Okay, here we go with the first recipe for using whole wheat kernels, sometimes called wheat berries. You may need a blender for some of the recipes. Otherwise, no extra tools are required. The first recipe is for cooking the whole wheat kernels. In order to use them in recipes, they must be cooked first.
Cooked Whole Wheat Kernels
by Dennis Taylor
1 cup rinsed, raw wheat kernels
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
- Combine ingredients, cover and let sit overnight or for about 12 hours. Do not drain. Place soaked wheat over heat and boil about 5 minutes, then simmer until tender, about 30 minutes.
- Combine wheat kernels and water and place in a 225 degree oven for 6 hours. Keep covered with water. Rinse until water is clear. Drain.
- Use a slow cooker instead of the oven, or a pressure cooker: 1 cup of wheat to 2 cups of water at 15 lb. pressure for 15 minutes, salt optional.
- Eating Well claims you can boil them for one hour. That's the only place I saw that, so experiment if you want to be sure.
- Cooked wheat may be used as a cereal with milk, fruit, sugar and/or honey. It is a chewy cereal.
- Cooked kernels can be substituted for rice in many recipes.
Quick Beef Stew:
I used what I had in the cabinet to make this. The recipe on the can of Dinty Moore called for 3 c. of rotini, but I had a little over half a box open and used that. The potato soup said to make with milk, not water, but I used water. Actually, the recipe called for mushroom soup, but I don't like mushrooms.
If you have a can of red and green bell peppers open, dehydrated onions, or other vegetables, you could easily add them to recipe, too. Either re-hydrate before adding, or add more water or milk to this recipe.
| Ingredients: |
1 can Cream of Potato (or Mushroom) Soup
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of water
3/4 c. milk
2-3 c. rotini, uncooked
- This is a slow cooker or crockpot meal. I have a slow cooker, so that's what I used. Pour all ingredients into the pot and set it on high.
- Cook for two hours, or until rotini is softness you like. Stir now and then.
- Serve in bowls with nice toasted French or Italian bread, with or without garlic butter.
Herman Sourdough Starter
This is my recipe, and works great for me, but you may want to look online and compare a number of sourdough and Herman starters. Herman starters ARE sourdough, but a little sweeter than regular sourdough starters.
NOTE: Do NOT use anything metal to hold, to stir or otherwise interact with the starter. Use only glass, plastic or pottery/crockery as a container, and only plastic or wooden stirring implements.
| Ingredients: |
2-1/2 t. instant dry yeast *
2 c. warm water (not burning hot - touchable)
2 c. all-purpose flour (can be half whole wheat)
1/4 c. white sugar
- In a glass or plastic container, (I use a big crock that was supposed to hold kitchen counter utensils, and it's perfect!) mix yeast and warm water. It dissolves right away, and there's no need to wait while it does anything.
- Mix in dry ingredients and stir well. Cover loosely (towel or Saran Wrap) and let sit in a warm place overnight. When I started mine, I let it sit out in the sun for an hour or so, because the house was chilly. The kitchen counter will have to be warm enough for the over night.
- Day 1, stir with wooden or plastic spoon and refrigerate.
- Days 2, 3, 4, stir and return to fridge.
- Day 5, you can give half of the starter to a friend, with feeding instructions.
- Day 5, Feeding Instructions: Mix with 1/2 c. white sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk. Stir, cover and return to refrigerator.**
- Days 6, 7, 8, 9, stir and return to fridge.
- Day 10, Feed again, as on day 5, but don't share this time.
- Days 11, 12, 13, 14, stir and return to fridge.
- Day 15, reserve one cup of starter to continue cycle, and cook with the rest, or share some and cook with the rest.
- Day 15 becomes Day 10. Feed and stir and return to fridge. Continue 5 day cycle, cooking every 5th day.
Most sourdough recipes use a cup of starter, some use only 1/2 cup. There are a lot of bread and other recipes online. I've given you my cookie recipe on the home page of the blog, June 15, 2012.
Footnotes:
*I used instant, but regular active dry yeast is fine. Follow directions for using that (on the jar or bag) and cut the water by as much water as you use in those directions.
**At this point (day 5), I began to experiment. I added pineapple juice to the mix instead of milk. I did that again a month later. It gives a slightly different flavor, and the yeast likes it just fine. I also alternated on feedings, using King Arthur whole wheat flour instead of white flour every other feeding. Other flours could be substituted for 50% of the time, also.
Before I messed with the recipe, the nutritional information on one cup of Herman starter was: Calories: 382 | Total Fat: 1.9g | Cholesterol: 5mg
(From ESHA Nutrient Database - the folks who bring you nutrition labels on food)
Posted June 15, 2012
Potato Frittata:
You can use fresh ingredients, but I suggest practicing with what's in your food storage, so you know how to do this in an emergency situation. Don't wait until you are stressed out to learn!
| Ingredients: |
1/3 cup milk from instant
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. red or green or mixed bell peppers, freeze-dried or dehydrated
2 T. chopped chives, fresh or dehydrated
2 T. olive oil
3 cups frozen hashbrowns or dehydrated hashbrowns or potato dices
- In medium bowl, beat reconstituted eggs, milk, salt and black pepper with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in peppers and chives; set aside.
- In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add potatoes; cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until thawed, if using frozen. If using freeze-dried, follow directions on can and then heat through.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir egg mixture; pour over potatoes in skillet. Cover; cook 8 to 10 minutes or until eggs are set, lifting edges occasionally to allow uncooked egg mixture to flow to bottom of skillet. Add cheese on top, if desired.
- Cut into 8 wedges to serve.
Tomato Leather
| Ingredients: Fresh, ripe tomatoes. The riper, the better and sweeter. Any condiments you desire for flavoring, though none works for me. |
Smash or blend tomatoes.
Boil down to thick consistency.
Spread on dehydrator tray.
When dehydration is finished, roll up in wax paper.
These can be eaten as is, or you can drop the roll in water and reconstitute to make a pasta sauce base.
Posted May 7, 2012
Oatmeal Cookies
| Ingredients: 1 c. butter powder (reconstituted with 1 c. water) 4 eggs (reconstituted according to directions) 1.5 c. brown sugar (more if you want them sweeter - brown is not as sweet as white) 1 t. vanilla 1.5 t. baking soda 1 t. cinnamon (or whatever) couple of shakes of salt 1.5 c. flour 3 c. oatmeal 1 c. dark chocolate chips or chunks 1 c. golden raisins 1 c. dried cranberries |  Note: Most items should be in food storage already. |
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cream sugar and butter.
- Add vanilla, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and eggs. Beat until well mixed.
- Add flour, beat until well mixed.
- Add chips, raisins, cranberries, mix well.
- Add oats, half and half at a time.
- Drop small spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes. Cool for a minute and then put on racks to cool completely before putting in cookie jar.
Posted March 10, 2012
Wheat Berry Chili
| Ingredients: 2 cups of wheat, rinsed and drained (I used Hard White Winter Wheat from the LDS cannery at the Bishop's Storehouse) 2 cans chopped tomatoes, not drained (or freeze-dried tomatoes from Thrive) 1 can Progresso tomato soup (either kind) 1 can tomato paste 1 pkg. onion soup mix (or fresh onions, or dried onions from cannery) 1 pkg. beef stew mix Note: carrots, bell peppers or beans could be added to your chili |
- Prepare wheat berries as directed at the top of the page. Be sure they are always covered with water. I put mine in the slow cooker overnight on low, and they were perfect in the morning. I drained off almost all the water (which can be saved for a soup or stew base, too) and left the wheat in the slow cooker pot.
- Add remaining ingredients, except for chili mix. Stir well.
- Cook on medium for a couple of hours.
- Add chili mix. Stir well.
- Cook on medium at least one more hour to allow flavors to blend. It doesn't hurt if you leave it several hours.
- Serve warm, topped with shredded cheese and/or onion bits, if desired. Oyster crackers also make a nice topping for it.
- Eat and enjoy!
Posted February 7, 2012
TVP Meatloaf
by Susan Nixon
| Ingredients: 1 cup of beef broth 1 cup hard white winter wheat, cooked (Shelf Reliance) 1 cup milk (Shelf Reliance) 1/2 cup ketchup 2 cups of dry beef or taco TVP granules (Shelf Reliance) 1 cup of quick oats (Shelf Reliance) 2 eggs, (rehydrated from Shelf Reliance) 1/4 cup dehydrated or freeze-dried onions (Shelf Reliance) 1/4 cup freeze-dried celery (Shelf-Reliance) Salt, Pepper, Sage to taste Additional ketchup and A-1 sauce for top of loaf |
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Warm beef broth and mix in bowl with TVP. Cover and let set until broth is absorbed. 5-10 minutes. If it isn't soft enough, add a little warm water.
- Mix all ingredients well. Place in loaf pan.
- Spread a mixture of ketchup and A-1 Sauce over top of meat loaf and bake in center of oven for about an hour.
Note: You can also include 1/4 cup carrot dices, spinach, green bell peppers, or red and green bell peppers.
Posted December 23, 2011
Tropical Christmas Cake
This is a blending of several recipes and if you like a fruity sort of cake, you should like this one! So many recipes had a lot of alcohol. Aside from the way-too-much-sugar that added, I don't drink, so out that went. If you feel that flavor is important, you can add a bit of rum flavoring and still not get the sugar. I've used Thrive foods, but any company's product you choose will work fine.
1/4 c. freeze dried pineapple (Thrive) 1/4 c. freeze dried apricots (Thrive) 1/4 c. freeze dried mango (Thrive) 1/4 c. freeze dried raspberries (Thrive) 1/4 c. dried chopped dates (I use Sun-Maid) 1/4 c. freeze dried blueberries (Thrive: optional - I don't like them, so add more of the other fruits if you leave this one out) 1/4 c. glace cherries (optional) |
1/2 c. water (+rum flavoring, if desired) 1 can crushed pineapple, with juice 3 eggs (or equivalent from powdered Thrive eggs) 1 teaspoon mixed spice (if you don't have this, mix a little cinnamon, nutmeg and tiny bit of clove, or try it with pumpkin pie spice) 1 teaspoon vanilla (for variety, try almond flavoring - a little lighter taste) 1/2 c. brown sugar (Thrive or other) 3/4 teaspoon baking soda (Thrive or other) 2 c. white flour (Thrive or other) 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder (Thrive or other) dash of salt |
- Put fruit, sugar, spices, water and whole can of crushed pineapple into a saucepan, boil for 3 minutes. Stir in soda, leave to cool.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 8" round, 3" deep cake pan (a spring form pan might work best) with olive oil (Invest $10 in a Misto sprayer, found on Amazon!) to keep cake from sticking.
- When fruit mixture is cooled, stir in eggs, then fold in flour. Pour into prepared pan, tap pan to level mixture.
- Bake approximately an hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Let cake cook overnight, or if springform pan, cool on wire rack overnight.
When cool, divide in 16 pieces. In place of icing, use a little real whipped cream, or drizzle a little melted dark chocolate over cake slice. Or eat it plain!
One slice contains 200 calories if made with alcohol, so a little less made with water.
Posted November 28, 2011
Paul's potato soup was one of his best. He called it corn chowder because he always teased me about being Irish, so he couldn't make *potato* soup! I've messed with his recipe a bit to make it more compatible with food storage contents. And anyway, he never used a recipe for anything in his life. The picture is the closest I could find to what his looked like.
Potato Soup
by Paul Nixon
1 can creamed corn 1-2 cups potato chunks (Thrive) 2/3 c. butter (make butter powder - Thrive) 2/3 c. flour (food storage) 5 c. milk (made from powdered in food storage) 1 c. sour cream (made from Thrive ) 1/2-1 c. bacon TVP crumbles (Thrive) 1/2-1 c. cheese powder of your choice(Thrive) |  |
- In large pot, heat butter. Stir in flour until smooth, then slowly add milk.
- Bring to a boil, lower heat and stir until thick.
- Stir in remaining ingredients, leaving enough bacon TVP to garnish and add a smidge of parsley, if desired.
Optional ingredients include salt, pepper, fresh or dried onions. If you like more corn, add 2 cans and reduce milk by one cup.
Posted November 2, 2011
I've spent the majority of my life, say 90%, in the southwest, even being born in California. So I love Mexican food! Here's a recipe for Chili Relleno Casserole. Lots of opportunities to use food storage in this one.
Chile Relleno Casserole
by Dennis Taylor
2 cups cooked whole wheat (Home Storage Center) 4 servings Taco TVP (Thrive/Shelf Reliance) or .5 lb. ground beef .5 cup dehydrated chopped onion (Home Storage Center) or 1 med. onion, chopped 8 oz. whole green chile peppers, canned (can use fresh, but don't touch your eyes after handling!) |  |
1.5 c. grated cheddar or longhorn cheese (could use cheese from Thrive) Mexican cheese (Asadero - yum, or Monterrey Jack is more authentic.) 1.25 cups milk (Home Storage Center) .5 cup whole wheat flour (ground from storage) 4 eggs (can use Thrive egg powder - yum!) .5 tsp. salt .25 tsp. cumin .25 tsp allspice (optional) 2 dashes hot sauce (optional) | |
- Prepare the Taco TVP as directed, then mix with onion, or brown ground beef and onion in a small skillet. Add Salt.
- Cover the bottom of a 6 x 10 glass baking dish with half the cooked wheat.
- Drain liquid of chilies into blender. Remove seeds from half of chilies and layer them over the cooked wheat.
- Spread meat and onions over chilies and cover with cheese.
- Spread second half of wheat over cheese, and then layer second half of chilies over wheat.
- In blender, combine milk, flour, eggs, hot sauce and spices. Blend well. Slowly pour over casserole.
- Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove and let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Serves 6. (Thanks to Taste of Home for the photo.)
Posted October 15, 2011
Chicken Flavored Wheat Pilaf
by Dennis Taylor
3 T. butter (powder from Thrive) 3 T. chopped onion (from Home Storage Center can) 1 cup cooked wheat (you cooked it from a Home Storage Center can) 2 cups Chicken Bouillon or stock (Thrive or the grocery store) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon Parsley Flakes (fresh or dry your own - it's easy!) | |
Heat butter in heavy skillet; add onion and saute until straw-colored. Add chicken stock, wheat, salt pepper, and parsley. Cover and simmer over low heat until all liquid is absorbed. Serves 6. Posted October 8, 2011 Variations:
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Now for something a little different. Still using your food storage, but not wheat berries this time. There will be more of those, however! This recipe is for Navajo Tacos. We first began to enjoy these at a restaurant outside of Window Rock, AZ, when I was teaching in Ganado. The restaurant was in an old silver trailer on the side of the road, but the food was fabulous. Paul never felt good about his fry bread (though I thought it was fine!), so we later changed it to what he called Irish Tacos and put the ingredients on baked potatoes. I hope your family enjoys these.
Navajo Tacos
1 cup flour (from the #10 can you bought at the Home Storage Center) 1/4 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon powdered milk (from Storage Center) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup water Vegetable oil for frying (I only use Olive oil) | |
Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Pour all the water on top. Mix until it makes a big clump, using a fork. Start the oil (about one inch deep) heating on medium high in a large skillet. Cast iron is best, but any large skillet you have will do. Now you'll have to work with your hands, so flour them and keep things less sticky! Using your hands, mix further, getting all the mix into a ball that holds together. Do NOT knead it, or your fry bread will not be light and fluffy. The ball will still be a bit sticky inside, but well-floured outside. Using scissors or a knife, cut the ball into 4 pieces. Pat and stretch and shape it into a round 6" flat piece. It doesn't need to be a perfect circle! It might be a little larger or a little smaller, but aim for about six inches. Dip a wooden spoon into the oil to see if it bubbles, or drop a tiny pinch of dough in and see if it starts cooking. You want about 350 degrees, but most of us don't have an oil thermometer. As long as it's frying the dough or bubbling around the spoon, it should be ready. Place your dough circle in the oil gently - that's hot oil you're playing with, and it will bubble! Using a pair of tongs sounds like a plan, but can also stretch your dough, or make a hole. Perhaps sliding it off a spatula will work for you. Whatever, remember the word gently. As the bread fries, press down a little with a spatula, so that it is all under the surface of the oil. Fry about 3 minutes until brown, then turn it over and do the other side for about 3 minutes. You might want yours browner than I like mine, but no more than 4 minutes on a side should cook it through just fine. Set these aside on a plate or foil-lined cookie sheet in the oven, heated to 150-200 degrees. That will keep them warm while you make the other ingredients. Or you could fix those ahead of time and have the bread be your last step. This makes four, and you can double the recipe with no problems. | |
 Thanks to roadfood for the picture. | |
Taco Toppings 1 lb. ground meat (Taco TVP is great!) 1 c. dried chopped onion (food storage!) 1 head shredded lettuce (okay, don't freeze dry that!) 2 c. freeze-dried tomato, reconstituted (food storage!) OR salsa made from that, or canned from your garden 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese Sour cream from freeze dried - (yes Thrive's really does taste the same, reconstituted!) | |
Prepare the dried ingredients according to directions, set things out in bowls, and let people top the fry bread with their choice of ingredients. Onion should be mixed with meat, unless you use a fresh onion. Serves 4. | |
The first time you make these, allow plenty of time for your learning curve. After that, it's a fast meal.
Wheat Salad
by Dennis Taylor
1-1/2 cups cooked tender wheat berries 1 8-oz. package cream cheese 1 15-16 oz. can crushed pineapple, in juice 1 5-oz. package instant pudding, pistachio or other favorite flavor 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 12-oz frozen whipped topping, thawed |
In large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese with crushed pineapple and juice, dry pudding, and lemon juice. Add cooled cooked wheat, mix well. Add topping. Can be stored in refrigerator for up to one week. Makes 12-15 servings.
*Note: Now I want to experiment using the freeze dried fruits and yogurt bites from Thrive, in place of the crushed pineapple and cream cheese.
Posted September 30, 2011
Fried Whole Wheat Substitute for Fried Rice
by Dennis Taylor
2 Tablespoons oil 1 cup green pepper, diced 2 cups cooked whole kernel wheat 2 eggs | 2 cups coarsely chopped onion 2 cups left over meat 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce |
In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in oil. (You may add or substitute other colors of peppers for different taste.) Add meat and whole wheat. Add 2 eggs, lightly beaten, soy sauce and salt. Stir until eggs are cooked and serve.
*Note: This was beyond yummy stuff! It's also the perfect place to use those TVP meats from Thrive (Shelf Reliance). I can hardly wait to try this with the Taco TVP and the Ham TVP that arrived this week. Not in the same batch, of course!
Posted September 24, 2011
