Shelves

I've decided there isn't enough room on our one shelf to accommodate all the things I keep adding to the storage are, or rather it now is referred to as the 'safety' room by my daughter. I do not have shelves though and for the time being I have had to makeshift some extra shelves with some sturdy boxes. Those will shortly be replaced by real shelves, or at least something more sturdy. In the mean time, I have been using more of my stuff. Those 25 pound bags are coming in handy and I am even trying to make some baked beans today, although I am doing it on the stove not in the oven.

I read an article today about people trying to do things the way their grandparents did to get food to last longer. They mentioned that many people simply will not want to make the effort to switch to food from scratch over convenience foods. I don't blame them, it does take more time to make food from scratch but boy it sure tastes so much better and isn't full of other things. You don't have to add corn or soy to every thing you make. The article also mentioned how many people don't even know how to make food from scratch, and you know what, it's true. Many don't. It's a knowledge that has been all but thrown out for many people as all they need is to add water. I have had to learn a lot about making food from scratch and have a long way to go, but it sure is helping on the food budget and will hopefully help us healthwise as well.

My mother makes everything from scratch. She always has. She is one of 6 girls in her family and her father, my grandfather, would mention how out of all 6 she was the only one who could make anything from scratch. That included cooking pumpkin. Did you know, you can do more with a pumpkin than carve a face in it? It is possible and several years back I wanted to learn that same thing, so I asked and have been cooking real pumpkin ever since. But, it takes time. Some things I will buy convenience as it isn't going to save me much money making from scratch because I don't eat it that often or the ingredients are just as cheap or expensive as the product itself. I will buy pasta and ketchup, mustard, and things of the like, but I will make my pies, crackers, bread, rice dishes and maybe baked beans.

25 pound bags

I am taking on somewhat of an experiment. I bought (pictures to come at a later date when I can find the USB cord) a 25lb bag of white beans, a 25 lb bag of powdered milk, two 25lb bags of wheat and flour. I plan on using these extensively for the next two months. It will hopefully give me an idea of how much I really need to store compared to what all the food storage calculators say.

Since I have already been making several of my own things from scratch using these products should not be too difficult. The only new product is the wheat and beans. I have a grinder now and I have used wheat flour before so that shouldn't be a problem. (As a note to all those who haven't used wheat flour or other wheat products and are storing the wheat. Please use your wheat now. Begin learning how to use it and getting you body used to it. )

The beans are the new thing. I bought the beans to make some Boston Baked Beans. We go through an extremely large amount of Busch's baked beans and frankly, we can't afford to buy them that often or buy the amount we use. So, this will be the only new item I have to learn about. As far as the milk goes....well, we stopped buying milk a few weeks or so ago so we don't have a problem with using it. I just think I should get a bigger picture.