Waste not, want not.

It's fall time and a good time for making things and preserving.  Have you ever made apple pies, applesauce or dehydrated apples and just thrown away the peelings and cores?  I just found this and thought I would pass it along.  Make Apple Cider Vinegar with the "waste".  

Homemakers of times past had the perfect use for all this “waste” – making vinegar!
The process includes four steps and can take up to six weeks to complete.

1. Make a clean cider from ripe apples.
2. Convert all the fruit sugar to alcohol through a process called alcohol fermentation.
3. Change all the alcohol to acetic acid referred to as acetic acid fermentation.
4. Clarify the acetic acid to prevent further fermentation and decomposition.

Which Apples are Best?

     Fall and winter apple varieties are best for making vinegar because their sugar content is higher than summer apples. Gather fruit and wash it well. We soaked our apples in a diluted solution of vinegar in water. This is recommended to remove any surface pesticides and most of the surface bacteria. While the fruit is soaking in the vinegar solution, thoroughly wash and rinse some half-gallon jars (a good run through the dishwasher works well, too).
Peel and core the apples. Leave the scraps to air. They’ll turn brown. Fill the jar about 3/4 full of scraps and top with filtered (non-chlorinated) water. We covered the jars with coffee filters held in place with a rubber band and placed the jars into a container (to catch the foam-over from the fermentation process.) Cover and place in a warm, dark place (60-80ºF.) You can leave it for up to a month. You’ll notice the contents of the jar thickens and foams and a grayish scum forms on top. 

We separated the peelings and cores from the liquid after a week, strained the liquid into clean jars, covered them, put them back in the warm space and left them to ferment. After about a month, you can taste test it for strength. When it pleases you, strain it again and bottle it. It may be cloudy and have a sediment. This is “the mother.” This slimy looking thing consists of acetic acid bacteria and cellulose. It’s a natural product of the vinegar-making process. Filtration through a coffee filter will remove most of it.                  There are lots of uses for apple cider vinegar, from drinking it, rinsing your hair with it and using it as a cleaning product – don’t forget making pickles!

I'm going to make some and then bottle it in quart size mason jars.  

Have fun with your food storage.

Bob and LouAnn

We are being noticed

President Goettl passed along this message from the Maricopa City Manager's office.  It is in response to all the help the Boy Scouts and members of the Church gave in the last flood preparation. 

"Flood Preparations: Maricopa Fire Department is very thankful to the groups who came out to assist fire crews last week in preparation for forecasted potential flooding. The fire department urges all residents to always be prepared for such emergencies by ensuring there is always an adequate amount of water, non-perishable food, spare batteries, blankets, candles, full tank of fuel in resident’s personal vehicles, and spare cash on hand. Being prepared takes little effort but the benefits are immense. Having each family in Maricopa prepare for such events in this proactive manner allows the emergency services to concentrate on those areas and people most in need of services during these times."

WOW, the Maricopa Fire Department has caught the vision of food storage and encourages you to be prepared.  We echo that.  

The year long Stake Food Storage Challenge is officially over but we encourage you to keep expanding your food storage as you see and identify needs.  Also, how about other areas of preparedness.  For instance, do you have a tent that will fit your family if the need arose?  How about sleeping bags, cook stoves and serving ware?  What about after dark lighting, extra clothing and socks?  Does everyone in the family have a pair of warm closed in shoes, long pants and long sleeved shirts, hoodies and jackets?  Are you keeping your fuel tanks at half full or above?  Do you have on hand extra toilet paper and other personal needs?  Not last or least, how about extra cash on hand to get you through an emergency?  We will be talking about these and other things in the next coming months.  

I saw a commercial between the sessions of General Conference that tickled my funny bone.  It showed a man in the kitchen in the dark eating out of a bowl.  His wife turned on the light and asked him if that was food storage he was eating.  With a spoon full of what looked like noodles, he just had a sheepish guilty look on his face.  His wife then said, that's for emergency's.  His response was, the power is out.  She then flipped the light switch and the light came on.  He then slowly brought the spoon full of noodles to his mouth and put it in while she disgustedly turned around and left.  He then said, it's macaroni and cheese.  We SHOULD be eating our food storage, and then replacing what we use.  If you don't, how will you know how to use it when you need it and have developed different ways to prepare it?  For those of you who made the 72 hour kit in a can, I hope you used it this weekend to see how it was.  I did and it was good except the instant Quaker oats.  If you didn't use it, be sure to use it soon as some of the items only had a one year shelf life. 

Have fun with your food storage.

Bob and LouAnn

Final countdown to October General Conference

Our one year official Stake Food Storage Challenge is coming to an end.  That doesn't mean you can stop.  haha.  We want to encourage everyone to keep working on your food storage plan.  Remember Egypt had 7 years of famine and President Hinkley compared our times to that of Joseph.  No, we are not having famines in this country for the most part but we are not guaranteed anything tomorrow.  Famines are raging in other countries as well as plagues and other disasters.  I am putting a copy of what President Monson said in this months Ensign.

"In the vicinity where I once lived and served, the Church operated a poultry project, staffed primarily by volunteers from the local wards. Most of the time it was an efficiently operated project, supplying to the bishops’ storehouse thousands of fresh eggs and hundreds of pounds of dressed poultry. On a few occasions, however, being volunteer city farmers meant not only blisters on the hands but also frustration of heart and mind.

For instance, I shall ever remember the time we gathered the Aaronic Priesthood young men to give the project a spring-cleaning. Our enthusiastic and energetic throng assembled at the project and in a speedy fashion uprooted, gathered, and burned large quantities of weeds and debris. By the light of the glowing bonfires, we ate hot dogs and congratulated ourselves on a job well done.

However, there was just one disastrous problem. The noise and the fires so disturbed the fragile population of 5,000 laying hens that most of them went into a sudden molt and ceased laying. Thereafter we tolerated a few weeds so that we might produce more eggs.

No member of the Church who has helped provide for those in need ever forgets or regrets the experience. Industry, thrift, self-reliance, and sharing with others are not new to us.

We should remember that the best storehouse system would be for every family in the Church to have a supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, other necessities of life.

Of course there may be times when our members are in need of help from the Church. The Lord’s storehouse includes the time, talents, skills, compassion, consecrated material, and financial means of faithful Church members. These resources are available to the bishop in assisting those in need.

We urge all Latter-day Saints to be prudent in their planning, to be conservative in their living, and to avoid excessive or unnecessary debt. Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had a supply of food and clothing and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have a supply of debt and are food-free.

I repeat what the First Presidency declared a few years ago:

“Latter-day Saints have been counseled for many years to prepare for adversity by having a little money set aside. Doing so adds immeasurably to security and well-being. Every family has a responsibility to provide for its own needs to the extent possible.

“We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from this bondage. Save a little money regularly to gradually build a financial reserve.”¹

Are we prepared for the emergencies in our lives? Are our skills perfected? Do we live providently? Do we have our reserve supply on hand? Are we obedient to the commandments of God? Are we responsive to the teachings of prophets? Are we prepared to give of our substance to the poor, the needy? Are we square with the Lord?

We live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past."

Listen closely to the talks that will be given in General Conference.  Take notes as you are prompted by the Spirit and then act on those promptings. 

We will be back with more interesting things next month.

Have fun with your food storage.

Bob and LouAnn

September, National Preparedness Month

It's September and this is National Preparedness month.  It is the last month for the goal of having a one year supply of food storage by October General Conference.  I want to include part of the message that President Monson wrote in this month's Ensign magazine.

"We urge all Latter-day Saints to be prudent in their planning, to be conservative in their living, and to avoid excessive or unnecessary debt. Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had a supply of food and clothing and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have a supply of debt and are food-free.

I repeat what the First Presidency declared a few years ago:

“Latter-day Saints have been counseled for many years to prepare for adversity by having a little money set aside. Doing so adds immeasurably to security and well-being. Every family has a responsibility to provide for its own needs to the extent possible.

“We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from this bondage. Save a little money regularly to gradually build a financial reserve.”¹

Are we prepared for the emergencies in our lives? Are our skills perfected? Do we live providently? Do we have our reserve supply on hand? Are we obedient to the commandments of God? Are we responsive to the teachings of prophets? Are we prepared to give of our substance to the poor, the needy? Are we square with the Lord?

We live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past."

Re-read the last sentence.  When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past! 

We have been admonished by SEVERAL Prophets and General Authorities to become prepared.

 To name just a few, Lehi was warned to leave Jerusalem and take his family with him because the city would be destroyed. He listened and obeyed and was blessed.  In the Old Testament in Numbers when the Lord sent serpents down as a result of the people speaking against God and Moses, Moses made a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole and told the people that had been bitten that if they would look up upon the pole at the fiery serpent, they would live.  There were those who would not look and died.  The only thing they had to prepare was their hearts and faith to be saved.  There are many more instances where Prophets had warned their followers and some would not listen and perished.  Another example of that was at Hauns Mill in Missouri.  Had they listened to the Prophet Joseph Smith, they would not have been killed.  Click on the link and re-listen or re-read President Hinkley's address in the October 1998 General Conference titled "To the Boys and to the Men".  President Hinkley 

September food storage tips: Dried whole eggs and dried egg whites:  For real tasting scrambled eggs, purchase Ova Easy Egg Crystals.  A #10 an contains the equivalent of 72 eggs.  Use whole powdered eggs in a #10 can for your recipes.  A few ways to use dried whole eggs: in baking, making mayonnaise or miracle whip, pancakes, puddings. Dried egg whites are excellent in angel food cake, frostings using egg whites, etc. Unopened, they store at least 5 years in a cool/dry/dark place. After opening, will keep for several months if refrigerated (in #10 can with lid secured).  If you purchased this last year in September, work on something else this month that you might need more of.

Honeyville Farms is having a 35% off of selected items sale for the first two weeks in September.  Here is another GREAT buy there.  The new All American Sun Oven.  

This is a bargain price at $289.79.  If you have been considering one, now is the time to get one.  

Don't procrastinate building your food storage supply.  If you can only afford to spend $5 a payday, do that and put that purchase under your bed or in your closet and add to it when you can purchase more.  You will be blessed as you do, miracles will take place, your food storage will grow and you will start to receive that peaceful feeling knowing you are becoming more prepared.

Have fun with your food storage.

Bob and LouAnn Singer

 

How is it coming?

We are only about 5 weeks away from our goal date of having at least a one year supply of food storage on hand.  How are you doing?

Two weeks ago, I was called to be a Stake High Councilor.  It just so happens that one area of my responsibilities is Temporal Welfare.  The Stake has not released us as the Stake Welfare Specialists yet but will when they receive inspiration on who should be called to that position.  In the mean time, we are pushing ahead with that calling also. 

During the last year, we have been feeling a greater need to encourage everyone to become more prepared and listen to the Prophet.

 In his October 1973 conference address, President Ezra Taft Benson gave some excellent instructions about home storage:

“For the righteous the gospel provides a warning before a calamity, a program for the crises, a refuge for each disaster. …

“The Lord has warned us of famines, but the righteous will have listened to prophets and stored at least a year’s supply of survival food. …

“Brethren and sisters, I know that this welfare program is inspired of God. I have witnessed with my own eyes the ravages of hunger and destitution as, under the direction of the president of the Church, I spent a year in war-torn Europe at the close of World War II, without my family, distributing food, clothing, and bedding to our needy members. I have looked into the sunken eyes of Saints, in almost the last stages of starvation. I have seen faithful mothers carrying their children, three and four years of age, who were unable to walk because of malnutrition. I have seen a hungry woman turn down food for a spool of thread. I have seen grown men weep as they ran their hands through the wheat and beans sent to them from Zion—America.

“Thanks be to God for a prophet, for this inspired program, and for Saints who so managed their stewardship that they could provide for their own and still share with others.” (“Prepare Ye,” Ensign, Jan. 1974, pp. 69, 81–82.)

In General Conference of April 1976, Vaughn J. Featherstone gave a talk on becoming prepared. 

"The Lord will make it possible, if we make a firm commitment, for every Latter-day Saint family to have a year’s supply of food reserves.... All we have to do is to decide, commit to do it, and then keep the commitment. Miracles will take place; the way will be opened, and.... we will have our storage areas filled. We will prove through our actions our willingness to follow our beloved prophet and the Brethren, which will bring security to us and our families."

"I bear my humble witness to you that the great God of heaven will open doors and means in a way we never would have supposed to help all those who truly want to get their year’s supply. I know we will have time and money if we will commit and keep the commitment. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

Since we were inspired to start the Stake Food Storage goal a year ago, miracles have happened in our Stake.  One person donated over 300 cases of canned and bottled food that was distributed to the Bishops and Branch Presidents to be divided up to the members who they were inspired to give it to.  Pantry's have been filled and more families are working on their food storage and being prepared.   "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."  (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 3:7)
 
 If you have not started or have but have quit, decide to do it, commit to do it and then keep that commitment.  The Lord will bless you in your efforts.  If ye are prepared, ye need not fear. 

Bob and LouAnn Singer.