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Hints from Readers
Keep Food Hot
At our meeting last night the pastor's wife told us of her trick for cooking soup. This method is a major saver of fuel.She makes a large pot of vegetable soup. She brings the soup to a boil and keeps it
real hot for 10 minutes on the stove. She then removes the pot, wraps it in 16 layers of newspaper and wraps the outside in a wool blanket. Then she puts it in the car and by the time they get to the
family function an hour away the soup is thoroughly cooked and still piping hot.
Submitted by Kay
No Cook Low Cook
For a quick cooking grain, try bulgar or cous-cous. You can hydrate it with just cold water. Mix bulgar with garbanzos, sprouts (mung, adzuki, lentil and/or pea), lemon juice, salt and olive
oil for a complete meal.
Submitted by Kathryn
Sally's comment: you can use crystal vitamin C dissolved in water in place of lemon juice.
Refrigeration
I have a suggestion for people who have a place for an underground
refrigerator and freezer. A friend of mine in the 70's worked for the Forest Service as a fire fighter. He was saving money for college by living in a tent for the summer. For the refrigerator, he buried an old drum out of a washing machine, and surrounded it with insulation. It had a plywood lid that was lined with Styrofoam and it fit well enough to keep out dirt, bugs and critters. His freezer was a rectangular hole, 36 inches deep, lined with 6 inches of Styrofoam insulation. He built a tight fitting lid out of plywood and Styrofoam. He only put pre-frozen items in the freezer and thawed them in the refrigerator. This acted as a source of ice for the refrigerated items. If person builds this before January and puts their frozen food in as soon as they need it (Before it starts to thaw) it works well.
He used his in the summer in Payson, AZ, so it should work fine just
about anywhere in January. The drawbacks are, you have to plan ahead, it would probably be a good idea to conceal it as a thief could clean you out easily, and if you live someplace where you have sub-zero temps, you are probably looking for a way to warm your food up not freeze it. I feel this would greatly increase the types of food that you could stock up on. And increase the palatability of your food. Wouldn't it be nice to have some cheese, eggs, fresh veggies etc. to go along with your tvp and beans? This would also keep your favorite condiments cool and protected.
Submitted by Karen
Safety
We all need to take extra care with these alternative cooking mechanisms. Have CO [carbon monoxide] detectors (more than just one). Buy lots of fire extinguishers and have them at hand where you'll
be cooking (note that many are good for only 1 use so buy plenty). Think about the surface you'll be cooking on or near--where will you set down hot pots? If using a propane cooktop, do you have a
fireproof surface to use it on? (think about kerosene heaters too--do you have wall to wall carpeting??) Those tempered glass cutting boards/counter protectors are very useful for all these things. I
bought several in different sizes for different applications. The largest size is only $10 and is large enough for a kerosene heater or a 2 burner propane cooktop. Another safety idea is that it's time
to spring for fireproof gloves rather than planning to use the oven mitts from the kitchen near an open flame.
Submitted by Ellen
Sally's comments: Be sure your smoke and CO detectors are battery operated. Make sure any cooking appliance you plan to use indoors is safe for indoor use. Contact the manufacturer - don't depend on sales
persons.
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