Cooking With Food Storage....

Cooking with Your Food Storage



One of the biggest difficulties with basic food storage, is that today’s food is so flavorful that if it came to having to just use our basic storage, our families (especially our children) wouldn't eat it. It’s a good idea to have experience with these foods before they become the only thing to keep us alive.

In “The Essentials of Home Storage” p. 7, it says, “Regular use of whole grains are vital in building a digestive tolerance for roughage.” This means if you are eating store bought wheat or white bread, and all of the sudden have to start making whole wheat, you're going to experience digestive difficulties. That's an understatement!


One thing I like to keep in mind as well, is to keep on hand the tools needed to cook well, with or without electricity. Hand can openers, grinders, knives (instead of just food processors). They even make hand cranked blenders!

Do some exploring, there are a lot of interesting gadgets out there! (But don’t break your bank.)


Basic Food Storage

(Everyday uses)


Grains: (300 lbs/adult)

Wheat-use ground as flour, cracked for cereal, as a meat extender.

Include rice, corn, oats, or other cereal grains that will keep for 30 + years


Nonfat dry milk: (75 lbs./adult)

Mix with dry ingredients in all recipes calling for milk. 1/3 c. for every 1 c. water.


Sugar (60 lbs/adult)


Salt: (5 lbs/adult)


Fat or oil: (20 lbs/adult) I generally keep 1/3 vegetable oil, 1/3 olive oil, 1/3 shortening. Shortening lasts the longest


Dried legumes (60 lbs/adult) Provides a kind of protein, though not considered a complete protein unless combined with come kinds of grains. There is a wide variety of legumes. They include: beans (soy, pinto, white, kidney, lima red, navy, pink, and black-eyed) split peas, lentils, and raw peanuts. Use them in refried beans, chili, soups or as meat extender. Before using legumes, be sure to “sort” and wash them. Most contain rocks and little chunks of dirt that will leave a bad taste and break your teeth if you aren’t careful.


*There is a calculator at Provident Living.org to help figure amount out for families with children of different ages.

Using the food from the Cannery


Apple slices: Eat as they are for snacks, with lots of water. Or reconstitute and use cup for cup in recipes


Beans: soups, chili, baked beans, meat replacement, salads, and even cakes.


Carrots: remember with these a little goes a long way. Add to soups, casseroles, or crunchies on salads


Nonfat dry milk: Add to dry ingredients when making something from scratch. Some make up the milk then mix half and half with store bought milk.


Oats: cereal, cookies, flour, casseroles, cakes,


Onions: These also go a long way. If you need to get an idea of how far, reconstitute some and then use them.


Rice: cereal, casseroles, side dishes, soups, desserts


Spaghetti: chicken noodle soup, casseroles, fried rice


Wheat: cracked for cereal, whole for meat extender, and casseroles or ground for flour to use in baked goods including graham crackers and wheat thins




Places to find Recipes: Vital to collect and try now


www.providentliving.org


“Essentials of Home Production & Storage”, booklet offered through church Distribution (lds.org under ‘Order Church Materials’)


Deseret Recipes, book also offered from church distribution


A good vegetarian cookbook. I use Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook


“All Is Safely Gathered In” pamphlet from Provident Living-11 recipes


“The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by Carla emery, Sasquatch Books. She was a complete do-it-yourselfer, who has taken the time to write it all down-do you know how to use squirrel? ;-)


Past Ensign magazines (from the 70’s) and old RS manuals


“The Freezer Cooking Manual”, Nanci Slagle, Tara Wohlenhaus, 30 Day Gourmet Press. www.30daygourmet.com


La Leche League Whole Foods Cookbook


Ward cookbooks



Processes to learn, try or at least observe:


Sorting and Soaking beans

Grinding Wheat (grains)

How to follow a recipe

How to use spices and herbs

How to use fresh veggies from the garden

Canning

Pickling

Drying (dehydrating)

Making mixes from scratch

Introduce less expensive produce: parsnips, rutabagas, etc.

Learn to make something without a definite recipe

Combine your leftovers to “reshape” a meal



Basic spices and herbs to keep on hand:


Salt

Pepper

Garlic (powder, minced, whatever)

Onions

Chili powder

Oregano

Basil

Bay leaves

Taco seasoning or cumin

Parsley