History Of Food: The Root Cellar

 

Welcome! I love history! Through history, we are better able to understand ourselves, where we have been, and where we are going.

Each week, I am going to share a bit with you about the history of food storage!

Lucky for us, food storage is the easiest and healthiest it has ever been! Start your home store today and you will always have fresh yummy food on hand for you and your family!

The Root Cellar

Root  Cellars are an ancient form of long-term food storage of foods and veggies and fermented beverages.

Early records show Root Cellars in use 40,000 years ago.

Native Australians were among the first to take advantage of the insulated properties of burying food.

Walk in food storage cellars were invented in the 17th century in England. This was the first appearance of the root cellar as we know it.

According to Hobby Farm, “the most notable practitioners of root-cellar arts were the early colonists that arrived in North America from the United Kingdom. The eastern halves of America and Canada contain thousands of old root cellars, and the small Newfoundland town of Elliston actually claims the title of “Root Cellar Capital of the World,” and boasts of over 135 root cellars, some dating back 200 years.”

How Does it Work:

Root Cellars were essentially the first refrigerators. The under ground storage provided a dark cool environment to store produce and slow or prevent spoilage. A good root cellar can often be 40F cooler than the outside temperature.

You can store just about anything in your root cellar! Some preparations and precautions are needed for some items and to prevent some produce from causing a bitter taste to others. One cellar may be used for items needing a high humidity, and a lower humidity cellar for other goods requiring a lower humidity such as canned foods, and grains.

According to Wikipedia, “Vegetables stored in the root cellar primarily consist of potatoes, turnips, and carrots. Other food supplies placed in the root cellar over the winter months include beets, onions, preserves/jams, salt meat, salt turbot, salt herring, Winter squash, and cabbage.Separate cellars are occasionally used for storing fruits, such as apples. Water, bread, butter, milk, and cream are sometimes stored in the root cellar also. In addition, items such as salad greens, fresh meat, and jam pies are kept in the root cellar early in the day to keep cool until they are needed for supper.”

Want to learn more or build your own root cellar?

Check out this great article or this one at Hobby Farm Magazine.

Start your own Chapter in Food Storage History today!

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Sweet and Sour Pork or Chicken

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our FD Pineapple!  When I saw Tiffany's recipe for Sweet and Sour Pork or Chicken, I knew I had to share it!

If you haven't already tried FD Pineapple, it will rock your world.  THRIVE outdid themselves as they went to 16 different companies before they chose this company for the finger licking, tongue tingling fruit. 

If you'd like a sample of this delectable fruit, email me at thrivingtexasmama@gmail.com for more information.

The following recipe is adapted from the Betty Crocker Bridal Edition Cookbook.

Ingredients:

Getting Started:

1 1/2 c FD Pineapple

4 c water

8 cups cooked rice

1 1/2 lb boneless pork (or chicken)

Vegetable Oil

Batter:

1/2 c flour

1/4 c cornstarch

2/3 c cold water

1/2 t salt

1 1/2 T THRIVE egg powder

Skillet Mix:

3/4 c THRIVE Carrots

1/2 c THRIVE Mixed Bell Peppers

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c white vinegar

1/2 t salt

2 t soy sauce

1/2 t minced garlic

2 t cornstarch

1. Combine pineapple and 4 c water in a bowl and allow to soak in the fridge.  Begin cooking your rice.  Click here if you need a rice recipe and just double what it calls for.

 

2. Remove excess fat from pork or chicken and cut into 3/4 in cubes.  Heat deep fryer or dish to 360 degrees.  Note: I don't fry things very often so I just filled a skillet with about 1 in vegetable oil to cook the pork.

 

3. Combine all of the batter ingredients into a medium mixing bowl and whisk quickly until mixture becomes smooth.  Add pork pieces to batter and toss around until each piece is well coated.

 

4. Add pork pieces one at a time to frying oil leaving a little space in between each one so they will not stick together and so they will be easy to turn.  Cook them 5-6 minutes long turning each piece 2-3 times until golden in color.  Drain on paper towels and keep warm.

 

5.  Get 2 1/2 c water from bowl of pineapple (add water to equal 2 1/2 c if there isn't enough) and put this, brown sugar, vinegar, 1/2 t salt, soy sauce, THRIVE carrots, THRIVE Mixed Bell Peppers, and garlic into pan and bring to a boil.  Let it cook for 6-7 minutes.

 

6.  In pineapple bowl, add 2 T cornstarch (2 T water if there isn't any water remaining and the pineapple soaked it all up).  Mix well, then add cooked pork.  Mix again.

 

7. Add contents of the bowl into the pan with the rest of the cooked ingredients and allow to boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Serve with one cup of cooked rice.

If you are lucky to end up with pineapple powder at the bottom of your can and aren't quite sure what to do with the powder, you can visit here for more ideas.  To purchase pineapple or see any of your other favorite THRIVE products, you can go to ThrivingTexasMama.com.

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Made In America

 

In today’s age of ‘out sourcing’, almost every product we buy has ‘made in china’ or a similar country attached. When we pick up our phone to make a customer service call, our calls are often transferred over seas. In this day and age ‘made in America’ has become something rather rare.

According to the ABC News, if every American bought $3.33 worth of American made goods every week we could create 10,000 jobs.

In many areas of the country, we know just how bad those jobs are needed. It’s basic economics. Spend money on goods made in your area, this creates jobs in your area, and stimulates the economy and helps it grow in your area.

We love our country! We have the best country in the world! So, lets show out support for our country! If spending just $3.33 on American Goods creates 10,000 jobs imagine what $9.99 would do!

We have strong work ethic standards in this country. When we buy American made goods, we know the workers received fair wages and fair conditions. When we buy American goods we know the goods meet health and other standards and regulations we have in this country to ensure quality.

So, take some time. Turn over the products on the shelf. Look for Made in The USA.

Many companies are opening, building, or reestablishing factories here in the USA. So, you will be seeing more made in the USA!

Love Chocolate? Mars Chocolate announced it’s building its first new chocolate factory in the U.S. in 35 years!

Another great way to ensure you are getting American Made goods, Shop With Shelf Reliance & Thrive.

Shelf Reliance is an American Based Business. Your personal consultant in someone you know and trust. By shopping with Shelf Reliance, you are stimulating your local economy, buying US goods, and buying delicious high quality foods.

So hop on over to My Online Store and spend your $3.33 toward the cause!

Made In America. Buy with pride in your country & your community.

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Repurposing Your Empty Cans

 Looking for something to do with all those #10 and Pantry Size cans!  Here are a few ideas.

Kaboose.com has a great recipe for

Coffee Can Ice Cream

photo from http://affectionfordetail.blogspot.com

From rd.com
from Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things


Separate hamburgers Before you put those hamburger patties in the freezer, stack them with a coffee-can lid between each and put them in a plastic bag. Now, when the patties are frozen you’ll be able to easily peel off as many as you need.


Hold kitchen scraps Line a coffee can with a small plastic bag and keep it near the sink to hold kitchen scraps and peelings. Instead of walking back and forth to the garbage can, you’ll make one trip to dump all the scraps at the same time.


Make a bank To make a bank for the kids or a collection can for a favorite charity, use a utility knife to cut a 1/8-inch (3-millimeter) slit in the center of the plastic lid of a coffee can. Tape decorative paper or adhesive plastic to the sides of the kids’ bank; for a collection can, use the sides of the can to highlight the charity you are helping.


Keep the laundry room neat Have an empty coffee can nearby as you’re going through the kids’ pockets before putting up a load of wash. Use it to deposit gum and candy wrappers, paper scraps, and other assorted items that kids like to stuff into their pockets. Keep another can handy for coins and bills.


Make a dehumidifier If your basement is too damp, try this easy-to-make dehumidifier. Fill an empty coffee can with salt and leave it in a corner where it will be undisturbed. Replace the salt at monthly intervals or as needed.


Keep carpets dry Place plastic coffee-can lids under houseplants as saucers. They will protect carpets or wood floors and catch any excess water.


Keep toilet paper dry when camping Bring a few empty coffee cans with you on your next camping trip. Use them to keep toilet paper dry in rainy weather or when you’re carrying supplies in a canoe or boat.


Gauge rainfall or sprinkler coverage Find out if your garden is getting enough water from the rain. Next time it starts to rain, place empty coffee cans in several places around the garden. When the rain stops, measure the depth of the water in the cans. If they measure at least an inch, there’s no need for additional watering. This is also a good way to test if your sprinkler is getting sufficient water to the areas it is supposed to cover.


Make a spot lawn seeder When it’s time to reseed bare spots on your lawn, don’t use a regular spreader. It wastes seed by throwing it everywhere. For precision seeding, fashion a spot seeder from an empty coffee can and a pair of plastic lids. Drill small holes in the bottom of the can, just big enough to let grass seeds pass through. Put one lid over the bottom of the can, fill the can with seeds, and cap it with the other lid. When you’re ready to spread the seeds, take off the bottom lid. When you’re finished, replace it to seal in any unused seed for safe storage.


Eliminate workshop clutter You want small items like screws, nuts, and nails to be handy, but you don’t want them to take up workbench space. Here’s a way to get the small stuff up out of the way. Drill a hole near the top of empty coffee cans so you can hang them on nails in your workshop wall. Label the cans with masking tape so you will know what’s inside.


Soak a paintbrush An empty coffee can is perfect for briefly soaking a paintbrush in thinner before continuing a job the next day. Cut an X into the lid and insert the brush handles so the bristles clear the bottom of the can by about 1/2 inch (12 millimeters). If the can has no lid, attach a stick to the brush handle with a rubber band to keep the bristles off the bottom of the can.


Catch paint drips Turn the plastic lids from old coffee cans into drip catchers under paint cans and under furniture legs when you’re painting. Protect cupboard shelves by putting them under jars of cooking oil and syrup too.

Gift Wrap
Cover the outside of a coffee can with wrapping paper or a bright coat of spray paint. Then, drop your gift inside; pop the lid on; and you're done. It's a great option for both edible and non-edible gifts.

A Toad House
Tired of finding bugs munching on your plants? Toads are great pest control. Invite one to your yard by creating a toad house out of an old coffee can. 

Lanterns
Collect a bunch of coffee cans, and use them to make lanterns for your backyard. They're great for parties, but sturdy enough to hold up to daily use.

 E-How.com has several great ideas!  These ideas use the plastic coffee cans, but could be done with the #10.

Pencil Holder  Look at this from SpottedCanary.com.  I have a ton of scrapbook stuff I could use for this!  

.

These are actually paint cans, but could be easily adapted for the #10 cans!  Use different scrapbook papers to make a can for your dog treats, or use some festive paper and use it as a gift can!  The possibilities are endless!

Have pictures of what you have done?  Share them with us on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thrivingtexasmama
 
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4th of July Sale!!

Welcome to one of the BIGGEST sales of the year!! The ‘Let Freedom Thrive’ Shelf Reliance 4th of July Sale! Hurry this sale will only continue until July 5th!!

There are 2 ways to save! You can order online and get great saving like these, OR you can contact me directly and get PARTY PRICING!! (If you are a QClub Member, you will automatically get Party Pricing)

So, go online and order, or contact me today and I will send you the Party Pricing only deals!

Hurry Sale Ends July 5th!

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Our Daily Starch?!?!

 Bread. For many generations, bread has been an essential to life for man kind. It was *the* stable of every culture. Bread was healthy. Bread was life sustaining. But now, it seems, bread just makes you fat.

Most likely you can peek at the label of one of your favorite treats and you will see 'enriched wheat flour' as a main ingredient. But what IS enriched wheat flour?

Enriched wheat flour is flour that has been bleached and striped of all nutrients until it forms a nutrition-less starch. Enriching is necessary because the processing used to make white flour destroys most of the nutrients that originally were present in the whole grain. 

Interestingly, One of the key nutrients added back to white flour is iron, however it is not iron in a usable form, but yet a metallic form our bodies cant process.

White flour is essentially nothing more than a starch, and the body processes it does other starches and sugars. White flour is really nothing more than a refined carbohydrate. It is a great contrast to its Whole Wheat counterpart which is processed by the body in a completely different way. 

Whole Wheat flour is absorbed by the body as a grain. It is used for energy and processed slowly by your body.

Enriched Flour is basically a healthy grain striped down to a starch and 'enriched' with some of the vitamins and minerals removed in the processing. 

 This enriching and bleaching process is esentially why bread is now 'bad'. This bleaching process took a nutrutuous food which sustained life of all kinds and turned it into a literal killer. This 'Daily Starch' sends out bodies through a roller coaster of sugar highs and lows and leads to diabeties, obesidy, heart disease and a whole host of other health problems.

Our daily bread had been turned into our daily starch!!

But, the good news is, flour is NOT bad! Whole Wheat and sprouted flours are an important part of a healthy diet. With Shelf Reliance your can store whole kernels of wheat and grind it to make your own healthy flour!!  

Chose Whole Wheat when ever possible... And think of white flour not as a grain, but as the starch/sugar it is once processed by your body.

Reclaim your daily bread!

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