It took a while to get it, but here are the details on the local organic red wheat for sale. The price is $14 per fifty pound bag. While not at cost (as originally published) that is still nearly seventy-five percent below retail. This is the same price as the LDS Home Storage Center, but their wheat isn’t organic as far as I know. Continue reading “UPDATE: Deal on organic red wheat”
Liquid or Powdered Pectin
This year has been a big experiment in new canning recipes, and foods. In doing that, my wife especially has been learning a lot as she has stretched beyond some of the basic recipes we’ve used in previous years.
Well, over on her own blog, my wife made a comment about something she’s learned this year. Go check out what she’s learned on the difference between liquid and powdered pectin.
And boy has she been using that a lot this year. I’ve been grabbing pictures to post up here, hopefully I can get to it soon.
Organic red wheat at cost
A neighbor of mine just harvested red wheat on his family farm here in Utah and is selling it at cost. They had the wheat processed and bagged at Lehi Roller Mills. It is organic hard red wheat and priced at $10 per 60 lb bag. That is thirty-percent less than what you can get it for at the LDS Home Storage Centers. That’s 600 pounds for only $100! Contact Wade for more information.
Dehydrating Peppers
Harvest season is upon us here in Utah, so I’ve been pretty busy preserving the harvest. This year I grew pepper plants from seed and have LOTS of peppers in my garden. Some are hot and some are mild. This is a good thing if you like peppers a lot, but I do not. Thankfully my husband does, but even a pepper lover like him can only eat so many peppers. So what do we do with all those peppers? We eat a few, put a few in salsa, and save the rest for later by dehydrating them.
Store zucchini in bread
I have been searching for the best way to store zucchini and have found the answer: in bread. Instead of trying to freeze the zucchini itself, make it into bread first and freeze the loaves.
Other options that I am trying are freezing the shredded zucchini pre-measured in individual bags and as bread dough, pre-measured in individual, disposable baking tins. Freezing the shredded zucchini allows for convenience as you only have to thaw exactly what you need and it’s already measured for the recipe. The frozen dough is even more convenient as it only requires baking, saving you time and a messy kitchen. The most convenient option of course is pre-baked loaves though as they come out of the freezer ready to eat. I’m going to do some comparisons through the winter to see how much of a difference in taste and texture there is between bread baked from frozen dough and the pre-baked frozen loaves. If it turns out that the frozen loaves are just as good as freshly baked bread, then I will stick with that. It’s much easier and saves a lot of electricity to have a baking day where you cook it all at once. Continue reading “Store zucchini in bread”
Soft White Wheat Available in Elk Ridge
I received this information about a potential group buy on soft white wheat. Soft white wheat has a lower protein content than other types of wheat and as such is not suitable for making bread. It is however excellent for pastries, cakes, cookies, etc.
Price drop on oats, rice, and milk
The LDS Home Storage Center updated their prices two weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised that the prices have come down on many items. The most substantial discounts are bulk oats (-28%), rice (-35%), dry milk (-44%), and apple slices (-16%). Black beans (+29%), white beans (+10%), and sugar (+26%) on the other hand have gone up. So, if you have the means, I would recommend getting some oats, rice, and milk now. If you were planning on getting some more beans and sugar, you might consider waiting a bit to see if the prices change. I’d buy now regardless of the price if you don’t have any however.
Solar Cooking Challenge and Special Price
A while back, I did a post detailing the unboxing of my Solar Oven Society Sportster solar oven. I’ve been meaning to do a post where I showed how easy it is to use, but haven’t been able to get around to it.
My wife and I have been using the oven pretty frequently and are very pleased with it. When we first got it, we did a side by side comparison of it and my neighbor’s Global Sun Oven which costs just a bit more. Without getting into too many details, I think that the build quality of the Global is better, which translates to faster heat up times. The Sportster oven on the other hand is a bit larger and can handle two small pots where the Global is restricted to just one. Since a meal often consists of more than one dish, cooked in a different pot, this can be a real concern.
Continue reading “Solar Cooking Challenge and Special Price”
Freezing broccoli and cauliflower
One of the most significant weaknesses in my gardening has been storing my harvest. Gardens aren’t just about fresh produce. People used to live off them year round. With so many people struggling to make ends meet or struggling to establish adequate food storage, I am surprised there are so few gardens. This year I have committed to educating myself on effective storage techniques and significantly adding to the variety and quality of my food storage with the fruits of my garden.
There are many ways to preserve and store food including canning, smoking, bottling, drying, and freezing. Each has it’s own advantages and weaknesses and varies in effectiveness depending on the food. For example, I could eat canned green beans with meatloaf every night of the week but would rather eat dirt than canned peas. Of course, if it really came down to it, I would likely choose to supplement the dirt with the canned peas to avoid death. Thus, I would recommend having a variety of food stored in several different methods.
Shelf Reliance: Free On Friday
Our friends over at Shelf Reliance are having a giveaway that they would like people to know about. Now I am slightly loathe to tell folks about it, since hey, I want to win. But it’s only fair to share right? So over on the Shelf Reliance blog they have a post with all the details, some of which I’ll copy here:
“Shelf Reliance is giving away a Harvest 72″ food rotation system! Visit the Shelf Reliance blog at http://www.shelfreliance.com/blog/ to enter. The Harvest 72″ is valued at $459.99 and can hold up to 600 cans, making it perfect for a healthy food storage supply. The winner will be announced on Friday, June 26th, so hurry to the blog for your chance to win!” Continue reading “Shelf Reliance: Free On Friday”
Potato Grow Boxes
This year I was going to plant “garbage can potatoes”. If you haven’t heard of this method it goes like this: plant potatoes in a garbage can, add 8 inches of dirt and when the plant grows out of the dirt and is 8 inches tall, add another 8 inches of soil and so on. This method is supposed to yield about 50 pounds of potatoes in the garbage can. An alternate method is to use old tires, a bucket, or a large trench that you continually add soil to.
Farmer’s Markets
Now that the weather has warmed up, I am revisiting a post I started back in the deep winter of January.
Farmer’s Markets are a great way to find locally produced fruits, vegetables, meats and other products. These markets are often the only way to find heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables that our forefathers took for granted. You will also generally find more variety if you are looking for Organic or hormone/pesticide free food.
Continue reading “Farmer’s Markets”