p.s. WonderMill Wheat Grinder

I was reminded that the WonderMill price is going up on Feb 15 - so if you are anxious to get one - lock in the price soon before it goes up!

WonderMill Wheat Grinder

Have you ever tried to shop for a flour mill so you could make your very own wholesome flour? It isn't always easy finding the information you need. I also think it is harder to know what I want when I cannot touch and feel the item I want to purchase.

My twitter friend told me about this article (hubpage) which is very informative about the WonderMill. If you are at all interested in flour mills, this is a must-read! (Especially since the author actually uses the WonderMill herself.)

Before I refer you to the article, let me just tell you that if you need more information on comparative grain mills or just want to know where to purchase a WonderMill - you can always find them on the HiStakes-Spelt.com website.

So? Happy reading...

(Link to the article about the WonderMill:) http://hubpages.com/hub/Wonder-Mill-Wheat-Grinder

Apple Pie Filling Recipe, plus Bonus Recipe

For those of you who loved that pie crust for the deep dish apple pie - I am reminding you of the link for the yummy apple pie filling recipe. (of if you are new to the blog this is where to find it.)

http://histakes-food-storage.blogspot.com/2008/10/apple-pie-filling_22.html

I love to bake in the winter. So, I've been using my jars of peach pie filling, apple pie filling, and cherry pie filling more than I should. (So much for that new year's resolution to lose weight - besides, baking heats the house!)

My favorite uses for my pie fillings is a good basic crisp topping. Do you have the recipe?

Here is my favorite:

Crisp topping
(good with any pie filling you are craving)
makes an 8x8 pan.

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oatmeal (I use a heaping 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup butter, softened but not melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Cut ingredients together. Sprinkle over pie filling in an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan.
Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees until brown and crispy.

(Serve with vanilla ice cream)



That makes my mouth water. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

By the way - I am hoping most of these ingredients would be in your food storage. This is the time of year when I sit back and use some of my storage and keep it rotated. I haven't noticed any wonderful sales in my area (other than cereal) to keep building my food storage.
So, my plan? just make sure I don't run out of the basic food items (and toilet paper necessities) I love - keep at least one or two packages on the shelf always - until a good sale comes... then I will really stock up.

Happy eating!

Apples and an Amazing Pie Crust

So, if you are like me, you might still have apples (from the tree) and carrots galore in your fridge or cold storage. My apples are begging to be used - they aren't holding up as well this year as other years.

I decided to make an apple pie a few weeks ago with my apples (and forgot to take a picture so enjoy the one posted ;). I am not a pie maker, normally. I usually make an apple crisp or someway to eat the filling and avoid the crust. I've never been good at making crusts. They just haven't worked out for me.... until.... (yup, there is a happy ending) I tried my grandma's recipe for an egg yolk crust.

The crust was easy to work with and it baked beautifully.

Do you know the real secret to a successful pie crust? Very few people actually know this secret - ready? You must have a pastry cloth and a pastry cover for your rolling pin. Doing it any other way... well... just doesn't work near as nicely. And once you use one, I dare say, you may never go back to your old ways.

Would you like the recipe so your apples can finally be used, too? (you can also use that wonderful apple pie filling you bottled this last canning season, or create whatever pie you would like - this is a very versatile crust. It is not only for apple pies.)



p.s. Credit goes to my grandma for this recipe

Pie Crust for Big Pies
(Egg Yolk Pastry)

5 cups flour
4 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1-1/2 cup Crisco
2 egg yolks
Cold water

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in Shortening. Beat egg yolks in measuring cup add ice water to make a 1 cup full. Roll out like any pastry. Make enough for deep dish big apple pie or 3 - 9" two crust pies.

Taking Applications

I cannot seem to keep up with blogging these days, so in order to keep up with our faithful readers, I am taking applications for someone to help me blog about food storage - at least twice a week.

If you are interested, we can discuss options on writing and making sure we work well together.

Contact me soon! Positions now available.

info@histakes-spelt.com
Thanks. I'm looking forward to this.

FREE Bread Class

I have had a few people ask, so I will publicly answer:

Question: Can I (Jamie) do a bread class at your house (meaning: you who are reading this)? Do I travel? Can I do a bread class for church enrichments or preparedness fairs?

Answer: Yes. All are entirely possible. It depends where you live to say if I will travel to your house. Maybe, if you have lots of friends that want to take the class, too, that might entice me to travel farther than normal... (hint, hint)


Question: How do I schedule a free bread making class?

Answer: Just ask. Send me an email or call me. Suggest a few dates that are good for you and we can figure out which days are good for both of us and voila! We have a class. Not hard and I'm pretty easy to work with. (Unless you live really far away and I am supposed to travel to where you are. I might have to wait for better weather! But I always love a good excuse to travel!)

IMPORTANT NOTE: At the class, you will get all of my secrets for making excellent bread as well as a copy of the best recipe for making any kind of whole wheat (including spelt) bread.


Any more questions? =)

p.s. I hope to see you in a class soon...

food storage talk and new to twitter

I was just analyzing my food storage. Wondering what I needed to stock up on again for a few months. Somehow, December was a good month and I put away quite a bit more food than I thought I would. I got my fats - shortening, oils, and cooking sprays - built up again. The stock isn't huge, I don't want them to go rancid, but I've got enough to last me until spring at least. That is a good feeling.

It is a great time to take inventory and assess what you need at this time in anticipation of a New Year.

What sorts of things are you succeeding at and what things do you need to focus on?

I need some dry powdered milk in my storage. (Just in case I find a good recipe that calls for powdered milk. I don't think I could ever drink the stuff straight.)

Happy New Year!!

And I just joined Twitter - feel free to follow me. (Click on the link in the top right corner.)

Dry Pack Canning

My sister-in-law got use of a dry pack canner the other day, so I took advantage and borrowed it for a minute to pack some oats and popcorn. (Shown in pictures is the packing of oats.)

First we filled the 10# cans full... we used the red bucket to easily catch whatever we spilled.

Oxygen packs were placed to keep the product fresh.


Next come the lidsThis is how we seal the lid on the cans - with this great canner machine. It spins around and seals the lid on.

Here is the final product - labels and all. Great, huh? I'm happy to have a few extra things in storage and safely packaged.
Have you ever used a dry pack canner before?

update

I am still here. We have been busy with craft fairs. My last scheduled craft fair is tomorrow - if you are in Jackson Hole, WY, please stop by the Virginian Convention Center and say hello. We are hoping the snow doesn't cause too much trouble tomorrow - if it shows up. There are several inches predicted.

We had a bread class today. A good time was had by all. One of my favorite moments was the cinnamon roll treats we got to sample at the end - I always love a good cinnamon roll.

Though, don't get me wrong, the company and conversation was good, too.

I'll talk to you again soon - after this next craft fair.

-Jamie

FREE Bread Classes Available

I've decided to teach {FREE} bread classes to all who want to come and refine their bread techniques, or who want to learn about different kinds of wheat, grinders and flour, or who just need a social outing!

Wanna come?

We just had a class last week. We had a LOT of fun and learned lots of tricks. It was a hands-on class, so you know how to "feel" when the bread is ready when you try this at home. It was a totally custom class. We chose to work with hard red wheat and spelt. We learned to make bread and then voted to make cinnamon rolls with the extra. We swapped recipes, talked and shopped while the bread rose and then when the cinnamon rolls were done baking, we each got to eat one.
They were DELICIOUS!!

More classes are available upon request.
I have a few scheduled and would be happy to work something out to fit your schedule.

It is a lot of fun and I hope you'll join us for a class sometime soon.