New 51 Week Storage Ideas Week Fifteen

This is for two (2) people so buy according to your family’s size.

 Non-food list:

Rain poncho, cheap ones are like $2.00
First aid kit
Bug repellant
Borax (20 Mule Team) Helps keep away ants etc.

 Food list:

Honey 2 large bottles
Olive oil enough bottles to equal ½ gallon
Shortening 2 cans

Recipe:
Sally’s Whole Wheat/White Batter Bread Dutch Oven Bread

3 cups warm water
2 tablespoons yeast
Let rest 10 minutes then add:
1-teaspoon salt
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup honey
4 cups wheat flour
¼ cup olive oil
2 cup unbleached or white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup oat or wheat bran
Bake 350 deg 1 hour in cast iron 10 inch Dutch oven
What is the best heat source for a Dutch oven?

Charcoal briquettes are the easiest to use and best for controlling the temperature.

How many briquettes do I use to achieve the desired temperature?

Keep in mind the briquettes must be applied to both the top and the bottom. Use only quality charcoal briquettes for consistent temperature control. (We recommend Kingsford even though we get no commission for the reference.) The chart below tells how many briquettes to use for a desired temperature. As a rule of thumb to achieve 325 degrees use the following method. Take the size of the oven and take that number of briquettes less three for the bottom and that number plus three for the top. For example with 12" oven you would place 9 briquettes on the bottom (12-3) and 15 briquettes on the top (12+3). This works for Lodge® Dutch ovens and GSI Aluminum ovens.


Temperature      8" Oven             10"Oven                Oven 12"             Oven 14"           Oven 16" Oven


Degrees F     Top     Bottom     Top     Bottom    Top     Bottom     Top      Bottom      Top      Bottom


300                 10         4             12           6            14           8            16           10           18           12


325                 11         5             13           7            15           9             7            11           19           13


350                 12         6             14           8            16          10           18            12           20          14


375                 13         7             15           9            17          11            19           13           21          15

    

Note: Adding one set of briquettes (one on top and one on bottom) will raise the temperature of the Dutch Oven approximately 25 degrees. Or conversely removing one set of briquettes will lower the temperature by 25 degrees.

For the MACA Dutch ovens more briquettes are needed to compensate for the depth and thickness of the ovens. Take the diameter of the MACA Dutch oven and add three briquettes for the bottom heat. Then add six to the diameter of the Dutch oven to get the number of briquettes for your top heat. This gives you a temperature of about 325° F. For example with a 15" Dutch oven your will need 18 charcoal briquettes for the bottom heat and 21 charcoal briquettes for the top heat to achieve a temperature of 325°


Can I cook in the Dutch oven using wood as a heat source?

With a little know how and practice you can learn to effectively use wood as a heat source without cremating your meal. The best type of woods for cooking are hardwoods such as hickory, oak, mesquite and hard maple. Pecan, walnut, and Osage orange would also work. Not all hardwoods produce good coals.

Soft woods such as pine, poplar, and cottonwood don't make good coals for Dutch oven cooking because they burn hot for a short period of time, and then burn out quickly. Start the hardwood fire at least 45 minutes before you need to start cooking. Go to the following link for more information. http://www.chuckwagonsupply.com/faqs.html

Our lilacs are blooming this week and they sure smell wonderful.

We just found out our oldest son and his family are movng out here from Virginia at the end of July. So one moving one coming. It would be nice to have them all together again just once. Okay done feeling sorry.

Daughter Tanya in AZ is having tests today to see where her cancer has migrated to. They have a 15 year old girl and 5 year old boy.

Sister in law Sandy has on going tests to make sure the bone they cut out of her skull the 30th of May hasn't spread to any of the rest of her skull, so far so good.

 

Week 14

New 51 Week Storage Ideas Week Fourteen

This is for two (2) people so buy according to your family’s size.

 

Non-food list: Camping supplies, what are you short of in this area?

 

Write these on a list you keep with you and check them off as you aquire them.

 

Camp stove & fuel

Stove top camp oven

Tent (s)

Plates & utensils

Cooking pots & pans, cooking utensils

Sleeping bags & sleeping mats (mats optional)

Waterproof container of potholders, towels, dishrags and so on.

Sheets work for tablecloths

Container(s) of foods to go

Water and filter

Matches and (fire starters for camp fire)

Aluminum foil and other food holders

You can also cook in foil in the campfire coals

Trash bags, also many uses

Tarp (s) use for cover, tent or ground cloth

Rope

Anything else you can think of you use to camp

Food list:

 

25 to 50 pounds flour

1 container dry milk or morning moo

1 box or bottle dried Italian herbs or your choice of separate kinds of herbs

 

Recipes:

 

Quick Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

2 c. 100% whole-wheat flour

2 tab. Baking powder

¾ c. milk

½ tsp. dried Italian herbs

Mix as usual. Roll out for pizza crust. Add toppings and bake 400 degrees until done.

 

Basic Pizza Crust With Yeast Ingredients:

1 (.25 ounce) package or 2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast

1-cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

1-teaspoon sugar

1/4-teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (or flour of choice)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add the oil, sugar, salt and flour. Mix thoroughly. Cover with olive oil just enough to coat it all around. Let this sit for a minimum of 10 minutes.

Spread onto greased pizza pan building the edges up slightly. Do not let rise. Bake 425 degrees F for 12-15 min's or until nearly done. Add sauce, toppings, any meat that has been precooked and drained and cheese; bake this 10-15 minutes longer.

Optional: You can add minced garlic if you like by roasting it first, then spreading it on top of the crust before adding the other ingredients on top.

The work progresses on garage roof, we ran out of shingles last Saturday. Both our younger boys cam up to help they are 27 and 28. Plus the 29 yr olds wife Jaylnn and the grandson Xander.

 

The 27 year old will be the one moving next month.

 

I was able to cut our rhubarb in the garden and I made rhubarb/plum jam. Just the kind you cook down to make it thick so I could use less sugar then when useing pectin to thicken.



Book winners

Okay Farmmaid and Kellie were the winners of An Unexpected Life books, since i had 2 extra I thought why not give both away :). Just email me your addresses and I will send them out this coming week.

It is 48 degrees today a very cool spring day, really cooler then we are used to in fact for this time of year.

Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads and acting Dads.

Week 13 List and more work done

New 51 Week Storage Ideas Week Thirteen

This is for two (2) people so buy according to your family’s size.


Non-Food List:


2 gallons of bleach (many uses)
2 large bottles dish detergent (Dawn is a degreaser)


Food list:


6 cans sweetened condensed milk
1 large bottle dark Karo syrup
1 or 2 large containers cornstarch (depending on how much you use)

Recipes:


Caramel for apples
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup dark Karo corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. butter
Combine all the sugars, karo and milk into a pan, cook to 234 degrees, and stir constantly. Take of heat and add butter and vanilla. Dip apples in while warm.


Caramel pudding
1 c. brown sugar
2-tablespoons butter
¼ tsp. salt
3 cups milk
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2 eggs beaten
1-teaspoon vanilla
In a pan melt butter add the sugar & salt stir over a med high heat until it caramelizes around 5 minutes. Take off stove and slowly add in 2 c. of milk. Put back on heat and heat to near boiling, stir constantly. Stir in cornstarch slowly and add remaining cup of milk. Turn down heat to low and cook until its thick and smooth. Take a few spoonfuls of the pudding and add to beaten egg stir well and then return all to the rest of the pudding cook 2 minutes, don’t let it boil.


Custard bread pudding
6 eggs beaten
½ cup sugar
3 slices of bread
2 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1-teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup raisins, currents or berries are optional
Blend eggs with sugar, salt and vanilla, add milk gradually. Break the bread into small pieces and mix into the egg mix. Stir in fruit and pour into pan. 13x9. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake 35 to 45 minutes at 350 deg.

Spiritual: How is your Family History going? (Genealogy). Do you need to talk to an older member of the family to get information? Do it before it is to late.

 

This last Saturday Dave and I started on shingling the roof on the lean-to summer kitchen. A bit past noon our yougest son Khristopher showed up to help.
Boy did that help it go faster. We took a break around 2 and had some lunch. By 5 PM we were a little ways up the garage and he needed to leave. We all cleaned up and off he went back down to the valley. I took pictures when i was down off the roof :) each time.

 

We had a rain storm headed in so Dave decided to get some mowing in before that could happen. He didnt get far 15 minutes later it was pouring cats and dogs. All he managed to get done was the side yard and out to the road.

 

It looks like he will be moving to either Seattle Washington or Anchorage Alaska in July. It depends where his wife is transfered to. We will sorely miss them.

 

It was 40 degrees this morning and I had to get a fire going in the wood stove but I shouldnt have to keep it going it is supposed to get into the low 60's outside today at least.

 

My stupid wrist is still not healed from twisting it and then falling on it. Drives me crazy.

 

I did cut our first batch of rhubarb yesterday tha is ont he side of our not planted garden. It is all washed this morning and ready to be cut up and cooked.

 

I also got 2 pounds of mozzarella made yesterday. I am thinking about making ricotta today, we will see.

 

 

 

Week 12 list & Recipes

New 51 Week Storage Ideas Week Twelve


This is for two (2) people so buy according to your family’s size.

List:

Non-food:

2 toothbrushes
2 tubes toothpaste
8 bars of soap
2 bottles alcohol
2 tubes antibiotic ointment
Band-Aids, tape, pads
Feminine supplies

Food:

2 #10 cans or jug ketchup or equivalent
1 large bottle mustard or can
8 cans tomato sauce

Recipes:

Bacon wrapped patties

2 pounds hamburger
2/3 c. onion chopped
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
¼ c. ketchup
3 tab. Parmesan cheese
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
2 eggs beaten
12 strips of bacon
Mix all but the bacon together. Divide and made 2 rolls of meat. Place bacon strips on top of each roll, or make 12 small rolls and wrap with bacon strips. Bake 350 deg. For 45 minutes.


Sloppy Joes

1-pound hamburger browned with
½ cup diced onion, or 2 tablespoons dried or powdered onion
Then add
1-teaspoon garlic
Salt and pepper as you like
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 medium can tomato sauce
½ cup ketchup
½ cup or to taste brown sugar
1-teaspoon celery seed: optional
Brown the onion and hamburger together, add other ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes to1 hour.


We got up to 36 degrees this morning but the winds aren't quite as stiff as they were yesterday.

Get this, it didn't rain yesterday.



Long Night

It is 5:01am Dave just got in from milking. I had been laying awake waiting for the clock to go off at 4:30 am.
I have been awake a lot of the night, right hip decided to hurt and had to keep moving to find other ways to lay. It has been pretty much light since 4.

We seperated the cow and calf last evening with the calf in thelarge part of the barn for a 2 week stay, so we will start milking the cow twice a day from now on.

We have gone from 34 degrees last Thursday to 70 on Saturday and this morning aready it is 52 degrees.

Saturday we were up on the first lean-to putting our white shingles on and the sun was reflecting off of them and boy was it hot up there. Something we diffently are not used to lol.
It took paint thiner to get the tar off our fingers, i was also putting sealent on the edges and managed to get it all over some fingers.

Friday I worked on fire starters for the remainder of our cool weather at night and to have when winter starts again. We will have 456 fire starters if I don't use anymore this spring. But the weather is supposed to cool down again with rain all week again. So we will see.

Week 11 Buy list and recipes

New 51 Week Storage Ideas Week Eleven

This is for two (2) people so buy according to your family’s size.

List:

Powdered milk 1 large box or larger amount depending on how much milk you use.

Flour 25 pounds of your choice

Baking powder large container

Butter or margarine, canned or a substitute, or #10 can powdered this can now be bought at Wal-Marts.

Eggs powdered or substitute 1 can or box. Also can be bought at Wal-Mart.

Recipes:

Egg dumplings

2 eggs

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt

6 tab. milk

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/3 cup flour

Mix and drop by teaspoons into boiling milk and boil 15 minutes, covered.

Dumplings

Do not lift the lid while they are cooking.

1 ½ cup flour

4 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon butter

1 egg

½ cup milk

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Then cream butter and egg together and add to flour mixture. Add milk, mix. Drop by Tablespoons into a pot of boiling water or the liquid your meat is cooking in. Cover pot and boil over med. heat for 12 to 15 minutes.

Water: don’t forget water storage.

1 drop of bleach in a 2-liter bottle will keep for a year in a darkened room or under something. Light is not your friend.

Already bottled water works also but is more spendy. Some have room for small to large barrels or 5 to 7 gallon water containers. Quite a few 5-gallon containers have a spigot that can be bought for them and screwed into them at the bottom.

It is raining today but we did manage to get the raised strawberry beds made before the bad storm hit. We did the herb beds yesterday. 

We had the high of 48 degrees today.

Here are pictures of some of the work from the last few days.

28 May 2011