Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
What if the
Freezer stops?
I If f
By Peggy Bledsoe
Houston County
Extension Coordinator
Has your freezer ever gone
out? Maybe you went on
vacation and came home to
a freezer of thawed foods or
trails of liquid making their
way across your storage
room floor. Cleaning up after
this disaster is not any fun,
but if you prepare ahead, it
makes the ordeal much eas
ier to handle. Mechanicals
failures, power outages or
simply leaving the freezer
door open can lead to the
situation I just described.
When the freezer fails, you
stand to lose a large invest
ment in food, time, effort
and money.
Once you realize there is
a problem, keep the freezer
door closed. If the freezer is
well filled, food should keep
from 2 to 4 days provided
the door is kept closed. This
depends on the size of the
freezer, how full it is' and
how well insulated it is.
When you notice the freez
er has stopped, try to deter
mine the cause. Check to
see if there is a blown fuse,
a shortage in an electrical
circuit or an accidental dis
connection. Restore the nor
mal operation as quickly as
possible. Check the food for
thawing.
If it is a power failure,
check with the utility com
pany to see how long the
power will be off. If it will
only be *a short period of
time before your power is
restored, just leave the
freezer door closed.
If it is a mechanical prob
lem with the freezer, read
the instruction book to see if
there is anything you can do
to get it back into operation.
If not, contact a repairman
and see how long it will be
before he can service your
freezer.
The information you are
told will determine your
next steps. If necessary, try
to locate a freezer that is
working and move your food
to that location. To do this,
you will need to use insulat
ed boxes or coolers covered
with thick layers of news
paper or blankets. Move
very quickly once you have
removed the food from your
freezer. Have a food ther
mometer available to check
temperatures of the food.
Be sure the thermometer
is calibrated properly. An
accurate temperature is nec
essary in determining the
safety of the food.
If no freezer space is avail
able, use dry ice in your
freezer to keep the food
frozen. Check the yellow
pages for dry ice or car
bonic gas. Keep the contact
information handy for later
use. Handle the dry ice very
carefully as it is very cold.
Be sure to wear heavy gloves
so the ice will not burn your
hands. When purchasing
the dry ice, have it cut into
small sizes, so you will not
have to chip it yourself.
Ask the company to wrap
the dry ice in newspaper.
A 50 pound cake of dry ice
will protect solidly frozen
food in a full 20 cubic foot
for three to four days. It
is recommended you place
heavy cardboard on top of
the packages of frozen food
See FREEZER,sB
FOOD&HOME
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Mocfr Sangria - a non-alcoholic treat
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Journal/Charlotte Perkins
Dawn Knapek and her daughters Fraser Faith and Margie take some time picking peaches and nectarines at the
Perry Farmers Market.
Peaches in season
From Staffßeports
It’s peach time and we’re blessed with the pick
of the crop in Middle Georgia. Here are some new
approaches to an old favorite - peach cobbler.
Rise and BMne Cobbler
This can be served for breakfast or as a des
sert.
1 cup sliced peaches, or one cup fresh peach
es
1 cup canned, drained and sliced pear halves
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 orange
1 cup granola, lowfat
In a large microwave-safe bowl, mix peaches,
pears and vanilla extract.
Rub an orange against a grater to remove 1 tea
spoon of the orange peel. Then, cut the orange in
half and squeeze 1/4 cup orange juice. Add orange
peel and juice to fruit mixture. Stir.
Top with granola.
Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Let stand for
2 minutes.
Spoon into 4 bowls and serve warm.
Source: United States Department of
Agriculture
Quick Peach Cobbler
2 cups sliced peaches, sugared
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon softened margarine
See COBBLER, Page yC
Cold drinks for entertaining
The steamy weather has
had me thinking of long,
cool drinks. Rather than
serving wine or mixed
drinks at summer parties,
why not mix up something
more refreshing? When
I’m hot and thirsty, the idea
of wine or any sort of alco
holic beverage is distinct
ly unappealing. Alcohol
contributes to dehydration
making you hotter and
thirstier. I usually end up
drinking sparkling water
with a squeeze of lime.
Water is indeed the best
rehydrater; however, I
decided to concoct some
non-alcoholic drinks that
are a bit more festive. We
all have our favorite punch
recipes, but I wanted drinks
to serve in a tall glass not
a little punch cup. Most
of the following drinks are
designed to mix up in a
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USDA
Rise and Shine Cobbler is a microwaved treat that can be made for
breakfast or dessert.
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Yvonne
Sutherland
yvonnes@wlndstream.
net
no sherbert or ice cream, just
flavorful drinks with lots of
liquid and ice.
For a party, you could mix
up several of these in covered
pitchers and put them oil ice
and then set up a non-alco
holic bar with fancy glasses
and garnishes. On the hand,
just keep them in the refrig
erator for friends and family
on hot summer days.
SECTION: C
WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2008
Mock Sangria
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 quart bottled grape juice
2 cups orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice ,
2 cups lemon-lime soda,
chilled
Orange slices
Lemon slices
Mix the sugar and water
in a small sauce pan. Bring
to a boil and simmer until
syrupy and reduced by half.
Cool. Pour the grape juice
into a large pitcher. Add
the orange juice, lemon juice
and sugar syrup. Chill. Just
before serving stir in the
lemon-lime soda. Float the
fruit slices in the pitcher.
Serve over ice.
See COLD DRINKS,jB
pitcher
a ri d
keep
in the
refrig
erator.
I con
centrat-
ed on
dririks,
not only
with no
alcohol,
but With
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The address for Jean Rea
was incomplete last week.
If you would like to send
her a card or note just to let
her know nobody’s forget
ting her, the address is Jean
Rea, 1416 Oak Lease Court,
Pensacola, FL 32514. (This
is not a change of address but
means that the cards will go
to her family who will take
them to her. Those who sent
cards to the earlier address
given in the paper may be
assured that she got them
and appreciated them.)
’ln the fridge' foods
When July arrives, there
are some things that are
wonderful to have in the
refrigerator. Potato salad
is at the top of my list, but
any kind of pasta salad with
tuna comes close.
I just made tuna-pasta
salad with the very small
shells, a little pickle relish
and celery, a can of well
drained white tuna, and
enough mayonnaise to old it
together. This needs some
crunch with it, so you can
top it with some croutons
or slivered almonds, but I’ll
tell you a secret. Crumbling
a handful of saltines or Ritz
crackers on top of it is just
as good.
Cold chicken is great for
sandwiches on white bread
with mayonnaise and a little
salt.
Fresh cut up watermelon
or sliced Georgia peaches
with a little sugar will put
chocolate decadence dessert
in its place. A covered pitch
er of iced tea or lemonade or
even Kool-Aid is better than
one more carbonated drink.
One of my favorite sum
mer “in the fridge” foods is
three bean salad. Long ago I
started using chick peas (or
garbanzos) in place of the
wax beans, but this is one
of those things you’re going
to fix your way, anyway.. I
think the main thing is to
get the marinade right and
let it sit a day in the refrig
erator.
Marinade: Mix 1 cup reg
ular white vinegar with 1/2
cup sugar and a half cup of
oil. Slice a small onion very
thin. Vidalias are good for
this, but so are red onions.
Drain a can of cut (not
French-cut) green beans,
a can of red kidney beans,
and a can of chick peas (or
wax beams if you prefer).
Toss the beams, onions and
mairinade together, cover
amd put in the refrigerator.
Don’t start eating this until
See FOOD, Page jC
FOOD
FOR
THOUGHT
Charlotte
Perkins
Staff writer