Home Storage Through New Eyes

I apologize for not posting on a regular basis this past month. I have been in a state of deep contemplation in regards to storing food and how what I have stored fits into the life of my family. Over the last month or so I have read many articles, looked at many websites, taken food storage cooking classes (over the last 7 months), pondered the examples of others, become overwhelmed with the rising cost of everything, felt a desire to be better nutritional provider for my family, etc.

At the end of it all I realized a few things...
One, that using your home storage is in many ways a very personal thing that varies from person to person. For one person, making almost everything from scratch is what works best, for another, it might be making certain items from scratch and not others.
Two, that cooking from scratch is in most instances a more healthy choice, especially if you can try and incorporate whole wheat.
Three, that by learning how to make things on my own, rather than purchasing everything premade from the store, I obtain skills that build my self esteem and help in my desire to be able to "provide" for my family.
Four, there is safety in following the counsel of prophets who have for over 75 years counseled us to have a storage of food. Just watching the news and reading the paper and seeing the food crisis that exists in so many areas of the world, reminds me of the wisdom of this counsel and the peace I feel in having not only food stored, but the ability to use it.
Five, that there is a terrible stigma attached to using food storage...that anything made from wheat is disgusting and nothing tasty can possibly result from using stored food. For example, I was asked to make some breadsticks for a family dinner a few weeks ago. I used a recipe I had been given in a food storage class I had attended because it was so easy. I decided to make one batch with whole wheat flour and the other with half white/half whole wheat flour. We arrived a little late to dinner and everyone had already started eating, so I just walked around handing out the breadsticks. Before I new it, all of them were gone...all 50+ of them. I was shocked. One of my uncles called out to me and asked me if I had made them out of food storage. I replied that I had and he said at the first sign of a disaster he knew where to come. I was grateful for the compliment, but also realized the shock everyone felt when learning that not only did I use my food storage, but I used whole wheat and the result was delicious. I decided at that moment that if I could change anything in the minds of others, it would be that using your food storage is no different than just making things from scratch. And if you incorporate your wheat, you are just making a healthier dish. And just as a side note, after making the breadsticks for that first family dinner, I had been asked to make them for the next two dinners that followed and I left each time with an empty basket.

So that is the revamped focus of this blog, to find ways to use our food storage in our everyday lives and perhaps become a little healthier in the process. There is much we can learn from each other, so let me know of your experiences.

For those interested...

BREADSTICKS

1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 T. honey
4 cups flour (use whichever you wish)
1 T. instant yeast
1 t. salt
Seasoning

Place large jelly roll pan in warm oven with 1/4 c. butter and let butter melt. Place water, honey, flour, yeast and salt in mixing bowl. Blend together and let knead for 8-10 minutes. Roll out into a rectangle to fit jelly roll pan. Spread the melted butter evenly across the pan and sprinkle half of your desired seasoning all over the butter (I like to use garlic salt). Gently lay rectangular shaped dough onto buttered pan to coat underside, then turn the dough over so the top side is buttered. Sprinkle with desired seasoning (ex. garlic salt, salad supreme, dried herbs, Parmesan cheese, etc). Use a pizza cutter to make one long cut down the middle of the pan, and then cut into 1 1/4 in. slices. Cover and let rise. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Herbs and Other Seasonings

We had a wonderful class today on Fats and Seasonings. I will post more on that tomorrow. But in our discussion of fresh and dried herbs and seasonings a company was mentioned that is a great resource for wholesale herbs. It is called San Francisco Herb Co. and has been in business since 1973. They have discounts on bulk orders and have many hard to get spices and seasonings, so it is worth a look. Click on the link http://www.sfherb.com/