To help with building your year's supply (this is Week 6 of 26), see this chart. 

How do you keep your dry foods safe?  That depends on a number of factors, including the local climate, humidity levels, if your storage area is cool and dark or not, and how long you need to store it. 
  
One good option is the ‘dry pack’ method. 
You pack (or pour) dry food into an airtight food grade container.
 
There are better and worse ways to do this. (See here for ALL about it!)
 
Several years ago I attended a class at a local grocery store where the teacher showed us how to extend the shelf life of dry foods.  Some of those foods were wheat and rice, but she included chocolate and nuts.  You can store peanut M&Ms?!  She said this was an experiment, but they’d stored beautifully for a year and she didn’t know how much more to expect.
 
She used glass canning jars, lids, and a seal-a-meal (vacuum packaging)  attachment for canning lids. 

I don’t have the attachment, but discovered something else that works-- oxygen packets!  A 300cc oxygen pack will remove oxygen from filled containers up to a gallon in size. The cheapest way I’ve found to buy these is through the Church’s website, in quantities of 100.  If you’re buying them elsewhere, know that a 100cc oxygen pack is powerful enough for any container of one quart or less.

Oxygen packets are little squares—about 2” across and mostly flat—that contain iron powder.  Oxygen crosses through the packaging material, where it causes the iron inside to rust.  This permanently locks up the oxygen. 

Oxygen packets are recommended for dry-pack canning for two reasons-

1. their use quickly removes oxygen that could keep insects alive in what you’re storing, and
2. removing oxygen extends the shelf life of a food.

 
Three things, more than any others,  shorten shelf life of foods once moisture has been reduced--oxygen, light, and heat.  If you can remove the oxygen, the food will last longer. This is especially true if you store it someplace dark or cool, and preferably both. 
 
But removing oxygen also creates a vacuum, which can seal the jars for you.  No seal-a-meal vacuum attachment needed. 
I’ve been dry-packing food in glass canning jars, as well as PET and PETE plastic bottles, for about ten years.   
PETE plastic bottles include those you buy juice in.  Check the bottom of the bottle, and if it says PET or PETE, you can use it.  You can also use food storage foil pouches, which can be cut to whatever size you like, and sealed all the way around.

Make sure your containers are clean and dry, then fill most the way with whatever food you’re placing in it.  Add an oxygen packet, screw on the lid, label, and store somewhere cool and as dark as you can find.  (I like to run a band of masking tape around the lid edge, so I can tell at a glance later if someone opened it—a real possibility in a houseful of children!) 

Simple, right?

But dry-canning in glass jars—vacuum canning-- has been a game-changer for me. You can use any size of canning jar, from the little 4-oz ones to the big 2-quart size.
 
Here’s how I do it:
Get jars, lids, and rings ready- they need to be totally clean and dry. 
Get your food ready- totally clean, with moisture levels below 10%
Get your oxygen packets ready- keep them in their sealed package or airproof jar until the last minute. 

Fill the jars up to the neck only, or a little below the neck.  You’ll need a little bit of extra space in there, and overfilled jars don’t seal well.  Set a new lid and ring (band) to the side of each one. Wipe off the top of each jar, to be sure you have a clean surface for the lid to seal to. Open up the oxygen packets, and, working quickly, drop a packet into each.  Quickly top each jar with a lid and screw the band on.  Label each jar with the contents (if not obvious) and the date (always).

Oxygen packets will start to absorb oxygen immediately, and you don’t want them using up all their power before they’re in the jar!  You can tell the packets are working because they warm up.      
Store the leftover packets in a glass jar with a lid and band firmly screwed on.  They’ll be ready the next time you need them.

The oxygen packets will do their job in the food jars over the next 48 hours, dropping the oxygen content down to .1%.  As this happens, suction is created inside the jar, making the lid seal.  It’s not as secure of a seal as you get with regular canning (steam, water bath, or pressure), but it almost always holds.  Avoid bumping the tops of the jars, since this can knock lids loose.  Leave the bands on for at least the full 48 hours.  You can leave them on the whole storage time if you like. 


I’ve have learned a few things along the way. 

Removing oxygen makes a huge difference, and I can even store foods with a high fat content (peanut M&Ms!) for a few years without them going rancid. 

When storing my homemade tomato powder the first year, I used oxygen packets with some jars, and not with others.  Dried foods are listed as ‘best within a year,’ though that depends a lot on storage conditions.  Two years later, there was a visible difference between the oxygen-free tomato powder and the untreated powder.  The ones with oxygen removed were still as brightly colored—and nicely flavored—as at the beginning, while the others had lost both color and flavor. 
 
How long does sealing and removing air extend shelf life? 

That depends.
 
When stored in my cool, dark basement, nuts have remained great for about 5-6 years.  I recently opened two jars of walnuts canned in 2010! One jar had remained sealed, but the other hadn’t. While the sealed-jar nuts were definitely better three years ago, they were still in the realm of ‘OK’.  Barely.  But the ones that had lost their seal?  Awful.   Really, truly awful.  The smell of rancid oil assaulted my nostrils as soon as the lid was lifted, and those nuts—stored side-by-side with the other jar—were several shades darker.  (I gave those to the chickens.  Not sure whether they got eaten or not.)   So the moral of the story is to ROTATE your food.  Use it.  I try to store the right amount of food to be able to go through it in the next two years, and that would have been great.  Try to use any high-oil-content food within at least five years.

But low-oil foods like rice and wheat?  They’ll store nearly indefinitely.  20, 25, 30 years or more are the estimates from BYU’s food studies. But still rotate using it.

Things I’ve successfully home dry-packed (stored in airtight containers with oxygen packets)
→Rice
→Vegetable powders- tomato, zucchini, pumpkin, beet
→Citrus sugar (dried zest from orange, lemon, or lime, added to sugar and run through the blender to form a powder.  I use it in place of orange or lemon extract.) https://www.theprovidenthomemaker.com/1/post/2010/10/garden-seeds-homemade-orange-flavoring-and-easy-marmalade.html
→Dried candied orange peel (also used to flavor recipes- see the same link as citrus sugar)
→Thoroughly cooked and dried crumbled sausage (all dry packed foods MUST be below 10% water content, or you risk botulism)
→Raw almonds, walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, pecan meal, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, pistachios, smoked almonds, honey-roasted peanuts …
→Sesame seeds, flax seed,
→Spices
→Bridge mix
→Trail mix
And probably more that we’ve long since eaten and forgotten about.
 
I don’t dry-can dried fruit, because it lasts a few years anyway, we’re pretty good at rotating through it, AND I haven’t wanted to do the measuring and weighing to determine if the moisture content is low enough to dry-can it safely.
 
The things people usually dry can at home are wheat, rolled oats, beans, lentils, rice, etc.

So why did I put these other things in jars with oxygen packets?

There are 3 typical reasons- (1) something was at a really good price and I wanted to have it last, (2) I naturally had a lot of that thing, or (3) I was curious to see if it would work! 
 
In the case of all those nuts and seeds, there used to be a local nut packaging company that only allowed its wholesale customers to keep any particular product on the shelf for six months.  Whatever didn’t sell in that time was returned to the company, who would resell this ‘expired’ product for $1 per one-pound bag… no matter if the bag contained gummy bears or macadamias.  Most of the time the nuts were still very good—depending on how and where the store displayed them—in a hot window or on a cool, darker shelf.  As you can see from the photo and list of things I’ve vacuum-canned, my friends and I took full advantage of this!  

Do you have wheat stored, but haven't been able or willing to spend $250 on a grain mill?  Have you wondered if there's a way to make bread with it anyhow?  THERE IS!   This bread is moist, tender, with a good crumb and impressive natural gluten strength.   The overnight soak is the magic trick here:  as the mash sits, enzymes break down proteins and allow gluten to begin forming  on its own, enzymes break down starches into sugars for flavor and to feed the yeast you add the next day, and the soaking lets the little hard bits of wheat soften up, leaving no trace of grittiness or graininess. You will not need to add dough enhancer, Vitamin C, vinegar, vital wheat gluten, or any thing else to get great structure!

If you use the 2 1/2 c of wheat kernels, the bread ends up about 60% whole wheat;  if you use a high-speed blender (like BlendTec or Vitamix) , you can use 3 cups and end up with bread that is about 75% whole wheat.


Blender Wheat Bread
Soaker mash:
2 1/3 cups (17 oz) wheat kernels OR 3 cups (22oz), if using a high-speed blender
2 1/2  cups water

Combine in blender; mix on high speed for two minutes.  If it seems too hard on your motor, add 2 Tbsp. water.  Let the mash soak, covered and at room temperature, 8 hours or overnight.   After soaking, add:

2- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (10-12 oz) OR use 1-1 ½ cups instead (5-7 oz) if you used 3            cups wheat in the puree
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. oil
3 Tbsp. honey
1 ½ Tbsp. yeast (or 2 envelopes)
¼ c. hottest tap water (no more than 130°F) 

Knead for five minutes, dough should be just thick enough to clean the bowl's sides.  Add flour if needed, but the dough should be tacky and very soft.  It’s had enough kneading  when it passes the windowpane test. (See slide show.)  Cover and let rest 20 minutes.  Coat two 8x4 loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.

Pour ½ cup water on the oven floor (avoid the heating elements!) or in a small metal pan on lowest rack.  Turn the oven on 350°F for ONLY ONE MINUTE to warm it, then turn heat off. 

Divide dough in half.  With wet hands, shape each loaf and place in a pan.  Place pans in the warmed oven.  When the top of the loaf has risen about ½” above the edge of the pan (around 30-40 minutes later), remove from oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.  When oven is hot and dough has risen to about ¾” above the rim, bake loaves for 20-25 minutes, until the sides are browned. Remove from pans; cool on a rack at least 20 minutes before slicing.

   If using a high -speed blender, use 3 cups of wheat kernels in the mash. When adding flour the next day, use 1 1/2 cups flour instead of the 2 1/2 cups. 

FAQ’s:

How long can a soaker sit?  It’s best right around 8-12 hours, up to 24 hrs.  If you need to have it go longer, refrigerate it from the beginning to slow down enzyme activity.

How high does the ideal proof go? (3/4”)  Does the poke test work? Yes if you use a wet finger or let it rise uncovered.

How smooth can I get the puree in a blender, and does it matter much? It will be a little lumpy. It doesn’t need to be super smooth with this method; soaking eliminates any hard bits.

How long does it take to rise without a warm oven? Depends on your kitchen temperature, but around 1 hour.

Is the 20 minute autolyze necessary for flavor or texture? It’s OK without it, but rises better and tastes a little nicer (sweeter) with it.

How long does it really take to bake at 400°​? This depends on whether your loaves are identical in size, where any hot spots are in your oven, and how accurate its thermometer is.    My evenly-sized loaves took 21 min.

Surely many of you are in the same boat.

Out of the eight of us in the house, we've learned that one child can't have wheat.  She's so sensitive that eating one 1/4" piece of bread caused her arms to turn hot pink and start to weep.  But the rest of us are fine.  We're still in the process of determining if she reacts to gluten, or to just the wheat itself, so for now everything must be wheat-free AND gluten-free.  And dairy-free, while we're figuring out if that's an issue too.  For some strange reason, I prefer to cook only one meal, per meal.  And special 'gluten-free' foods are pricey.  Really pricey.  So I'll let you know how I've adapted.  Hopefully it'll help you or someone else having to adapt to whatever allergy or special needs diet strikes just one or two in your family.  


Eight Tips for feeling (more) normal when someone has special dietary needs

1- Plan on preparing most of your family's foods.  
Unless you have nothing against quadrupling your family's food budget.  Not kidding.   If you didn't cook much before, brush up on the basics.  They'll do for now.  And for a while.

2- Eat naturally wheat-free foods
Keep a list around so you can focus on what CAN be eaten rather than all the CAN'Ts.  It's empowering and encouraging.  While you're still getting used to what's okay and not, go through your kitchen and pantry, and write down everything that is GF already, including all plain spices and herbs (blends might not be; check), canned/fresh/frozen fruits and vegetables, rice, plain beans, flax, buckwheat, meat in its natural state, eggs, peanut butter, olives, potato chips, popcorn, jam, ketchup...  See a bigger list here, halfway down the page.  There's a GF year-supply list here.  You know, I've been telling myself for years that we oughta eat more rice and beans.  They're cheap, store well, and are filling. 
Those have suddenly become more popular at my house.

3- Make a list of 10-15 meals your family likes that are gluten/wheat-free and can be made using what you typically have on hand.  Include both super-quick meals and more involved ones.  Be willing to spend about an hour doing this; it'll save you much more time than that in the long run.  Get input from your kids.  Tape the list someplace handy like the inside of your cooking supplies cupboard.  No more panic or feeling helpless at a change of dinner plans!

4- When you cook some specialty gluten-free food, go ahead and make a big batch.  Then freeze the rest in individual serving sizes.  For my 10-year-old, the ziptop "snack size" baggies are the perfect size.  There's a gallon-sized ziptop bag labeled for her in the freezer. What's in it changes often.  Right now it has GF waffles and breadsticks, spaghetti (made with specialty GF pasta) and sauce, seasoned rice, dairy-free homemade ice cream (made in my blender), and GF chocolate chip cookies.  Remember treats. They've saved my daughter from feeling deprived with all these new "don't"s.  Whenever my husband pulls out the ice cream, she pulls out her freezer bag and gets something sweet too.  I also keep one loaf of GF bread in the freezer, for sandwiches and toast.  She pulls out a couple slices whenever needed.

5- Keep a small plastic bin full of GF baking supplies, like the photo above. It's handy for all kinds of things. My 'essentials' include a bag of GF flour mix (homemade or storebought), xantham gum, some white flour like rice, tapioca, or potato starch, and a whole-grain GF flour like brown rice, lentil, oat, or sorghum.  Mine also has a bag of dairy-free chocolate chips in it, good for a lot more than just cookies.  I've found flours like tapioca, potato starch, and rice flour at the Asian market for a fraction of the price.

6- Try a new GF recipe at least once a week.  And maybe only once a week, depending on how overwhelming it is to you.  Have that other family member cook with you, so she'll learn to cook for herself later.  If you love bread, stick with the quickbreads for a while.  They're much simpler.  I think the easiest way to learn, other than just trying a new GF mix each week, is to buy a copy of of Living Without magazine.  Or sign up for their free weekly newsletter, which includes a recipe.   I love the magazine format because you can learn in 5-minute increments.

7- Remember to watch out for cross-contamination
I think this is actually the hardest one.  You might want to have TWO jars of mayonnaise and jam open, one of each labeled as GF.  Otherwise it's really easy for bread crumbs from one person to end up in the jar, where they'll cause the allergic person grief.  Remember that toasters carry crumbs.  Wipe the counters really well.  Consider having a second set of measuring cups, possibly mixing bowls and cooling racks too, depending on severity of reaction.  If you have a regular wheat grinder you can grind your own GF flours, using things like rice, beans, oats, lentils, quinoa, etc, BUT only use a mill that has not been used for wheat.  Unless you want to invite problems.  Some things can be ground in a blender, like oats, if those are OK for your family member.

And,
8- Read labels.  Always.  Always.
Learn which ingredients have hidden gluten.  You'll be surprised at what you find.  Sometimes good surprises.  Sometimes lame ones.  Realize too that sometimes companies change their ingredients, and something that didn't have gluten/wheat in it before, might the next time you buy it.  Knowing exactly what you're eating is a good idea anyway.


You can do this!  :D

Love, Rhonda

Tiny Spicy Chicken is great over rice, with a little fruit to help balance out the heat.   Bok choy is great on the side.

Do you have children or grandchildren who are afraid of what’s lurking under their beds?  Here’s the perfect solution, found on Meridian magazine online a couple months ago:


The Monster Under the Bed
"I overheard my two young adult sons talking.  One asked, “Do kids really think there are monsters under their beds?”  The other one answered: 'I never did.  There was always so much food storage under there that I knew there was no room for a monster.'”

 So let's all chase out those monsters!  For a lot of suggestions on storing food when you have little space, see the Food Storage Made Easy page.

______________________________

This recipe came from a class at the Macey’s in Logan, back when I lived there.  “Tiny Spicy Chicken” was one of the entrees at Mandarin Gardens, a local Chinese restaurant.  Maybe it’s a Cache Valley specialty, because I haven’t run into anyone not  from there who has had this dish. 

 

Tiny Spicy Chicken

3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1 ½ “ cubes
garlic salt
2 beaten eggs
1 cup cornstarch
¼ c. oil

            Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt, let sit for 1 hour in the fridge.  Heat oil in a large frying pan.  Dip chicken into eggs, then roll or shake in a bag with cornstarch.  Brown chicken pieces in the oil, until golden brown.  Put in a greased 9x13 pan.

Shortcut method: use 1- 1 ½ lbs. fully cooked chicken nuggets, frozen is OK.  (Don't use 3 lbs nuggets; they have too much breading that soaks up this sauce.)

 Sauce:
½ -1  tsp. chili paste*
1 c. sugar
½  c. ketchup
2 tsp. soy sauce
Dash of salt
½  c. chicken broth
¼  c. brown sugar
½ c. vinegar

 Sauce will be very runny.  Pour over chicken (if using chicken nuggets, mix the sauce in the 9x13 pan, then add the chicken) and stir to coat.  Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice during that time.  Serve over rice.

Alternate cooking methods: bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour, stirring a couple times, or put in a crockpot and cook on low for 5-8 hours.

*Sambal chili paste can be found in the Asian section at Macey's grocery store, it probably can be found at most other grocery stores.  If you don't have it, or can't find it, substitute red pepper flakes.  Start with 1/4 tsp., put it in the sauce, then taste to see if it's as hot/mild as you like.

Chili paste is made from whole, hot chilies, ground up, and mixed with a little vinegar.  It includes the seeds, so it packs a punch.

If you use raw chicken breasts, the recipe takes about 1 1/2 hours to make.  If you start with these, you can have it done in 20 minutes.

Aren't cans and oxygen packets great?  I opened this can just yesterday.  And yes, 6-21-93 was when it was sealed.

The chicken, coated with sauce, ready to bake.

Baking it condenses the sauce and helps it soak into the coating on the chicken.  It's a little sweet, and a little zippy. 

(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

Once the dough is mixed, if you use a greased/sprayed 1/4 measuring cup to scoop the dough, you'll get a more traditionally-shaped biscuit.

Yum.  Tender and light on the inside, crunchy on the outside.  This batch was made with 1 cup whole wheat flour.

How much will your year’s supply cost you?  I just got an emergency supply store’s catalog in the mail; they advertised a year’s supply of food for ‘just’ $3649.95.  For one person.  Is it really that much money to get a year’s supply?

Adding up all the essentials, a month’s worth of food for one person is $16.23

                            A year’s worth for one person is  $194.76

Figure in that you’re getting your year’s supply after building your three-month supply; that knocks it down to getting nine months’worth;

                                                            $146.07 per adult.   

You CAN afford to get your home storage! 

If you really want to spend $3649.95 plus tax, you could buy a year’s supply for not just one person, but for NINETEEN people.  Yes, basic storage is different food than that ‘gourmet’ version, but here’s the counsel we’ve been given:          "We encourage members world-wide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings.” “For longer-term needs….gradually build a supply of food that will last a long time  and that you can use to stay alive” (fromAll is Safely Gathered In, First Presidency pamphlet)

Here is the cost breakdown:

Grains, 300 lbs- if you get just wheat and oats, at the cannery they cost between $5.80 and $8.15 for 25 lbs. depending on if you get white or red wheat, quick or regular oats.  If you average this out, it will cost you $6.98 per person, per month.  $83.70 per year’s worth.

Milk, 16 lbs is $1.40/lb at the cannery, which is $1.87 per month, $22.40 per year.

Sugar, 60 lbs is $ .56/lb there, $2.80 per month, $33.60 per year.

Oil, 10 qts –this isn’t sold at the cannery, but the price at Macey’s last week was $2.50 for 1 ½ quarts (48 oz.) At that price, after tax, it’s $1.43 per month, $17.17 per year.  It’s only $14.38 if you buy it at Sam’s Club ($6.98 + tax for 5 qts.)

Salt, 8 lbs- 4# box at Costco or Sam’s Club is a dollar; $ .16 per month, $2 per year.

Legumes, 60 lbs– the cannery sells black beans, pinto, and white, from $14.10 to $16.30 for 25 lbs.  Averaging the prices, it’s  $2.99 a month, $35.92 per year.

Water, 14/gal/person-   You can store this for free by using 2- and 3- liter pop bottles, or juice containers (not milk jugs- they break down).  Or use the 5-gallons square jugs or big blue barrels; they’ll run you about $1 per gallon of storage. 

When you’re done storing these items, you might decide to add a few ‘gourmet’ items- but that’s just extra stuff.

Notice that the costs were just for food, not containers to store them in. Most of my storage containers cost nothing.   You CAN get buckets for free, with a little effort- most bakeries give them away; all their frostings and fillings come in those buckets.  Plan on washing them at home.  There are two main sizes; 5 gallon and 2 1/2  gallon.  I keep packages of dried fruit in the smaller buckets, also cornmeal or other things that I don’t use as much.  They are a great size for a pantry, too.  Some of the buckets have gaskets, some don’t.  The ones that don’t seal well are still good for storing sugar. 

If you want all your wheat, powdered milk, sugar, and legumes in #10 cans from the cannery, it will cost you $85.83 more to get a full year’s worth, $65 to do 9 months' worth.

Here’s the year’s worth breakdown and quantities:    51 cans of wheat $137.80, 11 cans of beans $48.95, 10 cans of sugar $46.50, 4 cans of powdered milk $28.20.

 I don’t can my wheat, sugar, or beans because we go through large quantities; one batch of bread would use a whole can.  Pretty silly storage for me.  Besides, it’s easier for me to find space for 10 buckets than 60 #10 cans; they hold about  the same amount of food.

 

Best Drop Biscuits
 adapted from Cooks Country
Makes 12

 1 cube butter, melted and cooled a few minutes- set aside 1 Tbsp. of this.
1 cup cold buttermilk or sour milk  (1-2 Tbsp. vinegar in 1 cup regular milk)
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½  tsp. salt  (3/4 tsp. if you used unsalted butter)
1 tsp. sugar

 Heat oven to 475 degrees, no, that’s not a typo.  Mix together the butter (except reserved) and buttermilk; stir until the butter forms clumps.  (This is a faster way of getting the same results as ‘cutting in’ the butter.)  Mix all the dry ingredients together, then pour in buttermilk mixture.  Stir until just mixed in and dough pulls from side of bowl.   Drop onto  greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet.  A greased  ¼ c. measuring cup makes the perfect size scoop.    Brush with reserved butter.  Bake until tops are crisp and golden, about 12-14 minutes.    Serve warm.  These also reheat well the next day (10 minutes at 300 degrees) and freeze well, too.

You can use powdered milk in this: mix in 3 Tbsp dry milk powder when you’re stirring together the dry ingredients.  Use ice water  and 1-2 Tbsp. vinegar to make 1 cup, stir with the melted butter.