Is Recession Preparing a New Breed of Survivalist? [Survival Today

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

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/23921/t/first-bamboo-containers.html

first bamboo containers

hey guys these are a couple of pictures of my first try at bamboo containers. they are leak proof so they can hold liquids or i can put spices or salt or something in them to use while i’m out in the field cooking game.

image

the plugs are made out of some birch that i carved to fit snugly. the smaller one is about 7-8 inches long and the larger one is about 9-10 inches long, the reason that the smaller one has cord around the top is because a small crack started to form and i wrapped it up to help prevent it from getting worse. sorry about the bad quality of the pictures. comment on em

Bless the lord for the game he gives us to hunt and the land he gave us to hunt in.

They look primitively great!!!
I don’t know if you did this or not.
don’t force anything inside the opening it will crack.
Use a hack saw or fine toothed saw to harvest
bamboo or river cane to help keep from splitting it and
you can take a propane torch or over a fire and lightly
heat up the outside.
take care not to burn it.wipe off the excess sap that comes
to the surface and it seals it off to protect it . also
heat treats it to help in keeping it from cracking.
not 100% surefire way it won’t crack later but
sucess rate in it not cracking after treatment is greater.
hope a few tips help for later.. I learned the hard way
lost alot of giant river cane by not heat treating it first.
both containers look great and you’ll get alot of use
out of them.

You need to sand the inside if you intend to put food or drink in them. There’s a lining that will irritate your throat. The best way is to to put a pebble/sand mix in and shake well.
Lep

“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch!”

If you melt bee’s wax and dip the ends of the bamboo in it it will help to keep it from drying out and cracking. While you are at it wax the inside too. You can boil water and even cook in green bamboo. as long as you keep it almost full. Bob

just dont tell folks what you did over the week end...’ yeah, i waxed my bamboo’..lol
cool though, great looking stuff. in arkansas i have a great supply of some giant bamboo. when i get back , i plan on making a didge.. i always wondered how to keep it from crackin...

beeswax would be a good idea for a didge. if you melt it around the rims it will prevent cracking and it is also super soft on the lips while trying to play. ive tried a few that have sharp edges around the mouth end, and they are no fun to play :P

to keep the bamboo from cracking on that didjeridoo.... take lengths of rope and wrap it spirally down it’s length. keep it as tight as possible, leaving just an inch or 2 between each wrap. check it often. as soon as you notice that the line has gotten some slack in it, unwrap it and rewrap it again making it tight. keep it tight. keep taking it off and putting it back on. keep doing it until you are sure that it has finished drying. what happens is the bamboo shrinks as it dries, but it has to “pop” open to crack. so if the rope is kept tight, then it cant open up. if you let the bamboo shrink enough to get slack in the rope, then it has enough room to pop open.

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/22180/t/Bark-container-tutorial.html

[Nice photos and how to information]

Bark container tutorial

This is a very simple way to make bark containers, there are more involved “advanced” ways to do it that last longer, this is more of a quickie on the spot way to create a container to rock boil or store water. The pictures pretty much sums it all up. Like people have mentioned before, I prefer to cut my bark in the spring/summer or early fall, just comes off easier. In the mid west or north eastern U.S. I prefer to use white pine, elms and birch, although there are many more options of trees out there.

Find a nice flawless section of the tree and find a way to cut through the two layers of bark to the wood, don’t girth the tree because the chance of killing it is much greater. If I don’t cut all the way around the tree I’m not worried about killing to tree, it’ll live through it. What I’m more worried about is doing this to trees in places were people will see it and think “those darn primitive skills kids are disrespecting and killing all the trees”, do this in places away from trails or facing the opposite direction of a trail so you don’t draw attention to the scar, or camo the scar.

A knife or stone blade laying on the place you want cut and then tapped with a heavy stick is a great way to cut into the bark.

continues.

Links to more information:

Dried apples and ground acorns hydrated with some boiling water in a white pine container.

If you can help it practice this with trees that are invasive or very abundant in your area, just in case you do kill the tree or insects/fungus get into the wound.

Since I don’t have any pictures of more long term bark containers here are some really cool links that should spark some ideas.

http://www.wildwoodsurviv...ners/birchbark/index.html

http://www.wildwoodsurviv...ontainers/bark/index.html

http://torjusgaaren.blogs...ark-container-part-1.html

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/18084

http://www.nativetech.org/brchbark/barkseam.html

http://www.nativetech.org/brchbark/barkcont.html

http://www.paleoplanet.net/

There’s many more on-line resources, this is just a few of them.

Hope this helps. Feel free to add some links or pictures/tutorials of your own on this post.

Peter

[Beautiful photos]

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/19327/t/Attempting-a-bark-cooking-container-for-use-with-hot-rocks.html

Attempting a bark cooking container, for use with hot rocks

I’m thinking I’ll use pine pitch to seal it. What is the best way to apply? I’d like the container about a foot tall and six to eight inches wide. I’ll do overlap/ stitch up the sides. My plan is to let the container dry -the way I do it takes about a month, does any one know a quicker way?- and then heat it up in the oven a little so that when I apply the pitch it will (I’m hoping) penetrate into the seams. I’m using willow bark, which tends to shrink and curl quite a bit as it dries, and splits if it dries too quickly. Any ideas on the pitch (recipe?) and application? Any other kinds of water proofing/ glue I should consider?

Pine or fir pitch with 1/8 or less than 1/4 mix beeswax or oil should work here. You want a little flexibility but not a ton. Don’t use hemlock or yew pitch for something you’ll eat from (or so I’ve been told with hemlock; not positive about that).

Cook all the turpentine off it when you do the original distillation, but don’t burn it. Apply it to the warm item like you’re thinking.

If you were making a water bucket, I’d say pour it in, slosh it around, pour it out, and put it in a warm oven upside down with a drip pan underneath. However, I don’t think that’s necessary as a cook pot unless you’re going to let the food sit in it for really long periods of time.

I never used willow, but did exactly this with Poplar about ten years ago — works pretty cool. I scorched the bottom on my first time by using rocks that were too big and held their heat too long. Someone told me afterward that if I’d kept it sitting on the ground rather than hanging, it wouldn’t have scorched. The scorching made it fail there the third time I used it.

Wynne

If you have it available, you can use eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) bark and you won’t need to seal it at all. The trick is learning about which bark works well without splitting. You need the relatively smooth bark (if you try bending the thicker, furrowed bark the inner bark splits, so the container isn’t waterproof without sealing). The bark of eastern white pine can be folded in place, stitched a couple of times with any cord (or root from the same tree), and it is ready to go immediately. The only “tools” that are needed are a stone or metal blade to remove the bark and a sharpened stick (or bone awl) to make a hole to slide the root or cord through to bind the folds in place. Here are a couple of smaller containers that I’ve made with pine bark:

image

You can also make other shapes, including something like a water bottle (larger at base and narrowed to top), making a primitive water canteen. As far as the pitch goes, collect resin from any pine, heat it, and add wood ash or crushed charcoal (a little at a time and test how hard it is by letting a small sample drop of the pitch cool). It works quite well and can be reversed with heat.

Haines

I would go with a seamles container like Haines said. You could also use some other designes like the bread trays or sap buckets of the Iroquios. They were traditionaly made of elm bark which is very thick and bendable.
http://collections.nysm.nysed.gov/morgan/images_finished/all_images/full/nysm_lg21.jpg
http://collections.nysm.nysed.gov/morgan/images_finished/all_images/full/r9.jpg
If you get a hot rock on you pitched seam it might melt the pitch if it is not in direct contact with water and the 250 degree water might also melt your pitch but I dont know what tempurature pitch melts at. I think a seamless container would be the way to go.
Mikael

continues.....

[There are two versions of his thoughts, below is the newsletter version and the blog version is at the link...]

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2009/01/middle-class-co.html

RESILIENT COMMUNITY: ENERGY/FOOD IRA/401K

Posted: 13 Jun 2009 03:14 PM PDT
Here’s a think piece. Still need to work this through, but it offers some amazing opportunities for financially bootstrapping local organizations working on community resilience.
________________

The American consumer is likely dead. A new frugality has swept the nation in an attempt to ward off lower standards of living in the future. The question now becomes: what comes after frugality? The answer is based on the following observations/assumptions:

* High debt (up to 375% of GDP, 85% over the peak in 1929, in the US and still growing) and the death of the American consumer will lead to slow or negative growth in GDP for years to come. This means that liquid financial assets will generate low returns for as far as the eye can see.
* Financial markets are only suitable for sophisticated participants (despite claims to the contrary) and not accessible by the average citizen. Scams, booms/busts, and all sorts of predatory behavior abounds — and the government has become completely unable to mitigate it.
* Costs, for most basic elements of life such as food/energy, will rapidly increase over the next decade. Whether it is peak oil (or its cousin, faster growth in demand for energy than supply is able to provide), out of control inflation (the fed attempts to inflate our way out of our debts), a weak job market (which depresses incomes), etc. these costs will likely outpace incomes.

The solution on an idea that should be apparent, but maybe not to most. Simply, that the ownership of productive assets (essentially, those assets that generate goods/services that can be sold) is vastly superior to ownership their financial derivatives (stock funds, retirement accounts, etc.) — we once were a nation of entrepreneurs, now we are a nation of indentured servants.

A Real Ownership Society

The judo move to pull this off is the creation of community — county, town, neighborhood, etc. — funds/mechanisms that enable individuals to move a portion of their tattered/depleted tax protected savings in IRAs/401ks into accounts that build/own/operate local solar energy production and food production. At the entry level, the capacity required is only aimed at one customer: the investor. With the long lead time and preferential treatment of tax deferred retirement savings, this mechanism has the ability to offset the extremely long payoff cycles of local solar/food investments and thereby turn cost centers into savings vehicles.

The typical solar transaction would look like this (I’m using aggressive numbers):

Cost per kWh: $0.20
Installation of a 8,400 watt solar PV system (able to generate 10,000 kWh per year in New England): $62k after tax treatment
Return on investment (if retail rates are paid): $2,000 per year or 2.4% on the investment.
If the payment to the account for the electricity is tax deductible (assuming a 20% bracket) as an investment, that return jumps to: $2,400 or 3.9%.

Not a bad rate of return, if you can achieve it, particularly if you consider the benefits of turning a cost center (the money you pay for electrical energy currently) into a savings mechanism. Further, as returns accumulate, it makes possible new investments in productive systems with additional cash flow opportunity.

Apply the same methodology to lawn gardening or farm “shares/subscriptions” and the same results are likely to apply. Food expenses are turned into savings. Ownership of local food production is the result.

Please feel free to critique this concept: or provide new insight that could make it better.

I like dried peaches for snacks.

There should be a recipe for peach jam with pineapple, for i have bought it a couple times.

Peach pies, fried or whole and they will freeze.

Peaches and whipped cream.

Peaches and waffles or pancakes, LOL, with whipped cream.

http://www.google.com/search?q=peach+jam+with+pineapple&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Very interesting recipes:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Peach+pies%2C+fried&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

I had forgotten peach ice cream:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=LSV&q=Peach+recipes&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g4

Years ago, I often made a peach upside down cake, that was good, use same recipe for pineapple upside down cakes.

My method has developed to be easy.

Melt a half cube of butter in a 13 inch cake pan, maybe more butter is if you don’t have it standing in the pan.

Sprinkle in sugar, brown or white sugar, until you have a thin coating of it, not too thick, then sprinkle with nutmeg, and pour in a box of favorite cake mix that has been mixed, using its instructions and the juice for water.

A light sprinkle of nutmeg on the top and bake.

Let us know of your recipes, others may have peaches growing.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/dessert/frsh-peach-coll.html

COLLECTION: Fresh Peach Recipes
From: “Neer Carol”

Date: 4 Aug 1993 08:39:07 -0800

Fresh Peach Cobbler

1-1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine
4 cups sliced fresh peaches
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon peel

Combine 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, salt and cinnamon. Cut in butter
with 2 knives until coarse (resembling corn meal). Combine peaches,
lemon juice, lemon peel, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Spoon into
greased 9” square dish. Sprinkle flour mixture over peaches. Bake
covered for 15 mins. Remove cover and bake 35 to 45 min. longer.

*****************************************

Peach Cobbler

Cream together:
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup milk

Pour into 9x11 slightly greased & floured baking dish. Pour peaches (or
1 can cherries, or whatever) over the cake batter (juice and all). Sprinkle
with 1/2 cup sugar. Bake at 375 for 45 mins. or until toothpick inserted into
cake part comes out clean (@45 to 55 mins).

**************************************

Coffee Cake (works great with peaches or blueberries)

1-1/2 cups unbleached sifted flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup fresh fruit

Topping:

5 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. butter (softened - NOT MELTED)
1 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 350. Sift flour with sugar, baking powder, soda and
salt. In separate bowl, beat together eggs, sour cream and vanilla.
Add to flour mixture and beat until smooth. Spread in oiled 9x9”
baking pan. Dot with fresh fruit. Mix topping ingredients together
until mixture resembles cornmeal. Sprinkle over batter. Bake for
(20-25 min)*. Coffee cake is done when toothpick inserted in center
comes out clean.

* I got this recipe from a restaurant. When I cooked it in a gas oven
it was more like 60 min. cooking time. Keep an eye on it.

http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2008/07/easy-as-fried-pie.html

[snipped]

Fried pies are a longstanding tradition in Texas, found at fairs, cook-outs, restaurants, bakeries, and, of course, in home kitchens. They are a terrific dessert for big picnics and other outdoor feasts because they’re portable, don’t melt and taste just as good either hot or cold. And they are very warm-weather friendly. If it’s oppressively hot outside, wouldn’t you rather stand over a skillet for a few quick minutes than be subjected to an oven’s overheated wrath for one very long hour? That’s what I thought.

At the market on Saturday, I saw the first of the season’s blueberries—blue orbs that popped with a tart, sweet juice. They were going fast, so I grabbed a few pints. After gorging myself on about a hundred berries, I decided that perhaps I should take advantage of their being fresh and make some fried pies.

You can use frozen blueberries in some things, such as muffins, smoothies or cakes, but I think that when you’re making a pie filling you want them to be as fresh as possible so each bite will have that snap and wholeness that frozen berries seem to lack. I also like to add a bit of lemon zest and cinnamon to my filling, but it’s the berries that are the real stars.

But of course, you can’t have a fried pie without a proper pastry to contain the filling. A few weeks ago I rendered leaf lard, which is the best kind of lard for pastry, and I had enough left over to make a crust. It doesn’t get more basic than flour, salt, water and lard. And if you have never worked with a pie crust made with lard, well let me tell you—it is the easiest, smoothest thing ever to roll. No struggle and no crumble—the only reason mine wasn’t perfect was because I still haven’t mastered the art of rolling out pies. The good thing is, however, is that nobody sees your mistakes when you make fried pies. You cut out circles for the individual pastries—and these can be as neat and tidy as you like.

The best thing about a lard-based crust is that it’s strong yet flaky. And while sometimes I have problems with my fried pies leaking, these stayed sealed with nary a blueberry to be seen until after my first bite. And oh, what a bite! I sprinkled some powdered sugar on my pie (though that’s not necessary) and it was sweet, salty and crisp with the berries round and full. It was a true summertime taste. I don’t think this batch will last until the weekend, so I plan to make some more for the Fourth of July. And of course, there are now apricots, cherries and raspberries to fill my fried pies with as well. I can’t wait!

What are you making for the Fourth of July?

Blueberry Fried Pies
Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of lard, chilled
1/4 cup of cold water

For the filling:
2 cups of blueberries
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup of water

Method:
1. Mix together the flour and salt.
2. Add the lard, either with a fork, your hands or a pastry cutter.
3. When the flour is clumped together, slowly add the cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is moist enough to come together.
4. Form the dough into ball.
5. Wrap and place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.
6. Meanwhile, mix all the filling ingredients in a pan, bring to a boil and cook for about two or three minutes.
7. To make the fried pies, roll out the chilled pie crust until it’s no more than a 1/4 of an inch thick. (I like to roll it out into a rectangle-type shape.)
8. Cut out 12 five-inch diameter circles (I use a saucer as a guide). Any scraps that are left over you can roll out again and cut out more circles.
9. To make each pie, place 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each crust. Moisten the edges and fold the crust over, sealing the edges with your fingers and then by pressing down on the edge with a fork.
10. In a cast-iron skillet, heat an inch of oil (or lard or shortening) to 350 degrees.
11. With a spatula, gently place each pie into the hot oil, and turn over after a minute. Cook on the other side for another minute, and then drain on a rack or paper-towel lined plate. You can sprinkle powdered sugar and/or cinnamon over pies if you like.
Makes 10-12 fried pies

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/peach-fried-pies-with-a-cinnamon-crust-recipe/index.html

Peach Fried Pies With A Cinnamon Crust

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004

Prep Time:
30 min
Inactive Prep Time:
1 hr 30 min
Cook Time:
55 min

Level:
Difficult

Serves:
8 servings

Ingredients
Filling:

* 1 cup sugar
* 4 cups fresh (or frozen and thawed) peach slices, peeled
* 4 whole cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1/4 cup cornstarch
* Vanilla bean ice cream, for serving

Crust:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the work surface
* 3 tablespoons sugar, plus extra for sprinkling the pies
* 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 4 tablespoons cream cheese, diced and chilled
* 9 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening, chilled, plus more for frying
* 4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

Directions

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, combine the sugar, peach slices, cloves, and nutmeg. Mix until blended. Bring mixture to a boil; turn down heat and allow mixture to simmer until the peaches are softened, 20 to 25 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the peaches from the saucepan and place in a small bowl. Reserve 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the peach liquid in the saucepan and discard the rest. Return the peaches to the saucepan.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and the cornstarch. Whisk cornstarch mixture into the peach mixture, stirring until combined. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to keep from sticking; mixture will be very thick. Transfer peach mixture to a clean bowl and chill for 1 hour, or until completely chilled.

To make the crust, sift together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the chilled cream cheese and shortening and, working with your hands or a fork, mix until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time and gently mix until the dough begins to stick together. Form dough into a round disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove from the refrigerator and divide the dough into 8 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough piece into a thin circle, about 6-inches in diameter. Place 1/4 cup of the chilled peach filling into the center of each dough round. Fold the dough over, making a half-moon shaped pastry, trim any excess dough leaving a 1/2-inch edge around the filling, and crimp the edges together with a fork. Chill pies for 30 minutes.

In a large heavy skillet, melt vegetable shortening to a depth of about 1/2-inch. Heat the shortening to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with paper towels and sprinkle sugar lightly over the paper towels. Fry pies in skillet, in batches, until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to the paper towel-lined baking sheet and sprinkle the tops of the pies with sugar. Serve immediately with vanilla bean ice cream.

Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Mon Jun 15 2009

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apricot-and-Peach-Fried-Pies/Detail.aspx

[Several other recipes on page]

Apricot and Peach Fried Pies

Submitted By: Elaine

Servings: 18
“Dried apricots and peaches are cooked in sugar and water until they practically fall apart. This luscious filling is then spooned onto circles of dough and sealed in. When all the little packets are ready, they ‘re fried in hot oil, drained, and ready to serve hot.”
Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup shortening
1 cup milk

8 ounces dried apricots
1 (6 ounce) package dried peaches
3/4 cup white sugar
2 cups vegetable oil for frying
Directions:
1. To Make Crust: In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly. Mix in milk and stir until dough forms a ball. Roll out dough and cut into 18 6-inch circles. Set aside.
2. To Make Filling: In a large saucepan, combine apricots, peaches, and sugar. Add enough water to cover fruit. Cover pan and cook over low heat until fruit is falling apart. Remove lid and continue to cook until water is evaporated.
3. Place oil or shortening in small high-sided skillet. Place over medium heat. Spoon equal amounts of filling into each pastry circle and fold in half. Seal pastry with a fork dipped in cold water.
4. Fry a few pies at a time in hot oil, browning on both sides. Drain pies on paper towels.

*
Editor’s Note
*
We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. The exact amount may vary depending on cook time and temperature, ingredient density, and the specific type of oil used.

The reviewer gave this recipe 4 stars. This recipe averages a 4.75 star rating.
CRICKETTE
jul. 6, 2003
One of the recipes my Great Grandmother brought with her in a covered wagon to California was for Apricot Fried Pies. My recipe was noted that it was her Great-Great Grandmothers recipe! I have made these for years for my children and now, grandchildren. These are wonderful to take on picnics.

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