Today was grocery delivery day. After putting groceries away, I started peeling 15 lbs. of potatoes and 2 lbs. of carrots. In the morning they will be diced into 1/2-inch dices, blanched and set to dehydrating.
I am experimenting with dehydrating raisins. I know that others have made their own raisins by dehydrating grapes, but grapes are a bit pricey here and it is more cost effective to dry store bought raisins for a longer term storage.
Every two weeks I get two 5 lb. bags of flour and two 4 lb. bags of sugar. I had fallen behind on repackaging these into Ziploc bags and stored in 5 gallon buckets, so that was my next project. Into the pantry closet they went.
I found two large bags of pancake mix still in their paper packaging that I had forgotten about. Bugs like paper packaging, so into Ziplocs went the pancake mix. I have been big on making my own mixes or making foods like pancakes from scratch. That's fine under ordinary circumstances. But I got to thinking that in an SHTF situation I might not be able to get eggs to make pancakes. Cans of powdered eggs are not within my budget, so having pancake mix that requires only water makes sense to me.
I have found that in my area, instant powdered milk has gone way up in price. I use powdered milk for many of the mixes I make, but with the increase in price, it is becoming cheaper for me to buy some ready made mixes rather than make my own.
All we need do is watch about a half hour of news to see how completely crazy our world has become. I don't know about the rest of you, but I plan to continue to add as much food to my preps as I can before we go completely off the rails.
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Glad to see that you're back at it. It sounds like you have some nasty weather coming; stay warm!
ReplyDeleteThe direction our country seems to be headed, Gorges, I don't think there is time left to waste. Take good care.
DeleteVicki, anyway you look at it, most people in this country are just a few days away from going hungry. The world has a few minor skirmishes going on...Hong Kong, Iran, Venezuala, strikes in France, and on and on. Then on top of that, half of the people in this country are all about destroying our President and the deplorable white Christian conservatives. Did you see how rude and condescending Joe Biden was at one of his own yesterday when the poor guy made the mistake of asking a question? The world has been turned upside down with hate and lies. You are doing the correct thing with your efforts to feed yourself and family. One of these days we are going to wake up to a world unlike anything we have ever seen before. Keep stocking your shelves until that day arrives, CW
ReplyDeleteCW...The hate and discontent in our country is astounding. And I don't see it going away any time soon. If Trump is re-elected, I fully expect that hatred to boil over. And if he isn't re-elected and socialism rears it's ugly head, we all are in serious trouble. I did see the shameful response to a question at the Biden town hall. Seemed to me to be a bit over the top for someone claiming no wrong doing. "Verily, I think he doth protest too much."
DeleteI know of very few in my area who are seriously preparing for disaster of any kind. Control of the food supply is used as a weapon to control the people. I am way too old and too ornery to even consider being controlled by anyone. There is very little I can do as a chubby granny to stop the runaway train that is headed for the cliff. But I can and do make sure my family has what we need to survive at least for a while. What I don't understand is why others can't see what is so spectacularly clear to the rest of us.
Thanks for sharing about the raisens!!
ReplyDeleteSJ from Vancouver
You are welcome, SJ...I will let you know how it works out.
Deletei thought raisins were ready for storage do they need more drying?
ReplyDeletedeb...I don't know. That's why I am experimenting with the raisins. When we buy raisins, they still have moisture in them so logic tells me that anything with moisture in isn't going to last as long on the shelf as food that is completely dry. The raisins I just bought have an expiration date of one year from now. If they came sealed in a can, I wouldn't pay too much attention to the date. But they are just sealed in a cardboard container and not vacuum sealed. At any rate, it just seems to me that for long term storage, which is what I am after, they might last longer if completely dry. We shall see...
DeleteVicki~ I was looking for shelf stable dairy and found this site: https://hoosierhillfarm.com/
ReplyDeleteWhat I like is the lack of additional additives. It can be ordered from Am>>>>.
Just finished 25 pounds of yellow squash for dehydration. Starting on 25 pounds of zucchini that will go in the freezer until the yellow is done. The zucchini was 64 cents per pound and the yellow was $1 per pound. The Produce Man said I was the second woman today that bought in bulk. He said his wife has had him bringing home 25 to 50 pound bags of beans, rice etc for canning and sealing. He said she's tight with a $ and the fact she's spending has caused to to listen and look. Red
Red...I have bookmarked the site. They have lots of neat stuff!
DeleteGood going on the squash and zucchini! I wonder if there are others like your produce guy who are waking up to the realization that storing food may be a good idea. I sure hope so!
Vicki~ I think some of the people that wore blinders or rose tinted glasses tripped and they are cussing themselves out for not seeing what was out of their line-of-sight. First batch of squash is done and the second is processing. I did find out that my 15 pound Tuxedo cat likes yellow quash. Red
DeleteRed...I think there will be many who will wish they had seen the light sooner. Things aren't likely to get better any time soon if the left has their way. Question - is it possible to thaw shredded zucchini, drain it well and then dehydrate it? It is now taking up freezer space. I am getting another 25 lbs. of bacon. The plan is to freeze it in quart bags and can it later as I empty half pint jars enough for a canner load. Don't really want to buy more jars just now.
DeletePS...The picture of your 15 lb. Tuxedo cat chowing down on yellow squash made me laugh. :)
DeleteVicki~ I've defrosted veggies, drained them and did dehydrate them. Then sealed them in jars for later use. Red
DeleteThanks, Red...I will give it a try.
DeleteI have no doubt that Biden is guilty of something! And, i think he will be exposed and go down with Trump.
ReplyDeleteThe world is mocking Trump because of his own ego, nothing to do with our politics.
I have kept sealed raisins too long. They turn sugary, but i doubt they in any way or spoiled or will not hurt to be put in cooking.
Make sure you put any milk or flour concotions in the freezer for three days. Bugs come with the flour and mixes. We eat bug eggs all the time. We just don't want the bugs to hatch.
Mama said that growing up during the Depression that they just sifted all flour to get the critters out and used the flour or whatever. You can actually tell by looking if there are things in the flour, other than seeing weevils or whatever. There is a sort of "spider web" look in the flour.
Right now, i would throw out weevil-y flour. If times were tight, i would sift the critters out and use the flour.
Linda...Good idea to freeze flour before repackaging. I do the same with powdered milk. About three days in the freezer seems to kill any creepy crawlies. I wonder if quick oats or cornmeal should be frozen first. I have never found bugs in either, but it might be a good thing.
Deletemaybe the buggy stuff could be mixed with peanut butter and put out for squirrels and birds if anyone has the time and energy??
DeleteExcellent idea, deb.. That would make a great addition to a bird feeder.
DeleteI don't need to feed the squirrels. My neighbor has a guava tree which provides not only fruit but the nut inside. Plus they like the oranges from my tree and my tomatoes. Red
DeleteWe found mashed tater mix, just add water. Wow, who would have thought about doing that one. Next you tell me about a drink mix that you don't add sugar to it??? Don't over do it...please
ReplyDeleteRob...It is always a good thing to have foods on hand that are really easy to make, especially in a crisis situation. Crystal Light is kind of spendy, but worth it when there is a diabetic in the family like there is in mine. It is all good.
Deletethat's a good idea to have some of the pancake mix that only needs water. I always make my pancakes from scratch, with eggs, so hadn't thought of that either.
ReplyDelete