photo courtesy of photos8.com

Hi everyone,

Does it always seem like too much of your budget goes to food?  Do you wonder what amount of money is 'normal'?  If so, go to the Official USDA Food Plans pdf.

This page will give you the 2010 averages, based on nutritionally balanced diets cooked at home.  Now that you see how frugal you really are, here are some tips to help even more; pick just one or two to try so it's not overwhelming. Then all that's left is deciding how that new-found money is going to better use!

Ways to eat well on less money:

*Buy on sale and get extras so you never pay full price.

*Buy the fresh fruits/veggies that are $1/lb or less.

*Find ways to throw away less- only serve up what you will eat, save wilted veggies in the freezer for soup later, re-purpose leftovers.

*Use meat mostly as a flavoring (mixed in with other ingredients), not as its own dish.

*Buy meats that you can get for $2/lb or less, or whatever is bargain-price for your area.

*When you buy meat, get a bunch on sale, then cook it all at once.  Package and freeze most of it for future, faster, meals.

*Buy flour, sugar in bulk, make more things from scratch.

*Keep your kitchen clean so you like being there!  (You don't need to do it all yourself!  Doing dishes 'all the time' causes depression for me- once I added that to my kids' job charts, I felt much better!)

*Grow a garden where you used to have some lawn- you get the same water bill, more food.  Packets of seeds can last 4-5 years if kept cool and dark.   Or split packets with a friend.  

*Make your own bread instead of buying it.

How much can you save on bread?  Cost varies by recipe, but mine comes out to less than $ .50 per loaf ($. 42), including the electricity for baking, for top-quality whole-wheat bread.  (Well, frankly, the quality varies by week....)   If you eat two loaves a week, that saves you $200/year when compared to $2.50/loaf of bread.   We go through 6 loaves a week, so we’re saving over $600 per year.  Yes, a stand mixer and grain mill  definitely pay for themselves!  For the recipe I use, see Basic Bread on my website.
 
Yesterday the Teachers' Quorum (14-15 yr. old boys) came to my house for their weekly activity.  They've been learning about nutrition and safe food handling, so they all pitched in and cooked a meal.    Their handout included budget-friendly, adaptable, and fairly fast recipes; the kind that would be especially valuable when in college or on missions.  For these recipes, click on Quick & Cheap Meals.  The boys did great with them, I think you'll like them, too.   

Happy cooking and budgeting!

Does this look familiar?  It's almost hard enough to build with...

Less than a minute later, it can be measured!

Did you know sugar stores forever?  It doesn't ever spoil or go rancid.  And here's a little practical science for your kitchen- brown sugar is hygroscopic,  meaning that it attracts moisture from the air.   Cookies made with it have a better chance of being chewy.  This also depends, of course, on how long you let them bake!  Brown sugar adds moistness, chewiness in baked goods, and a deeper, caramel-like flavor.  All of this is because of the small amount of molasses in it.  Most brown sugar is just refined white sugar with molasses added at the factory.  Turbinado, or raw cane sugar is an exception to this- the brown color in it is because the molasses wasn't taken out to begin with.

What this hygroscopic nature means for you is that if there’s any moisture available to the sugar, it will soften up over the course of several hours or overnight.  Some ways to add moisture are:

·         Add a slice of apple to a sealed container of brown sugar.  Let sit.

·         Add a slice of bread.  This is a great use for those heels that sometimes don’t get eaten.  When it’s totally dried out, you can crush it into breadcrumbs.

·         Soak a small  (clean!) terra-cotta pot, saucer, or shard (piece of a broken pot), in water.  When it’s moist, add it to your brown sugar container.  This one’s reusable! Just soak it again when dry.

·         Put a dampened cloth or paper towel in the container, or just put the brown sugar in a bowl and cover it with the damp cloth.


·         Any place the brown sugar actually touches something wet, the moisture may drive out the molasses (which is what makes it brown) and leave a white, moist section of sugar.  It’s fine.  Stir it back in.


 If you can’t wait that long for your sugar, there are more options:

·         Microwave the brown sugar for 30 seconds.   If it’s not softened yet, put it in for a little longer.  It will be soft and easy to measure, but only while it’s still warm!  Crumble it while you can, measure what you need, and put the rest in a container with one of the ideas above.

·         If you don’t have a microwave, you can use a grater to get what you need off that solid block of sugar.

·         If you have molasses on hand, stir it into regular sugar.  This is how they make brown sugar at the factory!  For light brown sugar, use 1/2 Tbsp (1 ½ tsp). molasses to 1 cup white sugar.  If you want dark brown sugar, use 1 Tbsp. molasses instead.

·         Knock off some chunks with a hammer or other heavy item.  Weigh them instead of using a measuring cup.  A cup of brown sugar weighs about 7 ounces. (For the curious or the kitchen scientist, a handy chart listing other foods’ weights per cup, see http://www.veg-world.com/articles/cups.htm)  Most recipes use some form of liquid- add the hard sugar lumps to the recipe's liquid to let it soften, dissolve, or mix in.

One great thing to make with brown sugar is

Caramel Pudding
2-4 Tbsp. butter
1/4-1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch OR 1/2 c. flour
2 c. milk
1/8 tsp. salt, optional
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat, stir occasionally until it turns brown and smells heavenly.  Remove from heat.  Add brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt; stir until smooth.  Gradually stir in the milk; return to heat and stir until it comes to a boil.  Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a medium bowl.  Pour a thin stream of the hot milk into the beaten egg, stirring constantly, until about half the milk is mixed with it.  This keeps the egg from curdling (scrambling).  Pour the egg mixture back into the boiling mixture; cook and stir for two minutes more.  

For more variations on pudding, see White Sauces and Pudding 

 

This one doesn't taste like a candy cane- though you could make it so that it does!

I just noticed that in my 'dinner rolls' post there were no instructions for making that candy cane bread.  So here they are.  Use the same technique to make cinnamon rolls, only those need sliced at the end of making the roll.

The simplest way I've found to roll a rectangle is to give the shape a head-start before rolling it out.  Pat or stretch it into an oblong shape.

Roll it out to its full finished length.  In this case, I have a pound of dough that I want to be about 8x14, so it's now rolled to be 14" long.

Then work on getting it the right width.  Eight inches is the width of my thumb to pinky, when I stretch my hand.  It doesn't have to be exact when you roll these things out; a hand width is a great measuring tool!

Spread soft butter on it, using a utensil or your hand.  If your butter is cold and hard, your hand warms it up in a hurry.  The butter prevents the dough from sticking to itself, which leaves your finished spiral open (great for letting frosting ooze into if you're making cinnamon rolls!).  This means you DON'T want to spread the butter clear to the edge; stay about an inch or two away from one long edge.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, if that's the filling you want.   I 'eyeball' this kind of thing, but this was about 1- 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 2-3 Tbsp. sugar.  Again, stay an inch away from one long edge.

You can add whatever you want as filling- this one has the cinnamon and sugar, but then also has raisins, chopped toasted hazelnuts, and some chopped candied orange peel.

This flavor was the most popular with everyone who tried it this year- raspberry filling, sprinkled with little chocolate chunks, or chocolate chips.  I get the raspberry filling from the bakery at a local grocery store; it's cheaper than I can make it, plus it doesn't go runny when heated, like raspberry jam does.  Raspberry jam does have better flavor, however.

Start rolling the dough, starting with the long side opposite the unbuttered one.

This is when you'll be glad you remembered to keep the butter away from the edge.  Pinch the edge to seal.

Curve the roll into a candy cane shape and put it pinched-side down on a cookie sheet.  Butter it or use parchment paper.   When I have different flavors on the same cookie sheet, I sprinkle or spread some of the filling on top, too, so it's easy to tell them apart.   Let rise until nearly doubled, 45-90 minutes, depending on the temperature of your kitchen, and bake at 350- 375 degrees F  about 20-25 minutes, or until well browned on bottom, and a little browned on top.  It will continue to cook outside the oven for the next 15-20 minutes.  When they're cool.  Drizzle with icing, chocolate syrup, melted chocolate or white chocolate, or melted jam, and sprinkle with some nuts, cinnamon, or chocolate chips if you like.

To make 2 oz. Butterhorn rolls- start with one pound of dough and roll it into about a 12" circle.  Spread softened butter on all except the middle, leave about a 2-3" circle unbuttered so the dough can stick to itself.  With a pizza cutter or knife, cut into eight wedges.  Roll each one up, starting with the wide edge.  Pinch the point so it sticks to the rest of the roll.  Put the rolls on parchment or a greased baking sheet, point-side tucked securely underneath so it doesn't unroll during baking. Curve ends a bit, then cover and let rise.
If you're making a bunch of these, use a loaf's worth of dough (about 1 1/2 lbs), roll into a 12-15" circle, and cut into 12 wedges.

This week here  is a review of the ideal we work towards as women, and then the info from the Dinner Rolls class I held this week.

---------------

Have you read Proverbs chapter 31 lately?  The Hebrew word for 'virtuous' is חַיִל, 'chayil,' and means POWERFUL, STRONG, and EFFICIENT. Virtues are strengths. Excellence in particular attributes.

Who can find a powerful woman? Her price is far above the most valuable gems. 

I think most of us remember reading verse 10, but look what else it says. 

"Who can find a  virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

"She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth  a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by  night. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

"She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

"Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.  She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

"Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her

"Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."

I know that all of us can grow by picking something in those verses on which to begin-- or continue-- our efforts.  Are you ‘afraid of the snow for [your] household’?  Or are they going to be fine through lean times because of your preparations? 
​________________

For  the basic bread recipe along with these variations, see my Google Docs version  

This makes 2 dozen 2 oz. rolls (if basic shape rolls, closely spaced, they’ll fill a 12x18 baking sheet perfectly), two dozen medium-small cinnamon rolls (a trayful),  two 8x4” loaves, OR three 1-lb. ‘candy cane’ loaves.

 
Dinner Roll/Sweetbread Dough

3 cups flour to start with (5-6 cups total)
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast
¼-1/3 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. oil or butter
1 egg
2 cups hot water or milk (no hotter than 130 degrees F or it will kill the yeast)

      Mix salt, yeast, sugar, oil, water, and first amount of flour in a bowl.  Beat about two minutes with a wooden spoon.  Stir in half of what’s left, then mix in more until too stiff to stir.  Dump out onto a floured counter and knead for 8-10 minutes, adding only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the counter.   The dough should be smooth and elastic after kneading.  (Yes, you could use a stand mixer for this, too….)

     Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic grocery bag and let rise 1 to 1 ½ hours, or until doubled.  Punch down and shape into rolls or loaves.  Place on greased baking sheet or in 8x4 loaf pans and let rise about 45 minutes or until nearly doubled.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the bottoms of rolls, or sides of loaves, are brown.  (Tip a loaf out of the pan to check.)  Remove from pans and cool on a rack.

 
This is my basic bread recipe with three tweaks: egg, milk, and more sugar.

The egg helps make the bread more moist, springy, higher-rising, and tender.  The white helps add strength and leavening.  The yolk adds a tiny bit of color, plus some richness and tenderness from the natural fats in it, especially from the lecithin (worth a whole blog post just for lecithin!) it contains.

Milk helps a little bit with browning, as well as making the internal structure (“the crumb”) softer and smoother.  It’s one of those things that may be harder for an amateur to notice, but it makes enough of a difference that I always use it in sweet breads for competitions.  If you have powdered milk available, just mix the milk powder in with the other dry ingredients, and use water.  For this size batch, you’ll use 6 Tbsp powder, which is just over 1/3 c.

Sugar makes a big difference in the crust browning, or ‘caramelizing’, as well as in the flavor of the bread.  Sugar can also help the yeasts grow, but it only helps to a certain point.  No-sugar-used bread will still rise, but will take twice as long.  And you can get it to brown, too, because of the natural sugars in the flour, but you have to use a higher temperature.  When I’m making bread with no sugar, I bake it between 400 and 450 degrees F, which gives a nice brown crust.  If you cook bread with sugar in the dough, if you cook that hot it will be black on the outside before the inside is done.  When baking sweetened breads like this, then, keep the temperature between 350-400; the bigger the loaf, the lower temperature.  Smaller things, like individual rolls, can still handle up to 400 degrees because the insides can cook quickly.  The other thing about sugar, helping the yeasts grow, is kind of funny.  A moderate amount of sugar is good food for the yeast, but over a certain point actually slows down its growth.  To compensate, let it rise a little longer, or add more yeast. 

(originally from 3/4/10)

Today the information is from two Internet sources:

Here’s a link to Bishop Keith B. McMullin (Bishop for the whole church) speaking on Family Home Storage:http://providentliving.org/channel/0,11677,1706-1,00.html   click on TV icon in upper right corner of page. It’s about a one-minute clip, and very good, simple advice to listen to.

At http://www.utahpreppers.com/2009/10/food-storage-short-life-supply/ there is a good post on a three-month supply- starting it, using it, maximizing shelf time, replacing it, advantages of having it. 

And just a note: remember the email about storing vegetables without a ‘real’ root cellar?  Yesterday (March 3) we ate butternut squash from last year’s garden, it was delicious!  I kept it, along with a couple pumpkins and a giant zucchini, in a dark basement room.  They’ve been just been sitting on top of a couple food storage buckets; I learned a couple years ago that they spoil quickly with moisture, so they can’t sit on a cement floor. They’ve stayed about 65 degrees there, so it requires nothing unusual.  One pumpkin got dropped a month ago, bruising it, so one side has started to go soft.  Maybe we’ll have pumpkin pie tomorrow, to use it before it spoils.  The other pumpkin is still perfect, and the zucchini, well, now there’s an interesting experiment.  It really is big, about 18” long, and bigger around than my hands can reach.  It sat on my counter for about a month, until I decided it might as well go downstairs to see what would happen.  It has blanched.  It slowly lost its green color, now hardly any is left, but it’s still firm.  I’ll let you know how it cooks up.

How’s your food storage coming?  Are you finding the joys in shopping from your own pantry?  Is it saving you trips to the store?  Mine is a great blessing to me and my family.  I love feeling that we could weather whatever economic storm comes our way.   This is also the third month on the three-month challenge.  If you’re not 2/3 of the way there, don’t panic or give up, just start.  If you are that far or more, go look at your shelves/freezer of food and admire your work, and thank the Lord for it.

-Rhonda

Spreadable Butter
2 cubes butter, softened
1 c. oil, use olive oil if you like
¼  tsp. salt

Beat butter until smooth; while beating slowly add in olive oil, then salt.  Pour in whatever size container you want it in; store in refrigerator.   Make any quantity you like- you’ll always use equal amounts of butter and oil, and some salt for flavor.

Snow Ice Cream

1 cup milk, evaporated milk, or cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla or other flavor
6-8 cups fresh clean snow (6 c. if heavy, wet; 8 if powdery)

 Mix together milk, sugar, and vanilla.  Pour over snow.  Mix well and eat right away.
You may substitute a can of sweetened condensed milk for the milk and sugar- tastes good, but costs more.

 

 

Here is a great idea I heard this week:  go through all your extra stuff (house, garage, back of the cupboards, storage unit if you have it, basement) and tag everything you don't really need.  Even if you like it, if  you don't need it, let it go.  Sell it on Craigslist or ksl, or we could have a giant yard sale...   Then use the money to pay off debt.  Or get food storage.  Or to help someone else. 

Remember the church's website, http://www.providentliving.org?   Being provident means making the most of what you have.  What you have isn't useful if it's sitting.  Have fun!  You’ll be amazed at how thankful you feel for what you could clean out.  It’ll even help you spend less on Christmas!  

“‘Self-reliance means using all of our blessings from Heavenly Father to care for ourselves and our families and to find solutions for our own problems.’ Each of us has a responsibility to try to avoid problems before they happen and to learn to overcome challenges when they occur. …

“How do we become self-reliant? We become self-reliant through obtaining sufficient knowledge, education, and literacy; by managing money and resources wisely, being spiritually strong, preparing for emergencies and eventualities; and by having physical health and social and emotional well-being.”- Sister Julie Beck

 Chocolate Popcorn

One 10-12 oz. bag chocolate chips
8-9 quarts popped corn

 Melt chips, pour over popcorn and mix.  Put in a 225 degree F oven for about 30 minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes.  Cool and store. 

You can also skip the baking step, but baking makes it a little less messy to eat; less melting on your fingers.  That might not be important to you, though…

 Use any kind of chips: dark, milk chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, mint, or a combination.  Try chocolate  drizzled with a little bit of melted peanut butter chips.  Or use different colors for a baby shower.  Or stir in some toasted chopped nuts (butter toffee peanuts, anyone?)  Reese's Pieces, cut-up pieces of caramels or candy bars, or anything else that sounds good.

(originally from 6/17/10)
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Ezra Taft Benson
"There are blessings in being close to the soil, in raising your own food, even if it is only a garden in your yard and a fruit tree or two.  Those families will be fortunate who, in the last days, have an adequate supply of food because of their foresight and ability to produce their own" (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 266).

In Google Docs there is a file with the recipes  I made for the basic-foods class today; Using Wheat Without A Mill.  It covers different ways to use your wheat (all without a mill- a grinder-), including sprouting it, cooking it whole or cracked, how to crack it in the first place, blender-wheat recipes (including a chart to help you convert your own recipes to use whole wheat with the blender), making malt, and soaking wheat before using it.  The last page also has links to some great recipes and resources for using your wheat.   These links are also listed below.
 
Please buy wheat!  You cannot beat it for price.  You can buy it by the bag at the Family Home Storage Center, you don’t have to get it in the cans. White wheat there is $5.80 for a 25 lb bag, which is about 23 cents per POUND, which is enough to make one whole loaf of bread.  You pay that much, or more, for each OUNCE of breakfast cereal.  If you don't have a grain mill (grinder), or don't know yet how to use wheat if it's not already flour, now is a great time to jump in and get some wheat anyway.  If you're worried that you won't be able to rotate/use it before it goes bad, don't let that stop you from following the commandment to build your food storage.  It lasts for a long, long time.  Decades or more, if stored right.  Get it, then learn how to use it.  It's healthy stuff to have on hand anyway! It’s also inexpensive insurance.  You'll be glad you have it, and I know you’ll be blessed for following the prophet's counsel.

-Rhonda

Notes from what we tasted and learned at the class- these and more are in the handout, link is above:

We sampled Blender Wheat Pancakes, Wheat Puree Bread, Wheat Salad with Chicken and Corn, Strawberry Nut Jello Salad (the 'nuts' are wheat), Gourmet Banana Nut Cookies, cooked wheat, cracked wheat, sprouted wheat, malt powder .  Also covered was the difference between COOKED and SPROUTED wheat, and how to make malt. 

Why  eat it:  it's CHEAP, stores a LONG time, high in fiber, high in some proteins, vitamins, minerals.

 (summary of the class):   How to eat it:  Grind in blender (2 cups for 1 ½ minutes) or food processor (the dry grains or soaked/cooked), crack in blender, cook whole or cracked, sprout and eat as kernels (as breakfast cereal, or ground beef extender, or rice/pasta/nut substitute), make malt, or sprout and eat as wheat grass or wheat grass juice.

Ways to cook wheat:  in a Thermos, rice cooker, crock pot, regular pan, use in breads (quick/yeast), cakes, salads, (including Jello).  You may cook them then freeze for later. 

Why soak grains before eating them- phytates (phytic acid, the form the phosphorus is in) are anti-nutrients, they bind with and so block absorption of minerals, especially zinc, that you need for proper growth and immune system strength. You inactivate phytates by making the grain think it’s sprouting- warm, moist. Also, soaking freshly ground grain in warm liquid also destroys the phytic acid by activating the enzyme phytase.  A diet rich in Vitamins D, C, A, and calcium help mitigate the effect of phytic acid on the body.  Sprouted wheat is a vegetable, does not lose gluten, but the amino acid profile and vitamins change and it becomes more easily digestible.

 Wheat Berries

2 cups hard red winter-wheat berries
7 cups cold water
1 teaspoon salt

Place wheat berries in a large heavy saucepan. Add water and salt.
 Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse. To serve hot, use immediately. Otherwise, follow the make-ahead instructions. Makes about 4 1/2 cups.                    
MAKE AHEAD TIP: Cover and refrigerate  or freeze. 
For Cracked Wheat,  put ¼ to ½ cup of uncooked wheat in a blender, run for 30 seconds or til cracked. 

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per 1/2 cup: 151 calories; 1 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 29 g carbohydrate; 6 g protein; 4 g fiber; 263 mg sodium; 0 mg potassium.
2 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 2 Starch

Ready-made toppings for your cooked wheat:
Applesauce
Pure fruit spreads
Fruit butters, such as apple, apricot, prune, pear
Marmalades, jams, preserves, conserves
Frozen berries and fruits, with or without syrup
Nut butters- peanut, almond, cashew
Lemon and lime curds
Maple syrup
Pure honey, whipped, unfiltered or in unusual flavors such as sage, lavender, or chestnut
Chocolate-hazelnut and chocolate peanut butter spreads
Sundae toppings

Making malt: http://www.dryit.com/diastaticmalt.html 

Put 1 cup of wheat kernels in a quart jar, cover with water, and let soak for about 12 hours.  Drain the water (which has vitamins and minerals- save for broth, watering plants, or making bread), rinse, and drain completely.  Rinse and drain 1-3 times a day for 2 days, until the sprouted part is about the same length as the grain. Spread on cookie sheets to go in the sunshine or warm oven or in a dehydrator; dry thoroughly but don’t heat over 130 degrees, so you don’t kill the enzymes.  Grind in a mill or in your blender.  Makes about one cup.  Store tightly covered.  This will keep indefinitely in the fridge or freezer.  Use about 1-1 ½   teaspoon (1/10 of 1% flour) per loaf of bread.  More than this will give you sticky dough and is not beneficial. 

The enzyme in malt (diastase) converts starch in the dough to sugars (maltose) that the yeast can use; longer fermentation (rising) times are needed to be most effective.   Malt replaces sugar/honey and feeds the yeast, browns the crust.  It also has lots of enzymes and vitamins, and so makes your bread more digestible and more nutritious.  The enzymes also improve the flavor, make a finer texture, and increase shelf life.  If you wanted to make malt syrup, you would slowly cook the sprouted grain to get a dark syrup.

Also see:  http://makinghomemadewineandbeer.blogspot.com/2008/05/making-malt-extract.html 

Links:

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/training-cooking/grains, http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/10/12/pumpkin-blender-wheat-waffles-with-caramel-sauce/food-storage-recipes Pumpkin Blender Wheat Waffles with Caramel Sauce, http://everydayfoodstorage.net/category/long-term-food-storage/grains/wheat/blender-wheat  Red, White and Blue Blender Pancakes (blender pancakes with red and blue berries, whipped cream), http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/04/01/food-storage-gourmet-blender-wheat-cookie/food-storage-recipes Gourmet Blender Banana Wheat Cookie, http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/06/24/bring-one-of-these-one-of-a-kind-salads-to-your-next-gathering/food-storage-recipes Feta Wheat Berry Salad, Wheat Berry Salad with Apples and Cashews

http://selfreliantsisters.blogspot.com/search/label/Wheat%20Berries Black Bean, Edamame, and Wheat Berry Salad, Crockpot Wheat Berries, Stovetop Wheat Berries, Pressure Cooker Wheat Berries, Carroll Shelby’s Chili, Wheat Berry Pineapple Chicken Salad, Wheat Berry Salad, Wheat Nuts (like Corn Nuts); http://selfreliantsisters.blogspot.com/2010/02/4-blender-pancake-recipes.html 4 different blender pancake recipes to try

http://www.foodnetwork.com/search/delegate.do?fnSearchString=wheat+berry&fnSearchType=site  Wheat Berry Tapenade, Mushroom Wheat Berry Pilaf, Cumin-Scented Wheat Berry-Lentil Soup, Zesty Wheat Berry-Black Bean Chili, Rice, Red Lentil, and Wheat Berry Salad, Wheat Berries and Greens (Farro e Verdure)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/search/delegate.do?fnSearchString=wheat+berry&fnSearchType=site Easter Wheat Pie (Pastiera di Grano); the same type recipe baked in a springform pan to be a cake is as http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-la-pastiera-di-grano

http://www.ldspreparedness.com/Files/cookbook.pdf   The “New Ideas For Cooking with Food Storage” cookbook (20 pages).  Meat substitutes and extenders, Bulgur Wheat, another Blender Wheat Pancake recipe with variation for Waffles, Chinese Fried Wheat (instead of rice), Italian Fried Wheat, Spanish Fried Wheat, Cracked Wheat Casserole (includes burger too), Popped Wheat (similar to Corn Nuts), how to cook it: stovetop, Thermos, gas range’s pilot light, crockpot, as cracked wheat.

http://www.suegregg.com/  for whole foods, including lots of blender wheat recipes

If you've never had a Tres Leches cake, you're in for a treat!  It's very moist, with a Dulce de Leche flavor throughout.  It's soaked with a mixture of 'three milks'- whole milk, evaporated milk, and cream, normally.  I tend to use whatever's on hand, though.  If you don't have cream, replace with an equal amount of evaporated milk.  You can even whip evaporated milk, if it's very cold.  30 minutes in the freezer usually does the trick.

This is how you get the Dulce de Leche flavor- caramelize a can of sweetened condensed milk.  It takes two hours if you let the unopened can boil, ALWAYS completely covered by water (or it could explode). Or if you open up the can and pour it in a bowl,  it takes 7-15 minutes in the microwave.  It really boils up, though, so use the biggest microwave-safe bowl you own!  And cover it with plastic wrap.  The condensed milk on the left is caramelized; the condensed milk on the right is what it looks like beforehand.

The baked cake, a sturdy hot-milk sponge cake.  Let it cool for ten minutes, then poke holes all over, using a skewer or similar.  (My 'skewer' is the bottom of an instant-read thermometer.)

While the cake is still hot, but the 'milks' mixture is cool-ish, pour all over the cake.  It will start soaking in.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, to let the liquid totally soak in and start to set up a bit.

You know how food blogs make it look like everything is always perfect?


Well... 
 a doubled recipe + the same size bowl = scrubbing!

For an easy-to print version, click on one of these, below.
Tres Leches Cake recipe, or Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free version here.

To get the milk mixture to soak in properly, the cake should be hot and the milks room temperature: make the milk  mixture first so it can cool during cake baking time. This was modified from the Cook’s Country recipe.  I live at 3500 ft. elevation, and their version kept falling in the center.  If you live around sea level, you might need to increase the sugar back up to 2 cups, and the baking powder to 2 tsp.  

Tres Leches cake

Milk Mixture:
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (or use the powdered-milk version)
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 c. heavy cream (sometimes I just add 1 c. more evap. milk instead)
1 tsp. vanilla
           Caramelize the sweetened condensed milk by either boiling the can (covered at ALL TIMES by water) for two hours OR in the microwave:  pour into a large microwave-safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 7-15 minutes, until slightly darkened and thickened.  Stir every couple minutes, especially at the end.  This takes 7 ½ minutes in my microwave.  If it looks a little burned, it’s still OK.  Stir in about half of  the evaporated milk, then set aside 3 Tbsp. for the top of the cake. Whisk in the remaining evaporated milk, cream, and  vanilla.  Set aside.

Cake:
½ c. unsalted butter (if using regular butter, reduce salt by ¼ tsp.)
1 c. milk
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 ¾ c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, optional (I prefer the cake without)
           Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat together the butter and milk until the butter melts; set aside.  Beat the eggs for about 30 seconds, then slowly add the sugar while beating.  Beat on med-high for 5-7 minutes, until they become very thick and glossy.  Mix in vanilla and hot milk/butter.  Add flour, baking powder, and salt  (I dump them on in that order, then mix them with my fingers a bit before beating them into the batter.)  Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 pan.  Bake for about 30 minutes, until cake tests done with a toothpick.  Let sit on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.  Poke holes every half inch all over the cake with a skewer; pour milk mixture over top.  Let sit for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24.  Frost right before serving.

Frosting:
1 c. whipping cream
3 Tbsp. reserved cooked sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
           Beat all together until whipped and thick enough to spread.

Hi everyone,

Are you ready to vote? I felt I should share some statements our church leaders have made.  Below, you will find some great web resources to help you be informed on the candidates, ballot items, and judges in our area.  I’m sure there are more out there; these are the ones I’m aware of.

Joseph Smith said: "Even this nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground, and when the Constitution is upon the brink of ruin, this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean, and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction."  In other places, Joseph referred to this time being when the Constitution would hang by a thread.  What is this last thread that is holding up the Constitution?  President Ezra Taft Benson told us that this “our franchise (a right granted) to vote."

John Taylor said that the Elders of Israel (remember that women couldn’t vote, yet) should “understand that they have something to do with the world politically as well as religiously, that it is as much their duty to study correct political principles as well as religious” (Journal of Discourses, 9:340)


“It is time, therefore, that every American, and especially every member of the priesthood, became informed about the aims, tactics, and schemes of socialistic-communism. This becomes particularly important when it is realized that communism is turning out to be the earthly image of the plan which Satan presented in the pre-existence. The whole program of socialistic- communism is essentially a war against God and the plan of salvation—the very plan which we fought to uphold during ‘the war in heaven.’” (Ezra Taft Benson, Secret Combinations, Conference Report, October 1961.)

Also see Ezra Taft Benson, The Constitution- A Heavenly Banner, and D&C 98:6-10 

This year there are four proposed amendments to the Utah Constitution, a number of races including the State Board of Education, a proposition for a bond, and 37 judges to vote on. If you go to https://vote.utah.gov/  you will find a box at the bottom of the page that says "What's On My Ballot?".  Click on this and it will ask you some basic questions that verify if you are a registered voter.  After this, it takes you to a screen that shows exactly what will be on your ballot when you go to vote.  There are lots of links there to learn more about everything on your ballot.

Vote.Utah.gov - you can click on race by judicial district. You can find your district at https://secure.slco.org/clerk/elections/index.cfm    

 Full Listing of Utah Candidates 

Project Vote Smart 2010 Ballot Measures,  or  Constitutional Amendments 

2010 Voter Information Pamphlet

As for voting on the judges, they each have a 'scorecard', found online on the Utah Voter Information Pamphlet, staring on page 37.  The scores are determined by the Utah Judicial Council, see http://www.utcourts.gov/committees/members.cgi?comm=1 for who this includes.  Please read what their definitions are, because that affects the judges' scores (for instance, their definition of 'integrity' doesn't completely match mine).     Good luck, do your homework, and go vote!

 + + + + + + + + +

Here are some simple things to do with Halloween candy, from Living On A Dime.com:

"After the kids are done Halloweening, I grab 24 candies for each child to save for a countdown to Christmas instead of buying the calendars in the stores. I usually keep them in a bag but you can get the kids to decorate shoe boxes or stick the candy to a calendar with tape."

 
Candy Bar Milk Shakes

1 cup mini candy bars, chopped
2 cups (1 pint) ice cream (chocolate or vanilla)
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 1/4 cups milk

Chop candies in a blender or food processor.   This is easier if they are partially frozen. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix until blended. This makes a thick shake. Add 1/4 cup milk for a thinner shake. Makes 2 milkshakes, about 16 oz. each, or 5 shakes if you make them 6 oz. each!

 

(Originally 9/2/10)

I love this time of year!  The temperatures have dropped enough that the roses are reblooming, the grass is having an easier time, and the mornings and  late evenings have the smell of earth and coolness.  The garden is in full swing, tomatoes are fragrant and sweet,  most of the lumps that come out of my garden are potatoes instead of rocks, and I get to be creative using squash again.  What a fulfilling time, enjoying the fruits of our labors (or others’ labors, if you prefer the farmers’ market or grocery store).  It brings to mind   D&C 59:18-19 “Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

   Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.”

I’m grateful for the beauties of the earth that the Lord has given us, for the wonderful things he’s put here for us to wisely enjoy.  The recipe at the end of the email uses nothing but some of these things that grow for us. Enjoy!


Here is a bit from Elder Maxwell, from a talk he called “Be Of Good Cheer”- both sobering and encouraging. 

“We are living in a time in which we shall see things both wonderful and awful. There is no way that we can be a part of the last days and have it otherwise. Even so, we are instructed by our Lord and Exemplar, Jesus Christ, to “be of good cheer.” (D&C 61:36; D&C 78:18.)

Jesus has given that same instruction to others before, when the stressful circumstances in which they found themselves were anything but cheerful.

“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33; italics added.)

What precious perspective we obtain from the gospel of Jesus Christ concerning things that really matter—against which we measure the disappointments of the day!

Jesus calls upon us to have a deliberate trust in God’s unfolding purposes, not only for all humankind but for us individually. And we are to be of good cheer in the unfolding process. The Lord has made no secret of the fact that He intends to try the faith and the patience of His Saints. (See Mosiah 23:21.) We mortals are so quick to forget the Lord: “And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions … they will not remember him.” (Hel. 12:3.)

Given the aforementioned grand and overarching reasons to rejoice, can we not “be of good cheer” in spite of stress and circumstance?

President Brigham Young said of a geographical destination, “This is the place.” Of God’s plan of salvation, with its developmental destination, it can be said, “This is the process”!   

(from “Be of Good Cheer” by Neal A. Maxwell,  Oct. 1982 Conference) http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=1ca9c5e8b4b6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD
If you can make the time, please read the whole thing, it’s wonderful!


Now for the recipe: these fruit/nut bars are basically the same as the old-old recipe for ‘fruit balls’ or ‘dried fruit candy’, if you’ve run across those before.  The dates are there both for sweetness and stickiness to hold the whole thing together.  

Just-Fruit-and-Nut Bars (the original 'energy bar') and naturally gluten-free!

1/3 cup chopped pecans - toasting the nuts will increase the flavor
1/3 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup chopped dried apples 

 Put the pecans in a food processor (or blender?) and chop until finely ground.  Remove and do the same with dates and apples.  Add the nuts back in, add a pinch of cinnamon, and process until it holds together.  Divide into 6 pieces, mold each one into a bar, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, waxed paper, or parchment.  81 calories each, if you care.   (I’m thinking these things ought to be double-sized- plus I’ll make my batch with 1 cup of each ingredient.)

If you can’t have nuts: the nuts are there to give body and fat for shaping, digestibility and energy, so try a combination of chopped-up rolled oats and coconut oil (or butter)

Variations:

Apricot-Almond: use equal amounts dried apricots, dates, and almonds

Cherry Tart:  equal parts dried cherries, dates, and walnuts or almonds

Peanut Cookie: use peanuts and only dates (2/3 cup).  Add a pinch of salt and a bit of vanilla.

Cashew Cookie: same as Peanut Cookie, except use cashews.

How about using dates, dried pineapple, macadamias, then rolling in coconut?

Or use any nut and dried fruit you have, or whatever else sounds good…..

 

Caramel Bread Pudding using leftover bread.  This batch was made from some loaves I accidentally left cooking while I went to my son's concert.  Good thing it was short!!!  I trimmed off the burnt outside, then cubed it.

For some recipes, the drier and staler your bread, the better! 

(original date: 9/10/10)


This week I’ve got a couple recipes to help you ‘re-purpose’ some of that bread that might otherwise end up in the garbage.  If it’s dry, great!  If it’s crumbling, great! If it’s stale, perfect!  The only time you don’t use it is if it’s moldy.  Even then it’s still good for the compost pile, if it’s in an enclosed container to keep out rodents.  Meanwhile, here’s some food for thought from Brigham Young, one of the most practical of people.

“My faith does not lead me,” President Young said, “to think the Lord will provide us with roast pigs, bread already buttered, etc.; he will give us the ability to raise the grain, to obtain the fruits of the earth, to make habitations, to procure a few boards to make a box, and when harvest comes, giving us the grain, it is for us to preserve it—to save the wheat until we have one, two, five, or seven years’ provisions on hand, until there is enough of the staff of life saved by the people to bread themselves and those who will come here seeking for safety. … [The fulfillment of that prophecy is yet in the future.]

“Ye Latter-day Saints, learn to sustain yourselves. …  

“Implied faith and confidence in God is for you and me to do everything we can to sustain and preserve ourselves. …  

“You have learned a good deal, it is true; but learn more; learn to sustain yourselves; lay up grain and flour, and save it against a day of scarcity. …  

“Instead of searching after what the Lord is going to do for us, let us inquire what we can do for ourselves.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, Deseret Book, 1966 ed., pp. 291–93.) , quoted in Marion G. Romney, “Church Welfare Services’ Basic Principles,” Ensign, May 1976


Today’s recipes give you a couple good ways to not waste that dried-out, stale, or crumbly bread.  We have a little problem at our house with the heels of the bread- somehow I always find a heel or two in a bag at the back of the cupboard, dried out by then, of course.  Those either get turned into croutons or French toast right away, or get stuck in my ‘old bread’ bag in the freezer.  When I have enough, we make stuffing or bread pudding.


Homemade Croutons

 Cut bread into cubes and turn it into croutons: either sauté in, or drizzle with, olive oil or melted butter (1 Tbsp. for each 1-4 slices),  sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, dill, oregano, parsley, Parmesan cheese, ranch dressing mix (1/2 pkgs per loaf of bread), or anything that sounds like a good idea. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until dry and crispy.  Spread on a paper towel to cool, store when cool in a ziptop bag.  They’ll keep for a good couple of weeks, if you don’t eat them first.

________________________________

The ideal bread pudding is custard-y and creamy inside with a little bit of crunch on the outside. 
Basic Bread Pudding

12 slices bread, cut in 1” squares, (the more stale, the better! – or bake them)
½ -1 cup raisins, soaked, optional
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
3-6 eggs (less makes it more dry, more makes more of a custard)
¾- 1 ½ cups sugar, to suit your tastes, white or brown
¼ cup butter, melted
2 tsp.vanilla
½ tsp. salt
3 c. hot milk- ideally half-and-half, or one 12-oz can evaporated milk and 1 ½ c. milk
pinch ground nutmeg

 Mix together the bread, raisins, and cinnamon.  Dump into a 9x13 pan.  Using the same bowl as before, beat the eggs, then stir in sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt.  Mix until sugar dissolves.  Slowly mix in the hot milk.  Pour all of this over the bread, sprinkle with nutmeg, and let sit for 5-20 minutes to soak.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until center is set and a knife inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.  If you bake this in a hot water bath, it will come out more custardy.  Serve warm.  Very nice with a dollop of whipped cream, scoop of ice cream, or a drizzle of some kind of sweet sauce (vanilla sauce, caramel sauce, rum sauce, maple syrup, etc.)

 Variations: Use any dried or chopped fruit in this, (this is a great way to use those two lonely, shriveled apples sitting on your countertop!), shredded coconut, cocoa or melted chocolate (2-4 squares), chocolate chips, pecans or other nuts, rum extract, orange extract or zest.

For the liquid, you can substitute eggnog, hot chocolate, coconut milk, and about anything that sounds good.  One great combination is shredded coconut with chocolate milk..... 

 Even if you think you don’t like bread pudding, you’ll probably love this one:

 Caramel Bread Pudding- fills a 9x13 pan

15 slices good-quality white bread, cut into 1” pieces (about 16 cups)- baked until crisp (about 10 minutes at 450 degrees)
1 ½ sticks butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk
¼ c. corn syrup or honey
5 tsp. vanilla, divided
3 c. half-and-half, or use  the last ½ cup evaporated milk from your can (above),use whole milk for the remaining 2 ½ cups here.  
5 large eggs

 

Melt butter and sugar together in a saucepan on medium-high heat.  Stir about 4 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.  Remove from heat and stir in cream or evaporated milk, corn syrup, and 2 tsp. vanilla.  Pour one cup of this caramel into a greased 9x13 pan.  Set aside one more cup of caramel, to use as topping later.  To the remaining caramel, add the half-and-half (or mixture of evaporated milk and whole milk).  Beat the eggs together, then whisk in the half-and-half mixture a little at a time.  Add remaining vanilla.  Fold in the bread, and let sit until soaked through, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees. Put bread mixture into the 9x13 pan, bake about 40-45 minutes, until the top is crisp and the custard is barely set.  Serve warm, with the reserved cup of caramel drizzled on top.