Food Storage, Emergency Preparedness and Weekly/Monthly Assignments (Week of September 28th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Torrance Stake Family, Family and Friends,

Prayer and Hymns . . .

Did You Think to Pray?

Ere you left your room this morning,

Did you think to pray?

In the name of Christ, our Savior,

Did you sue for loving favor

As a shield today?

When your heart was filled with anger,

Did you think to pray?

Did you plead for grace, my brother,

That you might forgive another

Who had crossed your way?

When sore trials came upon you,

Did you think to pray?

When your soul was full of sorrow,

Balm Of Gilead did you borrow

At the gates of day?

Chorus

Oh, how praying rest the weary!

Prayer will change the night to day.

So, when life gets dark and dreary,

Don't forget to pray.

(Hymnal of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, hymn #140)

As Mormon pioneers and other pioneers treked across the plains to the Great Salt Lake Valley in Utah and
the West they faced many hardships, trails, challenges, discouragements, loss of loved ones, and exhaustion. As they walked along their path they sang hymns, by their campfires at night they sang hymns and prayed for comfort and courage to complete their journey.



In my almost 65 years of life, prayer and hymns have brought me comfort, peace and understanding. When I lost loved ones and have faced trails it has been through prayer and hymns that I found peace. As I have watched natural disasters unfold throughout the world, I have noticed those that prayed and through their faith were able to handle their trails and challenges much better. Singing hymns can also bring comfort and peace to us.


When the 10 LDS sister missionaries in the Philippines where hit by the typhoon that hit their area they prayed. They were comforted and received inspiration as what they should do. There are countless personal stories of how prayer and singing hymns helped in times of trail and disaster.


72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpack Kit, The Stressor Kit: Besides a small pocket size copy of the Bible and/or Book of Mormon each of us should have a small pocket size copy of our church hymns in our Stressor Kit. If you have children you should have a small copy of the LDS Children's Song book. They will bring peace and comfort to us at a difficult time.


When faced in a disaster or trail, "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness (dedication, perseverance) in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope" (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 31: 20)  That  steadfastness and hope in Christ can come from prayer and singing the hymns.




Weekly Assignment: Emergency Family Medical Kit

The past few weeks we have been working on our Emergency Family Medical Kit. We are almost done with it. To go back to the beginning go to the week of June 1st. Follow through each week to see what items we have added and why it is important to have this kit as part of your emergency preparedness supplies.

This week add the following: 

1) Dihebdyramine (Benadryl): This is an antihistamine used for hives, allergic rhinitis, etc. Purchase as needed for your family, adult and/or children You can get this in pill or liquid forms.







2) Epi Pen: For sever allergic reactions (insects, food). Requires a prescription. Make sure you read the instructions before using it.                                                                                    

Last week for adding vegetables to our Food Storage

September Monthly Assignment . . . Food Storage

Vegetables . . .

This month we are adding vegetables to our food storage. Purchase vegetables each week or as you go grocery shopping. They can be commercially canned, home canning, dehydrated or even frozen. Only add the types of vegetables your family will eat. It has been proven, even in an emergency situation, people are hungry, especially children, they will not eat things they do not like. Do not waste your hard earned money by storing vegetables your family will not eat. As all canned foods, store them in a cool, dry, dark place. Store them in your cupboards, under beds, enclosed lamp and bedside tables, and in closets. The garage is too hot! Most commercially canned and home canning vegetables will last for about 2-3 years if stored properly. Dehydrated and freeze-dried vegetables will store for 20-30

years if stored properly. Frozen vegetables usually only last about a year. Rotate them every time you purchase more. As always, the key to any food storage is rotation!

This week do the following . . .

Continue to add commercially canned, commercially dehydrated and frozen vegetables to your food storage. See the previous September blog postings for September 7th, 14th and the 21st for more information.


Emergency Preparedness Ideas

Documents and Keys

 
The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services - Emergency Disaster Services Section has created a great 25 page booklet titled "Get Ready Stay Ready, Personal Preparedness Challenge 2014". They suggest the following . . .

"Make copies of all the suggested important documents and store with your Disaster Kit. It is also a great idea to make an extra set to give to a friend or family member outside of your home and immediate city. Extra sets of keys and some cash are also highly recommended. Without electricity, ATM's will not dispense cash."

Item: 
Personal Identification
Cash and coins
Credit cards
Cell phone
Extra set of house keys and car keys

Copies of the following:
Birth Certificate
Marriage Certificate
Driver's License
Social Security cards
Passports
Wills
Deeds
Inventory of household goods (including picture of your home including all rooms, new editions and valuable items)
Insurance papers (medical, homeowner's, auto, etc.)
Immunization records
Bank and credit card account numbers
Stocks and bonds
Emergency contact list and phone numbers
Map of the area
Proof of Address (copy of utility bill)
Legal custody, visitation, guardianship or adoption papers

Emergency Family Notebook

Our daughter has set up an Emergency Family Notebook she can grab quickly if they had to evacuate with all these important documents. She has a section for each family member with their personal information like their birth certificate, passport, Social Security card, immunization records, medical card, and a current photo. The other documents above are also in the notebook filed in their sections. You can also download important information and family photos on your computer on flash drives and put them in the notebook. When in a hurry it is difficult to remember were you have everything. This way you can grab the notebook and leave.




Comments: Please leave a comment below. Your comments, experiences and ideas are most welcome. We all learn from each other. Thank you. 

How to leave a comment:

Some have expressed they do not know how to leave a comment. Here is what you do. 

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Food Storage, Emergency Preparedness and Weekly/Monthly Assignment (Week of September 21st)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Torrance Stake Family, Family and Friends,

Making self-reliance a natural 

                                part of your life . . .

"Our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth, with all its abundance, for our benefit and use. His purpose is to provide for our needs as we walk in faith and obedience. He has lovingly commanded us to 'prepare every needful thing' (Doctrine and Covenants 109:8) so that , should adversity come, we may care for ourselves and our neighbors and support Bishops as they care for others." ("All Is Safely Gathered In, Family Home Storage", The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

As members of our church, other churches, in our local communities and federal government we are encouraged to prepare for adversity in life by having a food storage (3-Monthly Supply and Basic Supply), water, emergency supplies and money in savings.

We need to be wise and not go into debt while building our food storage, water and emergency supplies. With careful planning, we can, over time, establish a food storage supply and a financial reserve. It has taken us 43 years to get to where we are today, and we still have a ways to go.

In some places you many not have the financial resources or space. Some countries it is prohibited by law from storing large amounts of food. Store as much as your circumstances allow. 

Here are some suggestions to help you . . . 

1) Little by little, month by month we can build our food storage and emergency supplies. Each time you go grocery shopping add a few extra cans or packaged items for your food storage. Store only what your family will eat! Remember to rotate our food storage as need, do not waste food or money by letting them expire. First work on getting a 3-Month supply of food, water and then work on the basic food storage (long term; wheat, honey, oats, beans, rice,powdered milk, sugar, dehydrated vegetables, fruits and meats, etc.).

 
2) Have emergency equipment. Have a least one way to cook if you cannot use your conventional stove,
have one source of emergency light, a way to heat, shelter and a way to take care of your sanitation needs. This blog on the right side under "Postings" and weekly postings will give lots of ideas and resources. 

3) Each week take just a couple of dollars from your pay check and put it in your emergency saving jar or a special savings account in the bank marked emergency preparedness. Set priorities. Ask yourself it you really need that new pair of shoes, that new outfit or sports equipment. Can you go with drinks when you go out to eat. Take that money you would have spent and add it to your emergency savings account. Before you know it you will have hundreds of dollars saved. Use that money to purchase food storage, emergency supplies and equipment. Continue to save until you have a least one months salary. 

4) Be creative in your storage space. Clear out things you no longer use. Rearrange cupboards, closets and pantries to allow for your food storage. A great place is under the beds as shown in the picture. After 43 years of storing things we did this. I was amazed at how much extra storage we found. Clean out the garage of unwanted unused things and organize your garage. Organize all your emergency equipment together. When purchasing lamp or side tables, purchase ones with enclosed storage space below. Check out websites showing creative ways to store food storage.

You can do it, a little at a time! Make a plan and make it work! With a plan and a goal you will be successful! 

Weekly Assignment: Family Emergency Medical Kits

 

Many of us have some sort of medical supplies in our homes like band-aids, alcohol, peroxide, anti-infection creams, pain killers, etc.. Some of us have limited first-aid kits in our cars and home that we probably have not checked in months, years. Medications do expire!

If there was a major disaster or emergency situation would you have the proper emergency medical supplies to take care of you, your family and help your neighbors. I would say most of us do not! Right?

Some of these items can be found at discount stores and drug stores. Make sure you check the expiration dates before purchasing them, you want them to last for at least a year or more.

Note: Make sure you keep this out of the reach of your young children and explain to the family is your Family Emergency Medical Kit/Supplies. If you need to use an items from it, make sure you replace it right away!

This week add the following:

 

 1) Cold and cough medications (adult and children)

 

2) Contact lens wearers--extra pair and solution    

September Monthly Assignment . . . Food Storage

Vegetables . . .

This month we are adding vegetables to our food storage. Purchase vegetables each week or as you go grocery shopping. They can be commercially canned, home canning, dehydrated or even frozen. Only add the types of vegetables your family will eat. It has been proven, even in an emergency situation, people are hungry, especially children, they will not eat things they do not like. Do not waste your hard earned money by storing vegetables your family will not eat. As all canned foods, store them in a cool, dry, dark place. Store them in your cupboards, under beds, enclosed lamp and bedside tables, and in closets. The garage is too hot! Most commercially canned and home canning vegetables will last for about 2-3 years if stored properly. Dehydrated and freeze-dried vegetables will store for 20-30 years if stored properly. Frozen vegetables usually only last about a year. Rotate them every time you purchase more. As always, the key to any food storage is rotation!

This week do the following . . .

Continue to add commercially canned, commercially dehydrated and frozen vegetables to your food storage. See the previous September blog postings for September 7th and 14th for more information.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas

Being prepared can take many turns as shown in my two examples below . . .

What to do if your passport gets stolen while traveling . . .

Recently we had a friend who was traveling in Europe. He thought he had his passport in a safe place, tucked in the front pocket of his jeans with a shirt over it. Surely he would know if someone was trying to steal it. Yep, it was stolen with out him even knowing it. Professional pick pocketers are good! This is what he did to get another passport so he could get home.

 

1) First he did the right thing. He knew ahead of time to make a copy of his passport and keep it in another place like his luggage before leaving from home. May be also in a carry on bag too just in case your luggage is lots while traveling.

2) File a police report right away.

3) He went on line and printed out the needed forms.

4) He went to his US Embassy for help.

5) He learned to make sure to keep his passport in a very secure place on him, not in a pocket.

If you were to pass away, would your family know your wishes?

None of us like to think about things like this, but is a part of being prepared. How many times have you had a loved one pass away not known their wishes or how to handle their things and funeral. May be they have already made funeral arrangement with a cemetery. May be they want to be cremated instead of being buried. May be they only want a grave side service or may be they want a service at their church. May be they want a certain type of service with their favorite hymns sung. May be they want a certain person to do the eulogy. If they have no family around, who would you as a friend contact. 

A friend's mother passed away a few weeks ago and her mother had everything planned out. She
had already purchased her burial plot many years ago and had made all the arrangements. Everything was spelled out for the family. When my mother-in-law passed away she had nothing planned. It was a very stressful time for our family. We hoped that her wishes had been meet.

Dealing with my husband's parents passing and my parents passing I learned a lot from these experiences. I put together a folder for our children with all the needed information, like our funeral wishes, social security information, bank information, insurance information and other valuable things they will need to know to make it easier for them at a very difficult time. 

We need to communicate with family members regarding their wishes on their passing. Friends need to know who to contact if no family is near by. It is an important part of being prepared.

We need to be prepared in all aspects of life!

Comments: Please share your comments and experiences below. We all learn from each other. They are gratefully appreciated. 

Food Storage, Emergency Preparedness and Weekly/Monthly Assignment (Week of September 14th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Torrance Stake Family, Family and Friends,

Thank you so much to all those your participated and helped out with our Carson Ward Emergency Preparedness Fair last Saturday, September 6th. It was a great success because of all of you who worked so hard and provided your fantastic booths. A special thank you to Emily Brown (Torrance California Stake USA) who taught how to grid wheat and make homemade wheat bread, to Teri Shimohara (Torrance California Stake USA) and Irene Varela (Long Beach California Stake USA) who taught how to cook with wheat, to Brother Sheriff Don Manumaleuna (Torrance California Stake USA) teaching the children the importance of safety and to Richard King (Huntington Beach California Stake USA)  who came and did our booth on Water Storage and Filtration. It would have not been the success it was without all of you and your dedication. Here are some photos from the Fair. Below in Emergency Preparedness Idea I have posted the websites and videos mentioned in the different presentations.

Our Pancake Breakfast prepared by the Carson Ward and Lomita Ward Bishoprics and their wives.

Emily Brown teaching how to grind wheat and make homemade wheat bread.

Richard King demonstrating Water Filtration and Water Storage.

Elders Quorum President Jeramie Alba demonstrating different ways to cook.

High Priest showing different ways to have heat. See the videos below.

High Priest showing different ways to have light and electricity with a solar generator and a gas generator. 

Our Young Men and Boys Scouts showing different  ways to build shelter and how to handle sanitation.

Food storage demonstrations and displays.

Young Women fingerprinting and emergency ID cards for the children.

A couple of our full time missionaries explaining how important it is to be spiritually prepared too and things about our church--The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Our Ward Sunday School President Omar Ramil showing displays of 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpacks or Bug-out-bags, the Emergency Family Bag and the Emergency Cleaning Bucket.

     

We had a Carson California USA Sheriff come talk to our children about safety and they watched a video on fire safety. We greatly appreciated Sheriff Don Manumaleuna taking time to come to talk to them and our Primary Presidency for their great job with this booth. 

We had our Ward nurses teaching us emergency first-aid skills and displayed the Emergency Family Medical Kit.

Weekly Assignment: Family Emergency Medical Kits

 

Many of us have some sort of medical supplies in our homes like band-aids, alcohol, peroxide, anti-infection creams, pain killers, etc.. Some of us have limited first-aid kits in our cars and home that we probably have not checked in months, years. Medications do expire!

If there was a major disaster or emergency situation would you have the proper emergency medical supplies to take care of you, your family and help your neighbors. I would say most of us do not! Right?

Some of these items can be found at discount stores and drug stores. Make sure you check the expiration dates before purchasing them, you want them to last for at least a year or more.

Note: Make sure you keep this out of the reach of your young children and explain to the family is your Family Emergency Medical Kit/Supplies. If you need to use an items from it, make sure you replace it right away!

This week add the following:

1) Antacids 


    2) Stool softener

    3) Anti-fungal ointment/cream

September Monthly Assignment . . . Food Storage

For the next several months we are going to work on Food Storage. Each month we will work on one aspect of food storage, canned vegetables, fruits, soups, packages items like pastas, pancake mixes, etc., and many other items. Hopefully, with this process you will discover how easy it is to set up and add to your food storage.  

Vegetables: This month we are going to add vegetables to our food storage. Purchase vegetables each week or as you go grocery shopping. They can be commercially canned, home canning, dehydrated or even frozen. Only add the types of vegetables your family will eat. It has been proven, even in an emergency situation, people are hungry, especially children, they will not eat things they do not like. Do not waste your hard earned money by storing vegetables your family will not eat. As all canned foods, store them in a cool, dry, dark place. Store them in your cupboards, under beds, enclosed lamp and bedside tables, and in closets. The garage is too hot! Most commercially canned and home canning vegetables will last for about 2-3 years if stored properly. Dehydrated and freeze-dried vegetables will store for 20-30 years if stored properly. Frozen vegetables usually only last about a year. Rotate them every time you purchase more. As always, the key to any food storage is rotation!

Monthly Assignment: Decide what vegetables you will store and how much you will need for your food storage goal, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, a year. Continue each week to add what vegetables your family will eat as you go grocery shopping.

Ways to purchase vegetables: When you go grocery shopping add a few extra commercial cans of vegetables, frozen too. Watch for sales so you can purchase even more. Watch for sales for dehydrated and freeze-dried vegetables. store.lds.org (limited), emergencyessenials.com  and honeyville.com have great prices on vegetables. Honeyville also has a stores in Salt Lake City and Brigham City, Utah USA, Chandler, Arizona USA and Rancho Cucamonga, California USA. You can also go to a LDS Home Storage Center in your area. Click on the order form for prices on the right. You can order them online too.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas

Please check out the websites and videos from our Emergency Preparedness Fair regarding things that were shared.

1) How to build a solar cooker:

Supplies you will need:

1) Recycled satellite dish antenna
2) 6" x 12" x  3/4" plywood or plank
3) 2" wood dowel 8-12 inches long
4) Aluminum foil
5) Elmer's craft glue

Procedure: Remove the sensors arm from the antenna, wipe the dish clean, spread glue with a brush evenly and apply the aluminum foil evenly avoiding wrinkles as mush as possible. Screw the wood dowel to the center of the plank and attach it to the antenna via antenna base clamp. To learn how to use it properly, view the video below.




 2) How to build a flower pot heater

Supplies:

1) 6 inch clay pot
2) 4 inch clay pot
3) 6 inch clay saucer
4) 24 inch 3/8-16 threaded rod
5) 8-12, 3/8-16 hex nuts
6) 8-12, 3/8 flat washers
7) 10 inch utility wire
8) candles

Assembly: View the video below.



3) Paper Brickett 

Supplies:

1) scrap paper (newspaper, store adds, flyers, junk mail, etc.)
2) Recycled 5 gallon paint bucket with water
3) Deep pasta strainer (optional)
4) Recycled can (to be used as a press or as shown in the video)

Instructions: Watch the video below. 




 




2) Cooking with wheat: A great book that was displayed at the Cooking with Wheat booth. I found it listed at different companies online for a variety of prices. Walmart--$11.97, Amazon.com--$13.71, Barnes and Noble--$13.64, Target--$15.25 and Deseret Books--$17.95. I love this cook
book, has many recipes and how to cook with your long term food storage.





3) emergencyessentials.com: One of my favorite websites. Great prices, products, low shipping cost and great ideas on their blog under education.

Next week I will share some more ideas from the Emergency Preparedness Fair. 

Comments: Please share your comments, ideas and experiences below. We all learn from each other.

Food Storage, Emergency Preparedness & Weekly/Monthly Assignments (Week of September 7th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Torrance Stake Family, Family and Friends,

September--National Emergency Preparedness Month

Being prepared is not just about Food Storage and 72 Hour Emergency Preparedness Backpacks . . .

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; . . ." (Doctrine and Covenants, 88:119)

It is about being spiritually, emotional, physically, and temporally prepared, having our homes in order, our lives in order, our family in order, being able to take care of our own family when a disaster hits, or a pandemic, loss of income, major health issues, civil unrest, needing to evacuation immediately, and how to survive in a disaster.

It does not happen over night . . .

Many people approach me saying they feel overwhelmed when it comes to getting their food and water storage, their 72 Hour Emergency Preparedness Backpacks for each family member and their emergency supplies together. They say they do not have the money, time nor space. You do not have to do it all at once!

When we had our young family of 6 children, one income, a mortgage to pay and other bills money was tight. But some how we were able to collect enough canned and packaged foods for 6 months by adding a little extra each time we went grocery shopping. When my husband was in a serious car accident while working we were able to use our food storage for the 3 months he was out of work. It helped us with the minimum income from his disability check he was getting to be able to pay our bills. We never had to ask for help with our groceries. What a blessing it was that we had made it a point to add just a few extra cans and packages of food over the years. Even when a hurricane type storm hit Southern California USA in the early 80's and we lost our electricity for a week, and could not go outside due to down power lines and flooding in some areas, we were able to provide for our family, even with an electric stove not working. We even managed to make pop corn with our emergency candles, a nightly tradition in our household. We were not going to let a storm stop us from having our pop corn. We all slept in the front room together, the younger ones were a little afraid, we played games, told stories, read books and sang songs by candle light and lanterns.

Over the years we were able to add dehydrated and freeze-dried foods. Even some emergency equipment, a way to cook, have light, heat, shelter and sanitation in an emergency. It has taken us 43 years to get to where we are, and we still have a few things I would like to add to our food storage and emergency supplies. Food and water storage is an on going process due to we are also rotating our food and water.

So the bottom line is, never give up. It takes time to gather together enough food for your family. Be patient and add just a few extra cans and packages of food each time you go grocery shopping. First work on a goal of a 3-months supply of food and emergency supplies. When you can add the long term food storage like dehydrated and freeze-dried foods, wheat, etc.. Before you purchase an item you want but do not need, evaluate it and decide if you really need it and that you could use that money to purchase food and emergency supplies. Set your priorities.

You can do it!

Weekly Assignment: Family Emergency Medical Kits

 

Many of us have some sort of medical supplies in our homes like band-aids, alcohol, peroxide, anti-infection creams, pain killers, etc.. Some of us have limited first-aid kits in our cars and home that we probably have not checked in months, years. Medications do expire!

If there was a major disaster or emergency situation would you have the proper emergency medical supplies to take care of you, your family and help your neighbors. I would say most of us do not! Right?

The next few weeks we are going to work on our Family Emergency Medical Kit. We have done this before but I am sure there are some of you who did not do it, never completed it and some things need to be replaced due to expiration dates.  Some of these items can be found at discount stores and drug stores. Make sure you check the expiration dates before purchasing them, you want them to last for at least a year or more.

Note: Make sure you keep this out of the reach of your young children and explain to the family is your Family Emergency Medical Kit/Supplies. If you need to use an items from it, make sure you replace it right away!

This week add the following:

 

1) Instant ice packs (2-3)   

2) Instant hot packs (2-3)

September Monthly Assignment . . . Food Storage . . . Vegetables

For the next several months we are going to work on Food Storage. Each month we will work on one aspect of food storage, canned vegetables, fruits, soups, packages items like pastas, pancake mixes, etc., and many other items. Hopefully, with this process you will discover how easy it is to set up and add to your food storage.  

Weekly Assignment--Vegetables: This month we are going to add vegetables to our food storage. Purchase vegetables each week or as you go grocery shopping. They can be commercially canned, home canning, dehydrated or even frozen. Only add the types of vegetables your family will eat. It has been proven, even in an emergency situation, people are hungry, especially children, they will not eat things they do not like. Do not waste your hard earned money by storing vegetables your family will not eat. As all canned foods, store them in a cool, dry, dark place. Store them in your cupboards, under beds, enclosed lamp and bedside tables, and in closets. The garage is too hot! Most commercially canned and home canning vegetables will last for about 2-3 years if stored properly. Dehydrated and freeze-dried vegetables will store for 20-30 years if stored properly. Frozen vegetables usually only last about a year. Rotate them every time you purchase more. As always, the key to any food storage is rotation!

Decide what vegetables you will store and how much you will need for your food storage goal, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, a year. 

Ways to purchase vegetables: When you go grocery shopping add a few extra commercial cans of vegetables, frozen too. Watch for sales so you can purchase even more. Watch for sales for dehydrated and freeze-dried vegetables. store.lds.org (limited), emergencyessenials.com  and honeyville.com have great prices on vegetables. Honeyville also has a stores in Salt Lake City and Brigham City, Utah USA, Chandler, Arizona USA and Rancho Cucamonga, California USA. You can also go to a LDS Home Storage Center in your area. Click on the order form for prices on the right. You can order them online too.

Emergency Preparedness Idea

Each of us should have one way to cook, heat, lighting, shelter, sanitation in a disaster or emergency situation. Plus the fuel for the type of cooking equipment you have. Check out the this blog under "Postings" for information on these subjects. The better prepared you are the more at peace you will be! 

 

Great Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

2 packages of regular active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
3 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups very warm water (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F)
4 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
2 3/4 to 3 3/4 cups of all purpose flour

In a bowl dissolve the yeast in the 1/4 cup warm water. I add about a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to the mix, helps the yeast rise better. I also cover it while it is rising. Let sit for about 5 minutes.

Add honey, butter, salt and 2 1/2 cups very warm water and 3 cups of the whole wheat flour in a large mixing bowl. Mix until all incorporated. Add the yeast mixture. Mix in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour.

Mix in the 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 cups of the all-purpose flour until mixed well.

On a lightly floured surface, knead in remaining 1/2 to 1 cup all-purposed flour, continue to knead 5-10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy.

Grease large bowl with shortening or cooking spray. place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover, let rise in warm place 30-45 minutes or until double in size.

Generously grease 2 )8x4 o r9x5 inch) loaf pans with shortening or cooking spray. Gently push fist into dough to deflate, divide in half. Shape dough into loaves, place in pans. Cover, let rise in warm place 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Uncover dough, bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, bake 10-15 minutes longer or until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

I found they were done in 30 minutes at the 375 degrees. Will need to check. Depends on your over.

Comments: Your comments, ideas and experiences are most welcome. Please leave a comment below. We all learn from each other.