At it and a visitor.

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I've washed and set the dishes to a soak.  The grains were fully dehydrated.  They did need a little crushing-separation.  Easy enough with nearing 200 lb/in^2 grip, or surpassing really.  When in dry form, what I started with for various grain/seed was about six cups.  After partially cooking then dehydrating, I ended up with more like five cups.  Besides the slight reduction in volume and weight, plus being ready to cook (sort of a poor man's instant food), the food will last longer at environmental temperatures.  It's a little work to empty the trays.  You have to a bit careful.  It's more time and nerve consuming than energy demanding.  Or, as any boy would suggest... bo ring!  Still, done.  I have that sitting in a bowl as I prepare to finish dishes, then begin figuring out the vacuum sealer.

While the dehydrated hamburger "jerky" didn't work out so well, I won't waste it.  If possible.  To try to figure out the packet volumes, I took a third of a cup of the grain mix, and perhaps a quarter cup of the dehydrated burger, and set that in about a cup of water.  I gave it 20~30 minutes to soak, which just finished, and have put that in a small pan to cook.  I am trying to get a volume idea down.  I usually have anywhere from a cup to two cups of the mash, then maybe the equivalent of a brot of meat, sometimes with two to three eggs.  I doubt if the third cup will do.  Probably more like an half cup, maybe a whole cup, plus two thirds of a cup of meat.  Not exactly sure, but from what I am seeing, and given that trail eating will need to be more than home eating.  Now, this isn't going to be gourmet.  But it may well be trail gourmet.  And, with a few spices, or dried fruit, or better jerky, enough work and hunger?  Yeah... this should do.  Plus, I'm not spending near as much.  I may take a small bag with me, if I go hiking, and see just how long it takes to cook and all.

I remembered to check the sprinkler tonight.  I know, for sure, this time, that I set it correctly.  I am pretty sure it was set correctly last time, too.  In any case, when I checked, the sprinkler was not going.  We are getting a little bit of rain, but it is very weak.  It is not enough for my lawn.  Especially as distressed as it has become.  So... I went out and fixed that, and will keep an eye on it to make sure it isn't turned off again.  And, whoever did that, it seems, went to the basement.  They always forget to turn the light off down there.  It's how I know.  Don't know if they took anything, or what they did.  I just know they were there.  I am going to have to watch things carefully.  Perhaps, now, as I improve, I might just be able to catch them.  Yeah, I have some notions of who.  Though it really doesn't matter.

I do believe that the way I have some things arranged, it keeps some, if not all, out.  I changed that today while doing other things.  It seems that did not pass unnoticed.  I will fix that shortly.  Best get some food first.  It smells okay.  Probably going to be at least a bit grainy.  But it'll do, both for a snack and part of an ongoing experiment.  Later.