The OTHER Wheat

Just because you want to nutritional benefits of working with whole wheat flour doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice the light and fluffy texture that so pleases the palate. There are some fabulous options that you can enjoy with the different types of wheat that are available!

Why Did I Finally Give in to a Generator?

One of the first articles I ever posted on here was entitled “Why I Don’t Have a Generator”.   When it comes to enduring a serious life scenario in which food, money, and human decency may be scarce, the typical generator is not a friend. It makes too much noise, thus attracting unnecessary attention, most of them require fuel which is very difficult to store and use safely; they only run for a short period of time, they can easily be destroyed with a strong solar flare or an EMP, they are bulky, cumbersome, and require lots of room for storage, they are wicked expensive for what you get, and even the solar generator versions use a lead-based battery which is simply not suitable to endure a year of full charges and full power exhaustion everyday–plus they have that pesky problem of bulging or having a “memory problem” in which if you use it a little and charge it a little then it gradually loses its capacity to be fully charged and fully drained. Sounds like an awful lot of expense for so much hassle. 

Could You Endure Power Outage for 24 Hours?

A couple of weekends ago our neighborhood decided to do a little test run to help everyone better assess their level of preparedness. Since there have been several instances in our nation in which people have had to go without electricity for weeks at a time, the assignment was to go without power for a full 24 hours with the exception of our refrigerators. (Bunch of sissies. *grin*)

The Skinny on the Beef Market

A little over 2 months ago, I shared in one of our updates that I would recommend folks taking the opportunity to stock up on some key products, specifically dairy products which I felt were going to skyrocket due to a domino effect of compromised harvests, droughts, and tainted resources that were relied upon to meet demands.  In that update I went further to urge all of our readers to anticipate that meats would be increasing significantly as the ripple effect of these issues would soon be felt at the grocery checkout. At that time I suggested that we could soon be paying as much as $6-$8 per pound for ground beef!  

The Gourmet Deception

Let’s talk about this whole “gourmet food storage” phrase that I keep seeing all over the place. I’m really having a hard time accepting that anyone is falling for the concept of “gourmet food storage.”  Doesn’t anyone else see the oxymoron in calling something “gourmet food storage?”  Has someone figured out a way to freeze-dry roasted asparagus with a rum pear spinach salad served alongside roasted pork in a pear butter barbeque sauce? What exactly is it that qualifies a freeze-dried or dehydrated entrée as “gourmet food”? [caption id="attachment_9154" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="Chef Robert Irvine--Chef to the Queen--Knows Gourmet"][/caption] If you look up the meaning of gourmet in any dictionary you’ll see that the term is referring to a person who’s a connoisseur of food and drink. I suspect that chefs such as Robert Irvine, Scott Conant, Judy Joo, and Simon Majumdar could arguably be referred to as gourmet chefs. Clearly they are connoisseurs, and as such I really have a hard time picturing any of them lauding the taste, textures, and balance of any food made by Wise Foods or Daily Bread—or anyone else who claims to have “gourmet food storage.” I looked and looked but didn’t find a single episode in which the “secret ingredient” of Kitchen Stadium was freeze-dried food storage let alone “freeze-dried peach flavored apple pieces.”  I just can’t even imagine the Chairman dramatically whipping back the red silk cover as the dramatic music plays only to see that the Secret Ingredient is freeze-dried whole eggs.