Also, when I was warming and building the "cream," everything went swimmingly and smooth - then I added too much milk at once, warm as it was, and it coagulated a little. That's something I often do wrong. I the cream was some old cream cheese I salvaged, coconut oil, creamy ranch dressing (bleh), my magic "milk" (which is actually creamy plain yogurt plus liquified no-fat sour cream and water), and spices, (including kelp, parsley, {basil, oregano, chili powder}, celery salt, garlic, and black pepper), since it is good to do spices slow and in an oil environment. (I never buy butter). From tasting it, I feel paprika, which I don't have, would have been good. Also, the zuke and squash made it a little too sweet, at least for me.
The cooked russets in my fridge were salvaged just in the nick of time! They were darkening a bit, and some were slimy. I gave them a thorough wash, and they were fine. Mashing them was a pain. These were added at the end, with the cream, while 6 or 7 of my fresh waxy potatoes were cubed and used to build the stock, first.
Stock: A few cups chicken broth, a little water, one mashed squash, a can of sweet peas w/o the sugar water (early - so as to boil them down and thicken the soup), about a cup of diced baby carrots, 3/4 large white onion, roughly 1/2 cub cubed zucchini, large sardines in jalapeno sauce, and then another 1/4 of the onion for crispness, the mashed russets, cream, my own hot sauce, sea salt, and that's all I remember. Total = three gallons. The challenge will be in finding room in my freezer, esp., see below.
I could do a whole post about how I have learnt to extend the shelf/ life of veggies. It isn't difficult at all - its organic. One of the things I salvaged recently was two medium bags of baby carrots. Inside, one bag was becoming white and mildewy, while the other was becoming slimy. I thoroughly washed them both in my citrus-based "detergent", then I sealed them in plastic bags filled with my exhaled breath (co2), then I believe I left them out a bit, possibly in shaded sunlight. When I pulled them out of the fridge today, they seemed alive and crisp.
The reason why they were going bad in the first place is probably because they were packaged devoid of, not only oxygen, but carbon dioxide. Sellers would rather they maintain their bright orange colour than they continue to live, eating chlorophyll and carbon. Since they still seem alive, they probably did not get irradiated, (which should be a crime). Soon, I will blanch most of these and freeze them. I do have a serious problem finding any room in my freezer, however. Also to do: Check the stir-fry to see if it remains edible, then freeze some of it. Then, finally, make my relish. Once that is done, all of my food projects will have been completed.
I did all this despite being weighed down by CFS/ mini-migraine.
The surprising health benefits of butter - http://www.naturalnews.com/046770_butter_saturated_fats_health_benefits.html - several other good articles lately at that site !
