Policy Change at the Cannery

The Cannery has recently become more available. As opposed to being only allowed to can on the stakes assigned canning date, you can can at any time between 8am and 4pm, Tuesday through Friday. The Stake Family Canning Coordinators suggest calling ahead to make sure a canning worker will be there to help you. The Cannery people often close up shop early if no one is there to help.

Bishop's storehouse/Cannery phone number is 281-537-1785

Let me know if you have any questions about this change.

Thanks!!!

July Cannery Date Cancelled

I recently got an email from the Stake Family Canning Coordinators. They will be out of town in July, so the canning date in July is cancelled.

Sterno Fuel for Emergencies

For this hurricane season, it might be beneficial to look into an alternative heat source for cooking that doesn't require electricity.

I've taken a look at Sterno Fuel.

Here's quick FAQs on the Sterno Website

What is Sterno® Cooking Fuel made of?
Sterno® fuel is a formulation of denatured alcohol, water and gel. It is perfectly safe when used as directed.

What happens if the cooking fuel is consumed internally?If Sterno® is ingested, please immediately call Poison Control at 1-888-313-8954.

A medical specialist will advise you of the appropriate course of action. This number is staffed by certified medical professionals and is for MEDICAL EMERGENCIES ONLY. Alternately, you may seek medical attention.

For all other consumer inquiries please call 1-877-478-3766 and press 2 to speak to a customer service representative.

Can food be prepared directly over the flame?

Although the emissions will not cause harm, it is not recommended. Certain foods may drip or burn and cause dangerous flare-ups resulting in bodily harm or damage to property. Do not attempt to eat any food that has fallen into the can or may have cooking fuel on it.

How long does Sterno® burn?
The 8 oz. can burns consistently or in increments equal to 2 1/2 hours. The 7 oz. can burns consistently or in increments equal to 2 1/4 hours. The 2.6 oz. can burns consistently or in increments equal to 45 minutes. The cooking fuel is extinguishable and can be re-lit without affecting product performance.

Will Sterno® Freeze?
No.

How long can I keep Sterno® on my shelf?
It is recommended replacing Sterno® cooking fuel 2 years after purchase. Always replace cover when not in use. Sterno® is made partly of denatured alcohol which evaporates from prolonged exposure to air.

How can I dispose of old cooking fuel?
If it is only a few cans, make sure the lid is secured tightly and dispose in a normal manner. If it is a large quantity, contact your local waste collection service for information.

The flame is blue, is that normal?
The flame from an alcohol mixture is normally blue and sometimes invisible. Always assume a flame is present until properly extinguished (see can label). Safe handling procedures should always be used when lighting and re-lighting. For a detailed chart of product safety handling tips – Click Here.

I also browsed around google to see what people say about sterno, and I found this website.
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0022l5

On it a woman asks...
"A widow who lives in a small apartment needs an inexpensive way to cook / heat foods. If I get her some sterno cans what is available to to place over the fire to cook in? Would she need to leave a window cracked?"

The question caught my attention because if a hurricane hit and we were caught in our home with no electricity how would we use sterno?

One person wrote,
"I had the same dilemma. I then got the 'ole thinking cap on and here are some ideas, most can be purchased at a thrift store for $1 or under:
1. Fondue cooker (comes with pan and raised heat area)
2. 4 bricks set on sides and a makeshift grill across it
3. Same as two but make it tall enough for your oil lamp (sans glass) to go under it and have a flame adjuster to boot!
4. Colander type pan (metal) upside down with fuel underneath.
Go visit all your nearby thrift stores and let your imagination do the work! It's inexpensive and fun - the goal is dual purpose for everything, and then you win ;-) "

Another person wrote, "if you can run out to HomeDepot or any garden center and see if you can get a thin piece of slate or Marble or any stone type material.

Its heavy but its the best thing to put between your cooker and your table. Heat dissipates well and wont burn at any temp. "

Reading it got me thinking about items I already had, and I remembered that I have a fondue cooker that I have stored away somewhere that I got as wedding gift. So...all I need is some sterno, and I'm set to cook after a hurricane wipes out the electricity.

However, reading more also gave me two things to consider.

1. Sterno takes 10-12 minutes to boil water

2. "Sterno is only good for warming up the precooked food, such as canned soup or MRE, just like the military's trioxane tablet canteen stove." Of course, that's a person's opinion, but in an emergency/power's off situation, I don't recommend cooking anything much fancier than canned meals and food that tells you to just add boiling water (i.e. ramen-like food and instant oatmeal).

Anyway, I hope that gets your brains a-turnin' about hurricane season.

I found a sterno like product at Sam's. You get 12 fuel cans for $12.76. Each can gives you enough fuel for 6 hrs of cooking. I didn't check the package's expiration date, but if it is indeed like sterno, it'll last 2 years on the shelf.

This is all FYI, but...Happy Preparing for Hurricane Season!!!

Emergencykitchen.com

Hello! Here's an awesome Emergency Prep website Heather Blake emailed me about. I posted below a sample of what's on the website. Take a look!

Your Personal Emergency Plan
by Sally and Ray Strackbein (http://www.emergencykitchen.com/)

What will you do in an emergency? Can you and your family be safe at home or will you share a community shelter with hoards of people coughing, snoring, sleeping on the floor, sharing the bathroom - or having to go outside or in a corner? Remember Katrina? Everyone needs a personal contingency plan. Remember the last hurricane, earthquake or winter storm? My then 82 year old mother was without electricity for 6 days after Hurricane Floyd, even though her area suffered only moderate wind and rain. If the food or water supply is contaminated or interrupted, do you have supplies on hand to sustain yourself and your family? If the community is getting sick, can your family stay home for an extended period of time? If you need to shelter at home, are you ready? If the power fails, can you stay safe and warm? We recommend preparing for at least 2 weeks or more. Please use this list and prepare now before an emergency. If you wait, you'll be too late.

Non-perishable food has a long shelf life, but won't last forever. Use and replace your stored food to ensure that it will be edible when you need it. For more information on the shelf life of food, see Shopping and Storing at www.EmergencyKitchen.com. Experiment to discover what you like.

Important: If you don t have a manual can opener, buy one. Avoid foods that need to be cooked with a lot of water, high heat or more than a few minutes of cooking.

Communication: Select a contact person who lives out of your local area. Make sure each family member carries that person s phone number, email address, and postal address at all times. Sometimes a person out of the affected area can be reached when local people cannot. Meet or talk with child care or elder care personnel. Make sure good plans are in place for extended care in case of emergency. Be sure each family member knows when to stay put and when to go to a pre-selected meeting place. Revisit or update plans frequently.

Cooking: A Sterno Stove is a good solution for warming food. It can be purchased at any store that sells camping supplies (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, sporting goods stores). Store matches in zip lock bags or a have lighter. Heat small quantities at a time. Plan no-cook meals. Eat canned vegetables as a salad, with salad dressing or vinegar and oil. You can eat canned tuna, ham, or chicken with a vegetable salad or mixed with mayonnaise packets

Water: Store 1 gallon of water per person for each day you are preparing for. You can purchase bottled water or you can bottle it yourself from tap water. You can buy collapsible water containers wherever camping supplies are sold. Another option is to wash out soda bottles and fill them with water. If you store your own water, treat it by adding 4 drops of unscented chlorine bleach to each 2 liter or half gallon bottle of water. Don t use milk
containers (bacteria risk).

Hygiene: Have plenty of paper plates, paper towels, plastic utensils and plastic garbage bags on hand. Trash pickup may not be reliable in an emergency. Buy wet wipes or waterless hand sanitizer, available where soap is sold. Eyeglass cleaning wet cloths are handy also. Buy a supply of latex or synthetic gloves and N95 masks to protect yourself from contagion.

Warmth: Have several sets of thermal underwear if you live in a cold winter climate. Layer clothing to keep warm. Don t forget hats, knitted skull caps and gloves. It might get cold indoors. Drape blankets over your dining table and use it as an indoor tent to keep warmth encapsulated.

Power failure: Keep flashlights, battery operated lights, battery radio and plenty of extra batteries on hand. Have at least one telephone that doesn't need electricity.

Health: Prepare a first-aid kit. If you take prescription medication, get an extra refill even if you have to pay for it yourself. Buy extra over the counter medications or supplies you might need. Ask your doctor if you should have a flu shot.

Community: Attend an emergency preparedness meeting of neighbors, apartment residents or property managers as soon as possible. If there is no meeting planned, get together with other neighbors and organize one. It is very important to be familiar with your neighborhood or apartment association s emergency plans. Talk with neighbors and friends. Share ideas and plans. You don t have to do everything yourself when you plan together.

Records: Back up your home or small business computer frequently, CDs and DVDs work well for backups. Take photographs or video tapes of all of your business and personal possessions. Put important documents, your photos/videos and your backups in your safe deposit box. The lessons from Katrina and New Orleans teach us that you cannot depend on backups stored in your local area. Back up online or send backup media and photos of your possessions to a trusted person at a distant location. If there is a disaster like hurricane Katrina, you will be able to restore your data and show what possessions you owned. Update your photos periodically.

Shoes: Always wear (or have available) comfortable walking shoes. You may have to walk!

Get lots more free "how-to" tips and recipes for non-perishable food at http://www.emergencykitchen.com/

Need a speaker for your group? Call Sally and Ray Strackbein, CBCP. 703-262-0361.

Freeze-Dried Strawberry Sale

Hey Everyone!!!

Emergency Essentials is having a Freeze-Dried Strawberry sale. If we buy at least 12 cans, we can get them for $13 a can. Each #10 contains 6 ounces.

Let me know if you are interested in buying Freeze-Dried Strawberries, and if you are, let me know how many cans you'd like to purchase by Sunday, June 27.

Thanks!

Blender Wheat Pancake Recipe

My mother-in-law told me that if you don't use wheat within 45 minutes after you grind it into flour, the wheat looses a large part of its nutritional value. I don't know what that exactly means for the wheat flower sold at the grocery stores, but it is no big deal if you use your food storage wheat right after you send it through your wheat grinder. However, if you're like me and have a huge, honky-tonky, wooden wheat grinder from the 60s that's extremely impractical to use in an apartment setting on a regular basis, then it's rather discouraging to hear that I can't get the full nutrition out of my wheat flour a week or even a day after I go through a wheat grinding binge.

I found hope when I found this recipe (and hopefully I'll find more like it) in a Iowa City Wards cookbook from my sister. It's a recipe for wheat pancakes using wheat grains/berries, what wheat is when you buy it from the Cannery before you put it through the wheat grinder.

Blender Wheat Pancakes

3/4 c. wheat grains (not ground into flour)
1 c. milk
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. oil or melted butter

Pour wheat grains into blender with milk. Blend on high for 4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; blend. Pour onto hot griddle.

Word of caution: The blender is very loud when you're blending the wheat grains and milk, and you have to endure the noise for 4 full minutes. I don't recommend doing it a 6:45 on a Saturday morning if you live in an apartment with 4 other apartments connected to yours. I did, and...yeah...I won't do it again.

Kids might need to get used to their taste. My son, Josh (3 yrs), hasn't been too excited by them because they aren't Bisquick pancakes like we've always had before, but he'd nearly eat a whole one everytime I give him one for breakfast. I think they are great, but my opinion might be skewed because I feel so cool making them...using my food storage wheat in my blender and all. They make a lot. I freeze the ones we don't eat and eat and enjoy them later.

One more thing about this recipe, I found another one just like it in my husband's grandma's Provo stake cookbook. In that sister's recipe, it was nearly the same, but it called for only 1 tsp. baking soda and half the oil or melted butter.

If you'd like to try the recipe and don't have wheat grains, let me know. I have plenty that I can share.

ANNOUNCEMENT: I'm starting a recipe drive. I'd like to make a booklet of food storage recipes people in the ward use. Email me if you have any recipes you use, please.

Thanks! Happy Food Storage Cooking!

Video Food Storage Tours

Food Storage Tour with Kyrsten Part I:



Food Storage Tour with Kyrsten Part II:



Food Storage Tour with Kyrsten Part III:



Food Storage Tour with Kyrsten Part IV:



Food Storage Tour with Julianne Part I:



Food Storage Tour with Julianne Part II:



Food Storage Tour with Julianne Part III:



Food Storage Tour with Julianne Part IV:



Food Storage Tour with Julianne Part V:



Food Storage Tour with Julianne Part VI: