DIY Ice Cream Cones

(Warning:  Pictures ahead.)

This whole COVID mess has prompted an unprecedented surge in nanny state draconian measures shown absolutely ineffective in stopping the spread of the virus while at the same time brainwashing half the country into believing that masks, vaccines, and tyrannical government will save them.  So many people’s lives and livelihoods have been upended.  I wish it weren’t the case.  Fixing it probably involves getting rid of bad government and letting people find their own solutions, but bad government isn’t going anywhere if it doesn’t have to.  That’s a topic for somebody else’s blog. 

I’ve been reading this morning that companies are having a hard time getting supplies and shipping costs are rising dramatically.  Last year the country experienced shortages in soft drinks due to problems sourcing aluminum for the cans.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see similar problems affect other industries, especially with all the nonsense of snowflakes getting offended at mascots and advertising and such.  Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima died last year due to some PC crap.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pillsbury doughboy and the Keebler elves found themselves on the chopping block.  Snap, Crackle, and Pop better watch out as well. 

One of Keebler’s products is ice cream cones.  If those elves get axed or go on strike, we’ve got to be able to make our own.  Just for special occasions.  Adults can do without, but little kids really love them.  They take a little practice to get the cone right, but only a little.  It’s not rocket science.

Ice Cream Cones

2 egg whites (or aquafaba)

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour, minus 1 tablespoon

1/4 cup butter (or coconut oil), melted

2 tablespoons water

In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form.  Gradually beat in the sugar.  Mix in the flour, butter/oil, and water just until blended.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Draw a few 4-5” circles on the paper and place 1-1/2 – 2 tablespoons of batter in the center of each circle.  Spread the batter to the edges.  Bake at 400°F for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.  (You'll use about 1/3 to 1/2 of the batter each time.  When you repeat for the second batch of baking, you'll likely find that the batter has stiffened significantly.  Just place the correct amount on the previously used parchment paper on the cookie sheet, and the warmth of the previously baked cookie sheet will gradually soften the batter so that it can be spread easily.)

Quickly transfer the cookies to a paper towel lined work surface and shape the cones by beginning with one edge (the bottom point of the cone) and rolling and rotating around this point until you reach the opposite edge.  This is the part that takes practice and also involves getting the cookie baked just enough to be done and hold its shape, without being overbaked and too rigid to roll without breaking. 

Becky rolled hers perfectly each time; she’s a little more skilled than I.  With practice I turned out a few good ones, but even the less than attractive cones still taste great and hold a bit of ice cream.  

 

Family reviews:  While they don't taste exactly like store-bought sugar cones, they are perfectly crunchy and crispy and taste really good.  If your cone has a bit of an opening in the bottom, you can stick a marshmallow in it to prevent drips.  

I used coconut oil instead of butter, and it worked great.  

Links to related posts:

DIY Rice Krispies

Aquafaba

9 september 2023

Cheesecakes in a Jar

The best cheesecake I ever had was at the Nugget buffet in Sparks, Nevada.  It's probably been 20 years since I last had it--we're not really big on going out to eat, and especially not at the casino buffets.  We only went to the company parties there--free food and all that.  Anyway, I absolutely love cheesecake.  And I think it's a crime that it has so many calories, so I can't have it very often.  But being able to have it once or twice during challenging times might be nice.  

You know, I have no doubt that we are experiencing the beginning of the Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times."  But I also believe that it won't last forever.  And sometime during these interesting times, or after life gets boring again, someone will have a cow and I'll be able to get some cream cheese and cream and make a little cheesecake.   Or maybe I'll have a little freeze-dried cream cheese and be able to make these little jars of joy.  And after living through that bit of fun (not), I won't care about the calories.  At all.

These little individual cheesecakes are made in canning jars.  Now, canning jars are definitely not recommended for baking.  That's because, as previously mentioned here on the blog, canning jars are made of annealed glass, not tempered glass.  Tempered glass is required for baking.  Annealed glass is produced differently and is not designed to withstand the rapid changes in temperature.  There is the risk of the glass shattering and sending shards flying.

But you know what?  These little cheesecakes are baked in a water bath.  Just like in canning.  No rapid temperature changes.  No risk of shattering.  Happy happy joy joy.  Because you know what else?  I'm not entirely confident that the springform pans necessary for making cheesecake are going to be all that easy to find after we've lived through interesting times.  But canning jars?  Nope, they're going to be treated like the golden treasures they are.

So here we go:

Mini-Cheesecakes

3 tablespoons sugar
1 package cream cheese, 8 oz, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
2 tablespoons heavy cream or Media Crema
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
fresh berries for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the water bath.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Beat in the sugar.  Beat in the egg and scrape down the bowl well.  Beat in the cream and vanilla until smooth.  Pour the batter into wide-mouth canning jars, about three-quarters full.

Place the canning jars in a baking pan.  Pour the boiling water into the baking pan until it reaches one-half to two-thirds of the way up the side of the jar.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, just until the edges are set, but the center still jiggles a bit.  Gently remove the cheesecake jars from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely.  When they are completely cooled, put them in the refrigerator to chill for at least five hours.  Garnish with berries and serve.

Family reviews:  Everyone said it was good, not great or fabulous.  But those of us who like cheesecake really like a good cheesecake.  For being sourced from food storage items, it's very good.  For what it's worth, I didn't have heavy cream on hand, so I used table cream.  That probably made some difference.  But it worked.  Also, we didn't have fresh berries to put on--we ate some plain and drizzled strawberry jam on some.  I'm afraid I will be making this again.  I wish cheesecake didn't have so many calories.

Links to related posts:
Baking in Canning Jars
Cream Cheese Options  

An Alternative Method of Sanitizing Sheets, Linens, and Clothes

Most of the time we don’t give much thought to making sure our clothes and linens are really clean.  We throw them in the washer, add detergent and maybe a little bleach if necessary, wash, and dry.  The kilowatt slaves and chemicals do their job.

But what if the routine gets disrupted?  The kilowatt slaves quit?  The commercial detergent and bleach run out?  And what if someone in the house is really sick and we need to get that laundry really clean? Or what if we just want to take an extra measure of precaution?

One other way of sanitizing items is to use an iron or steamer.  If using an iron, make sure you have distilled water in it and the steamer setting on.  The iron alone only sanitizes the surface; steam penetrates the fibers.  For this reason, steamers are also great for sanitizing surfaces that can’t be laundered, like furniture and mattresses.  Of course, make sure whatever you’re sanitizing is clean—you don’t want to set in any stains. 

How can you be sure this method is effective?  According to the CDC, influenza viruses are killed at 167°F.[1]  Most steamers and irons easily reach 200°F or more.  Steam and high heat also kill bacteria and dust mites. 

After laundering the sheets and linens as best as possible and letting them dry (in the sun, if that’s an option), drape them over a clothesline or shower rod in the bathroom and fill the steamer with water.  Once the water is heated and the steamer is ready, move it around in a regular pattern to sanitize the sheets and other items.  Let everything dry completely before putting them on the bed or away in closets. 

Links to related posts:

Triangle Bandages

The Difference Between Cleaning, Disinfecting, and Sterilizing

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[1] “Influenza (Flu):  Cleaning to Prevent the Flu, Centers for Disease Control, https://www.cdc.gov/flu/resource-center/images/multi-language-pdfs/contamination_cleaning_english_508.pdf (accessed 11 December 2020).

 8 june 2023

Responses to "Beginning of the End" and Making Candy with Instant Potato Flakes

Thank you all for your kind comments yesterday.  I really appreciate them.  You have blessed my life.  

I have no plans to take the blog down.  We need as many people to read, learn, and prepare as possible, and we all need good food and medicine.   That being said, I believe we're all more than a little disappointed at how George Orwell's 1984 apparently isn't the work of fiction we were told it was.  I read daily of websites and blogs being taken down by the hosting company.  I don't think this blog is big enough to attract the attention of The Powers That Be, but what do I know?  Even though we know history repeats and we have really interesting times in our future, one year ago most of us couldn't anticipate we'd be where we are now.  If I feel the blog has to be taken down, I'll try to give as much warning as possible.  In the meantime, I will be trying to put it together in book form.  

And there truly are many topics I still want to research and write about.  There is always so much to learn.

 

Anyway, enough of that.  I've got a couple of recipes here for candy that you can make with instant potato flakes.  If you like Mounds and/or fudge, you'll be happy.  If not, there are other candy recipes on the blog.

Mounds Copycat

¼ cup hot mashed potatoes

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

2 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup chocolate chips

Combine the potatoes and powdered sugar well and then stir in the coconut.  Spread this mixture in a bread pan and chill until firm.  Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler and spread half the melted chocolate over the top.  Chill until firm and cut into squares.  Remove the squares from the pan and turn them over.  Spread the remaining chocolate on the bottom of the squares.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Deluxe Mounds

¼ cup butter, melted

¼ cup hot plain mashed potatoes

2 cups powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup shredded coconut

2/3 cup chocolate chips

Combine the butter and mashed potatoes.  Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and coconut and spread the mixture in a bread pan.  Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour. 

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler.  Cut the chilled coconut mixture into small squares.  Spread half the melted chocolate on top and return to the refrigerator to chill again for about 30 minutes.  Remove from the refrigerator and flip the candy over.  Spread the remaining chocolate on the bottom of the candy.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Almond Joy variation:  Press a toasted almond onto the coconut mixture before covering with chocolate.

Potato Fudge

¼ cup cocoa powder

3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted

¼ cup unseasoned mashed potatoes, room temperature

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 ¾-2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons milk

Finely chopped nuts, optional

In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder and mashed potatoes.  Stir in melted butter, vanilla, and salt.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons of milk.  Sprinkle ¼ cup powdered sugar on the countertop and place the mixture on top.  Knead the dough until it is smooth, adding more powdered sugar if necessary.  Roll into a log about 1 inch in diameter.  Roll in the chopped nuts and wrap in waxed paper.  Chill in the refrigerator about an hour and then cut into ½” thick slices.  Makes about 2 dozen.

Links to related posts:

Beyond Mashed Potatoes:  Seven Really Diverse Ways to Use Instant Mashed Potato Flakes

Coconut Oil

All about Cocoa Powder

The Beginning of the End

In early September 2018, it was just about time for my oldest daughter to head off to college for the first time.  As it was going to involve a long drive across some very desolate stretches of desert, I didn't want her to go alone, and it would also be an chance for her younger sisters to see the campus and perhaps (I hoped) become a little more motivated in their schoolwork so that they would also have the opportunity of attending college away from home.

The two nights before we were to leave, I didn't sleep more than an hour or two each.  I had no idea why.  I couldn't tell my husband or children that I hadn't slept.  (You see, I had fallen asleep at the wheel 30 years previous to that along the same desolate, boring stretch of interstate that we would be traveling.  Fortunately, no one was hurt, I only rolled the car, and we were able to continue driving.  Well, I didn't, but my passenger did.)  Unfortunately, I still had to make a nearly 10 hour drive that day.  Perhaps it would be ok....

Forty-five minutes into the drive, I started getting tired.  I had my youngest daughter phone the other two girls who were in the other car and told them I needed to stop at the store for a little bit.  In all my years of late-night studying in college, I'd never taken any substance to keep me awake.  For the first time in my life, I did it.  I bought a bottle of caffeine pills and I took one.  

It kicked in pretty quickly.  I was alert and chipper and Lydia promptly fell asleep.  And I started thinking about what I should think about on this long drive--you know, what problems of the world I could solve in the next nine hours, stuff like that.  And immediately, the crystal-clear impression came:  "You need to start a blog on preparedness."  

"Oh, no.  No, no, no.  No."  My husband had wanted me to write on this topic for years, as a means of generating some income as I had done with another book about 20 years earlier.  I had no interest in putting my name out there and attracting any unwanted attention.  (And when it comes to myself, all attention is unwanted.)

Peace for about three minutes.  

"You need to write a blog."  (NO.  Go away.  I'm too busy.)

Peace for about two minutes.

"You need to write a blog."  

"No.  I do not want to do this.  But as it is a long drive, it will be an interesting exercise to think about it, how it should be arranged, and what topics to cover.  I'm only thinking about it.  I'm not going to do it."

Lydia slept just about the whole way and the drive flew by pretty quickly for me.  In our hotel room that evening, for some reason I jotted down and organized as much as I could remember.  The next morning, we got Becky moved into her apartment, met some of her roommates, and had a lovely tour of campus.  And then it was time for the younger girls and I to head back to Reno.  They promptly fell asleep, and I had another ten hours to think about blog topics that I wasn't going to write about.

Because I was not going to do this.

We returned home safely and again I was barely sleeping at all.  So after fighting it a couple of nights, I finally started getting up and writing.  And I was pretty unhappy about it.  Every day I would ask in my prayers, "Do I really have to do this?"  I got two weeks' worth of daily articles together, because I'm a person who likes to be prepared, and I wanted articles ready to go just in case I got sick, or something crazy came up at home, or whatever.  I knew I needed to have something every day, well, at least six days per week.  

I didn't start feeling some peace and being able to sleep a little better until I had 40 articles in the queue. But I still wasn't very happy about it.  Research and writing the articles was taking a long time, time away from my family, my garden, and exercise.  And so one morning, I chose to complain about that in my prayers.  "It's taking a lot of time, and it's hard, and besides, I'm not even getting paid for this!"  

"Oh, YES, you ARE!"

"Oh. Ok.  I'll shut up now."

When God speaks, it's best to listen.  I stopped complaining and my heart softened.  I started learning more than I could ever have imagined, stuff that we all need to know but that none of the other preparedness bloggers ever write about.  My family has been incredibly blessed.  When my husband was out of work for nearly a year (which began very shortly after I started this blog) we had savings and a very generous severance package to sustain us.  He found another position with a very solid company and we were able to move to a more beautiful area, far away from cities and ultra-conservative in values.  I think it is safe to say I've been paid.

Through all of the past 2+ years of writing this blog, I have often prayed to know when it would be time to stop.  Because I have other things to do.  I have to get a whole new yard producing food for us.  You know that's going to take time.  I have my first grandchild coming in three months.  I have to start exercising again.  I've gained 20 lbs since starting this blog, 20 lbs that I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have if I hadn't quit exercising in order to have the time to write.  

With all of the crazy events since the start of this year, I think the time is coming to cease blogging daily.  I don't know if it's because the internet is going to go away or become more heavily censored or regulated.  I'm still trying to listen and figure out exactly what I am to do.  There are still 50 articles in the queue, but honestly, a lot of them are there because I don't like them.  I keep kicking them down the road, not sure exactly what to do with them.  Because quite a few of the articles that I haven't liked have actually been some of the most widely read.  

I still have so much more to learn and to write down, for my children if for no one else.  But I think this might be the beginning of the end.  I feel like I've got to get other things going now.  I'm going to try not to get down on myself for not having a new article to post every day.  I might start posting re-runs during the week instead of just on Sundays.  I'm not going to worry about having strictly medical-type articles on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and food stuff on Fridays and Saturdays.  We get what we get.  I really want to get the herbal medicine information in book format and better documented.  

It just feels like time is getting short.  I hope I'm wrong, and I hope the feeling passes.