Marti’s Corner – 124

Hi Everyone,

NOTES:

September is National Preparedness Month.  Here is a basic list of The Big Five to Survive  Emergency Preparedness | USU

One 96 hour disaster supply kit per person (4 days)

• (Use to be 72 hours)  MY recommendation is 2 weeks

 Four-day supply of non-perishable food:  canned,  dehydrated, freeze dried…

• One gallon of clean drinking water per person per day
• First aid kit and medications
• Flashlight with solar or battery-powered radio

This site has “Temporal Preparedness Guides” for all parts of the world.  You can access them online, or download them in pdf format.  Local Area Preparedness Guides

I’ve decided to make some DIY herbal medicines for Christmas this year.  DIY neosporin, and black drawing salve.

Making salves and tinctures is NOT hard, but you need to grow or buy herbs.  I have some seeds already for next spring.  AND, I have purchased dried herbs online.  (Yes, it’s easier, but growing them gives you a continuous supply.)  Plantain grows in my lawn (and the lawn up at Mira Mosa Elementary School is full of it!!!)   If you are interested, check out this video.  Throw away your Antibiotic Ointment! (Make your own EASY Herbal Salve!)

GARDEN HAPPENINGS:

About 1/2 of my garden has survived the summer heat.  I just finally pulled a lot of things out.  I still have some tomatoes that are finally starting to send out flowers.  It takes about 3-4 weeks from flower to fruit, so hopefully some of them will ripen before it gets too cold.

My squash is very sad.  I’ve taken out most of the plants but 1 or 2 are still hanging in there, battling powdery mildew.  I still have celery.  The thing about celery, is that you just pick the stalks around the outside, and the other stalks continue to grow. AND, I have peppers that are getting big.  The celery and peppers are headed for the dehydrator.

Speaking of dehydrating, I dehydrated some zucchini at the beginning of the summer.  Confession:  I have never cooked with dehydrated zucchini.  BUT, I made a casserole last night that calls for fresh zucchini, and I didn’t have any.  DH zucchini to the rescue.  It was as good as ever, and NO ONE knew!!!  Yay!

THIS WEEK’S PURCHASE: vegetables

I noticed at Winco that the price of canned vegetables has gone up.  But, the frozen vegetables have been pretty stable in price.  My suggestion:  get frozen and dehydrate them!

You just buy the frozen vegetables, spread them out on the dehydrating sheets and let them go overnight.  You can store them in Mylar bags, or in mason jars, or in zip lock bags. Just try to stay away from light and heat.  Sometimes I do both.  Put in a zip lock bag, THEN either vacuum seal it, or put in a mylar bag and iron the top closed.  

You CAN buy a flat or two of canned vegetables.  They will last a long time, AND you won’t need water to reconstitute them.  Just date them, and stick them under your bed.

MISC. PURCHASE:  toothbrushes and toothpaste

Time to rotate out your toothbrushes (every 6 months).  Stock up on toothpaste.  You will always need it.  Although, there were times when I was young that we were VERY poor, and I have used baking soda to brush my teeth, and even salt!!  

FOOD STORAGE RECIPES:

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup OR Instapot

from Valerie’s Kitchen

Makes 8 servings

I remember asking my husband if he liked split pea soup.  “no”

Then I made some and he announced that “it was pretty good”.  I think some people are put off by the yucky green color.  Right?  I admit I was hesitant to try butternut squash soup because it was orange.  But BOTH are delicious!  

• 16 oz dried green split peas, rinsed well and drained
• 2 carrots diced (about 1 cup) OR 1/3 c. dehydrated
• 2 ribs celery diced (about 1 cup) OR 1/3 c. dehydrated
• 1/2 c. diced white or yellow onion OR 2 TB dehydrated
• 1 TB minced garlic OR 1/2 tsp dehydrated
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh Italian parsley OR 1 TB dry
• 1 TB fresh thyme leaves OR 1/2 tsp dry
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 tsp salt
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 meaty ham bone.  If you are NOT making this right after a big ham dinner and using leftovers, then get some ham hocks at the store.  Last choice is a diced ham steak, but it will do as well.
• 6 c. chicken broth

Add everything to the slower cooker.  Add enough broth to just cover the ingredients (4-5 c.)

When the peas are tender, remove the ham bone and transfer it to a cutting board  Pull off any remaining ham, tear it into small pieces and return it to the cooker.

Discard the ham bone and bay leaf.

Use a spoon to lightly mash some of the peas against the side of the slow cooker and stir until nice and creamy.  Add more broth if needed.

Instapot:

Set a 6 quart instant pot to saute and toggle to MORE

When it displays HOT, add 1 TB oil.  Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and saute for about 3 min. Hit CANCEL.

Add the remaining ingredients, including all 6 c. of broth

Secure the lid.  Select MANUAL, and cook on HIGH pressure for 14 min.  At the end of the cooking time, allow the Instant Pot to do a natural release for 10 min.  Then release any remaining pressure.

Open the lid and remove and discard the bay leaf.  Remove the ham bone and cut away all remaining ham, returning it to the pot.  Stir.

Butternut Squash Soup

Every time I serve this soup, someone asks for the recipe.

In a large pot, saute

• 6 TB chopped onions
• 3 TB butter

     I used dehydrated onions, and just added them to the soup.

• 6 c. squash, peeled and cubed.  Ugh, this is the hardest part for me.  Don’t worry so much about measuring the squash.  Just use a big one and put the cubes in a big pot.
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I leave this out)

Cover with water until the squash is just covered.

Boil until tender

Puree the squash in a large blender and add 8 oz. cream cheese as you go along.  Return to pot and heat if you need to but DO NOT boil.

That’s it!  I made homemade rolls to go with it.  SOOO GOOD!!!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup (what’s one more soup?)

In a large Dutch oven  melt

• 1/3 c. unsalted butter  Then add:
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 3 medium carrots peeled and chpped
• 3 celery stalks thinly sliced

    Cook and stir occasionally until vegetables are tender about 7-10 min.

• 5 garlic cloves peeled and minced – add and stir 1 min. more
• 1/3 c. flour – add and stir constantly for 2 min.
• 6 c. chicken stock – add slowly, stirring.
• 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

    Reduce to medium heat and cook until potatoes are tender and soup begins to thicken, about 15-20 min.

• 4 c. shredded chicken (about 1 rotisserie chicken)
• 1 c. frozen peas
• 1 c. frozen corn
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. heavy cream

    Add and bring to a boil over med. heat. Reduce heat and simmer 5-10 min. more.

Stir in

• 1/4 c. chopped parsley just before serving.

Marti