Periods Will Still Happen

This video came up in my Facebook feed awhile back and I just haven't been able to get it off my mind. I'm not thinking about the information in quite the spirit it was presented, though.  This got me thinking in a whole different direction.

The producers, a group called Bustle, make an excellent point about how hard it is to be a woman when you are living on the streets.  I don't want to detract from their message in any way because it's good and valid and something so very overlooked.  I know when I've been part of a humanitarian project supplying sanitary supplies to homeless people, or to refugee families being re-settled in my town or that were being sent to an area with a recent natural disaster, we all thought about things like soap and toothpaste and even toilet paper and disposable razors.  But no one thought to add tampons or pads to the personal care packages. Not even once. As a woman it blows my mind that it didn't come to mind as a need for other women.

If that aspect of the film touches your heart and you feel inspired to do something about it... please, do!

While you are watching, the Mormon girl in me who's heard the lifelong drill to be prepared and have an emergency supply of food and other needs set aside in storage is asking you to think about the setting you see yourself living in after a disaster.  Doesn't it look a lot like today's homelessness?

I think we can take a very good lesson from these ladies who were brave enough to share their very personal stories for our own preparations.  Add feminine hygiene products to your emergency preparedness supplies/food storage.  Maybe you've already thought about it and have some, even enough to take care of your anticipated needs quite well, so think about adding more for these two reasons:

• You'll have some to share with women who have the need but no supplies.  That will do your heart and spirit good.
• You'll also have a valuable commodity for trading in an emergency situation.  You can use them to get things you need, or want, but don't have. That will do your survival and comfort good.

If you think trading them sounds cold and heartless...  I'd also ask you to consider other products that will be valuable for trading in that situation.  Even if they don't have a place in your personal lifestyle choices there will be people desperately trying to get their hands on these items so they will quickly become very valuable commodities. For example:

Wine
Hard liquor
Tobacco
Coffee (both for brewing and instant)
Coffee Creamer
Condoms

Refrigerator Pickles

Saturday morning I got up and went to the Farmer's Market.  It's a small town and a small market but there's usually some interesting stuff.

I talked to a lady selling sourdough bread and cinnamon rolls.  Hers isn't sour either... more sweet than anything but dang good homemade bread.  It had a flavor that's slightly different than what I make but mine is also really good and I love the simplicity of it too much to go looking for something different right now.  I also picked up a bottle of raw honey, more herbs for the garden and some fun little cucumbers just right for munching.  They are tiny and striped like a very miniature watermelon and the flavor is slightly lemon-like. It was a fun little snack!

And I got cucumbers to make refrigerator pickles.

3 bottles of Bread & Butter slices and 2 of Dill spears.  And, yes... those
are old spaghetti sauce jars.  Since the pickles aren't processed only a tight-
fitting lid is needed so these are perfect.  And cute with their reproduction
Atlas marks!  Maybe for next year I'll spray paint the lids like I did for
my spice jars and hide the "Classico" on them.

Now comes the hard part: waiting for them to be ready to eat.

I really love how simple refrigerator pickles are to make.  Anything to do with food that doesn't heat the house up in summer is a good thing!  I've made the Dill pickles for years.  It's a recipe handed down from a friend of my Mom's that is easy and delicious.  This is the first time I've made Bread & Butter pickles this way and I'm excited to get a taste and decide if the recipe is a keeper.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Pack whole small cucumbers OR spears OR slices cut from larger cukes into 1-quart jars with dill and sliced garlic according to your taste.

Add to each jar:
2 Tbl salt
1 cup vinegar (white or a half-n-half mix with cider vinegar is good)
1 Tbl sugar
1/2 tsp alum
pinch of pickling spice

Fill each jar with cold water. Put on tight fitting lids (does not need to seal, just be airtight) and store in a cool, dark, dry place. Ready to eat after 3-4 weeks. Can be stored up to a year. I've also made 2 quarts worth directly in my old Tupperware PickleKeeper and put it in the back of the fridge for 3-4 weeks.

Refrigerator Bread & Butter Pickles

Thinly slice cucumber and sweet onion and layer them into 1-quart canning jar(s).  Be sure to pack the in the jar tightly as they will shrink when the hot brine is added.

For each jar you need to measure into a saucepan and bring to a steaming simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved:
1 1/2 cups vinegar (I used half white and half cider vinegar)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric

Pour hot liquid over cucumbers and onions in jar,wipe rims and put tight fitting lids on.  Store in refrigerator.  Can be eaten after 48 hours.

The Quest for MORE Cookies

I've decided I want to make some frozen balls of chocolate chip cookie dough to bake a few cookies at a time when we want them for dessert or a snack.  My first step, obviously, was to consult Pinterest for a recipe and some tips to ensure success.

It seems I just need to whip up a batch of our favorite cookie dough.

Can it really be that simple?

Seriously... where are the extra steps to make it work as an individually portioned freezer-to-oven treat?  Just the same cookie dough I would make anyway will work?

I don't know if to be impressed at its ease or miffed that I did not already know this!

I think this is the cookie recipe I'm going to use since we already have all these things in the pantry.

Except eggs.

I forgot to get them today.  So I do need to buy eggs tomorrow when I pick up strawberries for the dessert pizza we were requested to bring to the 4th of July party at Derek's sister's house.  We're also taking  baked 'smores... check for that recipe, pictures and a description of their heavenly yumminess to be posted tomorrow.

Before I get too far off track, the cookie recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

12 tablespoons of butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
2 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips  (use your favorite - I have a predilection for milk chocolate)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine melted cooled butter, sugars, and salt, and mix on medium speed until mixture starts to look smooth, about 1-2 minutes.  Lower speed and add vanilla and eggs and continue mixing until well combined.  Add baking soda and flour to bowl and mix just until combined.  Add chocolate chips and give a final stir with the mixer to incorporate.  Measure out two tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Place cookie dough on parchment paper lined baking sheets.  Bake cookies for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven when edges start to brown. The center half of the cookie will still be puffy and look undone. Firmly rap cookie sheet on countertop to promote wrinkly appearance. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Cookies will continue to wrinkle as they cool.

Not overstate the obvious or anything but since I'm wanting to freeze the dough we'll be stopping where it says "...two tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball."  The next logical step would be place on a lined cookie sheet and freeze, but there's a problem with that.

Actually 3 of them.

• my freezer is pretty small.  It's a side-by-side, which I love, but it does mean the space is too narrow to lay a cookie sheet flat.
• my freezer is very full at the moment.  Yesterday was our first big trip to Sam's Club.  And, yeah... we went just a teensy little bit over board.
• my whole kitchen needs a re-work.  The only place for the fridge to sit puts the freezer door against a wall which means it doesn't open all the way.  Anything wider than about 5 inches isn't going in there.

My solution?  Ice cube trays.

I'll use ice cube trays just like in this picture blatantly ripped from the boards of Pinterest!!  Right-sized for my freezer and perfectly portioned.

Score!!

Besides, by getting the ice cube trays tomorrow for the cookie dough I will have them Friday (or Saturday, or...) to make those frozen yogurt dog treats I've been promising my boys to help them beat the summer heat.  I'll post that over the weekend with updated pictures of Thunder and Lightning so you can see how much they've grown.

Ugh!  I'm distracted from telling the tale of my cookie quest again.

Once the dough is frozen, I'll pop them out of the ice cube trays and store in a ziplock bag in the freezer.  When we get that cookie craving, I'll just put half a dozen on a baking sheet and give them a few minutes in a hot oven.  And then... yum!

Adam's Skivvies

Adam might be right at home here. I got his favorite undies in the back yard... The first man wore the leaves to hide his nakedness once he realized his junk was out there but I don't recall that the Bible says he ate the figs.  He might have.  Lots of people do.

I don't.  At least I never have.  And I don't think I'd like them much.

Or maybe I'm judging them unfairly?

The only fig I've ever tasted, as far as I know, is one of those dried up brown chunks of yuckiness you find in the grocery store's produce section wrapped tightly in plastic on a little meat tray during the holidays.  I did not like it!  Not even a little bit.  I don't like raisins or dates, either, so not liking the figs could be anticipated.  But maybe there's still hope!  I'd venture a guess that it's all the extra sugar, but I don't mind a Fig Newton now and then.  Can't say those are ever my first choice in cookies, but they're not terrible by any means.

And I'm not really sure I've ever seen a fresh fig.  In pictures, yes, but not up close and personal. Figs were just not a fruit crop that grew in Idaho or Utah... but apparently they are in Georgia.

On several occasions, I've spent a little time talking to one of my neighbors.  He's quite the gardener and an awesome source of knowledge about the neighborhood, stuff that went on in this house before we bought it, what kinds of plants grow wild in the woods, Civil War history, and all sorts of other stuff.  A couple of days ago, he told me he was sure I'd find some wild fig trees somewhere out in the wooded section of our back yard because he has some.

Which, oddly, he keeps even though he says he doesn't care much for the fruit.

I say keeping them is odd because he told me he had more than 40 trees removed from his lot so you'd think a couple more that he doesn't really love would be no big thing.  He may keep them for his mom.  He did say that sometimes she comes and gets enough to make a batch of fig preserves.  She likes the stuff.  I'm sure (at least I hope) it's very much tastier than I'm imagining right now.

But I digress...

I've been wanting to go look for these fig trees so I can keep Derek from chopping them down before I get a chance to decide if I want one.  Or two.  Or maybe even three since more trees give more coverage from looking through to a neighboring house on the other side of the woods.

And them looking through at us... eek!!

Here are a couple of pictures I found to help me know what to look for:

Photo credit: http://allotmentheaven.blogspot.com/2011/01/fig-ficus.html
Lot's of good info on figs in that blog post!

Photo credit: http://allotmentheaven.
blogspot.com/2011/01/fig-ficus.html

There are a few trees with similar leaves out there.  Guess I'll just have to pay attention and keep looking for fruit.  I learned today that they don't flower first; the blossom is inside the fruit and never emerges into the daylight.

Adam might have found them to be his comfy clothes but I like a bit more coverage than these leaves would provide!  While the leaves of what I think might be fig trees out in our woods are somewhat bigger than on the surrounding trees, they're just not enough...  Guess I need to do my shopping at the plus-size fig tree!!

Any thoughts how I use figs? Favorite recipes?  Gotta decide if they earn a spot to stay!

Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale

A few weeks ago a friend asked to store some things in my garage while she moved.  Moving got a bit of a wrinkle in it so her things have been there somewhat longer than anticipated but she has been organizing (I needed my lawn mower and garden tools to be accessible) and getting things sorted out after her helpers just kind of stuffed it in any which way.  In doing that she's unearthed several boxes of food and gave them to me.  In many cases much more than I will ever use, so I'm going to be looking to re-gift many items.

This morning, since it's too cold and rainy for me to want to be out in the garden so far, I've been looking through a collection of fancy oils, vinegars and other seasonings. With labels lacking storage instructions for after the bottle was opened, and because my mom put opened vinegar bottles in the fridge, I always had done that too.  But you don't need to... I learned a cool dark cupboard is ideal.  And even a bit of exposure to heat and light isn't going to destroy the quality of the vinegar.

I found the historic lore of balsamic vinegar, or Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale, on the website of The Napolean Co. quite interesting.

Vinegar is one of the oldest fermented products known to man.  The word vinegar comes from the French words for wine, “vin”, and “aigre”, meaning sour, which in turn came from the Latin “vinum acer”.  Vinegar in Italy is named “aceto” for the aerobic bacteria that produces vinegar rather for the wine from which it is made.  The Babylonians were making vinegar as early as 5000 B.C.  Hippocrates recommended vinegar for its medicinal benefits as early as the 5th Century, B.C.  “Balsamico” derives its name from the word “balm” (rooted in the Latin balsalum), which refers to an aromatic odor/resin, a healing or soothing medicine or aromatic, a medicinal substance possessing a spicy fragrance as well as stimulant qualities.  (It has nothing to do with balsa wood).  It is also reported to have been used as an aphrodisiac, a gargle, and tonic, in addition to its use as an air purifier against the Black Plague.  Written records mentioning special vinegars made in the town of Modena (a historic town west of Bologna) and long aging in wood barrels date to the 11th century.  It appears, however, that the first Balsamic was preserved/barreled by the Este Family in the Hodgna region around 1300.  The earliest written recordings of Balsamic date back to 1747, where it is mentioned in the vintage books and sale records of the Este Family.  By the 19th century, heads of state knew Archduke Francesco Tu for his “aceto del duca”, which he gave as a symbol of friendship.

If you decide to give balsamic as a gift, you’re in royal company - Count Boniface of Modena presented a barrel as a gift to Emperor Henry III of the Holy Roman Empire.   In those days, balsamic was consumed primarily as a drink or a digestif…it was kept in the family, passed from generation to generation, as it aged.  New barrels were started at birth, and given away at weddings.

 A little farther into their webpage, there are a number of ways to use balsamic vinegar beyond the expected oil and vinegar salad dressings.  Thinking on which to try first:

• to give flavor depth to soups and stews
• drizzled over meats and vegetables
• splash over fresh berries
• pour over Brie
• as a marinade for chicken or duck
• drizzled over vanilla ice cream
• blended into pasta

I first started using balsamic vinegar 7-8 years ago after visiting Portland OR for work and having a tomato salad at the Portland Chop House (seemingly now closed) at Embassy Suites.  It was simply sliced heirloom tomatoes with a bit of freshly cracked black pepper and parmesan shavings drizzled with a balsamic vinegar reduction.   And it was so wonderful that I started trying to recreate it with my own garden tomatoes.  Even after all these years, I've not quite got the reduction perfected but the experiments have been so very enjoyable!

Appreciate What You've Got

Yesterday afternoon I was scanning through some blogs as I do many times during a week.  This post from The Way Grandmama Does It caught my attention for a couple of reasons.  First, I love the idea of prepping to share.  What a truly kind and thoughtful way to fill a need when a neighbor meets hard times!  As I can get financially back on my feet a bit, I want to incorporate this idea into my food storage.  The second thing that grabbed my attention was this paragraph:

(Let me pause for a moment to say this:  I do not believe in hoarding, buying up gold, or stashing away large amounts of cash.  The Bible has plenty to say about what happens when we store up treasures on earth and my faith rests in the Lord for all needs.)

By some the act of storing a supply of food and other necessary supplies against the hard times that are predicted in our future is seen as hoarding.  I accept that as their viewpoint.  And if they choose not to stockpile these life sustaining necessities that is their God-given right.  Just as it is my right to keep a working
 supply as part of how I manage my household.  Indeed, food storage is a part of my faith.  The Bible tells us the Lord will look after our needs; it also teaches that He helps those who help themselves... that if we give our best effort, He will compensate for our lack.

Let's consider some spiritual aspects of being prepared to survive future emergencies and urgencies.  Looking to the Bible for guidance,  God directed Joseph (who was carried away to Egypt and gained a position of trust in Pharoah's household) to store up grain against a seven year famine.  Because he did so, he was able to save his own family when they came destitute and hungry thereby preserving the lineage of all Israel.  Now, if we read the Bible because there are lessons for us to learn, what do we learn from Joseph?  I draw from it the need to shore up both my temporal and spiritual supplies against future calamity.

If you read through the New Testament, you're likely familiar with the story of the loaves and fishes.  Yes, it demonstrates a great miracle of God's power in multiplying just a small amount of food into enough to feed a crowd.  But look at the context.  A large group of hungry people were gathered to learn from the Master.  Did He choose to speak great truths to them first?  No.  He made sure their temporal needs were met then He taught them.  You can't effectively share the Gospel with those who are physically starving.  And that includes yourself.

From a practical standpoint, food storage encourages you to take advantage of sales.  Your limited resource, money, then stretches a little farther.  Rotating through your food storage makes you plan meals to use items before they expire.  I know I am much less stressed when I know what I'm cooking that day rather than having to scramble at the last minute.  Having a supply of food already available in your home cuts down on last minute shopping trips and, thereby, unplanned purchases which are often junk food.  Done right, food storage promotes healthy eating because the best foods to store are the basic, and often minimally processed, ingredients for a meal.  Many of the fruits and vegetables in my store room came from my own garden so I know how they were grown, when they were picked and exactly how much sugar and salt were used in preserving them.  And finally, if there is a huge disaster food will become the most highly valued currency of all.

Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chamber be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.      Proverbs 24:3-4

If this is hoarding, then yes, I do believe in it!

Food storage follow up

Alright... I was little "Miss Responsible" this morning and drug myself down to the storage room to take an inventory.  No, I'm not going to to spill my guts and tell you exactly what all I actually have.  For once I'm going to heed my Mom's advice:  "Don't tell anybody what you have down there.  If things get bad they'll just come steal it!"  But I will tell you a few things about the experience.

When I came upstairs, plugged it all into my Food Storage Calculator and saw how very much I need to buy, I cried.  But for how little is there I was surprised that it still took just more than 4 notebook pages to list.  I need to put a significant effort (and chunk of money) toward re-stocking the essentials.  Essential food items like Grains, Sugar, Fats, Legumes and Dairy are the things you need just to sustain life.  They also form the backbone of a good food storage plan.

But sliced olives, mushrooms, diced green chiles and artichoke hearts are essentials.  No?  Ok... but they do help the essentials taste good!  That's important if I'm going to have to eat it.  So are things like enchilada sauce, Nutella, teriyaki and BBQ sauce good for making those life sustaining essentials edible. And they are all going to be part of MY storage plan!

Now that the room is organized and all the shelves are straightened up I am even more motivated to make a working storage plan.  I think I will even take it a step further and type up my inventory, slip it into a vinyl sheet protector and tape to the door with an dry erase marker to keep track of what's added or taken out as I go.

First on my priority list is going to be water storage.  I only want one of these units. There's a place where I think it will fit perfectly by the side of a freezer that I also have yet to obtain.  I have the 2 big blue storage drums... but they are not in the basement yet or filled.  What materials and tools do I need to make the unit to hold them?  Who can I con into spending a couple of evenings helping me build it?  If they are tipped on the side like this will I still need a pump to get the water out?

How's the food storage coming?

I had thought today I would write out my Mom's life history... but just like that memory book, I'm struggling with pulling my thoughts together out of the chaos inside my head so I'm going to set it aside for awhile longer and just talk about one of her passions:  food storage.

"How's the food storage coming?" she would ask me.  It was a near daily question for the past several years.  Honestly sometimes it made me just a little bit crazy!  And even more honestly, the past six months off work to be home and take care of her was hard on the food storage I did have scraped together.  I knew it kind of in the back of my mind but realized it even more vividly yesterday looking for spaghetti.  And not finding any.

Every time my mom would think to ask about the money in her bank account she'd always try to coax me into doing one of two things:  spend some on the house or get something for food storage.  Being bull-headedly self-sufficient, or maybe it's just bull-headed, I usually pushed the suggestion aside saying something like "let's get a plan together first rather than just blindly storing stuff."  We both made good points in that discussion.  She had a sense of urgency and I wanted to go about it in an organized manner rather than buying things that wouldn't get eaten in normal times.

I was kind of haphazard about it, but I did do some research to learn what to store to sustain life for a year and how much  was needed for each person.  I even put it into a handy-dandy spreadsheet that does the math for you.  And then I started adding other things that we would want to have if it ever came down to having to live off food storage for any period of time. If you are interested you can download a copy for your own use.

Food Storage Calculator (EXCEL DOCUMENT - click Download from the top of the next screen and then open the workbook in MS Excel)

It's also on the Crafts and Other Downloadables page.

As I'm filling out the forms for life insurance claims this evening, I've been thinking that spending part of that money to fill up my food storage would be a fitting way to honor my Mom.