Posted on 02/09/2009 12:36:11 AM PST by nw_arizona_granny
Yahoo ran an interesting article this morning indicating a rise in the number of survivalist communities cropping up around the country. I have been wondering myself how much of the recent energy crisis is causing people to do things like stockpile food and water, grow their own vegetables, etc. Could it be that there are many people out there stockpiling and their increased buying has caused food prices to increase? It’s an interesting theory, but I believe increased food prices have more to do with rising fuel prices as cost-to-market costs have increased and grocers are simply passing those increases along to the consumer. A recent stroll through the camping section of Wal-Mart did give me pause - what kinds of things are prudent to have on hand in the event of a worldwide shortage of food and/or fuel? Survivalist in Training
I’ve been interested in survival stories since I was a kid, which is funny considering I grew up in a city. Maybe that’s why the idea of living off the land appealed to me. My grandfather and I frequently took camping trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway and around the Smoky Mountains. Looking back, some of the best times we had were when we stayed at campgrounds without electricity hookups, because it forced us to use what we had to get by. My grandfather was well-prepared with a camp stove and lanterns (which ran off propane), and when the sun went to bed we usually did along with it. We played cards for entertainment, and in the absence of televisions, games, etc. we shared many great conversations. Survivalist in the Neighborhood
Awwwww, cute!
I think someone else is due the credit for that link - I’d have to take credit for something I didn’t do ;(
So, THAT’s what my cats do when I leave the house! I always wondered why they looked a little guilty...
>>>A bill to shift cybersecurity to White House<<<
No apology needed... I read that earlier... Grrrrrr...
Talk about centralized power.......
Congratulations on the greenhouse!!!
Yes, they can get really - and I mean REALLY hot if they are closed up!!!
Temperature control is a must in the greenhouse...
I had two 40” fans in mine, thermostat and a humidistat controls - either would turn them on. At the other end was a 16’ X 3’ powered louver panel. When either fan came on, the louvers opened.
When I move mine to the South side of the house, I plan to ventilate in the summer by pulling air through the whole house from the upstairs (under the big old swamp maple tree out front) and down through the downstairs and out through the greenhouse... Let it cool the house like we used to do years ago before everyone had air conditioning.
http://homemakingdreams.blogspot.com/search/label/Recipes
Now that I have tested and approved the recipe I will make a double batch next time for freezing purposes.
Here is the recipe which I received in a Denise Austin Diet and Exercise Newsletter:
Double-A Applesauce Muffins
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt
1 large egg
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil (I used regular vegetable oil)
2 medium Golden Delicious apples, grated
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup currants or other dried fruit in small pieces (I used golden raisins)
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375. Coat an 18-cup muffin tray with cooking spray. (don’t use paper liners). In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, egg, brown sugar, and oil until smooth. Stir in the apples, applesauce and dried fruit.
Pour the apple mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared cups, filling them nearly to the top. Bake for 20to 25 minutes, or until springy to the touch and lightly browned. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Makes 18 muffins.
Per muffin: 100 calories, 19 g carbohydrates, 2 g protein, 2 g total fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 3 g dietary fiber
So to sum up my kitchen tip for this week:
1. Start out small with freezer cooking
2. Test the recipe first before making large batches for the freezer
If you’ve never had a banana sandwich before, I urge you to use good old fashioned very fresh, soft white bread and real mayo the first time, so you can get the real deal. After that, if you want to, you can use the more healthy whole wheat bread and low fat mayo.
All you do is put mayo on your two pieces of bread, slice the bananas on there and eat! Another variation I love is to put peanut butter on one of the slices! Yum!
Being the frugal husband that he is, he noticed that pecans were falling from the huge old trees in the yard of his office and that people were just driving on them and ruining them. So he asked the owner if he could pick them up “on halves”. In the country that means that the land owner lets him pick them up and she gets half of what he picks up. We have a pecan pick up tool and he has been leaving for work a few mintues early to get the nuts before they are driven over.
In the grocery store pecans are about $8.00 a pound, if they are already shelled. The picture above shows some pecans my husband has cracked and will now pick out of the shells while watching football.
If you have access to some inexpensive or free pecans, this is a recipe for roasted pecans that is one of the best things I ever make, especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas. When we have a good pecan year I like to roast them and give them as gifts. One year I bought pint jars with ring lids. I cut Christmas fabric into circles which fits under the lid and makes a pretty and tasty gift. These were a hit with the people who received them.
ROASTED PECANS
Melt one stick of butter or margarine in a saucepan. Add one pound (3 or 4 cups) of shelled pecan halves and swirl them until they are well coated. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake at 250 degrees for 30 minutes or until the nuts begin to toast through and turn a darker shade of brown. Drain on paper towels. When they have cooled a bit sprinkle with salt to taste and when thoroughly cooled, store in tightly covered jars or tins.
I have plenty of pint jars and have saved some pretty Christmas tins from years gone by to store my roasted pecans in. Can’t wait to get that first batch done!
Chicken Crunch Bake
3 boneless chicken breasts (about 2 or 2 1/2 lbs)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream (mine is low fat)
1/2 regular size can or 1 small can of sweet peas (aka garden peas here in NC)
1 sleeve of saltine crackers
1 stick margarine or butter, melted
Small amount of cooking oil
8 oz of pasta (we used shells)
salt and pepper to taste
Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and cook them in a frying pan in a small amount of cooking oil just until done. I sprinkled a little salt and pepper around. Remove and place in a baking dish. Combine the soup, sour cream and garden peas in a bowl and then pour over the chicken in the baking dish. Crush the sleeve of crackers and swirl them around in the melted margarine. Scatter this all over the top of the dish. Bake in the oven, uncovered, 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Serve the chicken crunch bake over the pasta.
Butterscotch Brownies
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I threw in a small packet of peanuts we had laying around)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
(If using self rising flour, omit the baking powder and salt)
Heat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of square pan, 8 X 8 X 2 inches, with shortening. Melt shortening in 1 1/2 quart saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar, vanilla and egg. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spread in pan. Bake 25 minutes. Cool slightly in pan on wire rack. Cut into about 2 inch squares while warm.
(Note to MLJW, is the same recipe that you call Blondies?)
Dilled Salmon Pasta Salad
Ingredients
1.5 cup tricolored spiral pasta
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped onion
2 Tablespoons minced fresh dill or 2 teaspoons dill weed
7.1 oz. Chicken of the Sea® Premium Skinless & Boneless Pink Salmon Pouch
Mixed salad greens
Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, green peppers, red peppers, onions and fresh dill in a bowl. Drain and rinse pasta in cold water; add to sour cream mixture. Stir in salmon. Cover and refrigerate. Serve over salad greens.
Preparation Time: 10
1.5 cups of the pasta didn’t seem like enough to me so I used 2 and it was perfect. I think even 2.5 would work. Also, I didn’t have fresh dill, so I used the bottled dill weed, which I already had on hand. We are still getting some green pepper from our plants, so I used all green pepper. I also used light sour cream. You could also use light mayo, but we use regular old fashioned “Dukes” Mayo.
This dish was even better left over the next day and very good for you.
Honey Wheat Bread (for bread machine)
Ingredients:
1 1/8 cups water
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup regular flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon dry milk powder
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Place ingredients in bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select Whole Wheat setting, Light Crust, and press Start.
Chicken Thief Stew
For dinner today we had a variation of “Ernest T. Bass’s Chicken Thief Stew”. That’s a recipe from my “Aunt Bee’s Mayberry Cookbook”. The original recipe is much more trouble than the way I made it. Here’s how I made it.
1 whole chicken. 3 to 3 1/2 pounds
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup of water
salt to taste (you won’t need much)
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sugar
1/2 medium onion cut into slices, separated
1 14.75 oz can whole kernel corn
1 14.5 oz can cut green beans
1 29 oz can whole potatoes
I bought a whole chicken on sale for .69 per pound and cut it up. You could use any kind of chicken you want. I put the chicken pieces (2 breasts, 2 leg quarters and 2 wings) in my crock pot, sprinkled a little salt and pepper and poured the can of crushed tomatoes on top. Add 1 cup of water. I cooked this on high for one hour and then turned it on low until I got back from church.
If your crock pot cooks as hot as mine, 4 hours on low should be long enough for the chicken to be tender. I usually turn the pot on high for the first hour and then turn it down to low before leaving the house at 8:00. Remove the chicken onto a plate to cool so you can remove the meat from the bones. While the chicken is cooling add the 3 cans of veggies and all other ingredients. Recover and turn crock pot on high so it can be getting hot again. As soon as the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, tear into pieces and return to the crock pot.
Let this cook for about an hour and serve. We put ours in soup mugs and had saltine crackers. Corn muffins would be great or home made bread! YUM. I wasn’t quite that smart today!!!
I didn’t want to waste any of the chicken, so I put the remainder of the chicken, the back and any pieces of fat, in a stock pot on the stove and boiled it for about an hour to make broth. I removed the chicken parts, picked off any meat and returned this to the broth. There is some good white meat on the back! I will refrigerate this and add noodles to it later or make some chicken soup.
>>>BTW, isn’t this your 2nd batch of fudge in just a week? Not that I’m counting.... <<<
I am sooooooo glad you are not counting....
I must sheepishly admit that it is the 3rd in about 8 days...
Now you know why my wife was fussing... :^)
It’s just that it is so easy!!! (Can I use that for an excuse?)
Besides, every batch is different... No boredom here!
Let’s see, how much more practice can I get in before I make this stuff for Christmas presents.... Hmmmmm
I’m back. After a great 9 days of visits from my kids and grandkids. I’m another year older now and after a week of grandkids I’m feelin’ it. REST has been the order of the day since the last one left yesterday afternoon.
course today I had to wash 4 loads of sheets and towels and they aren’t finished yet. Cleaned the fridge and floors. Started to put a few things back in place but that’s going to take me all week. ~sigh~ I’m bushed.
In our family we slice the onion, put it on the foot and then put a sock on over the onion and foot. Takes the fever down even in infants. Definitely have seen this work.
I bet you all had so much fun.
Happy Birthday!!
>>>After a great 9 days of visits from my kids and grandkids.<<<
And how many times did the girls say “Mom, you never let US do that...” As you let the grandkids get away with doing their own thing... ;^)
WELCOME BACK!
http://www.tammysrecipes.com/homemade_wheat_bread
Homemade Wheat Bread
Picture: Homemade Wheat Bread
Get original file (26KB)
Description:
A slightly sweet, healthy half-whole-wheat bread (also includes instructions for making this a 100% whole wheat loaf!)
Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (see additional notes for a 100% whole wheat version)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast
Instructions:
1. *Combine first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir.
2. Add flours and yeast, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.
3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening.
5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm! Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.
Homemade Wheat Bread
Hot fresh loaves
Additional Notes:
*If you have a bread maker, you can use the dough setting to knead it for you. Just put ingredients in according to order listed.
100% whole wheat bread
This recipe also makes very delicious 100% whole wheat bread. The bread in this picture was made with Prairie Gold hard white wheat.
If you would like your whole wheat bread to have a softer and better texture, you can add these dough conditioning ingredients to this recipe:
* 3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten (replace 3 tablespoons of the flour called for in the recipe with this)
* 1/2 teaspoon soy lecithin (we use granules of lecithin, and add it to the water at the beginning)
* a pinch of citric acid (use sparingly!!)
* a sprinkling of ginger
You could also purchase pre-mixed dough conditioners, which contain some of these ingredients but are more costly. We found our citric acid, soy lecithin, and wheat gluten at a bulk foods store. A little goes a long way!
Homemade wheat bread
Since purchasing a grain mill, we have been making this recipe with 100% whole wheat flour, using the additional ingredients mentioned here in the notes. We have given away many loaves and received many compliments — this is a really fabulous recipe — one we use weekly!! :)
Check out this article for more information about why we like to use dough conditioners!
100% whole wheat bread
Update: After moving from Ohio to Seattle, I had difficulty with this recipe. Read more about my experimentation with it, and what worked for me. The (slightly revised) ingredient list I’m now using here in Seattle is as follows:
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons oil or softened butter
2 tablespoons honey
a sprinkle of ground ginger
a pinch of citric acid (can use ascorbic acid instead)
2 teaspoons granulated lecithin
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) vital wheat gluten/gluten flour (75% protein)
3 cups whole wheat flour (I use Prairie Gold hard white wheat; any whole wheat bread flour would work.)
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast
I put the ingredients in my bread machine in the order listed above, and run the dough cycle. When dough cycle is complete, gently deflate dough, shape into a loaf, and place in a greased loaf pan. Grease the top of the loaf. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size. Bake in a pre-heated 350-375*F oven for 30 minutes. (Tent loosely with foil after 20-25 minutes if loaf is browning too quickly.) When bread is done, remove from pan, place on a cooling rack, and cover until cool. Seal in a bag or container after cooled.
Preparation Time: 30 minutes + rising time
Cooking Time: 30-35 minutes
Tammy’s Review:
This is my standard wheat bread recipe because it turns out consistently good! This recipe was given to me by our friend Judy F. As with most any homemade yeast bread, this bread is best fresh, and will get drier after a day or so. It has a slightly sweet flavor and is an excellent dinner bread. My rating: 10/10.
out of 10
HANDS DOWN THE BEST BREAD EVER!
In the past 24hrs I have used this recipe 3x’s! I made it with the molasses instead of honey & when halvies with the flours...just fabulous! Even my 7yr old ate the crust! A selling point on it’s own! I sent a loaf to my husband’s office & received RAVE reviews from his employees...also passed along the website, so you will new additions to your member list soon. JUST THE BEST!
by Princess Vuitton
out of 10
Whole Wheat Bread - slightly modified
I made the original first and was fast, easy and very tasty. I then made another and added 1/2 cup or so of Quick Oats and 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds. Making another loaf like that as I write this. Thanks Tammy for a great wheat bread recipe. My next attempt is adding apricots, raisens and some spices.
by tbcornell
NOTE: Don’t completely seal the whole room and then spend the whole day in there working away... crack the window a bit... Not only for your breathing, but because you want to avoid mold behind the mylar.<<<
Good reminder and true with any sealed room.
I had no idea that you could buy the mylar in rolls.
My emergency blanket lost the battle, with the cats, they destroyed it in one night.
I had decided to try it out on a cold night and left it in the chair when I went to bed, when I walked in the room the next morning, it was covered in pieces of it, so be ware if you have cats, it made a noise and they ripped it into small pieces.
LOL, Wish I had a video of it, as I am talking about separate pieces, not holes.
I my give some thought to the extra light, as I can no longer see more than about 25 % of my vision and even with 2 100 wat bulbs hanging here, shining down, still can’t see.
Beware of the light bulbs you buy, for I fuss at Scott when he brings me the pinkish ones, took time to read the label and it says they put out 25% less light, but are still rated 100 watt.
Big {{{hugs}}} to you toooo.
LOL, that is called recycling.
Thanks for the smile, glad you won’t run out of reading material, I posted some of them on the Yahoo group, as those are about the best greenhouse reports that i have found.
Oops, forgot to answer that... Not a good one for in the house. They are about 4-5’tall, tend to be biannual if planted late. These will usually bloom first year if planted early.<<<
I miss seeing Hollyhocks and always planted a few.
Guess if I get a pot of soil in the house, it had better be food, this year.
Thank you for sharing the seeds.
Maybe I’ll base a whole fudge book on Granny’s fudge recipe.
I can see it now... A glob of this a bunch of that, a bit of something else...<<<
Why not, it is easy and almost cheap.
There is a use for your blog....LOL
I am so glad it was a good recipe.
I’ve wondered the same. Except that when I go out and find real people, when they turn out to be liberals, I know I”m better off without them!<<<
LOL, yes, I had the same problem.
Now that I have been convinced to the house for the past 3 or is it 4 years, I find that I don’t much care, and am becoming an opinionated old gal.
OMG, no different from the Hitler youth or the young communist groups! As if our schools aren’t brainwashing the youth enough...<<<
You put them all in the same uniform and it is easy to brainwash them.
And they will follow the rules, as they want a badge or ribbons to show how high they have risen in the ranks.
Not a good plan and not needed, we did not vote to be good communists.
>>>My emergency blanket lost the battle, with the cats, they destroyed it in one night.
I had decided to try it out on a cold night and left it in the chair when I went to bed, when I walked in the room the next morning, it was covered in pieces of it, so be ware if you have cats, it made a noise and they ripped it into small pieces.
LOL, Wish I had a video of it, as I am talking about separate pieces, not holes.<<<
But I’ll bet those cats had grins on their faces after a night of playing with the shiny toy you left them... LOL
I think someone else is due the credit for that link - I’d have to take credit for something I didn’t do ;(<<<
But you produced it when we needed it.
The $40. price on the seeds would be fair to my thinking, but still might not grow here.
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