Help in the Kitchen

Hello,


Today I have been going through my 5 gallon buckets of beans, oatmeal and wheat to see how they are doing. I think that I will make a dry bean mix.  I have small red, kidney, navy and pink beans.  There are some easy ways to soak or quick soak method.  I like to ferment the beans by putting either vinegar or lemon juice in the water while they are soaking.  They should soak til you see  bubbles (about 24 hours).  This helps change the enzymes to digest better and help eliminate flatulence.  The quick soak method is to cover the beans in cold water in a large pot, bring to boil, turn off when it comes to a boil. Let them rest for at least 15 minutes ( I set a timer, or I will forget). Rinse and then repeat the process 2 more times.  Then add what you want for your beans (meat, onions, garlic seasoning or whatever you want) and simmer til beans are done. I also found as I was searching "how to ferment beans", in Marillyn Beard's blog she adds another option for soaking beans and that is adding baking soda to the soaking water.  It really helps her.http://just-making-noise.blogspot.com/2009/06/legumes-poor-mans-meat.html  Hmmmm. I will have to try that.  I love trying new things. Thanks Marillyn.


So I made some beans from my bucket.  Soaked them and cooked them and they just didn't taste right.  Not bad just not right.  They  did not get as soft as they should.  I even tried to pressure cook them to soften them more. So the problem is that they are too old. I had forgotten that I bought them before Y2K. Silly me.  All my beans are so old. Now I have to think of something else to do with them (not bean mixes, bummer).I hate waste.  I think I will make a bunch of bean bags for our missionary children in Mexico, and put ziplock bags together for the elementary schools for crafts around here. Any other ideas?????? I would love to hear them.

 Since my family size is diminishing I need to down size.  This is difficult. I still buy too much food and can't even fit it all in my ample cupboard spaces.Mostly staples. I buy very little processed food. We cook most things from scratch.  My daughter is helping me make an inventory list of my food.  I need to do this for the freezers too.  I must do some rethinking.  First, I think I will have to let go of these big buckets and reduce their size. Maybe I will only buy enough to fill a gallon jar (per bean type). Also I would be able to see them. Hmmmm.

 Menu Planning.  Wow. Seems monumental at times!  Need some fresh ideas? Need some guidance? I am strong in this area and would be delighted to help you.  We will consider allergies, what foods you and your family like and dislike, dietary restrictions, if you want to incorporating new recipes, budget, space, how long you want a menu for etc. There are many structures for menus and we can discuss them and come up with what you feel would work for you. Email me for pricing.Comments are welcome.Go ahead and leave me a comment. Just click on the blue word comment and the box will pop up to write in.  Thanks.
Til next time... the journey continues......