I was thinking about the propane tanker that wrecked on the freeway in Salt Lake City, Utah, the other day.  The first thing that I thought about was how many of the 700 households that had to be evacuated, took their 72-hr. kits with them?  Next, what would those evacuees have done if there had been a devastating explosion?  What if it wasn’t propane that was being hauled, but a much more deadly, aggressive chemical, or even a deadly pathogen/disease?  Did they have a plan?  Were they afraid?

Wow, something to think about!  More questions: How many of the families, that were displaced, were not at home but instead were spread out at work and school and had to find each other and make plans?  How many families had emergency plans that they had prepared ahead of time.  How many had the resources to take care of themselves with the unexpected expense of getting a hotel, or did they just stay in the emergency shelter.  In my family, we have a lot of special medical needs and we wouldn’t do well in a shelter sleeping on the floor or on the cots.

After thinking about all of the concerns that must have been running through the displaced neighbors heads, I came to the conclusion that “it” (meaning whatever disaster you are involved in) is going to be either somewhat uncomfortable OR disastrous – depending on how much thought and planning you have put into your family disaster plan.

Growing up as a young girl, whenever I thought about using 72-hr. kits, I imagined everybody burdened down with their kits and trudging along on some long road that never seemed to end.  It always seemed that the road was rocky and always going up hill.  Of course I had no idea where I was going, but I was trudging away and I was miserable.  Now that I am older I look at being prepared and 72-hr kits quite differently.  No longer am I trudging on an endless road, but instead I am well prepared and I can drive down that road.

72-hr. kits are not for long-term survival, but more as a stopgap until you can evaluate your situation.  A good way to think of a 72-hr. kit is as a packed bag ready for you to go on an unscheduled adventure.  How well you plan to pack for the potential adventure will determine how much fun (or not) you will have.  But remember if you are going to go, don’t go empty-handed – take your kit with you.

The economy is a little tighter this year and I know that many people are going to be very cautious about how they spend money this Christmas.  Helping your family prepare for an unscheduled adventure by helping them to build their 72-hr. kits will really make a lasting difference.  It will show how much you love and care for them — and your gift will never go out of style, be the wrong color, or the wrong size.

To make things even easier, I’ll bet that the emergency preparedness stores won’t be as crowded as the mall.  Just think about it.

I am afraid that I might anger some hardcore bottlers and canners with this article.  I hope I don’t.  Actually, anyone who knows me knows that I am a pretty heavy duty canner and bottler myself.  Not only is it aesthetically pleasing to look at, but it also gives me a sense of security that I can take care of my family and keep them well fed.  That being said, let’s go on to some things that maybe we shouldn’t bottle.

My friend gave me a recipe to bottle butter for long term storage.  She asked me if I had bottled butter.  I told her I hadn’t.  I have always tried to keep a case or two of butter and/or margarine in my freezer, so I really didn’t see the value in it.  I thought that it might be kind of fun or interesting to say, “Yeah, I’ve bottled butter before” but not that much fun.

I have also heard about people who bottle their bread and cakes to store for long term storage, but to make the bottled bread safe, you must add lemon juice to increase the acidity level.  That just makes the bread taste bad and bottled bread has a peculiar texture.  I like freshly made, light, fluffy, yummy tasting bread.

I decided not to bottle my breads, cakes or butter because I just didn’t see the value in it.  Fresh baked bread just tastes better, but when I read an article about the dangers of bottling bread and butter I became downright concerned for those who do.

Bottling vegetables, fruits, and meat can be very safe, and economical, if you take the right precautions and follow tried and true recipes that have been tested by the USDA or other reputable companies like Ball and Mason.  But there are some things that you really shouldn’t bottle.

There are only three things that need to be present to cultivate botulism: low moisture, low acidity and little or no oxygen.  You can’t add lemon to increase the acid content of butter, which does have water in it, and there is no way of knowing if you have killed all of the germs when sterilizing the bottles.  If you haven’t, you can actually be helping the bacterium Clostridium botulinum to breed in your butter, and as you know, botulism is a potentially fatal illness.  So again I ask, “Why take the chance?”

When preserving food for my family to eat at a later date, I want to take every precaution to keep them safe.  I like to store things at the most basic level so that I can use them for a variety of dishes.  I store flour, sugar, salt, yeast, baking powder/soda and dried eggs and I freeze my butter so that it doesn’t get old.  That way I can make my bread and cakes fresh and enjoy my butter without worrying about the little microbes or bacteria that might be enjoying me later.  Here is a link to an article published in the Provo Daily Herald about food storage scares.

If you really want to make a cake and use something bottled, then follow my mother-in-laws wonderful “Any Old Bottle of Fruit” Cake recipe and I think that you will be very satisfied, and the bottle will be easier to clean.

“Any Old Bottle of Fruit” Cake
1 quart of any bottled fruit, juice and all
2 cups of granulated sugar
1 cup oil
4 cups flour (not sifted)
4 teaspoons soda – mix in with fruit
1 teaspoon salt
1teaspoon cloves
1teaspoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup nuts (optional)
1 cup raisins or chocolate chips (optional)

Blend or chop fruit and place in a large mixing bowl with sugar and oil. Add sifted dry ingredients, and if desired, nuts and /or raisins/chocolate chips. Mix together well and pour into a 9×13 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the middle. Cool. Frost with Cream Cheese Icing. Hurry and take a big slice before anyone knows that the cake is done, or you won’t get any because it is that good.

Cream Cheese Icing
¼ cup butter or margarine
3 oz. package of cream cheese
A pinch of salt
2 ½ cups powdered sugar

Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy, adding a few drops of milk or cream, if necessary, to make the icing a spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cake.

Waffles, eggs, and sausage were made for Christmas morning. How do I know this? Because that is what my family has eaten every Christmas morning for the last 40 some-odd years that I can remember. I would classify that as a tradition, and it is not one that I plan to change any time soon.

I asked my dad why that was such a special breakfast and he said: “Because your grandma always made it!” I think that she was just a smart mother and was filling her family full of protein to try and counteract the Christmas morning sugar rush. Dad doesn’t think that is the reason. He thinks that it was just because it was tasty. We’ll just let him keep thinking that. We moms know better (even if we’re the daughters).

Everyday Waffles
1 ¾ cups flour
3 tsp. Baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 beaten egg yolks
1 ¾ cups milk
½ cup salad oil or mild olive oil (if you are trying to be healthier)
2 stiffly beaten egg whites

Combine yolks, milk and oil; stir in dry ingredients just until moist. Gently fold in whites, leaving a few fluffs. Cook in a hot waffle iron and serve hot. Double or triple this recipe – trust me you will use it.

Homemade Sausage
1 lb. lean hamburger (or pork, if you prefer)
1 ¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground sage
½ tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Mix together, preferably the night before so that the flavors are more developed. I fry these little patties of yummy sausage on a medium low heat. Because I use leaner meat, I cook it slower so that it doesn’t get too tough. If you use a fattier meat, like ground pork, you won’t have that problem (but it isn’t as healthy that way).

My dad taught me that the only way to eat waffles, eggs and sausage is to put a pat of butter between the two or three layers of waffles, put the soft-yolk easy-over egg on top of the waffle and then pour the syrup over the egg and the waffle. Serve the sausage on the side.

I about forgot the syrup. Here’s the recipe I use: 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup water, a dollop or so of corn syrup and drop or two of Mapleine flavoring. Bring to a boil and make sure that all of the sugar is melted. Pour over your eggs and waffles, or pancakes – or whatever. Just make sure you enjoy yourself around the table with your family and friends. Merry Christmas.

Don’t you just love gift cards? I know I do. It’s the perfect size, the perfect color, and nobody ever wants to re-gift them. So when I received an e-mail cautioning me about buying gift cards this season, I was a little sad. The e-mail stated that there were several large chain stores that were either closing all, or at least some, of their stores after the Christmas season. The author of the e-mail said that depending on the stores situation, the gift card money might be lost.

When I looked at the list of stores that were on the watch list, the only concern I had was for all of the people that would be losing their jobs because most of the stores were ones that I couldn’t afford to visit any way. But it got me thinking. It is quite obvious that I think that it is important to build up a good food storage and to be prepared – so why not use a grocery store gift card for Christmas gifts to help a loved one build their food storage this year? If you decide to do that, I want to be on your gift list!

I’ve told you in the past that my in-laws give my husband and me each 10 pounds of hamburger every year and I look forward to it – each and every year. If you don’t want to give a grocery gift card and you want to wrap something, then how about a case of tuna, or Tomato soup, or Cream of Chicken soup, or even a couple of cases of macaroni and cheese. I even heard once about some parents that gave each of their married kids a processed and wrapped pork each year. Wouldn’t that be a great gift? I want to be able to do that for my kids someday.

You don’t have to give food if you don’t want to. There are lots of safe gift cards and certificates that gift receivers would be happy to get. What a thrill to get a gift card to a gas station, or how about a gift certificate to a preparedness store to build a better 72-hr kit? How about a roll of stamps? Use your imagination.

The more that I listen to the news and read the newspaper and listen to my friends and coworkers, the more I see people’s tastes, wants and needs change. I don’t hear as much talk about extravagant vacations as I do about the really good deal they found at the grocery store last week and how they were able to stock up. A neighbor admitted that whenever she starts to get nervous about the economy, she goes down and buys something for her food storage. If you like to spend money when you’re nervous, that is certainly a better solution than going out and buying another pair of shoes that you really don’t need.

The one thing that I loved about the e-mail that warned me about buying the gift cards – and I’m not making this up — is that the author said that you would be better off buying food storage instead of gift cards! I was so happy! Food storage is the new fad! I was cool before it was cool to be cool!

Now go buy something edible and storable.