Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes

This is from the simplylivingsmart.com site and we love them.

1 cup wheat (kernels)
1.5 cups milk

Put in blender and blend for 4 minutes

Add:
2 eggs
1 teasp bi carb
2 teasp baking powder
a bit of salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
a bit of oil - they use 1/4 cup but I just throw in a dollop

Blend for 2 minutes more.

Fry like a normal pancake in a bit of butter.

HOMEMADE CANNED BUTTER

CANNING BUTTER
Jars of canned butter & hamburger rocks.

1. Use any butter that is on sale. Lesser quality butter requires more shaking (see #5 below), but the results are the same as with the expensive brands.
2. Heat pint jars in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes, without rings or seals. One pound of butter slightly more than fills one pint jar, so if you melt 11 pounds of butter, heat 12 pint jars. A roasting pan works well for holding the pint jars while in the oven.

3. While the jars are heating, melt butter slowly until it comes to a slow boil. Using a large spatula, stir the bottom of the pot often to keep the butter from scorching. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes at least: a good simmer time will lessen the amount of shaking required (see #5 below). Place the lids in a small pot and bring to a boil, leaving the lids in simmering water until needed.
4. Stirring the melted butter from the bottom to the top with a soup ladle or small pot with a handle, pour the melted butter carefully into heated jars through a canning jar funnel. Leave 3/4″ of head space in the jar, which allows room for the shaking process.
5. Carefully wipe off the top of the jars, then get a hot lid from the simmering water, add the lid and ring and tighten securely. Lids will seal as they cool. Once a few lids “ping,” shake while the jars are still warm, but cool enough to handle easily, because the butter will separate and become foamy on top and white on the bottom. In a few minutes, shake again, and repeat until the butter retains the same consistency throughout the jar.
6. At this point, while still slightly warm, put the jars into a refrigerator. While cooling and hardening, shake again, and the melted butter will then look like butter and become firm. This final shaking is very important! Check every 5 minutes and give the jars a little shake until they are hardened in the jar! Leave in the refrigerator for an hour.
7. Canned butter should store for 3 years or longer on a cool, dark shelf. [It does last a long time. We have just used up the last of the butter we canned in 1999, and it was fine after 5 years.] Canned butter does not “melt” again when opened, so it does not need to be refrigerated upon opening, provided it is used within a reasonable length of time.

A lovely glow seems to emanate from every jar. You will also be glowing with grateful satisfaction while placing this “sunshine in a jar” on your pantry shelves.
We have canned over 75 pints of butter in the past year. Miles loves it and will open a jar when I’m not looking! I buy butter on sale, then keep it frozen until I have enough for canning 2 or 3 batches of a dozen jars each.
EndTimesReport

Yogurt making in the crock pot

This is a link to how to make yogurt in a crock pot - haven't tried it yet but it looks good.

http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-to-make-yogurt.html

Duo on sale

Coles has Due Washing Powder on sale - 1 kg boxes are 2 for $3.58 - I think you have to buy two at a time toget the discount.

Welfare site

Also - this site has some interesting videos and ideas about food storage - I'm interested in the Wonder Box on the blog - it looks like a no electricity crock pot. You have to register to access all of the site - but it's free.

www.simplylivingsmart.com

Food Storage on You tube!

Here's a link to some videos titled 'Mormon Women Teach about Food Storage' - interesting to see how people store and rotate their food.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zjUttkGsW8

Eat Food, Not too much, Mostly plants

This is a link to a talk given by Michael Pollan - who wrote 'In Defence of Food: An Eaters Manifesto' - in Salt Lake City (coincidentally). It is just audio and is really interesting and quite long- so put it on while you're doing something else.

http://www.kcpw.org/article/5468

Food Prices

This is the address for a really interesting article from the Wall Street Journal on increasing food prices.

http://online.wsj.com/wsjgate?subURI=%2Farticle%2FSB120881517227532621-email.html&nonsubURI=%2Farticle_email%2FSB120881517227532621-lMyQjAxMDI4MDI4MzgyMTM1Wj.html

Long Grain Rice

Cambells Cash & Carry have Mahatma Long grain rice 25kg for $19.99. This rice is from the Riviana brand so it is nice rice. I have contacted Riviana in regard to purchasing Aborio in bulk bags as well so I hope to hear back from the company about that. I will be heading out to Cambells... next Friday if you would like me to collect something.

CHECK THIS OUT!! http://www.mealopedia.com/ The Chichpea & Spinach hotpot was great. I was looking for something for dinner and this site came in a newsletter. Worth the look. The stews look great.

Web site

Came across an interesting website - they have compiled a heap of articles on storage etc into a booklet - it's in pdf format and is 222 pages long with lots of interesting information.

http://www.abysmal.com/LDS/Preparedness/Preparedness.pdf

Tried & true cleaning recipes that cost less

I found this book "How to clean practically anything" By Sydney Pemberton on the Choice Magazines web site. It is great. I was so sick of spending tons of money on cleaning products that we literally "flush away". This is my favorite household spray & wipe cleaner that I love - you can halve the recipe if needed.
4L hot water
2 tbsp cloudy ammonia
125ml white vinegar
2 tbsp bicarbonate soda
2-3 drops lavendar or lemon (optional)
2 tbsp basic household soap cleaner (I use dishwashing liquid)
Method- Pour 4 litres of hot water into a bucket & mix in all the ingredients. Let cool and pour into spray bottles. Use as an all-purpose cleaner for kitchens & bathrooms surfaces.

This book is avaliable at the library. I then bought my own copy cheap from ebay.

When we moved house I used this on our walls and the results were amazing. 4 tablespoons of baking soda , 1 tablespoon bleach to 1 litre of water. This is a great general cleaner and saves money and fuss.

Some tests for freshness I found on the internet - can't be sure they're right but it's a place to start.

Baking powder: Mix 1 teaspoon with 1/3 cup of hot water. It it foams vigorously, then it still has rising power.

Baking Soda: Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons in a bowl with 1 teaspoon of vinegar. It it fizzles, then it will still help leaven a food made with flour when it is cooked.

Olive Oil: An unpleasant smell or taste indicates the oil is rancid or oxidized.

Shortening: Stored too long it will go rancid and develop a bad taste and odor.

Spices (ground): Smell a ground spice to check if aroma is potent.

Vinegar: Vinegar sold commercially is pasteurized. Therefore an unopened container should last indefinitely when stored in a cool and dark place. Once opened however, vinegar should last about 3 months if tightly sealed. Freshness test: Any sediment that develops can be strained out. Vinegar should be clear and look clean, not cloudy. If mold develops later, throw the vinegar away.

Helpful website

I found this website and thought it helpful. It's great if you not sure where to begin with this whole storage idea. http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FN_500.pdf

Marilyn's good idea.

At our last meeting we were talking about a BYU TV program where they were discussing 'Grains and Legumes' - they recommended using a pressure cooker to cook up wheat, barley, oats or brown rice, then storing them in the fridge to use throughout the week.

Marilyn tried wheat in the slow cooker and it worked.

She used 1 cup of wheat to 2.5 cups water and cooked on low overnight - Marilyn said next time she would use 1 cup wheat to 3 cups water.

Marilyn has used the wheat in a couple of recipes and said it was great.

For Marilyn - Donna's Stew Recipe for the Slow Cooker

500g lamb chops (or other stew meat) - browned and chopped
2 large potatoes - peeled and chopped
2 onion - peeled and chopped
1 can tomato soup
1 can peas
1 can beans
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can baked beans

Mix all in the slow cooker and cook on low all day. Of course we have very few left overs but this looks like it would freeze well too.

Chick Pea Curry Recipe

The chick pea curry recipe is missing one ingredient - 1 can of coconut milk should be added.

Welfare Group Meeting

The next welfare group meeting will be 17 March (Monday) at 9.30 am. We're doing 72 hour packs.