Gourmet Anasazi Beans

Beautiful Beans with Great Taste

During the mid 1980's my grandmother introduced me to Anasazi Beans.  She had received a small amount of beans from a local museum just after the bean had gone into commercial production and she was able to begin cultivating her own beans in great supply a few years later.  I found the beans very intriguing because of their nice coloring versus the plain old pinto beans that she had traditionally grown. 

As the name suggests, these beans were cultivated by the Anasazi (Pueblo) Indians of the Four Corners area.  It is hard to pin down the exact history of how the bean was introduced into the commercial market, but apparently a small amount of beans were found in a sealed clay pot following an archaeological dig back in the 1950's.  Even though it defies the general seed viability laws, a portion of the beans were germinated after tests concluded that these seeds were 1,500 years old.  Commercial and private growers then helped with the production of the seeds and there is now a thriving market for Anasazi Beans.

Anasazi Beans are a wonderful alternative to Pinto Beans, Navy Beans and Great Northern Beans.  Like all beans, these beans are high in fiber and protein.  Anasazi Beans are also a good source of calcium and iron.  What is great is that Anasazi Beans contain significantly less gas producing carbohydrates than Pinto Beans, thus resulting in a generally milder gastro-intestinal experience!  Plus, the beans take less time to cook than Pinto Beans.

Here is a great way to cook them:

Soak 2 Cups of Anasazi Beans overnight and then drain.  Rinse and drain again.  In general, soaking beans help to soften them for cooking, reduce indigestible oligosaccharides (sugars), begin the germination process for improved nutrition, lower the gas producing carbohydrates and provide a cleansing rinse.

Pour beans into a large pot and add 6 Cups water.

Add 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

Add 1 teaspoon of Real Salt

Optional - Add a chopped onion or 1/2 Cup of rehydrated onions from your food storage.

Optional - Add a clove of garlic or 1 teaspon granulated garlic

Optional - Add a whole chili pepper (my favorite is the Serrano) and remove before serving

Bring the mixture to a boil and then allow to simmer for 1 hour with the lid slightly vented.  If the beans are still hard continue cooking until soft.  Serve in a bowl with a side plate of warm tortillas or bread!

Troy's Buttery Food Storage biscuits

Easy to Make Biscuits from Your Food Storage

These are my favorite biscuits in the world.  My mother used to make them when I was growing up and my wife resurrected the recipe for me and started making them.  The recipe is basically just a baking powder biscuit recipe.  We will give you an idea of how to make them with your food storage.  These biscuits are easy to make, clean up well and are delicious!

We use some very high quality food storage ingredients to come up with these buttery biscuits.  We typically use flour ground from Prairie Gold Hard White Spring Wheat, or we use a combination of Prairie Gold Flour and Natural White Unbleached and Unbromated White Flour.  The butter for this recipe comes in the form of Red Feather Pure Creamery Canned Butter.  Our powdered milk of choice is Country Cream Real Instant Milk and we use Rumford Aluminum Free Baking Powder.  For salt, we prefer Real Salt Granular over purified table salt.

You can cook these biscuits in an oven, dutch oven or even a sun oven.  So without further delay, here is the recipe:

Recipe for 10 - 12 Biscuits:

2 Cups Prairie Gold Whole Wheat Flour and/or Natural White Unbleached and Unbromated Flour (or other combination of Wheat and/or White Flour)

3 tsp Rumford Aluminum Free Baking Powder (or other baking powder)

1/2 tsp Real Salt Granular (or 1 tsp table salt)

6 Tablespoons Red Feather Pure Creamery Canned Butter (or fresh butter or shortening)

2/3 Cup Country Cream Milk (or raw milk or pastuerized milk or other powdered milk)

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, add flour (whole wheat, white, or combination of both), baking powder and salt.  Melt the butter or shortening and pour in.  (You can also cut in the butter or shortening, but I like to melt it.)  Add in 1/2 cup of milk.  Mix lightly and quickly.  If the dough leaves the side of the bowl you are ready to.  If not, add additional milk.

Turn out the bowl onto a lightly flour surface and then roll out to about 1/2 inch.  Most of the time I don't even flour the surface as these come up fairly cleanly.  Cut biscuits out with a cup.  Bake on an ungreased pan for 10 to 12 minutes.  Enjoy these biscuits hot with additional Red Feather Creamery Butter!

Make Your Own Fire Starting Kit

Easy to Make Firestarting Kit for your 72 Hour Kit or Personal Backpacking Assembly

Contents:

One (1) Small Ziploc Bag

Lint collected from your dryer

One (1) Small box of Windproof/Waterproof Matches (or waterproof matches or strike-anywhere matches)

One (1) Magnesium Firestarter

We will also add a gas lighter with a long tip pictured below:

This firestarting kit is fun to make and easy to put together.  What is better than that?  OK.....let's get to building.  The first step is to take a small ziploc bag and add lint from your clothes dryer to it.  Lint starts well with matches and sparks, and by keeping it in a small ziploc bag you will keep the lint dry.  Add some Windproof/Waterproof Matches and a Magnesium Firestarter and you have the basics. 

We also recommend a gas lighter with a long wand for the times you need to get a fire started quickly and easily.  This won't fit in the bag, but it will be in your pack to stay dry.  You can find the matches, magnesium firestarter and lighter at our store. 

We will even show you how the magnesium firestarter works!  This picture gives you a good idea of the sparking action:

Now that you have your basic kit together, let's go over a basic primer of how to use it.  Before you take anything out of a bag, find some dry grass, pine needles, leaves or other dead, dry plant material for tinder.  Build a small tinder ball.  Then carefully select small, thin twigs.  You can build a tepee on top of or a log cabin around the tinder ball with the twigs.  Now take out a ball of lint and your magnesium firestarter.

Take your green starter tool and scrape off magnesium from the bar using the end of the green starter tool.  (The green starter tool has small teeth at the end.)  Scrape off magnesium onto the lint.  The magnesium shavings will help to start the lint on fire.  If you want larger magnesium shavings, use your pocket knife to shave down the magnesium bar.

Next, place the bag of magnesium with the steel bar on top.  Place the green starter tool firmly on the bar and then slide down hard to create sparks.  Keep sparking until the lint catches fire.  Sometimes this takes me 15 seconds or less.  Sometimes it takes me minutes!  The reason I don't have the lint right on the tinder ball is because when striking hard you can often mess up your tinder and teepee by hitting it!

Once the lint is on fire use a stick or knife to move it over to the tinder.  You now have a fire!

Obviously, the process would be much easier with a match or lighter.  Just place the lint ball on the tinder and light.

CAUTION:  Do not let children use these firstarting materials without adult supervision.  As with most things, I find that if children do this with you and you explain the rules, they won't be tempted to do it again without you.  If you don't let them work with you and you keep your firestarting materials a secret, their natural curiosity takes over!

Wheat Montana Prairie Gold

The Gold Standard in Wheat!

As you can see, Prairie Gold is not just for bread!  This delicious Pizza Crust was made using Wheat Montana Prairie Gold, Wheat Montana Natural White Unbleached and Unbromated Flour and Teff.  Prairie Gold helps to produce incredible results while providing you with the ultimate in whole grain nutrition.  We store whole grain Prairie Gold and then grind it just prior to use in order to retain as much of the nutrition as possible.  In certain recipes where a high-gluten white flour is needed, we use Wheat Montana's Natural White Flour, which is unbleached and unbromated.  This indicates that the flour has not been treated with harsh chemicals to further whiten the flour.

Prairie Gold Hard White Spring Wheat is simply a superb product and has so much to offer in terms of nutrition, composition and baking results.  Wheat Montana farms starts with great soil and the perfect wheat growing climate in Montana to produce its wonderful Hard White Spring Wheat.  Prairie Gold is certified chemical free, meaning that it has not been subjected to pesticides, artificial fertilizers or any other chemicals.  Prairie Gold is GMO free, which indicates that it has not been genetically modified.  Wheat Montana farms avoids cross contamination of virulent viruses and their grains are free of irradiation and pasteurization.  Aside from these wonderful benefits, Prairie Gold boasts an amazing 15% - 16% protein content.  Many of the other hard white berries we have seen have a lower protein content in the 10% - 12% range.  The higher protein content means better nutritive building for your body's muscles  Prairie Gold has a low moisture content of less than 10%, which helps its long-term storage.

We use Prairie Gold in breads, rolls, pancakes, crepes,biscuits, muffins, pizza doughs, cookie doughs, cinnamon rolls and much more.  Prairie Gold also makes a great cracked wheat cereal, and a fantastic Creamy Hard White Wheat Cereal.  The best way for you to find out about Prairie Gold is to use it yourself.  Come in and pick up a bag today!

Raw Honey 101

Raw Honey.......More than just a sweetener.

First off, honey is a wonderful sweetener.  I especially enjoy Raw, Crystallized Desert Blossom Honey.  Since it is crystallized, you have to use a spoon or a knife to extract it from the container.  It doesn't pour out of the container like processed honey.  It is lower in moisture content than the processed or regular honey that you buy in the stores, which helps to concentrate the natural flavor and sweetness.  Raw honey doesn't go through the same processing as commercial honey and it readily crystallizes, which explains the  deep golden color of raw honey.  (Incidentally, you can warm up crystallized honey and it will become more viscous and you can pour it, but you run the risk of losing out on the beneficial enzymes.)

Growing up, I really enjoyed sports.  I had one soccer coach who used honey to help rejuvenate tired athletes after games.  He would provide different honey foods and snacks after games to help with muscle fatigue and provide a natural boost to tired bodies.  As a missionary in Argentina, a simple yet effective tonic for many illnesses, including soar throats, was warm lemon water and honey.  The natural antioxidants of lemons and honey, coupled with the other health benefits of the two often produced great results in a relatively short amount of time.  Most nutritionists seem to agree that while white sugar and other processed sugars weaken the bodies immune system, honey can help in healing.

We use raw honey as a wonderful spread on toast.  Instead of grabbing a so-called energy drink, toast some bread, add a little butter and spread with raw honey.  This will provide a bit of an immediate pick-up, while helping to sustain energy.  One of our favorite uses of raw honey is to add a bit of sweetener to breakfast smoothies.  We also use it for homemade barbecue sauce recipes.   It is especially great for sweetening hot breakfast cereals like oatmeal, corn meal mush, farina (creamy wheat) and cracked wheat.

I am not a nutritionist, but from past personal experience and from research I have conducted, I feel like there are wonderful benefits of honey, especially raw honey.  Raw honey has nutural enzymes that assist in digestion and assimilation.   Honey has natural antioxidants that help with our immune systems and assist the body's natural defenses.  Honey, when collected from local sources, is also considered to assist in helping individuals with allergies.  This comes from the fact that the bees are harvesting local pollens for their hives.

Raw honey can be difficult on infants because of the natural enzymes and other factors.  Also, many folks store honey but don't regularly use it.  If you go from white sugar and white flour to honey and whole wheat, your body is going to be in for a shock.  So, the best advice is to incorporate these into your diets now on a regular basis.  This is not only to help you from a transition standpoint, but to provide your body with more nutrition.

Chia Seed Via Troy

Chia Seeds are a nutritional power house that we have been missing out on for a number of years!

For years, most of us associated Chia Seeds (Salvia Hispanica) with the cute little pets that children loved to grow through sprouting.  Little did we know that the cute little sprouting seeds we were using were really an ancient super food utilized by the Aztec people.  At first glance, Chia Seeds look like a dark or black seed.  However, on closer examination one will find that the seed is a beautiful mottled seed of black, grey, brown and white.

Many nutritionists point out that Chia Seeds are a super food.  Chia Seeds are often compared to the nutritional value of Flax Seeds.  Chia Seeds are high in essential fatty acids and Omega 3's,  and represent a soluble fiber.   Some of the advantages that Chia Seeds have over Flax Seeds is that they do not need to be cracked or ground.  Chia Seeds can be used raw, soaked or sprouted.  Chia Seeds have natural antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that help aid in nutrition, digestion and absorption.  Chia Seeds help aid the body in its digestion of other foods and help maximize the nutritional value of other foods, and is thus seen as a great dietary support.

Chia Seeds are highly hydrophilic, which means that they are able to soak up relativly large amounts of water.  The seeds will soak up about 9-10 times their own weight in water.  After soaking for about an hour, the seeds become a nutritious gel.  An easy way to do this is place 1 Tablespoon of Chia Seeds in 1/4 Cup water and allow to soak overnight.  Then you are ready to  add them in to a delicious smoothie, soups, casseroles or other meals.

Chia Seeds store well as they do not have oils or other agents that cause them to go rancid.  They store will in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight in glass jars or PETE Containers.

We typically add raw chia seeds into our smoothies in the morning.  Immediately the seeds go to work soaking up liquid and becoming gelatinous.   For a great Breakfast Smoothie try mixing the following in a VitaMix or other blender:

Super-Charged Breakfast Smoothie with Chia Seeds

2-3 Tablespoons Chia Seeds

Handful of greens (Spinach or Kale or Beet Greens)

2 or 3 fruit servings (Bananas, Pineapple, Strawberries, other berries, etc.)

Orange Juice or Pineapple Juice

6 Cubes of Ice

Blend until smooth and enjoy.  This is a great smoothie packed with vitamins and without the addition of white refined sugar.   We add two additional items to help our children enjoy the smoothie even more.  You can add a slice of beet to make the smoothie come out a nice red color.  You can also add 1-2 Tablespoons of honey to sweeten it even more.

This smoothie makes a great breakfast by itself or a wonderful support to other breakfast items.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Katadyn Combi Water Filtration

It goes without saying......Water is a Vital element of preparedness.

Katadyn Combi

Many of us tend to focus on food storage and year supply, but water is even more important to sustaining life than food.  While there are ways to store a tremendous amount of water, a water filter provides you with a way to access water from various sources in the event your water can't go with you or runs out.

Katadyn is a Swiss Company that has been making water filters for over 80 years!  Katadyn is one of two companies that is listed on the www.providentliving.org website under water purification guidelines.  The company has a proven track record and makes high quality products.  Our best selling water filter is the Katadyn Combi.  It will filter an amazing amount of water..........up to 13,000 gallons to be exact.  That is a lot of water.  In fact, rarely do folks even request a replacement filter because it is hard to conceive even filtering 13,000 gallons!  While these units are not cheap in price ($160), they are a great value when considering that the next step down is the Katadyn Mini, which filters 2,000 gallons, costs $100.  So, for $60 more you get an additional 11,000 gallons.  The one advantage that the mini has is that it is very small and extremely lightweight.  The Combi is larger and heavier, but is still a perfect size and weight for a 72 hour kit, emergency kit or survival kit.

These amazing filters remove all of the floaties in your water, plus filter out the bacteria and protozoa that make you sick!  The Combi filters down to 0.2 microns to keep your water clean and safe.  You can drop the hose into a stream, lake, pond, pool of stagnant water, canal, natural spring and even a cow trough and pump out potable water!  Water is a priority and the Katadyn Combi provides a way to access thousands of gallons of water.

Please enjoy the video below to view product information and a demonstration of the Katadyn Combi filter: