February 2015 Newsletter

Where to start when it comes to food storage:  I get asked this all the time. The answer is actually VERY easy.  Buy the things you eat, especially the things you eat a lot of and eat the things you buy.  Do not hoard them!  What is the difference?  Hoarding is simply buying a crazy amount of something all at once and then putting it away and hoping you will never need it, and not learning how to use it.  Now is the time to learn how to use these things.

1)      Buy what you eat, and eat what you buy.

2)      Learn how to cook from scratch.  Keep learning new things.  The first things to disappear when things get ugly are going to be all your convenience foods.  And restaurants and stores will be looted, closed, destroyed or you won’t have the money or means to get to them.

3)      Stock up on the basics.  These are flour, sugar, oils, spices, pasta, rice, milk, proteins and some veggies and fruits. 

4)      Get a 3 month supply of the basics and stuff you use the most.

5)      Basic foods and water come first!  After that, keep adding new things.  If you are doing things right…you will be eating what you have bought and therefore naturally rotating your supply and that means…you are never “done”.

A word or two about Wheat:   I am no expert on wheat, but I did get a little information on it to help people get started on buying and using wheat. This info courtesy Emergency Essentials Co.

There are 3 types of wheat:  Hard Red, Hard White and Soft White.  Any of these can be used for baking and break making and sprouting.  If you are a little more particular about what kind you want here is the break down.

Hard Red:  Hard wheat is produced in areas that have dry temperate climates.  This wheat has a strong gluten which allows wheat to stretch, expand and retain gases as fermenting dough expands.  Excellent for making hearty whole wheat bread.  Use in recipes as an extender for red meat.  This is the most common kind of wheat available.

Hard White Wheat:  It has a mild flavor.  Used to make light and fluffy bread, rolls and scones.  Can be used in recipes as an extender for white meat.

Soft Wheat:  Produced in areas of mild winter with more moisture. Makes flaky pastries, pie crusts, cakes, crackers and cereals.  It has a lower gluten and protein content, so it is not recommended for use alone in breads.

You can also soak wheat kernals over-night in water and then sprout them like alfalfa sprouts and eat like a fresh green vegetable.

Invest in a couple of good wheat cook books.  There are many of them available.  You need the “stuff”, the tools and the knowledge to be successful.

Things to keep in mind when storing wheat:

If kept in a dry and cool location, wheat can be used safely for AT LEAST 30 years.  Wheat and honey are 2 things that have the longest storage lives that I have heard of.  The ideal storage containers for wheat are #10 cans or any container that will keep out pests, light, moisture and air.

If you have wheat but are not used to eating it you will physically get sick by changing your diet from a no-wheat to a high-wheat diet in a short amount of time.  Now is the time to start using it and getting your body used to eating it. 

If you are storing wheat, you MUST have a way to grind it into flour so you can use it for baking.  I personally recommend starting with a small, affordable, non-electric wheat grinder.  Some people who use and bake with wheat regularly have chosen to invest in an electric grinder such as Bosch.  I always start “small” and work from there.  Below is a small and affordable, hand wheat grinder that does a great job for the price.  This is a Victorio brand grinder.

Victorio brand non-electric grain mill/wheat grinder

The Gardening Corner   Heirloom/Non-hybrid seeds:

Non-hybrid or heirloom or open-pollinated seeds are the ones you will want to store for using in your garden for the eventuality that you would not be able to buy NEW hybrid seeds in a catalog or store.  These are the old fashioned seeds that people allow some of the crop to go to seed and then you collect the seeds to save to plant the following year.  This is how it used to be done in the “old days”.  Having seeds was a little like crop insurance and was considered part of your food stores.

Some people in recent years have started to buy some of these seeds in cans or other containers to put away. That is great!  But, these must be stored under ideal conditions so they will still germinate in the future.  Usually this is somewhere where it is always cold.  Storing the seeds in an airtight container in the freezer is actually ideal.

Also, you should get at least one book on seed saving and learn how to save and replant these.  There are many different ways to do this. Not all seeds are saved the same way. Peas and Beans are the easiest seeds to save and are good for beginners. Invest in a good book and start learning how to grow your garden and then how to save seeds from your heirloom plants.  Now is the time to learn these things, not in a crisis.

One long standing company that specializes in these seeds and education is Seed Savers Exchange.  They have been around for 40 years.  I have bought seeds from them for a couple years now and they also sell books and seed saving supplies.  www.seedsavers.org  

You can go to their website to request a free catalog.  They usually arrive very quickly.  The cost of their seeds are about the same price as the hybrid seeds that I used to order from The Burpee Seed Company. 

Two great books on seed saving are “Seed to Seed” by Suzanne Ashworth.  There is a new book coming out at the end of March that has tons of color, step-by-step photos and detailed instructions. This one is called “The Seed Garden- the art and practice of seed saving”  by Lee Buttala.