Lessons Learned From My Food Storage and Jesus

To start off the week strong, I worked hard to clean up and re-organize my food storage room. Scott and I have purchased many #10 cans of various dehydrated foods over the years, starting when we were somewhat newly married. We purchased a year's worth of food storage from a company and have hauled it all around with us for about 25 years. (We've been married for 28)

As we have purchased more and more #10 cans in recent years, it has caused us to wonder about the freshness and safety of some of the older cans. So, we decided to try a couple of experiments this week by cracking open some cans and sampling the contents. We had to be very brave.

First Experiment: Powdered Milk

Abby was a little bored, so I offered to pay her if she would work hard and help me with the cans of powdered milk. She helped haul the cans up one at a time from the storage room to the kitchen, lugging about 9 cans in all. (I had counted 11 earlier, but couldn't find the other 2. Eventually I found them later in the day.)

First, I opened up one of the old cans of powdered milk and made a pitcher of reconstituted milk to sample. 

It was verrrry frothy.

I drank a little of it. It was okay. I didn't hate it. But I didn't love it either. It had a little bit of a weird chemical taste to it.

Then I cracked open one of the most recent brands that I have on hand and mixed up a pitcher full. 

This is what it looks like inside the can. There is an oxygen absorber on top, and the powder is VERY fine.

After sampling some of the newer milk, it definitely tasted better. I didn't love it, but I could maybe get used to it if I had to. I decided to grab one of our little creamers from the pantry to throw in with the milk to see if it made it taste any better. 

The little tablespoon of creamer was way too much for the amount of milk that I had in my cup, so I added more milk. That was a lot better! The creamer was very sweet - too sweet for a small amount of milk. But it made me think that a powdered creamer might be a good idea to keep in my food storage to accompany the powdered milk. Liquid creamer has a short shelf life, but powdered creamer lasts much longer. 

Recently, when I was in the Preparedness Store here in Idaho Falls, purchasing some #10 cans for Jacob and Hannah for Christmas, I asked them why the milk is nonfat instead of 2% or whole. The store owner told me that in order to preserve the milk for years in a can, they can only do nonfat. The fat content makes it spoil too quickly. 

My theory about putting powdered creamer in with the milk is that maybe it will help it taste more like 2% or whole milk. However, I just did a little research on the internet, and several people suggested putting a little bit of sugar + a little bit of vanilla into the mix. (i.e. 1/2 tsp of each for about 1 quart of milk)

Maybe I will give that a try.

Back to the old cans of milk . . . Here I had several cans of old powdered milk that didn't taste good at all. I decided to throw them out. But instead of throwing several very heavy cans of milk into our dumpster, I decided to have Abby help me rinse the contents down the kitchen sink.

Man, what an adventure that was!!

Our process was this: I would open up a can and pour it a little at a time into the sink. Abby would use hot water from the faucet to rinse it down as best as she could. It would clump and stick to the sink, so she also had to use a wooden spoon to push and encourage it to go down the drain. 

It made a great deal of foam in the other sink as we ran the disposal for about 30 minutes straight.

And the powder!! The powder was so bad in the air that Abby started coughing. After she put on a mask, it helped for the most part. By the time we were done, she was also DONE.

SO. MUCH. POWDER.

Amber took a short video of what we were doing. (14 seconds)

Click here to watch:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vchpzrb3cQWfAd2HA

Abby's hair even looked grey by the time we finished because it was coated in powdered milk from the air! And so was my entire kitchen. While she hopped into the tub for a nice warm bath, I spent the next hour cleaning my entire kitchen from all the leftover powder residue. Blech.

Lessons learned from this:

• Use what I have more efficiently so I don't have to dump stuff out
• Maybe don't be so worried about recycling 9 tin cans to the extent that it took us 90 minutes to get it all down the drain and then had to clean up the entire kitchen and dining room (including mopping all the floors)
• Get better quality powdered milk (a.k.a. better tasting) (a.k.a. more current)
• This was a great way to put a 5 year old granddaughter to work. She earned a solid $5 for all of her hard work!

I was texting my kids during the whole process. Jacob had the most questions in response. Because we bought them several types of dehydrated foods for their Christmas gift, I think he was trying to wrap his head around making the best use of what they now have.

I found this helpful information in one of my preparedness binders, and then I sent it all to Jacob.

Next Experiment: Dinner

We decided to open up a couple cans of taco meat from our food storage and make it into Taco Salad for dinner. 

I had two types to try: the #10 can of imitation taco flavored bits and the middle can (below) that had real beef, flavored with taco flavoring. (The 3rd can on the right has chicken chunks in it from a LONG time ago, and we haven't opened it up yet . . . but this week we will??)

The pot at the top of this photo shows the taco flavored bits. It's basically soy that's been flavored to taste like taco meat. The consistency is very similar to the soft taco meat at Taco Bell. It tastes pretty good actually. It makes me feel a little bloated if I eat too much, so I try to go easy on the portions.

The other pot has the REAL beef meat from the small can.  It was delicious! The taste was impressive - even though the date it was originally canned at the LDS Cannery here in town was in 2009!!! 12 years later and it tasted fabulous. That's pretty awesome!

Finished product: Taco Salad for dinner. Chips, meats, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, Mexican crema, and hot sauce. Yum!

Are there more food experiments to come? Absolutely. I will share the ups and downs of our taste tests in the weeks and months to come.

In other news . . .

Monday: Food Storage Day - organizing, dumping, cleaning, and sampling.

Tuesday: Scott was feeling pretty lousy still. He got sick last week for a day or two, then felt better, and then got sicker. He has been sleeping in the guest room for the past several days. His main symptom was coughing, but you could tell he just felt like garbage every day. I sent him to get tested for COVID-19, which he didn't want to do because of all the memories from Saudi Arabia. He had to get a swab shoved up his nose and "into his brain" more than once over there, and therefore wasn't fond of going through that again. But I convinced him to go and to be brave. So he did. It was NEGATIVE. Thank goodness. But he still felt like garbage. 

I baked him some banana bread, one of his favorite things. It helped just a little.

I also took my young women's class to do indoor archery here in Idaho Falls. They loved it!! I had 7 girls, ranging in age from 11-13. The cost was $5 per girl, the equipment was all provided, along with some instruction, and then they were free to shoot arrows to their heart's content for an hour. 

Mara, shown here, and after she shot her first arrow, announced that THIS is what she wants for her birthday this year! :) When our hour was up, we went out to my car and ate donuts that I had brought in my trunk. 

Wednesday: Inauguration Day. I can't think of any other time that I have been glued to the TV screen to watch a new president on his first day in office. Yes, I've watched snippets in past years, but I was riveted this year. Why? I'm not exactly sure.

I didn't vote for Biden. I didn't vote for Trump. I didn't really like either of them to be honest. But with all the hate and anger and violence that has been going on for so long, I have been prayerful and thoughtful and trying to keep an open mind. I am trying to be FLEXIBLE at the same time as clinging to the moral standards and gospel truths that I have been taught. Jesus has shown us the perfect example time and time again of how to be calm and kind, how to listen - really listen - to what others are saying, how to diffuse a hostile situation or conversation, how to forgive others when offenses happen to us, and how to help the other side feel that you care about THEM even if you don't agree with them.

I have really been trying to keep an open mind as our country shifts into a new chapter of history. 

As I listened to President Biden give his Inaugural speech, I was moved. I was truly moved. I think that because I had an open mind and an open heart, I was more prepared to feel something positive. It really worked! I cried more than once as I watched the proceedings for hours and hours. I felt patriotic. I felt comforted. I felt hope. Mostly I felt hope. Hope for our future, hope for our families, hope for our nation. A lot of what he said in his speech mirrored what our own prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, has been saying this past year as well. And while Pres. Biden didn't exactly tell us to follow Jesus Christ, in essence he was telling us to act in ways that WILL follow Jesus Christ. I was pleased and comforted and  moved.

As I watched them travel to Arlington Cemetery, I remembered back to when Scott and I visited there in 2008. It is sacred ground. It is quiet and holy there. 

As I watched the parade leading back to the White House, I was moved as I saw the marching bands, especially those dressed in period dress from the Revolutionary War era. I thought about all that our military and our country have sacrificed so that I can be right here right now, living my own little happy life. 

And as I watched the Biden family strolling down the street, hand in hand, I couldn't help but think of the symbolism and the beauty of that moment. If we, as Americans, can just unite - including with all of our unique differences - and show love and kindness to each other NO MATTER WHAT, then what a truly great nation this would be!! And we will be much more prepared to usher in the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

I feel inspired to do better and be better in my life. I want to be more tolerant of others, more kind to others, and more clearly a follower and disciple of Jesus Christ. 

Thursday: Scott felt much better (FINALLY) after a priesthood blessing from the missionaries late Wednesday night. While he still had a cough, he didn't feel as run down as he had been for way too many days. 

Friday: I began working on some of our German dishes for the festivities coming up on Saturday. I baked and prepared the Black Forest Cake and made German Potato Salad.

For the cake, I found an easier version of it this time. Typically I try to make the recipes as authentically as I can, but I didn't want to wear myself out so early in the preparations. I found a great website that essentially gave me "permission" to do the easy version. :)

Fancy Authentic Version: https://www.alsothecrumbsplease.com/authentic-black-forest-cake/

Tasty Easier Version: https://www.quick-german-recipes.com/german-black-forest-cake-recipe.html

After baking 3 layers of chocolate cake and letting them cool, I added cherry pie filling to the first layer. 

Then I smothered the second layer with extra creamy cool whip.

After the top layer was carefully placed on top, I slathered more cool whip over the entire cake and put it in the fridge until Saturday. (more pics to come)

Then I turned my attention to making the German Potato Salad. I learned that up north in Germany, they typically make a creamy version using mayonnaise. Down south, they typically use vinegar instead. I chose the northern version because that's my favorite.

Recipe can be found here:

https://www.quick-german-recipes.com/easy-potato-salad-recipe.html

While I was baking away in the kitchen, Scott was doing science with Abby at the kitchen table. Jacob and Hannah recently bought the girls a Circuit building kit for Christmas. It has proven to be worth whatever they spent to buy it!!

The other day, Abby and I built a reflection detecting sensor using the circuit board. Abby is super smart and can almost single-handedly build whatever the "map" displays on the page of the instruction manual.

We built Project #51, a Reflection Detector.

If we held a mirror above the sensor, it would play a little song. It was super fun!

Friday evening, Amber and girls designed and painted a replica of a German church stained-glass window scene. 

Amber wasn't as pleased with the scene at the top with Jesus, so she changed it to resemble "The Ascension" before the sun came up the next morning.

Saturday: With the morning sunlight hitting the stained glass window, it was really beautiful to see!!

I stood on a chair to get a better view looking "down" at Jesus so the background was less cluttery.

And then the German Ancestor Night festivities began!!

While Scott worked on replacing door hinges throughout the upstairs . . .

I started doing some prep work for our upcoming dinner at 4:00 p.m. First, I cut up all the vegetables that would be needed later, and then I started pounding out the pork chops to get them all nice and thin for the Schnitzels. 

I like to pound out cuts of meat in between two gallon freezer bags because they're nice and thick. No amount of pounding seems to be able to penetrate the thickness of the plastic . . . at least so far.

1/4 inch thickness - check!

Amber took a bunch of short videos of our afternoon and then put everything together in a cute montage video. While we worked in the kitchen, we listened to traditional German folk songs, such as the one in the video below. :) Enjoy!!

You can watch it here: (56 seconds)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BmWaRTNxaBxqSFJY9

The girls helped me with some coloring pages to decorate the dining room. 

And here is my beautiful plate!! 

Starting with the Schnitzel (pan fried pork) and going clockwise - 

Schnitzel

Speckbohnen - Green Beans with Proscuitto)

Kartoffelsalat - German Potato Salad

Rosenkohl - Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Rotkohl - Red Cabbage

It was SO Delicious!! The red cabbage went so perfectly with the Schnitzel and surprised us with how tasty it was! We will definitely be making them again. Everything was so perfect and complimentary together. 

Scott's parents joined us for dinner, too. After dinner, Grandpa Harmon started reciting something in German, a poem perhaps? I hurried to turn on my phone so I could record the last bit before he was all done. 

Click here to watch: (36 seconds)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KNvZ8qskVpVAPQH8A

And then, in the living room, everyone joined in singing a traditional German song about a girl named Susie, while Scott's mom, Coy, accompanied on the piano. 

Click here to watch: (36 seconds)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mJrrFk7EZnrY13Yh7

Lastly, it was time for our dessert. I didn't get a good picture of the beautiful Apple Strudel that Coy made, but it is partially showing in these photos next to the enormous Black Forest Cake.

The family history highlights of our German Ancestor Night are these: (sent out to my children who weren't able to attend yesterday)

The family history focus is very broad, since we have several ancestor lines from Germany. 

I'll tell you a couple things though.

We have Mennonite ancestry on Grandpa John's line. They are similar to, but not the same as the Amish. The Funks, Denlingers, and Yoders were originally from Switzerland in the Bern area. When the Roman Catholics started veering way off from the original teachings of Christ in the New Testament,  there was a group of Christians who wanted to follow Christ's gospel more literally. They were heavily persecuted for their efforts to be so exact. They eventually had to leave and moved to Ibersheim Germany. 

From there, they eventually came to PA in the Lancaster area, where there was a huge grouping of Amish, Mennonite and Anabaptist people. Soon after is when they ended up in the Shenandoah Valley of VA and married into the Snider line.

The other German line that is more recent is on Grandma Doris' line. Her grandparents immigrated from Germany to the Dayton Ohio area and had a farm there. Her mother, Christina, was the first to be born in the US. She was deaf her whole life after a childhood accident. 

Grandma Doris' grandpa, Johannes Muller, was one of only 3 children to make it out of infancy. He was one of 22 children born in Germany. Only 3 survived. Most died within a few months. I'm not sure, but I wonder if the mom wasn't able to feed her babies and they died from not getting enough nourishment. Johannes was a miracle. He is my 2nd great grandfather. Christina is his daughter. Grandma Doris is his granddaughter. 

Also, the Mullers and all the other lines that connect to them were in the Stuttgart area of Germany in the small towns near Tubingen for hundreds of years. I have found records for them back to the early 1600s in the same tiny towns the entire time. Osterdingen and Moessingen mostly. 

So that's pretty cool. I'm excited to spend some time in those towns this summer. 

Mössingen — Where The Wildness And Beauty Of Nature Collide

Dubbed the City of Flowers, Mössingen is a contrast study in the best and worst of nature. 

In 1983, four million cubic meters of land slid into the nearby area from the Swabian Alb, creating a stark and primeval landscape and terrifying area residents.

A quarter century later, the return of plant and animal life to the area as resulted in a nature reserve as a tribute to the resiliency of the earth. A visit to the Mössingen Bergrutsch will allow you views of the massive scar left by the landslide.

As further evidence of nature’s adaptability, ornithologists in the area have discovered that birds in the area have learned to mimic cell phone ring tones. Even experienced bird watchers have been fooled on more than one occasion. 

And here is a link to the fun German folk music that we listened to over and over yesterday. Seriously it is SO FUN! Plenty of yodeling and accordion jigs. It made me want to go watch some old reruns of the Lawrence Welk Show that I grew up watching!!

https://youtu.be/9FrG3EZAPZs

I really love this tradition of Ancestor Night once a month. And I'm excited for our next one in February because BENSON and KYLIE will BE HERE WITH US!!!!!! We will be focusing on England and our English Ancestors, which are MANY. So. Many. 

This next week I will be finishing up with organizing the food storage room downstairs. And we will inevitably try another funky recipe or two using some food storage items. I'm sure it will be fine.