Cheese Powder

One thing that makes a lot of my favorite recipes not so food storage friendly is that they call for cheese. I had heard of canned cheese powder before but didn't really know what it could do, so I decided to buy this can from Macey's and find out.


When I first opened it, I was not really impressed. It looked like someone had opened about a hundred boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese and emptied the contents of the sauce packets into the can. That's because that is basically what cheese powder is (at least this variety is). On the back of the can there are three different sets of directions for mixing the stuff: sauce, spread, and macaroni and cheese. So first I decided to try the sauce. Here is what it looked like:


It wasn't really bad, but it was nothing really special, either. Prepared according to package directions, I can't think of any dish I might make that it would really improve by its addition. And it was pretty thick, too. I can't imagine that I would ever mix it using the spread proportions which would make it even thicker. From there I thinned it out with a little milk and mixed in some salsa and a little bit of tabasco sauce and came out with something that was pretty close to bowling alley nachos.


Finally, I made some macaroni and cheese by the directions on the can. I ended up having to add a lot more milk than it called for to get it to a reasonably smooth consistency. I think it tasted okay, nothing to get really excited about, but Samantha gobbled it up. So I guess if I had a lot of macaroni stored and didn't really know what I was going to do with it, cheese powder would probably be the answer. I guess I will keep a little bit of it on hand to make nachos or macaroni and cheese and it would probably do okay in something like cheese soup. But I think I will keep looking for other ways to get cheese into our year's supply...

The Essential Food Storage Cookbook

I recently obtained a copy of The Essential Food Storage Cookbook by Tami Girsberger and Carol Peterson. Unlike Pantry Cooking, many of the recipes do call for fresh ingredients; the authors consider it a good source for helping you to rotate your food storage, not necessarily to live solely on it. Still, there are a decent amount of recipes that only use ingredients with a long shelf life and others that could easily be converted by using things like powdered eggs or milk. I have tried several of the recipes and I love it! I would want it in my collection just for its regular, everyday meal ideas. It also has a lot of great food storage tips and information. The recipes are good and easy, the kind where you already have most of the ingredients you need on hand. I am easily intimidated by recipes where I don't even know what all of the ingredients are. Here are a couple of recipes that my family really likes that can be made entirely from stored items:


Crazy Whole Wheat Muffins

[Whole wheat muffins didn't really sound good to me at all, but I tried these and was amazed. They're so soft, sweet, and moist you would think you were eating a cupcake.]

Ingredients:

-1/2 c. oil
-1 c. brown sugar
-1 c. applesauce
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1-1/2 c. whole what flour
-1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix ingredients together and pour into greased muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes (8 minutes for mini muffins).


Herb Bread

-1/2 c. milk [fine with powdered milk]
-2 tbsp. sugar
-1 tsp. salt
-1 tbsp. butter
-1 tbsp. dried minced onion
-2-1/2 tsp. yeast
-1/2 c. warm water
-2-1/4 c. whole wheat flour (or 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white flour)
-1/2 tsp. thyme
-1/2 tsp. dill [I left it out; not a dill fan]
-1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed

In a small saucepan, heat milk over medium heat until simmering. Add sugar, salt, and butter and stir until dissolved. Add dried minced onion; remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water (about 5 minutes). Add cooled milk mixture, flour, and herbs. Stir well (dough will be very wet) until smooth.

Cover and let rise until triple in bulk (about 45 minutes). Stir down and beat for a few minutes. Turn into a greased 9x5-inch bread pan and let rest for 10 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 1 hour. Serve warm.

Wheat Grinder

I don't remember eating much whole wheat bread as a kid. In fact, for most of my life I've been pretty afraid of whole wheat. But I can't imagine how I could store 1200 lbs. of grain and be able to rotate it before it goes bad without storing any wheat. Wheat basically has an indefinite shelf life (30+ years) so you really don't even have to worry about rotating it if you use it even just occasionally.

I did a little research into wheat grinders and found this one, the same one that they have on display at the cannery, at www.blendtec.com. I bought mine at their warehouse in Provo because I was already in the area and didn't want to pay for shipping. If you mention that you saw it at the cannery or enter the promotional code KZ12182 on the website, they give you a $40 discount.

How do I like it? I love it! There are several different coarseness settings, but I always leave mine on the finest. The flour is so fine! I think I could almost substitute it entirely for white flour without my family even noticing. It grinds the wheat very quickly, probably about 3 cups of wheat in a minute. The motor unit can be inverted and stored inside of the cannister, so it stores even more compact than it already is. It is pretty loud, but it gets the job done so fast that that isn't usually a problem. It gives me so much satisfaction to know that my family is now eating healthy whole grains. I've tried a bunch of good whole wheat recipes which I hopefully will be posting sometime in the near future.

Rigatoni with Mushroom Sauce

Here is another one from from Pantry Cooking by Laura Robins which can be prepared using only long-term food storage items:

Rigatoni with Mushroom Sauce

-1 tbsp. olive oil
-1 tbsp. butter-flavored shortening [I used real butter when I made it]
-1 tbsp. dried garlic
-1/2 tsp. red pepper
-4 (4-ounce) cans sliced mushrooms, with liquid
-1/2 c. water
-4 cubes chicken bouillon
-2 tbsp. parsley
-1 tsp. salt
-10 c. water
-1 lb. rigatoni [or whatever small pasta you have; for me it was bowties]
-1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

In a pan on high, heat oil and shortening. Add garlic and red pepper. Cook 30 seconds. Add mushrooms, water, and bouillon. Cook until thickened. [When I made this, it never thickened this way, so I added a couple tablespoons of flour mixed with a few tablespoons of water and brought it to a boil.] Stir in parsley.

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook al dente (until almost tender); drain. Toss pasta with sauce and top with Parmesan cheese. Makes 4-6 servings.

Pantry Cooking

I found this cookbook at the library. Aside from containing some good general information on emergency food prep, it has a bunch of recipes, all of which can be prepared using only long-term food storage items. Some of them look a little... questionable. But I've tried some that were actually pretty good. Here's one of them, slightly altered to accommodate my personal tastes:

Penne Pasta with Artichokes

Ingredients:
-2 tsp. dried garlic
-3 tbsp. olive oil
-2 (14-ounce) cans artichoke hearts, with liquid [or you can use the marinated ones in the jar as the recipe suggests, but I thought they tasted too briny for this recipe]
-1 c. sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
-2 tbsp. pepper jardiniere [I left this out because I wasn't really sure what it is]
-1 tbsp. dried parsley
-1 tsp. spicy spaghetti or Italian seasoning
-2 tbsp. Italian bread crumbs
-salt & pepper
-10 c. water
-1 lb. mini penne pasta
-1 c. grated Parmesan cheese

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, saute garlic in oil for 1 minute. Add artichokes, tomatoes, jardiniere, parsley, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 5 minutes.

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook al dente (until almost tender); drain. Toss pasta with sauce and top with Parmesan cheese. Makes 4-6 servings.