Marti’s Corner – 167

Hi Everyone:

NOTES:

**October 6-12 is Fire Prevention Week.  

NFPA Fire Prevention Week (FPW)

 **I saw this and thought it was interesting

From Leah:

Things that helped me survive Helene:

• A gas car

• A gas stove

• A gas hot water heater

• A gas chainsaw

• Cash

Things that were useless during Helene:

• Electric cars

• Electric appliances

• Debit cards

• The city bus

• The government

BUT…. my brother has been following a man from that area who has not been able to find gas.  He spends most of his days looking for just a gallon or two of gas.  

So…. not sure what the answer is.  Except to say that people are surviving because they are helping each other.  Having worked WITH the government during the Airport Fire, I know that they DO care about the people and try to do what they can.  But it takes time to get organized.  You CANNOT count on anyone to help.  YOU must be your own first responder.  

How to make a 4-burner rocket stove with cinder blocks.

4 Burner Rocket Stove, Brick Oven, and Grill! Build in 5 minutes!

You can buy rocket stoves on Amazon – anywhere from $21 to $150.  There is a good, collapsible stove for $40.  It folds up and is only 14 inches high.  Kinda small and only holds one pot, but portable.  

What if you want to bake something in an oven?  

In this video, Simon demos four different types of ovens and how they work.

Camp Ovens. Four Different Ovens you can use to Bake in Camp. Campfire Scones.

Disclaimer (the cast iron pot is big, but the other ovens are pretty small and will only fit a few biscuits or a small loaf of bread).  Sun ovens are great, IF there is sun.  Fire ovens work well if it’s not raining!  

When you are planning, consider a few different scenarios.  

GARDEN HAPPENINGS:

**October Garden Checklist

**  I still have a shade cloth over the garden.  I had taken them off a few weeks ago, but the temps climbed up again and the peppers started to get burn spots.  So….. back on it went.

THIS WEEK’S PURCHASE: flour – four pounds per person per month.

I know several people who like to put their flour in the freezer for 3-4 days to kill any insects that may be lurking in the glue, or in the paper.  I don’t have room in my freezer to do that.  I prefer to get the 10 lb. bags of UNBLEACHED flour and then vacuum seal them.  It actually works very well and I’ve never had any weevils or pantry moths in the flour.  I don’t like the “canned” flour.  I think it has a “tin-can” smell that I can’t get past.  Just sealing them and stacking them in the closet has worked for me.  Even if you are not a baker or you seldom use flour, I’d still recommend a minimum amount.  You never know when pancakes, or biscuits, or cookies might taste good.  Keep in mind that flour has a shorter shelf life.  On the church order form, it lists flour as having a 10 year shelf life, but wheat as 30+ years.  So, rotate, rotate, rotate!!!

Plus, if you just store wheat, you’ll need a grinder.

MISC. PURCHASE – alternate cooking method.  Try a camp stove.  OR, they even have backpacker’s stoves that are smaller and portable.  If you have a stove, it wouldn’t hurt to get 1-2 bottles of propane.  

FOOD STORAGE RECIPES:

We planned for home-made quesadillas last night, and after marinating the chicken for a few hours, I went to put it all together only to find that we had no cheese!  And….. the avocados were overripe and not good.  So what to make???  How about tuna casserole???  I was raised on it, and I raised my kids on it, but I very seldom make it anymore.  I like to think my cooking has progressed from that.  But, I had all the fixings, so we settled for that.  Just in case you have never made this, here is the recipe:

Tuna Casserole

• 1 bag pasta (I used noodles, but sometimes I use macaroni)

• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

• 2 cans tuna, drained

    That’s it.  I sometimes thin the soup with milk.  Like I said, it’s not my favorite, but it did the trick.  And you can’t get more shelf-stable than this.  The soup was from 2018 and the tuna was from 2016.  All still good!

Cinnamon Crisp Treats

from Preparedness Principles by Barbara Salsbury

• 1/3 c. shortening

• 3/4 c. sugar

     Cream together

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 1/2 c. flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp cinnamon

     Add dry ingredients and mix.

• 1/3 c. milk or reconstituted dry milk – roll thin, but in strips, and sprinkle with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.  (I use about 1/2 c. sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon, but make yours to taste)

Bake 350 for 7 – 10 minutes until light brown.  Makes about 4 dozen.

Cornbread (The best you’ve ever had)

from I Can’t Believe It’s Food Storage by Crystal Godfrey

Preheat oven to 375˚

• 1/2 c. butter – melted

• 2/3 c. sugar

    Add and mix well.

• 2 eggs (2 TB dry egg powder and 1/4 c. water)

    Add eggs and mix until well blended

• 1 c. buttermilk (3 TB dry milk powder and 1 c. water and 1 TB white vinegar or lemon juice.  Mis and let stand for 5 minutes)

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

    Add in and stir well.

• 1 c yellow cornmeal

• 1 c. flour (any combination of wheat and white)

• 1/2 tsp salt

    Add and stir until just blended.  Pour into a greased 8 X 8 square pan.  Bake 375˚ for about 30 minutes or until bread begins to pull away from sides of the pan.  Serve hot with butter and honey.  For glass pans, reduce oven temperature to 350˚.  Recipe ,ay be doubled for a 9 X 13 pan.  Increase baking time by 5-10 minutes.

Marti Shelley