recipes using stored foods

[DRJJ]

Re: recipes using stored foods

You can buy bottled lemon juice from several companies and it is easily found in most large supermarkets.

I got the lemons off my trees. I love lemons and hate the reconstituted stuff. I thought it might be possible to "can" it....Any receipes? It is acid....

[T. Modesto,PhD]

Re: recipes using stored foods

"People who are sheltering in place will have a lot of time on their hands, especially if electronic media infrastructure is down. Planning, preparing, and cooking meals will help while away the hours. The cooking and sharing process might also help family members interact in a positive manner while they are waiting for the food to be ready. Maybe, T Modesto will comment."

You are really right on this on. Meal preparation is extremely important in a disaster situation. Absolutely correct about how to spend that time. Also it is a nurturing experience for many. It helps to keep a more routine of life in preparing food that communicates well being. Granted that will be somewhat stressful for those who will not have heating and cooking resources. But in time even that will become a more accustomed manner of preparing food and the comfort level will rise somewhat.

In hospitals after a person has been seriously or even critically ill, one of the major signs of recovery is when the person becomes interested to some degree in their food. Many are eager for the ice chips which is an indication of positive health progress. Some of the most important events of the day in a hospital is the daily menu selection. People take that VERY seriously and wow when the tray does not indicate what was ordered look out! pts can become very upset even cop a nasty attitude but frankly when I was doing my clinicals and residence I was thrilled when a pt was upset with the food. Generally I know when it is getting close to a pt being ready for release when they start to seriously complain about the food. It is a great sign. Food is so important in all stages and facets of life. Many if not most of our celebrations have at some point food association.

In a medical emergency food for comfort will be often very important almost as much as it is for sustainability. The major crunch in attitude will come when food supplies will be not what we are accustomed to. That is when people will become very despondent and depressed. People will be panic struck and desperate when they believe that there is food that they will eat. Look at refugee camps and they are dishing out the porridge. No one seems happy, instead they are weak from hunger and also weak in lack of hope because the food is not a social event any more only a survival issue.

Should the community get to that point then I will become more gravely concern about suicide in large numbers of the population. Food offers hope for many individuals. Another concern that I have is for those who will be sheltering in place alone. The lack of social interaction will be greatest for them and the issues of no community interaction around meal preparation will be highly felt by this group of people. This group has the greater possibility of not wanting or caring about living and it will happen faster for them. There will be a even higher self induced (directly or indirectly) termination of life in this group. This is something that needs to be taken into consideration in community assessment and disaster preparation. Single individuals who have a pet will often do much better because they will have a 'social time' with meal prep even if it is with their dog, cat or bird. In urban areas studies have suggested that elderly single individuals are happier and healthier when they feed the birds at the park every day. They have a social experience with the birds as well as often interactions with others in the park and community. Those who have no or little social interaction have it the hardest. With social distancing and often lack of outside communication ( telephone, radio, TV, internet etc) compounded by the nurturing / social issues surrounding food could have a very heavy toll on many.

Water is a very different issue. Water is a necessity of life and people act much differently about lack of water than with food. It occurs more quickly since water is a must for everyone. More aggressive behavior will occur when there is no or little water.
TM

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: recipes using stored foods

My thoughts exactly, T.. There will be little else to do to occupy our time. Cooking together can be a bonding activity. It can also be one of the few positive experiences of quarantine. It can also be a way to build teamwork. Tension will be extremely high for everyone. Some of those who will be sharing confined space will not be used to doing so, and children lack the vocabulary and the social skills to voice their frustration in a socially correct manner. Including them in as many ways as possible will enable them to be team members and not as unwanted burdens. It is also a way for an older member to make themselves valuable. Everyone should have a 'job', and the positions should rotate as much as possible to prevent stagnation. And, it will be critically important to maintain as much normalcy as possible. School for kids even if taught by mom and or dad. News for grandma even it comes from a crank radio rather than a tv. Plan on a project of knitting or woodworking. And yes, learn to cook good tasting meals with your preps now. When the time comes, it will keep everyone's spirits up, help them keep busy, provide educational benefits for kids, and make everyone feel like a member of a winning team.

[T. Modesto,PhD]

Re: recipes using stored foods

National Voluntary Organizations active In Disaster

This will be a time when everyone will be learning basic cooking skills that many were not taught at home or school for decades. For those that were not taught it will be a challenging but learnable skill. Additionally it will be a good lesson for kids to learn as much as possible about survival issues from cooking and cleaning to gardening (which I am not good at) to everything else. We may be getting back to some solid foundational components of life like living work (gardening, chopping wood, fishing, cleaning house with a broom and dust pan instead of the easy electric vacuum etc.) instead of expensive gyms and day spas to keep us fit and somewhat healthy.

Instead of using the wringer cycle on the washer, I just got a tip from a friend; get a bucket that has the wringer on the side for the string mop (school janitors sue them a lot). You can wring out the clothes with that and then put them on the clothes line to dry. This saves a good 1/3 of the washer time thus less electricity. If we have to wash stuff by hand, some of the hardest part of a hand washing is the wring out f heavy wet clothes. This way you just pull or push the handle and it presses out the excess water from each garment saving time and effort. You can even do your sheets that way with putting in some or all of one sheet in the mop wringer and pressing, the water that is collected can then be used for flushing a toilet or for watering the garden ( it is called gray water). If a person runs out of toilet paper then small squares of cloth can be used as toilet paper and then placed in the mop bucket to soak, once there is a significant amount of cloth they can be wrung out and then washed.

[Amish Country]

Re: recipes using stored foods

How about quick and easy deserts? These are inexpensive, have few ingredients, are easy to make and do not require cooking or refrigeration (if eaten immediately). They also do not eat up a lot of your shelf stable supplies for one meal.


Instant pudding. It comes in a variety of flavors
Instant pudding powder
dried of boxed milk
water
Put all ingredients in a clean food safe plastic bag or clean glass jar with a lid, seal it, shake until mixed and serve.

Apple Pie filling and walnuts
1 can - Ready to eat apple pie filling
1/4 cup (or more) walnuts (or topping of our choice)

Open the can and place filling in serving dishes. Top each serving with nuts.

Canned fruit in heavy syrup
Ground cinnamon
Open the can and place fruit and syrup in serving dishes sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.

[T. Modesto,PhD]

Re: recipes using stored foods

OK you made me hungry.
Good ideas. If we have a dessert to look forward to say once a week that would be really helpful on the emotional encouragement. IT would also get the milk we need especially if we do not like the taste that much of powdered milk it will not be noticed in the pudding. The walnuts can replace a protein for a meal as well as be an added extra treat.
The jar or baggie i s a good idea. fr me I think I will use the jar since it can be washed out and reused and there is less danger of the bag opening up for me. Yep I would be the one that would pop the baggie open while mixing.
Thank you
Terrie Modesto

[Amish Country]

Re: recipes using stored foods

Pop corn

cooking oil - we usually use olive oil
popcorn kernels
butter (Ghee?)
salt


My family loves pop corn. Our popcorn popper uses about three table spoons of cooking oil and 1/2 cup of pop corn kernels. Different popcorn poppers may call for different proportions or ingredients. Ours is the kind that is a stainless steel pot with a hand crank with gears on top to stir the kernels as they pop. We heat our contraption on the stove over a low heat with the kids cranking the handle until the kernels stop popping. The popped pop corn is then dumped in the biggest bowl we have. In a small sauce pan a few table spoons of butter is melted and then poured over the pop corn and a sprinkling of salt is added. I plan to get some Ghee (canned or bottled, shelf safe clarified butter) for the pantry to use instead of fresh butter. Ghee can usually be found in Indian or middle eastern grocery stores.

We find it a fun, inexpensive treat that helps keep our kids occupied and involved.