Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Preparedness Project - Wonder Box!

For Today's Preparedness Project
we're going to be making a
Wonder Box!
Just in case you need a refresher as to
what a Wonder Box is . . .
Wonder Boxes work like vacuum flasks.
In these days when we are being warned of
worldwide shortages of food and fuel,
this wonder box and it's simplicity is designed
to keep fod at the temperature needed for cooking.
Using very little fuel you only use about 15 minutes of energy
to bring the food to the required temperature
and then put it into the
Wonder Box.  It acts like a thermos.
On the flip side, it will also keep ice cream cold
for about 4 hours.
Instructions:
Boil your food on the stove for 10-15 minutes until the food
is heated right through.
Use any cooking pot, provided it does not have a long handle, but
do not use a large pot for a small amount of food.
The Wonder Box does not work well if there is a large air space.
Remember that the more food or liquid that you have in the pot,
the longer and better it will cook.
Put the lid on the pot before you remove the pot from the stove
so the lid can also get hot.  Make sure the nest in the bottom cushion
is ready to take the pot and that it is nearby so you do not lose
heat carrying the pot around.
Place pot into the nest of the Wonder Box, making sure that the
sides are snug against the pot, so that there are no air pockets.
Make sure that no one peeks inside.
If this happens, heat will escape, and the food will not
cook properly.
Do not leave the Wonder Box on a metal surface while being used.
Metal is a good conductor of heat and may draw off some heat
through the bottom.
When cooking anything like a roast or a whole chicken, the liquid
around it can boil before the meat has reached the same
temperature.  Make sure the liquid covers the meat and it has
come to a boil.  Meat must be covered with liquid!
The cooking time seems to be 3-4 hours, or all day.
It is sure to never burn.
The Wonder Box is designed for cooking meals,
BUT . . .
It can also be used for keeping food hot, cold or frozen for
3-6 hours depending on what it is.
For Example:
Frozen meat will stay frozen longer than a tub of ice cream.
The cushions filled with polystyrene can be washed
with hot water and soap and hung on the line to dry.
You Will Need:
A Sewing Machine
Needle
Thread
2 3/4 yards of Heavy Fabric
The Pattern
(This pattern will need to be ENLARGED to fit measurements.)
and
Bean Bag Beans
(You can find these at Walmart in the pillow section.)
They are probably the most expensive part of this project,
but if you go now . . . they have been marked down quite a bit.
Here's the PDF:
Wonder Box recipes and instructions originated from a
booklet published by "Compassion" of South Africa
in 1978, 1979, and 1980.
"Compassion" registered the name Wonder Box.
This information may be freely quoted, acknowledgments
being made to "Compassion".
(Pictures By: Kathryn Pratt)
I have
3 NEW Halloween Ideas
to share with you . . .
BUT blogger is not allowing pictures to be downloaded after 5:00 pm today.
I will post as soon as I can add the photos!
Aaaaahhhhhhhh . . . I hope they hurry!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah, an updated version of the WW2 "Haybox"!
This idea was widely used by my grandmothers generation during the war - I've also seen it used on Guide Camp, but never used it myself.
Like it!
AM

Anonymous said...

I have a Wonderbox too and love it for making yogurt. For some time now I have been making my own yogurt, by using 2% milk, a bit of powdered milk and some Dannon yogurt as my starter. However, I have wanted to try making it from all powdered milk and the starter. Recently made this recipe along side my normal yogurt, and no one could tell the difference. Yeah! There are many uses for yogurt beyond the obvious. Here are some of the ways we use it: mixed with granola, as a sour cream substitute, to make smoothies, to make fruity yogurt popsicles, to make salad dressings, to make yogurt cheese, etc. Times do not reflect the incubation period."
Ingredients

o 3 3/4 cups warm tap water
o 1 cup powdered milk ( non-instant)
o 2 -4 tablespoons dannon plain yogurt

Directions

1. Combine the warm water with the powdered milk and place in a medium saucepan. (I sometimes blend some of the water with the powdered milk in my electric blender to make it smooth or use an emulsion blender.)
2. (You could add 1/3 C sugar and 1 T vanilla extract at this point for vanilla yogurt. Try other flavorings too.).
3. Heat the milk mixture to 180 degrees or until small bubbles form on the side of the pan and the milk begins to rise up (about 5 minutes.).
4. Pour the scalded milk into a pitcher and allow to cool to 100 degrees (about 50 minutes). About half-way through the cooling time, remove your yogurt from the refrigerator and allow to set out or it will shock the starter. When the milk mixture has cooled to 100 degrees, stir in the yogurt starter (Dannon yogurt).
5. Pour the yogurt into a clean quart canning jar or 3-4 pint jars and cover with the lids. Wrap the jars in a towel or blanket and place in a styrofoam cooler or haybox. In this case - your Wonderbox! Be sure it is wrapped tight without any room for air to circulate around the jars. Pack it snug. Let the yogurt incubate in the box for 9 hours.
6. Remove the jars from the hay box and place in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
7. Note: You can add a couple T of your favorite fruit jam in the bottom of the glass jars before pouring the unset yogurt mixture into the jars.

8. Save a bit of the yogurt from this batch to use as the starter for your next batch - so you don’t have to buy the Dannon Yogurt again. Well, at least not for a while. Eventually you might want to start with a fresh starter as the taste will get stronger with each batch (about every third or fourth time).
9. You can buy a large container of Dannon Yogurt and freeze the unused portion in icecube trays to use for later yogurt batches.
10. Chill.

The David and Tricia Smith Family said...

AWESOME! Thank You so much for sharing!
I'm going to try this one for sure!!!
Trish

Grannie K said...

I'm excited to make one of these. I printed it out and am going to try one. Then I think I'll present it to my RS president and see if we can make one for a homemaking project. Thanks for sharing.

The David and Tricia Smith Family said...

I think that's a great idea! It's easy to sew and an awesome addition to your Emergency Preparedness supplies!
Let me know how it goes!
Trish

The British Homemaker said...

hiya
this is just awesome! i've never seen this kinda thing before but i'm very intrigued!

i emailed with you about a month ago to ask if you would guest post on my blog...hope you remember...i'm sorry i didnt follow it up,my computer died for 3 weeks and i'm only now catching up. if you are still interested pls would you let me know and what date works for you between 2nd and 14th nov?

thank you :)

Ruth Hinds said...

Thanks so much! Is this the same pattern that you would use to put in an 18 gallon rubbermaid container?