Sunday, April 28, 2013

"A year's supply of food storage is beneficial in several ways:

1. It provides peace of mind as we obey the counsel to store.

2. It helps ensure survival in case of personal or natural disaster.

3. It strengthens skills in preparing and using basic foods" ("Home Storage: Build on the Basics," Ensign, June 1989, 40).


Crispy Noodle Prawn Twists  Gluten Free

Crispy Noodle Prawn Twists

Ingredients:
1/4 pkg rice vermicelli noodles
10-15 large prawns or shrimp, peeled & de-veined
Peanut or canola oil, for deep frying

Directions:

Place dry noodles in a pot of boiled water. Let sit for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Lift out strands of noodles and lay on a clean towel, to remove excess moisture.

Taking a few strands at a time, wrap noodles tightly around prawns. Using towel, blot excess moisture off wrapped prawn.

Depending what size pot you are using, oil should be at least 2 inches deep. Heat oil over medium-high heat.  Once oil  has reached 350°F, using chopsticks, gently place 1 wrapped prawn in hot oil (have lid ready to deflect any splatters from you). Once noodles are golden, flip and cook other side. These will cook quickly - 60 seconds or so. Cook only 1 prawn first to determine your cook time. Then continue cooking the remaining prawns (up to 3-4 at a time).

After cooked, drain excess oil off on paper towels, then serve with plum sauce.

Plum Sauce  gluten free

Plum Sauce
Great dipping sauce for crispy chicken strips.

Ingredients:
Variation 1
1 lb (1 can) purple plums in heavy syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp chilli sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Variation 2:
3 lbs red or purple plums, halved and pitted
1 cup onions, chopped
1 cup water
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup white, rice or apple cider vinegar
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8-1/4 tsp ground cloves

Plum Sauce

Directions:
Variation 1:
Puree plums and syrup in a food processor or blender.
Pour puree into a saucepan and mix with remaining ingredients.  Let simmer for about 30 minutes, until thickened.
Allow to cool, then keep refrigerated in a sealed container.

Variation 2:
In large heavy saucepan, bring plums, onions, water, ginger and garlic to boil over medium heat. Cover and lower heat to simmer, stirring occasionally, until plums and onions are very tender, about 30 minutes.

Place a large sieve over a large bowl, and pour mixture into sieve. Using a potato masher, or the bottom of a cup, press the mixture through until you have extracted as much of the liquid as you can.

Pour liquid in bowl into a clean pot and add remaining ingredients. Taste, and adjust any spices as necessary. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat and simmer until mixture has thickened, about 45 minutes.

Allow to cool, then keep refrigerated in a sealed container. Or can fill hot sauce into canning jars, seal, and process in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes.

WHOLE WHEAT ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Make this classic dessert entirely from your pantry food storage!

Ingredients
  • 1½ C. powdered sugar
  • 1 C.cake flour (or ¾ C. whole wheat flour + ¼ C. cornstarch)
  • 1½ C. egg whites (12) (1/2 C. dry egg white powder + 1½ C. water)
  • 1½ t. cream of tartar
  • 1 C. granulated sugar
  • 2 t. vanilla
  • ¼ t. salt


Instructions
  1. Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 375ºF.
  2. Pulse in blender powdered sugar and flour; set aside. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until foamy. Beat in granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, on high speed, adding vanilla, and salt with the last addition of sugar. Continue beating until stiff and glossy meringue forms. Do not underbeat.
  3. Sprinkle sugar-flour mixture, ¼ cup at a time, over meringue, folding in just until sugar-flour mixture disappears. Push batter into ungreased angel food cake pan (tube pan), 10×4 inches. Cut gently through batter with metal spatula.
  4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until cracks feel dry and top springs back when touched lightly. Immediately turn pan upside down onto heatproof funnel or bottle. Let hang about 2 hours or until cake is completely cool. Loosen side of cake with knife or long, metal spatula; remove from pan.


Top Ten Ways to Keep Your Food Storage Safe

Food storage is a great way to prepare your family for emergencies. However, bacteria and other contaminants can invade your emergency food and render it useless. Here is a list of the top ten ways to keep your food storage safe and secure!
1. Before canning, make sure everything is clean! Many people can their own fruits and vegetables. This is a great practice for you and your family, just make sure you thoroughly clean off the produce and canning jars before starting. This may require rinsing in a water/bleach solution or boiling.
2. While canning, refrigerate the produce you aren’t ready for yet. If you plan on canning 10 lbs. of strawberries, it will take a while to get all of them done. Instead of leaving all 10 lbs. on the counter while working, put the fruit-in-waiting back in the refrigerator. This is very important for fruit has been cut, because it is more prone for bacteria. Refrigeration will help keep your fruit fresh until you’re ready for it.
3. Weevils? Freeze that flour! Ever heard of weevils? These pesky bugs will hatch in your flour and invade all of your other grains too! When you purchase any form of grain, make sure that you freeze it for 4 to 7 days before putting it in your storage room.
4. Store plenty of water. When planning your food storage, make sure that you have enough water for drinking, food preparation, and general hygiene purposes. You can do this with a combination of water barrels and filters. Water storage should also been taken into consideration when purchasing food storage. For example, freeze-dried food requires substantially less water than dehydrated foods, or traditional foods like rice, beans and wheat.
5. No more expired food, rotate it out. If a portion of your food storage consists of canned goods from the grocery store, make sure to put recently purchased items in the back so that the oldest items get used first. This prevents you from having to throw out expired food.
6. Have a balance of food groups and nutrients. Have you ever tried eating just noodles and bread for a week? It gets boring real quick, and you are more likely to get sick when you don’t eat a balanced diet. When planning your food storage, try to have a good balance of fruits and vegetables with your grains. You can do this by storing canned goods, freeze-dried foods, and/or canning your own foods.
7. Do you know what you have? Take inventory regularly. This allows you to keep track of what you need and helps you watch out for expired foods. If you keep an accurate inventory, finding expired foods can be completely avoided.
8. Include comfort foods. I know this sounds silly, but in an emergency you and your family will be stressed. Having a tasty piece of strawberry shortcake (or whatever your family’s favorite dessert is) will help ease the tension of survival.
9. Use a proper long-term storage container. Leaving food in the bag it came in, or not lining storage containers with plastic can make them more susceptible to moisture and other contaminants.
10. Use oxygen absorbers appropriately. These are great for preserving foods! Make sure they are put in all of your dry food storage containers.

by Alyssa Staehli
 

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