Cooking With Food Storage cookbook, compiled by Preparedness Brings Peace Blog, free online! Talk about a great resource to get you started on using your food storage for daily purposes :o)
Storing food and other items is essential these days. Even if you live in a tunnel and don't think there is to be any issues within the world at large, or that the economy will continue to lower itself into levels our generation is not familiar with dealing with...there are still storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and more that plague our food delivery systems as well as the food sources. No one is untouched by the effects of the world around them. Being prepared is just daily life anymore.
But, some people simply don't understand the concept of food storage and preparedness. Some merely think it's purpose is to weather a storm. True enough, it could be just that for your family. They stock some canned goods, maybe some bottled water and a few candles and they pat themselves on the back with a job well-done.
Still others will go a bit farther and stock up some packaged MRE's from a survival shop. They have gallons of water stored away, seeds (non-hybrid and heirloom, of course) and other things. Again, patting themselves on the back for being aware and prepared.
These are all good things, don't get me wrong, but remember those folks who went into prep mode before Y2K? Remember all the great bargains to be found the following year when they sold all those items? Or some who probably, even now, have the odd can of tuna or stray box of hamburger helper
still sitting in a back closet somewhere...
They've prepared boxes and cases of food, buckets of grains and beans, containers of water and what-not and then simply put them into a closet or garage and never think of them again, waiting for a bump in life to bring them back to mind. Something happens and they go for some beans and powdered milk, or some wheat to grind and find mold, bugs, sour powdered milk They didn't gather information about proper storage and it's all been for naught. All that planning, all that money...it's useless.
Or time comes that the pantry is needed (storm affects, financial issues, etc.), and you pull a bag of dry beans and a box of powdered milk out and...stare blankly at it sitting on your counter top because you have no clue how to cook any of it, or have any ideas for recipes to make.
You have to USE food storage. Food is alive -- or at least it should be :o) You are going to have supplies that simply sit and wait for use, sure, but your food storage needs to be used on a regular basis. Having 15 boxes of powdered milk tucked into the pantry is a good thing...
until 2 years from now when it's starting to turn and sour on you and it's now barely a treat for the chickens and hogs.
Use it, rotate new to the back and old to the front, gather recipes....all these things are what make up a smart food storage and pantry system. Especially the gathering of recipes. All that powdered milk is great, but honestly, how much are you really going to drink in a reasonably amount of time? Gather recipes to baking and other cooking using that powdered milk. Gather recipes for those beans. Start making notes in your favorite recipes about subbing in some of those powdered eggs.
So...back to where I started. Preparedness Brings Peace has the
Food Storage Cookbook online. It's a great start for putting those pantry items to use.
Family Home Storage Basic Recipes from All is Safely Gathered In.
Central Bean Company Recipes for
using beans, tips on
cooking beans,
storing beans, even a sort of
bean primer...useful information to print and keep handy.
And just to help pull your recipes into practical use, here is a
Desktop Cookbook
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