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
>>>>>LOL, the package off grapes had two bunches, one was almost too sweet and the other is sour.<<<<<
Granny, I wonder if those sour ones would sweeten up if you dried them to make raisins. Always seemed they get sweeter when you dry them.
I made about 5 pounds of raisins this past summer - YUM. Make lots of cinnamon raisin bread - It never lasts though - everybody pigs out on it. Which is OK too. :)
>>>>OK whose pantry is that? I want to live there. :D<<<<
Wish mine was that neat... But I do have as much or more - about 80 cases of home canned...
>>>>>>When I was a girl I wanted to be an astronaut.<<<<<
LOL When I was young, there were no astronauts - closest thing was Flash Gordon... Or Jules Verne - ‘From the Earth to the Moon’. Am I dating myself? ‘Watching the radio’ was a real treat back then.
I'm pretty sure that's in self-defense just to live through childhood with our brothers. LOL
I used to like Flash Gordon. My grandparents introduced me to some old radio. It was a cool thing but I was more into books. I was a Heinlein addict. Back then they called us "bookworms." Later we would have been called nerds or geeks but I loved my books and always figured that "bookworm" moniker was a compliment. Now, I realize it was not meant that way, but I didn't realize it as a kid.
I was thinking of the Family mill - the crimper attachment got me thinking of those ‘Nekkid’ Oats - (Oh, they never answered my email on that inquiry I sent to them on buying 1 bushel)
Found quite a bit of good comparison info here:
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/index.aspx#Nutrimill
Which grain mill is the best?
The answer really depends on your individual needs...
If you don’t need a non electric grain mill, then an impact type mill is ideal. They’re very fast and they grind all of the dry grains, most beans, and some non-oily seeds, into very fine flour. If they require any adjustment, it takes literally a second or two to do. The original impact grain mills of 15-20 years ago had a high-pitched (ear splitting!) shriek, but the new impact mills have a nice, civilized sound level. The best way to describe it is to say that they sound like vacuum cleaners. If your electric vacuum doesn’t offend your ears, then you’ll get along wonderfully with a modern impact mill. Impact mills never glaze over like stone burr mills can, and unlike stones, the milling heads of the impact mills we carry won’t break and virtually don’t wear at all — if you could ever possibly wear a set out, they’d be replaced free of charge by the manufacturer.
So then... which impact grain mill? Here are some thoughts that may help you choose the grain mill that’s right for you:
The Nutrimill is the first really new impact grain mill design in fifteen years. The Nutrimill combines the most popular features of earlier designs, and adds some great new features that will make your baking easier and more fun. The Nutrimill’s 20+ cup flour capacity is 2/3 greater than that of the Whisper Mill. It has a pre-cracking chamber, so you can add grain before turning the mill on if you wish (doing so would plug the Whisper Mill.) The Nutrimill is the first impact grain mill ever made that will produce either a coarse (’meal coarse”) or fine grind, and its finest setting produces finer flour than any other impact mill. Its 400% range of adjustability not only makes Nutrimill ideally suited for every kind of wheat bread, but also for perfectly textured cornbreads and the lightest whole grain pastries. “Everything you’d want in the perfect grain mill” is an apt description of the Nutrimill, and coming from a maker with many years of experience in grain milling, you can expect a lifetime of excellent service from the Nutrimill grain mill.
The Ultramill is the least expensive of the modern impact grain mills. It has a 20 cup flour capacity and features a pre-cracking chamber that lets you add grain before starting the mill, without plugging. The fineness of grind is excellent for most breads, but the Ultramill’s fineness is not adjustable. Removing its flour bin requires some finger strength and dexterity — it’s no problem at all for most people, but we do not recommend it for those with arthritis. The Ultramill is louder than our other models, but it does not have the high sound pitch of the old, original impact mills (like the old Magic Mills.) It also requires a bit more cleanup, though still not much. The Ultramill is a good and serviceable grain mill for its price.
The Whisper Mill (The Whisper Mill impact mill is no longer available; for more about the Whisper Mill, see above.) The Nutrimill — from a different and very reputable manufacturer — offers everything the Whisper Mill did, and more.)
The Family Grain Mill is a steel burr mill that offers the choice of hand or electric operation. With the Family Grain Mill you can buy the hand base alone, or the electric base, or both. Despite its modest price, the Family Grain Mill is a high quality tool (unlike most hand grain mills on the market), and it’s very versatile, offering the ability to grind flour, crack grain for cereals or to add some nice chewy grains to your bread, grind meat, stuff sausages, even process vegetables. With the popular flaker mill attachment, the Family Grain Mill will also flake oat groats for fresh oatmeal — and most people, when they’ve had fresh oatmeal, don’t want to go back!
The Country Living Grain Mill (see the Country Living Grain Mill) is a very heavy duty, hand operated, steel burr mill that’s really built for the long haul. It produces very fine flour as well as adjusting to coarse settings for cracked grain. It features exceptionally large, high carbon steel burrs and it turns easier than most hand grain mills, particularly with the available “power bar” option. A motor drive option also is available for the Country Living Grain Mill.
All of these grain mills are quality machines that will provide years of enjoyable service, time savings, and healthful nutrition. If you have questions about grain mills that we haven’t addressed, we’ll be happy to try to help further; our toll-free phone number is just below. Thank you very much for shopping with us!
Here is the page of the Family mill - it looks like it would be too delicate, but I think it is a matter of the perspective and the size of the pictures. The wood support on the hand cranked option is 1 1/4” thick and since they do have the Kitchen-Aid attachment, I could have powered as well as hand cranked - but I need to check out the wattage on my old (20+ year old Kitchen-Aid but still going strong) to see if it has enough power to run it.
http://www.homestead-products.com/mills-familygrainmill.htm
Well, scratch the Kitchen-Aid idea for the Family Mill...
My 20+ year old one is 250 watts and it needs to be at least 350 to run it...
OK on another front - hull-less oats or ‘Nekkid Oats’
Did some more searching and way down in the search pile I found the following:
http://www.woodprairie.com/product/729/48
Organic seed farm in Maine. WOW pricey - but am going to have to get some - you know how us guys are when we get something on our mind... Need to see how it is going to grow here and sample just a few to see how the taste is.
Those VitaMix blenders are the bomb! We used them in our concession trailer to make icee type drinks. They run like $300 but they are terrific.
Have always enjoyed mine.
Until, that is, I put some jerky in to shred . . . and the blade got stuck and shredded the rubber bushing.
They would have replaced it, I think but I was in Taiwan and it would have been a major hassle.
I eventually got the replacement parts and gave it to someone else.
Have a new one here, now.
Love it.
That is soo sweet. He deserves an extra hug just for that!
Of course, since we were both middle age when me met it's been some series of finding out the reality of those things in our relationship. His trying physical moment was that he's had a scare with prostate cancer. Turned out to be NOT cancer but I am now doing my best to transition to feeding him a more nutritious diet, starting with an abundance of fresh veggies and supplements targeting balancing his body out. There's improvement but he's not on board for going vegan since he did not have cancer. I'm still working on daily menu planning so that he can stay in a better position NOT to contract that disease. It's been gratifying to pick up from your posts that I'm on the right track. I must be reading the right books.
My husband and I met in our forties, too.
I can send you my anti-cancer protocol if you're interested. One thing I discovered was kombucha tea. It's the strangest drink and a little pricey if you buy it, but making it yourself is practically free. It's sooooo good for you, full of micronutrients and B-vitamins. Some people say it cured their cancer!
The main goal in staying healthy is to alkalinize your body. Most of us are much too acid and that promotes cancer. And the stuff you'd think would make you acid, like lemons, vinegar, limes, etc. actually help alkalinize you!
I’m thinking that when times get tougher (which I believe they will), reading will become more and more important. To learn and to entertain ourselves. It’s a skill more people need to rediscover, reading books. Years ago I started buying hardback classics (Bronte, Dickens, Austen, Eliot, etc.) for display and to have a nice book to hold and read. I’m glad I have them now - something worthwhile to spend time on as opposed to the crap novels that the newspapers are always raving about. :P
Well, Order for them ‘Nekkid” Oats confirmed by email.
Now the ground has got to thaw a bit so I can till up a space for them... Come on Spring! Gittin Anxious...
LOL Books are not one of my shortages...
For several years, my father was a Senior Editor for James T. White Publishing. He got to sit down with authors families and compile biographies on them for the National Cyclopedia of American Biography. I have several shelves of autographed first editions by some really neat people.
My mother collected writings about Abraham Lincoln - plus I have several bookcases full of such things as USDA Yearbooks of Agriculture, Organic gardening from way back, Mother Earth News for many of their original years. No shortage of reading material. :)
A while back, there was some discussion on seed potatoes.
The same seed company that has the hull-less oats also has quite a few certified seed potato varieties.
https://www.woodprairie.com/category/1
About 20 varieties - many familiar but some I have never heard of before like Swedish Peanut Seed potatoes, Cranberry Red, All Blue...
I looked at that Family Mill. I read that site and another site that I found that gave some recommendations on mills and decided that’s what I’d like. Sent the page to theman. It’s not the one he chose for me - so I don’t know if it’ll get ordered or not but he asked. LOL
Yeah, but I'm looking for a non-electric grain mill!!! LOL
I am interested in your protocol. Especially in that tea. We drink various herb teas daily, some because we just like them but others because of health benefits. Well, and I grow lots of yummy tea makin's so we just enjoy a little of that because it's here.
I had a mother-in-law about 15 years ago who overcame colon cancer on the type of diet you describe. Her main goal also was alkalinizing the body and she taught me a lot at that time which I have forgotten. Lloyd does enjoy a huge variety of food so he will try everything. But, he's an old meat and potatoes guy so I have to introduce the new and just decline quantities of the standard. Which is okay for now since he is cancer free. I just intend to do everything to keep it that way so I cook a lot of what I think he needs and he eats it cause he likes food.
I'm afraid I am a sucker for books. I have hundreds in storage at present. Maybe some of them will turn out to be good bartering material as well!!! LOL
Yes! We will enjoy our books immensely. And hopefully gain wisdom of the ages.
I just forwarded my wish for nekkid oats to myman. LOL - I told him that when we get the land, the grain mill and some land tilled I wanted to plant those. I figured the term nekkid oats would insure me a supply.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.