Preparing for Waste?

That sounded like an odd title...I admit.

Give it some thought. How prepared are you for taking care of your toiletry needs if things in our world stop going "right"? Putting aside some toilet paper is one thing, but look at the housing market and compare it to the job market. Times are already pretty tight. And consider if something disastrous happens with our weather and you actually lose your house! You won't necessarily have a toilet to put that paper into! And if you end up using that 72 hour kit to the extent you have to pull the tent out of it,..... toilet necessities might take on a whole new way of thinking.

With that craziness in mind, take a look at this site: http://emergencyportabletoilets.com/ and if it strikes your interest enough to actually make a purchase, LUCKY FOR YOU I have a coupon code you can use to get 25% off your purchase price. Just use coupon code: prepxmas (and just overlook that xmas part in that. I didn't make up the code and I hate that abbreviation at LEAST as much as you do) and start saving!

See? More to consider when you are working on your storage than JUST food :)

Thanksgiving Dinner

What will you be having for Thanksgiving Dinner? Did you madly dash out to the grocery store for some last minute fresh items? Did you think to yourself at any point "I forgot to get ___!" ? What if disaster strikes us during a Thanksgiving time? Will we have used up our food storage for that one meal and have nothing to speak of for the days after?

As you sit down with your family to indulge in a fabulous meal that shows the good fortunes you've enjoyed over the past year, remember to give thanks that your ingredients didn't HAVE to come from food storage, and that you could enjoy a bounty instead of "make do with what you had." And as you clean the table and all the dishes, consider what you could do differently next year so that you can look at your bounty in the pantry and smile with courage that you've done as the Lord has asked and gathered what you could.

If you venture out to shop over the next few days, keep your eyes open for sales on canned items and dry goods that you can put away. Stock up where you can. Keep in mind that you might find good sales on things you might not need, but perhaps you could store it and have it to trade someone else later who might be in need of it. Even if you have no babies in your house, diapers make great bandages in a pinch and what mother wouldn't be glad to give you a pound of beans for a few diapers during a time of need? Keep thoughts like this in mind. The sales will be upon us soon! Be aware and get prepared!

July Honey Order

Did you order honey this month? If you did, its time to get excited! The honey will be delivered during the month of August. During the next couple of weeks while we wait, help yourself to some recipes for using your new honey storage!

Honey Roasted Nuts 3 cups nuts 1/2 cup honey 2 Tbsp butter or margarine 1/2 tsp grated orange peel 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon Directions: Combine all ingredients; mix well. Microwave at HIGH in 600-700 watt microwave oven 4-7 minutes or until nuts are toasted, stirring halfway through cooking time. Spread nuts on foil to cool.

Gingered Yogurt Dip 1 cup plain yogurt 1 Tbsp honey 1 tsp crystallized ginger, minced Directions: Blend ingredients together and chill. Serve over sliced fresh fruits such as pineapple, peaches, nectarines or strawberries.

Cornbread 3 cups yellow cornmeal 1 tsp salt 1 cup whole wheat flour 2 Tbsp baking powder 1/2 cup melted butter or safflower oil 1/2 cup honey 3 eggs, beaten 2 cups buttermilk Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients; mix well. In a small bowl, stir together wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into a 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until tests done in center with a toothpick.

Hair Conditioner 1/2 cup honey 1/4 cup olive oil (use 2 Tbsp for normal hair) Directions: Mix honey and olive oil. Work a small amount at a time through hair until coated. Cover hair with shower cap; leave on 30 minutes. Remove shower cap; shampoo well and rinse. Dry as normal.

Apple Gem Jelly 1 cup apple juice 1 1/2 cup honey 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 2 red apple, grated with peel on 3 oz. liquid pectin Directions: In a 5-quasrt saucepan, combine apple juice, honey, lemon juice and grated apples. Bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in liquid pectin. Skim off foam. Ladle into hot sterilized jars. Seal. Makes three 1/2 pint jars.

These and more recipes can be found on the National Honey Board website.