Don't Oversoak!

If you are following Nourishing Traditions & "soaking" your grains before you cook them, please learn one thing from me- don't oversoak your grains!  On Wednesday I was making Four Star Chili from this recipe here [note I changed it to make it more NT & frugal: I used my homemade beef broth*, used home cooked beans**, and instead of using 2 lbs. of stew meat cooked in bottled dressing I just used about a half lb. of shredded beef from the roast we had on Monday- cut way down on prep time this way to].  It was on my menu plan to have cornbread with the chili too, from this recipe at Kitchen Stewardship.  However, after cooking the rice (including extra for the porridge in my previous post) I realized we didn't need cornbread!

My flour/cornmeal was already soaking in yogurt in a glass container, so I thought I'd just put it in the fridge & make cornbread or maybe cornbread pancakes on a different day.  Tonight (2 days later- 3 days total including 24 hours of "soak") I peeled back the cover & the strong smell that hit my nose was like taking a big whiff of nail polish remover!  Yuck- it was bad & strong!  I momentarily wondered if I could still salvage this (my frugal side sometimes knows no bounds), but then I decided I would not make my family a guinea pig for this unknown chemical reaction & threw it out.

What I should have done was go ahead & cook up my cornbread & then put it in the freezer for another night.  So, take it from me- use it or lose it!

Blessings,
Lisa
*my bone broth was made from rib bones I saved when my husband & I went to a restaurant with friends, I also added in some roast vegetables not eaten when we had roast (it was all waiting for me in a baggie in the freezer).  Added frugal bonus: after cooking the bones for 24 hrs they ended up being crunchy like a dog biscuit (I could break off pieces with my hand) & have been nice treats for our dog!
**cook up a whole bag of beans at once- you're saving yourself prep time & energy (physical as well as electrical/gas)!  You can measure the extra into cups, put it in baggies or containers, label with the amount (like 2 cups), freeze & just thaw the night before when needed the next day

 This is our dog Layla & this is how she relaxes- she is so sweet & funny!