Sweet & Sour Sauce

I had a few requests for the recipe that I used to make Sweet & Sour sauce that I canned. Thanks to Jenn and Pep, I have been using this recipe:


8 c tomatoes

4 c onions

4 c green pepper

1 (20 oz.) cans pineapple chunks (do not drain) **I used crushed pineapple

6 c. sugar

8 T. soy sauce

3 c vinegar

1 1/2 c ULTRA GEL


Prepare tomatoes: Wash and remove stems. Dip briefly (30 seconds to 1 minutes according to ripeness) in large pan of boiling water, then in cold water until cool enough to handle. She skins should slip off. Remove cores and chop coarsely.


Cut onions and green peppers in chunks the size of a quarter. Combine tomatoes, pineapple with juice, onions, and green pepper in an 8-10 quart pan. Add sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar, and bring to a boil. Gradually add ULTRA GEL, stirring until thickened.


Spoon into pint jars, leaving 1/2" headspace, and process immediately in water bath canner for 35 minutes.


Yield: 12 pints


Just an added note: I'm not into the big chunks, so I actually blend up my tomatoes, onions and peppers to my desired chunky-ness. You can do what you want.


We like to eat this with chicken and rice. Yum!


Enjoy!

Refrigerator Pickles!

I got this recipe from Jenn in my ward and they are amazing! So simple and fast to make and very good!! If you like dill pickles, you have to try these!

Here's the recipe:

Refrigerator dill pickles

15 small pickling cucumbers
40 fresh dill sprigs
2 large onions, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, sliced
1 qt. water
1qt. white vinegar
1/2 to 3/4 cup canning salt
Cut each cucumber lengthwise into four spears. In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, dill, onions and garlic; set aside. In a large pan, combine the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cook and stir just until salt is dissolved. Pour over cucmber mixture; cool.
Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Divide and put into quart jars with a lid. Keep refridgerated. make sure you date the jars.

Food Storage Class

Tonight for our Self-Reliance class, we watched a great food storage presentation on DVD given by Wendy DeWitt. She had lots of great ideas and ways to make food storage easier and delicious! I think you can watch the whole presentation on YouTube. Here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGaTlwYs-s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUaFMEyLXOM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4woLOnURFiw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9Drrd2wt8k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE5WVOqLp2k&feature=PlayList&p=1D85A9200E2A30D1&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33bovjbt8nk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vigcycRhWs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0XWoeWRDdI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoYHLW8HR7Y&feature=PlayList&p=21CC9E08DA561704&index=0&playnext=1

I hope the links work for you. If not, just go to http://www.youtube.com/ and search for "Wendy DeWitt." Her videos come right up.

Also, she refers to a "book" in the videos. Here is the link to her book. It is a 26 page PDF document and you can print it out. It has some awesome information in it: http://www.theideadoor.com/PDF%20Files/RS/EverythingUnderTheSun.pdf

ENJOY!!!

More Wheat Recipes

I am behind on posting the recipes from our recent classes, so I am going to catch up on a few of those now.



Whole Wheat Tortillas:


1 c wheat flour

2 c bread or all purpose flour

1 t salt


Combine in a mixer or with bowl and spoon.


Add 1/3 c oil or shortening


Stir or cut into flour. Add 1 cup warm water. Stir with a spoon, or in a mixer with dough hook on speed 2 for 3 minutes. If not using a mixer, knead for 3 minutes on a floured surface. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Cut dough into 12 golf-ball sized pieces.. Flatten into discs and dip in flour. Roll out to 10" diameter on a well-floured countertop. Heat a 10-12" saute pan on medium heat. No grease needed. Place tortilla on pan and heat each side for 1-2 minutes. These may be frozen till needed or refrigerated for a couple of weeks.

They are so yummy, I don't know how I can every eat store bought ones again!





Wheatberry Pineapple Chicken Salad

1 can (15-1/4 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can (10 to12-1/2 ounces) chicken, drained

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 cup cooked whole wheat

Mix together the pineapple, mayonnaise, and salt. Add chicken, almonds and wheat. Stir well. Chill several hours before serving. It is delicious!!!





Wheat Cinnamon Rolls


3 c hot water

2 cubes butter

1 c honey

6 eggs

1 1/2 t salt

2/3 c powdered milk

3 T yeast

15 c wheat flour


Combine all ingredients and just 2 cups of wheat flour and mix on low speed until moist. Continue adding flour one cup at a time until dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Increase speed to medium on mixer and let knead for 10 minutes. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and let rise until doubled. Punch it down and divide in two equal pieces. Roll out each piece in a rectangle and heavily spread with butter, sprinkle with brown or white sugar and cinnamon. Roll into a long roll and but into about 1 inch pieces. Place them on a greased baking sheet and let rise again. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until done. (I don't think I baked them for a full twenty minutes, they were about done by 10).


Caramel Frosting


2/3 c butter

1 c brown sugar

1/2 c evaporated milk


Heat all ingredents in saucepan until it comes to a boil. Turn heat to low and cook for 2 minutes. Removed from heat and cool for 10 minutes. Beat in 3 cups of powdered sugar.






These turned out surprisingly light and fluffy for being made from all wheat flour. Yummy!






Enjoy!!

Beans, beans, the musical fruit. . .

So, we had a great class on beans the other night! Thanks to all those who came! I promised I'd post the recipes for the things I made for it. So, here they are:


Black Bean Brownies




1 15.5 oz can black beans rinsed and drained (I just used some that I had previously cooked in a pressure cooker)


3 eggs


3 T oil

1/4 c cocoa (I put a little more than this in)

1 pinch salt

1 t vanilla (I put a little extra of this in, too)

3/4 c sugar

1/2 c milk chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients (EXCEPT chocolate chips), pour into 8x8 pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.


They really were delicious--see, they are half gone already!!!







Fast Refried Beans


1 1/2 c boiling water

3/4 c pinto or black bean flour (I grinded up pinto beans)

1/4 t cumin

1/2 t chili powder

Mix dry ingredients and whisk into water. Cook for 1 minute over medium-high heat. Cover and reduce to low. Cook 4 minutes.

I added some salsa, too. I have to say that I didn't really like these. But, I did add more seasoning to them (garlic salt, more chili powder and cumin) and put them in the fridge. I have been afraid to try them, though. . . I need to, just so I can say if they are any better. . .











This is a cream of chicken soup base. It is 5 T white bean flour, 1 3/4 c water and 4 t chicken bullion. Whisk for 3 minutes.

It turned out sooooo yummy! I am definitely going to be making this on a regular basis! (It had been sitting out on my table for awhile before I remembered to take a picture, so sorry about it not looking fresh. :)




I also attempted canning some black beans. I washed and rinsed the beans and put 1/2 c of beans into each pint jar and filled with almost boiling water.

You have to can them in a pressure cooker (thanks, Mylea) for 75 minutes. They are just like a can of beans from the store now! But it only cost me pennies. . .

I guess I forgot to take a picture of my baked chimichangas, but it is my favorite new meal (thanks Nancy)!!! You can put just about anything you like in a tortilla, wrap it up like a burrito and bake it at 375 for 15 minutes. You get a nice crisp chimi without all the fat from the oil (even though they taste so good that way, too!). I put cheese, black beans, Mexican rice, chicken and salsa in mine and loved them!

And, drumroll please...............................................here is the cookie recipe you have been waiting for:



Oatmeal cookies with beans

I think I need a catchy name for these. . . any suggestions are welcome!










This makes a very large batch. You can half it, but I like to make a lot and put them in the freezer or give them away. :)



2 c white beans, cooked and pureed

2 c sugar

2 c brown sugar

-Mix-

4 eggs (I use powdered eggs)

2 t vanilla

-Mix-

4 c oat flour (You can grind up whole oat groats, or blend up rolled oats in your blender until fine--I've done it both ways and they both work great)

5 c quick oats

2 t baking soda

2 t baking powder

1 t salt

2 t cinnamon (opt.)

1 c coconut (opt.)

2 c chocolate chips (semi-sweet)

2 c white chocolate chips--this is my favorite combo. You can do all chocolate chips, or raisin, or half and half, or half white choc. chips and half craisins is super yummy, too. Whatever you like.

-Mix-



Drop on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 min.

They are so yummy. My kids are always asking to make "bean cookies."



Enjoy!

Wheat Meat Class

So, last night we had a great class on how to make gluten out of wheat, or "wheat meat." Gluten is a part of the wheat that is mostly protein. It is a very healthy alternative to meat and our bodies can digest it very easily (unless you are gluten intolerant). Here is what we did:

First, you start out making a dough with whole wheat flour and water. I made a large batch 7 cups of water and 12-15 cups of flour. Mix and then set aside for 20 minutes. (If you will not be getting back to it for longer than 20 minutes, refrigerate).

Here is what my dough looked like:





Next is the rinsing process. I split the dough into small balls for the class so everyone could experience making their own gluten. Doing it myself, I would split the dough into sizes slightly larger than a softball. You need a large bowl filled with room temperature water. Then start kneading your dough ball in the water. Aren't these ladies doing a great job? :)






The dough will pretty much fall completely apart, get stringy, and then start to stick together again. This is the gluten. Once you have a small ball of gluten, the rest will start to cling to it. The bowl of water will be left with bran and starch from the wheat. Good job gals!






This is what your water will look like afterwards. White with bits of bran on the bottom. There is so much you can do with this water! Save it in a glass jar and put it in the fridge. Add the water to just about anything, and you can scoop off the starch for soups, thickenings and other stuff. You can use the bran to make cereal, muffins, cakes, and tons more. That will have to be another post.


Once you have your ball of gluten, take it back to the sink and rinse it off a little more under room temperature water. This is what it looks like when you are done:





Now you have a couple choices of how to cook it. You can steam it. This is my homemade steamer--just a stock pot with a metal colander. Just place your gluten pieces in the steamer for about 30 minutes. I turn them over after 15 minutes.



This is what they look like after they have been steamed:







My favorite thing to do with them is to ground them up. You can use either a food processor or a blender to easily grind up the gluten to look like ground beef.







It makes a great meat extender, or you can just eat it by itself. I made taco meat out of the ground gluten and didn't add any real meat at all. It tasted great!







Another cooking method is to simmer and bake. This is the raw gluten (straight from being rinsed). I rolled it out and cut it into strips.







Then I simmered some in chicken broth and some in beef broth. There are some great seasoning mixture recipes in "The Amazing Wheat Book" by LeArta Moulton. It really is an amazing book. I am looking into make a bulk order of it to get it cheaper, so if you are interested, let me know.









After simmering the gluten (and it absorbes the liquid really fast!) spread it out on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 30-60 minutes--until texture is chewy. Turn them over a few times while baking. You can also stick them in your dehydrator. They turn out kind of like jerky.


This really is just a small start as to what you can do to with wheat and gluten. You can make large batches of gluten and prepare it how you would like and it will keep in the freezer. I hope this insipires you!

Wheat 101: Wheat Nuts

Thanks to all who made it to our Wheat 101 class last night! Here is one of the things that we did:

Wheat Nuts

What are wheat nuts? They are like corn nuts, but made out of wheat. So, one thing you can do with all that wheat sitting in your pantry. : )


I had these for the first time last summer and have made them several times since. It is so easy and they are a yummy snack. Here's how to make them:


I use 3 cups of wheat (red or white) and about 8 cups of water. Put them in a pan on the stove and simmer for 1 hour. (Alternative: Put it in a crockpot on low before you go to bed and they will be ready in the morning)


When they're done, drain any excess water. This is what you get:

I take a medium sized pot and fill it with oil (about 2 inches from the top). I use a metal strainer ($2.50 at Wal-Mart) to create my deep fryer. Fry no more then 1/2 cup of wheat at a time. When the oil gets hot (this is tricky because I don't know what temperature my oil is at. I warm it up on medium-high (7-8 on my knobs) and then move the heat down to medium (6). Put 1/2 cup of wheat for 2 minutes. I then dump the kernels onto a paper plate to let dry and start another batch for 2 minutes. You have to fry them twice to get them crunchy, so after my second batch is done, I put them on a second paper plate and then put the kernels on the first paper plate back into the pot for another 2 minutes. Because life is kind of hectic, I put the lid over the wheat when it is the first time in the fryer so I can keep track of which fry time it is--first or second. . .

And the second time in the fryer, I leave the lid off. That way, whatever I do in the two minute increments I don't have to remember how many times the wheat has been fried.

This is what it looks like after one fry:

Ater the second time frying, I put them ont a large cookie sheet covered with paper towels and then sprinkle them with some seasoning. Our two favorites are garlic salt, and cinnamon and sugar. They are a great snack (don't eat too many at first. . . it's a shock to the body if you haven't been eating whole wheat . . . and whole wheat bread doesn't count. Trust me). I like to sprinkle the garlic ones on salads to give them a little crunch or add it to trail mix or granola.

It sounds kind of times consuming, having to be at the stove every two minutes, but I tend to do a lot of organizing in my kitchen while I'm waiting for the timer to go off. It's amazing how much you can accomplish in those two minute increments while you're waiting for the wheat to fry.

So, here's the bottom line in case you've gotten lost in my explanation:

Cook your wheat either on the stove or in the crockpot. Fry it twice for 2 minutes each. If they are not crunchy still, fry them a third time and maybe turn up your heat. Then season and eat. Good luck!