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EP Moment; Mom's barbecue sauce

11/16/2010

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Click here to download a PDF of
the Putting Down Roots pamphlet
(16MB).

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Barbecue Sauce on beef


(originally from 5/27/10)
Here’s a great idea from Meridian Magazine: 

 the “Emergency Preparedness Moment: 

What emergency preparedness activity would you like to do this week for your family? Make this a matter of prayer and you will be surprised at the promptings you can receive. These few minutes every seven days during Family Home Evening can help your children be ready for a variety of emergencies. Problem solving skills, first aid skills, putting together backpack 72-hour kits, or any other kind of creative endeavor shows your family you love them and teaches them how to take care of themselves in tough scenarios. What will you choose this week?” 

You could also find a minute or two while you're driving kids to school or activities. A little bit of time each week can help you cover a LOT of ground. If you need resources, some great ones online are
http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/   http://ussc.utah.gov/publications/roots_earthquake_low.pdf    If you prefer a booklet you can HOLD, both of these are available, free of charge, at the city office building, from the city emergency planner.  Here in South Jordan that’s Dustin Lewis.  He’s happy to pass them out!

Maybe expand the “Emergency Preparedness Moment” into a “Self-Reliant Living Moment”?    See where the Spirit leads you in your quest… 

-Rhonda

 * * * * * * *
Mom's Barbeque Sauce       Makes about 3 cups

2   8-oz cans  tomato sauce (or 2/3 c. tomato powder and 1 1/3 c. water)   1   can/cup water (fill up one of the now-empty tomato sauce cans)   1 chopped onion (size is totally up to you)  or use a handful of dried
A couple sprinkles  of garlic   
pepper to taste   
3-4   shakes   of Worcestershire sauce   
1 Tbsp. vinegar, optional
Sugar, honey, or molasses to taste, anywhere from none to ½ cup

Simmer everything together until flavors combine, at least 10 minutes, or an hour if you have it, to let it thicken and become rich.  This will be even better the next day or later in the week.  Leftovers freeze well.  If using this with hamburger, you can cook the hamburger with the onion and then add the rest and simmer.

If you want to change the flavor a bit, add a spice or two. Some good ones for this are cloves (try 1/8-1/4 tsp.), oregano (about 1 tsp.), chili powder (1-3 tsp.), or Liquid Smoke (1/2-1 tsp.), mustard (1 tsp. dry, or up to ¼ c. of the stuff in a squeeze bottle), a dash of cayenne, a little Tabasco sauce. Basically any spice that you like!  Another idea is to use pineapple juice in place of the water.  With that one, try just a tablespoon or two of brown sugar.  Or use orange juice and honey with ½ tsp. ginger.

 
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To make BBQ Beef, brown a roast in a couple tablespoons of hot oil.  Pork or chicken are also good.

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Add all the Barbecue Sauce ingredients.  If you have a tight-fitting lid, or are using a crockpot, don't add the cup of water.   A little vinegar in the sauce will help tenderize the meat.  In this batch, I used 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, and 1/4 c. honey. 

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When the meat is cooked and tender, remove the lid and boil until the sauce thickens enough to coat. 

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Shred or slice the meat, then stir together with the sauce.  Delicious!  Just the right amount of sweetness for me.  Store-bought sauce is always too sweet, in my opinion.  I still buy it when it's cheap, but mix it with some plain tomato sauce.

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Cheap solar cooker; Oven Fried Potatoes

11/6/2010

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The BYU Solar Cooker- designed to work well with whatever materials you have on hand to build with.  This one uses cardboard, foil, and a box to support it, though a bucket or some rocks would work too.

(Originally from 7/01/10)

I'm excited right now because this idea works!  Last week I cooked some carrot cake in a really
cheap and simple solar cooker. I got a windowshade at D.I. for $1.50, used a canning jar spray-painted black for a cooking pot, and fastened the edges of the shade with  metal brads (like you use in kids’ projects).  I set it outside, angled it so my shade fell right into from in front, and left it for an hour.  Yummy!   Not only that, but my 'carrot cake' was just my simple muffin recipe with cinnamon, raisins, and a handful of dried (not reconstituted, either) carrots from the Family Home Storage Center. 


So how did I make it?  Mine looked like these two solar cookers- the first uses that car windowshade, and the second just uses cardboard and aluminum foil.  Both designs are VERY similar, they just use different materials.  Use what you have; if you didn’t have aluminum foil but had one of those Mylar emergency blankets, you could use that.  Solar cooking works best from March through October, though you can still use your solar cooker in the cooler months.  It helps to put the cooker against a south-facing wall, to get more reflected energy, during the ‘off’ months.  Here’s the first link:  http://www.solarcooking.org/plans/windshield-cooker.htm .  The other version (from Dr. Steven Jones @ BYU) is made with cardboard and aluminum foil; the website has great info on why, how, and what to cook, including cooking times.  You can even make ICE with a solar cooker.  No kidding. It's at  http://solarcooking.org/plans/funnel.htm  This link also has cooking times for different types of food.


To cook a meal for a family, one way to cook a bigger amount is just use a bigger container.   Maybe layer multiple containers? Or layer food in one container. Usually not every part of a meal needs cooked, anyway.  I have pans that stack together, to cook things simultaneously.  You could also use a gallon-sized glass jar painted black; I got a couple from a store that makes chocolates.  They got the jars when full of maraschino cherries, and sold them to me (empty) for $1.  But any container that is dark (black or dark blue) can be cooked in.  Maybe use a Dutch Oven or enameled cooking pot.

And if you wonder why the instructions for the foil/cardboard solar cooker say to put a wooden block under the jar/pan before cooking, I found out why-  it's to keep heat from escaping out from underneath.  The first time I cooked with this, my carrot cake was a little underdone on the bottom.  Apparently that's why.  

 
I have also baked cookies in my van window.  I was told that it has to be at least 95 degrees outside for that to work, it gets to about 250 degrees in the window that way.  I tried it on  a slightly cooler day (93?) and it worked, barely.  Now if you put the food next to the glass, and put a sunshade BEHIND the food, on the dashboard, that might give you a much warmer (and bigger) cooking spot. Hopefully it doesn't bake your dashboard!  The glass IS tempered, though, so that part should be OK. 


You can also use a vehicle for dehydrating food because it gets so hot. Just be sure to open windows a bit for airflow. ( I haven't tried that one yet, though.)  You can use clean window screens or an old screen door for a drying tray.  Cookie sheets work, too, but drying will take a little longer because the bottom can’t get air.

 * * * * * * *
Those of you who planted potatoes this year probably now have those delicious, creamy ‘new potatoes’ ready.  (Or just use whatever kind from the store….)  Maybe try cooking these in your solar oven!
 
Oven-Fried Potatoes 

2-10  potatoes- however many you want   
1-2   Tbsp.   vegetable oil   
Seasoned salt, dry ranch dressing mix, or Parmesan cheese   

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Wash potatoes well, then cut into strips or wedges about 1/4-1/2-inch thick , unless they're 'new potatoes'; leave those whole or cut into bite-sized pieces.  Put them all in a bowl, drizzle the oil over them, and then sprinkle a good amount of seasoned salt, dressing mix, or Parmesan cheese over the top.  Stir well and add more salt or cheese if it looks like they need it.  Spread potatoes out on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for about 15-30 minutes or until lightly browned and tender when you poke the thickest one with a fork.  

 
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Earthquake shelves, quick soft breadsticks

10/6/2010

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I found this method of securing jars, by accident, just trying to maximize my shelf space.  The metal shelves we bought have a wide lip, which normally means there is a 2" space between the top of your food and the bottom of the shelf up.  It turns out that the lip can be used to keep jars on the shelf. 

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I have to tip the jar to get it in, and then it stays put!  About 3/4" of the top of the jar is hidden- and trapped- by the upper lip of the shelf.

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Another option is to run rope, thick string, or bungee cords in front of the jars. Usually I just wrap the rope around the endposts of the shelf to secure each one, but do whatever works.  

Another thing to consider is keeping your shelves from tipping over.  You can buy an L-shaped metal bracket at Home Depot or Lowe's for a couple dollars, use a couple screws to secure one side of the L to the top of your shelf, the other side to the wall.  MAKE SURE IT'S SCREWED INTO A STUD! This works well for bookshelves, too, which is a good thing for people like me whose children often climb when I'm not looking.... 

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This week's information is on earthquake preparedness. Have you read up on the local earthquake hazards?  I read a rather lengthy report on hazards in Utah, and just laughed at the section on earthquakes-  pretty much any scenario that might happen somewhere in the world, can happen here on the Wasatch fault.  Some of these things sounded wild- like the whole valley floor tipping and allowing Utah Lake to fill up most of the Salt Lake Valley, or liquefaction of soils (basically, the ground turns to quicksand during shaking, and tall buildings fall over on their sides).  There are 2 main types of "events", as they're called, and we're due for both of them.  For instance, one type (non-surface-faulting, if you want the name) happens every 300-400 years, and it's been 350 years since the last one.  If the LDS Church decided it was important enough to spend the money to retrofit the Tabernacle, and to build the Conference Center to far exceed earthquake building standards, don't you think it's worth doing the simple things at home you can?

Most injuries are from things falling, not from building collapse.  Plus, I don't know about you, but I'd sure hate to lose a summer's worth of canning because they rattled off their shelves.  Or to have my storage area full of broken glass, nevermind the food that had been in them.  There are some very simple, cheap things you can do to secure your food storage.  I don't know how they'd do in the worst-case-scenario earthquake, but it'd be better than nothing.  The pictures above show a couple options. 

The State of Utah recently published a booklet about planning for earthquakes, "Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country".  It's full of good info. Pages 22-23 have more information about keeping your belongings from crashing all over during an earthquake. Here's the link:

http://ussc.utah.gov/publications/roots_earthquake_low.pdf     

 
And for those of you in my neighborhood who ever wondered if there was anything good about our dirt here, there is a silver lining to all that nasty rock in our yards- our soil here in Glenmoor (South Jordan), combined with the location, has the lowest chance of turning to quicksand (liquefaction).   We're also as far from a faultline as you can be in this valley.  (Which really isn't saying much, but every little bit helps!)

 
P.S.   Do you know what our schools' emergency plans are?  Where and when do you get your children if they're at school?    I called our elementary and  middle schools to find out, and the short answer is- stay home until THEY (the schools) contact YOU.  They'll go in lockdown if they need to, or stay outside in good weather, or in case of bad weather or a severely damaged school, the Glenmoor church building is the fallback for Welby; the Dunsinane building and/or Walmart (really!) is the one for Elk Ridge.  When things are safe, they'll allow the students to call home, or you'll get a message via the radio, TV, Internet, etc.

 
Now for the recipe....

Quick Soft Breadsticks

Ready in 20-30 min. Yield: 12 breadsticks

1 1/4 cups flour (measure this one by scooping, NOT by spooning it into the cup)
2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup milk
3 Tbsp. butter melted
2 tsp. sesame seeds

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Gradually add milk and stir to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead gently 3-4 times. Roll in a rectangle, 10"x5" and 1/2" thick. Cut into 12 breadsticks. (A pizza cutter works best for this.) Place butter in a 9x13 pan. Place breadsticks in butter and turn to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 450 14-18 minutes or til golden. Serve warm.    We double this for my family, and bake on a 12x18" cookie sheet.

This dough is very soft. If it's too sticky for you, use lots of flour on the counter when rolling, and be sure to cut with a pizza cutter!

 
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    I'm a disciple of Christ, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a family-defending, homemaking, and homeschooling mom of eight children, two of whom sometimes can't have milk or wheat. Growing up on a farm in a high mountain valley, my parents taught me to 'make do', work hard, smile, and help others.  I love cooking, learning, growing food and flowers, picking tomatoes, and making gingerbread houses --which CAN be made allergy-friendly-- with my children.  I hope you find something to help you on my site!

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