Marti’s Corner – 117

Hi Everyone,

Riverside County is required every 5 years to create a list of the most probable natural disasters.  Most counties have a department for Emergency Management.  Check online for information relative to your county.  

Here is this year’s list for MY county:

1. Earthquake (What is interesting about this is you can Google the top disasters in Riverside County for the past 10 years.  Of the 100 disasters listed, only about 3-4 were earthquakes, most were fires.  BUT, Riverside County still lists EARTHQUAKE as the most important to prepare for.)
2. Fire
3. Infectious Diseases
4. Pandemic
5. Flood
6. Electric failure
7. Extreme weather
8. Drought
9. Hazardous Materials Leak
10. Cyber Attack
11. Terrorist Attack
12. Communication Failure
13. Dam Failure
14. Landslide
15. Insect Infestation
16. Transportation Failure
17. Civil Disorder
18. Aqueduct Failure
19. Jail Failure
20. Pipeline Disruption
21. Tornado
22. Nuclear Accident
23. Radiological Accident

How can you possibly prepare for EVERYTHING?  Well…. you can’t.  BUT you CAN prepare for most things with:

• 72 hour kits
• food (3 months for a start)
• medications and first aid kits
• communications plan
• evacuation plan
• backup cooking
• backup power

What does YOUR family need to work on???

Google Ham Radio Classes and see if there is anything near you.  These classes are often free, or there is a nominal charge for materials.  They will help you prepare to take the exam.  There is a small fee for the exam as well.  I think it’s about $15. 

GARDEN HAPPENINGS:

Time to feed the garden.  

Got ready to can some tomatoes, and when I cut them open, I found this:

I reached out to a gardening group online.  Their answers include:

     This is normal for heirloom tomatoes

     It’s from extremely hot weather

     It’s from stink bugs

So??  Not sure what the answer is.

Got all my shade cloths up over the garden.

I know it seems fancy, but try and get your plants covered.

THIS WEEK’S PURCHASE: cereal, hot or cold

When you go shopping this week, just pick up 2 large cereal boxes of something you eat all the time.  I’m going to get Rice Krispies and Honey Nut Cheerios.  (Confession….I RARELY eat cold cereal, but my husband has a bowl almost every day and this is what he likes).  When you bring it home, put the date on it, and then ROTATE!!!!  From experience I know that cold cereal is good for about a year.  After that, all bets are off.

Think about a month of breakfasts.  What would you like:

Pancakes?  Cold cereal?  Hot cereal?  Hash browns and scrambled eggs?  Something sweet like a Cinnamon Crumb Cake or Cinnamon Rolls?  Some breakfast cookies (see recipes below)?  French Toast (have to be able to make bread for this one)?  Cold canned peaches with toast?  Whatever you would like to eat, start planning and set a goal to get 3 months worth of breakfast food.  It’s not that hard.  A large package of Krusteaz, 2 containers of oatmeal, a couple boxes of cold cereal…….  Figure out what you need and get it.  THEN…..ROTATE!!!!!

MISC. PURCHASE: trash bags

Pretty much any of the above disasters are going to require trash bags–either for clean up, or for sanitation, or for whatever.  Just get an extra box of either 13 gallon kitchen trash bags, or a bag of large black trash bags (or both!) this week.

FOOD STORAGE RECIPES:

Healthy Breakfast Cookies:

LEMON BLUEBERRY:

• 2 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
• 3/4 c. flour
• 1/4 c. coconut sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 c. + 1 TB non-dairy milk (like almond)
• 1/4 c. maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 c. dried blueberries (or fresh)

     Preheat oven to 350˚.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment.  Add all ingredients.  Use a 1/4 c. scoop and scoop the batter onto the parchment paper.  Pat the tops down a little and bake cookies for 15-17 minutes until firm and cooked through.  Cool before eating.

CARROT CAKE COOKIES

• 2 1/2 c. oats
• 3/4 c. flour
• 1/4 c. coconut sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 c. + 1 TB non-dairy milk (like almond)
• 1/4 c. maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 c. grated carrot

      Preheat oven to 350˚.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment.  Add all ingredients.  Use a 1/4 c. scoop and scoop the batter onto the parchment paper.  Pat the tops down a little and bake cookies for 15-17 minutes until firm and cooked through.  Cool before eating.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER

• 2 1/2 c. oats
• 3/4 c. flour
• 1/4 c. + 1 TB coconut sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 c. + 1 TB non-dairy milk (like almond)
• 1/4 c. + 1 TB maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

      Preheat oven to 350˚.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment.  Add all ingredients.  Use a 1/4 c. scoop and scoop the batter onto the parchment paper.  Pat the tops down a little and bake cookies for 15-17 minutes until firm and cooked through.  Cool before eating.

Chicken Alfredo Bake

This makes a 13 X 9 size pan which is WAAAY too much for two people.  I’m going to cut it in half when I make it.

• 1 lb. cooked chopped chicken (about 3 breasts) OR
  • 1 jar canned chicken
• 5 c. short pasta, cooked to al dente
• 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 TB Parmesan cheese

      Place chicken and pasta in the baking dish.  Set cheese aside for topping

Alfredo Sauce

• 1/4 c. butter – melt
• 1 tsp minced garlic

     Add to the melted butter and cook 1 minute

• 3 TB flour – stir in the butter til absorbed, cook 1-2 min.
• 1 1/2 c. milk – Add and stir till smooth
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

    Add to the sauce mix.  Whisk until thickened and smooth

Pour over pasta and chicken in a baking dish and top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 375 for 20-30 min until hot and bubbly.

Marti