Molasses and Food Storage...Be Prepared!

YES! Be prepared all. It is a new post from me. I imagine you all think a miracle has occurred. Finally, I am beginning to feel a little better. It's amazing what 2 anti-depressants, spring flowers, sleep, sunshine, walking, and fresh strawberry jam scum will do for a person; not to mention Easter, General Conference, and more than a week off for spring break! WA-HOO! I am actually just wrapping up my spring break...back to school come Monday.
Anyway, to get to the heart of this post, I have been feeling impressed upon lately to be prepared. I have been working on a 72 hour kit, and building my individual food storage, as well as help Mom organize her pantry so we know what she needs to get for her storage and what we need to plant in the garden this year. I bought her some gamma lids (I highly recommend them) for her 50th wedding anniversary. I know, weird gift, but very practical. She was excited, so that's what matters. Today I bought three cases of strawberries. We froze enough for 2 batches of jam, plus some for misc. use later on, we made a batch of fresh jam, and I am dehydrating a tray of berry halves and a tray of banana slices, just to see how they turn out. I'm hoping they aren't hard as rocks. Plus I gave a few strawberries to neighbors, and Mom and I each kept some to eat. I couldn't pass them up. They were $7.99 for a case. My favorite part of making homemade jam is having jam scum to eat! YUMMY! Plus, I like seeing all the pretty jars, and it smells amazing in the house when we make it. Just like spring. Mmmm!

Pop Quiz Time

Nora is feeling impressed to be prepared because:

a- she is the daughter of a scout and emergency preparedness specialist
b- she is housesitting for people who have spent time in 3rd world countries
c- the prophets have warned us for years/our nation's government has me concerned
d- all of the above

Well, I have food storage all over my kitchen, waiting to be hauled downstairs. Now that I have the flooding issues taken care of, I am ready to get serious about food storage. I bought myself a couple of 5 gallon buckets and gamma lids. I ordered a bucket of honey through Kathy, and this month, my goal is to buy the essentials to make bread to go with all that lovely jam! Does anyone know anything about "living yeast"? If so, I'd appreciate some info. I even plan on grinding some wheat into wheat flour. Mom has a grinder, so I figured I'd better make good use of it.
With all of this, I bet you think I am going to post a recipe for jam, or maybe homemade bread. Nope! Had you fooled, didn't I?! (okay, so maybe the pictures gave it away...) I've decided to post a recipe I made clear back in the fall. I've wanted to post it for several months, but life was complicated, and I was stressed. Now I am ready.
The recipe is a Betty Crocker recipe from the Betty Crocker Cooky Book originally published in 1963. Brent gave me a copy of it, and he even called me the cookie queen. (I helped him break his cookie curse, but that's another story!) The recipe is the best cooky of 1930-1935 Molasses Crinkles. These are cookies that my grandparents & dad would have loved. They have been Mom approved! There are some interesting facts and notes on the page. For example, light molasses comes from the first boil of the sugar cane stalks; dark from the second. For this cookie, the recipe calls for light molasses. I didn't have any, so I used dark, and it was awesome. So, my guess is it just depends on taste. These cookies are thick, chewy and have crackled sugary tops. Cold milk is a must. In my oven, 10 minutes baking time is perfection!

Without further delay, (drum roll if you please)
I give you Molasses Crinkles! (please applaud)

Molasses Crinkles
3/4 c. soft shortening
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/4 c. molasses
2 1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
granulated sugar

Mix shortening, sugar, egg, and molasses thoroughly. Measure flour, use knife to level off. (Do not tap or pack flour into measuring cup). Blend all dry ingredients; stir in. Chill.
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll dough in 1 1/4" balls. Dip tops in sugar. Place balls, sugared side up, 3" apart on greased baking sheet. Sprinkle each with 2 or 3 drops of water. Bake 10-12 minutes or just until set but not hard. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

The answer to the quiz is d- all of the above! How many of you got it right? Hmm?!

By the way, you may notice the Be prepared buttons on my profile. If you click on them, it takes you to the Emergency Essentials website Be Prepared. If you post them on your blog, you can earn a free $10 card to Emergency Essentials. If you review the food storage analyzer, you can earn another $10 gift card. For those of you super bloggers, they also give gift cards to guest bloggers. AND...they have giveaways, ideas, recipes, links for emergency preparedness, & much more. So, if you need help being prepared, check it out. I might try the Food Storage Analyzer in the next few days. If I do, I'll let you know what I think.

Well, time to close this mini-novel. Love you all. Happy Easter!
P.S. Keep blogging!