Cooking with whole food preps
 

Having stored beans, rice, wheat berries and other preps, the necessary next step is to learn how to prepare meals from these raw, whole food ingredients. A stressful, SHTF situation would be a poor time to start learning. So I�ve undertaken the learning task. Rita Bingham�s book, Country Beans, has many recipes and helpful suggestions.

This morning, I had Wheat, Beans and Rice Cereal. I coarsely ground equal parts of each, mixed them together, and stored the mix in an air-tight jar. To cook for one person, add � cup of the mixture to one cup of water with a little salt, bring to a boil, and simmer covered for 5 minutes or so. I served mine, as Bingham suggested, with honey, milk and a little vanilla � quite delicious really, much like cream of wheat (only healthier because the proteins complemented.)

For lunch, I made a lentil-garbanzo bean casserole which included saut�ed onions, corn flour, cooked rice, chicken soup starter and chopped parsley (I used fresh; recipe called for flakes), topped with buttered bread crumbs and baked in the oven for about half an hour. I imagine you could substitute cooked wheat berries for the rice for the sake of variety. The casserole was surprisingly tasty (although the dog wouldn�t touch it LOL.) Notice again how the beans and rice proteins complement; most of Bingham's recipes and menu suggestions are like that. Now if only I can get the rest of the family to get on board. Some people get set in their ways and don�t want to even sample new foods.

Have any of the rest of you tried new recipes that utilize your stored beans, rice and wheat? If so, how do you trick your families into participating? I think it�s really very important to learn how to make meals from scratch now while it can be fun rather than later out of deadly necessity.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Sounds like you're off to a great healthy start. I too, would be interested in more rice recipes. Here's one to kick-off this thread!

Chicken Flavored Rice Mix

4 cups uncooked rice
4 tablespoons instant chicken bouillon
1 teaspoon salt
2 teasppons dried tarragon
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Stir until evenly distributed. Put about 1 1/3 cup mixture each into three 1-pint containers. Label and store. Use within 6-8 months. Makes about 4 cups rice mix.

To use: combine 1 1/3 c. rice mix, 2 c. cold water, and 1 T. butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, and cook 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Makes 4-6 servings.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

I try new recipes all the time, but I like all sorts of foods and love to cook. Hubby is the same and he's the only other one I need to worry about. Next week is Fava bean week.

There are many good cookbooks for bean and rice recipes and lots of ethnic regions that use them as a main food source. Key thing is to know the basics of cooking each and then any recipe should not be overwhelming. IOW, if you can cook rice and beans at all, then most recipes will be pretty easy for you.

I keep a complete selection of dried spices for changing up the menu. Also, if you have cookbooks that you have not used a lot (and who doesn't?) that you feel you might use in the future, scan through them and look at the ingredients listing for each (or most) recipes. If you see items that might be something you would want to use, buy them. I keep ingredients for Caribbean, Asian, Mexican, Indian, Euro, and Southern US. Probably something I forgot in there, but I can pretty much cook just about any region's dishes simply with the variety of spices.

If you have an Asian market near you, check out the various rices, too. Red, black, bamboo, sweet, sushi, and on and on..... MMM, mmmmm!

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

I bought a book from Emergency Essentials on cooking with preps. Only about $10 I think. Basics stuff. I'm sure there is more to learn. Experience is probably best.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

That's a good first step. But, after looking at the books sitting on my shelves for 3 or 4 years, I decided I needed to find out which recipes I liked best and what I didn't care for at all. As with any new skill, "experience is probably best." You should see the first corn tortillas I made -- pretty bad! Realizing that I'd never develop the skill of my friend's grandmother who pats them out perfectly round and thin between her hands, I finally bought a press. That works much better.

At some point I got to wondering about those 5-gallon pails of beans in the basement. Realized that I'd probably get tired of nothing but re-fried beans, which I do well enough. And decided to find out what else they're useful for. For instance, there are lots of recipes out there for vegetarian burgers that use beans.

Next up on the bean experiment, breads and rolls that have beans in the recipe. That should be interesting.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

An excellent idea, if you can get the crew on board with the idea. I tried TVP and rice tacos ( I did use store bought tortillas), topped off with canned cheese; that went over like a fart in church. I didn't think they were too bad, but the dogs turned up their noses at them!

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

I tried to make my own mayonaisse tonight. It turned out dreadful. I have 1 1/2 cups of this shy"t, and I believe the cook has to eat their mistakes. Woe is me! My mayo is bitter; made with olive oil. I'm going to whip in some more sugar tomorrow and how I can make it edible. Don't know yet, how it will turn out. Wish me luck. LOL.

I can eat the TVP tacos, cause I'm motivated! But no one else in the house will touch them. Damn!

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Merlin, you make a good point about learning to use our preps before the time comes. I should start my trial and error now, before it is too late. I can eat only so much oatmeal, beans, and spam. :biggrin:

Good luck with that mayo.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

I hear mayo is a good scalp/hair conditioner!
:36_3_12:

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

I've made dishes with buckwheat, one was like a pilaff , not bad at all, and I combine it with wheat or straight for pancakes. I haven't made anything with beans other than soups and plain ole beans, fortunate for me my wife and daughter, it seams as though we can eat them till they come out our ears, and I have a wandering palate....I keep about 5 varietys of beans and as many lentils. My daughter and I enjoy rice as much as beans and I keep a wide variety of it also.....I'm always stuffing something with rice, or bread crumbs LOL. I've made these two recipes with pearled barley, both very good of course I tweak to my liking......http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1726...236195,00.html
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1743,...254194,00.html

The salad is quite good , I made a variation of it by adding corn and three kinds of bell peppers then added frozen lime concentrate to the dressing it was really really good.....lately I've been leaving the barley out :wink:

Merlin , did you ever get the book "Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day" if you haven't you should, make the basic recipe it is waaaay to simple and easy, no fuss no muss and the bread is excellent, much easier than using my Bosch mixer, you mix everything(Flour,water, salt, yeast) in a big container with a wooden spoon or whatever then cover and refridgerate ,and yes I use my own flour ......you've got to try it some time you won't believe it !. I bought the book from Amazon.

This could turn out to be a great thread Merlin :applause_:applause_

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Nub,

I started sprouting beans like crazy this past week.....lentils, white navy beans, pinto beans, peas......these sprouts are a very tasty....fresh, crunchy veggies....and it all came from these hard dried beans. We have been using them as the main component to our salads this past week.

Should give it a try.....4 to 5 days from dry goods to fresh veggies.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

another value of chickens & mine have been getting a lot of my misques as i am learning to cook because i got to retire early & i've been using the-prep/we grew it foods - an added challenge. i was the only one that would eat my last salad dressing.














&

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Thanks for the recipes Nub; they sound good to me. I ordered the book this morning.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

I read that thread ruprick and ordered the sprouting bag from Amazon, I'll be sprouting soon :wink:

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Merlin, I cheat a little on the basic bread recipe......I use 1 to 1 1/2 cups regular white flour.....I should try unbleached
I'm going to try 100% my own flour today.:15_1_70v:

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Post pictures of your master piece!

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Today I made garbanzo bean sandwich spread. I used garbanzo bean flour from beans I put through the grain mill, because it simmers in six minutes instead of 2 to 2 1/2 hours. 1/2 cup of flour plus 1 cup of water yields 1 cups of mashed beans.

1 C mashed garbanzo beans
2 T mayo
1 T sweet relish that I had canned myself
2 T minced green onion (you could use re-hydrated onions from your preps)
1 t chicken soup starter

Serve on toasted bread.

By the way, I used last nights mayo that I had judged to be a failure. And the truth is it works just fine when you use it as an ingredient in something. I'm surprised!

Tomorrow I'm going to try one of the yeast bread recipes. They look to be conventional bread recipes with a portion of the wheat flour replaced by bean flour. That should be interesting.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Mayo doesn't have ANY sugar in it. It is the whole industrial food thing to put sugar in mayo and ketchup, etc.

I've made my own mayo by hand before. It is easiest with two people. The person with the whisk should be the person with the most stirring stamina. The important thing is to drip the oil in just about drop by drop. Sometimes you can get an extremely thin stream to work but too slow is far better than too fast. The one person is whisking their little heart out while the other person concentrates on dripping the oil in very slowly but constantly. Takes practice. And I usually feel like my arm is going to fall off by the end!

Gregg

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Why not use a blender or mixer?

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

oh, and I'd be happy if it was only 'sugar' in ketchup or mayo. It's almost always High Fructose Corn Syrup. :(

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What container are you using to pour the oil from? My measuring cup has a pour spout formed on the rim; but it's impossible to pour drop by drop. If I pour that slowly, the oil runs down the outside edge of the cup and drips off the bottom edge onto the counter -- not into the mixing bowl.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

I make a number of 'dishes' using stored ingredients that I use all the time.

My gourmet granola...

8 cups of organic thick rolled oats
1 cup of clarified butter
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon 'real salt'
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
1 cup of milled flax seed
1 cup coconut
1 cup nuts
1 cup dried fruit

1. Melt butter and add honey, salt, water, and vanilla.
2. In a large bowl mix oatmeal, flax seed, coconut, and cinnamon together.
3. Pour butter mixture over dry mixture and get it evenly coated.
4. Spread on 2 large rimmed cookie sheets.
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 300 degrees...I stir the granola one time during the cooking, and I've found it comes out better on the upper over racks.
6. Add the nuts and dried fruits after it is done.

Here is a simple and healthy salad dressing from mostly stored ingredients...

4 parts cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
1 part aged balsamic vinegar
lemon juice
pinch of dried onion
pinch of dried basil
pinch of real salt
pinch of fresh ground pepper

I pour all the ingredients into a cruet and shake vigorously until blended.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

I baked a loaf of whole wheat bread today that had cooked, mashed beans as one of the key ingredients. As you might suspect, a loaf with 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of mashed, cooked beans was pretty heavy and dense. It did not rise particularly well (even though there was 1 whole tablespoon of yeast and an egg used for leavening.) The flavor was excellent however, mostly because of the dehydrated onions, and I would bake this again. In my view, the primary virtue of this bean-wheat bread is the complementary nature of the proteins. In an apocalyptic SHTF situation, there might not be a lot of meat available, so such a bread could substitute well for meat.

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Have you tried adding 2-3 tablespoons of wheat gluten to your mix? That might help the rise.

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This book is very helpful 'Cookin' With Home Storage' by Peggy Layton and Viki Tate. It is available on Amazon for under $12.

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A blender won't work. Think of the shape and where the blades are. The very bottom part won't be getting whipped. The blades don't move around. So one level gets creamed over and over while the others don't get anything. A fixed mixer has many of the same problems. You are usually making a small amount at once and the mixer won't even get it started.

At a fancy restaurant, the "power option" is a food processor. A good one. That can work. I always just made mine by hand.

Hmm, I don't know the answer to that question. I've always been the guy with the whisk. I don't remember anything special though. It may have even been poured straight out of the olive oil jar?

Gregg

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

You're absolutely correct about that. I didn't add the wheat gluten this time because I usually try new recipes just as they're given to me. Next time the bean bread will get the wheat gluten and maybe even some unbleached all-purpose flour as well!

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I just read this post, I didn't make a batch the other night like I said I was but I will tonight and see if I can't get a picture posted

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Mayonnaise -

For what its worth............

Start off with two raw egg yolks, no white,

And organic is better.

Let them warm up, and stir them a little bit.

Then

Add a few drops of lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt,

And stir.

Now take virgin olive oil and add it a few drops

At a time, whilst stirring with a plain old ordinary fork, briskly.

You will see it amalgamate.

When it doesn't fall off the fork, you're good to go.

And, yes, it has no resemblance to the mass produced

Store bought crud you may be used to.

scyth

ps no sugar ever.

pps you can use white wine vinegar instead of lemon juice, different, but equally good

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

OK, in your experience, what is the refrigerated shelf life of homemade mayo? The recipe I worked from produced 1 1/2 cups and said it was good for a week when refrigerated. That's challenging. I'm not sure I can eat that much mayo is 7 days. If it really doesn't keep better than that, I'll have to make less.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

I'll try directly out of the bottle. I sense that the precise measurements (1/4 cup of oil to 1 tsp lemon juice) are less important than the method/technique. I bet when you make mayo you eyeball it, right?

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Correctamundo -

It's eyeball and hand

Rather than measurement.

And it works out just fine, once

You get the hang of it.

Lasts three weeks easy

In the fridge.


scyth

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

I'll try to post some pics now........

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Is that plastic tub what you use to store your dough in the refrigerator? How many loaves of dough will it hold? (I've been reading the book you recommended but haven't tried any recipes yet.)

Looks like my cutting board you have there. The round loaves are rising? And the firearms and knife are so you can protect your bread? :)

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

:rofl:.....yup, don't want no zombies snaggin my loafs LOL !! I wanted to put something on the table for scale soooooo in keeping with our board's live free or die mantra I figured why not ......DON'T TREAD ON MY BREAD !!:bear_thumb:

So we have the same cutting boards ?....... Bamboo?

Merlin, the container holds 5 1/4 Qts. the dough completely fills it when it rises, then collapses. I say it will make 2 to 3 decent size loaves but probably more like 2 . Here's the finished loaves.....we already tried a nicwe warm slice or two:wink:......

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The seeds on the bread board are flax, they are what stuck to the bottom of the loaves, I ran of of corn meal/polenta so I used flax seeds for ball bearings when sliding the loaf off the paddle onto the piece of pre heated tile I use to bake on in the oven.......I also use a cast iron pan, can't tell the difference.

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I think they're just in case the yeast gets "out of hand." There's nothing quite so wicked as a loaf of bread gone feral.

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I have been putting in 4 tablespoons of corn meal in my basic bread mix, and the bread rises better and bakes perfectly round. Thinking about adding some dehydrated mashed potatoes to see what happens next.

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No, mine isn't bamboo, so I guess they just resemble each other in shape, size and design. Your finished bread looks delicious. Are they whole wheat flour, or do you have all-purpose flour in there as well? They certainly rose nicely.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Trivia for the day -

Origin of the "unlucky" number 13

Is the "Baker's dozen."

Which, of course, is 13.

Old time bakers would bake thirteen loaves,

The thirteenth loaf for the devil's tithe

So the other twelve would not go bad.


scyth

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Out of 6 1/2 cups used only 1 cup of all purpose flour......that dough was 6 days old, it takes on kind of a sour dough taste as it gets older. Might try the corn meal TS is talking about.

From the book: the basic recipe is.....13 cups flour,3 tablespoons each salt & yeast and 6 cups luke warm water. Mine was a half batch.


When you make the dough make it real wet ,it is so wet it mixes easily with a wooden spoon (if it's not don't be afraid to add more water) it should just go limp and loose and readily conforms to a loose fitted container, make sure container is very large , the dough rises a lot before it collapses ......I use only the one container for everything

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

That bread looks mouth watering.

I've made mayo that was great in a blender, but it was so many years ago I've forgotten the tricks. My g/f at the time had lost her beloved grandmother who used to make up mayo. She made some and showed me how and sometimes I would make it. Truly better tasting. I think one trick was using a rubber spatula to move the stuff around as it blended. Maybe modern ones move too fast or something. But her grandmother, and she and I, made it successfully in a blender. The cleanup of an oily blender may make a bowl and whisk a better plan anyway, though.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

Bump for Avalon, not sure if this is what you're thinking of.

Re: Cooking with whole food preps
 

no but the one oyu bumped was good thread worthy of being bumped..

The one I was thinking of had lots of beans and rice recipes on it.. We could start another one.. maybe call it 100 different ways to eat beans and rice. :111: