January 26, 2011

We got a lot of interesting information at this month's Stake Emergency Preparedness meeting on clothing and shelter preparation. Jim Phillips has spent 35-40 years working to find the best ways to stay warm in extreme cold weather. He has worked with all branches of the military showing them better ways to survive the cold.  I have wondered how it would be possible to store enough fuel to keep a home warm in the winter if we should lose power in the winter. There just isn't enough storage space in a normal home for a one or two year supply of fuel. Jim explained that it's not the house we need to keep warm. There are only three things in a house that need to stay heated - the goldfish, the plants and the pipes. He suggests you eat the goldfish and the plants and drain the pipes and the only other thing that needs  to stay warm is you! ; ) He has developed some ideas for keeping yourself toasty without piles of wood or underground storage tanks of propane. He has designed clothing made from open cell foam in a polyester shell. He's made mittens, head coverings, coats, pants, sleeping bags and even mukluks! (He says we could learn a lot from the Eskimos!) The open cell foam allows moisture to wick away from the body and evaporate while the polyester protects from the wind. He recommends staying away from cotton and wool because they stay wet when they get wet. He also has found that layering with those fabrics is not the best option. I had hoped to be able to get patterns and product information and make some of these up but I looked into buying the type of sewing machine he recommended - a Juki walking foot, needle feed - for sewing through 1/2" - 1" foam and they run about $1700. I would sure like a pair of those mukluks to keep my feet warm! If you want more information his website is safeharboralliance.com. You can sign up to receive his newsletter.

Here are a couple of recipes for this week.

WheatBerry Chili

2 cups cooked wheat berries

1 lb cooked ground beef

1 large onion chopped

1 large green pepper chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 quart canned tomatoes

4 c beef or other broth

2 cans drained and rinsed kidney beans

1 can green chilies dices

Saute onion and pepper. Add all remaining ingredients in large pot.

Simmer for 1 hour and adjust spices according to tastes.

Pinto Bean Bread

A high protein bread. You can leave out the second rising, but the

bread will be more dense.

2 c warm milk

2 tbsp yeast

2 c pinto beans, mashed well

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp oil or melted shortening

5 – 6 cups flour

Combine the milk, beans, sugar, salt, shortening, and 2 tbsp of flour.

Stir in the yeast and wait for it to bubble. Stir in 5 – 6 cups flour to

make a kneadable dough. Knead 5 minutes until satiny. Place in a

greased bowl, turning to grease. Let rise till double. Punch down and

let rise again. Punch down and shape into 2 loaves. Place in greased

loaf pans and bake at 350 for 30 – 40 min