Well, we have decided in the last year to get very serious about food storage. I finally got to go to the cannery the other day and I had a blast. I have to thank Lois and Lynnea for taking me over for the first time. They are two great people. Lois is Serene's mom and Lynnea is Jana and Daelyn's step mom. I know it's confusing. We have big spread out loveable family. :-) I canned so much stuff. That little machine that puts the lids on the cans is way too cool. I bought refried beans, apples, carrots, onions, black beans, potato pearls, and milk. I think we could have a year's worth of food now if we needed to live on it. We have 72 hour kits, and first aid kits. I sill feel like we could round it out more. But, we are working on it. I just added two buckets of banana chips and two buckets of shredded potatoes to our stash. We love hash browns and the banana chips could be used to make banana bread or something like that. I have a great list going of what you need and I just keep adding things to it.
We also bought a pressure canner and I've been trying my hand at that. I want to can my own meat. I think canned meat in the store is nasty. I started out by cutting up the roast we normally eat in stew (Rump Roast) into bite size pieces and canning that. It came out pretty darn good. I made a stew with it this week just to try out a jar and it was way better than anything you would get at the grocery store. My first batch could have used more seasoning so in the second batch I added more. Now I'm trying potatoes. They came out good as well. I put them in chicken broth, but I think I'll use water for the next batch.
I still have to get a wheat grinder. I'm thinking about that NutraMill grinder that grinds like 12 cups of flour and it's enclosed. Anyone ever used one of those? We have yet to make a loaf of bread that doesn't turn out like a rock but we'll keep trying. I think we are not mixing it long enough in the mixer. It just doesn't rise like it should. Tastes ok, just way to dense for a sandwich or anything like that. I've never been a baker so feel free to give me suggestions on what I might be doing wrong.
Here are some pictures of our food storage area in the basement. You can't see all the labels really clearly but you get the idea.
Here are some pictures of our canned meat and potatoes. I know the meat kind of looks ugly, but it tastes good.
So, I think we've made a pretty good start.
4 comments:
have you tried putting dough enhancer in your bread receipe. I had the same problem until I used it. You can buy it at the store in the baking isle. It helped me out a lot.
You can also use a mixture of some sort of baking soda and something, or something like that. Google it. That is where we found it last year. Not that I am one to talk...I am not so great at bread baking. I haven't really tried it in the oven.
Ryan used to make bread mixes from recipes in our Bread Maker manual. Then he would store them in ziploc bags in the fridge. I wonder if you could can the mix and then just add it and some yeast and water to a bread maker flip it on and VIOLA bread! Hmmm, I might think about trying that!
I am SO impressed with your storage! That all looks so great! Good job you guys!
Oh and CANSOLIDATOR....hmmm! I am quite sure that those are the best invention. They are SO organized looking and I am ALL about that!
The water thing cracks me up! Dad told me about it once. It is good to see a picture of it!
You guys inspire me!
I tried Glueten - Marsha suggested that. I haven't tried dough enhancer yet, but I will. I really want to make a sandwich type loaf. I also want to try making my own buns for hamburgers. We have also decided that we are probably not mixing it long enough in the mixer. We were worried about breaking down the yeast until we watched Alton Brown (Food Network) make pretzels.
Sondie I am the worst baker in the entire world, but the best baker in the entire world is my sister Melissa. She makes the best bread ever. I use her recipe that has vital wheat gluten in it and OH MY GOSH!! My kids ask if they can have bread for dessert!
2 1/2 C. hot water
5 tsp. yeast
3 T. sugar
1/2 C. gluten
3 tsp. salt
1/2 C. oil
5-6 1/2 C. flour
I use a regular Kitchen Aid to mix everything in.
Start with the water add yeast and sugar. I let the yeast and sugar get all foamy but Melissa says you don't have to. Then I just dump everything else in. Sometimes I use all the flour sometimes not. It just depends on the conditions of the day. I knead mine for a good 10 minutes in the Kitchen Aid and then let it rise for 20 minutes. Melissa says that the best way to tell if your dough is ready is to kead it a bit and see if it comes together without being sticky but it is still really soft.
This recipe makes two loaves. I like to roll the dough out and then roll it up again to make my loaves. I use a french bread pan to make mine, but a regular loaf pan works well too.
Next time you're up let me know and I'll bring some fresh to the BBQ.
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