Posted on 02/09/2009 12:36:11 AM PST by nw_arizona_granny
Yahoo ran an interesting article this morning indicating a rise in the number of survivalist communities cropping up around the country. I have been wondering myself how much of the recent energy crisis is causing people to do things like stockpile food and water, grow their own vegetables, etc. Could it be that there are many people out there stockpiling and their increased buying has caused food prices to increase? It’s an interesting theory, but I believe increased food prices have more to do with rising fuel prices as cost-to-market costs have increased and grocers are simply passing those increases along to the consumer. A recent stroll through the camping section of Wal-Mart did give me pause - what kinds of things are prudent to have on hand in the event of a worldwide shortage of food and/or fuel? Survivalist in Training
I’ve been interested in survival stories since I was a kid, which is funny considering I grew up in a city. Maybe that’s why the idea of living off the land appealed to me. My grandfather and I frequently took camping trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway and around the Smoky Mountains. Looking back, some of the best times we had were when we stayed at campgrounds without electricity hookups, because it forced us to use what we had to get by. My grandfather was well-prepared with a camp stove and lanterns (which ran off propane), and when the sun went to bed we usually did along with it. We played cards for entertainment, and in the absence of televisions, games, etc. we shared many great conversations. Survivalist in the Neighborhood
I’ve been working on my own version of “Plumpy Nut” to get us through the really tough times. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumpy%27nut<<<
Yes it would work, and if I were making it, I think that I would use the honey and cinnamon that we were talking about being so good for you, in place of the powdered sugar.
Might work with a little cocoa added too.
In my normal way, I have to play with recipes.
But the thought of honey and cinnamon on toast still sounds good to me and if it is really good for me, then so much the better.
Something that people don’t think about is that we’d loose our paper towels, napkins and kleenex.
Having a good supply of 14”x14” cotton cloths available would be helpful. (My grandpa didn’t go a day without a hankey in his entire life.) It’s also easier to keep clothes tidy if you tuck in a “bib” at meals. <<<
You are right of course, and it is good to have the above on hand.
In the old days, it was a Sears and Roebuck catalog in the outhouse, I think today it would be a telephone book, with the softest sheets of paper.....
I promise you that in my youth, we didn’t change clothes every day.
A few wash days using a rub board, will cure you of changing just to look pretty.....
And you will be doing more dirty work, if you are messing with keeping dinner cooked on a campfire.
No one will be in any better shape than the next person and some in lots worse.
Vinegar works well for a deodorant too.
MIDNIGHT EGGS
A poached egg over mixed greens is a midnight snack idea suggested on returning from a night out. The fennel seed condiment (see third recipe) was inspiration for a snack worthy of a stellar post-performance meal, and a nice ending to the Christmas season.
3 cups mixed baby greens
3 poached eggs (see poaching tip next page)
Sliced tomatoes
Warm Herb Yogurt Sauce (see next recipe)
Place one cup of greens in the middle of plate—creating a nest. Slice tomatoes and arrange attractively around the ‘nest.’
Poach eggs (you can do this ahead of time—chill and re-warm by gently placing in hot water for 15-30 seconds). Place a poached egg in each greens nest, pour sauce over egg and serve.
Poaching Tip: If you are like me and your poached eggs are not stellar in appearance, an egg poacher is a life saver (the microwave kind work very well—just remember to put some water in each bowl and prick the egg yolk to permit steam to escape).
WARM HERB YOGURT SAUCE
1 cup of plain yogurt, gelatin-free
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 teaspoons corn starch
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons of Fennel Parsley Condiment (below)
Place yogurt in a sauce pan and very, very gently warm—stirring regularly (using a double boiler may be easier). Add in lemon juice and olive oil. Mix corn starch and water together and pour slowly into warmed yogurt—stirring to desired thickness. Add condiment and stir in well.
FENNEL/PARSLEY CONDIMENT
1 teaspoon fennel seed, ground
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons water
In a mini-processor or with mortar and pestle, mix fennel and parsley, add oil, and add enough water to make a paste. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week. Use in following recipes.
Other Uses: As a sandwich spread with sliced chicken; make tuna salad with 1 tablespoon Fennel/Parsley Condiment, 6 oz. tuna, mayo and a bit of salt and pepper; toss with 1 cup chopped tomatoes and a bit of salt and pepper if desired; 1 tablespoon mixed into scrambled eggs.
CILANTRO LIME SODA
With limes and cilantro in season, serve this sparkling homemade soda and toast the end of the 12 days of Christmas. (Coriander/cilantro is one of the Biblical herbs.)
1 1/2 cups of fresh lime juice
1/2 cup rinsed and dried cilantro
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup boiling water
4 1/2 cups of sparkling water, club soda, or seltzer
Sprigs of cilantro for garnish
Add sugar to boiling water and stir until sugar is dissolved, add cilantro and let steep until cooled. Strain into lime juice. Add sparkling, chilled water, stir and serve with a sprig of cilantro in each glass.
Option: By the glass — Stir and dissolve sugar in lime juice, add cilantro and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Strain, and use chilled still, water, club soda, seltzer or sparkling water. Ratio is 1/4 cup of lime syrup to 3/4 cups of water.
http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/
http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/
KITCHEN
ORANGE FENNEL SALAD
A sunny salad with lots of flavor and good for you (and seasonal) ingredients.
2 oranges, peeled and sectioned (make sure to catch any juice)
6 red radishes, shredded or thinly sliced
1/2 cup fennel leaf “feathers” (loose packed)
2 tablespoons almond oil
1 tablespoon cider or rice wine vinegar
Pinch of salt
Use the ‘feathery’ leaves from bulb or leaf fennel — reserve bulb for other meals. Blend oil, vinegar and salt. Gently toss with orange, radish and fennel. Serve immediately.
MARINATED TOFU
Tangerines are in season now and add a lovely sweetness to this recipe. The challenge for most folks with tofu is its blandness, but that is what is great about it, because it picks of the flavors it is cooked/mixed with. You always need a pinch of salt with tofu
1 cup cubed extra firm tofu
½ teaspoon dried savory (or 1 teaspoon fresh)
Zest of 1 tangerine (or orange)
1 tablespoon tangerine juice
1/4+ teaspoon salt to taste
Olive oil
Place cubed tofu in bowl, gently toss with zest, savory, juice and half the salt. Take a clean 12 oz. jar and pour a little olive oil in bottom. Pile mixed tofu in jar (being sure to scrape bowl juices and spices into jar), and add rest of salt to top. Cover with additional olive oil, cap tightly and turn jar to mix well. Turn several times over one hour and serve or refrigerate — will keep for approximately 4-5 days. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Serve over mixed greens, or on crackers or slices of apple.
TOFU TIP: Press extra liquid from extra firm tofu by placing in a bowl, covered with plastic of flat plat weighted down with a 1 lb can, then cube.
MARINATED OLIVES
Use some of that wonderful fresh citrus to make this great appetizer or salad topper.
Who doesn’t need another appetizer - when I go to parties, friends/family ask me to bring this dish.
Make this at least 3-4 hours ahead of time or the day before and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
2 cups green olives (can be stuffed)
2 cups kalamata olives
2 cups medium sized black olives
(You can choose to leave pits in, but warn folks!)
1 orange, zest and juice
1 lime (or lemon), zest and juice
1/2-3/4 cup finely chopped mixed herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, oregano, marjoram, dill, chives, etc. - use at least 3 different kinds - leaves, no stems)
1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and minced or finely shredded
Optional: 1-2 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely minced
Olive oil to cover
Drain olives of any water, but reserve oil if oil packed.
Mix olives, citrus zest and juice, herbs, ginger and garlic, tossing to mix well. Let sit for 1/2 hour, tossing periodically to coat.
Place this mixture in an attractive tall lidded jar, making sure to scrape in all herbs and juices. Use reserved olive packing oil and fresh olive oil to almost completely cover the olives. Cap tightly and turn (up-end) every 1/2 hour or so to keep mixture coating the olives. Serve and enjoy. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 2 weeks — oil will solidify, so bring what you wish to use to room temperature before serving.
Serving tip: Use an edible bowl (seeded cucumber or squash ‘boats’, bread bowls, seeded- sweet peppers etc.) to serve the olives in. The bread bowl can be cut up at the end and nibbled on, and if the veggie bowls are still fresh, can be used in a salad later that day.
http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/
http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/
There is a silver lining to these clouds, though — we will mostly likely have a lovely wildflower season in the desert, where the hills and valleys are painted in desert colors of gold, blue, lavender and more. Look for the display to begin in ernest sometime in March and continue through at least a part of April. Last spring the hills leading up to Boyce Thompson Arboretum looked they were painted in solid gold, and sides of the road were in royal blues and purples - breath-taking.
To replace a chilly valentine weekend, promise your valentine a trip to the desert to enjoy the wild flowers and don’t forget to add chocolate to the picnic.
Speaking of chocolate — do you know there are chocolate scented flowers? There is even one that tastes like unsweetened cocoa!
Most chocolate scented flowers are not edible, but the exception is the Chocolate Flower (Berlandiera lyrata) with the flower head tasting of unsweetened cocoa and smelling like dark chocolate when opened in the morning.
Some medicinal uses were found among the Native People of the southwest (the plant is native here) along with references to use of the flower heads in sausage — kind of like a Native mole flavoring. —(Castetter, Edward F. 1935 Ethnobiological Studies in the AmericanSouthwest I. Uncultivated Native Plants Used as Sources of Food. University of New Mexico Bulletin 4(1):1-44 (p. 19).)
This plant is also called chocolate daisy, greeneyes, lyre-leaf greeneyes, and brooch flower.
Look for seed packets or plants for sale now into late spring. They will take full sun, but for a longer growing season, find a spot in the garden where they will get some afternoon shade moving into the summer.
With the temperatures eventually moving into spring conditions here I will share tomato growing tips in the desert in my next blog.
Have a great day,
— Catherine, The Herb Lady
Another all night google link:
I feel for you. At this moment I'm trying to recover from the first asthma attack that I've had in several years. (Not going to bed for quite awhile now.) Nothing like being without oxygen to clear your head! lol!
And that got me to thinking: There are several medical needs which could be met without too much trouble NOW, but that may be an issue if one doesn't prepare.
Here are some basic meds I'd recommend everyone keep on hand:
- Tylenol (fevers)
- triple antibiotic ointment WITHOUT PAIN RELIEVER (this can actually be put directly into the eye to help fight pink eye or to deal with a scratch eyeball)
- Alieve (Don't know if I spelled that right. Good for aches and pains)
- Peroxide and rubbing alcohol
- dental floss and small curved upholstery needles (stitches) along with an emery board to sharpen the needles
- antibiotics http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Mox-Amoxicillin-250-Caps/dp/B0002YF9UA (This stuff is nothing more than regular amoxicillin.) http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Flex-Cephalexin-250-capsules/dp/B0002YF9UU/ref=pd_bxgy_k_text_b (another type of antibiotic that may help against amoxicillin-resistant strains)
- dewormer (facts of life are facts of life)
- Mucinex (clears the lungs. can help avoid bronchitis or pneumonia.)
- an enema kit (can be used to rehydrate unconscious people. just start a very low drip and you have an old-fashioned IV)
- vodka (antiseptic/pain killer/sleep aid)
- blue cohosh tea (can aid a woman's labor if it's already *in progress*)
- castor oil (don't know what it's good for, but my grandmother forced a tablespoon of that crap down my throat every morning and I'm not dead yet! lol!)
- A good saline nasal wash (prevents a LOT of bad things from happening - sinus infections, viral infections, allergies.)
- asthma inhaler and benadryl (you NEVER know when you might develop a new allergy)
No, we can replace a doctor or a hospital, but there are many things we *can* take care of on our own. Mostly, it's preventative. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
I meant, No, we CAN’T replace a doctor or a hospital...
Darn typos!
Ok, thanks!
Propane and related items can often be overlooked, but are very handy for many reasons, including bartering with your neighbors!
That Big Buddy heater is indoor safe and has a CO detector. I use it for my ice fishing house. Use it with confidence keeping warm inside!
“Dual heating system combines radiant heat comfort with convection heat air flow for maximum heating efficiency. 4000, 9000 and 18,000 BTU with the capacity to heat up to 400 square feet for up to 108 hours on 20-lb. propane tank.”
Well welcome aboard! Better late than never.
Interesting. At present I have 2 gallon sized bags of citrus peels in the freezer because I do use them where fire ants bother me. Now the question will be, if I make candy out of some, will I ever be able to have fire ant dope again. I'm afraid Lloyd likes candy much more than I do.
Prayers for your son. Wonderful idea on the rabbit also. The food supply if TSHTF is included in my prayers for you.
I once had a friend who was sensitive the the material they make the napkins from. She used the old unmatched cotton socks and kept them washed with her child's diapers.
HA!!!! Granny you are determined to find a way to make me give up my organic fire ant repellent!!! LOL
Olives are addicting. Remember what I said about me and sweets, okay now reverse that for olives. LOL
Maybe we need to make a tourist trip to the desert to see those wildflowers this year. Lloyd has never been west. He would like to see something of desert. LOL
I can’t imagine not seeing desert in a life. I love desert. But, he grew up a fisherman in Maine on the ocean. I can’t imagine being in a boat and seeing nothing but water either so we’re even.
Spring flowers in desert are something to see in life though. We might have to do that.
Global Food Catastrophe 2009
http://standeyo.com/NEWS/09_Food_Water/090212.catastrophic.food.fall.html
Stashes of cloth will also be first aid necesary. When one has to work for his food there are many accidents waiting to happen. A first aid class NOW can be a life save later. Of course that is true anytime in life but would become more so later.
Artemesia plants are good for the deworming. A quick search of an old herbal would tell how to use properly. I would look it up for you but I’m totally awake and trying to be quiet and not wake the other person in the house. Rummaging in herbals would be wakeful.. LOL I can look that up in the day if someone wants it.
Superglue is also something that can be used in emergency to seal wounds like cuts. The chemical in there may not be the most body friendly thing, I don’t know, I just know it has a warning label. I have used it for cuts and I understand a lot of pro sports teams use it for that also.
There are several out of the ordinary things I have in my kit for some odd purpose - again, that would be a good thing for me to share with ya’ll in the daylight when I can look at the kit.
I don’t disagree with those reports but I do have one thing to say. I keep seeing these reports of how bad the drought is here. And yes, we are in a severe drought. But it is not of the proportions (yet) that I am seeing reported. I have seen drought conditions worse 2 times since 1975 and that particular report said it’s not been worse since 1917. Not sure if that’s a global warming scare tactic or what. We are bad, but it hasn’t gotten to what the reports say.
A page of monsanto horror stories
http://www.energyrefuge.com/how-to/solar_power_generator.htm
Solar power generator
This how-to will help you make a solar power generator for
around $350 dollars or less depending on the materials that you buy.
[It will not be as big as you want, but check the links and info on the page....granny]
http://www.energyrefuge.com/how-to/build_solar_heater.htm
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Build a solar heater
By: Gary Reysa (www.builditsolar.com) © Gary Resa 2005
After walking into our new workshop one December morning and finding the inside temperature to be a bone-chilling 10°F (-12°C), I decided that it was time for a heating system! Given the rising costs of propane and our environmental concerns about using nonrenewable fossil fuels, a solar solution seemed fitting. I reviewed many solar collector concepts, and finally decided to install a thermosiphon air collector on the south wall of the building. The concept is elegant and simple. A thermosiphon design uses only the buoyancy of heated air to circulate air through the collector, eliminating the cost, maintenance, and energy consumption of fans, sensors, and controllers commonly used in other collector designs. On a sunny day, in a cold climate like ours here in Bozeman, Montana, this simple system can produce the heat equivalent of burning about 2 gallons (8 l) of propane. To minimize material use, I integrated the collector within the building’s structure. I also tried to make the collector easy to construct using readily available materials. In fact, making this collector should only take one trip to the hardware store and US$350. Set aside two or three days to complete the project.
Materials used to construct the thermosiphon collector can be found at most lumberyards and hardware stores.
solar heater supplies
How It Works
The thermosiphon collector consists of clear, corrugated poly carbonate panels fastened to vertical 2 by 6s. The clear panels, on the building’s south face, admit sunlight. An absorber—in this case, two layers of black metal window screen—suspended inside the collector captures the sun’s heat energy. The air around the mesh expands and rises as it warms, creating a convection current. Vents located at the top and bottom of the collector allow air to circulate and become heated. Cool air enters the lower vent, is heated by the absorber, and rises through to the upper vents that exit into the building’s interior. This circulation of air continues as long as the sun shines on the collector. At night, as air in the collector cools to outside temperatures, airflow tries to reverse. Air in the collector sinks through the bottom vents and attempts to pull the warmed air from the building through the top vents. Use of flapper valves on the top vents helps prevent this reverse circulation and keeps the heat inside.
Nuts & Bolts
The collector is 20 feet wide by 8 feet high (6.1 x 2.4 m) for an overall area of 160 square feet (15 m2). The collector is 6 inches (15 cm) deep. In most cases, make the collector as large as your south wall allows (see sizing solar collector). The top vent and bottom vent areas should each be at least 50 percent of the collector’s horizontal cross-sectional area (again, more is better). The collector frame is constructed from wood, and consists of six vertical members, a bottom sill, and a top sill. The six vertical 2 by 6s divide the collector into five, 4-footwide (1.2 m) bays. A 2 by 6 is used for the bottom sill. A 2 by 8 is used for the top sill, which should be sloped at about 10 degrees to shed rain. The collector frame attaches to the building by lag bolts from the inside. The collector is glazed with clear Suntuf corrugated polycarbonate panels. These panels have an ultraviolet light-resistant coating on their sun-facing side to extend their life. Each panel is 26 inches (66 cm) wide by 96 inches (244 cm) high. There are ten panels. Pairs of 26-inch-wide panels are joined over a 1- by 1-inch (2.5 x 2.5 cm) vertical wood strip to make the 4-foot-wide panels for each bay. Two, 1- by 1-inch horizontal members provide additional support for the glazing. The absorber is installed on battens placed about halfway between the glazing and siding. After measuring the thermal performance with one, two, and three layers of window screening, I found that two layers work best.
Next
Disclaimer: Please use caution when working with tools such as saws, hammers, electric drills, etc.... Just because we feature these alternative energy how-to’s does not directly imply that you will be able to do everything with any incident just by following the directions. Please make safety your number one concern! EnergyRefuge.com assumes no liabilities for accidents involving our instructions or those that are re-posted. Please use common sense and please consult a professional if needed.
Page 2 of the solar heater is here, interesting and should be easy enough to do.....granny
http://www.energyrefuge.com/how-to/build_solar_heater2.htm
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