Monday, August 31, 2009

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]

Sunday, August 30, 2009

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??

Saturday, August 29, 2009

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]


Friday, August 28, 2009

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]

Thursday, August 27, 2009

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!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

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]

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

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]

Monday, August 24, 2009

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]

Saturday, August 22, 2009

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.

Friday, August 21, 2009

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

Thursday, August 20, 2009

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]

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

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].

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

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.

Monday, August 17, 2009

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]

Saturday, August 15, 2009

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

Thursday, August 13, 2009

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
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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.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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].

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

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

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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)].

Monday, August 10, 2009

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.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

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

Saturday, August 8, 2009

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!

Friday, August 7, 2009

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.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

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.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Fall Vegetable Gardening




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





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.]

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

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 .

Monday, August 3, 2009

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.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

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.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

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.