Last Post

This will be the last post on this blog site.

We needed to change the name of our blog--the new blog address is preparingforemergencies.blogspot.com. We will have the same content, that of preparing ourselves for any emergency that may come our way. If you have trouble going to our new blog site, please leave a comment or email me. Thanks for visiting here!

101 Barter Items--Part 3

61.Toothbrushes
62.Toothpaste
63.Nail Clippers
64.Mosquito Repellent
65.Duct Tape
66.Rope
67.Candles
68.Sewing Supplies
69.Non Scented Bleach
70.Canning Jars and Lids
71.Knives
72.Sharpening Stones
73.Bicycle Tire Tubes
74.Bicycle Chains
75.Air Pump (don't trade the pump trade the air)
78.Board Games
79.Playing Cards
80.Mousetraps
81.Baby Wipes
82.Razors
83.Tang
84.Gloves
85.Underwear
86.Glue
89.Broad Brim Hats
90.Files
91.Pad-Locks
92.Laundry Detergent
93.Kerosene
94.Tea
95.Axes
96.Slingshots
97.Binoculars
98.Disposable Lighters
99.Magnesium fire starters
100.Plastic sheeting
101.Over The Counter Medications

Did I miss anything? Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments below.

11 Points to Preparedness for Evacuation

Marla, also known as Flylady (she likes to fly-fish), has a website that helps people to organize their lives, and declutter their homes and offices. It is a free-use website and a great help to many people (including me!). She has a list of information that would be helpful in a crisis, especially if we are required to evacuate. This would be in addition to a 72-Hour Kit.

"11 Points to Preparedness for Evacuation

1. People: Have a plan for getting out of the house and make sure everyone knows it. Have an emergency bag of food and treats for the children: dried fruit, nuts, peanut butter, crackers and granola bars.

2. Pets: Keep pet carriers and leashes readily available to lead pets to safety. Also take pet food with you.

3. Pictures: Keep negatives or CDs of pictures in a lock box or at a family member's home. Have picture albums in one place ready to grab and go at a moments notice.

4. Papers: Have all your important papers in a lock box at a bank and only keep copies at the house. This keeps you from panicking. If you have them at home then put them in a folder that you can easily grab if you have to move fast. Color code it so you can find it!

5. Prescriptions: Take your medications with you. Don't forget the ones that have to be refrigerated like insulin. Have small ice chest and cold packs readily accessible to pack and go. If you have babies, remember their formula or medications.

6. Purses and Petro: This is where you keep your identification, credit cards and cash. Keep a stash of cash for emergencies and grab it. You may not be able to use an ATM in the event of a power outage. Make sure your car always has a half tank of gas.

7. Proper Clothes and Comfort Items: According to the weather conditions, gather up a change of clothes along with outer clothing: coats, rain gear, boots, gloves and hats. If you have babies remember diapers. Remember to grab your children's favorite blanket, stuffed animal or toy. A game or a deck of cards could keep them occupied and calm too.

8. Planner/Calendar/Control Journal: These documents have all the information you will need from phone numbers, insurance numbers and important dates. They are small and filled with things you don't have to try to remember.

9. Personal Protection: Many of us still have that time of the month. Be sure and grab a box of your preferred protection. It may be hard to find if you have been evacuated. Stress can cause our bodies to do strange things too. So be prepared. Take medication for cramps too.

10. Phones, Radios, Fuel for the Car: Many of us have cell phones now. Always keep them charged up and have a charger in the car or an extra battery. They may not work in the event of power outages, but then they might. Know which local radio station has emergency bulletins. Keep your battery powered radio tuned to that local station and have plenty of batteries for it. Also keep an old type regular phone that does not operate with electricity. GAS PUMPS don't work without power either. You can't leave if you car is on empty. So keep your car fuel tank topped off when it hits a half tank. This way you will have gas to drive at least a couple of hours. Evacuation routes are usually bumper to bumper traffic. Having a tank filled will keep you less stressed.

11. Patience: This is one of the most important things to pack. Keep it inside of you so that you have a clear calm head. Having your P's to Preparedness list guiding you will keep you patient. In the event of an evacuation there will be lots of displaced people. Being patient will make things less stressful. Your children need to see you calm and collected. This will help keep them calm too."

September--72 Hour Kits

This month is National Preparedness Month and our focus will be on 72-Hour Kits. Other items will be included along the way, but the main theme is what we will take when we have to evacuate or when we are waiting out an emergency at home. These kits are also called Grab-and-Go Kits and Bug-Out-Bags (BOBs).

Before we can consider what will be included in our kits, we need to make a plan. "Riverwalker" at Stealth Survival wrote: Survival Basics-The Disaster Book. He did not write a "book" but an excellent guide as to how we can write our own disaster plan.

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Survival Basics-The Disaster Book

"One of the main basics of survival involves planning. Having a plan and knowing what needs to be done when disaster strikes is crucial. There will be a great many decisions to be made when the worst happens and having a plan of action will help to minimize the stress that split second decisions can place on a person. More importantly, you will feel confident in your abilities to control the chaos that will arise when a man-made or natural disaster occurs and leaves you with very little time for critical decision making. Time is going to be critical to your survival and the survival of your family because no matter where you live, work or travel; everyone is subject to some form of natural or man-made disaster.

What is a disaster book? A disaster book is simply a plan of action for the different scenarios that can affect your survival. It will provide you with an outline of things to do, where to go or stay and what you will need to take with you or have on hand depending upon the type of threat you are facing. It doesn’t need to be very complicated but should contain some major components to aid you in the tough decisions that will have to be made when your survival is threatened. It will be your plan for survival.

What are the major components of a disaster book?

1.) Threat Assessment - The first and most important part of a disaster book is making a list of those threats which have an immediate or real possibility of affecting your survival at anytime. These threats could be anything from wildfires to earthquakes, tornadoes to hurricanes and flooding or civil unrest or a threat from failing infrastructure. These threats will be different for people depending upon where you live. You will need to do an assessment of these threats and develop your plan to set certain goals in place should one or more of these disasters happen. Know the threat!

2.) Risk Assessment - The next step is to make a decision and about whether you will be able to stay and tough things out at home or whether you may be forced to evacuate if the situation makes it impossible to stay at your present location. Making the decision ahead of time will save time that will be critical to your survival. Know the risk!

3.) Preparedness Evaluation - The final step is to make a list of what you will need depending upon the type of disaster and whether you will be toughing it out at home or have to evacuate to avoid the disaster. Make sure you know where you will be going if you have to bug out in a hurry. Deciding which direction to go at the last minute is not going to be very effective. Make sure that all family members are aware of where you are going and when you expect to be there. This will eliminate a lot of needless worry for everyone if a disaster strikes. If you decide to bug in and ride the storm out, you will need to make sure you have all the needed items for your survival and the survival of your family. Include the items you know that that are going to be needed and whether or not they are available or can be obtained. Know your needs!

This can all be done on a few simple pages and kept handy for easy reference when a disaster occurs. It can be as detailed or as simple as you care to make it. It may not even be the best plan but it is a plan. Plan to survive!"

101 Barter Items--Part 2

31.22.LR ammunition
32.12-gauge shot shells
33.Water Filters
34.Firewood
35.Coleman Fuel
36.Knives
37.Manual Can Openers
38.Vegetable Oil (for cooking)
39.Lighter Fluid
40.Charcoal
41.Diapers
42.Washboard
43.Vitamins
44.Tampons
45.Thermal Underwear
46.Aluminum Foil
47.Garbage Bags
48.Paper Towels
49.Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid)
50.Clothes Pins
51.Fishing Line
52.Fish Hooks
53.First Aid Kits
54.Batteries
55.Spices
56.Solar Calculators
57.Belts
58.Flashlights
59.Lightsticks
60.Garbage Cans

[From: The Survivalist Blog]

101 Barter Items--Part 1

I recently posted about bartering for food; here's a list of things we can stock up on (after we have our necessities, of course) just for bartering:

1.Coffee
2.Sugar
3.Salt
4.Pepper
5.Hard candy
6.Paperback Bibles
7.Kitchen Matches
8.Needles and sewing items
9.Nylon cord
10.Duct tape
11.Cigarettes
12.Pencils, paper, note pads
13.Toilet paper
14.Tooth paste
15.Soap
16.Rubbing alcohol
17.Peroxide
18.Aspirin
19.Baking soda
20.tooth brushes
21.Reading glasses
22.Liquor
23.Socks
24.Tarps
25.Tools for gardening
26.Condoms
27.Wooden matches
28.Skills
29.Hand Tools
30.Boyscout Manual

[From: The Survivalist Blog]

Winter Prediction

The weather has been changing, getting worse (hotter/colder) each year. One person has stepped up and is predicting a long, bad winter. I looked into that prediction and it seems to be the consensus. Here's what one person said:

"As you know, I live in Colorado with my little family. The weather here has been very very weird for the last couple of years, and this Summer was quite unusual. Compared to 2008 with scorching heat and very little rain, this 2009 Summer has been actually cool, with periods of intense rain and no days thus far [August 30, 2009] over 100 degrees.

By watching the signs, studying animals and plants, intuition, and reading everything I can . . . I'll give the following prediction for this area [emphasis mine]:

The Winter of 2009/2010 will come early, be hard, and stay long.

I'm quite sure I don't even need to discuss how the H1N1 flu virus will affect our Winter. This all being said, we are very stocked up on not only food and water, but also medical supplies, quilts, mittens, ski masks, and more.

Are YOU prepared for this Winter?"

Well, how prepared are you? I was in the market the other day and all of the hand sanitizer was gone--what other items may we be too late in purchasing??

Eating What You Have On Hand

Trent wrote a little post that helps to show how to cook many of our food storage items ahead of time, so that we will use more of them--if the cook is tired or has run out of time by evening, this is healthier and cheaper than eating out.

"As I’ve discussed many times before, eating at home is a huge money saver. Even if you use expensive ingredients all the time (like saffron or morel mushrooms), it’s still cheaper to cook at home than it is to consistently eat out (assuming you’re eating better than the McDonalds Dollar Menu). Similarly, it’s cheaper to make a meal out of basic ingredients than it is to use prepared and processed ingredients - the closer to the raw ingredients you are, the cheaper the meal is (usually).

Along the same lines, I’ve come to realize that I tend to snack on and eat whatever’s convenient. For lunch, I’ll usually eat leftovers because it’s easy - it’s sitting in the fridge and usually only requires a bit of pepper and a trip to the microwave. At snack time, I’ll look at the fruit bowl and flip open the refrigerator door and grab whatever’s quick and at hand.

So why not combine the two and really crunch your food budget?

I was inspired to try some of these things by Mark Bittman’s interesting book, Food Matters. He suggests a similar phenomenon, that if you make good, healthy food as convenient as possible, you won’t be as tempted to eat processed, unhealthy foods.

By a lucky coincidence, many of the healthiest foods are also quite cheap in their raw form.

So what I decided to do is start cooking some healthy and very inexpensive staple foods once a week in bulk, store them in containers in the fridge, and utilize them all throughout the week in various dishes.

Here’s the game plan.

First, cook a big batch of beans/wild rice/whole grains once a week. You can get these ingredients at the store incredibly cheaply and they’re very easy to cook up in bulk. Just cook a whole bag of beans, a small bag of wild or brown rice, and some amount of a whole grain that you like.

When you’re done, just put the material you cooked into a large container in the fridge. A large Rubbermaid container or Gladware works really well because you can see what’s inside at a glance.

Throughout the week, just eat simple stuff that uses these for ingredients. Here are five examples.

Burritos Put some beans and some rice on a tortilla, heat it up, pour some salsa on it, enjoy.

Omelets Stir up two eggs, toss ‘em in a pan with some beans, spice with lots of pepper, enjoy.

Stir fry Toss whatever vegetables and meats you have on hand in a pan with a bit of vegetable oil over medium heat until cooked, put them on the rice, enjoy.

Swiss breakfast Mix the cooked whole grains with some milk and whatever fruit you have on hand, enjoy.

Bean burgers If you have black beans, this works great. Just mash ‘em together, add a bit of flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce to the beans, make some patties, and cook them with some oil, enjoy.

With the huge amount of variations in these recipes - and the many, many more simple things you can toss together - it’s easy to make tons of very simple snacks and meals from these cooked staples in your fridge.

You can take this idea even further by doing the same thing with whatever fruits and vegetables are on sale at the store. Just pick up that vegetable, chop it up, and cook it in some appropriate fashion (or just leave it raw). Just get it to the point where it’s really convenient for you to just grab it and eat it or add it to a simple dish.

The benefits here are tremendous. Suddenly, your snacks and many of your meals become really simple to prepare, really cheap, and pretty healthy, too (regardless of what you add, if most of the meal consists of beans and wild rice and vegetables, it’ll be good for you on the whole). Plus, since you can add whatever you want to those ingredients that are already on hand, it’s versatile and will be quite tasty to pretty much any palate.

Give it a shot and see how it works for you!"

[From: The Simple Dollar]

A Few Thoughts on Clothing

"Replacing clothing is not a subject I see mentioned much in survivalist sites. In the event we can’t go to Wal-Mart and pick up a new shirt or pair of pants here are a few things we can do to prepare.

Don’t throw out old clothes! Start a rag bag, tear out the large areas of fabric that are undamaged. Remove and keep all buttons and zippers that are in working condition. Save old sweatshirts as they are, the sleeves of a long sleeve sweatshirt can be made into mittens or socks in a pinch. The rest of the sweatshirt can be turned into warm wear for a child or infant. Start looking at clothing before you discard it and think about what other purpose it might have.

Set up a good sewing kit with plenty of sturdy thread and needles. Watch for closeouts on good, sturdy fabric and cotton flannel. Old clothes can be taken apart at the seams and used as patterns to make new ones. For the fashion conscious a few packets of dye stored away can turn your faded duds into a new fashion statement!

That rag bag can provide a new quilt, patches for clothes, even diapers for a new arrival (remember, life goes on, even in the hard times)."

[From The Survivalist Blog--the original title is: "A Few Thoughts on Clothing for TEOTWAWKI," which stands for--The End Of The World As We Know It]

Redundant Systems for Survival

"Preservation is food security at it's best"
Avais Dervaes

The survivalist's creed is to have redundant (multiple) systems for everything--water, food, power, medical, etc. With food that means that you need to have a reliable system of obtaining food if the main one is on the fritz. For instance, if you rely totally on the supermarket for all of your food needs, then a trucking strike happens and the markets aren't getting fresh supplies of food--what will you do? A redundant system would be to have your own garden that you could eat from. Another system is canned, freeze-dried and dehydrated foods. Bartering with people that have the foods you need will also come about, a third system. Can you think of more systems? Please share your ideas!

Tools for Trade--Part 2

Cleaning Rusty Tools

Some of you may have found that your steel tools have started to rust a bit. This can happen if your tools are in a garage and exposed to the elements a lot or you happen to live near the ocean. That salty air will rust anything.

The best way to clean up rusty tools is Vinegar. Good old vinegar from the supermarket and soak the tools in it.

Recently I purchased a bunch of old tools from an jeweller who no longer made jewellery. HE lived near the ocean and the tools needed a little TLC.

The picture above shows the tools soaking in the vinegar overnight. After they come out of the vinegar give them a good rinse with water and scrubbing brush to remove the rust and vinegar.

At this point the rust will be gone but the tools may appear dull in colour. You can give them a polish with some metal polish and a soft cloth, you can buff them up on a buffing wheel.

IF its important that it has a high shine on them such a ball pein hammer or a hammering block you can sand it with some sandpaper starting at about 1200 and work finer. This will get a nice mirror finish on them.

After doing all this work to clean them up you will want to keep them looking new. You can coat them in machine oil. I use singer sewing machine oil purchased from the supermarket and lightly coat the tools and them cover them with glad wrap. This is for tools that do not get used all the time. The other thing you can coat them in is Vaseline, again this is readily available from your supermarket and this provides a coating over your tools stopping the air from getting them.

For tools such as files which tend to get used on a daily basis, I don;t use anything on them. I just keep them away from water and liquids and keep them in my drawer when I am not using them.

[From: Wendy Hearn]

Tools for Trade---Part 1

In the event that we were in a long-term emergency, and bartering was the norm for obtaining goods and services, tools would be an important bartering object. Not many people do their own repairs and therefore don't have many hand tools.

Today, most people love yard sales, and this is a good place to acquire tools cheaply to be put aside for bartering. Tomorrow's post will be on cleaning rusted tools.


Tools for Trade

One of the best and handiest items for trade or barter is tools. There is something about a tool that most men can't resist. Any kind of tool has the ability to become quite useful when something breaks or a repair is needed. Let's face reality. Sometimes your hands alone aren't enough and you are going to need some kind of tool to help you get

the job done. A person without tools isn't going to get much accomplished. You need the knowledge and skills to make that emergency repair but it most likely won't be accomplished without some basic tools. Tools will always make good items for trade.

In the picture above are just a sample of some of the types of small hand tools that I acquired quite cheap at a yard sale. I recently purchased a dozen hand tools at a yard sale for only $3.00. That's only a quarter for each one. I even got two fairly good quality tools in the mix and have added them to my good tools. The others will go in my junk tool box.

I have my tool box for the farm which has some specialty tools that are necessary for some specialized type of work that is usually only needed at the farm. I have my truck tool boxes and even Mrs. RW has her own tool box for around the house repairs. I also have a junk tool box with an assortment of cheap tools that I've picked up for bargain prices at yard or garage sales. These are often real bargains and sometimes you even find a good quality tool in the mix. An old fishing tackle box or some cheap tool box will make a great place to keep some tools for trade. I've even traded a whole box of junk tools for some really good quality items. The good tool bargains are usually added to my good set of tools and the junk tools go in another old tool box. These I use to trade, sell or barter.

[From: Stealth Survival]

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[Winter Gardening--Peas]

Apology

I am sorry that my recent postings have been hit-or-miss. I am having trouble with my internet provider--it has become slower than dial-up and often won't bring up the addresses I request. I hope it won't last too long--it's quite frustrating!--Be Prepared

Magic Fudge Sauce

Have you ever had Magic Shell ice cream topping? My husband loves it! Here is a food storage recipe that is very similar to the real stuff (recipe not for canning).


Magic Fudge Sauce

1 Cup (6 ounces) Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup Butter, cubed
3 Tbs. Evaporated Milk (1 Tbs. Dry Powdered Milk + 3 Tbs. Water)

Vanilla Ice Cream
1/2 Cup Sliced Almonds (opt.)

In a heavy saucepan, combine chocolate chips, butter and milk. Cook and stir over low heat until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Serve warm over ice Cream (Sauce will harden.) Sprinkle with almonds. Refrigerate any leftovers. Sauce can be reheated in the microwave. Yield: about 1 Cup.

[From: Everyday Food Storage]

I'll Do It Tomorrow . . .

Are you having a difficult time stocking up on your year's supply of food, first aid, and other important items for being prepared--because of procrastination? Then you might be motivated by Trent, who wrote a post on overcoming procrastination. His main focus is financial, but his simple method can apply to anything being procrastinated. He says . . .

"Procrastination is a big enemy of financial progress. It’s easy to say “I’ll do it tomorrow” about countless maintenance, frugality, and money management tasks. I do it all the time myself, and I’m one of the more proactive people I know.

How do you get around it? How can you make yourself do all of the “important but not urgent” things you need to get done in your life, when it’s so easy to put them off and just kick back?

Here are the tactics I personally use to make it happen . . ."

To read more, go here.

Canning Outdoors

Over at the Frugal Canning blog, they have been testing different ways of heating up canners for outdoor canning. They said, "We have hit the mother load of heating solutions for canning! Finally a heater that boils water in the canner in 8 minutes and reduces the amount of fuel used." They have different kinds of heating units and tell how well each one works.

"So the turkey fryer has won the contest to date . . . I can now have two to four canning pots going at once to maximize my time and productivity. If I have a huge batch to do I get out the three burner stove and get two more canners going. When I do low acid foods I use two to three pressure canners."

To read more of this post and see more pictures, go to the Frugal Canning blog

Garden Planner

Here is a basic garden planner that you can use--it shows how many of each vegetable goes into each square foot of garden space! Kids will have fun with it, too! Garden Planner

Planning For A Canning Garden

To make canning fun, you have got to have a well-thought-out plan. Sow bean seed so that all the beans are ripe in the same two weeks, and you'll find canning and freezing the beans a great big chore. Plant the garden so the beans ripen over the eight or twelve weeks of summer, and you'll eat fresh beans as often as you like. And on the days when you don't want to serve beans, you can freeze that day's bean harvest while you cook dinner. It's that simple. If you want to can in 8-quart lots, you don't necessarily have to have 8 quarts of beans ripe at the same time. Each vegetable has a specific processing time. Beans in quart jars are processed in 25 minutes, but so are beets in pint jars. Beets are root crops that can be dug at any point over many weeks, unlike beans, which must be harvested as soon as they are 6 to 8 inches long and still young to get the best flavor and to keep the bushes producing. [You can apply this principle to winter vegetables, too].

[This is a copy that I made from a book about 20 years ago, and I do not have the reference--Gard'n Judy]

Pears

Are you looking at a mountain of pears, dreading peeling them before you can get on your way to canning them? I have a solution! Several months ago I was surfing the internet, looking for canning recipes. I came across a neat trick for removing the pear skins--dunking them into boiling water, then into cold/cool water, and then the skin practically falls off! Last night there were five of us canning pears together. Before I got there, they were peeling pears like you would peel potatoes; it was a long, slow process. Then they heated up some water, I dunked the pears in for 25 seconds (these pears were pretty ripe, greener pears might need a few seconds more), dumped them into cold water, and then smoshed the pears around with my hands (using "rubber" dish washing gloves help, too, if you want). It really helps to have a bowl of water to work in. This method reduced the pear-peeling time to mear seconds for each pear, and really improved production time. Lest you think we were doing a few jars of pears, we had 10 cases (at 36 pounds each!) of pears. There were about 240 quarts of pears canned that night!

[Note: I don't remember where I found this peeling trick; I tried to find it again to give the person credit, but was unable to locate it].

Food Storage for Those With Food Allergies

As you know, we have food allergies and intolerances in our family. As I was perusing the newest "Backwoods Home Magazine" yesterday, I realized I hadn't put away (storing for emergencies) any long-term-stored oil or butter. I took a look at where I get most of my supplies, Emergency Essentials at http://www.beprepared.com/, and took a look at the ingredients for shortening powder, butter powder and margarine powder.

Then I looked at the nutritional info. Shortening powder and margarine powder are made with soybean oil, which my Kid (VHTS) can't have. The butter powder does not have that... just dairy which my Hubby can't have. All three are "processed in a plant that handles dairy, wheat, soybean, peanut, and tree nut products". Which means I can't get any of them because my Kid's behavior would go so completely out of orbit if any of that is eaten.

Plan: I'm gonna keep buying olive oil, and keep working towards getting 2 dairy goats to make our own butter.

Sigh.

But that's not all. Many of these storage places (not just E.E.) don't provide products for people who have food allergies or reactions. I can get some wheat for Hubby, but the Kid and I need gluten-free grains like quinoa, amaranth, rice flour, even cornmeal that hasn't been processed where wheat has been. I realize we're in the minority and it's not cost effective to provide long-term-storage containers of these grains, but it is a little frustrating.

Solution?
Because most of these grains are so expensive, we're buying only a few extra packages every month. (3 brown rice flour, 1 quinoa, 1 amaranth, 1 gluten-free oats, 1 cornmeal, 1 bean flour, 1 teff flour, 1 coconut flour, 1 potato flour, 1 millet flour, 1 sorghum flour). I mark the date, and seal in a mason jar.

We can also grind/mill from our whole grains/etc: rice flour, bean flour and corn flour.

[From Survival Cooking]
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[Fall Gardening: endive]
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[Bruce Hopkins has some information about long-term-packed celiac products (newsletter) here.

Canning Star!

Bill has been a canning king this past week. He said that school is out for a short time (where he works), and his home kitchen will be torn up starting this week (remodeling), so he had to get it all done this week! Here's what he canned:

--32 pints Bread and Butter Pickles
--18 pints Kosher Dills
--9 1/2 pints Italian Meatballs
--3 pints Beef Broth with onions
--10 1/2 pints Mexican Salsa
--9 1/2 pints Chunky Salsa
--19 pints Spicy Hot Chunky Salsa
--11 pints Pickled Jalapenos
--7 pints Jalapenos (nacho style)
--11 pints Spaghetti Sauce

He didn't have time to take pictures, but you get the "picture" nonetheless! He was a busy man!

[Fall Gardening--chives]

Salsa

This is what I was doing yesterday! It was very unplanned, but when nature gives you abundance, you take it! Yesterday morning when I went out to water, I saw that there were three ripe tomatoes. I started picking them, and then noticed there were more. There were so many covered completely with green foliage, and by the time I was finished picking tomatoes, I had nearly 40 pounds! With my freezers full, I had to can them somehow--so I made salsa. I used the Super Salsa recipe, but substituted lemon juice for the vinegar. It won't be sweet this time, and I hope the flavor is good. I spent 8 hours working on it (lots of time preparing the tomatoes) and ended up with 17 pints of salsa. We don't eat that much salsa, so my son and his family will get some. The leftover tomatoes are in the refrigerator hoping to make it into the freezer!

At Least Keep Your Shoes By The Bed

Have you put any food or water away for at least 3 months? Do you know what that really looks like?

If an earthquake strikes, do your loved ones know what to do if you cannot make it home from work for a few days?

Do you keep a small bike or extra walking shoes in your trunk or at work in case your car won't start after an EMP attack? Are you REALLY physically and mentally ready to walk home from work?

Do you have batteries for the kids flashlights? Do they work? Do you have extra?

Do you know what foods your family will eat or not eat during an emergency situation?

Does you family know how to turn off the gas to the house? Do you have water, a hose, a water pump, and nozzle if you need to put out a fire in or around your house?

Do you have a pair of boots or shoes next to the bed (and a flashlight) if there is another earthquake at night? (You don't want to be stepping on broken glass and mirrors with your bare feet) Have you run an earthquake drill recently to see how well your family can take care of themselves until you get home?

Do your loved ones have access to pepper spray or a weapon to defend themselves if they have to? Do they know how to use it?

The next time you get low on food in your fridge, (on the weekend) test yourself to see how well you can live by turning off the gas and electric to the house... and take notes. You will be surprised at the results, and afterwards you can go shopping and pick up stuff you REALLY need.

What else do you need to do to help take of your family while you are waiting for FEMA to show up?

by William Lankes

Tomato Ketchup

I made a little ketchup the other day--I am on a quest to find a recipe that tastes like commercial ketchup, so I will be trying several different recipes. This recipe makes 1 1/2 to 2 pints, so I didn't risk too much if I didn't like it. I found that it is quite tart! I will find a recipe that doesn't have any vinegar in it! It's not bad, just not what I am searching for.

Tomato Ketchup

32 medium tomatoes (8 lbs.), quartered
1 c. sliced onions
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
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1 c. vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
1 1/2 tsp. broken stick cinnamon
1/2 tsp. whole allspice
1 tsp. celery seeds
----------------------
1/2 c. sugar
4 tsp. salt

Combine tomatoes, onions and cayenne pepper. Cook, uncovered, 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Combine vinegar,m spices and celery seeds in kettle. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Let stand so vinegar will absorb seasoning of spices.

Put tomato mixture through food mill or sieve. Combine with sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until volume is reduced one half (about 1 1/4 hours).

Strain vinegar to remove spices. Add salt to vinegar and stir into tomato mixture. Continue boiling, uncovered, until thick, stirring (about 1/2 hour).

Pour into hot, sterilized jars; seal at once.

Process: boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Pizza and Spaghetti Sauces

You can't tell, but the Pizza Sauce is on the left and the Spaghetti Sauce is on the right. At first glance the two recipes seemed nearly the same, but they are different.

Pizza Sauce—about 4 pints

3 medium onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. olive oil
10 lbs. tomatoes, cored, quartered
1 tbsp. basil
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. sugar

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. All remaining ingredients and simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Press mixture through a food mill; discard seeds and peel. Return juice and pulp to saucepan. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat until sauce thickens, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Add hot lids, tighten rings.

Process: hot water bath for 30 minutes.



Spaghetti Sauce—about 4 pints

3 medium onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. olive oil
10 lbs. tomatoes, peeled, cored
2 sweet green peppers, finely chopped
2 tbsp. basil
2 tbsp. oregano
2 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Press mixture through a food mill. Discard seeds and peel. Return juice and pulp to saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sauce thickens, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Pour hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Add hot lids, tighten rings.

Process: hot water bath for 30 minutes.

[Note: I found that I like this spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce, although I would add a little more "Italian" herbs to the pizza sauce, maybe some thyme, too].

Mexican and Super Salsas

I was thinking about the salsas I made and that the recipe was in the canning binder. I realized last night that not everyone has that binder, so I am including the recipes here. In the picture the salsa on the left is the Mexican, and the salsa on the right is the Super. They actually look the same, it just looks different in the picture.

Mexican Salsa—about 5 pints

5 lbs. ripe tomatoes, skinned, cored, chopped
3 c. onions, chopped
1 1/4 c. chili peppers, seeded, chopped
1 c. fresh cilantro, snipped
1 c. apple cider or apple cider flavored vinegar
2 tbsp. garlic, about 6 cloves, minced
1 tbsp. salt

In a 6-quart saucepot, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer 30 minutes or to desired thickness, stirring occasionally. Immediately fill hot jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles. Add hot lids, tighten rings.

Process: boiling water bath for 15 minutes

---------------------------------------------
Super Salsa

20 c. tomatoes, peeled, cored
10 c. green bell peppers, seeded, chopped
10 c. onions, chopped
2 c. jalapenos, seeded, diced (use habanero peppers for hotter salsa)
3-6 cloves garlic, minced
4-6 tbsp. cilantro, minced
2 1/2 c. white vinegar

Mix all ingredients in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, simmer 10 minutes. Ladle salsa into hot jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Add hot lids, tighten rings.

Process: hot water bath
—1/2 pints or pints 15 minutes

[Note: I did my own taste-test and both of these were good--both are kind of sweet. I will be looking for a salsa recipe that isn't so sweet, maybe made without vinegar. I am comparing the taste to Ortega salsa (what I had in the refrigerator)].

More Canning

Bill has been at it again! He canned 12 quarts and 4 pints of Kosher Dill Pickles, and 18 pints of Bread and Butter Pickles, AFTER THE SEMINAR!!! He must have an iron will, or maybe it's iron legs, to be able to stand all day at the seminar, and then into the night canning pickles! My question is--where is he going to stash all of the canned goodies and how long will it take for him and his wife to eat it all?!?! Actually, he gives away a lot of what he makes, so really he has to keep restocking his shelves!

Last week I canned 10 pints of Mexican Salsa and 11 pints of Super Salsa (recipes in the canning binder). The vegetables came from my garden, and I wanted to see which salsa I liked better.

Preserving Nasturtium Seeds

Americans like to use nasturtium seeds like other people use caper seeds (the bud of a Mediterranean shrub). The nasturtium seeds are just as spicy.

Gather the seeds (from plants YOU grow to make sure they don't have pesticides) while they are green and let them stand in the sun for a few days to dry. Soak/steep for a day or so in cold vinegar. Drain. Add to fresh boiling vinegar and boil for 10 minutes. Pour seeds and vinegar into sterilized canning jars and cover tightly. Store in a cool place for 5-6 months. This makes them like pickled seeds.

Add to salads!

NOTE: I've also seen where people take the seeds, dry them and grind them to use as pepper. Store in a tightly sealed bottle in a cool place. I'd wait to grind until just ready to use. This was a common substitute for pepper from World War II. Good to know if you can't grow black peppercorns where you are.

From: Survival Cooking

We Need Your Help!

The canning seminar this morning was a great success, with the participants excited to start canning! The Peach Melba Jam, Zucchini Soup, Pickled Peaches, Spaghetti Sauce, and other sample taste-treats were a hit!

Now we can focus on other business, and this is where we need your help. We created this blog to help our stake, a unit of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In the blog address is the name of our stake (Fresno East Stake) and we recently found out that we can't use that name because the blog wasn't directed from Church headquarters. So, we need your help with a new name for our blog, one that is appropriate and shows what we are about: we are trying to help others, especially those living in our stake, to be as prepared as possible in all areas of their lives, and for any emergency that might occur. What do you think--what would be a good name for our blog? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

Canning Seminar 2

Pressure canning demonstration by Sister Hatch

It's almost here! Tomorrow, August 8th, is our second canning seminar! Please join us if you want to learn to can. There is no charge for the seminar. Walk-ins are welcome to attend, although they may not receive a canning binder.

The seminar will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ, Latter-Day Saints stake center located at 1880 Gettysburg, near the corner of Fowler, in Clovis. Enter in through the back of the building where we will be located. The time of the seminar is 8:00 to 12:00. There will be tasting samples and surprise bags for each participant. There also will be a drawing for two gently used items: a large waterbath canner and a Squeezo juicer.

A Challenge for You!

Kellene Bishop, the Preparedness Pro, has issued a challenge, one that I will take up starting this Sunday--no shopping for food or household supplies for two weeks! That means no restaurants, farmer's markets, or borrowing from neighbors, although bartering with neighbors is acceptable (similar to a real emergency situation). This is to test your emergency preparedness, to show where the holes are in your storage. An added bonus is that she has 10 emergency preparedness prizes to give away. Interested? See her post here for more information!

Kellene also has an excellent article, well documented, about the Swine Flu Vaccination here and why you may want to avoid it.

Fall Vegetable Gardening

"We will see the day when we live on what we produce."--Victor L. Brown, April 1976 Conference

Fall Gardening

Italian Meatballs

(pictured in the top picture in yesterday's post)

4 lbs. lean ground beef
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 1/2 c. potato flakes
1 1/2 tbsp. granulated garlic
3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. plain salt
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
3 tbsp. Italian seasoning
4 large eggs

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until completely blended.

Divide meat blend into 4 parts, keep 3 parts in the refrigerator while working with the 4th. Form meatballs using a small #80 dasher/ice cream scoop, about the size of ping-pong balls.

Place meatballs into hot jars, add lid and ring.

Process: pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure
pints--75 minutes
quarts--90 minutes

[Note: Bill personally likes the results of browning the meatballs before canning. There are 3 methods for browning meatballs: (1) pan fry with a little oil; (2) deep-fry until lightly browned; and (3) bake on a cookie sheet at 500' until lightly browned.]

Canning Star!

Bill has been working hard as you can see! Over two Saturdays (all the while his back was out and his finger injured) he canned the following:

--17 1/2-pints of Peach Melba Jam
--4 quarts + 3 pints Pickled Eggs
--11 pints baby carrots
--7 quarts of red and Russet potatoes
--11 pints Italian Meatballs (recipe tomorrow)

Way to go, Bill!












Fall Gardening here .

Think About It . . .

Take 3 minutes--right now--and picture yourself in this situation, and make it as real as your imagination can possibly make it:

If, for some strange reason, all of the washing machines and dryers suddenly "died"--how would you take care of your family's clothes? How would you wash them, dry them? Do you have the equipment to clean and hang them to dry?

How prepared are you??

I am not prepared. My parents, in northern Idaho, had an old wringer washer that they were holding for me. I haven't been able to get up there by car to pick it up, so it went to the dump (sob!). I wanted that washer for emergency use as I know how to hook it up to a bike using a pulley system, to make it "wash" without electricity.

My goal for this week is to buy a mop bucket with a wringer attachment, and some clothesline. I have a lot of clothespins already. This system is number 20 on "The First 100 Things to Disappear After a Collapse" list. Don't forget to store enough laundry soap and liquid fabric softener for your family's needs. Think about using the "gray water" when you are finished washing--water that is not drinkable, but still safe for plants, to water your fruit trees and vegetable garden [if you will be doing this, make sure the laundry soap and softener is acceptable for this purpose, otherwise you will kill your plants].

Fall Gardening here --green beans.

Fall Gardening

I am finding that posting fall gardening on two blogs is too repetitious, so I will post a daily link to my garden blog. On this blog I will continue to post more information about emergency preparations, and recipes that use what we are growing, buying or from our food storage.

Start Planting!

To start your fall planting this month, be sure to plant basil, beans, dill, and squash soon, so that they will be harvested before frost (our average first frost is November 7).

To see if you have enough time for full maturity, check the growing time for your particular vegetable. (For example, if I planted bush green beans on August 3, and it takes 56 days until harvest, I would count the days and find that the beans will be ready to pick by September 28, in plenty of time before the frost). This also helps if you are planning on preserving vegetables as it lets you plan for canning or freezing time in that particular week.

Some growth may slow as the temperatures get colder and may show signs of stress (more towards winter). On the other hand, we may have an extra long warm fall with everything growing abundantly! Seeds are cheap, so plant away!

Fried Okra

Fried Okra--serves 4-6

1 lb. okra
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
2 c. cornmeal
vegetable oil for frying

1. Wash and drain okra. Cut off the tips and stem ends. Slice okra into 1 1/2" thick rings, and place in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle with salt.

2. Pour buttermilk over okra. Stir well to coat. Set aside for 15 minutes;drain

3. In a large skillet or deep fryer, preheat oil to 375'. Place cornmeal in a separate bowl or shallow pan. Roll the okra in the cornmeal until well coated. Fry in the oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.

Homemade Mustard

Yesterday was National Mustard Day! I never knew there were so many different kinds of mustard. This is something to add to our food storage, to add a little spice to some of the more bland foods. It is easily made from scratch, as long as you have the powdered mustard.

Homemade Mustard

Mix together equal parts mustard powder and water--that's it!

You can also make mustard from mustard seeds, but it is a bit more involved, and I will not be going into that here. If you are interested, just Google homemade mustard.

Garden Rice

Here's a quick little recipe to get you in the mood for growing a fall vegetable garden!

Garden Rice

*1/2 c. white rice
*1 c. chicken broth
*1/4 c. fresh vegetables (corn, peas, broccoli, Bok choy, green onions, etc.)
*fresh or dried basil or any herb that pairs with your vegetable

Mix all together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover and cook until rice is done.

Fall Vegetable Gardening

This will give you an idea of what to plant this month. Generally, you can plant all of these vegetables and herbs by seed, with the cole crops (cauliflower, broccoli, brussels spouts, cabbage, turnips, many of the Chinese vegetables) going in as transplants (they needed to be started in July). You could try them by seed and you may get lucky! If they are not growing so well by the time you find vegetable starts in the stores, you can always replace them. Starting seeds outdoors at this time of year can be a little tricky for some veggies. I will be covering the vegetables one at a time, and I will give some ideas that I have collected over the years that will help you be successful growing a great garden. If you have any questions, just ask in the comment section of a post or email me here.

Planting in August:

Basil
Beans
Beets
Bok choy
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrot
Cauliflower
Chives
Dill
Endive
Fennel
Green onions
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Lettuce
Mustard
Peas
Potatoes
Rutabagas
Spinach
Squash
Swiss chard
Turnips

If you are really adventurous, you could plant directly sow tomato seeds, or tomato transplants from the store, for a late fall crop!

Good Luck!!

Dairy Prices Going Up

Kellene, the Preparedness Pro, has posted a short article about how the government has provided a way for the dairy farmers to stay in business by upping the prices of milk, cheese, butter and other dairy products. She urges everyone to stock up on butter (can it), cheese (wax it--more to come on this in a couple of days), etc. She also has links to coupons for dairy products. Go here for more information.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

I made this soup a couple of days ago--it tastes good! It is really easy to throw together and can.



Chicken Enchilada Soup
makes 4 quarts

6 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked chicken
1 cup chopped onion
2 cans tomato sauce
1 can Rotel
1 can stewed tomatoes
2 small cans green chili
2 tablespoons corn meal
3 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp seasoned salt (if the broth is not salty)
1 tsp garlic powder
Mix all, heat and pour into jars.

Processing: pressure canner, 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure

You can play with this recipe quite a lot. Add veggies
and tweak the seasonings. I was tempted to add more corn meal
to thicken and next time may add two more tablespoons.
[My note: I used 3 tablespoons corn meal and would probably add more next time].

From: Creative Canning

Heatwave Survival, part 2

4.) Make extensive use of fans to circulate the air in your home to reduce heat stress and lower your electrical consumption which may help to prevent a power blackout.

Attic fans, box fans, and even hand-held portable fans can all be used to effectively radiate heat away from your body and the inside of your home. At night when the temperatures are generally cooler, opening windows can be used along with fans to help cool your environment. Curtains, blinds and reflective coatings on windows can also be used to keep the temperatures cooler inside your home.

5.) Use the cooling effects of water to help keep your body from being stressed by the heat.

A wet towel on your head or a wet bandanna around your neck will create a "cooling" effect on your body. You could even take a cold shower!

6.) Stay indoors or find a shady spot outdoors, if at all possible, and avoid direct exposure to the sun's heat.

Sometimes beating the heat is a simple matter of avoiding excess exposure to direct sunlight by finding a shady spot under a tree or staying inside until the evening hours when temperatures are generally cooler.

7.) If you do have to be outdoors, take plenty of breaks and drink plenty of fluids.

You may need to get out of the sun a while simply to give your body a chance to cool down naturally by itself using its own built-in cooling mechanisms.

8.) Wear loose fitting and light-colored clothing to help keep your body cool.

Your body needs to be able to radiate heat away from itself and tight or restrictive clothing may hamper this process. Dark colored clothing will also absorb additional heat.

9.) Be aware of special needs that require additional precautions to keep everyone safe.

Always notify your utility company if there is someone on a life support system that requires power. Heat waves may cause frequent rolling blackouts. If there is a planned loss of power to your area you can then take steps to provide emergency generator power or move them to a hospital if necessary until the heat wave is no longer a threat.

10.) Learn basic first aid and be able to recognize heat-related illnesses.

You will also need to be able to recognize the different symptoms of heat-related illnesses which create a real emergency situation during a heat wave that are caused by heat rash, heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heat stroke and be prepared to call emergency services (911) in the event of a heat-related emergency. Work to help cool the person suffering from a heat-related illness until help can arrive.

You can check out the devastating effects of some of the more severe heat waves in the U.S. here.

[From: Stealth Survival]

Food Shortages

This article is from Kellene, the Preparedness Pro. If you would like to see her references, go to her blog, and look under comments for this post of 7/29/09.

Food Shortage Update

by Kellene Bishop

"As of May, the U.S. just sold the very last of their wheat reserves. As of now the U.S. government wheat reserves are totally empty. The U.S. has no intention of replenishing these supplies until the prices have stabilized.

As a comparison, during the 80’s the U.S. had on hand about 358 million bushels of wheat. During the 90’s they decreased that to 133 million bushels. Now they are at zero.

Since the U.S. government is out of storing wheat, this leaves the private sector as the primary source. Unfortunately, (and grateful for the freedom as well) there are no minimum wheat crops to be harvested in the U.S.

As best as can be evaluated, there are just over 305 million bushels held privately and on business farms throughout the U.S. as of June of this year. That’s less than one bushel per person in the U.S. It’s also the lowest level it’s been in 60 years.

Texas has decreased their wheat crop this year by 30%.

Holdings for corn, sorghum, and rice are also at nearly zero in the U.S. Larry Matlock of the American Agriculture Movement also states that there is no powdered milk, cheese, or butter in reserve in the U.S. either. In other words, we have an entire nation living hand to mouth, much like many of the consumers in their own homes.

Now, let’s add another little twist. The Chinese crop of wheat is considered to be the largest in the world. Surely you are familiar with the fact that they are experiencing a record drought over the past year. Keep in mind that their consumption is the largest in the world as well. In spite of the rumors that China has 60 million metric tons of wheat in storage, there still is a genuine concern here. If they truly did have such amounts of wheat in stores why would they invest over 86 billion yuan to aid in the drought relief in this type of a market? Additionally, no storage of the 60 million metric tons has been verified.

Egypt’s wheat reserves are at 4.023 million metric tons—which is not quite enough to get them through 2009. They have also hit record lows on sugar, rice, vegetable and soy oil resources, and rice.

What have I been telling you? Food is your BEST investment right now—whether in your own pantry or on the market. Get it and get ready for a serious challenge, folks. As I’ve said previously, please don’t allow the years of plenty to fool you into believing that they will always be there."

August 2009

We have primarily focused on canning the last six weeks. We will be having another Canning Seminar August 8, where everyone is welcome. Please pre-register so we will have enough binders of canning information to hand out--there is no cost for the program or the binder (see yesterday's post for more information).

In August we will focus on fall and winter vegetable gardening. Growing a garden is part of being prepared for emergencies, by having your own supply of food, both fresh and preserved (canned, dehydrated and frozen). If you already have a summer vegetable garden, it will be an easy transition to winter gardening. If you are just beginning to garden, now is the time to start. We are lucky here in the valley, where we can harvest year-round! You might want to go to the gardening links that are on the side-bar, and begin to become familiar with different methods of gardening--finding what will work for you. As you can see by these pictures of winter vegetables--they are anything but boring!

Heat-Wave Survival, part 1

While the forces of nature generally take a backseat to the death and injuries caused by the ravages of war and the man-made hazards of automobiles, heat waves can sometimes rival the effects of many other natural hazards combined. Being able to survive the extreme temperatures of a heat wave can be a daunting task for people everywhere. Heat waves can strike any area of the country with devastating results that cause a huge loss of life. This includes places where cooler temperatures usually prevail and extremely high temperatures normally don't happen very frequently. A properly working air conditioner can be a great way to "beat the heat" but if there is a rolling blackout due to strains on the public utility system there may be little or no power available. Plus many individuals do not have air conditioning systems, as they aren't normally needed in most circumstances by a large number of people. There are some simple steps you can take to lessen the risks posed by a heat wave.

1.) Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate! Maintain adequate levels of hydration by drinking plenty of the proper types of fluids.

You need to drink more water than normal when it's hot. Thirst is one of the first signs of becoming dehydrated. You should drink adequate amounts of the proper fluids before you become thirsty in order to prevent dehydration. It may even be necessary to replace electrolytes lost by the body if you are sweating profusely.

2.) Eliminate additional sources of heat in your home.

Lights and appliances (such as dryers, stoves, and ovens) can create additional heat in your home that you don't need. Use them only at night when temperatures are cooler to help avoid generating extra heat in your home.

3.) Avoid excess metabolic heat that is created by your body by eating light meals that require little or no preparation.

Eat fresh foods that do not require you to use the oven or stove in order to prepare your meals. Avoid high protein content meals that will raise metabolic levels and increase the body's own heat levels. Avoid caffeinated or alcoholic beverages that can cause further dehydration.

[From Stealth Survival]