Cannery Trip Dec. 9

(This offer is for Morrisville ward only, and Green Level ward if I have room.)


I will be going to the Greensboro cannery on Dec. 9 with my son and his wife.  If you want to come with us, or if you need us to pick up something for you, please contact me.  You will need to go to  http://www.providentliving.org/channel/0,11677,1706-1,00.html  and print out a price list (click on Home Storage Center Order Form) , and send it to Brother Midkiff, then give me a check made out to the cannery (I'll find out what to write on the check.)  I will be taking my van so I will have room.

If you wonder why you would want to buy food from the cannery: This is the most inexpensive way to buy all of these commodities.  

Here are a couple of price comparisons:

#10 cans:

Cannery Powdered milk: $7.05

Emergency Essentials powdered milk: $12.95

Walton Feed powdered milk: $11.60

Sugar:

Cannery 25 lbs for $14

Sam's club:  50 lbs for $29.00

From what I have seen, every food item is either a lot cheaper or a little bit cheaper than you can get it anywhere else.

You can get food in #10 cans, or in mylar pouches, or in bulk bags.  The #10 cans cost more but are ready for long term storage.  I don't know about the mylar bags, but the bulk bags need to be dumped into buckets when you get home, to keep out bugs.

Here are the items offered by the cannery:  Black beans, Pinto beans, White beans, Nonfat Dry Milk, White Rice, Granulated Sugar, Hard Red Wheat, White Wheat, Dehydrated Apple Slices, Dehydrated Carrots, Macaroni, Quick Oats, Regular Oats, Dry Onions, Potato Flakes, Spaghetti, and a few other things.

Please consider ordering something for me to pick up on Dec. 9.

FHE- Emergency Prep Scavenger Hunt

Ensign » 2002 » September

Random Sampler

Emergency Preparedness Game-
Windy L. Hasson, “Emergency Preparedness Game,” Ensign, Sept. 2002, 73

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=137b76e6ffe0c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

To involve everyone and make preparing for an emergency seem fun instead of daunting or upsetting, we decided to have a scavenger hunt as part of family home evening. Together we could gather items for an emergency preparedness kit. Considering family members’ individual needs, I made a list of supplies for our search. For starters, the baby would need a bottle, formula, and diapers, while my husband would need sturdy clothes and work gloves. I also found ideas from information I had saved from Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment lessons.

At the start of our family night, we discussed possible natural disaster situations and the importance of being prepared so we don’t have to be afraid (see D&C 38:30). After our discussion, we divided our family into teams and gave each group an empty laundry basket and part of our list. Then we had our scavenger hunt throughout the house, collecting the needed supplies.

The children had a great time gathering the items and choosing which clothing to include. Within an hour, we had items for a complete emergency kit—tailored for our family’s needs. What once had seemed an overwhelming task became a fun activity for our family, and we now feel better prepared should an emergency arise.—Windy L. Hasson, Celeste Ward, Las Vegas Nevada Sandstone Stake

The Church offers helpful suggestions for preparing emergency supplies in a booklet titled Essentials of Home Production and Storage (item no. 32288; U.S. $.75), available in distribution centers. Regarding emergency storage, the booklet advises everyone to have portable containers with the following: water; food requiring no refrigeration or cooking; medications and critical medical histories as needed; change of clothing, including sturdy shoes and two pairs of socks; sanitary supplies; first aid booklet and equipment; candles; waterproof matches; ax; shovel; can opener; and blankets (see p. 7). The booklet also recommends preparing a portable packet with valuable family documents, such as family history records.

1st Quarter Earnings reports indicate rising food prices

It was interesting to read the 1st Quarter Earnings reports of Dean Foods and Saralee.  

In the following quotes from their financial reports, you can read that butterfat (a key component of Dean Food's products) increased 70% in price in the past year, and that made their profits go down 33%.

And Saralee mentions "sharply increasing commodity prices."

These reports to their investors are kind of hard to understand,  lets see if I can reword what they might be saying:   "We didn't make as much profit as we planned, we can't give you as high a dividend as we planned, because the prices of our raw materials (commodities) went up so much.  But we will raise our prices in the next quarter and then we will make profits and be able to pay better dividends."  

I am not pointing this out to criticize the corporations, they have to pass on their costs in order to stay in business.  I am pointing this out as evidence that I'm not making this up.  

The message to consumers is this:  Prices on food are going up.   So it would be wise to buy your food storage now.

http://deanfoods.com/our-company/news/press-release.aspx?StoryID=1493824

Nov. 9, 2010- Class II butterfat, a key component of the Company's creamer, cultured and ice cream products, increased 26% from the previous quarter and was 70% higher than in the third quarter of 2009.

Consistent with previous quarters, retail pricing for private label milk remained well below historical levels and fluid milk industry pricing remains highly competitive. Widened price gaps between branded and private label offerings drove continued consumer trade-down to lower-margin private label products. This, combined with overall volume weakness and rapid butterfat inflation drove Fresh Dairy Direct-Morningstar operating income in the third quarter of $116.5 million, a 33% decline from $174.9 million in the third quarter of 2009.

http://www.saralee.com/~/media/884F6A3830D64A52B4FC05552F4ED8C2.ashx

Nov. 9, 2010-  “As anticipated, our first quarter operating income came in below the prior-year period.  We see our price 

increases coming through across the board, but in the first quarter they still lagged sharply increasing commodity 

prices.  We are confident that the additional price increases we have announced will mitigate commodity inflation 

for the full year. 

Time to get our houses in order- Hinckley, 1998

Ensign » 1998 » November

To the Boys and to the Men
President Gordon B. Hinckley

I wish to speak to you about temporal matters.

As a backdrop for what I wish to say, I read to you a few verses from the 41st chapter of Genesis.

Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, dreamed dreams which greatly troubled him. The wise men of his court could not give an interpretation. Joseph was then brought before him: “Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:

“And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:

“And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed. …

“And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: …

“And I saw in my dream … seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good:

“And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:

“And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: …

“And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, … God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

“The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. …

“… What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.

“Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:

“And there shall arise after them seven years of famine;

“… And God will shortly bring it to pass” (Gen. 41:17–20, 22–26, 28–30, 32).

Now, brethren, I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.

So many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings.

We have witnessed in recent weeks wide and fearsome swings in the markets of the world. The economy is a fragile thing. A stumble in the economy in Jakarta or Moscow can immediately affect the entire world. It can eventually reach down to each of us as individuals. There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.

I hope with all my heart that we shall never slip into a depression. I am a child of the Great Depression of the thirties. I finished the university in 1932, when unemployment in this area exceeded 33 percent.

My father was then president of the largest stake in the Church in this valley. It was before our present welfare program was established. He walked the floor worrying about his people. He and his associates established a great wood-chopping project designed to keep the home furnaces and stoves going and the people warm in the winter. They had no money with which to buy coal. Men who had been affluent were among those who chopped wood.

I repeat, I hope we will never again see such a depression. But I am troubled by the huge consumer installment debt which hangs over the people of the nation, including our own people. In March 1997 that debt totaled $1.2 trillion, which represented a 7 percent increase over the previous year.

In December of 1997, 55 to 60 million households in the United States carried credit card balances. These balances averaged more than $7,000 and cost $1,000 per year in interest and fees. Consumer debt as a percentage of disposable income rose from 16.3 percent in 1993 to 19.3 percent in 1996.

Everyone knows that every dollar borrowed carries with it the penalty of paying interest. When money cannot be repaid, then bankruptcy follows. There were 1,350,118 bankruptcies in the United States last year. This represented a 50 percent increase from 1992. In the second quarter of this year, nearly 362,000 persons filed for bankruptcy, a record number for a three-month period.

We are beguiled by seductive advertising. Television carries the enticing invitation to borrow up to 125 percent of the value of one’s home. But no mention is made of interest.

President J. Reuben Clark Jr., in the April 1938 general conference, said from this pulpit:

“Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you”

(in Conference Report, Apr. 1938, 103).

I recognize that it may be necessary to borrow to get a home, of course. But let us buy a home that we can afford and thus ease the payments which will constantly hang over our heads without mercy or respite for as long as 30 years.

No one knows when emergencies will strike. I am somewhat familiar with the case of a man who was highly successful in his profession. He lived in comfort. He built a large home. Then one day he was suddenly involved in a serious accident. Instantly, without warning, he almost lost his life. He was left a cripple. Destroyed was his earning power. He faced huge medical bills. He had other payments to make. He was helpless before his creditors. One moment he was rich, the next he was broke.

Since the beginnings of the Church, the Lord has spoken on this matter of debt. To Martin Harris through revelation He said: “Pay the debt thou hast contracted with the printer. Release thyself from bondage” (D&C 19:35).

President Heber J. Grant spoke repeatedly on this matter from this pulpit. He said: “If there is any one thing that will bring peace and contentment into the human heart, and into the family, it is to live within our means. And if there is any one thing that is grinding and discouraging and disheartening, it is to have debts and obligations that one cannot meet” (Gospel Standards, comp. G. Homer Durham [1941], 111).

We are carrying a message of self-reliance throughout the Church. Self-reliance cannot obtain when there is serious debt hanging over a household. One has neither independence nor freedom from bondage when he is obligated to others.

In managing the affairs of the Church, we have tried to set an example. We have, as a matter of policy, stringently followed the practice of setting aside each year a percentage of the income of the Church against a possible day of need.

I am grateful to be able to say that the Church in all its operations, in all its undertakings, in all of its departments, is able to function without borrowed money. If we cannot get along, we will curtail our programs. We will shrink expenditures to fit the income. We will not borrow.

One of the happiest days in the life of President Joseph F. Smith was the day the Church paid off its long-standing indebtedness.

What a wonderful feeling it is to be free of debt, to have a little money against a day of emergency put away where it can be retrieved when necessary.

President Faust would not tell you this himself. Perhaps I can tell it, and he can take it out on me afterward. He had a mortgage on his home drawing 4 percent interest. Many people would have told him he was foolish to pay off that mortgage when it carried so low a rate of interest. But the first opportunity he had to acquire some means, he and his wife determined they would pay off their mortgage. He has been free of debt since that day. That’s why he wears a smile on his face, and that’s why he whistles while he works.

I urge you, brethren, to look to the condition of your finances. I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage.

This is a part of the temporal gospel in which we believe. May the Lord bless you, my beloved brethren, to set your houses in order. If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts. That’s all I have to say about it, but I wish to say it with all the emphasis of which I am capable.

I leave with you my testimony of the divinity of this work and my love for each of you, in the name of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Melting Hardened Honey

Honey lasts almost forever, but it does crystallize over time.

How do you turn it back to liquid?

I had a bottle of crystallized honey, so I cut off the top (it was too tall to fit in my microwave) and microwaved it for about 3 minutes at a time.  I kept pouring off the liquid and putting the jar back into the microwave to cook some more.

I am storing the liquid honey in this other container now, and we just get it out with a knife or spoon.

You can also set the container of hardened honey in a pot of water and cook that on the stove.

I have also been successful at liquifying honey just by setting the jar out in the sun for a few hours on top of a foil pie pan (to reflect the sun more.)  (Of course this would work much better when it is hot outside.)

Report on Youth's Emergency Prep Activity- Part 2

This is Part 2:  On October 19, 2010 our ward youth had an Emergency Preparedness drill in three homes, as their joint activity.  (Family #1-Anonymous, Family #2- Blake and Amelia, and Family #3-Mike and Mitzi.)  

The youth split up into teams with their leaders and visited the homes, and gave each family the following tasks.  The groups earned points according to what tasks they could complete.

Example: "The oil on the stove catches fire.  What do you do?

Earn points: 1 pt for finding the baking soda

1 pt for putting a lid on the pan

1 pt for finding the fire extinguisher

1 pt for each child meeting outside at a pre-determined meeting spot

1 pt for each child knowing how to call 911

Family #1- Our kids did NOT know what to do when oil caught fire, so the Young Men explained what to do.  Our kids remembered our family meeting spot, it is the court in front of the house.

Family #2- Blake and Amelia: We have a fire extinguisher.

Family #3-Mike and Mitzi: We got out the baking soda, we need to get a fire extinguisher, and our kids knew to go to the neighbor’s mailbox.

Example:  Your vehicle is stalled on the freeway on a very hot day, or you are stuck in your car somewhere in an ice storm.

Earn points: 1 pt for having a blanket in trunk.

1 pt for having any food in the car.

1 pt for having any water in the car.

1 pt for having flares, or cell phone, or paper/marker to write on in the car (to let passersby know you are in trouble)

Family #2-Blake and Amelia: We had water in the car, and we scrounged all the goldfish that had fallen on the floor.

Family #3- Mike and Mitzi:  When I’m pregnant I always keep food in the car, and a case of bottled water.  I keep blankets in there, and crayons and coloring books.

Example:  There is a nuclear disaster at the Shearon-Harris Nuclear Power Plant.

Earn points: 1 pt for knowing which way to evacuate.

5 pts for each 72 hour kit you can grab.

1 pt for having a predetermined way to meet spouse away from home.

Family #2- Blake and Amelia:  We don’t have our 72 hour kits ready, but I have our important papers together.

Family #3- Mike and Mitzi:  We didn’t know which direction to go.  We have one 72-hr-kit.  Now we have decided to meet at a relative’s house in Virginia.

Example:  A tornado is reported coming straight for your house.

Earn points: 2 pts for each family member to all huddle in a safe place, interior bathroom or closet, or basement or crawlspace.

5 pts for owning a weather alert radio.

Family #1- We huddled in a safe place, in an interior bathroom.

Family #3- Mike and Mitzi: We huddled in our big food storage closet under the stairs.

Example:  The water supply has failed.  There is no running water.

Earn points: 5 pt to  flush a toilet with stored water.

5 pts if you own (and can find) your water filter or water purification tablets or bleach.

5 pts if you own 100 or more paper plates or paper cups.

Family #1- We need to improve our water supply.

Family #2- Blake and Amelia: We have a water filter and purification tablets.  We have lots of drinking water.

Family #3- Mike and Mitzi: We have water in the garage.  We have bleach, and paper cups and plates.

Example:  Your child cuts his leg very badly.

Earn points: 1 pt for finding your first aid kit.

1 pt for having a large bandage.

Family #2- Blake and Amelia:  We have a duffle bag full of first aid.  He could do IV’s, he can staple heads or glue heads, and he even has a baby-catching kit.

Family #3- Mike and Mitzi: We have a first aid kit.

Example:  Your house catches fire at night while you are sleeping.

Earn points: 5 pts for testing an alarm by holding a match nearby, making the alarm sound.

5 pts for every upstairs bedroom that has an emergency ladder.

1 pt for every person that meets at the predetermined meeting place outside your house.

Family #2- Blake and Amelia:  Our kids knew to meet at our predetermined spot.

Family #3- Mike and Mitzi: The kids loved the alarm, wanted us to do it again.  We don’t have a ladder, the kids knew where to meet.

Good job to everyone.  This was a good emergency drill, and taught the kids and the adults a lot.

Report on Youth's Emergency Prep Activity- Part 1

On October 19, 2010 our ward youth had an Emergency Preparedness drill in three homes, as their joint activity.  (Family #1-Anonymous, Family #2- Blake and Amelia, and Family #3-Mike and Mitzi.)  Sorry it has taken me so long to post this.

The youth split up into teams with their leaders and visited the homes, and gave each family the following tasks.  The groups earned points according to what tasks they could complete.

Example:  “There was a major hurricane 9 days ago.  You are still without power.  

Task #1- Find every working flashlight or lantern or candle.

Earn points:  1 pt for every working flashlight or candle.

10 pts for lighting a lantern that has a mantle.

Family #2- Blake and Amelia: We have lots of candles, more than I realized.

Task #2- Boil water without using electricity.

Earn points: 1 pt for finding matches or a lighter

1 pt for finding a camping grill or camping stove

1 pt for finding a coffepot or pot with a lid.

1 pt for having fuel (propane or charcoal, etc.)

10 pts for boiling water.

Family #1- Our kids knew where to find the candles.  We have a propane grill that we could use to boil water.

Family #2- Blake and Amelia: We have a gas kitchen stove, a camping stove, and propane for a lantern and for our camping stove.

Family #3-Mike and Mitzi: We have plenty of candles, we have a battery-powered lantern and batteries, and we highly recommend buying headlamp flashlights, if you wear one you still have two hands available.  We have a propane gas grill outside.

Task #3- You need to get information, and you need to go places.  There is no electricity, and gas pumps are not working.

EARN POINTS: 1 pt if you can get the news from a battery or solar powered radio or TV.

1 pt if your cell phone has more than 3/4 charge.

1 pt if you have a cord phone which doesn’t use electricity.

1 pt if your car has at least half a tank of gas.  

Family #2- Blake and Amelia:  We have a battery radio, and our cell phones were more than 3/4 charged.

Family #3-Mike and Mitzi: We have a wind-up radio that has a radio, flashlight, and cell phone charger.  We have an old phone that isn’t cordless.  Our car had more than 1/2 tank of gas.

Example:  Because of extreme weather, there are no stores open for several weeks, and no electricity.  All your fridge/freezer food is gone.  Find complete  shelf-stable meals that you could fix.  You must have ALL the ingredients.

Earn points: 5 pts for each shelf-stable main dish you can pull from your cupboards, (up to 5)

5 pts for each shelf-stable dessert you can pull from your cupboards (up to 5)

5 pts for each shelf-stable breakfast you can pull from your cupboards (up to 5)

Family #3- Mike and Mitzi: We have lots of mac and cheese and powdered milk and canned milk.

Example:  You have had no electricity for a week.  Your children have all wet their beds, there are no more clean sheets.  

Earn points: 10 pts to handwash a bedsheet in a bucket or sink.

10 pts if you can use only stored water.

5 pts if you can find a place to hang it to dry.

Family #2- Blake and Amelia: We need to get a lot more water for washing.

Best price for alfalfa sprouting seeds

I spent a long time this week checking out all the websites selling alfalfa sprouting seeds, and this one has the best prices.

http://www.mvseeds.com/index.html

(Note:  I think Walton Feed  http://waltonfeed.com/  is the closest in price, they may be even cheaper when we do the stake order.  But I didn't want to wait for the next stake order.)

Mountain Valley Seed Company sells 1 pound of seeds in a mylar bag for $5.48, and 5 pounds of seeds in a poly bag for $22.85.  They do not sell sprouting seeds packed inside cans, but a man there said they are planning to start that sometime soon.

I also bought Mung bean sprouting seeds, those are the bean sprouts that are in oriental foods.  I thought it was stupid to keep buying those from the grocery store in cans, when I could sprout them myself.  The Mung bean sprouting seeds cost $4.35 for 1 pound, and $13.95 for 5 pounds.


GARDEN SEEDS:

The one type of seeds they sell in cans are their "Canned Garden Seeds" for $55.  This contains 16 packets of 100% non-hybrid seeds, which keeps for more than 5 years if kept in cool temperatures (don't keep it in the attic or garage.)  I heard Jim Kennard, the Garden Doctor, talk about it on his radio show, and he said it was the best value for anyone who wants to save seeds for future emergency use.  (Again, I think Walton Feed is cheaper for their canned garden seeds.)

Manual Grain Mill on sale

There are at least two websites selling the WonderMill Junior Deluxe Manual grain mill for the cheapest I have seen it.  And shipping is free on both sites.

Millers Grain House:
http://www.millersgrainhouse.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=18&zenid=599cca3e5c1c7072fc133ae926ff4428

and Food Storage Made Easy:
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/products-we-recommend/grain-mills-wheat-grinders/

The price right now is $199.95 and is shipped free.

You may be asking, why in the world would I want a manual wheat grinder?  (I am using the words "wheat grinder" and "grain mill" interchangeably.)

My advice is to get an electric one first.  The chart below will tell you the which ones are the best.  The Wondermill electric  and NutriMill electric are always rated the best, they seem pretty equal from what I've read.

The Wondermill electric is $239.95 right now, with free shipping, on Food Storage Made Easy.  Sorry, I don't know the price of the NutriMill right now.

I am buying a manual grain mill for a backup, because we don't know if we will always have electricity.  I think getting a manual one is just one more way to make myself feel more prepared.

Plus, there are several grains and nuts I cannot grind in my electric wheat grinder.  With the manual one, I will be able to grind popcorn to make cornmeal, and peanuts to make peanut butter.  I am happy to get those capabilities.



Here is the link to see the Grain Mill comparison chart.  It rates this manual grain mill very highly.
http://www.millersgrainhouse.com/store/index.php?main_page=page&id=4&zenid=599cca3e5c1c7072fc133ae926ff4428

Delicious Waxed Cheese after 2 months

I waxed a bunch of cheese in September, and it has been sitting in a box upstairs since then.

A couple of days ago, we cut some open, and tasted it, and it was delicious! I purchased mild cheddar, and now it is definitely more sharp, but still tastes great.

I am saving the wax, because I can throw it back in the pot, melt it, and use it again and again.

I just love cheese, and am so excited that now I know how to preserve it without refrigeration.  Hurray!

Help Them Prepare- Ensign Sept. 2009

Help Them Prepare

Brian and Darlene Barrington, Virginia, USA
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=65fe1a01e8d43210VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Brian and Darlene Barrington, “Help Them Prepare,” Ensign, Sept. 2009, 70

Our family enjoys sharing information about the Church with neighbors and friends. Since we live in an area where hurricanes occur, preparing for a natural disaster is essential. Our ward held an emergency preparedness fair and invited the public to the event. After the fair, our family decided to personally deliver the information to nonmember friends in the area who didn’t attend. We collected extra pamphlets and handouts at the fair, added a few tips on food preservation from www.providentliving.org, and slipped everything into individual folders.

They were easy to deliver. We explained that we had just attended an emergency preparedness fair and had some helpful information to share. Usually a good discussion followed and our neighbors were touched that we cared enough to include them.

Did some more solar cooking

On Wednesday, it was a sunny day, so I decided to see how many things I could cook in my solar oven.  The only time you can use the solar oven is about 10 am-3 pm, and I learned that in November it cooked best between 11 am-2 pm.

First, I put in a pot of stew at 11:00 am.  The oven got up to 300 degrees, and I left the stew in there until 2:30 pm.  Wayne pronounced it "delicious!"

There was a space to the side of the pot, so I made half a box of chocolate cake and then divided the batter into 2 cans.  I sprayed the inside with Pam, and the cake later slid right out.

(These were cans I had saved, and spray painted the outside with black high-heat grill paint.  They were originally 26 oz or 28 oz. spaghetti sauce or kidney beans cans, which have white linings.)

The cakes baked in about an hour.

Then I added a bread pan full of cornbread.   That also baked in about an hour.  (I have learned that baked goods take about twice as long in the solar oven.)

I took the stew and the cornbread out at 2:30, and put in a pot of rice.  By 3 or 3:30, the solar oven was down to 200 degrees, so the rice wasn't cooking anymore (water boils at 212 degrees).  I had to finish cooking the rice on the stove.


So I learned that I could cook about 3 items in about 3-4 hours.  But all the quantities were small, about enough for 4 people maximum, without any leftovers.

Reusable Canning Jar Lids by Tattler

I just ordered some reusable canning jar lids.  They were $23.95 for 3 dozen wide mouth jar lids, plus shipping.  I got them at http://www.reusablecanninglids.com/.  I will tell you more when they arrive here.

Canned goods sale, and Where to buy gluten, bread bags

I asked my ward Google groups some questions, here are some answers:


I was at Walmart yesterday and they have canned green beans, peas, and
corn on sale for .60 a can (normally .92/can) for the holidays! Now
is a good time to stock up on pantry/foodstorage items at this great
price. These are name brand - DelMonte, Green Giant. I bought a few
cases myself.
~H.C.


I buy my gluten from Amazon. My bread recipe uses about 1/3 cup per
batch and I end up with sandwich style bread.

You can order a case of it, sign up for their automatic delivery and
get an additional 10-15% off. It works out to a little less than $10
for a case of 10. I think the shelf life is indefinite. With the
automatic delivery service from Amazon, they ask you before they send
another case and you can cancel any deliveries you don't want and
still get the discount. Super cool!

I did a lot of math about a year ago for the gluten and this is hands
down the best price I found anywhere.

When I freeze my bread I just wrap it in a few layers of saran wrap.
K.B.

You can buy gluten at Walmart on the Baking Food Aisle. It is just in those "Bob Red Mill" bags...you know they sell quinoa, wheat bran, etc. I get my bread bags there too. I just buy the walmart brand that you have to use twistie ties for...
L.H.

H. Burke Peterson, 1975

Ensign » 1975 » November

The Welfare Production-Distribution Department
Bishop H. Burke Peterson
First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=4ee8fd758096b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD


Bishop Peterson talked about a survey done in 1975:

....let us look at the results of a recent survey conducted by Utah State University among LDS people in Utah. The four basic food groups were surveyed: meats, fruits and vegetables, grains, and milk products.

The study revealed that only about 5 percent of our Church members had a year’s supply of meat products. Only 3 percent had a year’s supply of dried or canned fruits or vegetables. Approximately 18 percent had a year’s supply of grains. In the milk group, only three families in a hundred had a year’s supply of canned or powdered milk. On the average, about 30 percent of the Church had a two-months supply of food; the remainder had little or none.

These survey statistics indicate that most Church members are not prepared to meet month-to-month problems and future economic trials. Clearly, in this area of home production and storage, it is extremely important that priesthood and Relief Society leaders and all Latter-day Saints place greater emphasis on home storage—on obtaining and carefully storing a year’s supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel. In the area of home production, we would hope that members would heed the admonition of the prophets and, where possible, grow a garden, sew their own clothing, make household items, and, in general, become as self-sufficient as possible to prepare against the days to come....

In the blog post of yesterday, I mentioned how there are some members of the Church who are not storing food, using the excuse that the Church will take care of them. Here is an interesting quote by Bishop Peterson:

...We now have 143,000 acres in production. We are following the Savior’s counsel to provide food for our poor and needy brothers and sisters. This acreage is only sufficient to meet the current requirements to care for the poor and the needy in areas served by commodity storehouses. Under more difficult circumstances, at current levels of consumption, our food production projects will not be able to meet the needs of those who require assistance. Therefore, family preparedness, with home production and storage, must be the way the majority of our families take care of themselves.

"It will challenge every resource of the Church"- Harold B. Lee

I was listening to a podcast from preparedness radio, and a man was talking about his work in third world countries, educating the people about being prepared for natural disasters. They were taught what to do, because their government had no means or tradition of coming to the people's aid in a situation like that.

After his work overseas, the man came back to the United States, and discovered to his great disappointment, that the attitude here among most people is that there is no reason to worry, or to prepare, because the government will come to our rescue. This is a false sense of security.

This attitude is all around us, and you have probably received strange looks from family or friends when they see your food storage. But we know what the prophets have taught us, and we know that government aid during a disaster is not where we should put our trust. We have been commanded to have a one-year's supply of food and other essential supplies IN OUR OWN HOMES.

We also know that the Church cannot supply everyone's needs. We must stand as independently as we possibly can.

We also lovingly contribute our fast offerings to the Church Welfare services so that the Welfare Program can help those who cannot help themselves. We DO NOT want to plan to be the ones lacking the food and supplies, passively waiting for the Church or government to come to our rescue.

In the April 1978 General Conference, Bishop J. Richard Clarke said the following:

President Harold B. Lee, in his last public reference to Welfare Services, stated:

“There is no person who knows the purpose for which this Welfare Program is being instituted, but hardly before sufficient preparation has been made the real purpose will be revealed, and when that time comes, it will challenge every resource of the Church to meet it.” (Church Employees Christmas Program, 1973.)

Perilous times await us. Judgments will be poured out upon the wicked. Saints must live in obedience to righteous principles to be safe from the calamities declared by holy prophets. There is much work to be done before the return of our Lord and Savior. It is true that we do not know precisely the day of the Lord’s second coming. As Elder Bruce R. McConkie says, “Deliberately and advisedly the actual time of his coming has been left uncertain and unspecified, so that men of each succeeding age shall be led to prepare for it as though it would be in their mortal lives.” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, vol. I, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1973, p. 675.) Now there is always some risk in speaking of prophetic events in connection with welfare planning because there are those who jump to speculative conclusions. But the Lord gives us prophecy that we might prepare ourselves: for he said, “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” (D&C 38:30.)
(The Storehouse Resource System, Bishop J. Richard Clarke, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, Ensign, May 1978)

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=d8acd0640b96b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Discussion on book "One Second After"

On Food Storage Made Easy http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/, they are having a group discussion about the book "One Second After", by William R. Forstchen.

I read this book last year, and it changed my life. I look at food storage and other emergency preparedness in a completely different way now. Depending on the disaster, we may be struggling to survive for a very, very long time without the modern conveniences to which we are accustomed.

This book is a fictional account of an EMP (electro magnetic pulse) attack. Lest you say "Oh, our enemies will never do that to us", you also have to take into account the fact that this phenomenon can also be caused by large solar flares.

Go to Food Storage Made Easy and read through the comments of the people who have read the book. The comments are fascinating, and really open your eyes to scenarios you may not have considered.

The discussions so far are on 8 topics:

Family Plan and Communications
Actions to take immediately after an attack
Transportation
Food Preparation
Heating and Cooling
Protecting Family and Food
Storing non-food items and medications
Rebuilding Society.

Introduction to the Greensboro Cannery, part 3

Each time you change food items, you must change your gloves. There was a full box of them by the end of our duties, and we were able to take them home for other uses. They were hardly dirty, they just had a little residue on them from scooping wheat or sugar or potato flakes.

After we packed the food we had ordered, we had to wash the tubs and scoopers, and sweep the floor.


You can buy the food in bulk instead of canning it, if you want. Since it will not store well in these paper bags, you will need to do something with it when you get it home. You can bring it home and put it into buckets you have purchased elsewhere, or you can buy the empty cans and lids and oxygen packets from the cannery, and use our stake’s dry canning machine in your own garage. (I have to find out more about our stake’s canning machine.)

If you have a big order, or if you are picking up food for several people, it is good to bring a man along. This man was doing all the loading for his ward.




I am arranging some cannery trips for our ward. If you want to send a check and an order, the people going there can pick it up for you. Or you can come with us and help us can it. The tentative dates are Thursday Nov. 18, 9 am, Saturday Nov. 20 at 9 am. Or Tues. Nov. 23 at 9 am. Please call or email me (Amy) if you want to go or if you want to send an order. This offer is for Morrisville or Green Level ward only. You must get my email or phone off the ward list.

If you want to make an appointment for yourself at some other time, call the cannery at 336-287-1767.

(The End of this 3-part series.)

Introduction to the Greensboro Cannery, part 2

I needed to arrive in Greensboro at exactly 9 am on a Tuesday. I left my home in Morrisville at 7:15 am and was about 15 minutes early. There was a man and a woman from another stake canning with me. Here are some pictures of my adventure there.




As you are canning the food, there may be extra cans that your group does not buy. The next group can buy those. I came home with a can of dehydrated carrots and two cans of powdered milk that we didn’t can ourselves.



First, you have to put on a disposable apron, cap, and gloves. You must wear closed toed shoes. I needed a rubber band for my hair, I have long hair and it didn’t want to say inside the cap.

Second, all the cans need wiped out, to get rid of dust, then we set them on the table.







Then, we started scooping the commodity into the cans. Here, I am scooping macaroni.







When several cans were full, we put oxygen packets on top, then laid the lids on.





This man crimped the lids on with this dry canning machine.





Then we put the labels on, and the food was ready for us, or others, to buy.
Bring checks or cash, they don’t take credit cards.


I am arranging some cannery trips for our ward. If you want to send a check and an order, the people going there can pick it up for you. Or you can come with us and help us can it. The tentative dates are Thursday Nov. 18, 9 am, Saturday Nov. 20 at 9 am. Or Tues. Nov. 23 at 9 am. Please call or email me (Amy) if you want to go or if you want to send an order. This offer is for Morrisville or Green Level ward only. You must get my email or phone off the ward list.

If you want to make an appointment for yourself at some other time, call the cannery at 336-287-1767.

Tomorrow: Part 3

Introduction to the Greensboro Cannery, part 1

I knew nothing about the Greensboro cannery, so I went there a few weeks ago to see what it was all about.

The real name is the Family Home Storage Center. It is in the same building as the Bishop’s Storehouse, but they are two separate entities. Here is the difference:





The Family Home Storage Center is where members (and non-members) can go to obtain food storage items for their families. The food costs money.

The Bishop’s Storehouse provides food at no cost to church welfare recipients, paid for by our fast offerings.




The Family Home Storage Center is located at 129 Landmark Road, Greensboro, NC. It took me exactly 1 1/2 hours to get there, on a Tuesday morning, from Morrisville.

Get on I-40, go west about an hour and a half, and exit on exit 208-Sandy Ridge Road. At the end of the exit ramp, make a right onto Sandy Ridge Road, then another right onto Triad Street. (You made those 2 right turns around a Hess gas station, going around all three sides of the gas station). Follow Triad Street for about 9/10 of a mile, turn left onto Landmark Road. Go in the second and third driveways on the right.

You need an appointment. And it is good to know what you want to buy as you make the appointment, so they can check to see if they have enough. If you are buying a lot of food, they may not have enough, and they might tell you to wait until after the next shipment of food arrives.

I am arranging some cannery trips for our ward. If you want to send a check and an order, the people going there can pick it up for you. Or you can come with us and help us can it. The tentative dates are Thursday Nov. 18, 9 am, Saturday Nov. 20 at 9 am. Or Tues. Nov. 23 at 9 am. Please call or email me (Amy) if you want to go or if you want to send an order. This offer is for Morrisville or Green Level ward only. You must get my email or phone off the ward list.

If you want to make an appointment for yourself at some other time, call the cannery at 336-287-1767.

Look here to find the price list/order form: http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,8133-1-4352-1,00.html

Tomorrow: Part 2.

White Wheat not Red Wheat

I attended Heidi's class last Thursday, and discovered that all her delicious recipes are made with white wheat. It hardly tastes like wheat at all. She makes cookies with white wheat, and they are wonderful.

I am heartbroken, because I have a year's supply of red wheat. And it DEFINITELY tastes like wheat. (Cookies made with red wheat are awful.) So now I am going to have to buy white wheat from now on.

Heidi taught us Breadmaking

From Heidi:

Hi Ladies,

We had a GREAT time baking bread last Thursday! Thank you to all who came out. I know many of you wanted to come but couldn't. Here are the recipes from the evening:

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No Knead Artisan Bread:
(This is Jim Lahey's recipe which was published in the NY Times)

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1/4 t. active dry yeast
1 t. salt
1 1/2 c. warm water

(My additions: 2 T of sugar and 2 T vinegar)
(Google "No-knead bread" to find many other variations to this recipe such as adding rosemary, sunflower seeds, etc.)

Combine and cover with saran wrap and let stand overnight or 8-12 hours. Stir down, dump onto a floured surface, pat with flour, and shape into a ball. Let it rise 1 1/2 - 2 hours in a skillet sprayed with PAM. Preheat a covered Dutch oven (preferably porcelain-lined) in a 450 degree oven (my oven is a little hot so I bring my temp down to 400). When the temperature of the oven hits 450, lift the lid of the Dutch oven and dump in the dough. (It will be a sticky blob.) Bake covered for 30 minutes. If you want the top to be more golden brown, remove the lid after 30 minutes and continue baking 5-10 more minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before slicing.
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Heidi's Whole Wheat Food Storage Bread
(all of the dry ingredients can be replaced with the equivalent real product such as 1 T egg powdered = 1 egg)

3 1/2 c. warm water
3 T instant dry yeast
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. powdered honey (or wet honey)
1/4 c. powdered butter (or wet butter/margarine)
1/4 c. canola oil
1/4 c. powdered milk (or wet milk)
1/4 c. instant potatos (not reconstituted)
3 T. dry whole egg powder (or 3 eggs)
2 T. wheat gluetin (can purchase at Walmart)
1 T. salt
5-6 cups freshly ground white-wheat flour

Combine all ingredients except for 2 c. of flour. With paddle on Kitchen Aid Mixer, mix on medium high for 10 minutes (this gets the gluten going). Replace paddle with dough hook and add remaining flour 1/2 c. at a time until it comes to the right consistency (should still be sticky but the sides of bowl should be clean). Pour out on floured surface and knead into a ball. Cover and let double in size (1 hour). **You may skip this first rise but it will make a fluffier loaf if you let it rise twice). Punch down and divide into 3 equal parts. Roll dough into loaves and drop into a greased bread pan. Cover and let rise until about 1 inch above pan (abt 1 hour). Preheat oven 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes.

Variations: You may skip the powdered milk and instant potatoes although this is just a good way to get through some of your food storage. Also, you may use half white all-purpose or bread flour and half wheat flour (if so, you may omit the extra gluten). You may also add/remove some of the sugar in case you'd like to make it even more healthy.
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Heidi’s Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies:

(Corrected March 30, 2011)

½ c. butter or margarine
½ c. white sugar
½ c. brown sugar
1 egg
½ t. baking soda
½ t. vanilla
½ t. salt
1 c. whole wheat (I use freshly ground white wheat)
1 c. old fashioned oats
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine and place on cookies sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-13 minutes or until the sides start to get slightly brown. Remove from oven and let sit for another 2 minutes before you remove to cooling racks. Variations: Replace chocolate chips with raisins or add walnuts.

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Food Network’s Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cookies:

1 c. unsalted butter
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 c. canned pumpkin puree
3 1/2 c. white wheat flour
2 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
½ t. ground ginger
¼ t. ground nutmeg
¼ t. ground cloves
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Spray cookie sheets with PAM. Combine ingredients. Drop on cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Random Sampler- 2 articles- March 1992 Ensign

Here are two good articles that were in the Random Sampler of the Ensign, March 1992.

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=74ce94bf3938b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD


First article:
Pam Taylor, “Taking the Bite Out of Food Storage,” Ensign, Mar. 1992, 72

Step 1: Learn the basics of home storage. Doing so will save you time, money, and effort. An excellent primer is Essentials of Home Production & Storage (booklet, 1978), available at Church distribution centers.

Step 2: Acquire an emergency supply of life-sustaining foods and water and store them properly. (See Ensign, June 1989, pp. 39–42, for details.)

Step 3: Build up your storage gradually. It’s amazing how fast storage shelves can fill up when you buy commodities in double quantities—for example, one can of beans for regular use, the other for storage. I buy some sale items in quantities to cut costs and to add a variety of familiar foods to my storage. Bulk buying is a money-saver too, and you can get even better deals by sharing the cost with someone else and buying larger quantities. Be sure to check the expiration dates on bulk items so they won’t spoil before use.

Step 4: Eat what you store. You can become ill by eating foods you’re not used to eating.

Second article:
Janice J. Harrop, “Beyond Band-Aids,” Ensign, Mar. 1992, 73

Families who want to put together their own supply of first-aid items or expand what they already have will find her list of medical/first aid supplies helpful.

Food Storage Made Easy- Updated Site

Stop looking at my blog right now and go over and check out the complete redo of Food Storage Made Easy. They have done a fabulous job, it is much easier to find everything now.

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/

Don't forget bread making class tonight

Our evening Relief Society will be at Heidi C.'s house tonight, she will be teaching breadmaking. See details on the ward e-news.

Give Me Some Sugar

It is very worrisome to see the news stories about food shortages. Yesterday this story was posted about sugar:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/43cfbb7a-e6b2-11df-99b3-00144feab49a.html

Sugar soars to 30-year high as supply fears grow
By Jack Farchy in London
Published: November 2 2010 19:22 | Last updated: November 2 2010 19:22

The price of sugar has jumped to a 30-year high as the Brazilian harvest has tailed off sharply, hardening expectations of a shortage.

Traders believe that prices could soar over the coming months as the market faces a supply shortfall driven by smaller-than-forecast crops in important growing countries from Brazil to Russia and western Europe.

I just went to the Family Home Storage Center (commonly called the Greensboro Cannery). We can get sugar there for $4.65 for a #10 can (6.1 lbs.), if you can it yourself.
Or you can get sugar for $4.60 for a mylar pouch containing 7.1 lbs.
Or buy it bulk for $6.35 for a 25 lbs. bag. (If you have any food buckets at home, just dump it in. Sugar is the only commodity the cannery offers which does not require any treatment. You don't have to add that oxygen packet, the sugar will keep fresh all by itself.)

UPDATE: Just in the past couple of days the ProvidentLiving.org website updated the pricing to $14.00 for a 25 lb. bag. Download the Home Storage Center Order form on this page: http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,8133-1-4352-1,00.html

(Since I didn't know the prices for sugar at Sam's, two lovely ladies sent them to me, and those prices are listed at the end of this post.)

I have seen Church recommendations to have at least 60 lbs. of sugar or honey for each person per year. (That 60 lbs. doesn't all have to be white sugar, it can also include things like sweetened Koolaid powder, Jello, hot chocolate powder, brown sugar, powdered sugar, Karo syrup, and other things that are mostly sugar.)

I will be arranging some trips to the cannery in the future, please contact me by email or phone to tell me you are interested. (This offer is for my ward members only.)

Here is a comment added by Nickey:

I was at Sams the other day and they wanted $26 for 50 pounds, and I checked on line today and it is listed for $29.22.

While at the fair last month I spoke to the beekeeper/honey men and they saud the NC beekeepers are raising prices for honey... They gave me the name of a person who sold a 60# bucket for $125 last year and said they think he will be the cheapest this year as well. I have not called him yet but if people want to get together and buy some in bulk I will call around and get pricing.

Here is a comment by Kim:

Sams has 10 lb bags for $6.15. (Which is an increase of a dollar from earlier this year)
Sam's has 25 lb bags for $15.34.
Sam's has 50 lb bags for $29.22.

I just checked the online order form for the home storage center and it shows that the prices have gone up to $14 for a 25 lb bag.

So it's a pretty close call between going to Sams and spending the gas money to drive to Greensboro!