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RT @bigcitycoffee: roaste now carries Big City Coffee:) Add your review & share your passion for our special roasts... http://bit.ly/bMmOFQ
I just found this helpful information by Carrie Nixon McCallum on the facebook group "Carrie's Epicure Recipes".

ALL SPICE GROUND
Use is different foods for that extra special zing of a taste.

APPLE PIE SPICE
Perfect for apple pies, use 1 ¼ tsp. per pie (or to taste)
Use in sweet bread dough, cookies, muffins, pancakes
Great in dripped/brewed coffee

BARBECUE SEASONING
Use as a rub on chicken, pork, steaks, before grilling
Turn ordinary ketchup into instant BBQ sauce
Sprinkle on oven roasted potatoes
Add to baked beans and marinades

BEEF & STEAK SEASONING
Add to ground meats for meatloaf or meatballs
Rub seasoning on beef and veal before roasting
Add to sauces and gravies for meat dishes
Add to stews of any kind

BERBERE SEASONING
Spicy, sweet Ethiopian blend that is hot & pungent
Can be used in the same way as the VE Madras Curry
Use as rub on meat before frying
Use in braising and stewing beef, chicken or lamb
Add to simple BBQ sauce for a deep, rich, spicy sauce
Amount used depends on personal taste

BLACK SESAME SEEDS
Lightly toasted sesame seeds. Great flavor

CARDAMOM
From green cardamom pods - highest quality available
Third most expensive spice in world, after saffron & vanilla
Distinct warm, citrus & aromatic flavor
Enhances both sweet and savory tastes
Essential to Middle East, Indian, Asian & Scandinavian cooking
In India, cardamom used in meat & vegetable dishes
In Middle East, often added to coffee before it’s brewed
In Northern Europe & Scandinavia, added to seasoned baked goods
Use in sweet dough’s, such as breads, muffins, cookies & spice cakes of any kind; add a pinch to apple or pumpkin pies or to egg mixture for French toast
Use to season carrots, pumpkin, squash, sweet potatoes
Whole cardamom retains flavor much longer than ground. Grind only what you need.

CAJUN SEASONING
Spicy, Southern Blend;
Use in Southern food such a jambalaya, gumbo, and shrimp Creole; use as a rub on chicken/fish for Cajun blackened specialties; can be used in “bean cuisine”, chilies, bean salads or baked bean dishes

CHILI SEASONING
Zesty blend to use when making chili or bean dishes
Add 1 ½ tsp. to 4 cups chili
Add to beef, burgers, meat loaf, pot roast
Add to tamales, refried beans, bean dip, guacamole

CHINESE FIVE SPICE
Blend of 5 spices characteristic of Chinese cooking
Use sparingly as it is strongly flavored
Use in Asian sauces using Soya, for making roast chicken, duck, Chinese-style chicken wings; use in stir-fried vegetables, fried rice, noodle dishes; use in marinades for meat, fish or tofu

CHIPOTLE CHILI
Chipotle Chili’s are slowly smoked jalapeno peppers. When Ground to a powder they have a rich and smoky taste.
Try on chili, burritos, enchiladas, and quesadillas. SPICY!

CINNAMON
Pure seasoning. Is Tung Ling Cassia - very sweet and has high oil content
Widely used in sweet dishes, but adds an intriguing flavor to stews & curries
Use in baking; good with apples, pumpkin, carrot cakes, sprinkle on eggnog, hot chocolate, add a pinch when brewing coffee.
Mix 1 part cinnamon to 4 parts of sugar for cinnamon sugar - sprinkle on hot cereals, pancakes, waffles, toast
Sprinkle on unbaked muffins & rolls

CLOVES WHOLE & CLOVES GROUND
Sprinkle in your favorite baking desserts

CORIANDER
Mildly fragrant & has a flavor that is a combination of lemon, sage, with a slight taste of caraway
Sometimes described as spicy, but with a flowery, fruity undertone
Used whole in pickling and when making chutney
Use to season foods that cook for longer than an hour such as roasts, or use crushed on items that are cooked at a high temperature such as pan-fried, broiled or grilled.
Ground seeds are used in curries, pate’s, soups, and stews

CUBAN SEASONING
Has both sweet & spicy characteristics
Use with rice, beans, stews and chilies
Moisten with lemon or lime juice to create a lively rub for fish, chicken and cobs of grilled corn

CUMIN
Dried fruit of plant in the parsley family
Distinctly strong flavor that is sharp, warm, smoky, and slightly bitter
Slightly toast whole cumin in a dry fry pan to intensify the flavor
Traditional spice used in cuisine of the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, Mexico and India
Used in various cheeses
Try 1 tsp. ground cumin in yogurt dressing that accompany Middle Eastern dishes and curries
May be used whole in stew, chili, pea soup, lentil soup and braising cabbage

FAJITA SEASONING
Use in Fajita’s for that zippidy flavor.

FINE HERBS
Traditional blend of French herbs that bring an aromatic bouquet to the original flavor of foods
Delicate blend of fine herbs that loses flavor quick and should be added to dishes just before serving
Often added to broths, delicate soups right before serving
Use in the batter for dumplings
Terrific addition to egg dishes, especially omelet’s
Add to poaching liquid for chicken & fish
Sprinkle on cooked carrots and other steamed veggies

GARAM MASALA
Blend of dry roasted, ground spices from the cooler areas of Northern India and are blended to add a “sense of warmth to both the palate and spirit”
Usually added towards the end of cooking and often is sprinkled on a dish right before serving
Use 1 tsp. on dishes that already use our Madras Curry, Tandoori or Malay blends

GINGER
Our pure ginger comes from ginger root imported from China
Light in color, high in lemonine, which gives a citrus characteristic
Peppery & slightly sweet while aroma is pungent & spicy
Generally used in baking sweets, however, in other cultures ginger is used in savory dishes, specially in Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern cooking

GREEK SEASONING
A versatile blend that works well with fish, lamb and vegetables
Use in marinades for skewered meats
Use in dressings for salads; use the same dressing when making Greek-style roasted potatoes
Use in ground meat when making moussaka, Greek meatballs, roasting or stewing lamb

HARRISSA
Make into a paste by adding olive oil and lemon juice
A fiery condiment popular in North Africa and the Middle East
Often added to couscous, lentils and rice
Adds spark & depth of flavor to broths & stews
Used as a very spicy rub for fish & meat
Add 1 tsp. to 1-cup ketchup for a hot BBQ sauce
A unique and exotic blend

HERBS PROVENCALES
A flavorful combination of herbs with a touch of lavender. French cuisine favorites!

HOLIDAY SEASONING
The perfect savory addition to your favorite stuffing for turkey, chicken veal or lamb.
An ideal seasoning to pot pies

JAMAICAN JERK SEASONING
“Jerk” is the term for BBQing Jamaican style, and is most often used with grilled meat & fish
Highly aromatic & pungent blend often used as a dry rub for all meats

JUNIPER SEASONING
Aroma flavors of juniper berries and herbaceous oils that make them perfect for lamb, pork, game, and pates.

LAMB SEASONING
Sprinkle on Lamb and in soups.

MALAY SEASONING
Fragrant & spicy blend
Delicious with rice, satay, fish, poultry, meat & vegetables
Defining tastes of Malaysian cuisine are chili, lemon grass & ginger

MILD SMOKED SPANISH PAPRIKA
Sprinkle on chicken, eggs, salads, vegetables, fish.
Add to stews & soups.

MINT
Companion herb to the strong & pungent flavors of the Middle East, North Africa, India & Asia
Often added to yogurt as a cooling accompaniment to spicy dishes
Used equally with sweet & savory dishes
Sprinkle on fresh fruit, fresh green peas, carrots, new potatoes and cucumbers

MOROCCAN SEASONING
Blend of spices to use when preparing dishes from North Africa & the Middle East
Ideal in couscous, vegetable stews, in lamb, chicken & beef stews

NONYA SEASONING
Exotic, sweet & spicy flavors
Delicious with seafood, fish, poultry, noodles, rice & stir-fries; add to chicken broth and pour over thinly sliced green onions & mushrooms for an instant clear soup

NUTMEG
Imported from India
Delicate warm, spicy & sweet flavor
Use in cream or milk based dishes, e.g. quiche, custard, rice and bread pudding
Use when making white sauces, cream soups when using carrots, spinach or squash
Try nutmeg when braising or roasting onions or leeks
Usually teamed with cinnamon & ginger for baking, dough’s & French toast

ORIENTAL STIR FRY SEASONING
A blend of ginger, garlic, toasted sesame seeds & other herbs & spices essential to Cantonese cuisine
Add an instant Asian flair to soups, noodles, and steamed & fried rice and to stir-fried vegetables
Add to Oriental dressing for quick noodle salads
Add to sweet & sour sauces for vegetables, chicken & shrimp

OVEN ROAST BLEND
Ideal for any meat that you roast
Try it on chicken pieces, or as a dry rub for ribs
May also be used liberally as a seasoning for stews and other slowly braised dishes of meat and root vegetables
Use in soups, casseroles & baked beans

PASTA SEASONING
Blend of herbs, spices, garlic & onion
Add to any tomato sauce or salad dressing
Add to olive oil and toss with hot pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
Use in dressing for marinated vegetables
Use in dressing for quick pasta salad by adding 2 tsp. Pasta Seasoning to any basic oil & vinegar dressing

PIZZA SEASONING
Sprinkle on pizza before baking
Add to tomato sauce in recipes for pasta, lasagna or chicken cacciatore
Add to ground meat when making Italian-style meatballs, classic meat sauce, or when stuffing cannelloni

POT HERBS
A great blend for adding to one-pot dinner
Use in any dish cooked over a long period of time, an ideal addition to stews & braised dishes
Excellent for making chicken/turkey potpies
Use in vegetable soups, hearty barley & bean soups

POUDRE DOUCE
14th century French blend that we have duplicated
Try instead of cinnamon sugar (1 part Poudre Douce to 5 parts sugar) for sprinkling on hot cereal, French toast, or on fruit dessert
Use to flavor whipped cream
Sprinkle a little over root vegetables when roasting
Use on cappuccino, hot chocolate, frothed milk
Use instead of nutmeg in eggnog

POULTRY SEASONING
Use as a rub on chicken for grilling/barbecuing
Sprinkle over poultry before roasting
Combine with olive oil and a splash of wine as a marinate for boneless breasts, then pan fry or bake. Serve with pan juices.

PUMPKIN PIE SPICES
Use for any pumpkin pie recipe
Use in any recipe using pumpkin, e.g. muffins, loaves, etc.
Use in gingerbread or gingersnap cookie recipes
Use for roasted root vegetables or sprinkle on squash before baking

ROASTED GARLIC
Use on anything you want to garlic up!
Lightly roasted garlic flakes.

SEAFOOD & FISH SEASONING
Gentle blend of herbs, spices, lemon & onion
Use for poaching, sautéing, grilling fish & seafood
Sprinkle entire fish cavity when baking; add sliced lemon and onion
For poaching fish/seafood, add 2-3 tsp. to water, 1 sliced lemon, 1 sliced onion, let simmer 10 min. before adding fish
Use when preparing fish soups & stews

SOUVLAKI SEASONING
Greek Specialty seasoning.
Season skewers of lamb, chicken or pork.

SPANISH SEASONING
Gives a warm color & aromatic flavor
Great for Spanish, Portuguese Argentine & Mediterranean cooking
Terrific with rice, soups, sautéed peppers & onions, casseroles & fish stews
Add to bread crumbs/seasoned flour for dredging chicken, pork, or fish before frying

STAR ANISE
Imported from Thailand
Not related to the anise (parsley) family. From magnolia family
Works well with ginger & cinnamon in Asian cooking
Used in Asian cooking the way we use bay leaves
Used primarily in long-simmered soups & stews
Used in dishes using soy sauce
Perfumes stir-fried dishes
Use in curries, lamb stew
Put 2/3 Star Anise in the cavity of a chicken/duck before roasting
Try 1 Star Anise when cooking carrots or beets
Use in poaching liquid for fruit, especially pears
Use for braising leeks and cabbage
Try 1 Star Anise in a pot of Chinese Tea

TACO SEASONING
A spicy, earthy blend well suited for most Mexican dishes
Use liberally when seasoning ground meat mixtures for tacos, burritos & enchiladas
Use for Mexican rice and bean dishes
Great for refried beans
Use to spice potatoes or bean salads
Use a s rub for meats prior to grilling, use in marinades

TANDOORI
Simple & traditional Indian method of cooking food
Characteristically has red color. We have not added red food dyes to our product. Does not affect flavor.
Classic marinade for meat & fish when added to yogurt
When used with yogurt, tenderizes surface of meat (if using boneless chicken, don’t marinate over 2 hours)
Moisten with a little lemon juice for a rub

THAI SEASONING
Spicy, sweet & citrus
Use to flavor simple soups & rice
Adds robust flavor to Thai noodle dishes
Sprinkle on fish, seafood & poultry before cooking
Add to a dressing made of oil, rice wine vinegar & light soy sauce for a simple dressing for cold Thai noodle salads
Use when making satay peanut sauce

VEGETABLE SEASONING
Unique blend of herbs, spices, zest & sesame seeds
Will add zing to steamed veggies, salads, salad dressing
Use in stir-fries and omelet’s
Try when stir-frying shrimp

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:35:36 +0000 | Red Coffee Mug

Healthy Coffee Alternatives

I met Diane Paradise through National Speaker’s Association. Our paths crossed again when we attended a social media class led by our entrepreneurial friend Elmas Vincent.

Diane, a 15-year, four-time cancer survivor, has dedicated her life to encouraging, educating, and empowering others to be their own cancer superheroes.

Diane’s wake up call
Being told she had an incurable cancer left her wondering how she could create a quality life for herself. After dissatisfaction with conventional chemotherapy and radiation she turned to Naturopathic medicine and integrative health care because it allowed her to maintain a quality of life the other treatments did not.

In 2001 with a diagnosis of stage 3 incurable lymphoma, Diane decided to look into the natural options. When she brought these options to her doctor to discuss them he told her. “you’ll be dead in 12 weeks” with a finger pointed in her face.

Those six words ended up being medicine she needed to hear. “You know it was the best thing,” says Diane. “If anyone tells me I can’t do something, I say, Watch me!”

The journey with Naturopathic medicine taught her what she needed to know to get and stay healthy with the disease. She learned how to improve her diet: how to eat more whole foods, what to eliminate from her diet, and how to make healthier choices when dining out. "My social life was a big part of my life. At first I had no idea how I could eat with my friends and stick to my healing diet," says Diane. "It was the holistic nurse who taught me how to eat within my nutritional means."

Diane also learned that it wasn’t just her food choices that were making her sick; it was also the environment she grew up in. She was a sickly child and was exposed to high levels of copper from the treated lumber her father used in his woodworking shop. It was her ND who discovered that her copper levels where three times higher than normal and the link between that and the type of lymphoma she developed.

Finding your ah-ha in life's uh-ohs moments
Diane’s aha moment was when she realized that toxicity came in many forms: stress, work, chemicals, toxic food, and even certain people. “So often when I coach, I hear and see the negative impact that certain people have on my clients and their healing process. During our time together my job is to help them recognize the toxic relationships and determine how to change them. It’s interesting to see how people’s health improves when they remove the toxic influences in all areas of their lives.”

Diane cancer’s recurred in 2005 and then again in 2008. She has journeyed the last two years with active cancer and remains faithful to the holistic lifestyle and naturopathic medicine. If you saw her you would never guess that she has or has had cancer.

Passing it on
Diane now shares what she has learned with others and inspires people to take an active part in their own healing process. She speaks to groups (hence the connection to National Speakers Association where I first met her) and offers her services as a life coach to help people remove the toxicity in their lives so that they don’t have to go through what she is going through and has been through.

The hero lies in you!
Diane is starting a non-profit organization to educate the general public about the power of Naturopathic medicine and holistic living for cancer care. Her long term goal is to provide funding for those who can’t afford natural treatments. She has created her courage-based comic book superhero, Natural Cancer Girl, to convey her message of hope and strength for others. “I think the whole idea of the superhero is really about being empowered on this journey instead of just letting it happen to you and being a victim of the disease.”

Discoveries in alternative medicine
Diane was interviewed for a PBS special called “Discoveries in Alternative Medicine.” The segment, produced by the American Health Journal in California, aired for the first time on April 22, 2009, in Orange County, California. Diane, who is the former spokesperson for the New York Association of Naturopathic Physicians, has appeared on several radio shows and in newspaper articles, including The New York Times. Food photos: Rachel Albert-Matesz, 2010 & Sandy Dawson

Diane hosts her own radio show on WeB9CancerTalk on Blog Talk Radio. You can find out about her speaking engagements, services, and story by visiting her website and her blog.

The cure is the kitchen
Diane attributes a great deal of her recovery to improving her diet. Toward that end she wanted to share what she’s learned about diet with others. After Diane’s friend Sandy listened the radio show where Diane interviewed me (Chef Rachel) about what I do, about my book, The Garden of Eating, and how to eat a Produce-Dominated Diet, she approached Diane about having a cooking party with a group of friends in one of their homes.

You made it easier
“When people think about changing their diet and lifestyle it can seem daunting,” says Diane. “You showed us how easy that change can be just by implementing certain routines in our weekly schedules, such as shopping twice a week and cleaning and prepping all or most of the vegetables at once.”

Diane and Sandy liked my motto,“Shop ahead, chop ahead, and cook ahead so you always have healthy food on hand when hunger strikes!”

Bonus points
Diane says,“It was a bonus to learn proper knife skills and how to cut things like bell peppers in short order. The hit of the party was the Creamy Carrot Soup with coconut milk and ginger. One of the guests exclaimed, ‘I don’t like cooked carrots.’ Two bowls of soup later she was a fan."

Diane, who is normally not a salmon fan says, “I loved the dish Rachel made with grilled salmon bellies.” Teeccino was another big hit. “I don’t normally drink coffee and I love it. It was also great to discover coconut milk as an alternative to milk and cream. That was a big deal for me because I can’t eat dairy. The chocolate Dipped Date Nut Truffles you left me with were also amazing.”

Photo right: Diane Paradise (left), Chef Rachel (me! center), Sandy Dawson (right). Photo credit: Diane's husband, Jeff.

Here’s what we made (most of recipes can be found in The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook:

Creamy Carrot Soup with Coconut Milk & Ginger
Grilled Cumin & Mustard Rubbed Steak
Grilled Mustard Rubbed Salmon Bellies
Roasted Onion, Sweet Pepper & Spring Green Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Lemonette Dressing
Fennel & Sea Salted Brown Rice Crisps
Apple Apricot Compote with Nutmeg Ice Dream & Chocolate Sauce
Teeccino Herbal Coffee Alternative with dairy free milk alternatives (recipe below)

Both Sandy and Diane have since made several of the recipes from the party. Sandy made the Creamy Carrot Soup and brought it to work for people to try. Diane made the soup, baked Fennel & Sea Salted Brown Rice Crisps, Lemonette Dressing, and Roasted Vegetable Salad. She plans to make the spice rubbed steak for company this weekend.

Both Diane and Sandy have received emails from participants thanking the two for inviting them for having me (Chef Rachel) in to show them how to make healthy foods taste great. One of them exclaimed, “It’s exciting to learn about eating healthy and living a whole foods lifestyle from someone who’s doing it.”

Rachel's Recipe for Brewing Teeccino Herbal Coffee

What is Teeccino Herbal Coffee?
Teecino, a caffeine-free coffee alternative, looks like coffee, but is made from herbs, roasted chicory root, carob, dates, and nuts that are roasted and ground. It looks and cooks like coffee but contains no coffee beans or caffeine. It contains 3 grams of carbohydrate and 1 gram of fiber per cup for a total of 15 calories. It provides 65 milligrams of potassium to give your body a natural energy lift, and 365 milligrams of inulin to enhance your digestion and improve elimination.

Some people use this product to wean themselves off of coffee. The Teeccino web site offers a painless method to help you kick the coffee habit: blend Teeccino with your regular coffee and gradually increase the amount over a period of two to three weeks while reducing the amount of coffee grinds. I have recommended something similar for many years using roasted chicory root and roasted dandelion root, available in 1-pound bags from Frontier Co-operative.

Where to find Teecccino Herbal Coffee
Look for it on the coffee and tea aisles of natural foods stores, the health foods section of supermarkets, and online. It comes in 8.5 once and 1 pound cans, 1-pound bags, and a sample-size envelope in a variety of flavors: Original, Vanilla Nut, Hazelnut, Almond Amaretto, Java, Mocha, and Chocolate Mint. The company also makes a Maya Caffé, Maya Chia, and Maya Chocolate Herbal Coffee, which includes roasted ramon nuts for a robust dark roast coffee flavor.

How to store Teeccino Herbal Coffee
Store Teeccino grinds at room temperature. Teeccino won't go stale at room temperature like coffee because it doesn't contain coffee oils. Just replace the plastic cap on the can after using it, and it will last for at least 2 years. Note: Brewed Teeccino can last up to five days in the refrigerator making it easy to drink iced Teeccino in the summer.

Does Teeccino contain any gluten?
Although Teeccino contains barley, an independent laboratory at the University of Nebraska that specializes in gluten testing found no detectable levels of gluten in Teeccino. Although gluten is present in barley, it most likely does not extract out of the barley using conventional coffee brewing techniques. Gluten is not extracted by boiling water although it can be extracted using ethanol alcohol, which of course is not present in Teeccino. The company regularly has Teeccino tested at the University of Nebraska’s Allergy Testing lab where it has had no detectible levels of gluten found at 10PPM.

To view the lab report click here

Better brewing
Although each can of Teeccino Herbal Coffee comes with complete brewing instructions, I recommend that you disregard the instructions on the package. Brewing the product in a drip coffee makers, French press pot, or espresso machine produces to a weak beverage and increases the cost per cup. You still need to measure out the amount of Teeccino Herbal Coffee you use with my method, only the brewing method changes.

I find I get the best flavor and strongest brew and my students and friends like this beverage best when it is brewed using one of the following methods:
1) Brewed for at least 20 minutes in an electric or stove-top percolator with or without a coffee filter. If you use a filter make sure it is made from unbleached paper or use an eco-friendly permanent Gold filter.
2) Wrapped in cheesecloth, tied with kitchen twine or un-waxed dental floss, placed in a pot of filtered water, brought to boil, then covered and simmered over medium-low heat for 20 to 30 minutes.

Note: After the initial brewing, I made a second pot using the same grinds but only half as much water. The two batches can be mixed together if you like. Refrigerate leftover brewed Teeccino, then reheat portions as desired. It will keep for at least a week in the refrigerator with no loss of flavor or nutritional value.

Adjust quantities of Teeccino to your own preference
Just as with coffee, some people like it strong while others prefer it weaker. Experiment by making several cups of Teeccino at different strengths to find the amount that you like best. Use a ratio of 2 to 3 teaspoons of Teeccino herbal coffee alternative per cup of water. If the batch you make tastes too strong, simply dilute it with additional water.

Serve Teeccino anyway you enjoy coffee.
Try it black or with milk, non-dairy milk, coconut milk, or half-and-half if that’s how you normally like your coffee. Taste the Teeccino before you add any sweetener. It has a naturally slightly sweet flavor from dates and figs, so you may not need additional sweetener. Instead of sugar, try honey, or for a calorie-free herbal sweetener, try a stevia tablet or a few drops of plain or flavored stevia extract liquid (vanilla and vanilla creme are my favorites).

Teeccino info and recipe excerpted from The Ice Dream Cookbook: Dairy-Free Ice Cream Alternatives with Gluten Free Cookies, Compotes & Sauces by Rachel Albert-Matesz (Planetary Press, 2008).

4 - F. Enzio Busche, “How Beautiful to Live in These Times and Be Prepared!,”Ensign, Jun 1982, 16With the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days there continues to unfold the plan of how the temporal affairs of this earth should be governed. With the gospel restoration, the Lord’s ways have been revealed to help mankind eventually build Zion. Thus, how beautiful is the revelation of the welfare plan, presently established in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a preparatory step toward living the law of consecration.The magnitude of the idea of serving the many needs of people through Social Services, employment centers, and Deseret Industries causes me to rejoice. But what excites me more is the idea of having work projects and farms in order to produce goods for filling storehouses, for distributing commodities, and for giving work and service opportunities to the needy without any commercial or selfish interest.Let me tell you why this has such personal meaning for me. With a European heritage and educational background, one readily develops a perspective of how in the last 250 years people have fought, struggled, and hoped for a just society that would overcome the destructiveness of slavery, poverty, and injustice so prevalent through the history of mankind. For example, the doctrines and philosophies of Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau, forerunners of the French Revolution, envisioned establishing a just society founded on their understanding of the principles of liberty, equality, and the brotherhood of man. Similarly, many other philosophers, teachers, poets, and dreamers, mainly from England and Germany, stirred up the minds and expectations of the people. Even Karl Marx, who was the intellectual offspring of Hegel and the constructing architect of communism, had as an initial vision the elimination of poverty and the establishment of a just and free society, developing restless expectations among many people of the world.No man, however, will ever be able to achieve Zion unless he becomes an instrument in the hands of the Almighty; for only God can reveal the whole picture and process of attaining Zion. Through Joseph Smith this was again given to man, and with the restoration of the priesthood there have been revealed organizational details, necessary steps, and true principles upon which God’s Zion will be established.To me, the Lord’s plan to bring peace and justice is overwhelming and stirs up hope in the hearts of righteous people throughout the world who hear of it. Evidence of this was just recently given again by a prominent European visitor who toured Salt Lake City’s Welfare Square with me. After learning of the dimensions of the Church’s welfare services today, he said with evidence of deep emotion, “I hope you know what you have. It seems to me that this is the only hope of mankind to master the future.”Now that I have shared my feelings regarding the overall picture of the Lord’s revealed plan of welfare, let me approach one portion of the plan in which we as individuals are directly involved—the personal and family preparedness plan whereby we are to obtain a year’s supply of food and necessary supplies. May I share with you some experiences that I, along with millions of other Europeans, had in the days of devastation, total destruction, and starvation that became a reality for so many survivors of World War II. These experiences helped me to recognize and appreciate the basic necessities of life and to separate true needs from false wants. Since my conversion and because of my World War II experiences, I now have a deep appreciation for the revealed plan of a year’s supply for each member.Frequently I am asked, “What were the most valuable items in the days of starvation in Germany?” The answer is difficult to believe, because some of the experiences we had seem to be totally illogical and contrary to human nature. The items of highest value were tobacco and alcohol, because people who live in fear and despair, who have not learned principles of self-control, tend to need in times of panic some drug to escape the dreadful awareness of reality. I have seen people give their last loaf of bread and their last meager supply of potatoes just to obtain a bottle of brandy. How fortunate we are as members of the Church that we learn to develop a feeling for the true values of life and the necessity of self-control, so that in times of need there will be no panic, but we will be prepared.As for what we needed, the food item we relied on most was vegetable oil. With a bottle of vegetable oil, one could acquire nearly every other desirable item. It had such value that with a quart of vegetable oil one could probably trade for three bushels of apples or three hundred pounds of potatoes. Vegetable oil has a high calorie content, is easy to transport, and in cooking can give a tasty flavor to all kinds of food items that one would not normally consider as food—wild flowers, wild plants, and roots from shrubs and trees. For me and my family, a high-quality vegetable oil has the highest priority in our food storage, both in times of daily use and for emergency usage. When vegetable oil is well-packed and stored appropriately, it has a long storage life without the necessity of refrigeration. We found ours to be in very good condition after twenty years of storage, but circumstances may vary in different countries and with different supplies.The second highest priority item for me and my family is grain in all its forms, preferably wheat and rye. When grain is well-packed and well-preserved, it too is easy to transport, easy to store, and will last for generations.A third priority item is honey. Its value in daily usage is immeasurable. My family prefers honey rather than sugar because our experience supports some of the research findings regarding the preeminence of honey. Another reason I prefer honey is because during the starvation period in postwar Germany, honey could be traded for three times as much as sugar; its value was considered that much greater.A fourth important food storage product is powdered milk.These four basic items—oil, wheat, honey, and milk (or their equivalents in other cultures)—together with water, salt, and renewable basic foods such as potatoes and other vegetables, can satisfy nutritional requirements in times of emergency and also are valuable and usable in normal daily life.You might ask, “What about the many other food items and desserts that play an important role in our eating habits?” I shall always treasure the great experience I had in those hard times, when I learned to appreciate food with the most balanced nutrients. When a person is very hungry, the taste of food will change for him. In times of emergency, the Lord seems to provide a way to help our bodies adapt. For instance, I remember well that when I was a child I did not like to eat bacon. I argued with my mother whenever she prepared potatoes fried with bacon instead of fried with vegetable oil or butter, not recognizing in my youth that sometimes this was the only way she could provide fat in our diet. Several years later when we were suffering from the severe food shortage, I remember that after days of being without food, the first edible item I could obtain, ironically, was a piece of bacon. I looked upon it as the best treasure I had ever achieved. I placed the pieces of the bacon between my teeth and my cheek and did not dare to chew it, simply because I wanted to savor and appreciate longer the wonderful taste of bacon. At that moment I could not understand how I could have ever disliked bacon.In times of real hunger the human body seems to develop a natural craving for the things it needs most. An athlete who is preparing for a marathon has the same experience as he daily runs his ten miles in training. He will eventually develop a feeling for the real needs of his body; he will develop an appetite for the food that his body requires, and he will be repulsed by food items that do not add to his body’s strength. In times of affluence this instinct seems to diminish, and this is one of the reasons for much malnutrition in our modern world. It might also be of interest to know that there seemed to be much less sickness during those hard times. The rapid rise and frequency of heart disease, diseases of the vascular system, and diabetes began after the times of shortage in Germany. In spite of billions of dollars invested in medicines and hospitals for improving medical service, life expectancy rates in Germany are not rising—due, I think, to our modern poor eating habits.When we think in terms of our own year’s supply of those foods and materials we use on a regular basis, we may feel that every family will have to store everything. This, of course, is not easy and seems to make storage difficult. However, let me offer this comforting idea based on past experience. We need to take into consideration that in difficult times, so long as there survives more than one family, there will be trading of valuable items. A free market will begin immediately to satisfy the needs of people, and items in greatest demand will set the price, bypassing the use of money. The ingeniousness of mankind becomes evident in times of need. When man is presented with a problem or challenge, if he is in a healthy spirit—which hopefully we are—he will find solutions that he never dreamed of. When a person has a good, healthy spirit, is able to adjust and is not afraid to use his imagination, he will find ways to survive.There is a long way from the point of hunger to actual starvation, and there is much that one can do to stay alive in hard times, especially when one is mentally and physically prepared. A garden, even as small as a window box, is of great value, as is the skill to be able to plant and to grow things. Following the war, in addition to having a small garden, my family was able to obtain the milk we needed by keeping a milk sheep, which gave enough milk for our family for the greater part of the year. (I have not seen this species in America, but it was very common in Germany.) Besides milk, our sheep supplied us with wool to trade or to use for knitting items. During the spring of the year it would give birth to one or two lambs which could also be used for food or trade. Some of our neighbors had goats, but we preferred the sheep because of the wool and because sheep seemed easier to tolerate and to work with. They required very little extra care and were easy to satisfy. Also, all over the country, even the large cities, people began to keep rabbits in small pens, and children had the task of looking for grass, dandelions, and leaves in order to feed their rabbits. In addition, people kept hens, and chicken coops were prevalent in all places. Because grain was too valuable to feed to chickens, other sources of chicken feed had to be found. Children found ways of breeding worms, beetles, and flies to be used for this purpose. People also built small, wooden handcarts which could be used to transport items used for trading, which took place wherever people met.There are some other observations one could also make: The true nature of people becomes obvious in times of real need. Good people become better; they get close to one another; they learn to share and become united. The strength that develops out of unity of the many good people becomes a real survival factor. On the other hand, people who lack emotional stability become cruel and ruthless under trying circumstances; however, they do not seem to become an overbearing threat because of the closeness and unity of the majority of the people. Therefore, strangely enough, those who have survived hardships look back with fond memories to the awful period of pain and destruction because they recall the closeness that developed as they united themselves to survive by sharing whatever they had.How blessed we are to be taught in these times of plenty that we might prepare for times of need without undue haste. Even more wonderful is the realization that we can prepare ourselves without fear because we know that God lives, that He knows and loves each one of us, and that He is giving us direction in these latter days through a living prophet.God loves us so much that He allows us to come to Him at any time with our personal requests for help and direction—that our eyes will be opened and we will learn to live with wisdom and patience in times of austerity, that we might learn by the Lord’s influence to identify our real needs.What a comfort it is to read His revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.” (D&C 38:30.)The Lord wants us to be prepared.

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:35:23 +0000 | Coffee Scrub Recipe

Whole Bean Starbucks Coffee

This is completely unrelated but a story I'd like to share regardless.

Today at my store there was a wonderful father educating his young child on global responsibility (this kid had to be like 5 years old) and talking about recycling. While this was happening my SM was doing the floor set out in the cafe. The father then says to his child, "See (insert name) it is all about reduce, recycle, and reusing just like Starbucks" as he hands my SM the empty Izze bottle and says, "Here you go my good man."

My SM has to then honestly look at the guy and explain to him how we do not recycle glass. The customer then trying to bail Starbucks out says, "Oh well maybe I will get a plastic cup next time." My SM then had to respond by telling him we do not recycle plastic either.

Epic moment. The amount we waste in a day would give this father a heart attack.

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:35:14 +0000 | Equator Coffee Pasadena

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