Make Your Own Tortillas!

Several months ago I tried making my own tortillas in an effort to expand our food storage menu. They stank. Actually, the dough itself wasn't all that bad, but the flattening process took forever and yielded tortillas with roughly the same thickness as a thin pancake. Yeah, real great for burritos. What did this "flattening process" entail? Basically it meant me rolling each ball of dough for 2-3 minutes with my rolling pin in a vain attempt to reach the thickness of a real tortilla. Multiply that by twenty or so tortillas and it took a whole hour just to roll them out. And they were bad! Have I talked enough about how much I disliked this method?

After that experience I started shopping for a tortilla press. Since I didn't have a lot of knowledge of what to look for, I turned to online reviews. And I didn't really learn anything. So I ended up buying this one, which was the cheapest one I could find:
It's the Norpro Tortilladora and I bought it at Kitchen Kneads in West Jordan for somewhere around $15 (sorry I can't remember exactly how much). Amazon.com also sells it. It's so slick! I'm glad I didn't spend any more money than I did. The mechanism is very basic, but it smashes those tortillas down in just seconds. It's easy to use and easy to clean. My only beef is that it only makes 6-inch tortillas, which I found to be the case with most tortilla presses. I think traditionally only corn tortillas--which I hope to someday attempt--are pressed that way and they are usually a lot smaller.

I also wanted to mention this electric press, theVillaware V5955 Grand Wrap Tortilla and Flatbread Maker:
I've seen this one in action and it's pretty impressive. It actually works kinda like a waffle iron, flattening the tortillas and toasting them as well and it makes 10-inch tortillas. It is significantly more expensive than the manual ones and I read some reviews from people who had problems with theirs, so I decided to go with El Cheapo instead, but if I ever have money coming out of my ears it would be a fun splurge.

Now for the recipes. I've tried a few different whole wheat ones and they're all pretty similar, but if I had to choose one I like best it would be this one:

Wheat Tortillas

Ingredients:
4 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. shortening
1/2 c. olive oil
2 c. warm water

Thoroughly mix dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Stir in oil until mixture resembles sand. Add water and knead. Dough should be soft but clean the sides of the bowl. Pinch off balls 2-3 inches in diameter [or smaller if you're using a 6-inch press] and knead into a smooth ball. Place balls in a bowl. Cover and let rest for one hour. Flatten each ball and toast on a hot skillet. If you want to store them for later use, flatten each ball and cook slightly to prevent them from sticking to each other. Cool completely and store in large freezer bag. Will keep in fridge for 2 weeks. [This recipe made about three dozen 6-inch tortillas. I think from now on I'll just make a half batch.]


And for those of you who are not hard-core whole wheat flour users,

Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:
6 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. shortening
1-2/3 c. warm water

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Add water and knead. Pinch off balls 2-3 inches in diameter. Knead each one in smooth ball. Place balls in bowl. Cover and let rest for one hour. Flatten each ball and toast on hot griddle. Tortillas can be cooked later by refrigerating them after they have been flattened and cooked slightly. Store in large freezer bag.

Incredible, Semi-Edible Egg Powder

This post turned out to be kind of long. If you want to just know what I concluded from testing two different powdered egg products, just scroll to the bottom.

For starters, let's just get this out on the table: I have spent a somewhat significant amount of time and money on the emergency preparedness/food storage resources available at Macey's. The main reasons for this are that 1) they are the easiest to obtain where I live, 2) they seem to be the most reasonably priced, especially compared to internet vendors, and 3) they carry a pretty decent variety. I also buy a lot of food storage from the LDS cannery, but they carry a pretty limited number of products. Anyway, a while ago I bought a #10 can of powdered eggs from Macey's to see if they could be useful in my food storage. Here is the verdict:

First I used them in one of these Betty Crocker cookies-in-a-pouch things:


I didn't take a picture of the cookies, but I couldn't tell any difference in the appearance or the taste from when I had made the exact same cookies before. Score! That means that you don't have to axe any favorite baking recipes from your year's supply because they call for fresh eggs. All you have to do is add one tablespoon of egg powder to your dry ingredients and two tablespoons of water to the wet for each egg and voila! In fact, if you wanted to create your own cookies-in-a-pouch mixes, you could put all of your dry ingredients in a ziploc bag with some egg powder for the eggs and all you would have to do is add water and oil (or butter or shortening or whatever). Just like Betty!

(As a side note, I think those cookies mixes are pretty good. In the past I've been kind of a cookie snob and thought that all cookies must be made from scratch, but they tasted good and it made way more cookies than I would have thought a bag that size could.)

After I tried them in the cookies, I thought I'd put them to the ultimate test and make scrambled eggs out of them, as I had read in a couple of different places about other people doing it. Here is what they looked like reconstituted in the frying pan:

And here is what they looked like cooked:


And here is how they tasted in one word: blech.

I will definitely store these for baking. They are undetectable in baked goods, have a storage life of 5-10 years, and are relatively cheap (if you buy them on sale this week at Macey's, a can costs $14.99, which is about 80 cents for a dozen). But if I ever have to feed my family exclusively from our food storage, we're going without scrambled eggs. I could definitely gag them down with enough hot sauce or ketchup, but they're definitely the "if it was scrambled powdered eggs or starvation" kind of option.

Also, when I went to take a picture of the can, I noticed that I had two different products:













At first I wasn't sure if there was any difference between whole eggs and egg mix, so I checked the ingredients, which are as follows:

whole eggs: 100% pasteurized whole egg solids

egg mix: pasteurized whole eggs, non-fat dry milk, vegetable oil (may contain soybean oil or corn oil), salt.

I had done my previous testing with the whole eggs, so to be thorough I tried scrambling the egg mix. The end product from the egg mix was a tiny bit better; it looked and tasted a little more like fresh scrambled eggs. But given the choice between eggs made from egg mix and no eggs, I would probably still choose no eggs.

Another key difference between the whole eggs and the egg mix is that it takes only 1 tablespoon of whole eggs to make an egg and 2 tablespoons of egg mix for the same. And according to the can info, a can of whole eggs will reconstitute into 226 eggs, while a can of egg mix makes only 96 for the same amount of money.

Conclusion: Powdered "whole eggs" are great for adding baked goods that call for eggs into your year's supply. But reconstituted and scrambled, they taste... pretty bad. Powdered "egg mix" is a lot more expensive than powdered "whole eggs" and doesn't taste much better.

Month-by-Month 72-Hour Kit

A couple weeks ago, this information was handed out in Relief Society. I personally might have prioritized some of the items on this list a little differently, but if your goal for the new year is to prepare yourself and your family (a good one, I'd say) this is a great way to get started:

72-Hour Kit Essentials

A 72-hour kit should contain the essentials needed for survival for a 72-hour period. It should be portable enough to take in a car or even the more essential portions on foot. Store it in an accessible place where it can be picked up at a moment's notice. Keep an index of the items in your kit with expiration dates where appropriate. Once your 72-hour kit is assembled, reassess the kit every six months to replace expired items. General Conference is a good time to help you remember. Some emergencies may require tents, tarps, boots, coats, etc. Keep these and other possible useful items accessible. Think and plan ahead. Remember, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30).

This is a Week-by-Week List of Items to Put into Your 72-Hour Kit

January
-Obtain 72-hour kit container (backpack, duffel bag, plastic bin).
-Check the batteries in your smoke detector.
-Place a flashlight next to your bed and one in an alternate location; check batteries.
-Add 1-1/2 gallons of water per person.*
-Add $10 cash.**

February
-Add a can opener.
-Add 2 cans of tuna fish/canned meat.
-Add 1 large roll of paper towels.
-Add 1 blanket.

March
-Add $10 cash.
-Add 4 rolls of toilet paper.
-Add 1 bar of soap.
-Add stress relief items (books, games).

April
-Add pocket/utility knife.
-Add $10 cash.
-Add 1 container of baby wipes.
-Add 1-2 changes of clothing.

May
-Add 48 oz. non-carbonated canned juice.
-Add 1 can of fruit and 1 can of vegetables.
-Add $10 cash.
-Add 1 box of matches.
-Add hard candy (jolly ranchers, lifesavers).

June
Add 1-1/2 lbs. peanut butter.
Add Ziploc bags (varied sizes).
Add $10 cash.
Check batteries in smoke detectors. Practice escape routes.

July
Add 1 box of crackers.
Add plastic utensils.
Add large candle and matches.
Add $10 cash.
Add 1 lb. graham crackers.

August
Add flashlight; check batteries.
Add disinfectant (beta dine, bleach sterile wipes, hand sanitizer).
Add paper cups.
Add $10 cash.

September
Add basic first-aid kit.
Add 1 lb. dried fruit (date for rotation).
Add 1/2 lb. non-fate dried milk.
Add battery-powered radio; check batteries.

October
Add $10 cash.
Add diapers and/or feminine hygiene supplies.
Add toothbrush and toothpaste.
Add hand shovel.

November
Add $10 cash.
Verify that each family member's immunizations are up to date.
Add 1 large roll of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Add 1 axe.

December
Add paper plates.
Add $10 cash.
Add 1-2 boxes pre-sweetened cereal.
Add photocopies of personal documents (insurance info, medical records, birth certificates, social security cards, photos, etc.) and send copies to a family member or friend in a separate location.

Though many of the items on the list can be shared among family members, each person should have their own individual kit containing their clothes, food, personal items, etc.


*I've heard a pretty wide range of amounts for short-term water storage and I think this is a little on the low end of the spectrum. It's enough water to keep you alive, but it may be wise to store more depending on what you plan to use it for, the kinds of food you hope to be able to prepare, etc.

**When you save cash for an emergency, it's always best to save small bills, as you may not be able to get change in some emergency situations.