Biomass stove survival cooking video: How to make Re-fried Beans

Beans are a staple of long term food storage, and for good reason. Beans are a great source of useable protein, contain no cholesterol and are rich in fiber. They are also a good source of Vitamins A and C, Thiamine, potassium and iron.
 
So, you already know all that. The point is, how can you serve beans regularly, while still adding some variety?
by Leon Pantenburg
This recipe comes from Jan LeBaron's cookbook: "Jan's Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Converting Stored Foods Into Usable Meals."
This pinto bean recipe is simple and easy to prepare in advance. Serve beans with rice and you get a complete protein. As Jan recommends in her cookbook, combine this recipe with cornbread or Sopapillas or tortillas.
"When times are hard, this is a good meal to have every week," she comments in the cookbook.
I might add, when times are good, pinto beans can be part of a great, quick meal when everybody has somewhere to go during the evening! Make the rice and re-fried beans in advance and refrigerate. Then, all you have to do is brown some hamburger with a packet of taco seasoning. Warm and combine all these ingredients with some shredded cheese and lettuce and roll in a flour tortilla, and you have one of my favorite fast meals!
Combine these ingredients into a burrito and make a foil wrap, and put the packet in a re-sealable plastic bag for a quick meal on a dayhike or outing. At lunch or dinner time, make a campfire, and when the coals burn down, remove the foil wrap from the plastic bag and toss it on. Cook about five to ten minutes, then turn and cook another five to ten minutes. (Click here to learn how to make a foil wrap.)
Here's how to make the beans:
Favorite Family Pinto Beans
2-1/4 c pinto beans
2 quarts water
2 Tbs oil (optional)
1 Tbs onion, powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt
Soak the beans either overnight, or in boiling water for about an hour. Drain and cover with two quarts of fresh water, then bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat so the beans merely simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer for about an hour. The beans should be tender and fragrant. Bite into one to see if it's cooked through. When they are tender, they're ready to eat.
To make re-fried beans: Scoop up as many juicy beans as you want to use and put them in a large skillet. Add a little fat, if desired. Heat the beans and their juice over a medium-high flame while mashing them with a fork or potato masher. Add more bean juice as needed to keep the mixture moist. When the beans are hot and mashed, with a few beans chunks, they are done. Serve with cheese as a dip or stuffed into tortillas.

Instant Mocha Coffee Mix

I was really sad when my favorite "Double Dutch Chocolate" coffee mix was discontinued. So, always up for a challenge, I  decided to try to make my own version. You should have most of these ingredients already in your pantry.

Mocha Coffee Mix

1 1/2 cups non-fat Dry Milk
1 3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
3/4 cup Powdered Creamer
1/2 cup baking Cocoa (I used Dutch Processed)
1/3 cup Instant Coffee (reg or decaf)

1/4 tsp. salt
2  rounded TBSP. Malt Powder

Sift ingredients together.  Store in an air-tight container in a cool pantry.
Mix 3 rounded tablespoons mix into a mug with boiling water. Stir well.

It tastes better when sipped out of an Artisan mug...

Buckaroo Beans: a great beginner Dutch oven recipe

Anyone with storage supplies of dried beans needs innovative ways to cook them. Here is a favorite starter recipe from the Central Oregon Dutch Oven Society.
by Leon Pantenburg
People getting started in Dutch oven cooking are often somewhat intimidated when it comes to participating in a Dutch Oven Gathering or cookoff. One of the fool-proof recipes that is usually recommended to these folks is Buckaroo Beans. This recipe, from Amber Franks, and published in the Central Oregon Dutch Oven Cookbook, Volume One, makes use of several kinds of beans.
Dried or storage foods can easily be substituted for the fresh equivalents. Another nice aspect of this dish is that the beans can be cooked and simmered over a campfire in a Dutch oven.
Check out the recipe - you'll find yourself making it even when you don't need to prepare a meal under
survival circumstances!
Buckaroo Beans
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 c ketchup

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2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp each of oregano, basil and dill
2 (14 oz) cans of kidney beans
1 (6 oz) can baby lima beans
1 (24 oz) can Boston style baked beans
In a 12-inch Dutch oven, brown hamburger with the chopped onion. Add seasonings and beans (undrained except for the lima beans). Mix together and add ketchup, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Cook at about 325 degrees for about one hour.

Asparagus Bacon Chowder

Part of having a survival mindset is figuring out how to use what you have on-hand at right that moment.
Here in Iowa we've been experiencing some weird weather.  Hot when it's supposed to be cold, cold when it's supposed to be hot.  This past week we had a cold snap of 40ºF during the day...brrrrrr  I was in the mood for some nice warm soup and I didn't want to make a trip into the grocery store.  After scrounging through my pantry, this is the result.

Asparagus Bacon Chowder

1# Fresh Asparagus (out of our garden that day)
6-8 cups Water (enough to cover asparagus & rehydrated potatoes)
1 TBSP. Chicken base paste
6 green onions (again, out of the garden) could use dehydrated
1 cup Potato dices-dehydrated
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash-regular

1 can PET evaporated Milk
1 heaping TBSP. Bacon TVP bits-dehydrated

1 cup shredded white cheese. 
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste.  (sample before adding, there is salt in the Chicken base)

In a large sauce pan add the water, chicken base & dehydrated Potato.   Let sit for 10-15 minutes to reconstitute the potatoes.  Meanwhile, cut the asparagus into 2 inch pieces.  Dice up the onions. Add veggies to the saucepan,(may add more water to cover) then bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are done.  Add the spices, bacon, cheese and can of milk.  Gently heat through until the cheese melts.. Do NOT let the soup come back to a boil.  

Serve with a slice of homemade Sourdough bread.....

Homemade Noodles

I've been under the weather a bit this past week to the point where nothing sounded good to eat. If you've ever seen me...you'd wonder if that ever happened at all!

But, I digress. When in doubt, go to Grandma's Special Cure-All. Chicken noodle soup! This weeks recipe is for making homemade noodles using your dried , dehydrated and canned products.

As a rule of thumb for noodles, I use 1 large egg per cup of flour, plus added water as needed to make a dough.
So, you ask, what happens if I don't have any fresh eggs? Use DRIED.

Homemade Noodles ala Karla
This is a basic recipe. Feel free to sub different flours, liquid etc.

2 cups all-purpose Flour (or whole wheat etc)
2 large Eggs or 4 TBSP. dried Egg Powder + 8 TBSP. Water to rehydrate.
Additional 1/4 to 1/2 cup water as needed to form dough.
1 tsp. Salt

If using powdered eggs, you may mix the egg powder in with the flour & salt, but I find that you'll get a better dough by first re-hydrating the egg.

On a pastry board, make a mound out of the flour & salt. In the middle of the mound make a well. Pour the re-hydrated egg into this. Take a fork and start stirring the dry ingredients into the center until it pulls together to make a dough. If the dough is shaggy and too dry, sprinkle with water.
On a floured board knead the dough until firm and no longer sticky. I've found that if the dough sort of "squeeks", it's ready. Cover the dough with some plastic wrap, set aside and let rest for half an hour.

Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured board roll it out until thin, sprinkle flour if sticky. Roll the dough up jelly-roll style, start at one end and cut into noodles. I like thick noodles so I cut mine about 1/4 inch wide. Shake out the noodles and lay on clean dishcloths to dry.
I remember mom making noodles when I was a little kid. She would cover the backs of the dining room chairs with a dishtowel and then drape the noodles over them to dry. I got my fanny swatted more than once for stealing a taste before they were fully dry!

When noodles are dry, drop into boiling water or broth and cook until just firm to the bite, 8-10 minutes. If in a hurry, I use canned chicken broth. Or, if in a real pinch, use water and whatever broth base you have on hand. Reconstitute according to the directions on the jar.

My favorite way to use these is Chicken and noodles, served over mashed potatoes....(must be a Mid-West thing) or Beef and noodles using home canned beef....mmmmmmm