I Dare You To Eat It

Cancer is a crime. I have three people in my extended family who are currently being robbed.

Yesterday, I met with Blanca Raphael, Coordinator Volunteer Services, at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital. She gave me a brief but inspiring hands-on tour of the beautiful and useful items which have so generously been donated to the Hunstman Cancer Institute.  You’ve never seen so many lovely LOVELY crocheted hats!

My goal in meeting with her was to explain a plan to invite women in our stake/neighborhood, ages 8-180, to sew cotton knit beanies for women who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy treatments. Blanca especially liked our idea of adding funky, rough-cut, boutique style, decorative headbands to the beanies so that the women can sport a fun, current, scrap-art look, while they battle the beast.

Knowing that I may need to be teaching this simple sewing skill during the next few weeks, I decided to give it a go.

The things I liked best about this project were 1.) no instructions 2.) no expense (using up leftover fabric ends)

and 3.) no limit to the good clean creative fun. The headbands, or demi-scarves, are a make-it-up-as-you-go-along adventure.
The looks evolve as random bits and pieces are added. This is fabric art for the masses.

I’ve enlisted the truly expert help of my sister, Virginia, to figure out how to copy a knit beanie from the Gap. She’s probably unpicking right now. Our hope is to buy $1 t-shirts and reconstruct them into soft, breathable, comfy, caps. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

My favorite part of last month’s visiting teaching message was from Elder Robert D. hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “It is important to understand that self-reliance is a means to an end. Our ulitimate goal is to become like the Savior, and that goal is enhanced by our unselfish service to others. Our ability to serve is increased or diminished by the level of our self-reliance.”  That guidance helps me to understand self-reliance as preparations made in order to have more to give!

D&C 82:18-19  And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church–Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.

And here we have the lovely bride! (Duston Todd Photography)

Her wedding dress was from J.Crew for only $395.00. (Obviously not the dress we originally planned to have sewn, but still a good deal.) Samantha added a lace top underneath to help the dress be a bit more modest. That’s the way we roll. I can’t post a picture of the lace top because it appears to have sold out. Anyway, you get the idea. It’s this dress, with a little custom detailing layered underneith for coverage, and yes warmth. Brrrrrrr January weddings.

My daughter’s wedding was only a week away but I was STILL at a loss for what to wear to her reception. In desperation I bought this sweet little top from Anthropology. I could justify the $118.00.

My plan was to wear it with a vintage beaded cardigan, which I already own, forever thanks to my husband’s grandmother,

and a skirt I found new with tags on, at a second hand clothing store for $9.00.

But the longer I thought about it I began to be annoyed at the dry clean only $118.00. It seemed like throwing good money after bad. Even if I probably can “afford it”, I don’t enjoy burning cash like that.  If it’s not a deal, it’s just not that fun.

So last Saturday, with the wedding clock ticking, I found some plain cream colored t-shirts, in a really nice silky knit, at TJMaxx for only $5.99 each.

Tempted, I remembered learning about reconstructed clothing while attending a Relief Society meeting in Oregon. Heidi at www.franticallysimple.com shared one of her many great SKILLS when she taught the women in her ward how to make play dresses and baby leggings from recycled t-shirts. What I needed was an inexpensive washable copy of the Anthropology shirt, and these Ts felt like the answer.

Now, I sew about as well as I cook, but determined to give it go. Purchasing enough shirts for the reconstruction yardage, I could of sworn I heard dear friends and comrades quietly crying in the distance, “Stop Liesa! Don’t do this! There isn’t time! You’ve never done this before! For the love of that last cranberry cake that ended up in the trash, THIS ISN’T GOING TO WORK!”  

Cha-ching. 

First step was to tighten up the neck of the t-shirt. I grabbed some leftover elastic from the total chaos of my sewing Rubbermaid, and zig-zagged that puppy in place. “Great, now I have a really comfortable pajama top.” But I didn’t give up.

(I warned you about this.)

Slashing a second t-shirt into strips,

I added a slightly less pleated ruffle, sewed the soggy bow-ties together for the front, and finished the neckline with a $3.00 piece of lace.

Don’t get me wrong, it took some time but the finished product wasn’t half bad.

I’ve happily returned the remaining t-shirt and shipped the $118.00 dream top back home where it belongs.

Mother of the bride, for under $25.00. Thanks Heidi!

Every month my visiting teaching companion, Angela, and I try to visit Susan. We’re all busy gals and it doesn’t always work, but I’m pretty sure that Susan knows we care, because we show up on her door step, on a regular basis. Sometimes we bring a little lesson or gospel message to share and sometimes we just chat. We’re really good at that. I hope Susan can feel our admiration, respect, and friendship. She’s an amazing woman.

Almost 20 years ago, Susan’s son Tim suffered a terrible spinal column injury when he dove off the back of a boat at Lake Powell. Tim is doing well, but his life is forever changed in a big way, and so is Susan’s. In addition to being a wife, mother, and grandmother, today she owns a tennis clothing business at a pro shop, coaches the girl’s tennis team at the local Catholic high school, AND dedicates hundreds of hours to her volunteer work at local hospitals. She’s amazing and I’m lucky to know her.

With all Susan has going, it was way beyond the call of duty when she agreed to assist my daughter with one of her projects for school. Rosie is applying to the broadcast journalism program at BYU and needed to produce a little news spot. I was with Mike on a business trip in San Diego when the filming was done but Rosie told me that Susan was friendly, patient, enthusiastic, and totally willing to help. That’s Susan, in a nut shell.

And this is what I really like about visiting teaching. It’s an organized system for encouraging women to connect with each other. It helps us reach out, expand our circle of friends, and build bridges of love and support, three women at at time.

This time Susan blessed my life. I hope it will be my turn to do something for her, next.

Here’s the YouTube link for ”Rosemary Card and Dr. Dog” if you would like to see what I’m talking about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdpJjzzi6Lg

Right at the first of the year there was an AOL bit on how to serve inexpensive meals. Did you see it? I thought it was very interesting that AOL’s big money saving suggestion for 2010 was to simply prepare meals using rice, beans, pasta, and potatoes. Honestly made me happy to read, and smile only a bit to think that modern day prophets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been suggesting the   

exact    

same     

thing,

FOR DECADES!

They believe basic staples like wheat, rice, beans, pasta, potatoes, oats, etc. are important enough to build dry-pack canneries across the United States and Canada so that members may can their own dry goods, acquire a stable long-term food supply, and do it as economically as possible. The LDS church is into helping people help themselves. I like that.

So here’s a shoddy shot of the dry-pack cannery on Welfare Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. I think it looks like money where your mouth is.

This next view is from the inside of the canning room. The cans, canning machines, boxes, bins, lids and labels complete with nutrition information, are all there and ready to go. Spotless too. They are NOT messing around when it comes to cleanliness.

You’ll easily be able to work the sealers at the dry-pack cannery. If you have questions there are always service missionaries on hand who are more than happy to demonstrate and teach the few basic steps. If you’re not a member of the LDS church, try asking one of your Mormon neighbors/friends/co-workers to take you on a little field trip.

I also think it’s interesting to know that Brigham Young University is continuously conducting food storage research. If you would like to share in their current project, please visit: http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/58457/BYU-wants-samples-of-vegetable-oil-from-food-storage.html

You can tell from this picture that I really meant to share this recipe about four weeks ago. Oops. The year is flying by and I’m already TIRED!

Back in December, and thanks to the combined suggestions and ideas from a number of generous readers, I recycled some of my food storage cans, quickly covered them with a little bright red wrapping paper, and filled each with hot soup. Hopefully enough to feed a  family, this neighbor gift was uncharacteristically healthy and came from my food storage.

Fresh Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced

8 carrots, diced

8 celery stalks with tops, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup pico de gallo (This is where I love to use the frozen pico in my freezer.)

Storage Ingredients

2 cups pinto or pink beans (I’m sure that other beans would also work well.)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup powdered milk, dry

2-3 teaspoons salt

Sort beans for debris and rinse. Cover with 2 quarts of water and soak for 12-24 hours. If possible, change the water two or three times during the soaking process in order to draw out and reduce the indigestible sugars that cause digestive discomfort. Before cooking, drain and thoroughly rinse beans.

Fill crock-pot with 2 quarts of fresh water and beans. Then add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, olive oil, oregano, cumin, and pepper. Cover with lid and cook on low for 8 – 10 hours, or until the beans are soft. (My beans are…more mature…so I let this soup cook overnight.)

Then add powdered milk, salt, and salsa. Puree the soup, using a stick blender or regular blender, until smooth. Serve with warm tortillas, corn muffins, or garlic toast on the side. Very yummy.

Near the end of last year I was contacted by a very sweet Grandmother after she attended one of my food storage presentations. She asked how many CASES of books I had on hand and if she could get a discounted price on a large quantity purchase. Of course I said YES and as we made the exchange on a busy street in the heart of Salt Lake City, it felt a tiny bit like a drug deal, but neither one of us looked the part. Thanks to her, and in celebration of the year 2010, I have a special offer for group purchases of the book.

PURCHASE TEN BOOKS AND I WILL SHIP YOU TWENTY!

So that’s 20 for the price of 10. Get it? 2010!

(I’m nothing without a theme.)

P.S. If you would rather not use PayPal, please send me an email so that we can try to make other arrangements for payment. And thank you friends! I really appreciate your efforts in helping more people learn how easy it is to build and use food storage.

My number one FAVORITE RECIPE of 2009 was for this simple pico de gallo. It changed my life. Really.  

We’ve easily doubled the use of our rice and beans, and because those dry ingredients are already on hand and in my home as part of our long-term food storage, we’re saving money every time we serve this meal.

Big thanks go to Kris for sharing the recipe last Spring. All summer long we enjoyed our home grown ‘maters’ garnishing rice and bean taco salads. When the change in seasons forced me back to buying the not-so-sweet-little-nothings sold at the grocery store, I decided to experiment with substituting petite-cut canned tomatoes. As the family tasted the food storage friendly salsa Lizzie asked, “Is this the salsa from the Rio Grande restaurant?”

Close enough! 

Fresh Ingredients

8-10 Roma tomatoes, diced or substitute with 2 cans, petite-cut tomatoes (1 lb. 12 oz. each can)

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup green onion, sliced

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

2 limes, juiced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Storage Ingredients

2 cans petite-cut tomatoes (1 lb. 12 oz. each can) substituted for fresh tomatoes

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 tablespoon salt

Mix all the ingredients and chill for an hour or two. So good! And because I’ve been preparing this recipe again and again, for a year, I’ve also discovered that it freezes well.

Sort of like raspberry freezer jam…but different. The point is, IT’S ALL GOOD, and I hope you’ll love it as much as we do.

Last Saturday, we celebrated up in the mountains at our family cabin, an early birthday for daughter number 5. Amazing as it sounds, we actually served 16 teenagers two meals made primarily from food storage.

For lunch we enjoyed BBQ chicken sandwiches, MAC N’ CHEESE, veggies w/ RANCH, grapes, CHIPS, and oven baked S’MORES.

Trust me on this one. The little bit of salt on the Ritz crackers makes all the difference.

It only takes about 5 minutes to toast these li’l pups in a hot oven and when they’re done the chocolate will be completely melted and the tops golden brown. Simple perfection and guaranteed to be gone in a flash.

Sooo good that we eventually ran out of the Hershey’s chocolate and HAD TO move up to the Christmas truffles someone left behind. We had to.

Not just for breakfast any more!

For dinner, and after the girls had spent hours outside playing in the snow, we all enjoyed what has become a family trademark. Rice and beans is a tried-and-true-crowd-pleasing-meal that’s easy to prepare ahead of time and costs pennies to serve. I would have taken a shot of the finished product but for the feeding frenzy. You already know what a taco salad looks like and this is basically the same deal, without the lettuce. Picture a serving of hot rice, topped with warm black beans, grated cheese, our favorite pico de gallo, sour cream, diced avocado, and sometimes sliced black olives.

I did hear of one comment where a cute friend said, “That’s sick. I don’t know why…

(wait for it)

(and remember, from the mouths of babes)

…EVERYONE…LIKES…IT…SO…MUCH.”

Ha! I’m totally okay with that.

So Happy Birthday Lizard! Your wacky friends made it a great party and once again, our food storage helped us do a bit more, for a bit less.

In 2010, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (worldwide) are encouraged to study the Old Testament. It’s something “we” do every four years and I love it.

Normally, on the first Sunday in January, a class member study guide is distributed. That small detail somehow fell through the cracks in my home ward this year. And speaking of cracks, I don’t love lighthearted remarks about no one ever reading the lessons. I KNOW LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO READ THE LESSONS! 

For me, being on the same page, is one of the most important goals I make at the beginning of each new year. Regardless of where I happen to be serving on Sunday, diligent study of the Gospel Doctrine lesson during the week is the opportunity I take, within the privacy of my own home, to kneel at the Savior’s feet, begin with prayer, turn to the holy scriptures, and learn from His beautiful teachings.

I try to dedicate an hour a day, but already my record for this year isn’t perfect. Sticking to the goal is especially tough when that one hour comes super early, like 4:30 and 5:00 A.M. Using the study guide helps greatly to direct my study path so that blurry eyes and a foggy brain have specific directions and organized lessons to follow.

Now, after making a special run to the Distribution Center for my own class member study guide, I’m armed and dangerous! Pffft. My plan is to follow the suggested reading and take lots of notes along the way. My crisp new booklet will soon enough look like it’s owned by a gang member, but all the underlining, arrows, and messages scribbled in the margins mean everything to me.

If you need help obtaining your own study guide, just say the word. It’s sure to be a great year!