Marti’s Corner – 35

Hi Everyone,

NOTES:

*  More reasons to stock up.  And Now It’s Oats
*  Time to feed your garden again.  I use a vegetable fertilizer with mycorrhizae fungi.  I just buy it at Lowe’s.  I like Kellogg’s brand, NOT this one, but similar.  Dr. Earth Organic 5 Tomato Fertilizer.  In addition to the fertilizer, I give them some nitrogen (DO NOT feed the beans).  Either compost or worm castings.  I usually do the worm castings.  You should be feeding at least once a month.
*  If you’ve kept your plants alive through the heat, they should start to produce again.  Some things like the beets, beans, and cucumbers, I just started over.  It’s like a “do-over”.
*  EVERY week, as you shop, you should be thinking, “If I have to hunker down again for a month, can I do it?”  

LONG TERM FOCUS: Milk

There are two types of powdered milk.  There is instant powdered milk, and non-instant.  She mixes her milk in a blender.  2 c. hot water + 1 heaping cup of powdered milk.  Mix in blender.  Pour into a milk jug, then add an additional 8 cups of water.  Mixing Powdered Milk – YouTube

Instant milk is more expensive.  But you can just stir it into cold water with a spoon, no heavy mixing is needed.  Also, it takes more.  

Here is a blind taste test:  8 Best Powdered Milk Brands: Taste Test RESULTS!  But remember he does not include Emergency Essentials, or Honeyville or any other large Emergency Food Company.  

I have always mixed my non-instant milk in a blender.  It creates a ton of foam on top.  Just let it sit and it will calm down.  Best results come from letting it sit overnight in the fridge.  It is NOT cost efficient.  It is cheaper to buy fresh milk.  And you should try to rotate it, or just be prepared to buy new milk every 3-5 years.  

More measurements:

I usually add the milk to the measuring cup and then fill to the required line.

1 1/2 TB milk + 1/4 c. water = 1/4 c. milk
3 TB milk + 1/2 c. water = 1/2 c. water
1/3 c. milk + 1 c. water = 1 c. milk
1 1/3 c. milk + 1-quart water = 1-quart milk
5 1/3 c. milk + 1-gallon water = 1-gallon milk

If you don’t like the taste, just add a little more milk.  It will seem a little richer.

SHORT-TERM FOCUS: Cocoa
Who doesn’t like the taste of cocoa on a cool evening?  It’s so easy to buy this at the grocery store already packaged in a #10 can.  Instead of adding hot water as directed, try adding warm milk, or adding some instant milk to your mug for a richer taste.  If you want to experiment a little with the milk, you can get it in the bulk section at Winco (or at least you COULD). 

72-HOUR KIT FOCUS: Garden Seeds

Time to think about getting seeds.  My favorite place is here: Johnny’s Selected Seeds | Supporting Farms & Gardens Since 1973.  I think they have an excellent product.  PLUS, if you get their seed catalog (free), it has planting guides and germination guides and all kinds of good information like that.  BUT, they are more expensive I’ve found.  Here is what I like the most:

*Tropicana lettuce – produces for me really well.  Tropicana – Lettuce Seed | Johnny’s Selected Seeds

* Rouxai lettuce.  A rich dark color that adds trace minerals and vitamins to your salads.  Grows well here Rouxai – Lettuce Seed | Johnny’s Selected Seeds

* Estiva tomatoes are bred to resist cracking, which happens a lot here because of our cool nights then really hot days.  Estiva – (F1) Tomato Seed | Johnny’s Selected Seeds

In addition to Johnny’s seeds, I also order from

True Leaf.  True Leaf Market Seed Company | Buy Non-GMO, Heirloom, Organic Seeds  

As you can see, they have non-GMO, and heirloom.  Their seeds are about 1/2 the price of Johnny’s seeds.  But you can see which ones are heat resistant and stuff like that.  They have vegetables, herbs, and flowers.  Good variety. Then there is the Dollar Seed site:  Bulk Garden Seed Packs.  It doesn’t have the variety of the other sites, but they have heirloom seeds and everything is only $1 per pack.

MISC. FOCUS: Hand Warmers, Gloves

Here in So Cal, we don’t have a lot of need for these.  But it’s a good idea to at least have them.  We have a duffle bag in the garage with “winter clothes” or as we affectionately refer to them as “Indiana clothes”.  These are REAL winter clothes:  coats, scarves, mittens, gloves, thermals, etc, all we would need to have if we were without heat and it was very cold.  Had we not gone to Indiana, we probably would not have acquired such things.  As it was, we got a lot of them at thrift stores in Utah.  LOL.  Keep an eye out for stuff on sale, especially for kids.

FOOD STORAGE RECIPES

Sweetened Condensed Milk
from Preparedness Principles by Barbara Salsbury

2 c. dry milk
1 TB butter (or oil)
1/2 c. boiling water

Blend thoroughly with an electric mixer.  While beating, add 1 c. sugar.  Beat really hard until the sugar is dissolved.  This yields about 1 pint of sweetened condensed milk.  It will store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.  

Sweetened Condensed Milk
from There’s a Cow in the Kitchen by Virginia Nelson

3/4 c. non-instant powdered milk (1 1/3 instant)
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. hot tap water
4 TB butter

Combine the milk and sugar.  Pour the hot water into a blender, add the butter.  With the blender going, pour in the milk and sugar mixture and blend until smooth.  Or you can use an electric beater to blend.

You can use sweetened condensed milk for all kinds of desserts.  You can use it as a glaze on a cake made from scratch.  You can add cocoa powder to the dry milk for a chocolate glaze for donuts or cakes.

Orange Banana Milk
from There’s a Cow in the Kitchen by Virginia Nelson
(We would probably call these “smoothies” today)

1 6 oz can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 medium banana
3 c. ice water
1/2 c. non-instant milk powder (3/4 c. instant)
1 TB honey or sugar

Blend.

Orange Julius copycat
from:  COPYCAT ORANGE JULIUS (+Video) – The Country Cook

1 12 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 c. milk (see chart above for making this with powdered milk)
1 c. water
1/3 c. sugar (as I’ve made this over the years, I’ve decreased the sugar to about 3 TB, but try it for yourself)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Get this going in a mixer.  Add ice cubes (about 12) 1 or 2 at a time.

All right, everyone, go be productive.  Be prudent.  Be wise.

Marti