I make an announcement last night to the Cooking Connection group. If you weren't there, here it is:

I will be coming to your homes and helping you individually with your food storage! It's pretty difficult to know if I'm covering everyone's needs in the ward, so the only way I can be sure that I'm reaching everyone is to give personal advice. I also know how hard it is to get motivated just by looking at a blog. Even getting people to just go on the blog is hard!

Contact me by phone or email to set up an appointment! It would also be helpful if you have any specific questions before I come over, that way I can be a little prepared. 

The other exciting announcement I have is that I'll be passing around a sign-up sheet this Sunday for food storage items from the cannery. You'll be able to sign up for the items you want, pay me, and I or someone I designate will go package and pick up what has been ordered. Since three months have gone by, and I didn't do this for January or February, the sign up sheet will include rice, wheat, and beans, as those were the food storage items we were building for those months.

I would love to here from people willing to drive down to the cannery, either with me or not, and help can and pick up the items for the families in the ward. It can be really difficult for some people to find the time to go do it themselves, so I decided I'd make it easier and have only a few people run the errand. Comment below if you are willing to help with this task!

The Theme of March: Gardening Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs

If you haven’t started your home garden, now is the time to do it.  Our church web site, www.providentliving.org has a large section on gardening under “provident living”, including info such as:  acquiring seeds, selecting a gardening site, selecting crops, planting your garden, when to plant, preparing the soil, fertilizing, watering, preventing pests & disease….and more.  If you do not have access to the internet, visit you local library and use theirs.  If you are not “computer literate”, speak to your ward preparedness rep (me) and they can give you the info you need.

Gardening can be as small as planting vegetables in a pot on your balcony, and as large as planting a large garden in your back yard. If you have limited space for fruit trees, consider planting the types of trees that have 2 or more types of fruits grafted together.  Dwarf trees are also an option in this scenario.  Try to buy “heirloom” vegetable seeds at the store.  If they go to seed (flower), you can collect the seeds and plant them the following year, thereby having an endless supply of garden seeds.

“Planting a garden, even a small one, allows for a greater degree of self-reliance…”.  President Hinckley and other Latter-day prophets have counseled Church members to become more self-reliant.  Members should be able to provide adequately for their own needs and should be in a position to support themselves and their families in the midst of economic uncertainty, political unrest, or natural disaster.   “In the environment in which we live today, we all should be looking to greater self-sufficiency, a greater spirit of self-reliance, a greater desire to take care of ourselves and our own.” Gordon B. Hinckley, “Reach Out In Love and Kindness”, Ensign, Nov. 1982, 76.

Beans, Legumes: Beans are an important part of our food storage.  Our bodies need to consume protein and in times of hardship, protein, in the form of meat, eggs & cheese, may not be easily obtainable.  Beans contain protein, and in fact, contain protein without all the bad cholesterol that meat, eggs & cheese contain.  Check the protein content to obtain the best beans or legumes for your situation.

Sprouts:  Sprouting seeds offer a way to quickly grow additional fresh vegetables.  They are very nutritional.  Sprouted seeds can have increased nutritients from 2-60 times the amount of the seed itself.  Care must be taken to buy quality seeds and care must be taken to wash and handle them properly. One place sprouts may be purchased is at Jimbo’s.

Activity announcement!

Provident Living Starting Party

Thursday March 31, 2011

7:00 pm at Sis. Beaumont's Home

email me for the address.

Bring a paper egg carton (and egg shells, if you can)

We'll learn all about starting our own little food storage garden from Lisa Beaumont!

Seeds, Soil, and Snacks will be provided.

RSVP to Tess Frame at (626) 905-4716

or tesiahwilkyahoo.com

Starting a garden can seem scary. It's a big project that can be tough to start on your own. So I decided to hold a Starting Party this month, as gardening is the theme of March. This way, we can all learn from each other's skills and start our own little sprouts. If there are any specific seeds that you would like to plant, you can bring your own to share (a packet is only $2 or so).

Tuesday Storage Additions

For the month of March, the long-term food storage item we are adding to our year supply is beans. There are so many kinds of beans you can buy in either dry or canned form.

For our 72-hour kits this week, we are adding small forms of entertainment, such as Sudoku puzzles, crosswords, books, pens, pencils, etc. If you have kids, add things like crayons and coloring books, stickers, etc. This is not essential to survival, but it may make time pass a little quicker. In an emergency, we most likely will not have the comfort of TV or internet. You may even consider putting a deck of cards or something the family can do together.

How's your 3-month supply coming? Like I mentioned last week, we might be moving in a month or two, so we're trying to work through our supply a little more than usual. Make sure you keep an eye on expiration dates, too. This week I noticed a Hamburger Helper that was about to expire. If you incorporate you food storage into your daily meals, you won't be wasting any money. If you don't ever use it and it goes bad, you've not only wasted money, but you lose that portion of preparedness.

Motivational Monday - Japan in our Thoughts

Tide of 1,000 bodies overwhelms quake-hit Japan

"I never imagined we would be in such a situation" Watanabe said. "I had a good life before. Now we have nothing. No gas, no electricity, no water."

He said he was surviving with his family on 60 half-liter bottles of water his wife had stored in case of emergencies like this. He walked two hours to find a convenience store that was open and waited in line to buy dried ramen noodles.

The government has sent 100,000 troops to lead the aid effort. It has sent 120,000 blankets, 120,000 bottles of water and 29,000 gallons (110,000 liters) of gasoline plus food to the affected areas. However, electricity will take days to restore.

According to public broadcaster NHK, some 430,000 people are living in emergency shelters or with relatives. Another 24,000 people are stranded, it said.

Food Storage Friday

I know it's Sunday, but I made this on Friday, so I'm still calling it Food Storage Friday.

Yesterday morning I started making homemade yogurt! I know it isn't beans, and even worse, it's not FSF! However, it is a provident method, so I felt I had to share.

All you need is 4 cups of milk (whole or 2 percent), and some plain yogurt starter (make sure it contains active cultures).

Start heating 4 cups of milk in a saucepan. It's not necessary to bring it to a boil, just heat until bubbles form around the edges and steam rises. Once the milk is warm, pour into a bowl and allow it to cool until you can hold your finger in it for 15 seconds. It should still be warm, just not scalding.

For the starter, I used a personal sized cup of plain yogurt, containing active cultures. Don't use more than that.

Sorry the picture is on its side, I just couldn't make it do what I wanted. Put the yogurt in a small bowl and whisk for smoothness.

Once the milk has cooled down enough, mix a couple spoonfuls of it into the small bowl, combining well. You don't want lumpy yogurt. Add to the warm milk. Whisk to combine.

Place the bowl of milk in a warm place for 10-12 hours. My house is quite cold, so I stuck it in the oven with a pot of hot water. Periodically, you can scoop out the layer of water that settles on top (this happens as the yogurt sets.

It will still seem thin, so just cover and put in the fridge.

In the morning you'll have really fresh yogurt that is excellent with honey, almonds, banana, granola, etc.

Food Storage Additions

This week for your 72-hour kits, add a pair of socks and shoes. This one was easy for me. I needed a new pair of running shoes, so I stuck my old ones in the kit. Make sure that the shoes you have are able to get wet, support and protect your feet, and would allow you to climb, hike, or run to safety.

For long term food storage this month, we're adding beans! There are so many different kinds of beans you can add, so use this opportunity to try new things and discover all the options. Legumes are so beneficial and energy packed.

How's your 3 month supply coming? I'm doing a pretty good job of rotating through mine. We might be moving in a 2 months, so I figure if we eat one can per day, I won't have to transport s much heavy canned food. This week, to go along with the bean theme, I made salsa chicken and refried beans. For the chicken, just place frozen chicken into a crock pot, top with salsa, and cook for 4 hours. It just falls apart when it's done, and it tastes just like you made fajitas. For the beans, we just used a can. Yum! you could add lots of things to make this meal more fit for more than 2 people - make some rice, veggies, or eat with tortillas and sour cream. With this meal, I prefer black beans, but I only had refried.

Motivational Monday

"Behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."

Alma 37:6

First things first

I know I'm emphasizing a lot the need to build food storage. However, what do you do if a fire starts in your house? Or an earthquake threatens your safety? Or you, for any other reason, need to get out quickly? Food storage won't help you in those scenarios. I'm challenging you to decide on an exit strategy for Family Home Evening. Make sure important things are in easy-access places. Make sure nothing that can fall over and injure someone is ever able to block a doorway. Rearrange your furniture if you have to. In order to set an example, I made my little plan.

You don't have to make a fancy one. You don't even have to write it down! Just make sure that every member of the family, especially the children, know how to get out of the house in a fire or earthquake. Decide on the following things: 

1. Where potential fire hazards are

2. Where important "must-grab" items are located (and change the location, if needed)

3. The most appropriate exits for certain situations

4. Dangerous places in the house, places to avoid (like a walk in closet or room with no exit)

5. Where heavy things are that could hurt people or trap them in a room

6. Who grabs what in an emergency (for us, I grab the laptops and files and 72-hour kit, Conrad grabs Ninners our beloved chinchilla).

Food Storage Friday

Remember the homemade tortilla post that Becky recommended? Well, on her sister's blog, there's also a great recipe for homemade pinto beans and refried beans. Check it out here.

Buying canned beans is much more expensive per unit of bean than buying them dried. One of the great things about cooking your own beans is that you can make a big batch, and freeze them in meal-sized containers! Don't freeze them all in one big container, or you'll have to thaw all of them in order to only use a little bit.

I, however, am a buyer of canned beans. If your family, like mine (consisting of me and 1 other person), is small or definitely doesn't eat enough beans, buying canned might be best for regular dinners. Frozen food does actually go bad. We would never eat a whole batch of beans before they went bad in the freezer. That should tell you how often we eat beans.

However, for food storage purposes, I would recommend buying a bag or two of dry beans. You'll be provided with a great source of protein if a disaster strikes. Learn how to cook beans. If that means you only need tocook them one time, then do it.

Also, look around at all the different kinds of beans! There's such a variety!
-pinto (chili anyone?)
-garbanzo/chickpeas (make your own hummus!)
-cannelini (great for bruschetta)
-lima beans
-peas
-lentils
-black beans
-soy beans (edamame)
-green beans
-cranberry beans

There are tons more. I think these are the recipes I'm going to do this month. Add to the list if you like!
-making regular homemade beans
-hummus
-chicken tortilla soup
-sprouting your own beans (and herbs)

Tuesday Storage

A new month, a new food storage item! For the month of March, we are adding beans! Canned or dried, get going!



This week for our 72-hour kits, add 1 week's worth of necessary medications. This might include pain killers, prescription drugs, birth control, cold medicine, etc.

Keep your eyes peeled for deals this month on beans, both dried and canned. Share on the blog if you know of any!

Motivational Monday

"Diligence is the mother of luck."
- Benjamin Franklin

I thought this was the perfect quote to start the first week of March. We make our own luck with hard work. Providence is all about working hard, being self-reliant, and having wisdom.

Wheat Grinder Winner!

This month I held a Wheat Grinder contest, and the winner is...

Sonya Bingham!

sonyabingham said...

I have been practicing the art of making homemade whole wheat bread. Now that I am getting better I would love to add this tool to my routine! Thanks for the opportunity!

If anyone has any ideas or products they would like to donate for future months' giveaways, email me! I also love to hear food storage recipes, or other Provident advice.

Food Storage Recipe

So, today's recipe isn't completely food storage friendly, and it has nothing to do with the month's theme of wheat and grains. But it's so good, I just have to share! In high school, my first job was working at a sandwich shop. I learned how to cook all kinds of good food there, including seasoned chicken.

Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• raw frozen (or thawed) chicken - you don't have to use breasts. If you want legs or to season a whole chicken (I commend you, if you're seasoning a whole chicken) you could do this the same way.
• different seasonings and herbs in your cupboard (all FSF). These are the ones I used:
• parsley
• Montreal steak seasoning
• paprika
• salt
• seasoned salt and garlic salt
• minced onion
• black pepper (or red, if you like the flavor)
• herbes de provence or Italian seasoning blend

If you want a more distinct flavor, you could also use curry, cumin, or 5 spice, or any other seasonings you like.

 Line a pan with foil. This helps you later, as you won't have to wash your pan. Spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle the pan with salt and pepper so that the bottom side of the chicken gets some seasoning.
Lay the frozen chicken on the pan, and spray with cooking spray. This way the seasonings will stick. I like to cook my chicken from frozen. I don't have to think about thawing it that way. If you thaw your chicken, just cook it for a shorter amount of time.
Sprinkle the seasonings on the chicken. It will look really pretty.
Note: It seems freaky to put 2-3 layers of salt on the chicken (reg. salt, seasoned salt, garlic salt), but it's really not as much as you may think. Careful, though! There is such thing as too much.

 Bake at 350 F until cooked through. If you don't cook chicken often, you know when it's done when you split the breast at its thickest spot, and there is no pink meat. Beef is good if there is some pink, but chicken can be really gross if it's not cooked all the way. Make sure you check.

Yum! This can be chopped and mixed with celery, apple, and mayo to make a chicken salad, or you can slice and serve on a sandwich, or with pasta! It's really versatile. You could even add to a soup, along with the pan drippings.

Furniture Revamp

There's a Provident Living activity coming up on Thursday! Maria Rowe will be showing us all the different ways to re-purpose furniture! Bring a picture of a piece of furniture you are wanting to change, and get ideas from the workshop! And if that's not enough...
There will be treats and socializing!
If you need to RSVP or need the address, just leave a comment or email me (email found in the "Contact Me" section).
It starts at 6:00 at Sister Francis's house, but you can come late or leave early as your schedule allows.

Tuesday Storage Additions

This week for our 72-hour kits, we'll add a pocket knife.

For the month of February, we are adding a variety of grains to our Long term (and short term) storage. If you find any great deals or recipes including grains, let me know! I'll post them on the blog!