Farmington West Provident Living

Have you heard about the recent earthquakes  in Utah? There have been several   throughout the state this past week. This phenomena is what seismologists call a swarm. Sometimes they're no big deal, and sometimes they can be precursors to larger, more significant earthquakes. It's cold outside; which means that without proper preparation for winter weather, a power outage due to an earthquake, winter storm or malfunction in the power grid will be really miserable! As you break out the winter clothes for fun in the snow, it would also be a great time to see if you have enough food and water on hand, and several ways to help you keep warm in case of a power outage. Click HERE for some great suggestions on how to keep warm during a power outage. For more information on how much water you should store, click HERE . For more information how much food to store, click HERE  & HERE .

Did you know that there are 40,000 different varieties of rice? Each type of rice has its own taste, texture and properties, that make it work well with different cooking applications.  ANATOMY OF RICE Each grain of rice is enclosed in a tough outer hull, or husk, that needs to be removed before it can be consumed. This layer is removed in all rice types.   Under the hull, the bran layer is  not  removed in all rice types. This nutritious whole grain section is usually tan-colored, but it may be reddish or black depending on the pigmentation in the bran layers. The bran layer may be consumed, but it is often removed when further processing rice.  Once the bran and germ layers are removed, white rice remains. Known as the endosperm, this is the part of the rice that is most commonly consumed.  Found under the hull, the germ, or rice kernel, is nutrient-dense. Full of B vitamins, minerals, and proteins, it helps give rice its color and added nutrition...

Regular  oats  are rolled, whole-grain  oat  kernels. Q uick oats are whole-grain oat kernels that have been cut into smaller pieces before being rolled. The nutritional value of regular and quick oats is the same, however, the smaller pieces make it  easier for  quick oats  to absorb water than old fashioned  oats , which allows for a shorter cooking time than regular oats. Because of this, quick oats may be a better option in emergency situations where fuel and water is limited. Many people prefer the substantial texture of regular oats, but quick oats are a bit easier to digest because they are already broken down into smaller pieces. Save Save Save Save

The summer harvest season is upon us, which means it's time to begin preserving your favorite fruits and vegetables. Many foods can be dehydrated, including fruits, vegetables, nuts and meats. Drying foods is a great way to easily preserve food so it can be enjoyed all year long. Here are a few tips to help you begin processing your food by dehydration: Always use fresh produce.   Slice fruits and vegetables to about a half inch in thickness. For plums and apricots, slice in half and place them skin side down. This will make it much easier to remove them from the trays when they have finished drying.     Peel, core or remove pits/seeds before dehydrating peaches, pears and apples. Sweeteners can be added if desired, either by sprinkling it on the fruit after it's on the tray or by dipping fruit in a sweet liquid.   Set the dehydrator temperature, usually between 125 and 140. Turn the dehydrator on and check every 4 hours, until the fruit/veggies appear...

Paraffin wax is a waxy solid extracted from petroleum. Through a distillation process, solid paraffin wax becomes liquid paraffin, otherwise known as kerosene. Kerosene is a good source of energy for cooking and lighting. It is used as fuel in portable stoves and heaters.  Kerosene stoves and heaters are reliable and durable, and perform well under adverse conditions. An advantage of kerosene stoves over butane stoves is their particularly high thermal output and their ability to operate at very low temperature in winter or at high altitude. Kerosene(paraffin) is less flammable and volatile than gasoline.  A kerosene lantern with a one-inch wick will burn for 45 hours on 1 quart. The following amounts of kerosene would be used by burning a one-inch wick for 5 hours each day: 1/9 quart per day; 3 1/3 quarts per month; 10 gallons per year. Kerosene is one of the least expensive liquid fuels. It stores for long periods of time and can be used indoors with good ventil...

If you didn't make it to our "Cooking Without Power" class on Saturday, you missed out! We learned dozens of ways to cook when the power is out, and had a wonderful time tasting all of the delicious food we made! We started the class by learning about sun ovens, how to use them and all of the different types of food that can be made by simply harnessing the power of the sun! In just a little over an hour and a half, we made bread, orange rolls and even roasted a chicken with vegetables! Next, we fired up the apple box ovens. Apple box ovens use charcoal as a heat source. The foil-lined box acts as an insulator and reflects the heat, heating foods up to between 300-400 degrees! The foil-lined pan with charcoal goes underneath the apple box.  In the apple box ovens, we made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and caramel apple cinnamon roll pie, but apple box ovens can be used to cook just about anything, including to make dutch oven cooking more effici...