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Famine Chow
Here's an Idea:
I got the opportunity to ride along with a relief convoy in Somalia a few years ago. They were engaged in a feeding program and the convoy carried tons of CSB (Corn Soy Blend). For those of you not familiar with feeding programs, the NGOs try to feed people from locally purchased foods (a custom "food basket" that the people of the region are familiar with and will find acceptable.) When this is not possible, they carry their own food, often in the form of CSB or WSB.
CSB and WSB (Corn Soy Blend and Wheat Soy Blend) are pre-packaged foods that come in large paper sacks. They are pre-cooked and all you have to do is mix them with clean water to make a meal. This is the porriage you see on fund raising programs about hunger and I admit it looks terrible. But I tried it in Somalia and found it quite good. The only way to describe the flavor is "foody". It's a very wholesome, filling and nutritious way to use storage foods.
This mixture is great for you. It has lots of complete protein and enough fats and sugar to keep children from losing weight (which is a problem on whole grain diets). Besides, it's easy to make from storage foods you probably already have and were wondering how to prepare. While the pre-cooked famine-chow is not very shelf stable, the ingredients are all things we store already. If you add a multivitamin, you can live on "famine chow" indefinitely.
To make your own:
50% by volume ground wheat, corn, barley or any other grain.
30% by volume ground beans, peas, soybeans, lentils or other legumes
10% by volume vegetable oil of any kind
10% by volume sugar, honey, molasses or other sweetener
Salt to taste.
To prepare it as a porridge (which tastes great as a breakfast cereal), Simply stir this mixture into twice as much (by volume) boiling water and cover it for 15 minutes or so to let it finish cooking (it will stick to the pot, unless you remove it from the fire, but try to keep it hot enough to finish cooking).
You can prepare it as a bread just as easily by using less water and adding a little powdered milk and maybe some powdered eggs. I make lots of quick breads, like raisin bread or zucchini bread with WSB and they are simply wonderful. It also makes a unique and great tasting yeast bread. CSB makes the best cornbread you have ever tried. Just use your normal recipe and substitute CSB for the corn meal.
I used to carry about 10 pounds of this mix and some baking powder, milk powder and sugar on camping trips. It cut down on my food bill tremendously. It makes great breading for fried fish. I used to make up a dutch oven load of biscuits in the morning and carry them with me as a quick, easy lunch and then in the evening, I made muffins with raisins and cinnamon for an evening snack. As long as you have a sack full of famine chow, you won't ever go hungry.
Once (as a joke) I made up a big bowl of it out of dried peas and cornmeal to bring to a party. The resulting slop looked very much like guacamole. The hostess put my bowl (unsuspecting) on the "chips and dips" table. I watched closely to see everyone's reaction. As the guests tasted it, you could see the shock on their face (it didn't taste anything like they expected). Every single one of them tried a second and third bite and several of them asked for the recipe. The hostess ended the evening sitting with the bowl in her lap eating it with a spoon.
Check it out. You might like it.
BigJohn
I got the opportunity to ride along with a relief convoy in Somalia a few years ago. They were engaged in a feeding program and the convoy carried tons of CSB (Corn Soy Blend). For those of you not familiar with feeding programs, the NGOs try to feed people from locally purchased foods (a custom "food basket" that the people of the region are familiar with and will find acceptable.) When this is not possible, they carry their own food, often in the form of CSB or WSB.
CSB and WSB (Corn Soy Blend and Wheat Soy Blend) are pre-packaged foods that come in large paper sacks. They are pre-cooked and all you have to do is mix them with clean water to make a meal. This is the porriage you see on fund raising programs about hunger and I admit it looks terrible. But I tried it in Somalia and found it quite good. The only way to describe the flavor is "foody". It's a very wholesome, filling and nutritious way to use storage foods.
This mixture is great for you. It has lots of complete protein and enough fats and sugar to keep children from losing weight (which is a problem on whole grain diets). Besides, it's easy to make from storage foods you probably already have and were wondering how to prepare. While the pre-cooked famine-chow is not very shelf stable, the ingredients are all things we store already. If you add a multivitamin, you can live on "famine chow" indefinitely.
To make your own:
50% by volume ground wheat, corn, barley or any other grain.
30% by volume ground beans, peas, soybeans, lentils or other legumes
10% by volume vegetable oil of any kind
10% by volume sugar, honey, molasses or other sweetener
Salt to taste.
To prepare it as a porridge (which tastes great as a breakfast cereal), Simply stir this mixture into twice as much (by volume) boiling water and cover it for 15 minutes or so to let it finish cooking (it will stick to the pot, unless you remove it from the fire, but try to keep it hot enough to finish cooking).
You can prepare it as a bread just as easily by using less water and adding a little powdered milk and maybe some powdered eggs. I make lots of quick breads, like raisin bread or zucchini bread with WSB and they are simply wonderful. It also makes a unique and great tasting yeast bread. CSB makes the best cornbread you have ever tried. Just use your normal recipe and substitute CSB for the corn meal.
I used to carry about 10 pounds of this mix and some baking powder, milk powder and sugar on camping trips. It cut down on my food bill tremendously. It makes great breading for fried fish. I used to make up a dutch oven load of biscuits in the morning and carry them with me as a quick, easy lunch and then in the evening, I made muffins with raisins and cinnamon for an evening snack. As long as you have a sack full of famine chow, you won't ever go hungry.
Once (as a joke) I made up a big bowl of it out of dried peas and cornmeal to bring to a party. The resulting slop looked very much like guacamole. The hostess put my bowl (unsuspecting) on the "chips and dips" table. I watched closely to see everyone's reaction. As the guests tasted it, you could see the shock on their face (it didn't taste anything like they expected). Every single one of them tried a second and third bite and several of them asked for the recipe. The hostess ended the evening sitting with the bowl in her lap eating it with a spoon.
Check it out. You might like it.
BigJohn
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