mastery of the art of using cereals. These must be made to
save not only wheat but meat, and for most of us also money.
A wholesome and yet economical diet may be built upon a plan wherein we
find for an average working man fourteen ounces of cereal food and one
pint of milk, from two to four ounces of meat or a good meat substitute,
two ounces of fat, three ounces of sugar or other sweeteners, at least one
kind of fruit, and one kind of vegetable besides potatoes (more if one has
a garden).
The cereal may furnish half the fuel value of the diet, partly
bread-stuffs and partly in some of the other ways as suggested, without
any danger of undernutrition. Remember the fable of the farmer who told
his sons he had left them a fortune and bade them dig on his farm for it
after his death, and how they found wealth not as buried treasure but
through thorough tillage of the soil. So one might leave a message to
woman to look in the cereal pot, for there is a key to health and wealth,
and a weapon to win the greatest war the world has ever seen.
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