Have I ever mentioned how much I love and depend upon my food storage? My husband being self-employed as he is, well, we don't have a day circled on our calendar with big letters stating, "PAYDAY!!!". Our "paydays" come when they come. We have never known when they'll come. Now, to add to the mix of excitement, we get "paid" in chunks. With sometimes painfully long gaps in between the chunks. Makes it kinda tough....but hey, I like a challenge. (Sometimes it gets old, but oh well, right??).
A few years back, before our paydays came in chunks, I found a blog written by someone whose hubby was a realtor. Her paydays were similar to mine, even more now then back when I found her blog. She shared that there were months where her husband didn't bring money home. If I remember correctly, they lived in Arizona. Tough market there for real estate. She also shared her top things she had to have in her food storage for those lean times, or what she wished she would have had. This has been a long summer for us. Waiting for payday since May. But, have no fear. We aren't starving! My food storage has come to my rescue as has my garden.
Here is my list of things I must have and things I want to add:
- Flour. I have white flour and wheat berries in my food storage.
- Sugar: brown, and powdered.
- Honey. I tried powdered honey and like it. I want to get more....
- Powdered eggs. I have not tried this but want to add it my stockpile.
- Pasta. You can make a meal out of some sauteed veggies from your garden and some pasta. Dinner is served.
- Baking Cocoa. Can you say "Chocolate Frosting"? Must have!!
- Cornmeal. Corn bread is so yummy.
- Oatmeal. We eat this often! For any meal, not just breakfast.
- Oil. You have to be careful how much you store of this since it will go rancid...
- Vinegar. Use in making your own salad dressings, marinades and you can use it for cleaning your house.
- Canned meat. Not as good as fresh, but not bad.
- Popcorn kernels. Snack time never was so easy and cheap.
- Spices. My favorites: Cumin, cinnamon, basil, oregano, minced onions, curry, garlic salt, garlic powder, chili powder. You can make your own taco seasonings with some of these spices. Wayyyyy better than store bought anyways.
- Dehydrated veggies: Onions, carrots, green and red peppers. Add a handful to your soup, or anything you are cooking that has a bit of liquid to it. So nice to have when you can't buy fresh veggies at the moment....
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Karo Syrup
- Sweetened Condensed Milk (gotta have caramel corn....YUM!)
- Yeast
- Raisins
- Rice
- Canned veggies and fruits for when you can't buy fresh.
- Cheese.....powdered? I haven't tried this but I need to. We have missed having cheese lately. :)
- Dried beans and lentils. Split pea soup...................YUMMM!
If you have the basic ingredients, you can make so many things!! Bread sticks, rolls, cakes, frostings, marinades and so on! Google the food you want to make and off you go....
That is all I can think of. Hope that helps you get your food storage in tip-top shape. I also have been extremely grateful for our garden this summer. It isn't even as wonderful as I hoped; the beans were a flop! BUT, it has been enough to give us lots of fresh veggies. Our strawberries, raspberries, apricots, peaches and apples have been such a blessing. So glad we planted all we did! :)
