The RAnts of RA

I was feeling ambitious yesterday, so I made some Apple Butter, then some Garlic Jelly and what the heck, I still had some time… I decided to make some Apple Sauce.  I should have stopped while I was ahead.

When I was done I turned the burner off, or rather I thought I turned it off, and actually turned it to high, where it cooked all night long. 7 hours it boiled on my stove.  I was afraid to open the pressure cooker. It was bone dry. Boil might not be the right word, since it wasn’t really liquid anymore.

These jars were actually full when I started out.  I used only the best spices and it tasted so good, the texture was perfect.  Tomorrow, I get to start all over again. The entire batch ruined.

So, if you ever wondered what would happen if you boiled something all night long, wonder no more. Actually, the apple sauce doesn’t taste too bad as long as you don’t scrape the bottom of the jar.

I can’t wait to try my Garlic Jelly.  Not only did I leave the garlic in the jar (instead of straining most of it out) but I used Ultra Gel to thicken the Garlic Jelly.  I had made some last week that was incredible but I made it with liquid Pectin.  My bad, it’s full of GMO’s!    It didn’t even occur to me to check.  I mean it’s for canning, it must be all natural, right?  Wrong.

This might just be the answer to prayer…  I’m going to try it out.  By the time I get to the bottom of the package, I’ll either order more or find something else.  What’s important to me is it’s GMO free.

Ultra Gel is a gluten-free, non-GMO cornstarch that can be added directed to any liquid, hot or cold, for instant thickening. The Ultra Gel Starter Kit includes one 16-oz pouch of Ultra Gel and one Ultra Gel Answer Book with 150 pages of easily prepared, delicious recipes.  From dips and dressings to dessert, the recipes are friendly for chefs of all skill levels and include nutrition information and tips and tricks for special diets and make-ahead preparations.

Of special interest are the sections on Canning and Jams and Jellies. Since Ultra Gel can be refrigerated, canned or frozen without losing quality, there are plenty of recipes for bottled pie fillings and sauces. [Get Ultra Gel]

Did you know you can make your own Pectin?  In fact, there are several methods.  I’m going to try this method soon:    Harvest: Making Your Own Pectin!  Be sure to check out other recipes, too.

Apple Pectin: How to Make It, How to Use It, and Why I Don’t

Homemade apple pectin seemed like such a frugal and healthy idea –  an all natural, chemical free alternative to store-bought pectin that I could make from apple scraps I would normally throw away.Brilliant, right?

Imagine my dismay when my experiment was a complete and total flop.  Oh, my jam “set” just fine.After I had almost completely boiled it away, that is.  And added way more sugar than I usually do.

She recommends using  Pomona’s Pectin, but what about those nasty GMO’s?  I won’t feed them to my family.  We are using Ultra Gel. My jelly setup just fine.  So, we shall see.

Related articles

• Making applesauce in the breadmaker
• An Apple a day… for a whole month.
• Cleansing Apple Sauce
• This Week’s Harvest: Apples
• Homemade Apple Sauce

If you ask me, going “Green” is all about saving money — the good old green-back dollar, while living as frugally as possible. Yes, I love the earth God created but, I worship the Almighty God, our Savior and Creator.  We are charged with  being good stewards in all we do.

When we moved in January we found a larger house, which would seem to most people to be anti-green but just like in the real world there are trade-offs. Prior to our move we had discovered Dr. Heaters, which have help us to save money on our electric bill. They are very efficient and they do not create static in the air, nor do they absorb moisture from the air — a problem with most types of heat, such as that from a wood-burning fireplace.

We were concerned that a larger house would mean it would consume significantly more energy and that would result in paying more to heat it and with the rising  cost of propane and electric… We kept this in the back of our mind as we made changes in our lifestyle.    The additional space allowed us to clean out our storage unit at Mr. Stor All, in Sonora.   (At a savings  of $107.00 per month.)  They really treated us well and we appreciate the great service and smiling faces.

It’s wonderful having all of our belongings under one roof again. I’ve been trying to organize everything and toss out the excess. It’s a slow process but groups like Freecycle help make it easy to dispose of unwanted items as painlessly as possible. It can be very time-consuming dealing with the accumulation of stuff. The move really gave me renewed determination to deal with it. Now I’m simply waiting for better weather.

The first thing we did before we moved into the new place, was to investigate and purchase a new energy efficient refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher. We had not planned to buy a new washer and dryer for a few months but when we found a high-efficiency set marked half-off, we charged them to our card, hoping the savings would help us pay for them. The gamble paid off. Not only is our new house larger, our utility bills are actually a little lower than they were at our old house.

This new place also provides excellent access to nature and all the wildlife that call Twain Harte, CA home. The new place has a wrap-around deck and a couple of nice spots, which will enable us to grow vegetables, spices, flowers and we provide comforts to the local wildlife, especially in bad weather. I plan to grow some flowers to help attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and the deer of course. I’ll enjoy them as I can and allow the animals to make full use of them. I’d love to plant some blackberry bushes and a strawberry patch.

I don’t really agree with feeding wild animals and having close contact with them. It just makes me cringe when I see photos and video’s online of people hand-feeding hummingbirds and petting the deer. I justify feeding the deer because they need to survive and they are competing with people for food and we humans have the upper-hand. I try to provide fresh foods that they would eat in the wild and in the winter I buy molasses oats to help them put on some weight and survive a rough winter.

These are wild animals and need to remain that way. Making friends with the deer will inevitably cause them to get shot by some hunter providing food for his family. While I don’t begrudge the hunter his right to take a deer, providing for his families needs, I think the deer deserve a sporting chance.

I am sure if we each look around, we could implement changes to our lifestyles that would not only be energy efficient but save  the family time and money. Our new dishwasher uses just 3.9 gallons of water and costs just $25.00 to use for an entire year. The new washer and dryer are amazing. My clothes have never been so clean and the drying time has been cut  to 1/3 or less. My clothes dry faster than the washer can wash them.

If you can scrape together the money for a  high efficiency washer and dryer, do so, as soon as you can. The savings are incredible and as far as I can tell they are “earth friendly” as well. We can’t always tell because the process used to recycle many of the  things we are recycling is actually worse for the environment than just dumping them. The problem is the landfills can’t hold all of the garbage we create. So, it ends up to be to our advantage to recycle, instead of tossing stuff, even if it’s not an environmentally sound practice.

I recommend trading for services and bartering for the things you need as often as possible. With the rising inflation, it can preserve the value of tangible items.

We can sit on our thumbs and do nothing, or we can be pro-active. Consumers have learned all too well that rising gas prices (for whatever the reason) means higher prices for everything. Our food supply is being deliberately sabotaged, we need to bring things closer to home. Grow as much of your own food at home, eat out less, have guests over more. Know where your food is coming from and stock up on whatever you can afford to. We love to barter whenever we can. The more you can prepare now, the less of a hardship you will suffer when a natural or man-made disaster cripples our governments ability to provide services.

I’ve even been toying with the idea of buying foreign currency. Since the dollar is so weak, I’m just not certain how easy it will be to convert foreign currency back into dollars but at our current rate of inflation, it’s the only way I can see to protect your equity, unless you invest in gold or silver, as both continue to increase in value. If you have close neighbors, now is the time to get to know them. Talk with the neighbors you feel you can trust and plan for possible power outages, earthquakes, or other disasters. Many hands make light work and your investment will go further if you can combine your efforts.

If you can start your own garden, do so — even if you have to grow tomato plants in a planter. If you like tomatoes, it will provide needed food in case of catastrophe.

Stocking Up on Food Staples: Investors turn Attention to Farmland, Equipment, and Supplies

Oil isn’t the only major commodity to experience rising prices and soaring global demand. Farmers are finding that their food supplies are in high demand as well.

Investors are responding accordingly and a new futures market is taking root. In anticipation that the costs of farming will continue to rise much the same way oil has, investors have begun buying up farmland, farm equipment, and farm supplies.

Steve Shenk, director of eFoods Direct believes the cost of food is going to continue to climb and that consumers can protect themselves. Part of the problem is that the "food shortage price bubble" will be inflated by investors manipulating food supplies in order to reap huge speculative profits.

Shenk provides a perspective that every American is going to want to hear. Futures markets are speculative but the fact remains that thousands of tons of American food are being sold to other countries or stored for future profits while Americans experience rationing and possible bread lines.

About Steve Shenk and eFoods Direct

For the last 27 years, Steve Shenk has been the director of the J. Michael Stevens Group, the premier nationwide supplier of bulk, high nutrition, low moisture foods, directly to the consumer. He is the foremost authority on agricultural projections, trends and conditions as they relate to food on the family dinner table.

Steve is an unbridled optimist on a mission to help people rediscover the spirit of rugged, self-reliance that made America strong. With his quick wit and charming, Minnesota, country-boy attitude, Steve will leave you and your listeners believing that there’s real hope for the future. The sons and daughters of the pioneers still have what it takes to make America "The land of the free and the home of the brave".

The first step in becoming fearless of the worldwide famine is to have your own food. By getting a supply of bulk food and learning to use it a family can feed themselves tomorrow at today’s prices.

Summary Points

• What families need to do is the same thing that speculators and commodity investors are doing and that is to buy tomorrow’s, next month’s and maybe even next year’s food at today’s prices.
• The families who are already in trouble with food costs need to buy a good quantity of bulk, low moisture food (which will cost less than half grocery store prices) and then learn to cook. Buying "cheap" and learning "fast and easy" "real home cooking" methods will save them 75% of their present grocery cost.
• To find top-quality, nutritionally well balanced and organized bulk food supplies contact eFoods Direct or (800) 409-5633.

Questions we should be asking!

1. Homeland Security recommends that Americans store two weeks worth of food, water and other emergency supplies. Do you agree with them?
2. What are some of the reasons that food costs are increasing world wide?
3. How will the world wide food shortages affect Americans?
4. What are the benefits of buying and using bulk food?
5. With both parents working, is it realistic to think people can go back to home cooking?
6. Are American farmers preparing to increase output?
7. What is the government’s role in determining farm output?
8. What percentage of American food is imported?
9. What would be an early indication that the famine will affect Americans?
10. Do we have food reserves in America and if so, how much?
11. How fast will prices increase?
12. What do you mean by "Food Price Bubble"?
13. Does bulk, low moisture food taste good?
14. Can one find recipes for bulk food in regular cook books?
15. Why should people buy dehydrated rather than cans, or military MRE’s?
16. How much can be saved by cooking with bulk food as opposed to processed food from the grocery store?
17. Is food becoming an investment grade commodity like gold and silver?

To schedule an interview with Steve Shenk, call: (630) 848-0750.

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