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Everyday Cooking with Food Storage

Rosalinda — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:24:06 +0000

Making Rye Bread

Hearty Soup For The Soul

Hope you enjoyed viewing the above video clips and that your taste buds are eager for a new experience! Having previously been acquainted with food-storage meals my taste buds already decided: “This will be just another day at the office.” In fact, most of those types of mixes often tasted like the box or package in which they came.

The enticing aroma with its subtle pervasive quality was the first indication that something was definitely different. My taste buds came alive (they were already aroused with the smell) the minute the spoon entered my mouth. Delving into the art of gourmet cooking myself, I was pleased to learn that restaurant chefs helped develop these food mixes that only require water, heat, a little olive oil or butter, and an eager hand for stirring!

The whole experience of this food preparation was the anticipation and romance of real home-cooking, like one had spent hours mastering texture and taste. This is exciting news for those who have very little time and yet wish to impress family or friends with good, nourishing food.

First impression starts right at your door entrance with the aroma of home-cooking to welcome your family or guests. You create your own hearty “soup for the soul” song that is equivalent to: “Over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go.” As you stir the full bodied nutritious soup, you are also stirring the memories of your youth. As the aroma fills the house, others are taken on a similar journey. With a hearty vegetable soup or stew, there’s the added bonus of freshly baked bread just out of the oven.

Some of us may not resemble the great cooks we grew up with; however, preparing these foods can CREATE THE COOK IN YOU! If you consider yourself a reputable chef, you will appreciate less preparation time as well as have a base for your own master creation! For example, delicious potato soup mix can be turned into a spicy clam chowder, involving only a can of clams, green chilies, and celery (this soup has been compared to “Market Street Grill’s clam chowder!). Potato soup can be dressed up in many ways including corn chowder, or a bean medley with smoked ham. You can also enhance tortilla soup with sour cream, grated cheese, cilantro, and corn chips.

Here are some notes gleaned from the demonstration I was fortunate to witness:

Rye Bread

Simply add bread mix, dry yeast and water (2 cups) to the bread mixer; bread does not require kneading only mixing (exact measurements will be on the pkt). Mixing for 10 minutes will enhance texture, holding the bread together (2 loaves or more are easier to mix). There are no preservatives as with store bought bread (in many cases there can be over 20 different preservatives in one loaf of bread). Allow the mix to rise on a warm surface until doubled in size, then roll and place on a cookie sheet (as shown in the video). Helpful Hint: The perfect location for bread to rise is to place cookie sheet on a warm dryer while doing laundry.

Other breads available are: white, wheat, sourdough, and multi-grain. To weave your own creative flair, you may wish to add herbs, sun-dried tomato, garlic, cheese or jalapenos.

On The Sweet Side

Do you have a sweet side? Every so often we come across a recipe that just seems to hit the spot. At times like these, savoring the moment means more than sculpturing the body. Perhaps we can delight in this informal health regime as we consider it a true stress release (which ultimately smooths away the rough edges of sculpturing). Therefore, cornbread, buttermilk biscuits, blueberry pancake mix, corn muffins, oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip (comparable to Mrs. Field’s cookies), and sugar cookies should be welcomed on the menu!

Soups & Stews (high quality with a superior taste that people would remember)

The shelf life of these soup and stew mixes is approximately 10 years (perhaps even more). They are, however, so delicious tasting that you would want to incorporate these into your daily diet; otherwise, after sampling, your taste buds would go through withdrawal symptoms! They are that tasty! The general mixture for soups is 4 1/4 cups of water to one package of soup mix. Soups cook for 12-15 minutes (Broccoli is about 12 minutes) and stews cook for 20 minutes.

Meat in stews or soups are soy based (TVP chicken or beef- fabulous flavor!). Soups and stews that require butter can be substituted with olive or coconut oil (about 1 Tb). The most popular soups are Italian Chicken (tomato based), Cheese and Broccoli, Tortilla (high-bred starch gives this soup its creamy flavor), Potato, and Beef Stew.

The video clip only shows a few of the soups; there are, on the drawing board, 48 additional soups, stews and casseroles wishing to take center-stage. Here are just a few: Lasagna, Teriyaki Chicken, Chile, Macaroni and Cheese, Chicken and Rice, Corn Chowder, and Chicken Noodle Soup (traditional).

The exciting thing about including these dehydrated soups and stews as part of your daily menu is ensuring your daily intake of vegetables. Nutrition is locked in when these vegetables are dehydrated and, therefore, taste like fresh vegetables ready for a real home cooking experience! These foods are formulated with your health in mind so there is always room for healthy upgrades! Lowering sodium while maintaining gourmet quality and taste is just one example.

Run Away With Delicious Fruit

Nutritional fruit should also be a part of your daily menu. These dehydrated fruits offer an exotic taste of papaya, mangoes, pineapple, diced apple (great for trail mix and baking) and banana. This is a moment reserved for you and savoring the taste becomes your true tropical island getaway!

Mashed Potatoes

They taste like the real thing especially when made with coconut whey milk, and a little added butter. There is real flavor and nutrition because the peel is part of the deal!! It is so finely chopped that it is not detectable. The best tasting mashed potatoes however, are the garlic and cracked pepper kind. The consistency is approximately 3 1/2 cups of hot milk and 2 Tb butter added to the potato mix. Your family or guests will be clamoring for more so make plenty! Previously sold at Costco for a higher price, these mashed potato mixes earned the title of being the highest quality available!

Coconut Whey Milk

This milk tastes better than cow’s milk and is so good for you. According to testimonials, regular powdered milk tastes like skimmed milk while coconut whey milk has a full bodied taste that is comparable to whole milk. It is especially good for those who are lactose intolerant. It has a sweet and creamy taste and stands alone as a great drink. It blends wonderfully with the soups and potatoes!

72 Hour Food Kit

This is the Cadillac of all 72 Hour Food kits and is for a family of four. Included in the kit are: 3 packets of Coconut Whey Milk, Tropical Fruit, Blueberry Pancake, and Oatmeal mix; Country Beef Stew, Italian Chicken, Broccoli, Creamy Potato, Potato and Cheddar, and Tortilla Soup.

When you indulge in the experience as I have, and finish the last bite of your meal, you can feel confident that no preservatives entered your stomach. The food is squeaky clean and free from MSG, hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, and other unhealthy free loaders!!

Free loaders? Well yes, they have ALL been eliminated to the point that the cost is squeaky clean and, therefore, these foods are available at true wholesale prices.

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Market Tour

Rosalinda — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:12:43 +0000

I have just a few minutes to take you on a quick market tour. Again, there have been some great guesses re. the mystery place. Each article has revealed a clue and if you haven’t been following the articles start from “England” and catch up to this one. Let’s begin with some great market scenes.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. The last video clip, as you can tell, was not edited for a little market spice and humour. There will be other photos and short films to look forward to bringing you closer to the mystery place. I have left you with some great clues in this one.

The next articles will focus on a little history, culture, and some interesting buildings. If you haven’t guessed the mystery place yet, give it a try. If this is your first article read, catch up on the previous articles starting from “England” and read the rest of the adventure articles to this current one.

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More Clues

Rosalinda — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 09:11:26 +0000

There have been some good guesses as to where the mystery place might be. The answer will be revealed at the end of the month. For now let’s continue the journey with the rest of these pictures. In the previous article the theme was on travel or journey. Let’s have a look at a different theme. How about food?

If you are a newcomer read the previous articles starting from “England” to this current one so you can participate as well.

Another place exploring traditional food

There are also very fine restaurants and one happens to be very famous for this particular dessert which is sold all over the world.

One final photo for those ethnic tastebuds, and one that I could not resist taking:

The next batch of photos will center around the “Market Theme” There are videos to look forward to but these will be shown at a later date.

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