Handmade Tortillas

Salvage bag of tortilla mix

Being self-sufficient is important to me. I don't want to have to run to the grocery every time I need something.

To that end, I "play" in the kitchen.

I use the term play because that is what I do. Right now, I actually live close to a Wal-Mart.  Right now, if my playing fails, I can always run out for more toys. Later, I plan to live 45 minutes from a Wal-Mart. Later, I won't be able to run to the store as needed.

So I learn what I can now.
I learn how to do it cheap.
I lean what tools and basic materials I need.
I figure out what works for me.


Bag of dry tortilla mix

So today was learning how to make tortillas.

I took a shortcut and used a mix.
I used the mix because it was seriously cheap. The bag was damaged and taped up, so all the contents had to be rebagged. I divided out the contents into 4 smaller bags. This makes them easier to run through my food saver. I could have divided then into quart or half gallon jars, but the bags work well also.


Pastry bag

Toy playdough roller

So I mixed it in my pastry bag.
If you don't know what they are, they are absolutely wonderful silicone bags that close with some form silicone tie. Nothing really sticks to them, so they are easy to clean. You can mix in them, knead the contents...a and not mess up your countertops.

Wonderful right? My dough bag cost me around $8. Well worth the money.

So after mixing, I got out my toy playdough roller.  Yup, a toy that cost me a whopping $2.50


Roller set up for use

First rolling of dough

Dough cut into 6 pieces

So after the dough was mixed, I turned it out. My large silicone mat was drying in the bathroom, so I put down my small one use the dough roller for easy cleanup.

So I made several mistakes with the setting up the dough.

First mistake: Instead of dividing out the dough into 6 pieces, I just flattened it a bit and started rolling.

Second mistake: After rolling, I cut it up into pieces. What I could have done was to just make one very long 6 inch wide tortilla shell and cut it into squares before frying.


Third rolling

Eighth rolling

So I gradually rolled the small pieces of dough through the rollers, each time feeding the dough in from a different side. This made the small squares not only flatter, but kept them more rounded in shape.

Each time I fed the dough into the rollers, I dropped it thickness down one number. From thickness nine all the way down to one.

Finally wound up with six flat, very thin tortillas. Several even turned up kinda round.


Seasoned Cast iron griddle

So to fry them, I could have used any flat bottomed pan. I happened to have a well seasoned round cast iron griddle that is they perfect size.

I started with they ugliest, most misshapen tortilla first. Good thing considering it was cooked to long. So I put it back on the heat and made that one into tortilla chips.

I turned down the heat and fried up the rest.

They are taken off heat before you think they are done. If they are too done, they will not bend. To raw and it can be put back on the heat.

Lesson learned!

I wound up with five tortillas and several broken pieces of broken tortilla.


Fried tortillas shells

So...

After all this, I remembered that I had nothing much to make actual food with. I didn't want to open up refried beans. I didn't want to thaw and try burger as I had just used the last I had cooked.

So I opened one of my rare cans of chip dip. The chips were good, but needed more flavoring. Next time, if I'm making chips specifically, I'll add some herbs, no salt mix or dried cheese. Now that...Will be perfect.

The tortillas themselves were eaten fresh grown tomatoes and shredded cheese. My lettuce has gone to seed, I didn't bother with meat. They were perfect.

I could easily see making these ahead of time and using them over several days. They could even be frozen for future use.

What a great skill to have.


Handmade tortillas chips and tortillas

Eating For Less

I see posts all the time about people needing to get free food or to make very little money last a very long time.

I give advice over and over. Some people listen, since don't.

So I am writing it down so I don't have to write it out long over and over.

FIRST OFF
If you are a picky eater, you will starve or have to pay more. Just honest truth.

Chicken is the cheapest meat with breast meat being the most expensive to buy. If you only will eat breast meat, be prepared to pay more. If you only eat beef, which is more expensive than chicken and pork, you will pay more for your food.

If you don't eat staples, be prepared to pay more for your food. Potatoes, rice and beans have seen poor people thru tough times for millennia. It doesn't mean you have to eat them everyday. But you need to have them planned in your food storage as meal stretchers at least.

If you don't cook, be prepared to pay or starve. HONEST TRUTH. Your first purchase should be a basic cookbook such as THE JOY OF COOKING. It can be any cookbook, but you will need 1 or 2 that covers the basics.

BUY IN BULK

It seems counter intuitive but it works.

A store near me sells meat 5 for $17.99. (Up from 15.99). Never buy just one. Get the best meat with the higher price. Check for fat content, check for bones. Expiration doesn't really matter since more than likely you will be freezing it as soon as possible.

I then split the meat up into individual packages for freezing. Depending on how many you need to feed, they could be packages of 1 or 6. You just slip waxed paper between layers to make them easy to separate when frozen. Put a single days worth of meats into a bag if feeding a large family. For only one person, just pack all together but place 2 sheets of waxed paper between meats to easily break apart and thaw.

I do the same with bacon. Bacon pieces are sold in 3-5lb packages. However, I split that up into the obvious bacon, obvious ham and everything else. The everything else is great for beans, soups and omlets. The ham is great for dinners and the bacon for sandwiches. Any of it goes with breakfast.

Chicken is sold at Wal-Mart 10lbs of leg quarters for ~$6.50 (~9 quarters). But on holidays they will go on sale for ~$4.50. I season how I want it and freeze in individual portions. It doesn't have to be seasoned at all.  Again, just use waxed paper between layers. You can also freeze first in a tray individually before bagging. It depends in your time and freezer space. When you peep these properly ahead of time, it makes it quicker to thaw out later.

I buy cheese in 5lb packs and freeze in ½ lb packs. I buy both sliced cheese and shredded cheese in bulk. The sliced cheese is not individually wrapped. YES, cheese can freeze! You can't even tell it was frozen later. Just be sure to wrap well against freezer burn.

I never buy pre-done anything. I make my own drink mixes. I season meat before I freeze it or before cooking. Buying seasoned meat is a complete waste of money. Like buying pre-made koolaid. You can take any jar, add the sugar and add the flavoring and have the same thing. Make the mix a gallon at a time at the beginning of summer and add in a measuring cup into the jar for handy measuring.

You can buy sugar in 25lb bag and store in a food safe 5 gallon bucket. The bucket is an investment that will pay for itself over time. You can also buy rice and beans in large bags and store in buckets. Consider those investments against hunger. Since these do not go bad easily, if it takes a year to eat, that is fine.as long as it is kept dry and bug free, they can last for years.

FROZEN VS FRESH VS CANNED

Most times, frozen is cheaper than fresh. This is simple economics. Trying to truck fresh fruit to you, out-of-season, is costly. If they freeze it during season and ship it out, as needed with the rest of the weekly shipments, it is overall cheaper.

Granted, a fresh strawberry is always better. But unless you are planning on eating it fresh, frozen works quite nicely.

Canned
Canned food comes in different grades. Many times, you can't tell the difference between expensive and cheap cans. Sometimes you can. You have to find brands you like. Find as cheap as you can tolerate. A brand that has great corn may have sub-par green beans. Shop around, use coupons and sales. This is where phone apps really excel.

Canned convenience food: baked beans, sloppy joe mix, canned spaghetti, etc. All of these can be made from scratch cheaper and healthier. So it is a toss up between the cost of convenience or the time it takes to make from scratch. For convenience, beans and rice mixtures can also be made and frozen, rather than obtained from a can.

DEHYDRATING, CANNING, PICKLING OR FREEZING

Each of these have the capabilities to extend the in-season harvests and allow you to take advantage of sales.

Each take a little bit of knowledge and practice to learn.

It is whether you wish to go to the effort.

For me, freezing is easy. I grew up lo in a farm with large freezers for saving the harvest. With hunters in the family, all meat came from the freezer.

Freezing, to me, is also easier in small batches. If you make a batch of beans and have a cup or two left over, it is super quick to pop it into a freezer. Be honest. Will you eat it before it goes bad? If not, before you throw it away, could it be frozen for the future. Those leftover beans could be put into a labeled freezer bag with all the air removed and put into the freezer for a future meal.

Meats I really would prefer to can. You get the broth and the meat altogether. But without to much fuss, you can also separate with layers of waxed paper, wrap or bag, and freeze well-marked.

Potatoes do best in cold storage. Barring easy access to a root cellar, potatoes can be canned, frozen or dehydrated.

Extra vegetables can be pickled easily. Do you have onions, broccoli, or garlic going bad? They are easy to pickle and often taste better pickled.

Food can be bought in-season cheaper, at farmers markets and on sales. With a bit of knowledge of time, they can be easily stored much cheaper than you can buy already processed.

Free book available at

http://www.leannebrown.com/

Reviews are mixed about this book, but free is free.

Dollar tree will have a dozen eggs for $1 sometimes. Sometimes it is

Always go to dollar trees before grocery shopping. They will often have the same things I your list much cheaper.

LEARN TO MAKE IT

So much of what we buy can be made. Bread is a prime example. It takes less than 10 minutes a day to make a loaf of bread. But we choose to pay outrageous prices rather than do it ourselves. Basic no-knead bread can be made for less than 25¢ a loaf if you buy your staples in sale. Less than that of you buy in bulk, on sale.

Pasta
Bread
Crackers
Chips
Sweet drinks
Deserts
Granola

All these and more can be made much cheaper than you can buy.
Crackers, even flavored ones, can be made and saved. Potato chips can be made in the microwave. I learned to make pasta as a child. It literally is so easy a child can do it.

All it takes is the internet, a few basic staples and you WANTING to do it.

So if you can't afford much, next time, try to make it yourself.

Winter Preparedness

WINTER PREPAREDNESS

Everyone is talking about “what would you do if…”

While that gives everyone ideas, it is not a PLAN.

A plan is important. If you don’t have experience, you need a plan to remind you what to do.

So what is your plan for WINTER?

So you have everything electric. (gas issues explained later)

The electricity goes off. What do you do first? Second? Do you know?

Anytime there is an emergency, the first thing you should do is #1 take a head count.  Where is everyone? Are they safe? Do you need to contact anyone and tell them? This may actually solve #2

#2 What happened to the electricity? Did you pay the bill? Can you see something wrong outside? have you heard a tree fall, a transformer explode? Is it something simple you can take care of yourself and fix?

#3 Are you safe? If a tree fell in the yard or a transformer blew, chances are you are safe.  If trees are falling and your place is surrounded by trees close to your house, you might need to take shelter elsewhere and bugout.

#4 Find warmth or a way to get warm Dress in warm clothes.  If the heat is now off, you will slowly get colder and freeze. Dress in your outdoor clothes at this point and make sure everyone else is dressed and ready for an emergency.

• Do you have an alternative way to heat?
• Kerosene Heater? Propane Heaters? Wood stove? Fireplace? Gas?
• Do you have a non-electric CO2 detector?
• Does your gas or propane heater need electricity to run?
• Is the kerosene wick new or properly burned in?
• Does the propane heater need a special kit to take batteries?
• Do you have extra batteries available?
• Do  you have sufficient fuel available?
• Do you have to go bring fuel inside?
• Do you have to go buy extra fuel “just in case”
• Do you have cash to buy fuel in case they have no electricity also?
• Do you have sufficient extras needed to run your heat?
• Batteries to run a blower?
• Lighters and matches for propane and kerosene heaters?
• Extra wicks for kerosene heaters?
• Do you know how to change a wick?
• Do you have a way to isolate and heat a smaller area if needed?
• Small bedroom?
• Bathroom
• Camping tent?
• Do you have a way to insulate the windows to conserve heat?

#5 How long will the electricity be off?  This is important for a variety of reasons.

• Do you need to turn water heater off?
• Do you have appliances that can blow a breaker when everything comes on at once?
• Unplug everything you can reach.
• Do you have heated water tanks for animals you need to monitor?
• Will you need to ration fuel?
• Do you have elderly family or friends you need to check on?
• Do you have relatives who won’t be able to make it home?

#6 Get your water together! Lets face it. If you are bugging out or the electricity is only off an hour, you are fine without water. But if it will take 3 days to get power back on, you need water. While some of these are immediate concerns, some are for more long term water emergencies.

• Do you have potable water on hand?
• Is it in danger of freezing?
• Do you have to move it somewhere safe?
• Is there a water advisory?
• Do you know how to find out?
• Do you know how to sanitize water yourself?
• Commercial Water filter?
• Bleach?
• Pool Shock?
• Sand filter?
• Do you have safe water available for pets?
• Do you have a way to store extra water short term?
• Does your bathtub hold water?
• Can you fill your washing machine to store water?
• Has your washer been cleaned and will it be potable?
• Do you know how to access the water in your hot water heater?
• Do you have the tools available?
• Do you know how to turn off the power?
• Does it need a short hose to work?
• Do you know how to flush your toilet without running water?
• Have all the toilets flushed and refilled
• Do you have alternative sanitation available?
• Cat litter?
• Trash bags?
• Port-o-potty?
• Commercial Potty Bags?
• Do you have a way to clean yourself?
• Wet wipes?
• Dry sink?
• Hand sanitizer?
• Camp shower?
• Portable Bidet?

#7 Food.  While it is often the first thing people think of, it is really one of the last things you need. Food provides comfort, it can help provide warmth and energy.  But if you are safe, have warmth and water, you can survive for a while without food.

• How long is your refrigerator food safe without electricity?
• Does it have an inside thermometer?
• Can you put snow or ice inside to help keep it cold?
• Can you eat things immediately?
• How long is your freezer good for keeping things cold?
• Do you have ice or snow to put inside?
• Do you have a way to cook?
• Wood stove?
• Fireplace?
• Kerosene stove?
• Top of kerosene heater?
• Camp oven?
• Reflector Oven
• HERC oven?
• Outside Grill?
• Gas stove
• Does it manually light?
• Does it need any electricity to run?
• Do you know HOW to cook without electricity?
• Have you ever cooked without electricity for practice?
• Do you have non-electric kitchen tools?
• Manual can opener?
• Manual blender?/Mixer
• Do you have a way to clean your dishes safely?
• Do you know the symptoms of various foodborne illnesses?

This is not a complete or comprehensive list.  This is a starting point only.  Everyone is different. Some have medical concerns, some have pets, some have very young children. Each presents it own set of problems with not having electricity.

Honestly, with practice and preparation, it is not a serious concern.  Our ancestors lived just fine without electricity. It is a matter of what you get used to and what you can learn.

On my wishlist

Best Wringer Washer | Stand, Wash Tubs, and Wringer | Made in USA: http://www.bestdryingrack.com/hand-wringer-washer.html

This is in my wishlist.

Is it on yours?

I do a good deal of my laundry by hand. This would save me so much trouble.

Things to prep besides food

Ways to cook
You need at least two forms of off grid cooking. And it it's not that difficult to do. But you may learn how do USE each item you have. If you have the items,  but do not know how to use them,  don't waste your money.

A barbecue grill is fantastic - especially if it does gas, charcoal and wood.
A kerosene single burner gas stove works well also. They are small,  fuel efficient and that cook exactly like a gas stove
A propane camp stove
Solar oven
Haybox oven, thermal oven, wonder oven
Propane oven
Herc oven
Penny Stove

Medical supplies
Medical tape
Cotton balls
Cotton gauze
Tweezers
Antibiotic ointment
Alcohol
Peroxide
Super glue
Strong soap
Razor blades
Suture kit
Gatorade powder

Sewing Supplies
Cotton buttonhole thread
An assortment of sewing needles
Several thimbles
Misc threads
2 pair scissors,  1 large,  1 small
Measure tape

Ways to Heat a cold room
Heat is essential in cold areas. A little heat can save your life.

Wool blankets with a cotton sheet
Reflective survival blanket.. But you must know how to use this
Hot water bottles
Liquid fuel heating pad /unit
Chemical hot pad
Reusable /rechargeable hot pad
A tent to make the room smaller
Camp heater

Ways to cool down
Water Spray mister
Alcohol spray
Hand fan
Swamp cooler (most require electricity)
Solar powered fan
Cold drinks

Hot water bottles and their uses

You may think my crazy, but I love water bottles.  Really!

Historically, the original practice was to use hot rocks from beside the fire to put in a bed. Later, it became metal boxes filled with hot coals from the fire that were put in the bed and later removed. Only the rich could afford the boxes with long handles so the poor still used plain rocks.

The modern derivative are made of flexible pvc or vinyl. Consigned to the pharmacy isles, no one thinks about just how convenient these wonders are.

I use them at work on my back when is hurting. One quick fill in the sink or a partial fill at the coffee maker (with water already inside) and I am set for hours.

In the winter, one goes to the car with me. It will either sit in my lap to help my hands unfreeze or sit in the floorboard to keep my toes warm. Ran over the inside of the windshield, it can even help clear the ice.

When I have a sick pet, I put one in the bed with hot or cold water as needed. In the winter they appreciate the extra warmth and in the summer it becomes a cooler place to sit.

I use them in bed in the winter on cold nights. When the electricity goes off, I fill them from the hot water heater and put them into bed with me.

When I am working at a desk in the winter and the floor is cold, I put one on the floor in a towel to put my feet on. Working is so much more comfortable with toasty feet.

In a tent on cool nights, I use water that has been close by the fire. They help keep the tent and bedding warmer.

When a friend had surgery and needed flexible ice packs, they came in handy. I filled them ½ with water and ½ with rubbing alcohol. They freez and stay flexible and will not bust if dropped.

The best thing?  They are sustainable.
In the summer, the used water goes on my garden. In the winter, it is returned to a pot on the heater. The pot provides humidity and a constant source of convenient hot water.

Another thing, if they are kept sanitised, the water is potable. So your pets and you always have a few cups of water available.

Cooking with no electricity

A question was recently posted on how to cook without electricity.

Been there, done that.

Sine we are mostly off grid for heat, this was my worry at one time.

Until I counted just how many ways I can cook off grid.

Uhhh, I shouldn't have worried.

First off, we have a grill on the deck.  It take propane or charcoal...or in an emergency...wood. But it is outside it is great for the summer, but in the winter, just would just be too cold. Camping stove? I have 2 of those believe it or not.
One is tiny, barely bigger than my hand, it sits on top of a liquid gas canister.

The other is an older two burner propane stove.

  Is that enough yet hmmm. Nope. So I bought a small kerosene stove.  I wanted something small to carry to craft events.  Something that wouldn't take a lot of room, be light to carry, work for a long time if needed.

This works great. We use a treatment to reduce the smell and smoke from kerosene.  I can use it inside if needed in the winter.  Since we use kerosene heat, I already know the precautions needed with kerosene.

This is not large enough to can on but it can function much like a small gas stove.  It is easily adjustable and it will work about 7 hours on a pint of kerosene. Because it works like a regular gas stove, anyone familiar with a gas stove can work it easily.

I did buy a steel wind screen and I have an large asbestos tile to sit it upon.