What to do with about 700 pounds wheat. Ideas?

[Iggy]

On 3/12/2018 at 10:29 AM, anatess2 said:

For some reason, I have this thing in my psyche that believes jars are better than cans.  I don't know how it got there.

For me it is because Mom canned nearly everything - - with the exception of meats. With glass you can see if the food has gone bad. Keep it in a dark, cool room and your jars of food should be just fine. Also, the food that my Mom canned was meant to be consumed about a month past the next canning season. So- not for years and years. About the only foods that ended up being on the shelf for years and years was the jams.

In 1981 when Mom and Dad moved from Seattle to South Dakota - we came upon 6 pint jars of Blackberry Jam (my favorite). Mom gave them to me, as I was staying in Washington state. Darn good jam!!!  Mom topped all jams with melted paraffin, then when that was set she also put on a canning lid and ring. That insured that the mice and bugs couldn't get the jam.

 

@JohnsonJones ~ I solved the weevils problem by vacuum sealing rice, whole grains, pasta, etc. Pretty much anything that comes in paper/cardboard.Repackage the bulk in smaller portions. For Rice A Roni, boxed mac & cheese (the powdery cheese) , pasta - vacuum seal them in the box, just don't let it go all the way. IOW stop the process before the box inplodes on itself. Also if you have any food/water (flour, sugar, rice, whole grains, etc. ) in pails - keep the pails from direct contact with the floor. IOW set those pails on pallets. Same for canned & packaged goods (TP, Paper towels, etc.) Set your bottom shelf to just one notch above floor lever.

[Still_Small_Voice]

I gave away about 7 pounds of ground up whole wheat flour to my neighbor.  His wife wants to make bread with it.  I am going to grind up more for them.  Still looking for other ways to use up this massive amount of wheat.

[Iggy]

48 minutes ago, Still_Small_Voice said:

I gave away about 7 pounds of ground up whole wheat flour to my neighbor.  His wife wants to make bread with it.  I am going to grind up more for them.  Still looking for other ways to use up this massive amount of wheat.

https://wholegrainscouncil.org/recipes

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Still_Small_Voice said:

I gave away about 7 pounds of ground up whole wheat flour to my neighbor.  His wife wants to make bread with it.  I am going to grind up more for them.  Still looking for other ways to use up this massive amount of wheat.

If you're not against eating it yourself, but you just don't know how to cook different things with it... Here's an idea:

1) Use ground or cracked wheat as a soup additive.  It thickens and adds nutrition and flavor.
2) Mix in with casseroles.
3) Boil to make wheat tea.  Cold or hot.  It can taste pretty good. Boil.  Let sit overnight.  Drain the juice into a glass/cup.  Add sweetener.  The soaked grounds may be used as a meal or additive to another dish.
4) Bake some bread yourself.  This is best done if you're really going to get into it.  The first dozen or so loaves will taste pretty bad.  And if you're not constantly learning how, ALL the loaves will taste bad.  Learn how to make it taste better and how to make it fluff up better.

[zil]

12 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

The first dozen or so loaves will taste pretty bad.

Not if you follow a good recipe they won't.  (I never understood what was so hard about following a recipe.  Making whole wheat bread from scratch is not hard - the first time I followed my mom's recipe, I got exactly what she got.  And it's time-consuming in a way similar to how laundry is time consuming - you do a part, then wait, then do another part, then wait - and do something else while waiting.)

[Guest]

1 hour ago, zil said:

Not if you follow a good recipe they won't.  (I never understood what was so hard about following a recipe.  Making whole wheat bread from scratch is not hard - the first time I followed my mom's recipe, I got exactly what she got.  And it's time-consuming in a way similar to how laundry is time consuming - you do a part, then wait, then do another part, then wait - and do something else while waiting.)

For one, you have to grind the wheat right.  And getting the right setting on most grinders is tough.  If too fine, it simply won't grind.  If too coarse, it won't rise.  When you mix it the water needs time to soak in, but not too much.

These and several other factors make whole wheat bread taste like wood if you don't do it right.  If you've been able to simply "follow a recipe' count yourself blessed or a savant of whole wheat bread making.  You apparently have a gift.

Or it could simply be another Korean weakness.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Guest

[zil]

20 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

For one, you have to grind the wheat right.  And getting the right setting on most grinders is tough.  If too fine, it simply won't grind.  If too coarse, it won't rise.  When you mix it the water needs time to soak in, but not too much.

These and several other factors make whole wheat bread taste like wood if you don't do it right.  If you've been able to simply "follow a recipe' count yourself blessed or a savant of whole wheat bread making.  You apparently have a gift.

Or it could simply be another Korean weakness.

Huh.  I followed mom's recipe and instructions, the wheat grinder's instructions, the yeast's instructions, the bread mixer's instructions, and it all worked out.  I guess I'm a believer in following instructions.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, zil said:

Huh.  I followed mom's recipe and instructions, the wheat grinder's instructions, the yeast's instructions, the bread mixer's instructions, and it all worked out.  I guess I'm a believer in following instructions.

I did all that too. And got a wooden loaf.

[zil]

1 minute ago, Carborendum said:

I did all that too. And got a wooden loaf.

Apparently you have the wrong instructions, or the wrong equipment.

[mordorbund]

4 hours ago, zil said:

I never understood what was so hard about following a recipe.

Blind obedience is for sheeple.

[Vort]

2 hours ago, mordorbund said:

Blind obedience is for sheeple.

I would agree with you,  but I have to take the contrary stance on principle.

[anatess2]

15 hours ago, mordorbund said:

Blind obedience is for sheeple.

Blind obedience to great mothers is not being sheeple.  And a mother with a good wheat bread recipe is a great mother.  

[NeuroTypical]

"Following the recipe" story:

The new bride is making her first big dinner for her husband and tries her hand at her mother’s brisket recipe, cutting off the ends of the roast the way her mother always did. Hubby thinks the meat is delicious, but says, “Why do you cut off the ends — that’s the best part!” She answers, “That’s the way my mother always made it.”

The next week, they visit mother, and asks mom why she cut off the ends.  Mom says "That's the way your grandma taught me."

They visit grandma and ask why she cut off the ends. Grandma says, “My dear, that’s the only way it would fit in my pan back in that old house!”

(Full disclosure, I think all the above women are not excluded from a shot at Anatess' "Great Mother" title.)

Edited March 21, 2018 by NeuroTypical

[mordorbund]

21 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

Blind obedience to great mothers is not being sheeple.  And a mother with a good wheat bread recipe is a great mother.  

What a beautiful tribute!

https://media.giphy.com/media/aTiZ1PZU92lyM/giphy.gif

 

I'm not crying, you're crying!!!

Edited March 21, 2018 by mordorbund

[anatess2]

Just now, mordorbund said:

What a beautiful tribute!

https://media.giphy.com/media/aTiZ1PZU92lyM/giphy.gif

I'm not crying, you're crying!!!

Is that Fassy?????

[anatess2]

1 hour ago, mordorbund said:

What a beautiful tribute!

https://media.giphy.com/media/aTiZ1PZU92lyM/giphy.gif

 

I'm not crying, you're crying!!!

Nooo!  I like the Fassy one better!

[anatess2]

2 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

"Following the recipe" story:

The new bride is making her first big dinner for her husband and tries her hand at her mother’s brisket recipe, cutting off the ends of the roast the way her mother always did. Hubby thinks the meat is delicious, but says, “Why do you cut off the ends — that’s the best part!” She answers, “That’s the way my mother always made it.”

The next week, they visit mother, and asks mom why she cut off the ends.  Mom says "That's the way your grandma taught me."

They visit grandma and ask why she cut off the ends. Grandma says, “My dear, that’s the only way it would fit in my pan back in that old house!”

(Full disclosure, I think all the above women are not excluded from a shot at Anatess' "Great Mother" title.)

 I think most of us have a story like this one.  Not having a daughter kinda makes me a bit wistful about "legacies from my mother" that could end with me.  I do have a sister that has 2 daughters and with my mother also living with them, the legacies will live on I'm sure.  Especially as my sister - who is the "girly girl" between us - have a strange propensity for ruining kitchens.  @zil has it right when it comes to being able to follow instructions and my sister just can't seem to do the simplest ones like - there's no step in the process of making ox-tail soup that says to pop off the little thingee on the pressure cooker.  Whereas, I'm very very good at following detailed instructions. 

But, nothing that I make tastes like my mother's cooking, to my frustration.  I even have a notebook that I started when I was only 6 years old writing down every step of the process to make my mother's "ginisa".  But I can't make it taste like my mother's and that is because this is the way my mother cooks - "Add a bit of salt"... and I would ask, "How many teaspoons is a bit of salt" and my mom says, I don't know, start with 1/4 tsp and adjust until it tastes right.  Now, those are instructions that are IMPOSSIBLE to follow.  And that is because all I know is that it doesn't taste like my mother's and I have no idea if that means I put too much salt or too little salt.  I went to my grandmother with my notebook asking her what's the correct amount and my grandmother says the same thing - just put a little bit and then add some more until it tastes right.  Well, there's the water, the salt, then the pepper, then the soy sauce, and trying to figure out the balance between all 4 until it "tastes right" is just beyond my comprehension.  So, I would make ginisa and then call my mother - taste this and tell me what's wrong with it... and my mom goes - it needs sugar.  Well, mother, there's no sugar in the recipe.  And my mother would go, well, this one needs sugar.

Anyway, I make ginisa a lot and my husband and kids love it.  But it doesn't taste like my mother's.  My kids, though, they love my ginisa better than my mother's.  But that's probably because they're loyalists.  Hah hah.

Edited March 21, 2018 by anatess2

[Iggy]

22 hours ago, anatess2 said:

Not having a daughter kinda makes me a bit wistful about "legacies from my mother" that could end with me.

 

Why can't your sons inherit the "legacies from your mother & grandmother"? My Granmother's eldest son was as good of a cook as she & my mom were, and he was a *Manly Man*. He was also the main cook when he served in the Marines. He passed down the "Legacy" to three sons. With two wives he had 5 sons and 2 daughters. The three youngest are the ones who became the best cooks.

In my family, there are/were 2 sons and 5 daughters. The eldest son taught himself how to cook "fancy, smancy" rich desserts. The youngest son cooks Grandma & Moms tried and true desserts. Out of the girls, I think only myself and my next oldest sister are following in Mom's Cooking Legacy. Now, of the nieces and nephews [4 girls & 4 boys] - NONE of them can cook worth a darn. Boiling water to add to instant potatoes or oatmeal is about the extent of their cooking ability. Such a shame! Ooops, one daughter can cook - her HUSBAND and his father taught her!!

Edited March 22, 2018 by Iggy

[anatess2]

57 minutes ago, Iggy said:

Why can't your sons inherit the "legacies from your mother & grandmother"? My Granmother's eldest son was as good of a cook as she & my mom were, and he was a *Manly Man*. He was also the main cook when he served in the Marines. He passed down the "Legacy" to three sons. With two wives he had 5 sons and 2 daughters. The three youngest are the ones who became the best cooks.

In my family, there are/were 2 sons and 5 daughters. The eldest son taught himself how to cook "fancy, smancy" rich desserts. The youngest son cooks Grandma & Moms tried and true desserts. Out of the girls, I think only myself and my next oldest sister are following in Mom's Cooking Legacy. Now, of the nieces and nephews [4 girls & 4 boys] - NONE of them can cook worth a darn. Boiling water to add to instant potatoes or oatmeal is about the extent of their cooking ability. Such a shame! Ooops, one daughter can cook - her HUSBAND and his father taught her!!

Because I'm no 3rd Wave Feminist and so we encourage my sons to inherit the "legacies from their father and grandfather".  And neither their father nor their grandfathers have legacy-passed wisdom the exact same as what their mother and grandmothers have passed.  Of course, it doesn't mean that my sons can't cook.  They can cook.  They just have no interest in "how to cook ginisa just like their grandmother" and I don't insist on it.  They can cook ginisa however they want to.  That's what my sister's daughters are for - keeping the legacy of their mothers alive.  But what my boys are diligent in learning (because I taught them to care about that kind of thing) is "how to field-dress a boar just like how grandpa did it." or "how to smoke a turkey just like how their dad does it" and all that kind of stuff.

LEGACY and knowing how to cook are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS.  3rd Wave Feminists respond to that like you do and I'm disappointed that you did.  I didn't think you were one of these women who thinks "there's a wage gap because there are more female nurses than there are female engineers" and that 3rd wave bullhokey.

Edited March 22, 2018 by anatess2

[Iggy]

On 3/22/2018 at 10:10 AM, anatess2 said:

Because I'm no 3rd Wave Feminist and so we encourage my sons to inherit the "legacies from their father and grandfather".  And neither their father nor their grandfathers have legacy-passed wisdom the exact same as what their mother and grandmothers have passed.  Of course, it doesn't mean that my sons can't cook.  They can cook.  They just have no interest in "how to cook ginisa just like their grandmother" and I don't insist on it.  They can cook ginisa however they want to.  That's what my sister's daughters are for - keeping the legacy of their mothers alive.  But what my boys are diligent in learning (because I taught them to care about that kind of thing) is "how to field-dress a boar just like how grandpa did it." or "how to smoke a turkey just like how their dad does it" and all that kind of stuff.

LEGACY and knowing how to cook are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS.  3rd Wave Feminists respond to that like you do and I'm disappointed that you did.  I didn't think you were one of these women who thinks "there's a wage gap because there are more female nurses than there are female engineers" and that 3rd wave bullhokey.

Whoa! Where are you coming from??? I sure as the dickens didn't mean to kick sand in your face when I walked by. 3rd Wave Feminists???? Please back off and dull those fangs and talons of yours.  My Grandmother born in 1899, my Mother born in 1922 and myself born in 1952 - so we are 3rd Wave Feminists???? To teach sons to cook, clean, sew, iron as well as have them learn to change the oil in the car, change the tires, put on snow chains, change their children's diapers, give them baths, hold & cuddle & read to them. Gender differentials have no place in the home in this day and age. Well, ever really. This from my White, Just a Wee-bit Below Middle-Class mind set.

Okay, I looked up what 3rd Wave Feminism is - you are so OFF the mark with that comment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-wave_feminism    

Quote

Third-wave feminism is an iteration of the Feminist Movement that began in the early 1990s United States ^[2] and continued until the fourth wave began around 2012.^[3][4] Born in the 1960s and 1970s as members of Generation X, and grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second wave, third-wave feminists embraced individualism and diversity and sought to redefine what it meant to be a feminist.^[5][6][7] According to feminist scholar Elizabeth Evans, "[t]he confusion surrounding what constitutes third-wave feminism is in some respects its defining feature.

 

anatess2, when (if) your sons go on a mission, who is going to clean their living quarters? Cook their food - when they don't go to any members home? Mend their clothes? Why shouldn't they be able to cook foods, just like Mom/Grandma/GreatGMa for their missionary companions? Dad was born in 1912 - and he had no notions that what he knew how to do was only to be taught to his sons. There is only one thing he learned - inherited- from his father that he flat out refused to teach to his sons, or daughters for that matter, and that was how to use explosives. You see my Grandpa was an expert in blowing things up, as was my Dad. Dad didn't pursue that as a career - instead he worked as a Warehouse man for Pacific Fruit & Produce in Seattle, WA. He learned about ALL fruits and vegetables, and he taught ALL of his children too.

 

Edited March 23, 2018 by Iggy

[Guest]

On 3/21/2018 at 10:15 AM, anatess2 said:

Blind obedience to great mothers is not being sheeple.  And a mother with a good wheat bread recipe is a great mother.  

Grandmother.  She does't get great until her grandchild has a child.

Edited March 23, 2018 by Guest

[Guest]

On 3/20/2018 at 3:53 PM, zil said:

Apparently you have the wrong instructions, or the wrong equipment.

We just had a special ward pot luck.  We're supposed to cook a meal over the campfire using only items from our food storage.  Surprise surprise, only about five families actually had food from food storage.  The rest just brought food with them (read: fast food or left overs from home).

So, I put together my award winning chili in a cast iron pot and set it on the fire.  Then I realized what was going to go wrong.  I mentioned that without tasting it, I can't determine if it will "meet my standard" for award winning chili.  She said,"As long as you have a good recipe, just trust in it and it will be fine."

"I don't have a recipe.  I taste it as the seasonings disperse into the pot and add what I need to get the balance just right."

"Well, you can't do that with cast iron campfire cooking."

"A-ha - ah!  See my problem?"

As it turned out, I was only lacking water since I used several dehydrated ingredients.  Apart from the dryness, it tasted ok, I suppose.  But it could have been much better.

[Still_Small_Voice]

Here is a follow up on this subject.  I have finally ground up a full bucket of wheat.  I only have about fifty more buckets to go.  Someone else in my ward is wanting whole wheat flour so I have been grinding it up and giving it to this family.

[Guest]

On 3/12/2018 at 7:26 AM, zil said:

and it was as old as I was

Back then, didn't they call it spelt?

[Lost Boy]

Dang, that's a lot.

I've gone low carb so I have zero need for wheat.

BTW what in the world did you have 700lbs of wheat for?  If you are looking at a years storage, that is 2 lbs of wheat per day.  That is a bunch.