Around the Web in Foodie Posts: September & October

Here is the long list of foodie posts I've enjoyed lately--

September:

• That fabulous salad j.bradley borrowed from Sitti
• A beautiful end of summer treat
• A Ravioli Thells will love
• Debating the Food Police--with possible upsetting consequences for foodies
• It's all about the presentation
• Basic Kitchen Tools
• Gorgeous Lemony Pastries that I haven't gotten up the courage to ruin (I struggle with pastry patience)
• A Top Chef Rundown (They are pretty on with their top four--those are mine)
• A feature on Vegetarian recipes (really just a glorified recipe list)
• CFM's market recipes page always tickles my fancy. . .

October:

• In honor of dining in: a crepe post
• A cool look at solar powered kitchens
• A fun twist on a birthday favorite
• Feminist Food-storage
• A plum tart (Kel is a friend and former-roommate who was a guinea pig in many of my college food experiments--she is very brave, and a great cook!)
• A 50-cent interview to prep you for the fair
• Halloween Party Food
• A way to prep your kitchen for the holiday season
• And though not a blog, it is very nice to mention that Guglehupf is now serving dinner on the weekends (I loved the Schnitzel and the Beef short ribs with potato dumplings, though the desserts were also amazing--try the apple tart--wow!)

Any posts that changed your world or helped you set new food goals? Tell us more!

Around the Web in Foodie Posts for the past couple of weeks

Sorry I have been on Hiatus, y'all. Travelling puts a crimp in my writing schedule. Luckily, a bunch of bloggers have been filling in the summer blanks:

• The FMHousewives have been talking gardens. Twice!
• The Mormon Foodie took on Salt and Sourdough Starter.
• Both B-Rad and Chou have been perfecting sauces.
• Lady Holiday & Ruby have been touring grocery stores.
• Ashes checked out Maine's Lobster Fest again (though it isn't quite ex-D3er Jen's Bratfest--though, to be honest, what is???).
• Slate talks about how food storage will help Mormon's survive an apocalypse, while the Deseret News' Mormon Times talks long term food storage.
• Finally, Top Chef Masters is crowning a winner & Top Chef: Las Vegas kicks off August 19th!

Do you have posts that you have especially enjoyed this summer?

Food Storage - How on earth?

The strength of the church welfare program lies in every family following the inspired direction of the church leaders to be self-sustaining through adequate preparation. God intends for his Saints to so prepare themselves "that the church [as the Lord has said] may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world." (D&C 78:14.) Ezra Taft Benson, "Prepare Ye," Ensign, Jan 1974, 68

A prophet commands it. So, how do we get started? You may not know it, but the new guidelines list a three-month supply (as well as a water supply and financial reserve) rather than the year-supply that my mother has, but always seems incredibly daunting to me. Leslie Probert on Mormon Times has some good ideas:

Plan 2 weeks of recipes, then double it (and you have a month). Then, come up with two more weeks, and double that. Finally, one more set of two weeks, and you have your final month--or any other grouping of meal plans.

It doesn't have to be all ramen, spam, and yellow death. With all the food available to us these days, you may be able to eat gourmet (though canned) food for three months. It is all about figuring out substitutions to your favorite recipes--but also recipes that can be done when you may or may not have electricity.

The problem with a lot of the old food storage guidelines was how to cook with 30 lbs. worth of wheat and no wheat grinder. You can only eat so much wheat chili (shudder--sorry, Mom). My favorite of her ideas is building a food storage cookbook--listing favorite recipes, and substituting in canned goods or food storage goods for it--And then having a booklet of 90 different days of recipes. This seems a little daunting, but I think we, as a foodie group could totally pull it off.

Is this something you may be interested in? Let me know in the comments, and I'll go to work gathering recipes from everyone.

Food Posts enjoyed recently

A list of the posts, I've read and enjoyed this week:

• A critique of one of Sara Foster's books (she of Foster's Market fame).
• A gorgeous post that just happens to touch on a restaurant experience.
• The Feminist Mormon Housewives take on bread again.
• The Food Storage Starter kit available for members.
• Chou's Caramel Rice Pudding sounds divine.
• The Carrboro Farmer's market (as well as other local farmers markets) have CSAs. Slate goes over one way to make it work.
• The Chatham County Buy Local guide.
• General Conference Cornbread. Though I keep meaning to try making his spaghetti pie.
• Mmmm. . . Grilled Cheese.

Oatmeal Crispies

My best friend made these cookies for me and JLO when we were visiting her family in New York this past summer, and they have been a favorite ever since. They are ridiculously easy to make, the dough stores well in the freezer, and they even pass as a food storage dessert because almost all the ingredients (except eggs and butter) are long-term or short-term food storage items. You'll be using that can of oats you don't know what to do with!

I dare you to eat it

We've been counseled for a very, very long time to "prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings" (Church pamphlet, All is Safely Gathered In). But as members of a YSA ward, most of us being in rather temporary housing situations, it has sometimes felt like a stretch to have a week's supply of food, let alone a year's supply. But the leadership of the church has also encouraged us "to store as much as circumstances allow."

I found a great website this week that has, for the first time in my life, helped me realize not only that my circumstances really do allow me to store a year's supply of food (it really doesn't take up that much space), but also that I can use that food to eat on a daily basis. The website is http://www.idareyoutoeatit.com/. Once there, go to the "strategies" section to understand how easy it really is to have a year's supply and eat it too. I have a copy of the author's book, so if anyone wants to learn more or see more of her recipes, just let me know.

I tried two of the recipes this week, and loved them. I even fed tacos covertly laced with wheat to the elders, and they had no idea until I spilled the beans. Here's the recipe for Hippie Tacos, as found on http://www.idareyoutoeatit.com/. They were delish.

HIPPIE TACOS

Fresh Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
15 10″ tortillas

toppings: baby spinach leaves, grated cheese, diced tomato, avocado, cilantro, and Ranch dressing

Storage Ingredients

2 c. cooked whole wheat berries
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. chili powder

* 1 packet of taco seasoning may be used as a substitution for individual spices

Brown ground beef and drain fat. Stir in the cooked wheat berries and spices. Spoon meat mixture onto warm tortillas and top with fresh baby spinach, grated cheese, diced tomato, avocado, cilantro, and Ranch dressing.

Good luck food storaging!

How to pick produce...

Picking produce can be difficult. If you don't have training (or a book) on the subject, it can be a close-your-eyes-and-point kind of activity. Why on earth did Mom pick one cantalope over the other? How do you know when fresh herbs are about to be not-so-fresh? Various cookbooks will note information about purchasing and storing produce (The Joy of Cooking has a great guide), but sometimes it is just picking what looks and smells the best.

Hopefully the following links will help.

• An A to Z guide to produce
• Video guides to picking good produce
• A little guide to storage of produce
• A summer fruit buying guide

Really ridiculously easy/tasty/healthy recipe

A d3 food blog is such a great idea!

With some rather large, albeit planned for, expenses coming up pretty quickly, I wanted to find a few recipes that were really filling and healthy but also really, really cheap. I found this one yesterday, and because I already had most of the ingredients, this cost almost nothing to make.

Carrot Lentil Casserole Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup finely chopped carrots
• 3/4 cup dried lentils, rinsed
• 3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
• 3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon each dried thyme, basil and oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

Directions:

In a 3-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray, combine the onion, carrots, lentils, rice, cheese, green pepper and seasonings. Stir in broth and tomatoes. Cover and bake at 350° for 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hours or until the liquid is absorbed and lentils and rice are tender. Yield: 6 servings.

Here's the link to the actual recipe. It was really good and has an earthy feel to it. And is great for this rather long winter we're having.

Favorite food articles around the bloggernacle and beyond...

Some of my (semi-recent) favorite food posts:

• Dinner Group Salvation from Feminist Mormon Housewives gives me ideas. . . As did their canning one.
• A great rundown of various spices from the Mormon Foodie.
• Slate's "State of the Cookie" address. . . well, conversation, really.
• The new food storage (now called "Provident Living") section of lds.org.
• Chou's food tours -- I also love her recent Iron Man-Iron Chef challenge. Next year, I am so in!
• And from one of our own, an obsession confession (which obsesses about more than food, but who cares): Thanks ash-es!

Please share more in the comments section!

ETA: Slate has a fun one for today! Terrifying, but fun.

A D3 alumna lists scrumptious sites she wants to visit in New York!