LAWKI Day 19
September 7, 2010
Breakfast: Oatmeal, with sugar or jam or both
Lunch: Kids-school, M & S-Sandwiches, brownies
Dinner: Bean dip, chips, peaches, John-soup
I imagine 7 layer bean dip would not always be possible if we still did not have some fresh stuff. As it was, it was a good way to use the Romaine we still have that is old, and we have plenty of tomatoes. We still have sour cream, mostly due to my rationing of it. It will be gone soon, except for my own personal container. I am not sure if I will use that for a certain meal, or if it will be used as dip for my bag of chips. Yum!
Michael actually poured and drank a glass of the Morning Moo powdered milk today. The chocolate has been a big hit, so long as you remember to shake before pouring. Until now, the plain milk was avoided, but Michael said that he had drunk regular milk that tastes worse than this. I even took a sip, and found it to be tolerable. Katie thinks it just tastes like 2% vs the skim we usually have.
Maretta, my 2nd pantry neighbor, called and asked if I had bread, offering to trade peaches for it. They were tasty. While everyone else thinks they are not ripe, I love crunchy peaches with just enough sweetness to off set the tart. It was a nice change to have with dinner. We do still have about 4-5 apples, which I am letting the kids and Michael have. We also have some nectarines, but they are old enough that they ought to be thrown out. I just can’t bring myself to do it. Same with the grapes. There are a few good ones, but the others are so bad that it scares me away from eating them. But I still do not want to throw them out.
It seems that the kids are not missing things as much as Michael and I. They don’t seem to crave things, they just miss the idea of things. For instance, Ben says he misses desserts the most. We have had cake twice, cobbler, chocolate zucchini bread, brownies, cookies, ice cream and cereal bars in the last 19 days. I am sure we do not have that much on the regular days. Maybe it is the same thing that am feeling, more trapped because there are limitation to what we can eat and make, when in reality, we still have so many choices available.
I assumed that another reason they were doing fine is that they have the choices for school lunch. They can take the standard lunch or they can go through the fast food lines and get pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, or they can go through a salad bar or a sandwich line. I asked what they have been eating and was surprised to find that 3 of the 4 are basically just having a sandwich every day. Amazing. I would be in that pizza line a lot more than that. The roast beef line does have its own appeal right now...
Another thing about the kids. They hang out in the basement a lot, and I still smell microwave popcorn almost daily. They also went through the soda in the mini-fridge down there and the rest of the granola bars and snacks. I think most everything is gone now, except the popcorn. I might have to go and remove the rest of that and see if they switch to the air popper or find another snack.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Family Survey #3, Oil and Why Food Storage
LAWKI Day 18
September 6, 2010
Family Survey #3
Three words to describe LAWKI month:
Tired of bread; not much change; enduring, tedious, interesting; indifferent, uncaring, unchanging; horrible, evil, awful; the surveys suck.
What do you miss the most:
Nothing; nothing; milk, meat, fast food, fresh fruits/vegetables; meat, French fries, the freedom to have whatever whenever, food traditions-especially with friends; desserts.
What lessons are we learning:
We need more oil than I thought, it takes more time to cook meals without convenience foods, learned how to make tortillas; how to be more healthy; what holes are in our plans; nothing, no idea; how to survive, how to make new foods.
How crazy are we for doing this:
8.3
How angry are you to have to participate?
2.8 (our regular 10 went to a 5, but a few others upped their anger)
How much do you think this affects life?
6
I made more bread today and more tortillas, this time saving some for enchiladas in the next day or two. I hope that will make things go faster for dinner.
I made the Roberts BBQ Beans today to take to our Labor Day BBQ with friends. I also brought brownies and a loaf of bread and a box of Girl Scout Cookies, which I guess was enough to once again buy dinner. They spoiled us with yummy food and great company (thanks, Houses!). We talked again about the Bountiful Baskets food co-op. They showed me the ordering process, and after trying the best mango I have ever had, I think I will give it a try in 2 weeks. They also buy beef from a relative’s dairy herd in Idaho and we plan to buy with them next time.
Breakfast: toast, fruit, left-overs
Lunch: sandwiches and tortillas
Dinner: with friends
In reference to the oil in lessons learned, I am very surprised how much we are using. Making bread every 3 days or so takes 2/3 cup, pancakes and waffles take ¼ to ½ c, biscuits take 1 c, etc. If we were to use it for frying things, it could take between 2 T and 4 cups, if deep-frying. I think to be safe, I want to plan for a cup of oil every day, which is 23 gallons or 60 48oz bottles. That is a lot of oil, and far too much for a year if you are not using it at the rate we are this month. Of all of the food we store, the oil and other fats have the shortest shelf life.
This is the real quandary we face when planning a year’s worth of food: do we buy things that we will use and eat at a normal, go-to-the-store-anytime rate, or do we buy for the this-is-all-we-have-for-a-year rate? The smartest people would be the ones who can eat the same both ways, and buy accordingly, the “store what you eat and eat what you store” crowd. The path we have chosen is kind of a bridge between the two. If we over buy, and some goes bad before we will use it, then at least we bought peace of mind with the otherwise wasted money. If we buy lots of stuff, and then we discover we can’t use it or don’t like it, there are always food drives to donate it too.
We figure that our food storage serves multiple purposes:
1-It is our food insurance. If we don’t use our life insurance policy this year, (yea!—we are still alive) we don’t consider it a waste to have purchased it. If this year the health insurance company makes money from us, then we have been blessed with good health. (We have lived through a year where the cancer bills would have bankrupted us, and we figure we still have not paid more in insurance than we used in that particular year, let alone the year the triplets were born.) If we never use all of our food insurance, we have lived a blessed life. I am certain that we have never thrown out enough spoiled food from the food storage that adds up to one month’s food budget, especially these days with 4 teenagers.
2-It is our on-site food store. How wonderful it is to not run out of things on a regular basis. Now Maretta may laugh when she sees this, knowing how many times a month I am calling to borrow this and that. However, much of that is the fresh stuff, like eggs, sour cream, green onions, etc. Sometimes it is the novelty items that I thought I still had one more can of, such as coleslaw dressing or cheese wiz. I don’t think I have ever had to borrow sugar or flour or oil or salt or pasta etc. Maybe that is common with everyone, and everyone else has a greater sense of what they have and what they need than I do. Who knows? I do know that I love having my own c-store in the basement.
3- It saves us money. Being able to buy in bulk when there are sales, instead of when we run out, saves considerable amounts of money. This was very apparent during our “crazy shopping day”. The kids were thrilled to find they could get 5 packages Ramen for $1. What they don’t realize is that is expensive for Ramen, which I hope to get during the case lot sale for 10/$1. I even flinched when I had to pay $3.89 for a bag of Lays potato chips that I know sales for $1.88. Buying in bulk in season and/or on sale can save so much.
4-It could save us from a real “crazy shopping day” that might happen. Who really wants to be caught in a food riot, whether it be the grocery store right after an emergency or the relief food truck delivery weeks after? I want that time to have one less worry, when there will be a world full of worries around me.
5- It could make money stretch a whole lot further in the event of a money emergency, such as unemployment or disability or long term health issues or whatever. If all we have to buy are the fresh things, then we can make that food budget cover many more things than it does now.
6-This last one is so hard to put into word, so I am now going to use far more than necessary to explain it. Having a year’s supply of food is believing in the principles of self reliance, provident living and preparedness. It is believing that we can and should be ready for the emergencies that life brings, that we read about everyday in the news. It is about charity, knowing that not everyone in our extended family has enough, that not everyone on our street has enough, and that we may be storing food and water for more than us.
It is believing that God has inspired living prophets to teach, guide and warn us that these principals will benefit our lives and may even save them. It is the faith of the Widow of Zarephath. It is the faith that if we are prepared, we will not fear, even if we might be afraid. It is recognizing how blessed we are in our material things, in our freedoms and our peace and safety, and how little God asks for in return. It is wanting to be one of the wise of the 10 Virgins, to be included in the marriage feast.
If and when our “oil” does run out, I want to know that I gave it my best effort. Last fall as I surveyed our storage room after cleaning and restocking, I stood overwhelmed with it all. I cried silently in prayer, thanking God for His Bounteous Mercy. I remember asking Him to guide me to see the weaknesses in our preparations so that we could fix them. I begged Him to protect my family from want and need, promising to use the food and knowledge and experience I had gained for the good of our family and others. It was a very moving experience for me, as I felt the feeling of peace and calm and of the Spirit, and a confirming that my efforts would be enough, if I would be constant in it.
While I think of this at times when I am putting things away in the food room, I don’t think I have contemplated this in terms of LAWKI month before. Maybe my faith in that “confirmation” was not great enough and so I am artificially reaching for that assurance that we are prepared enough. Maybe this is the right way to find the holes in our preparation. Maybe this is my time to inspire other to be more prepared. Maybe it is all just my insanity. All I can say is that going into this month, we were excited about it, felt good about doing it, and did not think it would hurt anything. Whether or not it would do any good is still debatable.
Sorry for the rambling today, hope it wasn't too preachy. I am long winded, even in my “journal”. If you are interested, I recommend poking around www.providentliving.org for self-reliance and preparedness and food storage information. It is run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, www.lds.org or www.mormon.com.
September 6, 2010
Family Survey #3
Three words to describe LAWKI month:
Tired of bread; not much change; enduring, tedious, interesting; indifferent, uncaring, unchanging; horrible, evil, awful; the surveys suck.
What do you miss the most:
Nothing; nothing; milk, meat, fast food, fresh fruits/vegetables; meat, French fries, the freedom to have whatever whenever, food traditions-especially with friends; desserts.
What lessons are we learning:
We need more oil than I thought, it takes more time to cook meals without convenience foods, learned how to make tortillas; how to be more healthy; what holes are in our plans; nothing, no idea; how to survive, how to make new foods.
How crazy are we for doing this:
8.3
How angry are you to have to participate?
2.8 (our regular 10 went to a 5, but a few others upped their anger)
How much do you think this affects life?
6
I made more bread today and more tortillas, this time saving some for enchiladas in the next day or two. I hope that will make things go faster for dinner.
I made the Roberts BBQ Beans today to take to our Labor Day BBQ with friends. I also brought brownies and a loaf of bread and a box of Girl Scout Cookies, which I guess was enough to once again buy dinner. They spoiled us with yummy food and great company (thanks, Houses!). We talked again about the Bountiful Baskets food co-op. They showed me the ordering process, and after trying the best mango I have ever had, I think I will give it a try in 2 weeks. They also buy beef from a relative’s dairy herd in Idaho and we plan to buy with them next time.
Breakfast: toast, fruit, left-overs
Lunch: sandwiches and tortillas
Dinner: with friends
In reference to the oil in lessons learned, I am very surprised how much we are using. Making bread every 3 days or so takes 2/3 cup, pancakes and waffles take ¼ to ½ c, biscuits take 1 c, etc. If we were to use it for frying things, it could take between 2 T and 4 cups, if deep-frying. I think to be safe, I want to plan for a cup of oil every day, which is 23 gallons or 60 48oz bottles. That is a lot of oil, and far too much for a year if you are not using it at the rate we are this month. Of all of the food we store, the oil and other fats have the shortest shelf life.
This is the real quandary we face when planning a year’s worth of food: do we buy things that we will use and eat at a normal, go-to-the-store-anytime rate, or do we buy for the this-is-all-we-have-for-a-year rate? The smartest people would be the ones who can eat the same both ways, and buy accordingly, the “store what you eat and eat what you store” crowd. The path we have chosen is kind of a bridge between the two. If we over buy, and some goes bad before we will use it, then at least we bought peace of mind with the otherwise wasted money. If we buy lots of stuff, and then we discover we can’t use it or don’t like it, there are always food drives to donate it too.
We figure that our food storage serves multiple purposes:
1-It is our food insurance. If we don’t use our life insurance policy this year, (yea!—we are still alive) we don’t consider it a waste to have purchased it. If this year the health insurance company makes money from us, then we have been blessed with good health. (We have lived through a year where the cancer bills would have bankrupted us, and we figure we still have not paid more in insurance than we used in that particular year, let alone the year the triplets were born.) If we never use all of our food insurance, we have lived a blessed life. I am certain that we have never thrown out enough spoiled food from the food storage that adds up to one month’s food budget, especially these days with 4 teenagers.
2-It is our on-site food store. How wonderful it is to not run out of things on a regular basis. Now Maretta may laugh when she sees this, knowing how many times a month I am calling to borrow this and that. However, much of that is the fresh stuff, like eggs, sour cream, green onions, etc. Sometimes it is the novelty items that I thought I still had one more can of, such as coleslaw dressing or cheese wiz. I don’t think I have ever had to borrow sugar or flour or oil or salt or pasta etc. Maybe that is common with everyone, and everyone else has a greater sense of what they have and what they need than I do. Who knows? I do know that I love having my own c-store in the basement.
3- It saves us money. Being able to buy in bulk when there are sales, instead of when we run out, saves considerable amounts of money. This was very apparent during our “crazy shopping day”. The kids were thrilled to find they could get 5 packages Ramen for $1. What they don’t realize is that is expensive for Ramen, which I hope to get during the case lot sale for 10/$1. I even flinched when I had to pay $3.89 for a bag of Lays potato chips that I know sales for $1.88. Buying in bulk in season and/or on sale can save so much.
4-It could save us from a real “crazy shopping day” that might happen. Who really wants to be caught in a food riot, whether it be the grocery store right after an emergency or the relief food truck delivery weeks after? I want that time to have one less worry, when there will be a world full of worries around me.
5- It could make money stretch a whole lot further in the event of a money emergency, such as unemployment or disability or long term health issues or whatever. If all we have to buy are the fresh things, then we can make that food budget cover many more things than it does now.
6-This last one is so hard to put into word, so I am now going to use far more than necessary to explain it. Having a year’s supply of food is believing in the principles of self reliance, provident living and preparedness. It is believing that we can and should be ready for the emergencies that life brings, that we read about everyday in the news. It is about charity, knowing that not everyone in our extended family has enough, that not everyone on our street has enough, and that we may be storing food and water for more than us.
It is believing that God has inspired living prophets to teach, guide and warn us that these principals will benefit our lives and may even save them. It is the faith of the Widow of Zarephath. It is the faith that if we are prepared, we will not fear, even if we might be afraid. It is recognizing how blessed we are in our material things, in our freedoms and our peace and safety, and how little God asks for in return. It is wanting to be one of the wise of the 10 Virgins, to be included in the marriage feast.
If and when our “oil” does run out, I want to know that I gave it my best effort. Last fall as I surveyed our storage room after cleaning and restocking, I stood overwhelmed with it all. I cried silently in prayer, thanking God for His Bounteous Mercy. I remember asking Him to guide me to see the weaknesses in our preparations so that we could fix them. I begged Him to protect my family from want and need, promising to use the food and knowledge and experience I had gained for the good of our family and others. It was a very moving experience for me, as I felt the feeling of peace and calm and of the Spirit, and a confirming that my efforts would be enough, if I would be constant in it.
While I think of this at times when I am putting things away in the food room, I don’t think I have contemplated this in terms of LAWKI month before. Maybe my faith in that “confirmation” was not great enough and so I am artificially reaching for that assurance that we are prepared enough. Maybe this is the right way to find the holes in our preparation. Maybe this is my time to inspire other to be more prepared. Maybe it is all just my insanity. All I can say is that going into this month, we were excited about it, felt good about doing it, and did not think it would hurt anything. Whether or not it would do any good is still debatable.
Sorry for the rambling today, hope it wasn't too preachy. I am long winded, even in my “journal”. If you are interested, I recommend poking around www.providentliving.org for self-reliance and preparedness and food storage information. It is run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, www.lds.org or www.mormon.com.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Bribes and TVP
LAWKI Day17
On the way into the Chapel for Sacrament Meeting, James pulled me aside saying he now had "bribe stuff". When I asked for clarification, he said that he had scammed the fluffy white bread that was leftover from filling the Sacrament Trays and then asked what he could get from me for it. (Obnoxious child, who raised you? Oh, wait, that was me.) After being rejected, he brought it home and made peanut butter jelly sandwiches and gave out slices to his siblings who were in his good graces. He swears it has nothing to do with him missing things due to LAWKI month, so I guess he thinks I am missing things more. Maybe he just read my earlier post on white bread.
September 5, 2010
On the way into the Chapel for Sacrament Meeting, James pulled me aside saying he now had "bribe stuff". When I asked for clarification, he said that he had scammed the fluffy white bread that was leftover from filling the Sacrament Trays and then asked what he could get from me for it. (Obnoxious child, who raised you? Oh, wait, that was me.) After being rejected, he brought it home and made peanut butter jelly sandwiches and gave out slices to his siblings who were in his good graces. He swears it has nothing to do with him missing things due to LAWKI month, so I guess he thinks I am missing things more. Maybe he just read my earlier post on white bread.
I found my tortilla recipe! After church, I watched a YouTube video on making tortillas and tried the recipe she used. They worked very well, have a great taste and got approval from the family. I used them to make dinner, a version of my Beef Topped Bean Enchiladas. I put Taco TVP in the salsa sauce with mixed results. While it did not make a taste difference, the texture was weird. I think I would rather just try it without. I am now much more hesitant to try the other TVP recipes I have. Otherwise, it is a recipe I could keep in the food storage rotation, so long as we had grated cheese.
Here is the tortilla recipe:
3 ½ c flour
1 t. salt
½ t baking powder
½ c shortening, or 7-8 T oil (used shortening, but want to try oil sometime)
1 c hot water
Cut the shortening into the flour mixture, add hot water, and then knead for 3 minutes. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Divide into 16 balls, about golf ball size. Flatten into disk, dip in flour, and roll. Bake in a medium hot pan on stove, about one minute on each side. (With two pans cooking, you can roll one and put it to cook, roll another one and as you put it in, flip the other. When the next one is rolled, take the first one off.)
Now, does anyone have a good refried beans recipe? What about just baked beans… I have a good BBQ style beans recipe, but how do you make good black beans to just eat as a side dish? I can eat kidney beans just plain, but what else do you do with them? Anything kids might eventually get used to eating?
Breakfast: Fasting
Lunch: Fasting, some ate sandwiches, tortillas
Dinner: Bean Enchiladas, green beans, honeydew, tomato mozzarella cheese salad, squash
It was very sad to have the honeydew that we have saved until now be crunchy and not very good. It was also obnoxious how long it took to make the enchiladas when I had to make the tortillas first. Usually I can get this in the oven in about 20 minutes if I have cooked and frozen ground beef. This batch took about an hour and a half to get into the oven, even with both James and Katie's help.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Water Storage Tanks and Spam Fried Rice
LAWKI Day 15
September 3, 2010
I included the updated picture of our fridge today. Someone emailed me and asked for it. In all reality, it doesn’t look too bad. The fridge still has fruit in it and then all the bottles of condiments that will never be gone. It is sad to see it more empty. Most people don’t know this, but this fridge is brand new and was delivered only 2 days before LAWKI month started. It held so much food those first 2 days! I look forward to being able to use it normally in 2 weeks.
What is really shocking is the completely empty outside fridge. It is where we usually have the 6 gallons of milk and 3-5 dozen eggs and the extra meat and cheese. There is nothing on the shelves now but the last container of eggs and the cream cheese in the door.
Our first real break with the LAWKI month came last night as we went to friend’s house for dinner. We took a loaf of bread, microwave popcorn, a box of chocolates and dessert (Jell-o Poke Cake with cool whip from the freezer) to trade for the dinner. I think the thing that sealed the deal was the box of Samoa Girl Scout Cookies. That bought us dinner plus some garden produce to bring home. Thanks, Showalters!
Breakfast: Whatever
Lunch: M & S pita roll-ups, Kids school
Dinner: With friends
Here is Michael next to our new water storage tanks. The general recommendations that we based our initial water storage on was a gallon of water, per person, for two weeks. So we have 60 gallons of water in Mylar bags/boxes in the storage room. Then we felt like we needed 2 five-gallon jugs that sit full by the back door ready to go in an emergency evacuation. We also have had 2 of the 55-gallon storage tanks in the garage, with washing and sanitation in mind, but still never felt like it was enough. I think we have reached the point where we have done about all we can do short of having a swimming pool in the back yard.
We bought these 275-gallon tanks last week. On Wednesday, Michael and I spent the afternoon rearranging the garage to fit them into the corner. He then attached them to the garage wall studs with earthquake straps that are made for securing water heaters, figuring they would be very useless, destructive hood ornaments on his car after an earthquake. It took 33 minutes to fill each one up---yes, Michael timed it--- and we only filled it to the 250-gallon line to allow for expansion in the event they freeze in the winter. We are hoping they won’t do that in the garage, especially if we ever need them in the winter months.
One of the first comments from friends/family was, “That ought to keep you in water long enough to bury everyone else and then die.” Here’s hoping the water is back on after an emergency long before that day comes.
LAWKI Day 16
September 4, 2010
I opened the first can of Morning Moo powdered milk product this morning. As you can see by the picture of our last gallon in the fridge taken Friday morning, we are out now. I mixed up a pitcher of the chocolate stuff as well. John and Katie both tried it, with Katie finding it tolerable and John thinking it tasted like “powdery evaporated milk”, whatever that is. I don’t plan on tasting it unless it is mixed in with pancakes or something else. I use powdered milk when making my own pancake mix or Kinder candy (peanut butter and honey treats) so everyone knows what it smells like, and vaguely what it tastes like. It will be interesting to see if the milk lovers in the family will ever just pour a glass to drink or if will only be used in cooking. Personally, I think we will be drinking a lot more Kool-aid and Tang the next 2 weeks.
I went through with my threat on Thursday and made the Spam Fried Rice for dinner tonight. It was surprisingly good. Of course, with Trinh’s fantastic Vietnamese Fried Rice recipe, even Spam tastes good. If I do it again, I would fry it just a bit longer to make it crispy on all sides. That would counter the mushy texture a bit better. I’m interested to see what Michael will think of it when he gets home.
Breakfast: Toast & whatever, complaints about no more instant oatmeal
Lunch: Turkey Sandwiches, Michael sandwiches and stuff
Dinner: Spam Fried Rice
Things heard around the house tonight:
“Seriously, it’s only day 15?”
“We are going to day 31?!”
“Write that you died of starvation and that this is [child’s name] writing this entry.”
When told it was flu shot time, “No, not this month. We have to be able to go get ice cream after!”
Friday, September 3, 2010
Baking Day and My Own Personal Bread Challenge
LAWKI Day 14
September 2, 2010
It was baking day again. I made 4 loaves of bread, not 100% wheat, but close. I have been making bread regularly for about 3-4 years. I had toyed with making bread before that, doing it as a novelty when I thought about it. It was more a skill I wanted to have vs. a need I was filling. That went on until I had a teenage boy in my house.
When the day came that James would eat 6-8 slices of white bread toast as a snack, I threatened to make whole wheat bread and stop buying the other. He pretty much dared me too, saying it would not last more than a few months. He stopped eating bread at home for a good year or so. About the only time he would is if he had scrambled eggs---then he needed toast. After the first year, he started eating slices when it was still warm from the oven. With butter and jam, that is good stuff. Finally, about a year ago, he completely gave in and now eats sandwiches, toast, and even just as a snack. I am not sure if it is a badge of honor to prove a 12-year-old wrong, but I won. Neener, neener.
Most of the time making bread, I use 1-3 cups of white flour and the other 10-12 cups fresh ground wheat. Katie has loved making bread and will often volunteer to make it, sometimes even without me knowing. It is a real treat to come home and smell fresh baked bread when I’m not expecting it. She does tend to add significantly more white flour, but that is chef’s prerogative.
There are still times that I miss fluffy white bread. Some things just do not seem as good to me with homemade bread…French toast, BLTs, egg salad sandwiches, and I have never wanted to try stuffing made from homemade bread. I usually buy bread when I have a craving or need for one of those dishes. Otherwise, we do the homemade thing.
Yesterday I also made more tabouli, so I had to make more pita bread. This time I made it 1/3 wheat to give it a more hearty flavor. I still can’t figure out what the secret is to getting it to puff so there is the pita “pocket.” It only happened on one of the 16. In the end, it was still tasty and the kids enjoyed it plain and with peanut butter and chocolate syrup. So much for healthy.
I also tried making tortillas. I made one batch that seemed okay, but cooked up really hard. I was using my griddle so I could cook 2 at a time. They were not very good. My kids would have tolerated them crunchy but they did not like the garlic flavor or the bit of sugar that was in them, especially when eating them plain. I tried another recipe and the flavor was more acceptable to everyone. The real difference came when I cooked them in a pan on the stove. It is the one we use to cook the Costco yummy ones. They were much better cooked this way. I think it is the higher, constant heat that cooks them faster and keeps them tender after cooking. In the end, the second batch passed the plain tortilla, the tortilla and cheese and the quesadilla test. I have no worries about them working for tacos or fajitas. I will have to try it with enchiladas sometime soon.
Because some have asked for it, here is the link to the pita recipe I used. It is a simple recipe, but has a lot of great advice and pictures so I think it is easier to link to the site than copy it.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/pitabread
The tortilla recipe that I liked was a fake up of a few I found online and in a book. It was pretty much 4 cups of flour, 2 t. of salt, ½ cup of shortening and 1 ¼ cups of hot water. Google is the best advice I have for a real recipe and how to make them. I will pay closer attention and write a recipe the next time I make it. Sorry.
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs
Lunch: Kids- school, Michael-leftover potatoes and stuff, Shannon-left over salad, tabouli, pita, tortillas
Dinner: Tortillas with peanutbutter, butter, cheese, quesadilla style, or plain; with fruit and other scavengable things
BTW, in my fresh food inventory, I did not include grated cheese. We always have one of the big Costco 5 lb ones around and I decided that we are going to keep using it this month. It is something that will make everything easier.
September 2, 2010
It was baking day again. I made 4 loaves of bread, not 100% wheat, but close. I have been making bread regularly for about 3-4 years. I had toyed with making bread before that, doing it as a novelty when I thought about it. It was more a skill I wanted to have vs. a need I was filling. That went on until I had a teenage boy in my house.
When the day came that James would eat 6-8 slices of white bread toast as a snack, I threatened to make whole wheat bread and stop buying the other. He pretty much dared me too, saying it would not last more than a few months. He stopped eating bread at home for a good year or so. About the only time he would is if he had scrambled eggs---then he needed toast. After the first year, he started eating slices when it was still warm from the oven. With butter and jam, that is good stuff. Finally, about a year ago, he completely gave in and now eats sandwiches, toast, and even just as a snack. I am not sure if it is a badge of honor to prove a 12-year-old wrong, but I won. Neener, neener.
Most of the time making bread, I use 1-3 cups of white flour and the other 10-12 cups fresh ground wheat. Katie has loved making bread and will often volunteer to make it, sometimes even without me knowing. It is a real treat to come home and smell fresh baked bread when I’m not expecting it. She does tend to add significantly more white flour, but that is chef’s prerogative.
There are still times that I miss fluffy white bread. Some things just do not seem as good to me with homemade bread…French toast, BLTs, egg salad sandwiches, and I have never wanted to try stuffing made from homemade bread. I usually buy bread when I have a craving or need for one of those dishes. Otherwise, we do the homemade thing.
Yesterday I also made more tabouli, so I had to make more pita bread. This time I made it 1/3 wheat to give it a more hearty flavor. I still can’t figure out what the secret is to getting it to puff so there is the pita “pocket.” It only happened on one of the 16. In the end, it was still tasty and the kids enjoyed it plain and with peanut butter and chocolate syrup. So much for healthy.
I also tried making tortillas. I made one batch that seemed okay, but cooked up really hard. I was using my griddle so I could cook 2 at a time. They were not very good. My kids would have tolerated them crunchy but they did not like the garlic flavor or the bit of sugar that was in them, especially when eating them plain. I tried another recipe and the flavor was more acceptable to everyone. The real difference came when I cooked them in a pan on the stove. It is the one we use to cook the Costco yummy ones. They were much better cooked this way. I think it is the higher, constant heat that cooks them faster and keeps them tender after cooking. In the end, the second batch passed the plain tortilla, the tortilla and cheese and the quesadilla test. I have no worries about them working for tacos or fajitas. I will have to try it with enchiladas sometime soon.
Because some have asked for it, here is the link to the pita recipe I used. It is a simple recipe, but has a lot of great advice and pictures so I think it is easier to link to the site than copy it.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/pitabread
The tortilla recipe that I liked was a fake up of a few I found online and in a book. It was pretty much 4 cups of flour, 2 t. of salt, ½ cup of shortening and 1 ¼ cups of hot water. Google is the best advice I have for a real recipe and how to make them. I will pay closer attention and write a recipe the next time I make it. Sorry.
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs
Lunch: Kids- school, Michael-leftover potatoes and stuff, Shannon-left over salad, tabouli, pita, tortillas
Dinner: Tortillas with peanutbutter, butter, cheese, quesadilla style, or plain; with fruit and other scavengable things
BTW, in my fresh food inventory, I did not include grated cheese. We always have one of the big Costco 5 lb ones around and I decided that we are going to keep using it this month. It is something that will make everything easier.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Family Survey, Round 2
LAWKI Day 13
September 1, 2010
Family LAWKI Survey Round 2:
What 3 words describe your feelings about LAWKI:
slow, daunting, doable; annoying, lame, busy; easy, smart, surprising; bad, annoying, horrible, hungry, never full; long, tedious, smart
What food do you miss the most:
Milk, beef, fast food, cheese!!!, shopping, nothing really, nothing, steak, dairy, eating out
What lessons are we learning?
Stretching out food, cautions about food waste; nothing; how lucky we are; that we hate this; how to base and eat a healthy meal; what places food takes in my life.
How crazy are your parents to do this? 8.3
(to be fair, 2 of the kids wrote things like “in a good way” and “smart” instead of crazy)
How angry are you to participate? 3.2 (again, one 10)
How much is this affecting life? 5.6
Breakfast: Blueberry Muffins
Lunch: M & S leftovers & salad, Kids school
Dinner: BLT Sandwiches, fried potatoes
We had a neighbor offer to drop fast food anonymously on our front porch yesterday. Another friend we are visiting on Friday for dinner said that the “train wreck” was nowhere near her house so to let her know what we want for dinner and from the store to trade. Both made me laugh. And while I did not turn down the ride to the church last night when I had started walking too late to make it to the Court of Honor on time (would have made it---its not like it started on time), and I did not turn down the offer of left over salad from Maretta (it was one of those yummy girl-food salads that the rest of her family would not eat), we are still trying to be good and play by the rules we created. I hope my whining about craving beef and complaining about cooking from scratch every day does not make people think we really are suffering. We are just lazy, spoiled rotten people who are trying to live slightly less lazy, spoiled lives.
For a month.
Only for a month.
September 1, 2010
Family LAWKI Survey Round 2:
What 3 words describe your feelings about LAWKI:
slow, daunting, doable; annoying, lame, busy; easy, smart, surprising; bad, annoying, horrible, hungry, never full; long, tedious, smart
What food do you miss the most:
Milk, beef, fast food, cheese!!!, shopping, nothing really, nothing, steak, dairy, eating out
What lessons are we learning?
Stretching out food, cautions about food waste; nothing; how lucky we are; that we hate this; how to base and eat a healthy meal; what places food takes in my life.
How crazy are your parents to do this? 8.3
(to be fair, 2 of the kids wrote things like “in a good way” and “smart” instead of crazy)
How angry are you to participate? 3.2 (again, one 10)
How much is this affecting life? 5.6
Breakfast: Blueberry Muffins
Lunch: M & S leftovers & salad, Kids school
Dinner: BLT Sandwiches, fried potatoes
We had a neighbor offer to drop fast food anonymously on our front porch yesterday. Another friend we are visiting on Friday for dinner said that the “train wreck” was nowhere near her house so to let her know what we want for dinner and from the store to trade. Both made me laugh. And while I did not turn down the ride to the church last night when I had started walking too late to make it to the Court of Honor on time (would have made it---its not like it started on time), and I did not turn down the offer of left over salad from Maretta (it was one of those yummy girl-food salads that the rest of her family would not eat), we are still trying to be good and play by the rules we created. I hope my whining about craving beef and complaining about cooking from scratch every day does not make people think we really are suffering. We are just lazy, spoiled rotten people who are trying to live slightly less lazy, spoiled lives.
For a month.
Only for a month.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Pancakes, Pita and Farmer's Markets
LAWKI Day 11
August 30, 2010
Breakfast Pankcakes
Lunch Michael-Leftover Pasta and stuff, Shannon-Leftover soup and bread, Kids-school
Dinner Tator Tot casserole, tomatoes, cucumber, cantaloupe, canned green beans
Ben asked for pancakes for breakfast. Even though I have made pancakes from scratch for many years, it still surprised me that it only took about 15 minutes from start to 1st pancake. Usually in my mind, making pancakes is such a big production that I talk myself out of it. This was a pleasant reminder that it is not that hard to do.
I had to take a friend to a doctor’s appointment this afternoon. On the way home, I stopped by Michael’s work to say hi. I found myself looking at things on sale and then having to stop thinking about that. Smith’s is having their case lot sale starting next week. It will be interesting to see what we may buy.
LAWKI Day 12
August 31, 2010
Breakfast Kids-cereal, toast, fruit, Michael and Shannon-scramble eggs and toast
Lunch Kids-school, Michael-leftover tator tot and stuff, Shannon-leftover pasta
Dinner Kids-sandwiches, Ramen, Shannon-Relief Society Salad Dinner, Michael-leftover lunch, sandwich when he got home
I made pita bread and Tabouli today. It was my first time making pita and it was fun and easy, if not entirely successful. Only one puffed right and formed a pocket. It was one of the first cooked and I am guessing the oven did not stay hot enough as I switched in and out the bread, to bake the others right. They all tasted good, but were more like odd shaped gorditas than pitas. The family ate them plain, with butter, and as a sandwich. I was heartened to hear Ben ask where the pita dip was, looking for the hummus. I only wish I had tahini to make some. I think I need a jar of that in the food storage.
The Tabouli was really good. It was one of the few salads I could make with what I have around. The mint and parsley in my herb garden are taking over so I had plenty of that. I also had some bulgar wheat from making this in the past, and the other ingredients are things I just have on hand. It was hard not to eat it as it was in the fridge all afternoon. Both the pitas and the tabouli were all eaten at the Salad Social. I will have to make more this week. I must admit I enjoyed the variety of salads at the dinner, most of which I will not have for another 3 weeks.
There was a discussion at the Salad Social about Bountiful Baskets, a fresh produce co-op that is gaining popularity here in the greater Salt Lake Area. We debated whether that or a farmer’s market would be in the spirit of LAWKI month. I think it would be acceptable, as it is the most basic of shopping and trading, and a farmer's market might be around when a chain grocery store could no longer be restocked. However, for the purposes of this month, we will not. It is more to test our resources and resourcefulness than whether or not we can be creative or local shoppers. I will still trade with neighbors so maybe I am being a hypocrite. In the end, if there was an influenza epidemic that closed stores and public gatherings, those things would go away, while my neighbors would still be there, and hopefully still trading so we both can survive. Maretta and I have already agreed to break quarantine with each other from the beginning for just that purpose.
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