Group Orders

Yes, I am still around. Lot’s going on around here. I have been helping our church group get prepared for emergencies and with us in the middle of hurricane season, I’ve been busy. As a group we have ordered 372 single burner butane stoves. I found a good price with one of the wholesale groups that I am a member of and ordered 48 on the first round. Once people saw the quality of the stove, I was under siege to get more. I put in another order for 204 and yesterday I put in the last order of 120 stoves. One of the members went to Academy to purchase some of the Butane and told me that they were almost out. It didn’t dawn on me until then that we would have to go out and find the fuel for the stoves. I went out and priced the canisters and found that Gander Mountain had the best price. Sonja volunteered to talk to the store manager about ordering 200 to 300 of the canisters. We found out today that they should be in by Wednesday or Thursday. I hope they will be able to get more because that amount will fly out of there in no time at all. These stoves are really awesome. They come with a carrying case and are compact and easy to store. They actually cook items, not just for warm-ups.

A friend of mine recommended two books that are excellent for cooking when the power is out. They can be found on amazon.com and are around $ 10.00 each.
1) The Storm Gourmet – A guide to Creating Extraordinary meals without electricity.
Check out this article about the book for a little detail on what’s in it.
CNN.com - After the storm...what's for dinner? - Jul 28, 2006

2) Apocalypse Chow – How to Eat Well When the Power Goes Out
This one is by Jon and Robin Robertson. It gives simple tips on how to shop, store, and prepare gourmet food. Learn what kind of nonperishables to keep on hand.

I like both books because they give different information and have a wealth of ideas.

I have also been working on a frozen berry order. For the last 15 years or so years we have ordered as a group fresh frozen berries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, tart cherries, mango chunks, pineapple chunks, sliced granny smith apples and etc.
By ordering as a group, we get good prices and good fruit. These wonderful berries come out of Oregon and Washington state. This morning I worked on the order for our church group. Thankfully I am not in charge of the entire group order. Due to the nature of the product, we have to pick them up immediately when they come in. It can be challenging but it is worth it.

We also do monthly group orders from Emergency Essentials. Coming in October we will be ordering Hershey Chocolates. November will be Herbs and Spices form San Francisco Herb Co. After that we can rest till spring before we do any more “outside orders”. In the mean time we still have our dry-pack day every first Tuesday of the month. Sonja and I take turns working the shifts for that. It keeps me busy.

Life around here is never dull. Hope everyone is doing good.

Breakfast Cornbread

2 Cups of Yellow Cornmeal
1 1/2 Cups Flour
2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
2 Cups of Milk
1/4 Cup of Melted Butter
1 Lb. Breakfast Sausage (I like mild)
1 Large Onion, chopped fine
2 Cups of Grated Cheddar Cheese
1 Doz. Eggs
(Optional) 1-3 Large Jalapeno Peppers, chopped extra fine (I prefer with seeds)

Using a 12-14" Dutch Oven, brown the sausage. Drain the fat, leaving approx. 3 Tablespoons. Since we don't add cooking oil to the cornbread, this will help prevent sticking. Mix cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, milk, butter & sausage in the Dutch oven. While stirring, beat in the eggs, onions and peppers. Finally fold in the cheese. Cook at 350 degrees until done. (Approx 30 min.)

This has become a family favorite when we are camping! Steve Darilek, Bridgeport, TX

Note from Lucy: I love to camp and this sounds like an awesome recipe for a family breakfast. I remember the times we went camping up in the mountains of Colorado. My dad would go with us and he would help me with the cooking. We would start a fire in the fire pit and cook over that. We enjoyed making, what I called, Girl Scout breakfast. We would use chopped potatoes from the night before, cut up some onion and brown them in a cast iron skillet. When they were done we would add eggs and salt and pepper and it would make a fine breakfast. Yes, we loved cooking together. He really did enjoy the times we were up in the mountains. I did too.

Another busy week & Homemake Yogurt

Another busy week has just flown by. TF and I will be going to our last wedding for this summer today, tonight will be the reception. I have been grocery shopping for Felicia this week. She was completely out of meat and chicken in her freezer and hadn't been grocery shopping in a while. She gave me $ 120.00 for food and off I went on my shopping spree. It's taken me three days of morning shopping to fill her freezer and get her back into shape. I found some real bargains at my favorite stores and she should be able to eat for a good month on what I got for her.

I picked up my grandson from kindergarten several times this week. The other day, I discovered that he had filled his pockets with small toys and brought them home to play with. I gathered up the toys and put them in a plastic bag and told him that he had to leave those toys at school. The next morning, Jennifer handed them back to his teacher and explained what had happened.

Our church group has been working on a plan for helping people in emergencies. One of the things that we are doing is dividing our group up by neighborhoods. We will have a group captain that everyone reports to when a weather related emergency happens. If a hurricane comes our way, we will report to our captain and let him know if we are “sheltering in place” or leaving. We found a computer program, called Microsoft Streets and Maps, that we will use to plot each group on a map. We will know where each house is, who lives there and how to get to them in an emergency. Yesterday we learned how to use the program and I am anxious to see the finished product.

Homemade Yogurt – Make it Yourself

4 cups of milk (scalded)
Allow milk to cool to 120 degrees (30 minutes)
Stir in 1 heaping Tablespoon of active yogurt (I use plain Dannon)
Pour into quart jar –

Try to keep the milk from cooling quickly buy placing in a thermos, putting in a crockpot of very hot water (do not turn the crookpot on) put the lid on and let it cool down, or use heating pads on low and wrapped in a towel. This process will take from 4-6 hours. Sometimes I leave it overnight. You can tell when this is done because it will solidify and pull away from the jar as you tip it. Next step is to allow it to cool in fridge for about 8 hours.

You may add jam, fruit, honey, granola, make freeze pops, send for school lunch, top potatoes (instead of sour cream) and the list goes on and on. Have fun!

Notes from Lucy:
Several years ago I taught a class at church on food storage. One of the ladies there was doing a demonstration on how to make homemade yogurt. She gave out the recipe and I went home and gave it a try. She told me that I could just heat up my oven to 150 degrees and put the yogurt in there, turn off the oven, and let it sit till done. I followed the recipe and was thrilled when it worked. I just put the lid on the jar and put it in the frig to chill. It really was good. It does not have a sweet taste to it because there is no added sugar, so you will have to add fruit or artificial sweetener to take away the tartness.

Weddings can bring up such emotions.

August has been a busy month for weddings. TF and I have been to three weddings receptions with one more next week. Last Saturday night, we went to a wedding reception for a beautiful young girl we have known since she was born. She is looked like an angel in a beautiful short sleeved wedding gown. The couple looked perfect together with smiles from ear to ear. They had the reception at a fancy place with a full sit down dinner. We saw many of our friends there and we had a great time visiting and celebrating with the family.

Last week we got a wedding invitation in the mail from a family we haven’t seen in a good while. I opened the invitation and looked at the picture of a beautiful young girl and I wondered, “Who is this?” I peeked at the invitation and noticed that the young girls name was Charlotte Andersen. I immediately started crying as a sudden thought just flooded my soul. When Charlotte was only three years old her dad died of Leukemia. They found out he had the illness in February of that year and he died by June or July. There were five children in that family starting with Alan, who was my son’s age all the way down to an 18 month old son. Charlotte was next to last at the age of three. The death was a terrible loss, not only to the family, but anyone that knew Tim. I really believe that he was loved by anyone he met. He and his wife, Jana, had a very strong love for each other. Our whole church family mourned his loss. Now all these years later, I open an envelope and can’t stop crying. A very profound thought came to my mind that Tim would be so proud of his baby girl who is now grown up and getting married. Actually, I am certain that he can see her now from his spot in heaven.

After Tim’s death, Jana and the children moved up to Utah to be near family. The years have flown by and we get older and children grow up. Life continues no matter what happens. We won’t be able to go to this wedding because it will be in Utah, but you can know, without a doubt, that our thoughts are with them at this time.

I like going to wedding because it is such a happy time for a young couple. They are just starting out in life together, not knowing where life will take them. I was reading Fred’s post about his 20th wedding anniversary with “The Missus” and it made me think about my own wedding 35 years ago. It’s been such a long time that I can’t remember not being married to TF. I am grateful that we have had a good life together and that we can look forward to many more years together. I love you my dear husband.

Keeping food safe in the crockpot ...by Chet

I was reading one of my favorite webpages this morning and found this article about keeping food safe in the crockpot. Bacteria is the last thing we need in our diets. To check out Chets website go to: http://chetday.com Read and learn.

Regarding last issue's question about keeping food warm in the crock, this advice from Linda:As a registered nurse I would not recommend the practice of allowing food to sit in a warm crock pot that wasn't cause food poisoning can be exceptionally detrimental to the young and elderly.

The next letter comes from Eric:
I do all the cooking for my family and I leave by 7:00 am each morning. The items in my crockpot often cook for much longer than the recipe calls for. I have left "8-10 hour" items in for up to 14 hours. The only effect is that they become even more tender and flavorful. My advice, let it keep cooking until you are ready to serve. Bacteria won't grow and you'll get a nice hotmeal.

Then we hear from Debbie Z: Food safety recommendations state that food should not be left out for more than 2 hours. Bacteria grows rapidly in foods that are not kept at the proper temperature. While crockpots or slow cookers are a very safe appliance when used correctly, a timer is not recommended. According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service here are some basic crockpot safety tips. Always defrost meat or poultry before putting into a crockpot. Keep perishable foods refrigerated until preparation time. If you cut up meat and vegetables in advance, store them separately in the refrigerator. The slow cooker may take several hours to reach a safe, bacteria-killing temperature. Constant refrigeration assures that bacterium, which multiply rapidly at room temperature won't get a head start during the first few hours of cooking..Fill the cooker no less than half full and no more than two-thirds full. Keep lid in place, removing only to stir the food or check for doneness. The FSIS web address is: http://www.fsis.usda.gov

And, finally, from Rich W:1] food must be stored at under 40 F or over 140 F",1) turned on for any length of time. Bacterias that can cause food poisoning can be exceptionally detrimental to the young and elderly.

The next letter comes from Eric: I do all the cooking for my family and I leave by 7:00 am each morning. The items in my crockpot often cook for much longer than the recipe calls for. I have left "8-10 hour" items in for up to 14 hours. The only effect is that they become even more tender and flavorful. My advice, let it keep cooking until you are ready to serve. Bacteria won't grow and you'll get a nice hotmeal.

Then we hear from Debbie Z: Food safety recommendations state that food should not be left out for more than 2 hours. Bacteria grows rapidly in foods that are not kept at the proper temperature. While crockpots or slow cookers are a very safe appliance when used correctly, a timer is not recommended. According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service here are some basic crockpot safety tips. Always defrost meat or poultry before putting into a crockpot. Keep perishable foods refrigerated until preparation time. If you cut up meat and vegetables in advance, store them separately in the refrigerator. The slow cooker may take several hours to reach a safe, bacteria-killing temperature. Constant refrigeration assures that bacterium, which multiply rapidly at room temperature won't get a head start during the first few hours of cooking..Fill the cooker no less than half full and no more than two-thirds full. Keep lid in place, removing only to stir the food or check for doneness. The FSIS web address is: http://www.fsis.usda.gov

And, finally, from Rich W: Food must be stored at under 40 F or over 140 F, carry a thermometer and use it. Make certain you reach the level of "done" along with the level of safe. Here are some of my food:safety favorites http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/askext/canning.htm
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/foodsci/agentinfo/
http://www.mel.lib.mi.us/science/foodsaf.html
http://www.fcs.uga.edu/outreach/coopex/index.html
http://www.extension.umn.edu/listing.html?topic\u003d9&subcat\u003d36

One a personal note: I love cooking in my crockpot and I learned a couple of things here. I have never unplugged the crockpot without putting left overs away. I do however put just a small amount of chicken in the pot when TF and I are the only ones eating. I have made soup in the winter time and left it in the pot overnight on low. It is ready to eat in the morning and still at a safe temperature. Glad I read this article.

TF and I have a busy weekend ahead. Have a good one.

My Grandson is starting school

JJ will be starting school NEXT week. He will be going to a private kindergarden near my house and he is so excited. In Texas the cut off date for starting school is Sept. 1st. JJ’s birthday is at the end of October so he would have had to wait till next year to go to school. He already knows the alphabet, all his numbers, his shapes and colors and he can even add by 1’s. He knows that 1+1=2 and 2+1=3 and so on. He is a social butterfly and it would be criminal to keep him home another year when he is so ready for school. Jennifer and Justin decided that they would put him in a private kindergarten and give him a good start. When they registered him a couple of weeks ago they told Jennifer that school started Monday, Aug. 7th.

JJ was so excited and yesterday morning he was up early and got dressed for school. Jen made him a lunch and put it in his new Superman lunchbox and off they went to school. When they got there, they didn’t see anyone. Jen took JJ inside and asked where everyone was. They told her that they were sorry but school doesn’t start till NEXT Monday. JJ was devastated. Jen gave me a call and asked if JJ could come over and visit for a few hours. I said, “Sure, bring him over.” I wish you could have seen the look on JJ’s face when I opened the door. It was priceless. His mommy left him with us and he played, watched Noggin and ate yogurt at Memaw’s house. We talked about school and read a Bob the Builder book.

Today we are going to the clinic to get his next round of shots. Jen had taken him to the doctors office for a well person check up and they wanted to charge her $40.00 a shot. I reminded Jennifer that I used to take them to the county health clinic and they would get their shots for $ 5.00 each shot. She wanted me to call the clinic and make sure they still did that so I called and found out that now all it cost is $ 4.00 a person, no matter how many shots they need. Wow, that’s even better than what I paid for their shots. So today, we will be taking JJ and Jocelyne for their shots.

I still wish I could see JJ when they try to call him Justin at school. When anyone trys to call him Justin he always says, “My name is JJ, my daddy’s name is Justin.” This could be interesting.

On a frugal note: I read some good articles on the Dollar Stretcher this week: Here are a few of them.

Preparing for a Layoff: http://www.stretcher.com/stories/06/06aug07c.cfm

Back to School or back to the Poorhouse: http://www.stretcher.com/stories/06/06aug07g.cfm

Boomers retiring not so rich: http://www.bankrate.com/dls/news/pf/20060807a1.asp

Cleaning with Inexpensive Steam Power: http://www.stretcher.com/stories/05/05aug08f.cfm

Grilled Shrimp With Feta and Tomatoes

This recipe was taken from last Sunday's Parade Magazine.
Grill the shrimp no more than two minutes per side, or they’ll be tough. You also can cook them in a skillet or grill pan.

For the vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 pounds large shrimp (peeled and deveined), rinsed and patted dry
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 head radicchio (or 2 heads, if small), outer leaves discarded, inner leaves separated, rinsed and dried
2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cut into 8 pieces each
8 ounces fresh feta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup whole mint leaves, coarsely chopped

1. Prepare the vinaigrette: Whisk the vinegar, mustard, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the oil until thickened. Set aside. (Makes 1/3 cup.)

2. Toss together the shrimp, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Let rest for 15 minutes, tossing once.

3. Prepare the grill with hot coals. Thread the shrimp on 12 metal skewers or grill in batches. Grill the shrimp over high heat for no more than 2 minutes per side, turning carefully. Remove the shrimp to a large bowl.

4. Trim the tough white bottom section off each radicchio leaf, then add the leaves to the shrimp along with the tomatoes, cheese and mint. Toss with the reserved vinaigrette. Serve in a large, decorative bowl.

Serves 8. Per serving: 270 calories, 8g carbohydrate, 33g protein, 11g fat, 275mg cholesterol.

On a personal note: I've been so busy lately that I just haven't had much time to blog. I pulled my left hamstring yesterday while running to catch the garbage man, what a mistake that was. My daughter took me to see the chiropractor, which was a good move because she was able to get the muscle to relax and it feels better today. I am walking around very carefully and drinking my pineapple juice to keep the swelling down. Hope you enjoy the recipe.