Since DW and DS6 were both sick with colds today, I made dinner. I made it from cans of food we had in storage. That made me realize two things: the cans of food we have stored would not last long at all; and I really need to learn how to cook.
I used five cans of food: Del Monte Peas and Carrots, Turkey Spam, Chef Boyardee canned pasta, a tin of sardines, and canned grapefruit sections for desert. Five cans for one meal! If we did that two meals a day, those cans in the basement would be gone in less than two months.
The other, related, point, is that the dinner was pretty awful. I was glad two of us were sick so they couldn’t taste it very well.
We do have almost 300 lbs of wheat in storage, and in a true survival situation we would use that. But we haven’t been using it much so far, and we need to start doing that. Also, I should be thinking less in terms of cans, especially for the main course. A can of vegetables and/or fruit is great to add to a meal, but trying to get the main course from a can is problematic.
What else could I have done? Something with potatoes, maybe. I remember this cheesy, peppery dish my mom used to make in the oven that was good. Or maybe some kind of chicken (or other meat or non-meat) pie, with a Bisquick crust on top and baked. Those things would have taken longer, so if I have to cook I need to start sooner — there are few, if any, heat and eat meals that are going to be any good. But the main points are that I need to plan ahead and try to be more creative and start using some of the staples we have.
Ending and Beginning 