Weekly Assignments and Food Storage Idea (Week of September 25th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

Quote:

"The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah." President Ezra Taft Benson

"We will see the day when we live on what we produce." President Marion G. Romney

I will comment on these two quotes in a little later.

Temporal Assignments:

1. 72 Hour Individual Emergency Food Kit (Please add 3 of each item for each family member and place in the large zip lock plastic bag with the other food items you have purchased. One large zip lock plastic bag for each family member with their name on it. IMPORTANT: If you have any family members with food allergies, substitute any food items they are allergic too, also for the previous items.)

This week add the following:

1) Peanut Butter Crackers (usually come 6 crackers in each package and 6-9 individual packages in each package. I found them at Food 4 Less, Albertson and most grocery stores. Costco and Sam's Club also has them.) Water. IMPORTANT: If a family member is allergic to peanut butter, substitute with cheese crackers.

2) Water- 2 Liter bottle or large, just remember, they will have to carry it. You will need this water for drinking and to add to dry mixes in the 72 Hour Food Kit. This water is not for washing)

2. Temporal Assignment:

Regarding the quotes above, it is so important for us to learn how to and grow our own vegetables, even if it is just a small garden or a garden in planting pots. I truly believe there will come a time when we will need to grow our own vegetables and fruit, either due to the lack of them in the stores, or extremely high prices, possibly both. We should also buy and store extra seeds when they are available in the garden shops or through online companies for future use. They usually keep for about 4 years, rotate them as needed.

Being that we live in California, we are blessing with different growing seasons, spring, summer, fall and even winter gardens.

How is your summer vegetable garden doing? Have you harvested lots of good vegetables and fruit, and froze and/or canned the extra ones? With the cooler weather this year our garden did not do as well as last year, but still gave us plenty of extra vegetables to freeze and can. We still have tomatoes, zucchini, green onions, carrots and pumpkins growing, but they are close to the end of their growing season.

If you did not plant a summer vegetable garden, it is not too late to plant a fall/winter garden! I started some seeds, celery, broccoli and peas, in those container you get from the garden shop that flowers come in and some flower pots I was not using. Celery and broccoli seeds are too small to plant directly into the ground, bugs and ants carry them off or eat them, you have to germinate them in other containers and then transplant them when they are big enough. They usually germinate in about 10 days, celery seeds can take longer, and they have a longer growing time before harvest, about 4 months. Make sure to keep the seeds moist, water lightly each day, until you transplant them. Being sick all last week I was surprised how well they are are doing and how big the peas have gotten. In fact, I could probably leave them in the flower pots I planted them until they produce pea pods, but I will transplant them, along with the celery and broccoli ones. It is best to plant the seeds about every two weeks, that way you have a continuous growth of vegetables and that way they do not all have to be harvested all at once.

If you do not have a large enough place to have a garden in the ground, then consider growing them in large flower pots, my peas have proven that works well.

Google to see what other plants you can plant in our area, you will be amazed what you can still grow until the first frost, which in usually late December or January around here.

Spiritual Assignment:

We just received our Ensign in the mail today. I love the article about "Lehi's Dream" (page 32) and how clinging to the Iron Rod will help us temporally and spiritually when difficult times come our way. This will help us not only be temporally prepared, but spiritually too.

A quote from the article states, "Even with faith, commitment , and the word of God, the second group pressing forward along the strait and narrow path, clinging to the rod of iron, eventually was lost---perhaps because they only periodically read or studied or search the scriptures." I can testify to you of the importance of reading and studying our scriptures daily, if we do, we will have the knowledge, testimony and strength to get through the things to come.

This week, read the article "Lehi's Dream", reach the scriptures about his dream, and discuss as a family or with a friend, how holding onto the Iron Rod will help us both temporally and spiritually when times get tough and seem almost impossible.

Food Storage Ideas:

Salt and Fats and Oils--

Salt, fats and oils are an important part of our food storage.

Salt is one of the easiest food items to store. A years supply for one person is five pounds. Store it in its original container in a dry cool, dark location. It will keep indefinitely. Iodized salt is best as it will help in proper functioning of the thyroid gland. If you use sea salt, also store it.

Fats and Oil--Twenty pounds of fats and oils per person should be stored for one year (1 gallon equals 7 pounds). Most cooking oils and shortenings will store for two to three years if kept in a cool dark, dry location. Olive oil and corn oil are also very good storage oils and have a better flavor then soybean and safflower oils. Fats and oils may be stored int he following forms, cooking oil (vegetable oil), shortening, butter (fresh and dried), margarine or margarine powder, mayonnaise, salad oils and dressings, included mixes. (Magna Utah Center Stake Emergency Preparedness Plan, 1997)

Note: You can also freeze butter or margarine for up to a year. A good plan is, each time your buy butter or margarine, replace it with the frozen ones.

Remember: Post your name and comment at the end of this blog by 10am this Sunday (tomorrow), September 25th, to have your name entered into the FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing to be held tomorrow.