Update on Food Storage Challenge

[phylm]

Our challenge week was up Saturday night. Nothing was said about it in Sacrament Meeting, but I brought it up in RS. From the reaction, I would guess that 6 to 8 people gave it a good try, but I was disappointed at the shrugs of many.

One sweet older sister said that she had to start her week on Monday night, because she had a date Monday to take her 83 year old sister out to lunch for her birthday... but she was ending her week Sunday night to make up for it. :001_ssmile:

My husband said that it was really brought up in Priesthood meeting...and only 6 of them had succeeded...if they tried at all. It will be interesting to hear how the rest of the Stake fared. Not much differently, I'm afraid.

I made the following report to the Stake:

Stake Food Storage Challenge

We ate well on our storage. It wasn't really a trial, because we live off our storage for the most part all the time. I didn't do any bean dishes, because it was necessary to use up what was in our refrigerator first. (We keep an extra supply of canning jars on hand to can up the vegetables, fruit and meat in our freezers in case of a long electric outage.)

We took a potato/egg/onion/green pea/ham salad and lemonade with us, for lunch and supper, when we went to work at the temple on Tuesday, and didn't touch the goodies in the cafeteria.

I did buy 3 cans of tomato soup with a coupon that saved 60 cents on each can when I went into Walgreens for some first aid items, but they still sit in the cupboard.

Appreciated the challenge. The one glaring hitch in our prep, I found was when we ran out of head lettuce and tomatoes the middle of the week. I had started some mixed sprouts on Monday, but there was a gap in the salad material. So-o, I bought a flat of head lettuce seedlings and will set them out tomorrow. We would have had greens growing in the garden we left in ---------, but haven't had time to get one established since we moved to .......

Phylm

[Noahs ARK]

Appreciated the challenge. The one glaring hitch in our prep, I found was when we ran out of head lettuce and tomatoes the middle of the week. I had started some mixed sprouts on Monday, but there was a gap in the salad material. So-o, I bought a flat of head lettuce seedlings and will set them out tomorrow. We would have had greens growing in the garden we left in ---------, but haven't had time to get one established since we moved to .......

Phylm

I just want you to know that I took the challenge along with you. Didn't go to the grocery store. Ate what was in the frig & upright freezer (which isn't much cuz I'm getting ready to defrost it, so have been using it all up), used my usual dehydrated stuff that we eat on a routine basis.

Like you, we ran out of salad ingredients about halfway thru the week.

I know....I know....I have no life. :l0 (48):

[4evermama]

We took the challenge also!
Actually, we've been to the store only twice in the last
five weeks.

Starting in September, we challenged ourselves to buy as little as possible until the turn of the year. At that point, we will evaluate our shortcomings and work to fill the gaps. Our only purchases have been the following:
Fresh milk (though they have been conditioned to drink powdered if necessary.)
3 boxes of apples, and a box each of plums and pears to kick start the "grocery store fast".
(The only purchase exceptions that I foresee will be the broth and turkey sales that I refuse to ignore. That, and the purchase of some greens to make up for any sprout failures.)

"Planning" something like this gives us the unfair advantage of "preparing" for a freeze on shopping. Not quite reality, but it's a way to get a real clear idea of where we are at in terms of planning.

Fresh tomatoes and lettuce have come from the garden. We are days away from our rainy season, so the garden will soon be kaput.

The "shrugs" say it all.
I got really excited that there might be a ward out there that would take the challenge and really make it grand.
People are people. At least you had some that participated. That's better than none, to be sure!

Thank goodness for connections like General Conference, Mormon Radio and sites such as these. In general, I turn away from forums entirely, but the sharing mood and civility here makes this one of the few places where I find support...as virtual as it may be.

Good luck, Phylm. I hope that the info from the other wards is inspiring.
Let us know.
Maybe we could have a challenge here, on GLO, so that we could share our strengths and weak points.
I'm game if anyone else is.

[Noahs ARK]

Oh yay - another person that took the challenge!!

I've been challenging myself with the shopping, also. For the past 6 months we've been pretty 'bare bones' in this house. I refuse to buy any junk - no chips, no bakery items, etc.

I shop only for fresh produce, milk, eggs - stuff like that.

We've been making our own bread and everything from scratch, which helps me figure out other food items I might need to store.

It's been fun! I'm not sure hubby would agree, but hey!! :l0 (5):

My sister has become gung-ho on her food storage lately. We're having the best telephone conversations. Tonight I told her about WaterBob and a couple other new things I've picked up from this forum. Her hubby walked into the garage yesterday and said "Hey - what are all those cases out there?" Ha ha ha - food from Emergency Essentials. Now she's working on her water. She just ordered some 55-gallon drums. I told her about the "pool shock treatment" that I think Phylm told us about. She's all excited.

Just spreading the fun....

[KF7EEC]

I thought about it, but I had to go to LA Wednesday - Sunday for work and knew that wouldn't work... :)

[Noahs ARK]

I've been challenging myself with the shopping, also. For the past 6 months we've been pretty 'bare bones' in this house. I refuse to buy any junk - no chips, no bakery items, etc.

I shop only for fresh produce, milk, eggs - stuff like that.

I forgot to mention why I'm doing this....the $$ I save on groceries is being spent on food storage - I'm trying to fill in the gaps where needed.

[4evermama]

....the $$ I save on groceries is being spent on food storage - I'm trying to fill in the gaps where needed.

Exactly our intention as well.
I'm trying to weed out less important items and sharply focus on what we will need to make the plan work more smoothly.

Issues that are already obvious...
-Butter (I store a decent amount, but no where near what I need. Greater stores of Lard is another option.)
-Cottage cheese, yogurt and sour cream.
Anything dairy requires HUGE volumes of milk. My family inhales cottage cheese and yogurt so this is something that I need to figure out.

We also need to can more beans to make "quick meals" more realistic.

Most importantly is the need to make sure that everyone in the house can cook a meal using basic ingredients. Teamwork is the only thing that makes our plan even remotely possible.

Oldest teen is working on bread skills. Both teens are great at working with fuel sources.
Gotta' get those youngins' skilled with the skillets!

[Noahs ARK]

Issues that are already obvious...
-Butter (I store a decent amount, but no where near what I need. Greater stores of Lard is another option.)
-Cottage cheese, yogurt and sour cream.
Anything dairy requires HUGE volumes of milk. My family inhales cottage cheese and yogurt so this is something that I need to figure out.


Do you have some of that Red Feather butter stored away?

I bought freeze-dried cottage cheese & sour cream from Mountain House. It was pricey, but I can't live without it. IIRC you can buy sour cream in the #2.5 can from Grandma's Country Kitchen. I'd already bought it in the #10 cans, tho.

My friend makes her own yogurt with powdered milk, but she makes a HUGE pot at a time so I've never gotten the recipe from her. Are you interested? If so, I'll get it.

We'd started buying bread kits from The Prepared Pantry. I'm only buying it when it's on sale for $2.99. It makes a 2-lb loaf. Again, it's more expensive than making it from scratch, BUT it has a 3-year shelf life and includes the pack of yeast. I bought 30+ bags, just to see if we liked it. Yes, we did - but now hubby likes it so much that we've gone thru almost all of it. :willy_nilly: I need to order about 100 packages of it and stash it where he doesn't know about it.

This Winter I want to do some experimenting with cooking & my fireplace. EEK!!

[Justme]

I'd like a yogurt recipe. I used to make small batches years ago that we really liked. Can't remember the recipe and everything I have tried lately has not been very good. I imagine it was the start that made the previous yogurt so palatable and I know it was just from common grocery store variety but we bought it in a different locale and I can't seem to find the right one now. Any help would be appreciated.

[phylm]

I'd like a yogurt recipe. I used to make small batches years ago that we really liked. Can't remember the recipe and everything I have tried lately has not been very good. I imagine it was the start that made the previous yogurt so palatable and I know it was just from common grocery store variety but we bought it in a different locale and I can't seem to find the right one now. Any help would be appreciated.

I used to make yogurt by mixing a small carton of my favorite vanilla yogurt with a quart of warm milk, pouring it into jelly glasses, and then setting them in warm water in a picnic cooler. Shut the cover, and I had yogurt in the morning. I'd start the next batch with one of those glasses.

Haven't done it in awhile, but intend to try it with the dry milk. Also have put off too long trying to make mozzarella and cheddar cheese with dry milk. Oh, well, winter's coming.

[Charlene]

"For some time now I have been making my own yogurt, by using 2% milk, a bit of powdered milk and some Dannon yogurt as my starter. However, I have wanted to try making it from all powdered milk and the starter. Now I make this recipe. Yeah! There are many uses for yogurt beyond the obvious. Here are some of the ways we use it: mixed with granola, as a sour cream substitute, to make smoothies, to make fruity yogurt popsicles, to make salad dressings, to make yogurt cheese, etc. Times do not reflect the incubation period."
Ingredients





3 3/4 cups warm tap water
1 cup powdered milk ( non-instant)
2 -4 tablespoons dannon plain yogurt




Directions



Combine the warm water with the powdered milk and place in a medium saucepan. (I sometimes blend some of the water with the powdered milk in my electric blender to make it smooth or use an emulsion blender.)
(You could add 1/3 C sugar and 1 T vanilla extract at this point for vanilla yogurt. Try other flavorings too.).
Heat the milk mixture to 180 degrees or until small bubbles form on the side of the pan and the milk begins to rise up (about 5 minutes.).
Pour the scalded milk into a pitcher and allow to cool to 100 degrees (about 50 minutes). About half-way through the cooling time, remove your yogurt from the refrigerator and allow to set out or it will shock the starter. When the milk mixture has cooled to 100 degrees, stir in the yogurt starter (Dannon yogurt).
Pour the yogurt into a clean quart canning jar or some pint jars, and cover with the lid. Wrap the jar in a towel or blanket and place in a styrofoam cooler or haybox. Be sure it is wrapped tight without any room for air to circulate around the jars. Pack it snug. Let the yogurt incubate in the box for 9 hours.
Remove the jars from the hay box and place in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Note: You can add a couple T of your favorite fruit jam in the bottom of the glass jars before pouring the unset yogurt mixture into the jars.


Save a bit of the yogurt from this batch to use as the starter for your next batch - so you don’t have to buy the Dannon Yogurt again. Well, at least not for a while. Eventually you might want to start with a fresh starter as the taste will get stronger with each batch (about every third or fourth time).

You can buy a large container of Dannon Yogurt and freeze the unused portion in icecube trays to use for later yogurt batches.
Chill.

[Julie]

This has been a good thread. Charlene, thanks for the yogurt info.

[Justme]

I don't think I have tried Dannon for the starter. I didn't know that the frozen could still be used as a starter so thanks for all of this info.

When I made it regularly before we used it in all of those ways. My kids thought they may have been deprived when we went to a wedding luncheon and they had real sour cream on their potatoes. They all said, "Yum, what is this good stuff." When I told them it was sour cream they asked what it was we had been eating on our potatoes all those years that wasn't nearly as good! I personally don't mind it as a sour cream substitute as long as the real thing isn't close at hand to compare.

[mirkwood]

Have you used the sour cream powder? If so how was it. I have a can in storage, but I have not opened it.

[Noahs ARK]

Have you used the sour cream powder? If so how was it. I have a can in storage, but I have not opened it.

I have 1 case of it, but haven't used any of it yet. BUT - years ago, McCormick used to sell sour cream powder in little packets. It's all I ever used cuz I only made it when I needed it, so it didn't go to waste.

It was excellent, btw.

[Noahs ARK]

I used to make yogurt by mixing a small carton of my favorite vanilla yogurt with a quart of warm milk, pouring it into jelly glasses, and then setting them in warm water in a picnic cooler. Shut the cover, and I had yogurt in the morning. I'd start the next batch with one of those glasses.

Haven't done it in awhile, but intend to try it with the dry milk. Also have put off too long trying to make mozzarella and cheddar cheese with dry milk. Oh, well, winter's coming.

That sounds similar to how my friend makes it, but she uses powdered milk. She says it makes the yogurt thicker.

If she ever sends me the recipe, I'm going to try it out. I love yogurt - the stronger, the better.

[phylm]

I used to scald fresh milk before using it in bread-making, but wonder why do it to pasteurized milk? I works fine just warming to the desired temp.