Hey everyone, it’s me, Living Provident.  Today I found this great free program called SendBlaster that is going to save tons of time for me as I send you the periodic newsletter and featured food storage item.  There is also a paid version, which I hope to be getting very soon, but for now I am testing the free one.

First of all be aware that I am merging all of your contact information into the new system so you may receive an email to verify that you want to receive mailing from Living Provident. Also, in the future if you wish to unsubscribe from my mailing list you can do so by using the link in the newsletter instead of having to send me an individual email.  This will save me tons of time and energy… thereby making your newsletters even better. Of course being one of the great features in SendBlaster that I did not have before.

One of the best things about SendBlaster is that it has some great and fun templates that I can use to make my mailing a little more visually appealing. And, even though you may not care as a subscriber, this system is way better because I can also track how often the emials are opened, or just deleted and what links everyone prefers.  Now I will be able to make my newsletters even more useful to you as my reader.  If no one is interested in a certain topic I can just stop sending it out.  This is great for those of you who ask me to include your company’s product in my newsletter.  I can let you know how many people went to your site from my link and whether it was beneficial for you.

I can also advance schedule the mailings so now you can expect them on a certain date and time.  Whereas before I would get an e-mail from one of you wondering where I was at with the latest newsletter.  In addition, your newsletter will be personalized.  I get to now address it directly to each of you with a simple click of a button instead of having it read “Living Provident Reader”.   You may not think that is a big deal, but to me it is a fabulous feature that I am excited about.

This new system will also check for duplicate email addresses.  That way you do not acceidentally get multiple messages from me.  Sorry Melissa S… that pesky duplicate I could never find was found and now you will only get one message.  I am sure you are happy about that.

All in all I am excited to use this on a permanent basis.  I do not have you all in yet because the free version only allows a limited number of emails to be sent, whereas SendBlaster Pro will let me email to my little hearts content.

I hope to soon be in constant and efficient touch with each and every one of you.  Soon you will see a new subscribe button, be sure to check it out.

Camping is one of the most beloved and sought after summer events.  People love camping for a variety of reasons, but no matter who you are you must eat while you are out in the wild and untamed wilderness. Camping food is often one of the main reasons people go camping, and I am not talking about he hot dogs and sm’ores.  Some campers are A#1 great chefs.

Just take Rhett, for instance, whenever he takes those scouts on a camping trip and they are all supposed to pack their own food the boys end up with Chex Mix and a can of soup, whereas Rhett creates tin foil dinners, dutch oven cobbler, fried eggs and potatoes, beef jerky and all other goodies, not forgetting the smores.

The boys wonder how he does it, and now a few of them have even caught on enough to ask Rhett to help them plan their menus and prepare their own food.  But no matter if it is Rhett or one of the youth we always make sure we teach them how to properly store the food to make sure it does not go bad.  If they are not willing to do this then we tell them to break out that Chex Mix and canned soup because if not, they will be SICK!

Taking food int he hot summer fun takes some preparation.  here are some helpful hints:

1. You number one most important item is the cooler.  If you are camping by driving your vehicle then this is easier than backpacking with the scouts.  Using a cooler do the following:
   • Freeze drinks before leaving so that they stay cold longer.
   • Separate the drinks that you frequently get in and out of the cooler for from your food items. It will keep the food cold longer.
   • Use block ice instead of crushed and cubed ice.  It stays cold longer.
     • To save money on block ice freeze water in old (cleaned out) milk jugs.  They will stay frozen a long time and the water, once melted is mostly contained (except for condensation) so it will not get all over your food.
2. If you are hiking and cannot carry a huge cooler you need to make sure your food is precooked and then use insulated individual containers with baggies of ice. Try eating this food first and then resort to Chex Mix and Canned Soup for the duration of the event.
3. Separate your food as much as possible, using individual sealable baggies and small airtight storage containers.

Lastly, make sure that you get rid of your garbage on a regular basis if not it will attract animals and rodents.

Have a great time and keep that food safe!

Emmaline

Emergency Preparedness is a very important part of every community. In order to assist the community that I live in I (along with one other person), am coordinating an Emergency Preparedness Fair.

What is an Emergency Preparedness Fair you ask? Well it is where I coordinate 20 or 30 tables and booths where people set up displays of information and answer questions about being prepared for any and all situations.

I will have booths with information about a variety of topics.  From natural disasters to canning food.  From emergency 72 hour kits to treating burns and babysitting information.  I have been approved to host the event at the cultural hall (gym) of my church, but the event is for the entire city.  We have radio stations offering us free event advertising as well as the newspaper and local gathering places like the city library and senior center.

I am very excited to have this event take place.  If you have done something like this in your area I would love to know how it turned out.  I would also love any ideas you have.  I have ooddles on my own, but any help is great, I would have to miss a topic.

If you are in the Washington State area and would like to attend it is on October 7, 2010 from 6:00-8:00 pm and October 9, 2010 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm on Maiden Lane (behind Walmart) in Wenatchee, Wa.

More details to come, or feel free to contact me anytime using the contact form on my about page.

Emmaline

Many, many, many of you have been sending me wonderful messages wondering where in the world I am hiding since my last regular posts were last February. Well known to some of you, but not all of you I wrote a novel and it was published.  It is called Longbourn’s Unexpected Matchmaker and is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (ahhh my favorite).

The official launch date of the book was April 15, 2010, but leading up to that I, along with my publisher have been publicizing and marketing like crazy.  It has taken every free minute of just about every day.  I have had close to 15 book signings around Washington State, have been reviewed at over forty websites and blogs. I have done radio and newspaper interviews and met with 3 book groups, which has been tons of fun.

The official launch of the book was phenomenal for a first time no name author, something that I can be really proud of.  I have really enjoyed my writing process but will also be glad for life to SLOW DOWN again.

I have another interview on Monday, another signing on June 18th and July 8th, then things slow down and I can focus on Living Provident.

This year I am going to bring you some awesome videos since I am hosting canning groups here at my house this summer.  There are many ladies in the area who want to can, but do not have the equipment or knowledge so I am going to have group days where I supply the knowledge and equipment and they bring their food and bodies to work.  Everyone in attendance will help everyone else with their food, thus streamlining the process and getting us all done faster.

Rhett has obtained some canning stoves that we will set up outside and just keep an assembly line going.

Our Bishop (one of the leaders at the church we attend), and another man in our ward went together and purchased an industrial dehydrator.  The thing stands a little over 6 foot tall and is 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep.  I am also coordinating dehydrating groups that will be similar to our canning groups.

it is really great that our church leaders support the living provident cause as much as they do.  It makes my life so much easier trying to coordinate products and events for the families in our area.

I am also coordinating (with another person) a city-wide emergency preparedness fair.  I will tell you more about it in the next post.

Until later, have a great summer.

Emmaline

I have been approached by a couple of people that would like to write posts and provide content to living provident. In the past I never really considered this because I had a lot more free time, but as you can all see, posts have been waning of late.  With Rhett’s new business we have been very busy and LP has been neglected.

Awhile back I mentioned perhaps closing down the website and the 15 emails within 5 hours of mentioning it made me reconsider since people love the information housed here.  So now I am back to those of you who would like to make Living Provident your own website.

I will provide you your own login name and password and you can contribute as if LP is your very own blog.  I will teach you how to integrate it into your website, if you have one so that just your posts show up or so that every post shows up. We can also add pages in LP, you can create your very own page and display all of your tips, tricks, and favorite recipes.

Share your story of your living provident journey and the blessing you have received of getting back to the basics of life.

If you want to do this use the contact form at the bottom of the about page.  Send me what you want as your username and password and I will get you your login info.

Until later, happy canning.

Emmaline

The past year and a half, going on two years has been a wonderful experience for our family and we are ready to take on another challenge.

A Garden!

We have had gardens in the past but really we never pushed them for the crop yield that we could get from them.  We never really cared because we living in rural America with fruit and vegetable stands on just about every corner.  We can pick up any fresh fruit or vegetable at almost any time.

This year, that is not enough, we want to can EVERYTHING.  If we are on this quest to live providently we want it to include the works, enjoyment and gratification of a well producing garden, but since we wanted a little more help than the local extension office and master gardeners we bought a book.

Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew

We began by gracing the local bookstore and picked up a copy of Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space with Less Work by Mel Bartholomew.

As you can see I then began reading, or should I say devouring the book.  I have marked all of the areas that I thought I need help with… yes it is a lot, but no more than the average person I suppose.

So, after I devoured the book and determined that this is definitely something that I can do I went to work drawing up the plan for my square foot garden.

Soon I will be posting about our house and yard and walk you through the entire process of prepping  our yard for this great garden.  But for today I will just show you my plan.

So here it is!

LivingProvident's Square Foot Garden Plan

I know what you are saying… you can’t read that can you?

Well have no worry, I will tell you what it says.  Beginning in the lower left and working up and then to the right they are as follows:

Garden Plot 1

Garden plot 1 is going to have Tomatoes across the back with different herbs and celery in front. The aroma in this part of the garden should be heavenly. I hope that the Cherry Tomato plant (along with those I have in pots on the patio) produce a lot because I want to try making stewed/diced tomatoes using Cherry Tomatoes this year. I think this will reduce the amount of slicing and dicing that I have to do.

I will let you know if I was alright in my thinking or whether it was wishful thinking later this summer!

I have never grown celery so we will see how this turns out. I am excited because I love to eat it so much and we will use it when I can those stewed tomatoes I was talking about (if there is any left).

Garden Plot 2

Garden plot 2 will also be littered with Tomatoes. As I am sure you can see, we eat a lot of Tomatoes. So, we will have a few more Cherry Tomatoes so that we have some for our salads, and just eating whenever we walk into the pack yard and fell like a juicy mouthful.

We are also planting Tomatillos. Tomatillos are a Mexican Tomato that is perfect in Salsa. One plant will be a little tin, but I will put another 2 in patio pots.

All told, we will have 8 Tomato plants in the garden and then probably another 5 to 7 on the patio. I want about 15 total since we want to make a lot of stewed tomatoes and salsa. I generally have great success with tomatoes so I am excited about this.

Next, we have Chives… Yummmm… We are planting Chives because there is nothing better than a baked potato with homegrown chives. We get potatoes from my sister and brother-in-law so now we have yummy toppings for them as well.

We will also grow some Rosemary here and then Lettuce. Now we will have some great summer salads.

Garden Plot 3

Garden plot 3 is full of strawberries, we will not have enough to make jam because we use so many, but this will give a nice patch for us to just snack and eat off of.

The local Rotary Club lets you get strawberries by the gallon for a great price so I am not too worried about it.

Garden Plot 4

Garden plot 4 is the beginning of our Peas. We love to have fresh peas to eat raw in salads or put in stir fry. In total this year we will have 8 snap pea plants.

This garden plot will also have Cantaloupe and Watermelon. These items require two square feet for each plant. Everything will be growing upwards on metal supports.

Garden Plot 5

Garden plot 5 will also contain Peas but in addition it will have Dill. We plan on making cucumbers this year and I love fresh dill. This part of the garden will smell wonderful.

Garden Plot 6

Garden plot 6, right next to all the Dill will be the Cucumbers that will make those great pickles. We are growing pickling cucumbers. They are crisp to eat raw, with a right flavor that I love and perfect to put into jars without having to slice them.

In this plot we will also grow some pole beans. In total this year we will have three types of beans in 9 small plots. We will can the pole beans, but the others we want to dry out and store in buckets for soups and stews this year.

The mung beans will also be used to sprout throughout the year and use the sprouts on sandwiches. Oh, I am making myself hungry just thinking about it.

Lastly, we will grow three types of onion in this plot.

Garden Plot 7

Garden plot 7 will continue the beans the begin the carrots.

I originally wanted to grow about 50 pounds (1 bushel) of carrots this year so I could can about 24 quarts of carrots, but when I realized I would need about 300 carrots to do that I opted to can pints and will only get about 15 at that… Then when I went to the store to purchase the seeds I found this neat strip planter that I am going to try that is suppose to help you get more produce for the same space. I probably got ripped off (an extra $1.50 over a pack of seeds) but oh well I will try it once, because if there is a chance for 30 pints that would be great.

Carrots is truly going to be the produce to follow this summer.

Garden Plot 8

Garden plot 8 is going to finish off the carrots and also give us some Radishes, Garlic and Zucchini.

Have you ever had homegrown garlic? I think it is one of the most wonderful homegrown foods that exists. The garlic seems to have such a better flavor when you grow it in the garden and can smell its aroma all season.

As you can see Zucchini takes up a fair amount of space. It will require 4 square feet just for one plant.

Garden Plot 9

Garden plot 9 will also have an oversize item, pumpkin. It requires two square feet per plant also.

This plot will also grow our beets and begin the pepper plants.

Garden Plot 10

Garden plot 10 will house the remainder of the peppers that we want for our crop. We will use peppers in the stewed tomatoes, the salsa, for eating and probably freezing also. I may even dehydrate some this year. I hear they get really sweet when they are dehydrated.

All of this should make for a pretty fine crop of produce for our family of four.  We are still not experts, but I think with a crop like this we will be working towards it.

You most likely noticed that Potatoes and Corn are not in our garden.  Well, it is pointless for us to grow potatoes becuse my sister and brother-in-law raise potatoes for a living and he has the best potatoes in the world.  He is wonderful enough to give us as many as we want each year.

Corn is a crop that takes a lot of space for a small yield and since so many people grow it around here and sell it at the corner for $1 a bag I will just purchase it.  That way I can get enough to freeze corn on the cob and can pints of it cut off the cob.

Garden Seeds for LivingProvident's Garden!

Here is one final picture for you to enjoy of all the seeds we purchased today.

Happy Gardening!

Cleaning – Reader Mailbag

As we have been getting a few great tips from readers I have occasionally been posting a “Reader Mailbag”.  Well just this past week I received a great tip  from Annette in Connecticut that I want to share with you.

Annette writes that she has stumbled upon a great tip for using vinegar while cleaning.

All you need to do is put your lemon, orange, grapefruit or other citrus peels into a large container of vinegar.

The citrus peels improves the cleaning, and cuts back on the vinegar scent quite a bit.

Not only is it a safe and yummy smelling way to clean, but it is also a great way to recycle the peelings.

Laundry Whitener – Reader Mailbag

Another dear reader, Kerri from Washington State, sent us a great recipe for laundry whitener.  Just look at my before and ofter shots and you will not doubt how fantastic this cleaner truly is.

I have been sold on this even though I had to purchase brand name dishwasher detergent and not go with my cheap in-store brand…  (the trick is in the Cascade brand – no I am not getting anything from them for saying this, though if any readers out there work for cascade, I would be happy to take some free DW soap.)

As a side note… no spots on my glasses…

Anyways, here it is, in all of its simpleness.

• 1/2 Cup Cascade Dishwashing Soap (granular)
• 1 1/2 Cup Liquid Clorox Bleach

*Do not use color safe bleach, the trick is to whiten your items.

Directions:

1. Fill the tub of your washing machine half way with hot water.
2. Add the two ingredients from above and allow time to dissolve.
3. Add 10-20 items that you want whitened (the trick is not to add too many).
4. Let the articles soak approximately 20 minutes.
5. Run your washing machine agitation and spin cycle.
6. Run the items through a regular wash with laundry detergent.
7. Dry using your preferred drying method.

As a side note, if you have a colored article of clothing that is stained, this may be a great way to revive it.  I know for my part I will not wear stained clothing out too much (though I do we wear it around the house).  Sometimes the items have tons of wear left and I am distressed that the stain appeared.

Generally because one of my kids spilled on me.

Anyways, try the whitener, it may come out lighter than it was originally but if the stain is removed and the article is now wearable you are to the advantage.

Good luck, and let me know how it works for you.

Useful link – Homemade Laundry Detergent

Recently we received a great question from a reader that has a family of seven in Tennessee. She was curious about what garden plants to grow and when it was best to plant them.

The best resource I can provide her or anyone else of the University Extension office and Master Gardener group nearest to where you live.

Here is a map of all the Master Gardner Programs in the USA. http://www.ahs.org/master_gardeners/
If you are looking for the Extension Offices in the USA try this link. http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html

For our reader though I took the opportunity to put the following resource together for her. If you live in the Tennessee area this may help you as well:

First of all a wonderful resource in any state is the univeristy extension office. They generally have a Master Gardeners program that can provide you oodles of great information. The best one in Tennessee is http://mastergardener.tennessee.edu/. One of the resources I saw on their website was http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/spfiles/SP291-D.pdf this resource provides a high overview of care for gardens in Tennessee.

As far as what to plant/when here is a great guide to starting your plants and then transplanting into the garden http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/pbfiles/PB901.pdf . This resource http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/spfiles/SP291-M.pdf tells you what plants to grow next to one another so that you resist disease and cross polinate. It is a great resource and should make the crip more plentiful as polination is hard to achieve, especially if you live in a high population area where bees are not very plentiful.

If you like homemade salsa this was a fun resource http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/wfiles/W039.pdf.

If you like Asian foods this is a great garden resource http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/wfiles/W037.pdf.

Overall visit http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/homeGarden/default.asp#gardening and use the resources here to help you create the best garden that you possibly can.

I hope these resources help you, if you need anything else feel free to contact me.

Living Provident

How can I ensure that my food is safely prepared?

Botulism (from the Botulinum Spore), is a deadly form of food poisoning that is caused by growth of bacteria on food.  Botulism exists as spores or cells; the spores can survive for many years in soil and be harmless, however when the proper conditions exist those spores reproduce into cells which multiply very quickly.  All of those cells combined create a deadly toxin.

This environment is most common in a moist, low acidic food at a temperature of 40° to 120°F and that has an oxygen level of less than 2%.

Botulinum spores are found on most fresh food, but because they can not grow with oxygen or high acidic levels they are harmless.  These spores, in addition to other bacterias, molds and yeasts are very hard to remove from food surfaces.  You get rid of very few of these spores by washing your food alone.  If a product is grown underground then you can reduce a great number of them by peeling and/or blanching, but that still does not get rid of all of them.  The only way to ensure that you are safe from them is to make sure that you follow the proper directions and processing times of all food types.  The best resource for this is the USDA’s Complete Guide to Home Canning.

The processing times in this book ensure destruction of the largest expected number of heat-resistant microorganisms in home-canned foods. Properly sterilized canned food will be free of spoilage if lids seal and jars are stored below 95°F. Storing jars at 50° to 70°F enhances retention of quality.

Whether food should be processed in a pressure canner or boiling-water canner to control botulinum bacteria depends on the acidity of the food. Acidity may be natural, as in most fruits, or added, as in pickled food. Low-acid canned foods are not acidic enough to prevent the growth of these bacteria. Acid foods contain enough acid to block their growth, or destroy them more rapidly when heated. The term “pH” is a measure of acidity; the lower its value, the more acid the food. The acidity level in foods can be increased by adding lemon juice, citric acid, or vinegar.

Low-acid foods have pH values higher than 4.6. They include red meats, seafood, poultry, milk, and all fresh vegetables except for most tomatoes. Most mixtures of low-acid and acid foods also have pH values above 4.6 unless their recipes include enough lemon juice, citric acid, or vinegar to make them acid foods. Acid foods have a pH of 4.6 or lower. They include fruits, pickles, sauerkraut, jams, jellies, marmalade’s, and fruit butters.

Although tomatoes usually are considered an acid food, some are now known to have pH values slightly above 4.6. Figs also have pH values slightly above 4.6. Therefore, if they are to be canned as acid foods, these products must be acidified to a pH of 4.6 or lower with lemon juice or citric acid. Properly acidified tomatoes and figs are acid foods and can be safely processed in a boiling-water canner.

Botulinum spores are very hard to destroy at boiling-water temperatures; the higher the canner temperature, the more easily they are destroyed. Therefore, all low-acid foods should be sterilized at temperatures of 240° to 250°F, attainable with pressure canners operated at 10 to 15 PSIG. PSIG means pounds per square inch of pressure as measured by gauge. The more familiar “PSI” designation is used hereafter in this publication (the Complete Guide to Home Canning). At temperatures of 240° to 250°F, the time needed to destroy bacteria in low-acid canned food ranges from 20 to 100 minutes.

The exact time depends on the kind of food being canned, the way it is packed into jars, and the size of jars. The time needed to safely process low-acid foods in a boiling-water canner ranges from 7 to 11 hours; the time needed to process acid foods in boiling water varies from 5 to 85 minutes.

Acidity of Foods
Process adjustments at high altitudes.

Boiling Point Of Water (Image from HFP)

Using the process time for canning food at sea level may result in spoilage if you live at altitudes of 1,000 feet or more. Water boils at lower temperatures as altitude increases. Lower boiling temperatures are less effective for killing bacteria. Increasing the process time or canner pressure compensates for lower boiling temperatures. Therefore, when you use the Complete Guide to Home Canning, select the proper processing time or canner pressure for the altitude where you live. If you do not know the altitude, contact your local county Extension agent. An alternative source of information would be the local district conservationist with the Soil Conservation Service.