Check out my post about not being able to find corn for my grain mill so that you'll know why I decided to mill hominy corn instead. The Victorio does a great job milling, but with corn I have to leave the adjustment knob very loose so that the kernels would get cracked on the first pass. Then, I have to put all the cracked kernels back into the hopper and tighten the adjustment knob a little bit so that I would get a finer product. I didn't want superfine corn (like flour) but I did want a little texture in my grits.
After milling the corn and producing about 1 cup of hominy grits, I brought to boil a few cups of water. Salt the water so that the grits get some good flavor. You can make savory or sweet grits, but I really enjoy eating sweet grits. Cooking the hominy grits took about 20 minutes. After the grits are brought to a boil, I lowered the heat substantially and just simmered it for the next 20 minutes or so.
I then add sweet cream unsalted butter and sweetened condensed milk to the hominy grits. You can use white sugar or honey or maple syrup, but the sweetened condensed milk makes for creamier grits! This type of grits tastes fantastic and the texture isn't bad, either. If there's an emergency (natural disaster, economic, you name it), if I've got a whole bunch of hominy corn, my grain mill, and water, we could live off of eating hominy grits for a while. This dish is very filling and so easy to make. The sugar and butter are just nice little extras, but if we had to eat it without these additions, we would.
Today, I read an article about income taxes and refunds. The writer hates income tax refunds because the government is basically giving back people's money without having paid interest. It's like a loan without interest! Now, when we take loans out from the government and banks, and even from individuals, we expect to pay interest...sometimes a very hefty sum. It irks me that the government and banks can use our money, basically as "loans," without paying interest to us. Not only that, but a savings account of thousands of dollars would only earn a few cents in interest.
That's my little rant. If we could do away with having to pay income tax and then wait for our refunds, more people would be able to put that money away in other types of accounts. Or, they could use that money right away. It's people's money in the first place; why deny their access to it and then tell them to wait until April to get it back? I'm not an economist or financial officer so I may just be overlooking several factors and reasons, but as of right now this whole thing doesn't seem logical to me.
I also saw a Youtube video answering some people's comments about buying "preps" (in this case, food) that are unhealthy. For me, I would hope that I won't need to eat those store-bought canned goods, but in an emergency situation, I probably won't be thinking about high-fructose corn syrup, MSG, or nitrates. On a daily basis, however, I'd love to be able to open up whatever I've canned. It's not really about my health, but it's about the feeling of accomplishment that comes with eating something you've grown or hunted and preserved. What are your thoughts about buying unhealthy, but inexpensive, canned goods for an emergency situation?
One more rant for the road: Since Christmas is coming up, there is a lot of shopping and gift-giving going on. This is supposed to be a holiday about good will towards men (and women), appreciating the things that you already have, doing good for yourself and your family. But, it's turned into a shopping holiday. Most people I've encountered in the past couple of weeks always ask, "Have you finished your Christmas shopping?" No. Because I do not really give "gifts." I used to worry about buying gifts for everyone on my list, but then I realized that I could make cards or give little things instead. This year, I purchased another Hjordis Sword Goddess knife for my fiance. He also asked me to buy one for a workplace gift exchange (which was today). The minimum price for the gift must be $50, but the Hjordis, even though it is a HIGH quality knife, cost $20. It is a beautiful handcrafted knife and it is heavy-duty. I would have paid, willingly, $50 for that knife. The woman who must have coordinated the gift exchange had the gall to ask my fiance, "Did that really cost $50?" When my fiance phoned me to tell me this, I was mad to say the least!
No, it didn't cost $50, but it could easily cost that much. And why would I buy a $50 Gerber that is made in China when I could buy a $20 knife made in the USA? Of course, as I expected, my fiance got cologne, headphones, and a $2 bill. The last two items I don't mind. The cologne, I really do. I am just furious that she would ask him that. Maybe if my fiance would have purchased a $50 Gerber knife with a plastic handle that woman would have still asked him if he spent $50. Ugh. Well, that's my gripe with Christmas. It used to be a great holiday, a time of fostering good feeling within people. Now, it's about how much money you've spent.
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