This easy-to-make recipe results in a hearty, healthy survival ration. Hudson Bay Bread is chock-full of nutrition and vitamins, and it tastes good, too!------------------------------------------
Join the APN Forum at http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.net/
Visit the Oregon Forum at http://www.oregonpreppersnetwork.net/
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Have you seen this cooking freak?!
Alton Brown has a really good show called Good Eats on Food Network.
Sure it's fun, it's informative, educational but most importantly almost everything he makes is from scratch. Using basic components he teaches how to make food and at the same time why it becomes food.
Most of his recipes are aimed at fun, tasty or popular recipes but almost all of them include concepts that are useful for a prepper, how to use yeast and why it works, how to make pickles, making soup stock, BBQ, smoking foods, brisket... I could go on but you just need to go check it out if you haven't had the experience. Shoot, he even understands sourdough and cast iron pans, I'd love to show him how to cook nettles and cattails, he's already familiar with dandelions though.
While I love to learn things, Good Eats is one of the few programs on TV that entertain me at the same time I learn things.
There was a recent post on LifeHacker about Depression Cooking, I'd love to see his take using today's concepts and locally sourced foods. I think it would have to be about 4 episodes to do it justice, though I could easily see a full season. Bread(again), cheese(again), jerky(again), sausage(again), sprouts, yogurt; well maybe he's been in our back yard all along and we just didn't see it.
Honest, his brisket recipe (while traditional and not innovative) really works like a champ, it's what worked for 100+ years and he's right to push it, screw the health issues for a treat. His clay pot smoker works great here and while I have my own food dehydrator, his box fan dryer would be an awesome addition in the summer when I have the fan on anyway.
Rick
Sure it's fun, it's informative, educational but most importantly almost everything he makes is from scratch. Using basic components he teaches how to make food and at the same time why it becomes food.
Most of his recipes are aimed at fun, tasty or popular recipes but almost all of them include concepts that are useful for a prepper, how to use yeast and why it works, how to make pickles, making soup stock, BBQ, smoking foods, brisket... I could go on but you just need to go check it out if you haven't had the experience. Shoot, he even understands sourdough and cast iron pans, I'd love to show him how to cook nettles and cattails, he's already familiar with dandelions though.
While I love to learn things, Good Eats is one of the few programs on TV that entertain me at the same time I learn things.
There was a recent post on LifeHacker about Depression Cooking, I'd love to see his take using today's concepts and locally sourced foods. I think it would have to be about 4 episodes to do it justice, though I could easily see a full season. Bread(again), cheese(again), jerky(again), sausage(again), sprouts, yogurt; well maybe he's been in our back yard all along and we just didn't see it.
Honest, his brisket recipe (while traditional and not innovative) really works like a champ, it's what worked for 100+ years and he's right to push it, screw the health issues for a treat. His clay pot smoker works great here and while I have my own food dehydrator, his box fan dryer would be an awesome addition in the summer when I have the fan on anyway.
Rick
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Cheap prep foods
I can tell you that beans and rice are the perfect 'prep' food and I might be right, but if I don't tell you how to cook and serve these potentially nasty guys you'll be swearing at me when the time comes. Rice and beans both need a large amount of water to prepare them, you can probably (caveat emptor), use lower quality water to rehydrate both but your final preparation needs to be at temperatures higher than 170 degrees for pasteurization purposes.
Rice has a lot of uses; you can make a milk substitute, which I really don't go for but my kids like it with chocolate, yeah I'd fall for it too. As a breakfast cereal with honey and cinnamon it's tasty even if it's unusual. Adding soy sauce, meat and some vegetables and it's a main dish. Bake rice with a couple eggs, cumin, and some form of tomato and you have a great brunch.
To me, storage beans mean pintos. I know there are a bunch more but I store pintos for my family. I soak them atleast 12 hours before I try to cook them. In most cases I make refried beans, but they work well added to a soup, on tortillas, or in most any soup I try to make. The key is to make them palatable, they need to be boiled long enough that they are tender, adding spices even if it's just garlic or salt .
Lentils and split peas cook a lot faster, they can be added like herbs in the last 30 minutes or when rehydrating dried meats/vegetables.
Rick
Rice has a lot of uses; you can make a milk substitute, which I really don't go for but my kids like it with chocolate, yeah I'd fall for it too. As a breakfast cereal with honey and cinnamon it's tasty even if it's unusual. Adding soy sauce, meat and some vegetables and it's a main dish. Bake rice with a couple eggs, cumin, and some form of tomato and you have a great brunch.
To me, storage beans mean pintos. I know there are a bunch more but I store pintos for my family. I soak them atleast 12 hours before I try to cook them. In most cases I make refried beans, but they work well added to a soup, on tortillas, or in most any soup I try to make. The key is to make them palatable, they need to be boiled long enough that they are tender, adding spices even if it's just garlic or salt .
Lentils and split peas cook a lot faster, they can be added like herbs in the last 30 minutes or when rehydrating dried meats/vegetables.
Rick
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Cheesemaking - preserving milk
I love cheese; cheddar, parmesan, mozzarella, brie, even the occasional limburger. I really don't think there's a bad cheese out there, unless it just pretends to be cheese, but you know which ones those are. I once tried bringing 3 lbs of havarti back from Germany in my luggage, it was almost fondue once it got here, good thing I brought back some bread too!
I grew up on Tillamook and Bandon cheddar, both decent in their own right and still a staple for me today, but when I went to Germany in '85 I got to taste cheese. Germans know how to serve a continental breakfast; a simple heavy rye, several pungent, mild or creamy cheeses and tasty salted or preserved meats. Add in a few simple pastries, some fruit I honestly can't eat that well here unless I spend $100+ and hit 3-4 stores in Portland/Beaverton to do it.
I can't have a cow or a couple of goats here but at some point the people with milk will need to get rid of it, trading it for something else or being able to preserve it's calcium and protein for a time when the animal doesn't produce. Cheese seems like a perfect prep item to me.
So I decided it was high time I started making my own cheese, the feta at the grocery store was $6 for 12 oz, Tillamook cheddar is close to $7/2lb, real parmesan is insane at up to $12/lb, the $7 havarti is tasteless.
This weekend I tried my hand at feta, using 2 recipes as guidelines. The Cheese Wizard doesn't seem to be around anymore but his website still exists and he has some great information, I've archived his entire website for the future should it be unavailable and I haven't had a chance to develope my own recipes. David B. Fankhauser's cheese pages are written by a chemist and I think he has a good hold on all his recipes, I should have followed his instructions a little closer...
I started out with 3.8% milkfat milk from the grocery store, well within it's 'use-by' date, some fresh buttermilk and yogurt. I created both mesophilic and thermophilic starter cultures per the Cheese Wizards instructions and then with the remaining 7/8 of a gallon of milk I proceeded to make feta cheese. I was religious about watching the temperature of the milk, to the point the dog gave up following me and just laid down to the side of my path. I was a bit less careful at adding 2 oz of starter, but I really don't measure anything as I don't thing it teaches me anything, and 2 oz of a random quality of an ingredient is just a guideline anyway. Yeast is one of the few exceptions to my rule, if it comes to baking I try to keep the proportions similar.
Everything seemed to going to plan, no scorching, no clotting, I went to add the junket rennet tablets and knowing they're atleast 2 years old I doubled the dosage. Yes, that was a mistake, I should have gone and bought new tablets, I should have measured my starter better too as far as that goes.
I never could get a clean break but after 16 hours I decided to drain the whey at the top because it seemed to be my hangup. After about 4 hours of draining in a sterile towel over a colander it had a clean break without any question, I was excited! Now 12 hours later I have about 1 1/4 quarts of whey and two textures of cheese in my towel, a thick cream cheese near the towel and a yogurt near the center. There really aren't any curds that I recognize. I'm tempted to mix some salt in early just to draw out the moisture.
Well, it was my first attempt and honestly it took several attempts to make a decent bread so I'll keep trying, who knows I might be able to turn it into something tomorrow.
Do you have any other recipe sites, or experiences to share? I don't want to buy a kit, I don't work that way, though the occasional component is ok. I like all of my parts and pieces to be local or homemade so I can repeat them when I don't have the Internet or a handy store.
Rick
I grew up on Tillamook and Bandon cheddar, both decent in their own right and still a staple for me today, but when I went to Germany in '85 I got to taste cheese. Germans know how to serve a continental breakfast; a simple heavy rye, several pungent, mild or creamy cheeses and tasty salted or preserved meats. Add in a few simple pastries, some fruit I honestly can't eat that well here unless I spend $100+ and hit 3-4 stores in Portland/Beaverton to do it.
I can't have a cow or a couple of goats here but at some point the people with milk will need to get rid of it, trading it for something else or being able to preserve it's calcium and protein for a time when the animal doesn't produce. Cheese seems like a perfect prep item to me.
So I decided it was high time I started making my own cheese, the feta at the grocery store was $6 for 12 oz, Tillamook cheddar is close to $7/2lb, real parmesan is insane at up to $12/lb, the $7 havarti is tasteless.
This weekend I tried my hand at feta, using 2 recipes as guidelines. The Cheese Wizard doesn't seem to be around anymore but his website still exists and he has some great information, I've archived his entire website for the future should it be unavailable and I haven't had a chance to develope my own recipes. David B. Fankhauser's cheese pages are written by a chemist and I think he has a good hold on all his recipes, I should have followed his instructions a little closer...
I started out with 3.8% milkfat milk from the grocery store, well within it's 'use-by' date, some fresh buttermilk and yogurt. I created both mesophilic and thermophilic starter cultures per the Cheese Wizards instructions and then with the remaining 7/8 of a gallon of milk I proceeded to make feta cheese. I was religious about watching the temperature of the milk, to the point the dog gave up following me and just laid down to the side of my path. I was a bit less careful at adding 2 oz of starter, but I really don't measure anything as I don't thing it teaches me anything, and 2 oz of a random quality of an ingredient is just a guideline anyway. Yeast is one of the few exceptions to my rule, if it comes to baking I try to keep the proportions similar.
Everything seemed to going to plan, no scorching, no clotting, I went to add the junket rennet tablets and knowing they're atleast 2 years old I doubled the dosage. Yes, that was a mistake, I should have gone and bought new tablets, I should have measured my starter better too as far as that goes.
I never could get a clean break but after 16 hours I decided to drain the whey at the top because it seemed to be my hangup. After about 4 hours of draining in a sterile towel over a colander it had a clean break without any question, I was excited! Now 12 hours later I have about 1 1/4 quarts of whey and two textures of cheese in my towel, a thick cream cheese near the towel and a yogurt near the center. There really aren't any curds that I recognize. I'm tempted to mix some salt in early just to draw out the moisture.
Well, it was my first attempt and honestly it took several attempts to make a decent bread so I'll keep trying, who knows I might be able to turn it into something tomorrow.
Do you have any other recipe sites, or experiences to share? I don't want to buy a kit, I don't work that way, though the occasional component is ok. I like all of my parts and pieces to be local or homemade so I can repeat them when I don't have the Internet or a handy store.
Rick
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Quick blender Salsa
A cheap Superbowl addition served with chips.
1 28 oz can, whole tomatoes with juice
1 medium sized yellow onion - 1" dices (white onion makes it a little hotter)
1 jalapeno - 1/2" dices (seeded and deveined for mild)
2 cloves of garlic diced fine
2 Tbls lemon or lime juice (vinegar is ok, but not my preference
1 tsp kosher salt (brings out the flavor of the cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cayenne
2 Tbls cilantro - chopped to 1/2"
Pour the juice from the can of tomatoes into the blender and add the onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Pulse the blender a couple times to reduce the size of the veggies slightly.
Add the juice, salt and spices and then about 1/2 the can of tomatoes, blend for about 15 seconds until the tomatoes start to get incorporated, add the cilantro and the rest of the tomatoes and blend it again until the last of the tomatoes start to break down.
To make this from your pantry you can substitute 1 Tbls of dried jalapenos or red pepper flakes, 1/4 cup dried onion or 1/2 cup frozen, diced onion, 1/2 Tbls granulated garlic. Let dried ingredients soak in the tomato juice for an hour or two; or rehydrate by pouring 2 cups boiling water over them, let sit for 15 minutes and drain. Dried cilantro just isn't the same but 1 Tbls is about right if you have to.
I usually eat this immediately but it's better after 1 hour of refrigeration, esp. if using dried ingredients. Stores well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Rick
1 28 oz can, whole tomatoes with juice
1 medium sized yellow onion - 1" dices (white onion makes it a little hotter)
1 jalapeno - 1/2" dices (seeded and deveined for mild)
2 cloves of garlic diced fine
2 Tbls lemon or lime juice (vinegar is ok, but not my preference
1 tsp kosher salt (brings out the flavor of the cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cayenne
2 Tbls cilantro - chopped to 1/2"
Pour the juice from the can of tomatoes into the blender and add the onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Pulse the blender a couple times to reduce the size of the veggies slightly.
Add the juice, salt and spices and then about 1/2 the can of tomatoes, blend for about 15 seconds until the tomatoes start to get incorporated, add the cilantro and the rest of the tomatoes and blend it again until the last of the tomatoes start to break down.
To make this from your pantry you can substitute 1 Tbls of dried jalapenos or red pepper flakes, 1/4 cup dried onion or 1/2 cup frozen, diced onion, 1/2 Tbls granulated garlic. Let dried ingredients soak in the tomato juice for an hour or two; or rehydrate by pouring 2 cups boiling water over them, let sit for 15 minutes and drain. Dried cilantro just isn't the same but 1 Tbls is about right if you have to.
I usually eat this immediately but it's better after 1 hour of refrigeration, esp. if using dried ingredients. Stores well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Rick
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
