Canning Dates for the Rest of the Year

Below are the Canning Dates at the Church Regional Cannery for our stake and a reminder about the cannery guidelines.

For more information about Canning at the Cannery, see the How do you get your food storage? post and Policy Change at the Cannery Post.

Canning Dates:

Sep 11, 9 am - 2 pm
Oct 9, 9 am - 2 pm
Nov 6, 9 am - 2 pm
Dec 4, 9 am - 2 pm

Basic Rules:

1. All orders must be received one month before the canning date. Orders should be on the form provided on providentliving.org and e-mailed to the Peacocks at rpeacock8123@yahoo.com
2. Bulk supplies may not be brought in from outside sources for canning in the cannery.
3. Those operating machinery must be at least 16 yrs old.
4. Those receiving canned food must attend the canning session or be babysitting for someone who is canning. You can't can the food for others who are not participating.
5. Children can not be accommodated. There is no place for them to play.
6. Everyone participates on canning everyone else's orders and helps cleanup. Therefore, a person is there for the full canning session.
7. Payment is preferred by check or it must be exact change. Prices may change slightly from what is on providentliving.org and the prices at the cannery due to price changes.
8. Bulk supply orders may be picked up at any time during the session. Note: As soon as the orders are filled and cleanup is done we leave and the cannery is closed. This has been as early as 10:30am.

Egg Substitution in Baking

When I saw a recipe for an egg substitute in then the Church's 1978 Essentials of Home Production and Storage, I've been wanting to try it, and I finally got the stuff and tried it.

The recipe calls for...

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon boiling water

The recipe didn't give much more instruction than saying to make the egg substitute before you start making cookies, cake, etc.

I used the egg substitution for making cookies. While making the egg substitute, I thought that maybe eggs over thirty years ago must have been a lot bigger because the recipe asks for a lot of water. By the time I needed the egg substitute, the mixture had a slight egg white texture, but it was still watery. I needed to add more flour.

When all was said and done, the cookies were still soft and chewy (how we like'em), but the taste was definitely off. Not bad. The cookie still tasted good, but it was definitely different.

I quickly looked up reasons why, and I bet you can already guess why the taste would be off.

The yoke.

The yoke adds a definite flavor to what your baking, and most egg substitutes, including the unflavored gelatin one above, are imitating the effect egg whites have in baking, not egg yokes.

In researching more online, websites people have recommended using I/2 mashed banana or 1/4 cup apple sauce as a substitute for 1 egg in baking sweet goods. Obviously, these substitutions affect the flavor of what you're baking, but being able to store apple sauce, bananas (when dehydrated or freeze dried), and unflavored gelatin in one's pantry is a plus in the case of emergency or whatever.

Another random, but applicable comment I read online is that "you do not need eggs for most cakes." Think about it. Not using eggs at all in making cakes. The problem with that is I don't think I have enough guts to try making a cake without eggs. What if the cake I'm making doesn't fall under the "most cakes" category? I can't afford at the moment to be unpleasantly surprised when the cake comes out.

Here's the websites I looked at if you're interested.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_can_be_used_as_a_substitute_for_eggs_when_making_a_cake

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianvegan101/f/eggsubstitute.htm

http://www.thecookinginn.com/eggsub.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Replace-Eggs-in-Your-Cooking

If you learn just one thing from reading these websites, it's that there are a lot of egg substitutes out there.

So...Which ones have you done, tried and/or swear by?

Rice-A-Roni

I posted about this recipe awhile ago, but hadn't tried it yet. I have now tried it. Although it's not the most delicious recipe that ever was, I do like it and have learned a lot from it.

Here's the recipe

Rice-A-Roni

1 c long grain rice
1 c broken pieces of vermicelli pasta
2 Tbs. butter or oil
1 Tbs. chicken bouillon granules
1 t. dried parsley, crumbled
1/8 t. white pepper
4 1/2 c. hot water

Brown the vermicelli and rice in a saucepan with the butter or oil. Add all other ingredients and cook for 20 minutes. The rice will be light and fluffy. Serves 4.

I've a confession to make. I haven't yet followed the recipe to this day, and I've made it about half a dozen times. In fact, I made it today.

First off, I half the recipe for my family of two adults, a preschooler and a toddler.

Now, this is how I've been making it...

Having lately discovered the greatness of freezers in storing food, I pulled out some frozen red bell pepper and onions (all pre-chopped of course). I sauteed them with a clove of garlic for about 5 minutes. Then I added the inch-long broken up spaghetti (what I substitute for vermicelli) and rice to the saucepan to brown. After that, I added about 2 1/4 cups of water (remember I'm halving the recipe), a small can of chicken, frozen parsley, a cut up chicken bouillon cube (they're surprisingly easy to cut), and a couple shakes of pepper.

It tasted good. We ate it with mixed veggies. If I was a little more proactive, we would have eaten it with grapes as well.

Food storage items used
rice
pasta
canned chicken
onions (if dried or frozen)
peppers (if dried or frozen)
various herbs or spices you have in your pantry, freezer or garden

Anyway...I hope this recipe can give you ideas on how you can use your food storage items.

Last Sunday's Joint RS and Priesthood Meeting

I thought Bro. Gardner did an awesome job on Sunday talking about being prepared for hurricane season. I liked how he impressed on us through pictures, words, and discussion that hurricanes are a reality that we need to prepare for.

There one thing he mentioned that I want to reiterate.

Days before a projected hurricane hit, whole isles at the grocery stores will clear out.

I remember going to Kroger a couple days before Ike and...

Bread isle...empty
Canned goods (soups, beans, fruit, etc.)...gone
Cereal Isle...empty
Water...gone
Chip and snack isle...empty

I'd never seen a grocery store so depleted of products.

This was no coincidence. When a huge storm is pending in the gulf, the shelves of grocery stores will clear.

This is why having at least a two week supply of food requiring little to no prep time is important for you and your family.

One way to gradually build your food storage is to grab a few extra cans, bags, or boxes of what you're already buying. If your buying canned pineapple or corn or beans, buy one or two extra (how ever many your budget permits).

If you don't usually buy canned, bagged, or boxed products, you might need to make an exception when building a food storage, especially if you can't think of alternatives.

Also, distributors like Emergency Essentials (BePrepared.com) specialize in selling all sorts of food storage items. In addition to longer-term food storage items, they sell items ideal for 72 hour kits and crisis situation food storages (power outage/water outage), i.e. MREs (Meals-Ready-To-Eat) and Freeze-Dried Pouch Foods. Both items store well up to 7 years. Just looking at what's available at Emergency Essentials and other companies like it could also give you ideas on what foods you'd like to have stored for hurricane season.

Just some food for thought.

What do you do (or will you do) to be prepared for hurricanes?

Where to start if you don't have a food storage

I was looking at beprepared.com the other day and read their baby steps in starting a food storage.

First and foremost, they suggest starting with water, building your water storage.

I thought that was interesting, but it does make sense. You can survive something like 2 to 3 weeks without food, but you can't go more than 2 or 3 days without water.

My husband and I use three different ways to store water. Namely...

• Used juice bottles with PETE on the bottom
• 5 gallon jugs/collapsible containers purchased from an outdoors store
• Purchased water bottles, bought in bulk

Other families store those hug, blue water jugs that you see office break rooms or hallways.

If you already store water, what containers do you use? And where do you store it? We have some under the sink, in our sons' closet, and stacked in a corner.

It's recommended by numberless websites to have at least 14 gallons of water per person on hand. That's two weeks worth based on the 1-gallon-per-day rule of thumb.

After hurricane Ike swept through, Nate and I were fortunate not to loose our power, but the mayor had stated that the tab water wasn't safe to use. In that moment I was grateful for the water we had stored. We didn't have to boil water all the time before we used it. We had it already available in the juice bottles, water bottles, and jugs we had in store.

For more information on storing water see the Drinking Water post.

After you get the water taken care of or mostly taken care of, I suggest either building a 72 hour/hurricane kit(s) for your family or building a week or 2 week supply of food that you can prepare without electricity depending on what you feel prompted to do. I think both are important during the hurricane season.

Two summers ago, hurricane Ike left 19 out of 20 homes without power. In our ward, while some families just had a day without power, others went a full week or so without power.

Look here for a basic 72 hour checklist.

To see ideas for an example two week emergency supply of food, go to the Emergencykitchen.com post.

We have our 72 hour kits in backpacks and a travel bag. I've seen some people but theirs in travel carry-on size suitcases that roll.

What do you use for your 72 hour kits? What foods do you stock up on for hurricane season? I'd love to know.

More Freezing Facts (this time from an expert)

At half price books, I was looking threw several books about preserves, and I came across one that went into detail of not only canning jelly, jams and pickles, but also oven-drying, air-drying, crystallizing, and freezing. I bought the book.

It's called Perfect Preserves by Hilaire Walden.

Having recently posted about freezing, I found her section about freezing fascinating, particularly two points.

1. Foods that do not freeze successfully

• Whole strawberries
• Whole tomatoes
• Garlic
• Eggs in the shell
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Creams with a fat content below 40 per cent
• Emulsion sauces such as mayonnaise
• Recipes with sauces thickened with eggs
• Potatoes
• Cooked joints of meat

I am disappointed that the author didn't go into detail about why these foods, particularly whole strawberries, don't freeze well. Grocery stores sell frozen whole strawberries all the time. However, frozen whole strawberries don't thaw very prettily. They don't keep their shape or color.

2. I thought it was fun reading though the shelf life (or freezer life if you will)

Uncooked meats

• Beef: 8 months
• Pork: 6 months
• Sausages: 3 months
• Freshly minced meat: 3 months
• Ham and other smoked meats: 1 to 2 months
• Chicken: 12 months
• Turkey: 6 months

Cooked meat

• Casseroles, stews, etc.: 2 months

Dairy Produce

• Butter, unsalted: 6 months
• Butter, salted: 3 months
• Cream, above 40% fat: 3 months
• Soft cheeses: 6 weeks
• Hard cheeses: 3 months
• Hard cheeses, grated: 6 months
• Milk: 1 month

Baked Good

• Bread and rolls, crisp: 1 month
• Bread, white and brown: 6 months
• Cakes, uncooked: 1 month
• Cakes, cooked and undecorated: 4 months
• Pastry, unbaked: 3 months
• Pastry, baked: 6 months

Vegetables

• Most vegetables: 12 months
• Mushrooms, raw: 1 month
• Mushrooms, cooked: 3 months
• Onions: 3 months
• Herbs: 6 months

The author says that if you're freezing more than 2 lb of food, turn the freezer thermostat to "fast-freeze," until the food is officially frozen. Then, turn the thermostat back to the normal setting. She says that "foods should be frozen quickly to prevent the formation of large ice crystals that damage cell walls" causing the food to loose its liquid and collapse. This obviously makes the most sense when thinking of fruit or food items with a large water content. I doubt any kind of meat ever collapses, but I'm guessing that meat might be drier when cooked if you don't freeze it quickly. Also, I know that bread is usually drier after its been frozen. Maybe it would be less dry if the freezer freezes it quicker than normal. I'm not completely sure. The author doesn't go into detail beyond what I've written concerning why food needs to be frozen quickly (I was surprised freezing was in a book about preserves in the first place), but we'll see!

Anyway...Happy Food Preserving!!!

Building a Kid-Friendly Food Storage; Part 2: Meat and Beans

Meat and Beans (This is all taken from http://www.melindabeth.com/food_storage/)

Meat and beans are also a very important part of your food storage and should be a large portion of your supply. The meat and beans group also includes eggs, dry peas, nuts and seeds. These foods supply many nutrients such as B vitamins, vitamin E, iron, zinc, and magnesium. Meat and eggs contain quality protein. Beans, peas, nuts and seeds when eaten with grains provide a quality protein as well. First, let's get to know some common food storage items that are part of the meat and beans group:

• Meat
  canned chicken, canned tuna, frozen chicken, frozen meat, frozen fish, bacon, hot dogs, pepperoni


• Eggs
  fresh chicken eggs, dehydrated whole eggs, dehydrated egg white, dehydrated egg mix, dehydrated Ova Easy


• Dry Beans and Peas
  black beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, navy beans, pinto beans, soy beans, split peas, white beans, tempeh, textured vegetable protein (TVP)


• Nuts and Seeds
  almonds, cashews, flax, mixed nuts, peanuts, peanut butter, pecans, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds

If you are just beginning your food storage, it is my recommendation to have an initial goal of storing the minimum USDA daily recommendation. This amount would be sufficient to sustain life and provide a good source of nutrition.

Here is a simplified chart for determining your family's meat and beans storage based on the USDA minimum daily recommendation:

What is an ounce equivalent? In general, an ounce equivalent is equal to 1 ounce of meat, poultry or fish, 1/4 cup dry beans, 1/2 cup cooked beans, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, or 1/2 ounce of nuts or seeds. Please note that an ounce equivalent is not always equal to the serving size on a food package label. We often eat 2-4 ounce equivalents in one serving.

Why is the meat and beans year supply not converted to pounds? The meat and beans group cannot be converted to pounds because one serving does not always equal one ounce for all foods. For example, 16 oz. (1 lb.) of dry beans generally contains 12 servings, a serving of nuts is 1/2 ounce and one egg weighs more than one ounce. Therefore, the year supply is calculated in ounce equivalents to ensure accuracy. Don't let the large numbers intimidate you! So now that you know how much of the meat and beans group to store, you need to decide on how much of each to store. It is a good idea to store a variety of foods from the meat and beans group that you know your family will eat.

Here are some tips to help you:

• Evaluate how much of the meat and beans group your family consumes on a daily or weekly basis. Try to calculate how much of the meat and beans group your family would consume in a year. Remember to include meals eaten out.
• Supply yourself with foods that you will eat regularly. If your family consumes a large quantity of eggs, you may want to look into other sources of eggs besides fresh eggs such as dehydrated egg products.
• Evaluate the storage life of different foods from the meats and beans group. Beans typically have a longer storage life, if properly stored, than meat and eggs. So you may want to focus on storing beans and gathering a variety of vegetarian recipes to try. Many meat recipes can also be used by omitting the meat or using a meat substitute such as Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)
• Evaluate the storage conditions of the meat and beans group product you will be storing. Frozen meats can take up a lot of storage space in the freezer. Beans on the other hand can be stored in a cool, dry place pretty much anywhere in the house.

Example

Here is an example of my thought process in figuring my family's meat and beans group storage. With the chart (above) I calculate that my family requires 7665 ounce equivalents of meat and beans. Holy cow! A holy cow is what we are going to need to provide that many ounce equivalents! But we'll make it work with or without the cow.

So let's take a daily and weekly approach to our meat and beans group.

• Meat (624 ounce equivalents = 8% of total)
  20 lbs. of frozen chicken and beef = 1 ounce/person/week63 5oz. cans tuna = 1 ounce/person/week
• Eggs (600 ounce equivalents = 8% of total)
  2 dozen fresh eggs = 2 eggs/person/week for 2 weeks4 #10 cans Eggs Ova Easy = 2 eggs/person/week for 48 weeks
• Dry Beans and Peas (4320 ounce equivalents = 56% of total)
  360 lbs. dry beans = 2 ounce equivalents/person/day
• Nuts and Seeds (2190 ounce equivalents = 28% of total)
  32 40 oz. containers of peanut butter = 1 tablespoon/person/day

This gives my family a total of 7734 ounce equivalents. This is a good basic plan for the meat and beans group to help provide a well-balanced, nutritious diet that is pleasing to every member of the family. Note that the dry beans and peas subgroup contains the highest percentage of total ounce equivalents. Your storage should also contain a high percentage of dry beans and peas. Dry beans and peas store well and are high in nutrition and fiber.