Monday, December 6, 2010





Anasazi Beans are a wonderfull bean to add to your food storage.  From

http://www.anasazibeans.com/beans.html

The Anasazi were Indians who lived in the four corners area (now Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico) dating back to 130 A.D. The are best identified with their substantial architectural achievements known today as "cliff dwellings". Mesa Verde National Park, Hovenweep, Canyon de Chelly and many other dwelling that dot the arid countryside, represent these structures. "Anasazi" is a Navajo word perhaps best translated as "the ancient ones".
Anasazi Beans® were one of the few crops cultivated by the Anasazi. They were found in the ruins by settlers to the four corners area in the early 1900's. Presently they are grown at 7,000 ft. elevation on the same land the Anasazi inhabited.
Anasazi Beans® are considered an unusually tasty baking bean, very scrumptious with ham and flavorful in Mexican dishes. This sweeter and mealier bean will allow many culinary delights! They also contain 75% less of the gas-causing carbohydrates compared to pinto beans!

All these great things about Anasazi Beans and they missed my favorite part! Anasazi Beanrequire no soaking! You can take your beans and throw them in the crock pot and 4 hours later they are soft and tasty ans ready to go! On the stove top they only take an hour and a half to cook. When you think about how not fun it would be to have to wait to soak your beans overnight to eat, Anasazi beans make a great choice for an emergency food.

So here is a my favorite recipe from Moon Time....
Moon Time's Anasazi Bean Burger
From Moon Time pub
1 cup dried Anasazi beans
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more as needed
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/4  cup green bell pepper, diced
1/4  cup carrots, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
Approximately 1 cup dried bread crumbs
Cook the beans in water for approximately 1 hour, until soft but not mushy. Drain (but don't rinse) and cool.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan. Saute the onion, bell peppers and carrot until soft, about 10 minutes. Cool.

Process the beans in a food processor until roughly chopped (only a couple of pulses). Remove the beans and repeat that step for the vegetables.

Combine beans and vegetables in a large mixing bowl, season with cumin, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Add the egg and then work the bread crumbs into the bean mixture, starting with small amounts and gradually adding more. It should hold together and have a texture similar to pie dough. If the mixture seems a little dry, add up to 1 tablespoon additional olive oil.

Form four patties. Saute with 1 tablespoon olive oil until golden, approximately 3 minutes on each side. Add a slice of cheddar and serve with mayonnaise.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Tonight dinner was Ratatouille and rice.  I had a few cups of rice left over and craving a sweet treat we had this for dessert. Made entirely from our food storage and not to bad either!


Rice Pudding

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked white rice
  • 2 cans of Evaporated milk
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2/3 cup golden raisins or chopped dates *Optional
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
  2. In another saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Gluten Free Emergency Bars

Several of my family members have Gluten/Wheat allergies or sensitivities. I came up with this recipe if in the event of an emergency we will not have to add severe gastric upset and diarrhea to the list! This recipe will not last as long as many survival bars, so change it out every 6 months.

Ingredients: 
2 cup almond Flour (This can be made in your food processor by pulsing almonds until they become mealy in texture)
½ cup flax seeds
½ cup dried, shredded coconut
½ cup almond butter(This can be made in your food processor by pulsing your almonds until they make a butter like consistency)
1 teaspoon sea salt
 2/3 cup coconut oil
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 drops rosemary essential oil (this acts as a preservative and is very important!)
2 EmergenC packets (this adds needed nutrients pick a flavor that goes well with coconut, Lemon or Berry works well)
1 1000 MG Vitamin C (Use the gel capsules the tablets do not mix well)
*Optional You may add chopped dried fruit

Preparation: 
Place almond flour, flax, shredded coconut, almond butter, salt, rosemary, EmergenC, and Vitamin C in a food processor
Pulse briefly, about 10 seconds,
In small pan melt coconut oil, not to hot just till it gets where you cans stir it.
Stir Honey, sugar, and vanilla into oil.
Add coconut oil mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients form a coarse paste.
Press mixture into an 8×8 glass baking dish, you want to press this as firmly as you can get it. I even use a clean brick covered in tin foil to do this.
Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, until mixture hardens
Remove from refrigerator, cut into bars and seal with a vacuum sealer.

This recipe makes enough for 4 emergency bars. You would eat one each meal.

Enjoy!
Pictures and calorie info to come!

Learning to cook with the food you store.

Ok class what is the number one rule?
No not that one. Not that one either.

The number one rule is this
"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong".

In fact there is a whole Wikipedia page on this exact subject. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy%27s_law#Association_with_Murphy
I am thoroughly convinced that my family is the spawn of this unfortunate fellow, Murphy. that we have inherited his sad misfortune to have his life predictably and at inconvenient times have things go wrong. These mishaps of life we take in stride and believe them to be God's way of teaching us important lesson's. He must have a sense of humor because my lives trials are would certainly entertain the big guy upstairs.

Well for the last 3 weeks our family has been eating our food storage. Not by choice I might add. I thought maybe I might share our trials and tribulations to help those who are looking for recipes for their food storage, or maybe what not to do when you are stocking your 1 years supply. I have made many a mistake and I will share them with you.