"Bread & Milk Emma...It's A STORM !! "

[Garmins dad]

Got a milk cow, chickens and three bags of flour left (not 5 lb bags either).. Sugar, water (well) and a genset for running the well if need be. We don't worry about being food less or heat less. Last year the nice folks up the road saw lights on in our house. Came over and asked how. Uhhh Gen set.. The whole area was with out power for a week. We told them head home get a change of clothing.. They stay a few days then went to stay in town at his cousins place. He never drained water from his house lines.. all froze.. lots of folks around here had major problems.. My wood stove never stopped burning (like it ever does). As far as wood consumption this year. I have used a cord. We had a wonderfully late fall.. and its been really warm (45f) amazing..

 

[Dalmatian90]

and three bags of flour left (not 5 lb bags either)

Odd fact I learned this year...and explained why grist mills persisted in New England even after wheat growing was no long practical (rust plus wasn't the best soil and climate for it)...

Grain keeps indefinitely as long as it's dry.

True "whole" wheat (or whatever) goes rancid in 60-90 days due to releasing the oils in the germ.

So folks would need to go to the grist mill to have their grain ground every couple of months.

White flour was a big innovation because it stored indefinitely, too. Making shipping, selling, storing for folks much easier. Later on we learned it needed to be "enriched" to try and compensate for some of the nutrition lost.

Most "whole wheat" flour -- any you see on supermarket stores -- isn't actually whole wheat because of the storage problem. The Gov't allows them to remove the germ (and thus oils) still; it's just the bran and endosperm. Most "whole wheat" breads and other products on store shelves are likewise made with this flour using a Gov't and not actual definition of whole wheat.

Today most folks who buy true whole wheat store it in a freezer to keep it from going rancid (since most folks don't bake all their bread, etc at home anymore our need for flour has been reduced greatly too.) There's some mail order shippers who send it out in dry wall buckets. I haven't yet, but I can get it semi-locally in Rhode Island where there's still a working (though electrified) grist mill -- Kenyon's Grist Mill -- that grinds fresh flour all year round.

 

[STLfirewood]

They were calling for a heavy frost here. I went and loaded up. You can never be to sure. This pictures does not include the 200 plus boxes of Twinkies, Zingers, Cupcakes, HoHos, and Ding Dongs. Not to mention the 200-300 apple, cherry, and puddin pies.

Scott

 

[logbutcher]

You do know Scott, that Ding Dongs are used for birth control in some parts.:eek2:
Just thought you'd want to know in case .