How to store fresh eggs in lime water for up to 2 years without refrigeration.

How to store eggs in lime water:

Also known as water glass eggs

1. Choose a food safe container.
2. Make the lime water by mixing 1 oz. of pickling lime per 1 qt. ...
3. Place the lime water and the eggs into the container.
4. Cap the container.
5. Store the container in a cool area up to 24 months.
6. Carefully remove and rinse the eggs when ready to consume them.

Couple of notes:

• The reason we point eggs down is that there’s an air pocket in each egg, so if you have it going toward the largest size, it’s not touching as much of the egg white and you’ll end up with a better quality egg.
• The biggest concern with water glassing eggs is evaporation. You don’t want your lime water evaporating and exposing your eggs, especially if you’re storing them away in the basement where you might forget about them.
• One way to keep evaporation from happening is to use a container with a lid. If your container doesn’t have a lid, you could add a layer of olive oil over the top of the water, then cover with a towel to keep any bugs or insects out.
• Start off with a clean vessel to store your eggs. Depending on how many eggs you want to preserve will determine the size of your container. I’m starting with a 5-gallon food-grade bucket, but over the course of the summer, I usually fill two or three of these buckets.
  
• Next, add enough water to your container that your eggs will be completely submerged, but not so much that the water will overflow.
  
• Measure out your water and lime. The ratio of water to lime is for every one quart of water you’ll use 1 ounce of lime. No matter what size container you’re using, this is the ratio to follow.
• It’s important that your eggs are not washed before you lime  them.

Here is a link for pickling lime.

https://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Wages-Pickling-1-Pound-Resealable/dp/B0084LZU1Q/ref=as_li_ss_tl?keywords=pickling+lime&qid=1554761812&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&linkCode=sl1&tag=omesteadingfa-20&linkId=faed19a777e6f3fef6ff96cdcf4284da&language=en_US

Panko and Yogurt Baked (fried) Chicken

Pretty much all online breaded chicken recipes call for eggs and flour and I don't prefer it that way, I like more crunch and flavor and less grease, to do things a little differently.  I decided to use the last bit of greek yogurt in the fridge. Generally mine is homemade but any store bought plain flavored yogurt works. These by far are the best breaded chicken breasts, all juicy and in their crunchy glory. ALL of my children ate this chicken and enjoyed it {now that is definitely something worthy of writing about}....

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and trimmed of any fat

1 cup plain greek yogurt

2 cups Italian panko bread crumbs

dash of salt, or pepper or any seasoning mixes or packets you want, we've done ranch and taco both were fabulous

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a baking sheet like olive oil because it makes a crispier crust on the chicken.

Rinse each chicken breast and pat dry.  Set aside.

Put the yogurt Into a medium mixing bowl.

In another mixing bowl or a ziplock bag, I prefer it in the bag because it makes for easier clean up  I can just chuck it. Add the panko bread crumbs and a dash of kosher salt, or seasonings.

Roll each chicken breast in the Greek yogurt, until you have a nice layer on each side.  

Then, roll the yogurt covered chicken breast in the bread crumbs, until completely coated on each side.

Place each chicken breast on lightly greased baking sheet.  Repeat for each chicken breast.

Place in oven {uncovered} for 25 to 30 minutes, I like to turn them over halfway through to get it really crisp on both sides, bake until the chicken is no longer pink in center.  

We eat it with baked green beans and baked potatoes, it all goes in the oven and finishes around the same time.

Wonton and Egg Roll Wrappers

2 cups flour (wheat or rice or any gluten free kind you want)
1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 -1/2 cup cold water


Sift flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Whisk together egg, salt and 1/4 cup water. Pour into flour well. Mix together, adding additional water until the mixture will stay together in a ball. (You may need more or less then 1/2 cup, use your discretion. Keep in mind that you do not want it to be sticky.) Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and pliable. Let rest for 30-60 min. (This is so the gluten can relax. The longer it sits the easier it will be to roll out) Divide dough in half. Keep half covered (a damp towel works best) while you roll out the other out on a surface lightly coated with cornstarch (if you use flour it may toughen it up). Roll out as thin as you possibly can. Cut into 3.5 inch squares (You should be able to get about.12 wonton wrappers out of each half).  Makes 24 wrappers.



Helpful Tips: You can store them in your fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for longer storage. If you are not going to use them right away then they will probably shrink back a bit. But, the dough is so pliable they are easy to stretch out one at a time just before you fill/use them. If you are wanting to stack them, coat them in cornstarch. If you stack them with flour it will absorb into the dough and they will become one solid mass. If they have been in the fridge for a couple of days and the moisture seems to have removed most of the cornstarch re-coat them again before placing in the freezer. It is important to keep the dough covered as much as possible or it will dry out. Any dough/wrappers that are not being worked with should be covered, preferably with a damp towel. If you have a pasta maker then these are even easier to make. Just pass them through, gradually going to the thinnest setting
This same dough is used to make boiled wontons, fried wontons or pot stickers, egg-roll wrappers, spring roll wrappers, Chinese noodles and egg noodles, depending on the size you cut them and how you cook them.

 

How to soak and sprout wheat.

Here is how I sprout my wheat. Add wheat berries hard red or white (or grain of choice, oat groats or barley) to a bowl and cover the berries with filtered water it is essential to not use chlorinated water.  Allow the berries to soak for 6-12 hours, then dump off the extra water (I use a small strainer to make this step easy).
Twice a day, run fresh water over the grain and then strain off the excess water again.  Allow the berries to remain on the counter (covered) for 3 days until the berries have sprouted little 'tails' that are about a quarter of an inch long.  You can put them in a Ziplock bag that is not closed in the fridge.

Once the wheat berries have sprouted, throw the grains in your dehydrator for 12-ish hours, or until completely dry.  You could also do this on a baking sheet in your oven on the lowest temperature. 

Grind into flour and you're ready to go!  I then store mine in the fridge or freezer until I'm ready to use it.

 I do mine in a magic bullet cup though, it goes pretty fast. You can use a blender or a grain grinder.   If you don't have a grain grinder, you can also grind the grain in your coffee grinder.  Since most recipes don't call for more than a few cups of flour, grinding in the coffee grinder can be pretty efficient.


When you are just getting started use your favorite bread recipe, and substitute half a cup of flour that the recipe calls for with the sprouted wheat flour and up it next time you make it. Until you feel confident and satisfied with the result.

You may be wondering why should you want to sprout your grains and isn't whole grains good enough.  There are three main differences between whole grains and sprouted grains:
1) Sprouting activates essential enzymes in food
2) Sprouting increases the amount of vitamin content
3) Sprouting neutralizes anti-nutrients, like phytic acid, which constrict the body's ability to fully absorb nutrition.

Regular white or even whole wheat products can cause a lot of problems in our digestive systems, causing mucous buildup, allergic reactions, and even constipation. This means the body is unable to absorb the nutrients it needs. However, with sprouted wheat, these negative effects can often be eliminated. A lot of wheat-intolerant people are able to handle sprouted wheat bread products because the starch is already converted to simple sugars. It's a lot easier to break down. 

Easy Bottled Fresh Tomatoes or How to can tomatoes

2012-04-21 22:59
Mountain Standard Time

I have read a lot of recipes about lava hot concoctions or syrups.  Mine doesn't involve any of that.

Scrub and boil your bottles.  Use tongs to remove them from the water and let dry on a clean towel.
I blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 3 minutes, then pull the skins off.  Sometimes they don't need to be blanched if they are super ripe it comes right off.  I use the same knife to cut them in half and remove the seeds.  I slice each half into 4 pieces (removing any bad spots as I go along). You can bottle them whole using this method too.


Needs about 24 pint sized jars for this batch.

30-40 medium sized tomatoes (de-seeded sliced or diced)
1-3 teaspoons of salt per jar
water
FDA recommends using lemon juice to raise the acid level, I don't, because we are allergic to lemons, so add in 1 teaspoon per jar if you'd like. I haven't noticed a difference without it.
1 large pot filled with water and set on high to boil.

Line jars on the counter,  fill each jar with between 12-15 pieces depending on the slice size.  (I put them in as I cut them). Sprinkle in salt into each bottle.  Fill with water to the bottom thread line on jar and screw on the lids.
Shake them till the salt dissolves.

Put the filled jars into the pot of boiling water.  Set the timer for 20 minutes.

Using tongs, remove them from the water and set on a towel to cool.  Tighten the rings carefully. (I use a dish cloth to protect my hand from burns)
Listen for the tell tale POP sound to know they are sealed.  Just leave them sit on the towel for 24 hours.