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The original page can be found on-line at http://www.pioneerthinking.com/jc_economic.html

These Hard Economic Times
By Jill Cooper

I keep asking myself, “Has the world gone crazy?” What are people talking about when they say “these hard economic times?” I am so confused because I hear so many people say these are such hard economic times but, at the same time, what I see happening with my own eyes and hearing with my ears is a totally different story.

Let me give you some examples what I mean. Are these examples of hard economic times?

— Last year we spent more at Christmas and all year shopping than the year before.

— Americans spend 500 million dollars a year to have their teeth whitened — not cleaned, just whitened to look nice.

— A single mom on welfare spends $350 on a cell phone— not on the calls, just the cell phone.

— On a home shopping show they were selling American Girl dolls for $135. The woman selling it said “Kit is our most popular doll.”
The other woman said “That is probably because Kit represents the Depression Era and girls nowadays relate so well to that because they have to sacrifice and give up so many things in these hard economic times.” They sold out of the doll. This meant several thousand of these poor little girls who have had to give up so much received a $135 doll for Christmas. What was it they had to sacrifice? Maybe it was the $25 outfits that went with the doll. (I have never paid $25 for an outfit for myself let alone for a doll!!)

— A woman just lost one of her part time jobs. She was sobbing and crying because her family was going to have to sell their house, which they could no longer afford. For the past several years they have been making very good money but they have been spending it on everything including $150,000 for decorating their home, several trips a year for the whole family to travel across the country and to Canada for sports events their sons wanted to play in, buying a couple of new cars every year, eating out frequently and the so on.
Even after she lost her job they still took another cross country trip to go to a game. After coming totally unglued about the thought of having to sell the house she was asked if they might be able to save the house if they would cut back on their spending a little. Her reply was, “No way. I hate to scrimp and save and do without. I won’t live like that.” As my son in law loves to say “Allllrighty then...”

— My brother just met a man who restores hot rods for a living. When asked if things are getting harder for him the man laughed and said “No, I’m doing better than I ever have and I need to hire someone to help me.” My brother is now working for that man. He is getting paid to sand people’s car engines so they will look pretty and smooth. People have so much money they can pay bunches to have their engines sanded? Go figure. For those of you who restore cars, don’t yell at me! My dad has restored Model A and Model T cars for years, so I know all about car restoring.

— Here’s my favorite: A sales person selling a $1500 piece of jewelry said, “We know things are so rough in these hard economic times so we have put this on 5 easy payments for you.” They sold out of it. Do you know how contradictory that is? If things are so hard, what in the world are people doing buying $1500 pieces of jewelry, even on 5 easy payments?!?!

I don’t have anything against people buying jewelry, dolls, cell phones or restoring hot rods. What I do have a problem with is people moaning and groaning about how hard these times are and then taking off to go shopping or play a game of golf.

We get upset and angry about the government, big companies and their crazy spending but we need to stop pointing fingers and look at our own lives. Are they doing anything differently than the average American?

We may not have the opportunity to be foolish with millions or billions of dollars like them, but that doesn’t matter. The point is that many of us are being just as foolish with what we have as they are. We are up to our eyeballs in debt just like they are and most of the time it’s because we didn’t think or care about how we were spending it. Then we want someone else to bail us out.

Yesterday, I heard a pastor, Bob Coy, talk about this same type of thing. He had some good points to make. He showed a web site called Global Rich List, where you can type in an income and it will tell you how rich you are compared to the rest of the world.

Here are some interesting stats from that site:

If you make $35,000 a year, you are in the top 4.62% richest people.

Here are some others:

$50,000 - Top 0.98%
$75,000 - Top 0.82%
$100,000 - Top 0.66%

It makes you stop and think. Are things really that bad? Two million children died last year because of lack of clean water and I sit here complaining because the price of gas is so high that I might not be able to take a vacation this year?

Yes, unemployment is up but look at it this way: over 92% of the people in the US have jobs. Many of those who don’t have jobs aren’t even looking for work. I know a lot of people who are 20 or 30 something and living at home and not bothering to find a job.

We need to change the way we look at things and stop parroting what everyone else says about “these hard economic times.”

I’m not so naive as to miss the fact that financially things are getting out of control and will eventually bottom out, but that doesn’t mean things are so hard yet that people should be carrying on the way they are. Instead of moaning, we need to fix things, starting in our own lives.

The pastor I mentioned earlier said if we have a friend who is deep in debt who says “let’s go to the mall”, as a good friend, you need to say no. Suggest that your friend come over to your place for coffee and a visit, helping her and yourself not to spend more. Start looking at what you are doing and how you can fix it.

We need to face the facts. A big part of our “hard economic times” is summed up in this wonderfully appropriate saying:

We buy things we really don’t need
with money we really don’t have
to impress people we really don’t know.

Memorize that saying and the next time you go to buy anything stop and think, “Do I really need that?” Do you need to buy your kids the most expensive shoes? Do you need to get the most expensive car or would a two or three thousand dollar car get you by? What about those manicures and pedicures? How much do you spend on all the kids activities or on throwing that big football party and having the whole gang over?

I knew a man who lost his job and his wife worked at a very low paying job. He said he didn’t care if he didn’t have a job. He was still going to play golf every weekend (and he did). They are in a big financial mess now, but not because of “these hard economic times” they blame it on.

When considering buying something, ask yourself, “Do I really need it?” Do you have the money to buy it? If you have to borrow money for it, you don’t have the money to buy it. It’s that simple. If you need it, work hard and save and then get it.

Many of us think that waiting to buy until you actually have the money is impossible, but once we stop buying everything on credit, we free up all that money we were using to pay credit card bills, interest and fees. That money is then available to buy things we need or want.

Why do you buy the things you do? Do you do it to impress others? This is pride. I don’t have room to go into detail in this article, but God hates pride as much or more as drugs, alcohol abuse or sexual immorality and so many of us suffer from pride. If you don’t think you have a pride problem, consider whether or not you might say one of these these statements: “I would never allow my family to wear clothes from a garage sale.” or “There is no way I will do without .......(fill in the blank)”.

The Bible cautions us to watch the words we say. Don’t just spout empty meaningless words like “in these hard economic times” just because the world is using them and don’t use words like that as an excuse to justify why you don’t have your life and finances together.

Actions do speak louder than words. Are your actions matching your words?

_______________________________________

Jill Cooper raised two teenagers alone on $500 a month income after becoming disabled with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. To read more of Jill’s articles and for free tips and recipes visit http://www.LivingOnADime.com/ .

_______________________________________

ARTICLE POSTED FEBRUARY 22, 2009

The original page can be found on-line at http://www.pioneerthinking.com/sl_bath.html

Travel Back In Time:
Create Simple Bath Products the Way Your Grandmother Probably Did
by Suzanne Lieurance

Ever wonder what your grandmother (or great grandmother) did to make her bath extra special before the days of whirlpool tubs and Jacuzzis? If you ask her, she’ll probably tell you about bath salts and other lovely scented products that are easy and inexpensive to make.

You and your friends will want to try all three of the recipes that follow. But if you’re younger than nine or ten, you’ll probably need to ask Mom or Dad for some help.

BATH SALTS

1 cup Epsom salts (available at drug stores)

A few drops of Food coloring (use the kind in plastic bottles so you can squeeze out a few drops at a time)

A few drops of Essential oil (found in crafts stores; sometimes called potpourri oil)

Ceramic bowl (not plastic, since it will absorb the scent of the essential oil)

A Large Spoon

Pipette or eye dropper (found in drug stores)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Pour one cup of salts into the ceramic bowl.

2) Add a few drops of food coloring to the mixture.

3) Stir well until blended.

4) Use the pipette or eye dropper to add several drops of your favorite essential oil.

5) Stir to blend.

FOR PACKAGING: Pour the salts into a jar and tie on a bow and you’ve got a lovely gift for a favorite teacher, a good friend, or even for your mother or grandmother.

Attach a small card which reads: “Bath Salts - add one to two tablespoons to water as tub fills for a relaxing soak.”

When you find you’ve created enough bath salts to fill a swimming pool, try this other simple product that’s even more soothing in the bath.

BATH GRAINS

1 cup Epsom Salts

A few drops of food coloring

A few drops of any essential oil

One to two tablespoons of baking soda

DIRECTIONS:

Mix everything the same as you did for the bath salts, adding the baking soda last.

Bath Grains have a much finer texture than plain Bath Salts, but the mixture will harden if not used right away. Again, use two to three tablespoons per bath.

FOR PACKAGING: Use a wide-mouthed jar or any container you can scoop into, or tap against the side of the tub, to loosen the grains.

Another easy bath product you’ll enjoy making by yourself, or with friends, is an old-fashioned milk bath.

OLD-FASHIONED MILK BATH

1 cup of Epsom salts

A few drops of Food coloring

A few drops of any Essential oil

A few tablespoons of powdered milk

DIRECTIONS:

Again, mix the same as for Bath Salts, just add the powdered milk last, making sure you don’t add too much powdered milk or the mixture will end up smelling like baby formula. Peach or strawberry oils work well for milk baths, but try other oils to see what pleases you the most.

FOR PACKAGING: Select the same kind of container or jar as for the bath grains. Add a few tablespoons to the tub for a glorious, skin- softening soak.

When you’ve finished experimenting with all these products, not only will you find you’ve created some lovely gifts for the holidays, you’ll also notice your whole house smells wonderful! And, if you’re lucky enough to have a bathroom with an old clawfoot tub like grandma used to have, you can even travel back in time with an old-fashioned soak yourself.
about the author

Suzanne Lieurance is a freelance writer, children’s author, and owner of the Three Angels Gourmet Co. which offers a unique line of “heavenly gourmet mixes” for sale at http://www.threeangelsgourmet.com and through gift shops and gourmet food stores across the country. Find out more about her children’s books at http://www.suzannelieurance.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

The original page can be found on-line at http://www.pioneerthinking.com/zl_arthritis.html

Arthritis Herbal Treatments
by: Zachary Lingh

Arthritis is a debilitating and disabling medical condition which can affect any joints in the body causing them to become swollen, stiff, painful to move and even sore to the touch. Arthritis can affect people of all ages however it becomes increasingly common however symptoms of Arthritis or Arthritic increases with advancing years. Joints become stiffer, less mobile and they swell as Arthritis attacks white blood cells weakening the tissues and causing solid deposits to build up in the joints.

It sounds bad, doesn’t it? The good news is that you can alleviate many of the symptoms of Arthritis and maybe even prevent it from occurring at all through regular and long-term use of herbal arthritis treatments. The even better news is that these herbal treatments for arthritis are readily available and many of them you may already have in your kitchen cabinet or growing in your garden. Many of them are also included in pill, tea or tincture which can be easily purchased from your local health food store or even the supermarket.

Now let’s have a look at a few herbal treatments for Arthritis.

Turmeric is a wonderful anti-inflammatory that can really ease joints’ swelling which is a major part of arthritis and will help to lessen the pain of arthritis substantially. Turmeric is also very good for improving digestion while Cayenne pepper has similar positive effects in the treatment of arthritis. These effects have been endorsed by clinical trials.

Ginger contains Zingibain and other phytochemicals which reduce swelling which can be very beneficial to arthritis sufferers. Long-term, Ginger is great for protecting the body from free radicals which do much damage including speeding up the damage of arthritis and causing cancer.

Pineapple is not only delicious but it will significantly reduce the inflammation of Arthritis flare-ups. However Pineapple is most effective when combined with other herbal treatments in tablet form as most of its goodness is contained in the stem.

Celery, especially the seeds has excellent anti-inflammatory properties that ease stiff joints which are a main characteristic of arthritis. The seeds work by helping to strip out the solid which induces a diuretic effect and helps remove deposits which collect in the joints of arthritis sufferers. The seeds can be taken in tea or tincture form.

As far back at least as the Romans, it was known that nettles were good for easing joint pain as they are a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine. Don’t worry though; you don’t need to be stung! The best way to take nettles and benefit from them as an arthritis cure is internally, in a tea or tincture.

Did you know that White Willow is actually where we get Aspirin from? Obviously, it’s a great pain reliever and using this purer form reduces side-effects. Ginkgo increases blood circulation which helps to ease pain and swelling in arthritic joints. Comfrey is a great anti-inflammatory boost to the immune system that will stimulate healing in damaged joints.

So you can see that there are many herbal treatments for arthritis which tackle all of the distressing and painful symptoms. They are readily available and easy to take on a day to day basis.
The Author

For more information on herbal treatments and medications, visit us at Chinese Herbs Direct today - Anti aging herbs, Herbal pain relief, Stress relief herbs.

Source: www.isnare.com

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/gist96.html

Make your own nut butters

By Sylvia Gist

When almond butter replaced peanut butter in my diet (on doctor’s orders), I discovered I really liked the almond better. And it opened my eyes to the world of “other” nut butters. I also discovered they were quite expensive. I was lucky if I found a 10 ounce jar of almond butter for less than $4.00, a luxury compared to even the 100% natural peanut butter. So I did some experimenting and came up with my own recipe for almond butter that satisfied me. The same process can be used for other nuts.

To make almond butter, I use a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan to dry roast the nuts since I prefer them roasted. I also use my food processor. I have used a blender, but it took longer, required more scraping the nuts off the sides, and I had to add more oil to get a decent butter. A rubber spatula and a jar to store the butter in complete the required equipment.

Ingredients are simply a couple cups of the desired nuts and a little bit of olive oil. I buy larger bags of raw almonds, throw them in the freezer, and take them out as I need them. I prefer to start with raw nuts and do my own roasting. That way, I get freshly roasted nuts with nothing added. If I need to add oil, I prefer to use extra virgin olive oil.

Almonds ready for roasting
Almonds ready for roasting

The actual process of making the butter is not difficult. I put two cups of nuts on the baking sheet and pop them into a preheated oven to roast at 350 degrees, leave them there for several minutes, then remove the pan and stir. I return the pan to the oven and roast for a few minutes more, watching the color of the nuts, striving for a toasted, but not burnt, look. How long before the nuts burn? That depends upon the oven and the pan. My Air-bake pan requires a longer time than a thin baking sheet. The thin sheet can take 8 minutes or less. Just watch the nuts the first time to get an idea how long they need to bake in your oven with your pan. Once you make a batch of burnt almond butter, you will be motivated to watch the time.

After toasting the nuts, I allow them to cool before dumping them into the processor. Since my food processor has just one speed, I flip the switch and watch the nuts bang wildly and loudly against the sides of the container. Gradually they get chopped up finer and finer. If particles build up on the sides of the container, stop and scrape them down with a rubber spatula. Continue processing until it begins to ball up. You may have to break up the ball, but it is most important to be patient. Sometimes the ball will bang around for a while before it begins to break down and look creamy. It takes several minutes.

It is during this time when it is balled up that I add some oil. I will add a teaspoon of oil and run the processor some more. If the butter is creamy enough without it, I omit the oil. I have never added more than 3 teaspoons of oil to the 2 cups of nuts. It is important to be patient and give the processor a chance to make the butter. Toward the end, more oil can be added if you like it creamier. If chunky style is desired, just roast a few extra nuts, chop, and stir into the finished butter.

While it is possible to make peanut butter in this same manner, I don’t bother, because I can buy excellent peanut butter at a reasonable price. There are so many other possibilities for nut butters. Below are some notes about different ones that I have tried.

Almond butter

Since almonds are more reasonably priced and easier to digest, I make this type of butter more frequently than any of the others. Raw almond butter can be found in the health food stores and some people prefer the raw kind. You simply process the nuts without roasting. Two cups of raw almonds, processed with a minimum of oil, will fill a 10 ounce jar. If you are roasting them, throw a few extra nuts on the baking sheet for a warm snack when you take the pan out of the oven. They are quite tasty.

A jar of fresh almond butter
A jar of fresh almond butter

Cashew butter

Cashews are more expensive (where I shop), so I buy the least expensive raw white pieces and roast them. They brown much faster than almonds (hardly seven minutes on the Air-bake pan), so be vigilant or they burn and taste terrible. Cashews are softer than almonds and grind up quicker too. While cashew butter can be made without oil, it is fairly dry, so add some oil for a creamy smooth butter. This butter tastes more like peanut butter than any of the others I’ve made, but yet slightly different.

Raw pecan butter

Raw pecan butter is the easiest to make. No roasting. Pecans are soft so they process quickly and make a very smooth butter.

Hazelnut butter

Hazelnut butter is available at health food stores, so I tried to make some. Unfortunately, I roasted them a tad too much and the butter had a twangy taste. Since hazelnuts are quite expensive, I haven’t tried it again.

Since I add no preservatives, these nut butters can become rancid. I always store mine in the refrigerator and try to use them up within a month or so.

Each of the nut butters tastes a bit different, so each can be used differently. I like the almond butter on a sandwich with apple butter or jam. Some are best on a cracker of one kind or another. I eat whole grain rye crackers, which always taste better with some kind of nut butter. Any of these improve the taste of a rice cake, too. One of my cookbooks uses these odd nut butters quite a lot; they seem to work well in cookies and quick breads.

If you like experimenting, check a health food store for their variety of nut butters, buy the appropriate nuts, roast (or not), and make the butter yourself. It isn’t hard.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yeager89.html

Tasty uses for garden
and wild edibles

By Alice B. Yeager Alice B. Yeager

The old saying “Waste not, want not” could be applied to almost anyone’s producing garden. From fruit to vegetables, there is always the possibility of waste when it comes to discarding produce that doesn’t pass the picture-perfect test.

For instance, not all tomatoes are perfect in appearance. Some may not have the exact shape and color as photos shown in the seed catalogs, but is that a good reason not to use them? Certainly not. When you see jars of canned tomatoes or tomatoes mixed with other vegetables, do you question the appearance of the tomatoes before they were canned? I doubt it.

All good things from the garden are subject to blemishes of some sort. Unless you are planning on exhibiting them at the county fair, don’t rule out making use of produce with slight defects. A bell pepper with a small scar will taste as good as one that has no blemishes. A tomato that’s slightly lopsided from being squeezed between two other tomatoes is as firm as the rest and is as usable. It goes without saying that all rotten spots, bird damage, and so on should be removed before food items are processed for preserving. Play it safe and don’t take chances with anything questionable. One bad tomato accidentally mixed into your batch for canning will ruin the entire output, so take your time and be watchful.

Beginning with asparagus tips in the spring and continuing until Jack Frost takes his toll at the end of the season, there is always an abundance of something that can be harvested and stored away for later use. Sometimes it’s tomatoes or maybe it’s summer squash. One generously shares with friends and neighbors, but the tomatoes and squash keep on coming. This is not a time to discard. Instead, put some away for those cold, rainy days that are inevitable. For that matter, who knows what may happen next year when circumstances may not favor a bumper crop of anything?

Early Prolific Straightneck Squash lives up to its name, as it is prolific.
Early Prolific Straightneck Squash lives up to its name, as it is prolific.
Ketchup and pasta sauce

Many households consume a goodly amount of ketchup. If you have canned all of the stewed tomatoes, whole tomatoes, soup, etc., you can say grace over, get out the Crock-Pot or Slow Cooker and convert some of those tomatoes to ketchup. And who doesn’t like to have a good sauce ready to thaw out and serve over pasta when preparation time is short and everyone seems to be going in a dozen different directions? There are many ways to make something useful from excess tomatoes and squash.

Ketchup

4 pounds well ripened medium or large tomatoes
2 medium onions
2 medium bell peppers
2 jalapeno peppers (hot)

Clean and quarter vegetables and put in a heavy stainless steel pot as mixture will be less inclined to stick than if in a thin gauge pot. (Never use an aluminum pot for this type of recipe.

1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. dry mustard

Add sugar mixture to vegetable mixture.

1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. pickling spices
1-1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

Simmer spices in vinegar in a covered, small, heavy type stainless steel pot for about 10 minutes. Strain out spices and discard. Add remaining vinegar to rest of ingredients.

Puree tomato mixture in a blender or food processor until any lumps are dissolved. Return to pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until mixture loses some of its water content and begins to thicken. Transfer mixture to a large Crock Pot to finish cooking. Leave the top off so excess water may evaporate. This will take 10-12 hours. Ketchup should be thick and flavorful when ready to can. Pour into hot, sterilized pint jars and seal with a good brand of lids and rings such as Ball. Set aside to cool in a draft-free place. Cover hot jars with kitchen towels to slow down cooling. Label and date when cooled. If any of the jars have not sealed, either re-heat contents and sterilize jars again, or refrigerate to use within a couple of weeks or so. (To test sealing, look for jar lids that are still puffed and not flattened after jars have cooled. Some may actually pop and seal when touched.)

After making ketchup a time or two, you may want to use more or less of the spices or add some of your own. It’s all in the taste test. The good part about this shortcut with the Crock Pot is that there’s not much danger of the ketchup sticking while cooking and you are freed from all that stirring while the mixture thickens.

Tomato-squash pasta sauce

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 medium bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 mild jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 cups tomatoes, diced
6 fresh sweet basil leaves, torn in small pieces OR 1 Tbsp. crumbled dry basil leaves
1 bay leaf
4 Tbsp. chopped parsley
2 medium zucchini squash, sliced thin
2 medium yellow striaghtneck squash, sliced thin
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
salt, optional

Heat oil in a medium size stainless steel or porcelain pot. (Do not use aluminum.) Add next 4 ingredients and sauté about 5 minutes or until vegetables lose their firmness. Stir frequently to keep from sticking. Add rest of ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook covered about 20 minutes. Cut off heat and allow sauce to cool to room temperature. Discard bay leaf, put sauce in airtight containers, and freeze. This should yield about 2½-3 cups.

When thawing, a double boiler works well. If mixture seems too thin, you can always beat a bit of flour and water together and stir into the hot sauce to get the desired thickness. Serve hot over your favorite pasta with a sprinkling of a tasty grated cheese.

It is not carved in stone that this type recipe must be followed to the letter. If you lack an ingredient, substitute something you like, i.e. if you have no zucchini squash, use another type of summer squash or only one kind. Maybe you’d like oregano instead of basil. If you have some cooked chicken or ground meat on hand, you may want to add some to the sauce. This recipe is versatile.
Asparagus

Summer vegetables aren’t the only ones that can overwhelm us. There are other times when we unexpectedly have an overabundance of an early spring crop such as asparagus. Maybe growing conditions are just right and the asparagus spears seem to multiply vigorously.

What’s better than a combination of peppers and tomatoes to add to soups, sauces, salads, and to enjoy eating fresh in the garden?
What’s better than a combination of peppers and tomatoes to add to soups, sauces, salads, and to enjoy eating fresh in the garden?

If you are lucky enough to have a bumper crop of spears, try preserving them by freezing. It’s one of the easiest ways to keep them. Just take your excess asparagus and clean it by trimming off scales and tough bottom portions of the stalks. Rinse in cool water and sort into sizes. Cut into lengths to fit your freezer containers. Blanch small and medium size pieces about 1½-2 minutes and large ones 3 minutes. Then plunge them into cold water to stop cooking. Drain well and pack into containers. Pack spears loosely to allow for expansion.

Word of caution: whenever you use plastic bags, be sure that they are freezer weight and not lighter weight sandwich bags. Despite what some people contend, there’s a difference. Don’t risk freezer-burn by using thin type bags, and remember to label and date your containers. All containers should be airtight, so check them for any possible air leaks.

Asparagus is one of my early spring favorites and one that can be enjoyed right there in the garden with no cooking whatsoever. It is a perennial that will serve a gardener for many years if plants are given some TLC. Try cleaning some freshly cut spears and snapping them into inch long pieces to use in a salad. Asparagus has a refreshing flavor and it’s delicious eaten raw. Vitamin A is at the head of the list of its health benefits, and a great way to enjoy fresh asparagus is to have it for breakfast with scrambled eggs.

Asparagus for breakfast

10 asparagus spears, cleaned and snapped into 1 or 1-1/2 inch pieces
2 fresh green onions, cleaned and chopped
5 good sized button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (optional)
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Put all of the above into an iron skillet over medium heat and cover as soon as mixture begins to sizzle. This will keep juices from evaporating. As soon as onions and asparagus begin to soften a bit, cut off heat and set pan aside until eggs are scrambled.

6 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 level Tbsp. dried dill weed (optional)
salt and white pepper
1 Tbsp. bacon or sausage drippings (optional)
2 Tbsp. canola oil

Beat eggs with a whisk or fork until well blended and then combine with rest of ingredients, EXCEPT canola oil. Heat a large skillet until a drop or two of water will sizzle in it. Put in canola oil, re-heat and pour in your egg mixture. As soon as eggs start to cook and rise up around edge of pan, start to pull mixture away from edge, tilting pan so liquid runs to the lower edge. Keep this up, constantly turning eggs until they are completely done.

Place scrambled eggs on a large, hot serving platter and spoon asparagus mixture over them. Serve with your favorite hot bread and beverage. Breakfast meat is optional. Enjoy. (This recipe should serve 4.)

Unfortunately, this is not a food plant that will yield a harvest the same year it is planted. Rather, it takes at least two years to become established and should be given three years before beginning to have its spears cut for table use. Patience has its reward, however, and a well cared for asparagus plot will continue to produce year after year, often outlasting the owner. I wish asparagus would produce as well in our southern climate as it does in colder areas, but at least it’s not a complete failure here. We just have to be sure it gets plenty of water during hot weather, and a bit of shade is welcome too.
Berries

Abundance applies not only to domestic plants but to edible wild plants as well. Witness the widespread assortments of berries—raspberries (mainly a northern berry), dewberries, blackberries, and the like. Dewberries have a trailing habit requiring the picker to do some bending and squatting exercises, whereas most of the rest grow on 5-6 foot canes. Dewberries start the wild berry season in the South by ripening 2-3 weeks ahead of blackberries. There’s nothing like a juicy dewberry, picked and eaten right off of the vine.

Berry picking is a way of life for some of us, as berry patches are found growing along highway and railroad right of ways, on abandoned homesteads, in open fields — everywhere they can find a foothold. Usually, no one cares if you fill buckets with the wild berries, except for perhaps the wildlife. However, I’d ask permission to pick if you can locate the owner of the property. Avoid berry patches along dusty roads as the berries may be coated with dust and a little hard to clean.

Pick in the cool of the morning and process the berries as soon as possible. If there’s going to be a lapse of several hours between picking and processing, keep the berries in a cool place or refrigerate them.

Enjoy the wild berries. You will often find some that have apparently escaped from cultivation.
Enjoy the wild berries. You will often find some that have apparently escaped from cultivation.

There are many ways to enjoy berries — jelly, jam, pies, with cereal, you name it. I prefer to freeze excess berries, as it’s easy to do and I believe the flavor is better than when berries are heated and canned. (Never expect anything to taste as good as when freshly eaten out of hand.) Frozen berries can be converted into something else later and still retain good flavor. Ripe berries should be handled as little as possible, as they are easily bruised. Who wants half crushed berries after all the trouble one goes to when picking them in the first place? (Did I mention thorns? Don’t wear your best denims. In the South, we pickers face a blood-sucking hazard known as chiggers. Mercy!)

Gently put berries into a large pan of cool water such as a dishpan and skim off any leaves or other debris that rises to the top. Discard along with any faulty berries. Pour off water and rinse again as you want thoroughly clean berries. Let berries rest in a colander for several minutes to allow as much water as possible to drain away.

Put drained berries in airtight freezer containers. If you are using bags, you will notice they will have a tendency to shape into more shapes than nice square ones. This can be helped by putting the filled bags on cookies sheets, shaping the bags with your hands and letting them freeze. You can then make better use of your freezer space by removing the bags from the cookie sheet and stacking them in the freezer.

If you will put two cups of berries in each container, they will go right along with a neat little recipe given to me years ago by a friend, Mrs. Milree Parsons. I believe she originally received this from an in-law in Wisconsin.

Creeping crust cobbler

1 stick margarine
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fresh OR frozen blackberries (thawed)
1 cup sugar

Because of the juiciness of the fruit, you will need to use a fairly large type glass or ceramic pie dish. I use a ceramic, deep dish that is 11 inches in diameter (rim to rim) and 1½ inches deep.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Cut margarine in pieces and place in baking dish. Put dish in oven just long enough to melt margarine. Sift dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and combine with milk to form a thick dough. Spoon dough over melted margarine but do not mix or stir the two together.

Combine fresh blackberries and 1 cup sugar together in a stainless steel or porcelain saucepan and cook over low heat about 5 minutes. If using frozen berries, a quick way to thaw them is to put about ¼ cup water in the saucepan and very slowly allow berries to thaw. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. When berries are thawed and sugar melted, proceed with recipe.

Spoon hot berries over the batter and place dish in oven. Bake 30-35 minutes or until cobbler is golden brown and dough springs back when touched. This cobbler is delicious on its own served warm, but you may want to “dress it up” by serving ice cream or yogurt with it.

Thessaloniki is a heavy bearer and, barring disaster, will bear til frost.
Thessaloniki is a heavy bearer and, barring disaster, will bear til frost.

Other berries such as raspberries, blueberries, etc., may be substituted for the blackberries. Or you may like to use a combination of different kinds of berries.

Our native berries have such distinct flavors of their own that those of us who are familiar with them just can’t accept substitutes. When we taste a cake or sweet roll labeled “blackberry,” “raspberry,” etc., made by a commercial bakery, we know instantly there is a big difference between artificial flavoring and the real thing.

The peak of the berry season can sometimes be cut short by weather. Too much rain or just the opposite can affect the quality of the berries. If the season promises to be a good one, I’d say the sooner you get your share of those succulent berries, the better. There are other interested parties known as wildlife foraging for berries, too.

Space doesn’t allow for discussion of using overproduction from all plants, but the ones mentioned may prompt folks who like nutritious food to come up with some workable ideas of their own. I grew up in the Great Depression era when a waste of anything, particularly food, was frowned upon and ranked right up there with sin. I think that’s why so many of us are reluctant to throw anything away.

While we’re on the subject of waste, what about all of the discarded fruit and vegetable trimmings that are often thrown out as “no good”? Not so, as they are welcome additions to the composter. From the use of well rotted compost, we are rewarded with healthy looking plants and an abundance of great tasting produce. How’s that for turning waste into something useful?

At times, it seems necessary to give certain plants a boost by adding chemicals to the soil, so I won’t knock the chemicals entirely. However, I have observed that folks who go the composting route just seem to have the best luck with their gardens and they don’t kill out their hardworking allies known as earthworms and beneficial insects. The less we do that interferes with the natural process of growing things, the better off we are. When we use compost, we don’t have that apprehensive feeling of accidentally killing off something we didn’t mean to do in.

There’s another angle to being frugal and that is to be discerning as to which crops you really want to plant, harvest, and store, For instance, if your family likes fresh cabbage but does not care much for cabbage turned into chow-chow, sauerkraut, etc., don’t take up garden space with a big number of cabbage plants. Enjoy the taste of fresh cabbage while it’s in season and don’t put yourself through time consuming work canning something that may just sit there and never be eaten. Value your time. If you have enough of a surplus, you might consider selling it to a local produce market. Folks like to have access to fresh items from a local garden.

Whether you are harvesting heaps of produce or generating buckets of peelings, nothing really has to go to waste. There’s always the hungry composter. It’s a good feeling to come to the end of the growing season knowing you have covered all of your bases as well as possible.

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Wonderful Wilderness Wines

From spring’s first delicate blossoms to the last clinging berries of autumn, hobby winemakers can cash in on nature’s bounty to rack up an exciting array of distinctive wines that’ll do justice to any cellar.

I have been winemaking for years and not only have I bottled up some blue ribbon winners, but have accumulated a treasured stash of well-aged wines that compliment any meal. Nothing makes a better toast to good health than a glass of sparkling gooseberry wine or celebrates a special occasion like a bottle of prized blueberry—fondly known by its ribbon as Berry Blue.

Contrary to what some folks believe, making wine is not difficult to master. Nor is it an expensive hobby to get started in. Truth is, if one enjoys being outdoors, foraging goods for the wine barrel will open up a whole new world of recreational fun. And once you’ve rounded up the equipment needed, you’ll be delightfully surprised at what fine wines you can enjoy at so little expense.
Equipment needed

With home winemakers growing in numbers across the country it is easy to locate hobby brewing shops that carry everything you’ll need. There are huge barrels for those who purchase large amounts of commercial fruits for winemaking, but for the beginner looking at making wine from wilderness offerings that are gathered in far less quantity, the fermenting vat can be a smaller container such as a five-gallon crock or any food grade plastic bucket or tub. It’s a good idea to have two or three small vats so several batches of wine can be fermenting at the same time. You’ll need a large kettle. I use an open canning kettle which holds about five gallons. Add to your list some tube for siphoning, cheesecloth, wine bottles, and corks.

Further down the road, as expertise grows, you might want to buy a fermentation jar with lock water-seal, fruit press, and corker. You’ll also hear mention of strange supplements like campden tablets (stabilizer made out of sulfite powder), sterilizing powders, pectic enzymes, and other additives that can instill fear in the heart of a beginner winemaker. So I have chosen simple, old-fashioned recipes to share, ones that do not call for unfamiliar items. Historically, wines have been successfully made without the addition of chemicals, and can still be made today in the way of our forefathers. However, if you’re interested in more modern techniques, talk to experts where the items are sold.
Getting started

The number one rule to top quality wine is cleanliness. All pickings must be gathered away from roadsides and other areas where they may be contaminated with herbicides and pesticides. Once home with your wilderness harvest, wash well under cold running water to remove insects, dust, and other undesirables.

Keep your equipment clean. Sterilize bottles by boiling in water for five minutes before bottling. Boil and cool water before adding to fermentation vat. The hardest part of all is allowing wine proper time to age. The biggest fault of beginner winemakers is serving their creations far too soon. It’s hard to resist temptation but I assure you, when it comes to wine, time is worth the wait.

Yeast is used to prompt fermenting or working. The recipes below call for one packet (eight grams) or ¼ ounce of dry yeast. For each recipe you will need one piece of toast. To add the yeast: Place the toast on the juice in fermentation crock and sprinkle it with yeast. Even though all recipes below can be halved, doubled, or tripled, the amount of yeast will remain the same.

A bit about sugar. You can always increase sugar amounts in any recipe to produce sweeter wines. However, unless recommended, do not decrease sugar or you might end up with vinegar.

When a recipe calls for straining juice, use clean cheesecloth and be sure to twist and wring it well in order to get out all the pulp and juice before discarding skins, seeds, and pits.

Juice ferments best at room temperature. Always cover the crock with clean cloth while fermenting is taking place. After the wine is done working (bubbling has ceased), finish it off by siphoning into bottles, corking, and labeling. When siphoning, leave sediments in vat and discard. Store wine on its side in a cool, dark place.

Dandelion wine:

4 quarts dandelion flowers
1 gallon water
1/2 pound chopped golden raisins (raisins can be added to any wine for extra body. Use golden raisins for white wines and dark raisins or currants for reds.)
2 oranges
l lemon
4 pounds sugar
yeast preparation

Gather dandelion flowers on a dry day when they are fully open. Remove the stalks but leave the green sepals on. Wash the flowers and put them in a large bowl. Cover with 1/2 gallon of boiling water. Cover with a cloth and let the flowers steep 24 hours or overnight. Pour into a kettle with raisins, grated rind, and the pulp and juice of the oranges and lemon. Bring to a boil, add the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool and pour into a crock. Add 1/2 gallon of water, then add the yeast. Cover and let ferment for two to three weeks or until the wine stops working. Finish off by siphoning into bottles, corking, and labeling.

Billy’s Blackberry wine:

Wild blackberries make superb, full-bodied distinctive wine. We pick blackberries for wine from the hedges that surround our friend, Billy’s, farm. Thus our blackberry bears his name. If you can’t harvest from the wild, commercial blackberries are well worth the investment for this robust wine.

1 gallon blackberries
1 gallon water
sugar (as needed—see the instructions below)
yeast preparation

Put the berries in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand 24 hours or overnight. Put in kettle, bring to boil. Simmer 10 minutes. Strain. Measure the juice. Add one cup sugar to two parts juice for dessert wine, or one part sugar to three parts juice for less sweet wine. Empty into the crock, add the yeast, and ferment for two to three weeks. Finish off. Try to resist temptation for at least nine months. This is a very fine wine.

Variation: Substitute raspberries for a lighter, red wine that has a rich fruity flavor. A mix of blackberry and raspberry can be used for a unique cellar treat.

Berry Blue wine:

I love picking blueberries and since they are so plentiful, it’s easy to keep the cellar well-stocked with this full-bodied wine.

2 gallons blueberries
2 gallons water
2 oranges, rinds grated, pulp and juice reserved
6 pounds sugar
yeast preparation

Mash the berries and set aside. Bring one gallon water to a boil. Add the sugar and prepared oranges and boil five minutes. Pour over the berries. Let stand 24 hours or overnight. Mash again. Pour into a crock. Add one gallon of water and yeast. Ferment for two to three weeks, stirring occasionally, until the wine stops working. Strain. Put back into the crock and let it settle for three days. Finish off.

Pin Cherry wine:

Pin cherries are tiny but bursting with flavor. The trick to getting enough for the crock is beating birds to trees when fruit is ripe. If you can’t harvest enough for a batch of wine, make up the difference with tame cherries. Or substitute chokecherries, which are often more plentiful, for a deeper wine. And keep in mind that you can mix and match to create unique wines.

1 gallon pin cherries (or chokecherries)
2 cups chopped maraschino cherries, with juice (only if using pin cherries)
1 gallon water
5 pounds sugar
yeast preparation

Put the cherries in a kettle with one quart of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, mashing until pulpy. Remove from heat and let stand 24 hours or overnight. Strain. Put the juice in the kettle and add three quarts of water and the sugar. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Cool. Pour into a crock and add the yeast. Ferment for two to three weeks. Finish off.

Old World Gooseberry wine:

This medium-dry wine was used as an Old World curative for all kinds of common complaints. Today it’s drunk for sheer pleasure. If you can’t get enough gooseberries for a batch, make up the difference with wild currants, which usually grow in the same woodlands. Or tame garden gooseberries can be used. A quart of wild or tame frozen strawberries or raspberries adds pink color and flair to this delightful wine.

4 quarts gooseberries
1 pound golden raisins
1-1/2 gallons water
4 pounds sugar
1 quart liquid honey
yeast preparation

Bring one gallon of water to a boil and drop in the gooseberries and raisins. Simmer an hour. Let stand 24 hours or overnight. Empty the mixture back into the kettle. Bring to a boil. Add the sugar and honey, boil five minutes. Cool. Strain juice into crock and add yeast. Ferment for two to three weeks. Finish off. Wait at least eight months—or longer if you can—before decanting. This one improves greatly with age.

Be bear aware

When foraging in the woodlands be…bear aware. Don’t let your guard down when it comes to bears. They, too, are especially fond of berries. When you go down in the woods, don’t go alone. Go in numbers. Make noise. Wear bells. Sing and be merry. If you’ve got a hunch there’s a bear in the air, there probably is. When in doubt, leave. Slowly. Calmly. Never have a picnic in the patch or carry food in your pocket. If confronted by a startled bear, back away slowly. Don’t run—bears can do over 30 miles an hour when the race is on. When a bear is spotted in the patch, do not close it in. Make your exit as unthreatening as possible. Avoid blocking or crossing its path.

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Farmers Vegetarian Pies

Delicate, flavorful, and very satisfying are the descriptions with which a number of culinary experts label the countless pies or turnovers found in every country on earth. It is said that if all snack foods are ranked in order, these would, without question, lead the list. Filled with an infinite combination of stuffing, they are, in the main, delicious, nutritious, and simple to prepare.

As a child, I will always remember the aroma flowing out of the kitchen when, after returning from school, I opened the door to our home. The mouth-watering smell of baking vegetarian and, at times, meat pies would increase my hunger pangs a hundred fold. No matter what type of pie mother was making that day, the smell from the kitchen would always ensnare me in its culinary bewitching web.

My mother seemed to have a never-ending storehouse of ideas for new types of pies. This was especially true in summer and autumn when our garden overflowed with vegetables. With no type of refrigeration at our disposal, during the warm months we ate very little meat. Hence, her vegetarian pies were a welcome addition to our diet. For lunch, snacks, or main courses, they were always delicious and memorable. Their memories have always lingered with me. For many years I have never tired of replicating my mother’s pies and developing numerous other versions.

Known in the eastern Arab-speaking lands as sambousik, fatayer, or lahme bi ajeen, they are always to be found on the housewife’s daily menu. For school lunches, snacks at home, or a meal a wife carries to her husband working the fields, pies, especially spinach, are usually included. When leaving their homelands, like our family, to other countries, the emigrants from the Middle East never forget their pies, especially those freshly baked, perfuming the home with their seductive pungency.

In that part of world, from the tiny sambousik to the larger fatayer or lahme bi ajeen, they are often offered as a savory and appetizing fast food. People enjoy munching them on the streets, their enticing aromas flowing from small bakeries and restaurants too overpowering to resist. The first thing I do when I reach Damascus, Beirut, or any other urban center in the Middle East, is search for a bakery, and there are many.

Traditionally most pies are stuffed with meats or a combination of vegetables and meats. Only a few, like cheese or spinach pies, are usually made with nonmeat fillings. Long favored by the masses, these vegetarian delights have for centuries been an important food in the kitchens of these lands.

On the other hand, besides cheese and spinach, more innovative cooks, like my mother, throughout the Middle East have replaced the meats with nuts and almost every kind of vegetable. In the process they have created a great number of appetizing and succulent vegetarian pies.

These can be made very small, medium size, or large enough for a one-person meal. The petit and medium versions can be served as appetizers, for snacks, as part of buffet meals, or as supplements to soups and salads. King-size and baked, they make a delectable and filling all-in-one entrée. Also, excellent for lunches and as picnic fare, they add much to the culinary world of sandwich-type foods.

Vegetarian pies can be stuffed with a never-ending variety of nonmeat ingredients and most are simple to prepare. They can be made in advance and frozen, then removed and allowed to thaw half an hour before being baked. Very delightful when served hot, they lose only a little of their mouth-watering taste if eaten cold.

The following vegetarian pies are some of the ones mother used to bake and a number which are my own creations.

Dough for the pies

1 Tbsp. sugar
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
4 Tbsp. olive oil

Dissolve sugar and yeast in 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water, then allow to stand until yeast begins to froth.

In the meantime, combine flour, salt, and ginger in a mixing bowl, then make a well in the middle. Add the yeast, water, and oil. Knead into a dough, adding more flour or water if necessary. (Do not allow the dough to become sticky.) Shape into a ball, then brush the outside with a few drops of oil. Place on a floured tray or pan, then cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rest in a warm spot until it becomes double in size.

Note: An equal amount of frozen dough will serve equally well for all the following recipes.

Spinach pies
Spinach pies are the most commonly made pies in the Middle East. They are found on the menu of almost every feast.

1 dough recipe
1 pkg. spinach (10 oz.), thoroughly washed and finely chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
3 Tbsp. pine nuts or slivered almonds
4 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cayenne

Prepare the dough for the pies, then set aside.

Make a filling by thoroughly combining all the ingredients just before rolling out the dough into rounds, then set aside.

Form the dough into 20 balls, then place them on a floured tray. Cover with a damp cloth, then allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Roll the balls into five to six-inch rounds, then divide the filling and place two heaping tablespoons of filling on each round, stirring the filling each time. (Preferably the filling should be divided into 20 equal parts.) Fold the dough over the filling, then close by firmly pinching edges together into half moon or triangle shape.

Place the pies on well-greased baking trays, then bake in a 350° F preheated oven for 20 minutes or until pies turn golden brown. Remove from the oven, then brush with olive oil. Serve hot or cold.

Leek pies
Leeks, not much used in cooking in North America, make an excellent-succulent pie.

1 dough recipe
4 heaping cups of thoroughly washed chopped leeks
4 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small hot pepper, very finely chopped
2 Tbsp. sumach (Sumach, sometimes spelled sumac, sammak, summag, and other ways, can be purchased in Middle Eastern food markets.)
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Prepare the dough for the pies, then set aside.

Make a filling by thoroughly combining all remaining ingredients, then set aside.

Form the dough into 20 balls, and place them on a floured tray. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes, then roll the balls into five to six-inch rounds.

Follow the spinach recipe when making and baking the leek pies

Eggplant and tomato pies

1 dough recipe
1 eggplant, about 1 1/2 lbs, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 small hot pepper, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 eggs, beaten

Prepare the dough for the pies then set aside

Sprinkle eggplant cubes with the salt, then place in a strainer over a pot. Place heavy weight atop eggplant cubes, then allow to drain for one hour.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, then sauté onions over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the eggplant cubes, hot pepper, and garlic, then stir-fry for five minutes, adding more oil if necessary.

Make filling by stirring in the remaining ingredients, then stir-fry for a few more minutes. Allow to cool.

In the meantime, form the dough into 20 balls, then place them on a floured tray. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes, then roll the balls into five to six-inch rounds.

Follow the spinach recipe for making and baking eggplant and tomato pies.

Potato and tomato pies
Eaten just out of the oven, these pies are simply delicious.

1 dough recipe
4 cups shredded potatoes
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 small hot pepper, very finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper

Prepare the dough for the pies, then set aside.

Make a filling by thoroughly combining all the remaining ingredients, then set aside.

Form the dough into 20 balls, then place them on a floured tray. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes, then roll the balls into 5 to 6 inch rounds.

Follow the spinach recipe for making and baking potato and tomato pies.

Pea and zucchini pies

1 dough recipe
2 1/2 cups 1/4-inch cubes of unpeeled zucchini
1 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen peas
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 Tbsp. ground almonds
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne

Prepare the dough for the pies, then set aside.

Make a filling by thoroughly mixing all remaining ingredients, then set aside.

Form the dough into 20 balls, then place them on a flowered tray. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes, then roll the balls into 5 to 6 inch rounds.

Follow the spinach recipe for making and baking the pea and zucchini pies.

Mushroom pies

1 dough recipe
4 cups thinly sliced mushrooms, thoroughly washed
1 1/2 cups chopped green onions
1 medium sweet green pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne

Prepare the dough for the pies, then set aside.

Make a filling by thoroughly combining all remaining ingredients, then set aside.

Form the dough into 20 balls, then place them on a floured tray. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes, then roll the balls into five to six-inch rounds.

Follow the spinach recipe for making and baking the mushroom pies.

Corn pies
This is one of my own creations, similar to others that mother made during our farming years.
1 dough recipe
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium sweet pepper, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small hot pepper, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. powdered mustard
1/2 tsp. cumin

Prepare the dough for the pies, then set aside.

In the meantime, heat oil in a frying pan, then sauté sweet pepper, onion, hot pepper, and garlic over a medium heat for five minutes. Add the corn, then stir-fry for further five minutes.

To make the filling, stir in the remaining ingredients, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Follow the spinach recipe for making and baking the corn and pepper pies.

Chickpeas pies
Often prepared by my mother, chickpea pies are believed to have been eaten by the peasants in the Middle East since pre-Roman times.

1 dough recipe
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained

Prepare the dough for the pies, then set aside.

In the meantime, combine remaining ingredients, then set aside.

Form the dough into 20 balls, then place them on a floured tray. Cover with a damp cloth, then allow them to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Roll the balls into 1/8-inch thick rounds, then place on well greased cookie tray. Stir chickpea mixture, then press firmly into the dough a handful of chickpeas on each pie.

Bake in a 350° F preheated oven for 15 minutes or until edges of pies turn light brown. Place under broiler until top browns, then serve hot.

Lentil pies
Since lentils contain an equal amount of protein as lean meat and are much more easily digestible, these pies, besides being tasty are very nourishing.

1 dough recipe
1 cup lentils, rinsed
4 cups water
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small hot pepper, very finely chopped
4 Tbsp. tomato paste
4 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin

Prepare the dough for the pies, then set aside.

In the meantime, place the lentils and water in a saucepan, then bring to a boil. Cover, then simmer over medium heat for 40 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Drain the lentils and allow them to cool, then mash and combine with the remaining ingredients to make a filling.

Form the dough into 20 balls, then place them on a flowered tray. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes, then roll the balls into 5 to 6 inch rounds.

Follow the spinach recipe for making and baking the lentil pies.

Thyme and sumach pies
In the Greater Syria area of the Middle East, this is a favored breakfast dish, eaten piping hot.

1 dough recipe
1/2 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. thyme
3 Tbsp. sumach
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne

Prepare the dough for the pies, then set aside.

In the meantime, thoroughly mix all remaining ingredients, then set aside.

Form the dough into 20 balls, then place them on a floured tray. Cover with a damp cloth, then allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Roll the balls into 1/8-inch thick rounds, then place on well greased cookie tray. Spread the mixed ingredients evenly over top of rounds, then bake in a 350° F preheated oven for 15 minutes or until edges of pies turn light brown. Serve hot or cold.

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Cultured milk
Food of centenarians

By Edna Manning Edna Manning

Cultured milk products have been enjoyed in the Middle East, Europe, and parts of Asia for centuries. The Greeks felt that yogurt had therapeutic qualities for diseases caused by intestinal disorders. Bulgarians attribute their good health and longevity in part to their daily intake of cultured milk products.

The most common of the cultured milk products are yogurt, kefir, piima, buttermilk, and quark or cottage cheese.

Yogurt is simply milk thickened to a custard consistency by certain acid-forming bacteria growing in it. The special bacteria that turn milk into yogurt are lactobacillus bulgaricus, lactobacillus acidophilus, and streptococcus thermophilus. The coagulation and the fermentation of milk sugar into lactic acid is caused by these bacteria. This action curdles the protein in yogurt and acts as a preservative.

The bacteria in yogurt have already begun to break down the protein molecules into lactic acid, making it easy for the body to assimilate. Thus yogurt is helpful for people who have lactose intolerance, because they lack an enzyme that helps to digest milk sugar in regular milk. Yogurt helps the digestion process to move along smoothly and quickly.

In the Near East, babies are frequently fed yogurt for two or three months after they are weaned. Breast fed babies receive bacillus bifidus, a bacteria similar to lactobacillus bulgaricus found in yogurt.

Some doctors prescribe yogurt to replace normal intestinal flora that are destroyed when oral antibiotics have been used for an extended period of time. Antibiotics destroy “good” bacteria along with the “bad” bacteria.

Yogurt makes a light and tasty dessert with a few strawberries added for color and flavor.
Yogurt makes a light and tasty dessert with a few strawberries added for color and flavor.

Studies show that yogurt can be helpful in lowering the cholesterol levels in the blood by decreasing the amount of cholesterol the body produces.

Research would also indicate that the bacteria in yogurt can help guard the intestinal tract for carcinogens. Yogurt has also been used to aid in the healing of ulcers, digestive disorders, yeast infections, and nervous fatigue.

Yogurt is also used in cosmetics such as face masks and body lotions.

Commercial yogurt can be purchased in any supermarket. It comes in a variety of flavors and brands, many with low butterfat content.

Yogurt can be made from any kind of milk, including soy milk. The flavor will vary with the type of milk used.

Yogurt is not complicated to make yourself. Only two ingredients are necessary: milk and a starter culture. Use fresh whole or skim milk, powdered milk, or a combination. Adding a third of a cup of dry milk to a quart of skim milk will produce a more firm, nutritious yogurt.

Starter cultures for cultured milk can be purchased at Health Food Stores. You can also purchase a container of plain yogurt for your starter.

Dried starter will keep for several months in a cool place. If you use yogurt as a starter, you will have to buy a fresh supply every once in a while, as the bacteria strain tends to weaken after a time. Whenever it begins to take longer to set, buy a fresh starter.

The next step in yogurt making is the heating and cooling of the milk.

First sterilize all the utensils you will use with boiling water. Then heat one quart of pasteurized milk to a temperature of 105 to 110 degrees F If you’re using raw unpasteurized milk, heat it first to 180 degrees F, then allow to cool to 110 degrees F Stir in a couple of tablespoons of commercial yogurt into 1 cup of your prepared milk and add this to your remaining milk and mix well. If you use a powdered starter, follow the directions on the package.

Pour milk into sterilized jars or small plastic containers. (Use small containers as yogurt tends to separate and get watery on top once some of it has been used.) Cover the containers.

Incubation is the next step. This can be done by using a yogurt maker or any warm place where the temperature can be kept at 110-115 degrees F. My favorite method is to simply use the oven with only a 40 watt light bulb on.

Yogurt can take from six to ten hours to incubate. Check periodically to see if it has set to the proper consistency. It should be smooth, have a mild flavor, and be slightly tart. You can obtain either a mild or a more tangy yogurt by adjusting the incubation period. The longer it is incubated, the tangier the results.

Refrigerate immediately. It will keep for up to two weeks. If whey forms on the top, pour it off. Remember to save a few tablespoons for your next batch.

Kefir is similar to yogurt, but has yeast cells present causing fermentation, thus producing a drink that is slightly alcoholic and effervescent. The flavor is sweeter and milder.

To make kefir, simply add culture (kefir grains, the fermenting agent) to raw milk and incubate at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Pour through a sieve, reserving the kefir grains for the next batch. Serve chilled.

Blend with fresh fruit to make a delicious drink.

Piima is a Scandinavian cultured milk product. It is milder than either yogurt or kefir and very easy to make. Simply stir your culture into pasteurized milk at room temperature. Allow to incubate for 8 to 24 hours.

Buttermilk is really the liquid left from butter making. The “buttermilk” found in stores is a cultured milk made from pasteurized skim milk. Lactic acid bacteria is added to the milk and the mixture is left to clabber at room temperature.

Homemade buttermilk can be made by adding a culture to pasteurized milk or, if you make your own butter, from pasteurized real buttermilk.

Quark or Cottage cheese is also easy to make from raw, unpasteurized milk. The milk can be poured into a large cooking pot, covered and left to incubate in a warm place (about 80 degrees F—again, I use the oven with a light bulb on). After about 24 hours the milk has thickened. At this point, heat the clabbered milk slowly at a very low temperature, stirring gently on occasion to separate the curds from the whey. In about 40 minutes, the curds will have shrunk. Hold temperature at 120 degrees for about 15 minutes until the curds feel firm but not rubbery. You can now ladle the curds into a colander and drain the whey. The whey is rich in B vitamins and can be used in baking.

Beatrice Trum Hunter’s, Fact/Book on Yogurt, Kefir and Other Milk Cultures is a practical, informative book on the benefits of cultured milk which includes a variety of easy to make recipes. Check your local library.

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Traditional trail foods
Transportable calories

By Brad Rohdenburg

Napoleon said that an army marches on its stomach. Frederick the Great defined an army as a group of men who demanded daily feeding. One can imagine the nutritional problems of a large group on the move. Armies through the ages have tried everything from bottling snails to bringing along herds of livestock. It’s difficult to keep mess kits and cooking equipment adequately clean under rugged field conditions, so illnesses were rampant. In most campaigns, more troops have been lost to sickness than to the enemy. Sometimes it was impossible to deliver food to the front line troops who needed it most. Hunger has ended many ambitions. The search for transportable calories, the “research and product development” of earlier armies, has finally resulted in the MRE. “MRE” stands for “Meal, Ready to Eat.”

Eating pemmican on the mountain
Eating pemmican on the mountain

In accordance with the Office of the Surgeon General’s nutritional requirements as identified in Army Regulation 4025, Nutritional Standards for Operational Rations, they will survive a 100 foot drop from a helicopter with no parachute, endure inclement weather and survive temperature extremes from minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and have a minimum shelf life of three years at 80 degrees F and last for six months at 100 degrees F. Now people on the move can have a meal on demand by carrying it with them. Mess kits and pots and pans have been eliminated. MREs set the current standard for traveling rations, but they aren’t magic. Those who use them are encumbered and inconvenienced by the weight and bulk of plastic utensils, condiments, heaters and a remarkable amount of packaging. Having to cook them to make them appealing wastes time. (I know, they’re designed to be eaten cold if necessary. Have a few dozen that way and then come back and tell me about it.) And if you’re buying your own MREs rather than having them issued by Uncle Sam, they’re prohibitively expensive.

If you have a need for trail food—storable, transportable, convenient, affordable and palatable calories—maybe we can learn something from the old ways. Jerky, pemmican, hardtack, and parched corn are traditional travel rations that have passed the test of time. They are products that have been produced, relied on, and refined for centuries, even millennia. Just a touch of modern technology and convenience makes them even better today.

Jerky, pemmican, hardtack, and parched corn are ways to put game, livestock, wild berries, and garden produce by in times of plenty. Easily made, transported, and stored, they became frontier staples for travelers, hunters, and warriors. They are still excellent trail foods and emergency rations.

I take jerky, pemmican, hardtack, and parched corn along on wilderness trips. Supplemented by some tea, salt, and rice and whatever I can catch or gather, I can exist pretty comfortably and feel healthy doing it. Even if I take more modern foods along as well, the historical perspective is fun. They’re comforting to have in reserve, too, in case the bush plane doesn’t show up on time, or the wind keeps your canoe ashore for a couple extra days. (Their only drawback as emergency rations is that I’m tempted to eat them before I’m truly hungry).
Jerky

Jerky is said to keep for years, but it’s so good that around my house it’s shelf life is usually measured in minutes. Here’s my favorite recipe:

11/2 lbs. very lean ground meat—(Any meat that isn’t fatty, including fish and birds. Avoid pork or bear.)
1/4 cup soy
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Liquid Smoke
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. black pepper

Combine all the marinade ingredients and pour over the meat. Refrigerate until the meat absorbs the solution. (Chilled meat is also firmer and easier to work with.) Roll the ground meat out and cut into strips about 1/4-inch thick and an inch or two wide. The strips can then be dried either on plastic screens or in a food dehydrator. Our forebears often simply draped strips of meat over branches; they built a cool, smoky fire underneath to keep away flies if necessary.
Pemmican

At its simplest, pemmican is only powdered jerky bound together with melted fat. It tastes far better than it sounds. When you’re working hard outdoors, especially in the cold, listen to your body. Pemmican will satisfy your craving for calories in ways that a candy bar won’t. It’s said to provide every essential but vitamin C. The concept of pemmican was borrowed from the American Indians. It begins with lean meat, traditionally of bison, moose, elk, or deer. It was dried over a fire or in the sun and wind. The dried meat was ground and shredded between stones. Sometimes ground dried berries, nuts, or honey were added. Finally, melted fat and/or bone marrow grease were mixed in. Pemmican could be eaten as is, or made into a soup or stew. When available, mint leaves or wild onions could be added for flavor.

Parched corn is easy to make, stores well, and makes a great trail food.
Parched corn is easy to make, stores well, and makes a great trail food.

The Hudson’s Bay Company bought pemmican from the Indians and later the Metis as the staple food of their fur brigades and established a standard of quality. It paid a premium for “sweet pemmican” made solely from the best of lean meats—preferably from bison cows and young bulls—and only bone marrow grease. Pemmican production became the most important industry on the high plains next to the fur trade.

Pemmican was originally stored in the stomach or intestines of animals. Indians shaped it into small round cakes. The Hudson’s Bay Company specified that it be stored in 45-kg. green bison skin bags called “parfleches,” sealed with tallow. As the parfleches dried they shrank, in effect vacuum-sealing themselves. They would keep for years. During the fur trade, it was reckoned that pemmican was nutritionally worth four times its weight in meat. Hudson’s Bay Company pemmican consisted of 50% dried meat and 50% fat/marrow.
“Modern” pemmican

Very dry jerky. Use deer, moose, caribou, or beef (not pork or bear).
Fresh beef suet. (the raw fat from around the kidneys and loins)
Any seedless dried fruit not preserved with sulfites (optional)

Cut the suet into chunks and render (melt) it over low heat, until it becomes a rich golden-brown liquid. Continue to heat until all moisture is removed. It’s important to remove all water from the fat to prevent it from going rancid. Strain it and throw away the solids. Allow it to cool—it will turn white. This is tallow. Rendering twice will make the tallow harder and give it better keeping qualities. Tallow, when cooled, resembles candle wax in color and consistency. In fact, if you have any left over, it can be made into candles. Lewis and Clark took cotton wicking along with them for that purpose, and wrote their journals by the smokey light of tallow candles. Add some beeswax or paraffin to make them burn better.

In a blender, grind the dried meat to a powder. Chop or grind the dried fruits and mix them with the dried meat powder. (Many who have acquired the taste for pemmican, myself included, prefer it without any fruit.)

Heat the tallow again. Make sure it is as hot as it can get without smoking. (Smoking means burning.) Pour the tallow into the dried meat mixture, adding just enough to moisten the particles. If it’s too cool you will have to use a lot of it to stick the mixture together and the pemmican will be too rich and fatty. At this point, if the tallow is cooling down too quickly to allow it to soak in properly, you can microwave the whole mixture to warm it up.

Form the warm pemmican into blocks or bars or patties. Allow them to cool and wrap in waxed paper or store in plastic bags.
“Peanut butter” pemmican

If you can’t quite bring yourself to eat the real thing yet, try this substitute:

1 part jerky
1 part peanuts or pecans, unroasted
1 part raisins
1 part any seedless dried fruit(s) not preserved with sulfites—apples, peaches, blueberries, etc.
Peanut butter and honey, in a two-to-one ratio
Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional, but contrasts nicely with the sweet fruits and honey.)

Four easy to make, easy to carry, and energy-packed trails foods, clockwise from left: parched corn, hardtack, pemmican, and jerky.
Four easy to make, easy to carry, and energy-packed trails foods, clockwise from left: parched corn, hardtack, pemmican, and jerky.

Powder the jerky in a blender. Add fruit and nuts. Microwave honey and peanut butter to soften them, then blend them into the mixture. (Use less than you think you’ll need, just enough to bind everything together. If you get it wrong, it’s easier to add more peanut butter and honey than to add more of everything else.) Add cayenne pepper, working it in thoroughly. Store in plastic bags.
Hardtack

Essentially a very hard cracker, hardtack was the standard traveling fare for soldiers, sailors, and pioneers up through WWI. Originally made from only salt, flour, and a little water, it was universally despised. It was traditionally either dipped in coffee, or soaked in hot water and then fried in bacon drippings. This updated version is far more healthy and tasty, and just as easy to store and transport.

2 cups fresh whole wheat flour (Best if you grind it yourself—wheat berries lose nutritional value rapidly once ground.)
2 cups fresh corn meal (Again, best if you grind it yourself right before baking.)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
13/4 cups water

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Add water. Knead until moistened but not sticky. Roll 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 3-inch squares or rounds. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Score with a knife to facilitate breaking later. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Can be stored indefinitely in an airtight container.
Parched corn

Corn was the staple grain on the American frontier for pioneers and Indians alike, as it was (and is) relatively easy to grow, harvest, and process without machinery. There are four basic types: flour, dent, flint, and sweet. All may be dried on the cob, and may then be stored indefinitely. If you want to go modern, then just buy frozen whole kernel corn at the grocery store and dehydrate it.

Parching corn makes these hard kernels softer for your teeth and much more digestible. It’s a lightweight, high energy food that was carried by Indian warriors and hunters. It was also considered a treat by pioneer children. It can be eaten as is, or ground and added to soups and stews. You’ll be surprised at how it revitalizes you.

Heat a small amount of butter or lard or oil in a skillet on low. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel so that only a thin coat remains—just enough to prevent the corn from sticking. Pour in enough dry kernels to almost cover the bottom of the pan. Stir constantly to prevent burning. The kernels are done when they swell and turn light to medium brown and begin to pop. It takes from about one to five minutes. Dump the corn out onto a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up any remaining oil or grease, then re-oil your skillet and do some more. Enough for a day will fit in a plastic bag in your pocket.

On your next outing, try traveling light. Jerky, pemmican, hardtack, and parched corn will keep you going all day, without utensils to clean, or trash to dispose of, or the need to stop and cook. For dinner, pemmican stewed with whatever greens or tubers you’ve foraged, thickened with parched corn and served with hardtack will give you a literal taste of days gone by.

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Cut your grocery bill in half

By C. M. Hudman

There was a time when I despised grocery shopping. Every time I walked into a grocery store it seemed the dollars were simply sucked out of my wallet. If it felt like I was getting ripped off, I probably was. Fed up with spending over a hundred dollars and walking out with only a week’s worth of food, I found a number of easy ways to cut my family’s food bill in half.

Shop around

Loyalty to your favorite spacious and contemporary supermarket is a guaranteed way to throw money down the drain. I have yet to find a store that carries the cheapest of every possible item. Open your mind to a variety of different possibilities. Look for bulk food stores, canned goods outlets, restaurant supply stores, or food coops. They all may offer some great prices. The local butcher may also have some highly competitive prices on meat. Butchers are a great way to get in touch with farmers who are willing to sell a cow or hog for a good price. Roadside stands often have the best deals on quality produce. They are also more open to negotiation and even bartering.

Cut out the middleman

Every time you buy a product in the grocery store you pay the farmer, processor, packager, distributor, and the grocery store, who in turn pay the stocker and checker, not to mention the mortgages on all those buildings. Try buying direct from the farmer.

There is bound to be some locally grown produce in your area. Check fruit orchards for seasonal deals, or herb farms (dehydrate your own spices). Stopping buy the local farmer’s market on the weekend while running errands can be a great way to buy direct and meet local farmers. If you are anywhere near the ocean try taking a trip to the harbor docks and buy direct from fishing boats or crabbing vessels.

Plan your route

I know most hard working people are already short of time, and probably the thought of shopping at four or five different stores makes you shake your head. But I used to stop at the supermarket a couple of times a week anyway, and that was outside of the “big” bi-weekly trip. Some store’s have monthly sales. Plan on stopping at these once a month towards the beginning of the sale. Twice a month plan your bulk grocery shopping. Bring out the advertisements and plan your route. It may seem overwhelming at first but I spend far less time (and money) now that I’ve stocked my pantry full of loss leader sale items.

Get gutsy and try generic

If you have shunned away from generic or store brands because of childhood memories of flat white and black boxes, it’s time to try them again. They taste fine and the price is even better. In today’s competitive market the stores have taken it upon themselves to produce higher quality foods than ever. I have even heard that they are often packaged in the same processing plants. As for frozen vegetables, frozen broccoli spears is frozen broccoli spears, no matter what brand the package reads.

Avoid convenience foods

When was the last time that a frozen pizza filled your family up. Try new recipes for pizza dough, and pile on the toppings. With far less money you can truly have pizzeria quality at home. If you still waste money on serving-size juice boxes for the kids, invest in some reusable plastic juice glasses, fill them with bulk-bought juice, and keep them in the refrigerator for the kids to grab. It pays.

Be an educated consumer

Knowing your prices will help you save money in many ways. Do you ever get mad at your spouse because he’ll spend twice the going price for ice cream? Over time you have probably become educated and memorized prices for frequently bought items. I once had a friend that gasped in horror when the price of macaroni and cheese was raised a nickel a box. Sure her hubby still laughs about it, but she was truly shocked over the price increase.

Make up a list with the best unit prices you’ve ever found on regularly bought items. Try beating these prices every time you go to the store. You’ll soon learn the difference between true sales and “sale priced” items.

Figure unit prices

Bigger is not always better. Take a calculator along to figure out unit prices quickly. Some supermarkets have it conveniently posted on shelf tags already. Use what is available. Taking the time to figure unit prices will save money. Are you buying the “family value” packaged goods because they indicate value? It may shock you to find that in comparison to the average size there may be little savings, and sometimes they cost more. Don’t believe packaging; the truth is revealed in the numbers. Figure out the price per unit of measurement—per pound, per ounce, per gallon. The other day I compared the prices of a 5-pound bag of russet potatoes for 69-cents and a 10-pound “sale” bag for $1.79. Buying two 5-pound bags would save 41-cents over one 10-pound bag.

Buy big

When you find an excellent deal it’s time to stock up your pantry. If you find an unbelievably low price, spend an extra $5 or $10 and buy enough to last until the next sale. My husband laughed at me when I came home with 33 bottles of name brand BBQ sauce. It may have been crazy if the price had not been 29 cents a bottle, I have yet to see it cheaper, and because we love BBQ sauce not one bottle went to waste.

I’ve also been mocked by a teenage checkout boy because I was “buying out the meat department.” Maybe if he had to pay his own rent he would have taken note. The cut up fryers were on sale for a third the normal price. I had bought $90 worth of good meat for only $30 cost. I didn’t have to buy another chicken for months. I could have bought one or two extra, then paid full price a week later. Fill your freezer and your pantry with the highest quality foods available at the lowest possible price.

Get a rain check

Are they out of the cans of soup that were a loss leader sale. Ask a stock person to check the back; many times the shelves are cleared so fast that stock people can barely keep up. If there are no more to be found, get a rain check and have one made up in your child’s name also.

Most stores are happy to fill out a rain check. It’s a little slip of paper that allows you the sale price when the new stock arrives, even if the sale is over.

Bypass customer limits

If your store lures you in with loss leaders and then slaps a limit on the number you can purchase, it’s time for a creative solution. Every one of your children are a potential customer (the store never complains when they buy a candy bar). Split up the family and build more purchasing power.

Every time you walk into a store you are a potential customer. I will make repeated trips to the store for a great loss leader sale. You should too. The grocery store is trying to lure you into spending more so it’s time to beat them at their own game.

Get the inside scoop

Ask your friendly grocer when they roll out the day old bread rack. This is a great way to fill up the freezer for half price. Do they fill up the discounted or damaged foods cart on a specific day each week? If they bring out the sale items Friday morning, plan accordingly.

Make them work for you

If you are filling lunch boxes with expensive bologna and packaged ham, here is an easy solution that can save you a lot of money. Does your grocery store have a butcher or a deli? Instead of paying $3.99 a pound for sliced sandwich ham, pick a whole or half ham from the meat cooler, and have them slice it. Many markets are happy to slice it as thin as you’d like, for free. This can result in big savings because whole hams are sold for far less ($1.75 per pound).

Your butcher may also be willing to slice big chunks of cheese for you.

Double up savings

I rarely use coupons because they are often for overpriced foods. However, double coupon day can sure bring down the prices. My daughter and I now look through the local coupon exchange bin at the library for possible great deals. The combination of free coupons and double coupon day gets us cans of chili for a quarter, and other items for next to nothing.

Double up the deals by combining coupons, sale items, and rebates. It does take some time, but for some people the deals add up. Call the 1-800 phone numbers on the packaging of your favorite products; many will send coupons directly to you if you ask.

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Make adobe bricks

By Rev. J.D. Hooker

Last winter I got a phone call from an old friend in Arizona. One of his sons had fallen in love, gotten the girl in trouble, and run afoul of her Mexican/Indian family. A hasty marriage and real wedding ceremony was the only thing capable of defusing the situation, and the kid really wanted “Uncle Joe” to perform the wedding ceremony.

Of course the fact that Arizona’s temperatures were in the 60s and 70s, while I was shoveling a three-foot snowdrift off of my roof in sub-zero winds didn’t influence my decision to make the trip even a little bit. Yeah, right!

After the wedding I stuck around longer than I’d planned to, because everyone had already decided to erect a house for the new couple, on property his father had given them as a wedding gift. Some of the “guests” had already been at work on the project for several weeks.
Brick mold
Brick mold

Several older men, armed with ancient looking adzes and mattocks, shaved away at the sides of a depression carved into a bank of clay. Others shoveled these shavings into the middle of the “brick pit” they were working in. Younger men and older boys carted wheelbarrow loads of horse and burro manure, and buckets filled with creek water, to mix with the clay shavings.
Stacking bricks to dry in the sun
Stacking bricks to dry in the sun

The mixture varies according to the quality of the clay, but is usually about 10-15% manure, just enough water to achieve a plaster-like consistency, and sometimes small amounts of coarse sand.
To make clay roofing tiles: 1) Split 2’ length of de-barked log in half. 2) Oil or grease well. 3) Coat with approximately 3/4 inch of clay mixture. 4) Remove from log mold when well dried.
To make clay roofing tiles: 1) Split 2’ length of de-barked log in half. 2) Oil or grease well. 3) Coat with approximately ¾” of clay mixture. 4) Remove from log mold when well dried.

Young men and women stomped around in the sloppy mess, churning the mixture together. All the while, wheelbarrow loads of this mixture were hauled out and made into bricks using wooden molds. Then the molds were removed, regreased (by rubbing with rancid fat, or painting on a 50-50 mix of kerosene and used motor oil), and the “bricks” were left laying flat to dry in the sun. Bricks that had already dried enough to handle without falling apart were stacked on edge for further drying.
Stack into kiln and allow to dry thoroughly before firing.
Stack into kiln and allow to dry thoroughly before firing.

With everyone working together, we were producing 1,500 to 2,000 unfired bricks each day. Once enough of these bricks (about 7,500) had been very thoroughly dried by the sun and wind, they were stacked to form a large, open-topped kiln which was then filled to overflowing with wood hauled from the mountains, corn cobs carted from fields and cribs, well-dried goat, sheep, pig, and cattle manure, and just about any other sort of fuel they could collect.
Stacking dried bricks to form kiln, top view.
Stacking dried bricks to form kiln, top view.

Bricks stacked into kiln, side view. Bricks should be stacked at least 8’ high.
Bricks stacked into kiln, side view. Bricks should be stacked at least 8’ high.

Once lighted, this fire burned through two full days and nights, and then took another three days to cool enough to shovel away the ashes and coals. The bricks were just as hard as any you could have purchased.

After the firing, it was plain to see how the added manure does more than just hold the bricks together as they dry. During the firing, the manure in the bricks burns along with the other fuel. This not only burns the bricks harder, but leaves them porous enough to soak up some of the mortar as they’re laid, giving a stronger bond.

Essentially, the same process was used to fashion the roofing tiles. Some six and seven-inch diameter logs were sawn into two-foot lengths, split in half, and debarked. The rounded sides were greased and coated with about a ¾-inch-thickness of this same clay mixture. Once well dried in the sun, the hardened clay was very carefully removed from the wood. The tiles that didn’t break were stacked into the same type of open kiln stack, and left to complete the drying process. Those that didn’t survive removal from the “molds” were broken up and tossed back into the brick pit.

Once these tiles were totally dried out, the stack was again filled with whatever sorts of flammables could be collected together. This was then set afire, and allowed to burn itself out. Probably nearly a fourth of these tiles cracked or broke apart during the firing, but that didn’t faze anyone. They simply gave several of the smaller kids some fist-sized rocks, and set them to busting the damaged tiles into tiny bits. Later, the broken bits were used like gravel to fashion walkways around the new home.

Other logs, hauled down from the same mountains, were used to shape door and window frames, rafters and roof braces, pole-type roof sheathing, and other necessary items. There were still a few things that needed to be purchased however; nails, window glass, masonry cement, and so forth (which my friend’s in-laws happily sprang for). But for less than $1,000, the new couple had a spanking new 2,500 square-foot sturdy brick home, without owing anyone anything, except gratitude.

Read More Building & Tools Articles

[Has drawings and plans for this project at url...granny]

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For summertime baking needs,
build yourself an outdoor horno

By Rev. J.D. Hooker

My family has always been big on birthdays and holidays—including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, New Years, and so on. Every holiday is a major event at our house and always includes plenty of good eating. Whether you’re talking about birthday cakes, Thanksgiving turkey, a Christmas goose, or pies and cakes for July Fourth, there’s more than the normal amount of baking going on around here.

For the winter time holidays that extra baking is a welcome aid for keeping the chill out of the house. But when the warm weather holidays show up, all that extra heat from the oven doesn’t seem nearly as pleasant anymore. Click to Enlarge

A few years back I walked into our kitchen to see how my wife and daughters were coming along with their preparations for the Fourth of July holiday. Though the outdoor temperature was up over 90°, stepping inside the kitchen was like walking into a solid wall of heat. I didn’t think it could have been much hotter inside of the oven itself. I decided right then to do something about that.

Years earlier, I’d built a large outdoor fieldstone barbecue, so there already wasn’t too much stovetop type cooking during the summer months. A space beside this barbeque seemed like the most logical location for an outdoor oven, and that’s where I decided to build it.

Remembering the large outdoor adobe ovens I’d seen in use in northern Mexico and our southwestern states, I decided to build something similar for our use. But even though I know quite a bit about making adobe mud bricks, I really hadn’t too much of an idea of how to go about building one of those clay ovens. Today, I’m still not sure I did everything (or even anything) correctly. But the adobe type oven I built does work, and it works very well.

I know that even in wet climates adobe buildings can last for centuries, if their base is kept dry, the roof is kept in repair, and they’re kept painted to repel moisture. So the first thing I did was to shovel away the sod from the three-foot by three-foot area where I intended to build. Then I formed up the edges with 2x6s and mixed up my own concrete to pour sort of a floating slab base.

Next, I used some 1x4 lumber to fashion molds, as shown, for shaping the adobe bricks. Though I sized the molds to fashion bricks measuring 6-inches wide, 12-inches long, and 4-inches thick, any size you deem appropriate for your own uses would work equally well. Click to Enlarge

Beneath the layer of topsoil, the underlying subsoil in our area is made up of heavy limestone clay which is ideal for fashioning adobe. In areas with other soil types, I’d recommend incorporating about 15 or 20% Portland cement into the mixture. I ran two bales of old straw through the shredder I’d fashioned from a power lawn mower (covered in Issue No. 44, Mar/Apr 1997) to mix in with the clay for making adobe.

In front of our house, my wife had already picked a spot where she intended to add a new flower bed. An awful lot of compost and such would need to be added here if she really wanted to grow much of anything, and the soil I removed I could use to make the adobe. So I shoveled away the sod and the thin (maybe 3 inches) layer of top soil from the 3-foot by 12-foot section she’d indicated, after which I ran our rototiller back and forth over the spot several times until the underlying clay was very finely broken up. I then spread chopped straw over the area and used the tiller again to mix it in well.

Now I used the garden hose to add water, while continuing to mix things together with the tiller, until the mixture reached a consistency that resembled “Play Dough.” This damp adobe mixture was then shoveled into the molds, and the tops struck off evenly with a scrap of board. Afterwards the still soft bricks were very carefully removed from the molds and set in a sunny spot to dry out.

A week later, I covered the concrete pad with a triple layer of these dried adobe bricks. As shown in the illustration, a circle with an 18-inch radius was then scratched out on the top layer, with a 12-inch wide door opening also marked out. Following the scribed line, the first layer of adobe brick was laid in place. In the illustrations you can see how these bricks were trimmed to fit together (I used a worn out keyhole saw for this), Two more layers of adobe brick were set in place (as shown) in the same manner. I then used my hands to smear a layer of wet adobe over the entire inside of this lower portion to smooth the oven’s interior nicely.

Now three more layers of adobe brick were added, one layer at a time with the inside portion of each brick carefully trimmed to shape, and with each layer tapering in towards the middle as shown. A smooth finish layer of wet adobe was smeared over the interior side of these layers as well. I then smeared a 1-inch thick layer of wet adobe as smoothly as I could over the outside of the oven as well.

For weatherproofing purposes, I then mixed up a sort of stucco at a ratio of one shovelful each of Portland cement and masonry cement to nine shovelsful of sand. Using a regular concrete finishing trowel, I spread about a 3/8-inch thick coating of this cement mixture over the exterior of the whole thing, including the base. The next afternoon I brushed on a couple of coats of white house paint.

Cut bricks 2” from each edge toward opposite edge to bevel bricks for mounting in a circle for the 4th, 5th, and 6th layers. Increase the bevel progressively for the 7th, 8th, and 9th layers to dome the top of the stove.

A couple of months later, I erected sort of a small roofed open air pavilion like structure over the entire oven-barbecue area. This was only partially for further weather protection. Mostly it was at my wife’s insistence. She wanted to be certain that she could use her oven comfortably, even during inclement weather. I guess I must have done something right.

Though slightly different from using the gas or electric indoor ovens most of us have grown used to, baking in one of these adobe hornos couldn’t get much simpler. Usually my wife and daughters will prepare everything they want to bake first thing in the morning then they fill the entire oven with dried corn cobs or chunks of wood, and light them.

Once the fire has burned itself all the way out, the ashes are carefully (it’s hot inside the oven) swept out. A pair of adobe bricks are then used to cover the top opening, the food is placed inside, and the door is then blocked shut with a couple more adobe bricks.

It’s mostly only the timing that takes a little getting used to. Each one of these clay ovens really is an individual creation and takes familiarity to use. This style of oven does hold in the heat for a long time, but each time you open it up to check on things, it cools a trifle quicker; and the quicker it cools the longer the baking time. Once you’ve grown accustomed to your individual horno, however, you’ll find that it actually doesn’t seem much—if any—different from using a standard mass-produced appliance.

You know, aside from just your normal BHM reader’s bent towards self sufficiency, constructing such a simple, yet enduring and reliable baking oven doesn’t sound like such a bad idea for any of the folks worrying over this Y2K thing and other concerns either. Similar adobe ovens were used for at least a couple thousand years before gas or electric ovens were ever dreamed of, so you couldn’t care less if the supplies of fuel or power are interrupted.

Be that as it may, should you decide on fashioning your own outdoor adobe horno, you might want to try the recipes I’ve included to help you become familiar with it. Both are pretty forgiving about temperature and timing variations, so are especially easy for beginners.

The first recipe is one variety of the type of bread traditionally baked in the adobe ovens of our southwest. It’s also one of our family’s favorite wintertime breads and goes really well with stews, chowders, chilies, and similar one dish winter meals.

The second apparently originated in Portugal and was something that my mother learned to bake while my father was stationed in the Azores Islands for a short time during the Korean War. In the Azores this sweet bread is traditionally served during the Easter holidays, though in our family it’s become something of a staple at every holiday gathering.

Azore Island Easter Bread
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
1¼ cups white sugar
1 cup melted butter
¼ cup warm water 6¾ cups sifted white flour
9 large eggs
1/3 cup warm milk
½ tsp. salt
Mix together yeast, water, milk, sugar, and 1 cup flour and set aside in a warm place for 20 minutes or so. Add the salt, 3 more cups of the flour, butter, and eggs, and mix well. Keeping your hands well covered with flour, knead the remaining flour into the mix. This is a very sticky dough, so knead carefully. Place the dough inside of a well greased bowl, cover with a clean cloth and set aside in a warm place. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size (about 1½ hours).

Punch the dough down and divide in half. Place each half in a greased 1½ quart baking dish or loaf pan, and cover with a clean cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in size again (usually less than an hour). Place the loaves inside of the oven and cover the door. These loaves are also done when nicely browned and hollow sounding when tapped with your fingers. Check them after 1 hour, and if not finished check every 15 minutes until done.

My wife and I like this one with a little butter melted on top, while our daughters prefer it topped with honey, and our grandkids actually like it best once it’s become just a little dried out and they break it up into little pieces in a bowl, add milk, and eat it like breakfast cereal.

Traditional Adobe Oven Style Bread
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
5¾ cups sifted white flour 1¾ cups warm water
3 Tbsp. white sugar
4 Tbsp. melted butter or fat
Mix together the yeast, warm water, salt, sugar, and 1 cup of the flour; set aside in a warm place for 15-20 minutes. Stir in 2 more cups of flour and the melted shortening. Now stir in as much of the remaining flour as possible and then knead in the remainder. Continue kneading for an additional 5 minutes. Place the dough inside of a large well greased bowl and set aside in a warm place to rise, until doubled in size (about 1½ hours). Punch the dough down, divide in half, and place each half in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and again set aside to rise until doubled in size (about ¾ hour). Carefully turn each loaf out onto a well greased baking sheet and brush the tops lightly with warm water. Close up the loaves inside the oven and check after 45 minutes. Loaves are well browned and sound hollow when tapped with your fingers when done. If baking isn’t finished, recheck every 15 minutes until the loaves are done.

[Has plans/drawings at site]

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/hooker54.html

Has drawings and plans for the projects....on site.

Simplify life in your
backwoods home by
using these easy
mountain methods

By Rev. J.D. Hooker

Backwoods folk, or in my case, mountain folk, are typically very resourceful, utilizing whatever is on hand to make their lives easier and more pleasant. And hill-women are just as particular about neatness and cleanliness as their citybred sisters. In fact they can frequently become almighty vocally abusive towards anyone foolhardy enough to track mud across their clean floors.

So here are a few simple mountain methods I and some of my neighbors have used to make our life easier. The first couple can save you and the missus from a tremendous amount of hollering.

1. Boot scraper:

Even in mail-order catalogs you won’t come across items like this everyday, and when you do they’re generally fashioned of thin, stamped metal useful mainly for looking at. Yet, by merely driving a couple of strong hardwood stakes into the ground just outside your door and using a few nails to attach a beveled piece of hardwood 1-inch x 6-inches or 1-inch x 8-inches, it’s easy to scrape the mud and gunk off the bottoms of your shoes before heading inside.

2. Boot jack:

While I’ve seen these offered in equestrian shops and catalogs, they usually cost upwards of 20 bucks. As you can very readily see from the illustration, this same thing, serving exactly the same purpose, is simply put together from nothing more than a couple of stout sticks and a nail or two. So why not keep your cash in your own pocket while staying safely out of trouble by easily removing your muddy footwear before tracking indoors?

3. Planting sticks:

English gardeners have their “dib-bles,” with which they poke nice neat holes in their soil for ease in planting seeds, small bulbs, and so forth. In the Appalachian hill country, most folks would never even dream of shelling out hard-to-come-by cash for such a simple gadget. Especially when the same thing is so readily user-produced from nothing more than a properly forked limb. While such simple “dibbles” are pretty ideal for planting small kitchen gardens and beds, when planting larger areas it’s more normal to see one parent striding along with one sharply pointed walking stick in each hand, poking planting holes in two parallel rows at a time, while the other parent, or maybe one of the older children, follows behind dropping seeds into the holes. In the meantime, the smaller kids will be bringing up the rear, kicking dirt over each hole and firming up the soil over the seeds.

The missus amid her shotshell
cupboard door and drawer pulls

4. Coat and hat “racks:”

Though many mountain families have a variety of wooden pegs driven into the walls, mantel, and other handy places inside of the house, many consider the simple single deer antler multi-purpose rack, as shown in the photo, to be the best option of all. Depending upon the number of tines, such a ready-made rack can be used to hang a person’s coat, hat, gloves, or mittens, and maybe even a thick woolen scarf or two. Simply drill or burn a couple of holes through the heavy part of the antler’s main beam and nail in place.

5. Shotshell door and drawer pulls, and buttons:

“Use it over, use it up, make it do, or do without” seems to be one of the major credos which the hill people live by. Hunters in this area, which usually include everyone old enough to tote a firearm, aren’t any exception. Maybe mountain folk are better known for their superb rifle marksmanship, but in very many cases a shotgun has been found to be a much more versatile working firearm, and smoothbores are at least as common as rifled guns in much of the eastern mountains.

When I was a youngster, reloading “tools” usually consisted of a hammer and large nail, a few large washers, about a 3-inch length of ¾-inch iron pipe, and a couple of short dowel-like sticks. In any case, shotgun shells are normally repeatedly reloaded until they are absolutely used up, worn out, and completely unsafe to reload any longer. Even after they’ve reached this point these hulls still aren’t usually discarded, but go into a box, bucket, or can of “calamities” until they are needed to fashion drawer pulls or buttons, as required.

Carefully following the illustrations will allow you to use up your own worn-out shotgun hulls in a worthwhile manner. They really do add a nice, and rather unique, look when employed in this manner.

6. Corn shuck mop:

I’ve already mentioned that Appalachian mountain women are just as fastidious about housekeeping as any city women might be, while they’re also usually exactingly frugal and mighty inventive, using up any- thing and everything available to keep their domicile in tip-top condition. And this is how this simple, hardscrubbing mop very probably was born. I can picture some long ago mountain wife devising such a handy contraption from practically nothing at all, with women in the surrounding mountains and valleys readily dupli- cating her newly devised invention.

Using nothing more than a piece of board, a small quantity of leftover corn shucks, and a stout stick handle for materials, and a drill with ¾-inch bit, a sharp knife, and a pair of sharp scissors as tools, it’s relatively easy to follow the illustrations in fashioning your own corn shuck mop, entirely capable of scrubbing floors and such just as well as anything that’s available at the mall.

7. Corn shuck mats:

Whether the interest might be in producing corn meal, grits, hominy, or ‘shine, corn is the staple crop of these Appalachian ranges. It’s from one of this crop’s byproducts—the shucks or husks removed from around the ears—that door mats, table setting place mats, and many similar items are traditionally home-manufactured. As shown in the illustrations, very simple braiding and sewing techniques are the only skills you need to produce an array of good, usable, and unique items.

8. Water wheel water pump:

Though this particular mountain-style craft is a bit more complex to put together than the rest of these projects, it’s still a worthwhile endeavor. Actually, it’s only been during the last couple of decades that electricallypowered well pumps have become affordably available throughout most of these mountain regions. In fact, until quite recently even shallow wells have been considered as exceptionally valuable commodities. Of course clear, cold mountain streams are pretty common in the area, but streams still don’t just flow right in to your standard stock tank or out of your kitchen tap.

I don’t know right when these hardy and inventive mountain dwelling folks figured out that it was possible to harness the power flowing through these mountain streams to operate the pumps drawing water from their wells and cisterns, but it must have been a mighty long time ago because my grandmother (long since deceased) remembered the method shown in the illustration to have already been a very old idea when she was in her early childhood. While similar set-ups are still seeing daily use today in many areas, there isn’t any reason this won’t work just as well in any off-grid location.

So whether your own rural homestead is located somewhere along Florida’s eastern seaboard, northern California’s coast, or any place in between, many of these methods and contrivances, developed or used by the rugged hill-folk of the Appalachian mountain regions, are readily put to good use in any remote area. It just takes a mite of a backwoods attitude.

http://tim-gamble.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-to-do-now-five-months-later.html

Saturday, February 21, 2009

What To Do Now - five months later

Five months ago, the current financial crisis & recession “hit the fan.” In truth, it had been brewing for some time but had gone largely unnoticed by politicians, government officials, business leaders and the general public. It was caused by a combination of too easy credit, poor public policy and corruption on Wall Street and in corporate board rooms across America and elsewhere. High energy prices, with oil peaking close to $150/barrel over the summer, also contributed to the mess to some extent.

Shortly after the financial crisis hit, I wrote an essay entitled What To Do Now. It was one of my most widely read essays of 2008, and the essay for which I received the most positive feedback by far of anything I have ever written. Many folks took the time to write me notes on my Yahoo groups and to my private email.

This essay, What To Do Now - five months later, is a follow-up to that original essay. Five months, in the larger scheme of things, is not really much time. But a lot has happened in the last five months. Much of what is being done (printing huge amounts of money, spending almost unimaginable sums, taking on massive amounts of new debt and obligations) is failing to correct the situation, is destabilizing currencies, and is setting up the entire world for an extended period of high inflation and higher taxes.

Taking into account the developments of the last five months and my increased concerns over inflation, I’ve rewritten my original essay.

What To Do Now - five months later

Don’t panic. There is no doubt that we are in difficult economic times. And there is good reason to be quite concerned about the future. There is also no doubt that the economic news is being sensationalized and fear is being used to sell newspapers, increase TV ratings and to push political agendas. Don’t get overwhelmed by the hype. Instead, start working towards solutions. Acting to make positive changes, even small ones, will increase your confidence and encourage yourself, your family and your friends.

Get healthy and fit. Health care costs will sky-rocket, even more than in recent years. Health care will be even more problematic should the system be nationalized. Make sure you have adequate health insurance - as much as you can afford. But the real insurance is to be healthy so that you don’t have to be a customer of the health care system. Stop smoking. Invest in a cookbook or two of healthy recipes. Learn to eat right. Develop healthy habits. Lose weight and get into shape. It is extremely important to spend some time and effort to improve your health.

Basic Steps to Improve Health & Vitality:

1- Avoid smoking and/or abusing drugs or alcohol.
2- Get between 7 & 9 hours of sleep per night.
3- Consume less meat, especially red meat.
4- Eat 5+ servings of fruit & vegetables a day.
5- Eat whole grains instead of refined grains.
6- Consume less sodium & refined sugar.
7- Be physically active everyday.
8- Visit your doctor & dentist for regular check ups.

Get back to basics. Make sure you are spending less than you earn. Avoid taking own any new debt - don’t use credit cards, payday loans or installment payment plans of any type. Pay cash or make do without. Get on a budget or spending plan and stick to it. Avoid impulse purchases. Scale back your lifestyle sharply. Use shopping lists, clip coupons and do comparison shopping.

Eliminate debt and build savings. We are facing difficult economic times. It will be especially difficult for the folks who are living paycheck to paycheck, in debt up to their eyeballs and with little or no savings. Debt – whether personal, business or government – is bad. It creates stress and makes one much more vulnerable to economic downturns.

In your personal life, work quickly towards eliminating consumer debt – credit cards, car loans, payday loans, personal loans and installment plans. This will mean you have to put yourself on a budget and stick with it. It will mean putting off major purchases, avoiding impulse purchases and denying yourself luxury items. It may mean taking bag lunches to work. It may mean selling your car to get out of the loan. It may mean having a major yard sale to raise some money. It may even mean taking on a second job. It will take sacrifice to eliminate debt in your life, but the benefits will be more than worth it.

Building some emergency savings will have to be done at the same time. Yard sales are a great way to bring in extra cash to do this. So is a second job in the evenings or on the weekends. Put the money somewhere safe, such as an insured CD or money market account in a stable bank or credit union (do your own homework or check with one of several companies that offer ratings on the soundness and safety of various financial institutions). Don’t worry about getting top interest. Safety and liquidity is your goal for your emergency savings, not growth.

If you are fortunate enough to have a considerable amount of cash savings, you might want to put a major portion of it in currencies more sound than the US dollar or the British sterling. Jim Rogers, co-founder with George Soros of the Quantum Fund, is exiting both the dollar and the sterling in favor of Swiss Franks and Japanese Yen. He has also recently mentioned the Canadian dollar as a relatively sound currency. The Australian dollar and Norwegian krone are two more to consider. Consult a financial professional you trust about money market funds in these currencies.

Once your debt is paid off and you have accumulated some emergency savings, you can then turn your attention to savings for long-range goals such as the purchase of a car, a new home, your children’s education, or your retirement. Use common sense, avoid overly-risky investments and seek professional advice of someone you can trust.

No investment is perfectly safe. Cash savings are subject to losing value to inflation. Stocks and mutual funds are subject to the ups and downs of the market. Land is subject to property taxes and eminent domain. Converting all your money to gold & silver and burying it in the backyard is subject to thieves. There are no guarantees in life. The best you can do is use reason & common sense, to remain vigilant and to take responsibility for ensuring your own future.

Why pay off debt if we are headed towards high inflation? It may be true that by waiting to pay off debt, you will be paying it off with cheaper dollars. However, there are other considerations. For one, debt puts you, your family and your assets at risk. Pay off your debts now while you are employed and you run less risk of losing your home or other assets if you become unemployed later. Also, debt can be very stressful, especially in difficult times, which can be a real detriment to both your health and your ability to make calm decisions. Another reason is that debt can shackle you to your current job and circumstances, when what is really needed at a time like this is freedom and flexibility. Finally, people tend not to realize how fast interest, late fees and other penalties can add up. You may be paying off your debt later with cheaper dollars, but still be paying more in real terms because of all the added interest and penalties.

Rethink your telecommunications expenses. When I was young (the 1970s) the only telecommunications expense my family, most families, had was the telephone and that was a land line, of course. Today, many (most?) families pay for a land line, multiple cell phones, special ring tones, texting privileges, cable or satellite TV, extra movie channels, Internet connections, even satellite radio subscriptions. For most families, huge savings can be found in this budget category.

Mostly, these things are used as distractions, and often are a major contributing factor to obesity and a lack of physical fitness. Replace much of these distractions with learning, reading, exercise (gardening, walking, jogging, hiking, tennis, golf, swimming, etc.), and shared activities such as a family game night.

When I mention cutting back this category, I occasionally hear people whine that they really need a cell phone. Fine. You must decide for yourself what you really need and don’t need. But even if you do need a cell phone for emergencies and such, you don’t need a camera phone, special ring tones, texting privileges or the largest minutes package available. I have a cell phone myself, but it is the basic model that I got for free when I signed up. I don’t have texting and I’ve never paid for a special ring tone. A cell phone may be a necessity for many today, but all the bells and whistles are a luxury you can do without.

Reduce your entertainment expenses. We may hate denying ourselves, but entertainment is a purely optional budget expense. Eliminate it. Learn (or re-learn) how to have a good time for free or nearly free. Start a family game night. Read a book (checked out from the library for free) instead of going to a movie. Libraries are a wonderful source of free entertainment. In addition to books and magazines, many libraries today also offer DVDs, CDs and even board games that you can check out. Many have story times for young children and lecture series for adults. Invite friends over for a weekend cook-out or a movie night (DVD checked out for free from the library of course). Next week they can invite you over.

Give up the vacation away from home. Instead of heading for the beach or Disneyland or wherever, stay home. Spend a week visiting local museums, zoos, botanical gardens, historical sites, parks or wildlife refuges. Go on a picnic or nature hike. Go fishing at a local lake. Play frisbee with your kids in the backyard. Or just relax at home, thinking of all the money you are saving.

Reduce you home energy use. Turn off lights, TVs and electronics whenever you leave a room. Set your thermostat to conserve energy. Switch from incandescent lighting to CFLs or LED lighting. Replace old appliances with new, energy-efficient models. Super-insulate your house. Consider installing energy efficient windows and heating with a modern wood stove. Consider a passive solar system for your home. Read my series, The Resource Miser, for lots of tips on reducing your energy usage and saving money.

I do believe we are headed into a period of very high inflation, especially energy inflation, within the next few years. Spending money now to greatly reduce your energy use may be the best investment most people can make.

Reduce the amount of fuel you use. Make sure your vehicle’s tires are properly inflated and the engine is well-maintained (tune-ups, oil changes, a clean air filter) to maximize mileage. Drive less by walking, car pooling and using public transportation, as well as planning & combining trips. Consider replacing your old vehicle with a newer one that gets much better mileage. Check out the essay Three Changes to Save Big on Gas.

Oil and gasoline will remain cheap, and may even go lower, during the current economic crisis. However, as we start to come out of current problems - and we will at some point - oil and gasoline will experience super-inflation. I can see a situation where oil is still under $50/barrel at the end of 2009 and near $250/barrel by the end of 2010. It is possible that gasoline may hit $8 a gallon in the US by the end of next year, after staying below $2/gallon for the rest of this year.

In addition to experiencing super-inflation, energy is one area very likely to be heavily taxed to pay for all the bail-out plans and excess spending currently going on. The idea of taxing car owners per each mile they drive has already been floated by Obama’s Transportation Secretary (and thankfully shot down for now). An increase in the federal gasoline tax is already being talked about by both congress and the Obama administration. Dramatically increased energy taxes in some form are virtually guaranteed within the next couple of years.

Consider a new career. Start a business of your own or switch to a career that has a better future than the one you are in right now. Consider a career in sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry, renewable energy or water treatment, as well as industries dealing with energy and resource efficiency. These industries not only need scientists, engineers and technicians, but also salespeople, accountants, trainers, office staff and other support positions. People such as construction workers, plumbers, electricians and mechanics are needed to build new infrastructure and buildings, as well as retro-fit existing buildings and automobiles.

Next Strategies is my website that acts a a portal to the new energy economy, also known as the green economy. Check it out on a regular basis.

Stock up. Super-inflation isn’t going to hit during the middle of the current economic crisis. The time to watch out for is as we start to emerge from current problems. Energy prices, led by oil and gasoline, will catch fire. Following quickly on the heels of high energy inflation will be food and other commodities (the basic building blocks - such as metals, timber, wool, cotton - of all the things we buy). Consumer goods and services will follow soon thereafter. Use this year as an opportunity to stock up on many supplies.

Canned and dry foods can last 2 -5 years. Wood for your fireplace or wood-burning stove can be stacked up in your backyard. Composted cow manure, bone meal, hummus and other soil amendments can be used to improve your soil for future use. Most seeds have a shelf-life of 3 to 5 years. Extra shoes, clothes, toothbrushes, razors, soap, paper towels, tires and many other useful items can be stored almost indefinitely. Consider purchasing a tank or two to store some water.

Needed and useful items that you stock up on (for future use or bartering) are very much a form of savings. With the debasing of the US dollar, and many other currencies worldwide, such stockpiles may be a good place to put some of your savings.

Take personal security seriously. We should expect crime to rise dramatically during the difficult times ahead. Identity theft, fraud, con games, check kiting schemes, buglery, car theft, armed robbery and even kidnapping for ransom are very likely to increase. People who stand out as being “rich” will be very tempting targets, but even the poor can be victims. Don’t flaunt your wealth. Be aware of your surroundings. Be vigilant about your protecting your financial information and identity. Always read the fine print. If you are wealthy, a gated community with private security may become a necessity. If you live in a regular neighborhood, start a community watch program. Teach your kids to be very wary of strangers and aware of their surroundings at all times. Avoid the seedier parts of town whenever possible. Try not to shop or run errands alone, especially at night.

Twelve Ways to Spend Less Money

1- Avoid impulse purchases by shopping with checklists, and sticking to the lists.

2- See something you want that isn’t on your list? Don’t buy it, write it down and add it to your list next time. Chances are good that after you have had a day or two to think about it, the impulse to buy it will go away.

3- Avoid impulse purchases by paying with cash, not credit cards. This way you will immediately will see & feel the pain of the purchase.

4- Avoid shopping for fun or entertainment. Don’t go to the mall or shopping center just to have something to do.

5- Avoid social shopping with friends. People tend to talk each other into things, not out of them.

6- Do not watch infomercials or home shopping channels.

7- Do not catalog shop unless you are looking for something specific.

8- Shop for quality not quantity. Something that costs more because it is of better quality and will last longer will be cheaper in the long run than something that initially costs less, but will wear out or break quicker.

9- Stick with classic styles and colors, rather than styles that are “in” at the moment. Avoid fads.

10- Consider renting something instead of buying it if you will only use it once or very occasionally.

11- Cancel newspapers and magazines that you don’t read thoroughly or need professionally. Most will even refund the unused portion of your subscription.

12- Make use of your local library for newspapers, magazines, books, DVDs and CDs. Only buy those that you cannot get for free at the library or that you will use repeatedly.
Posted by Tim Gamble

http://www.hr.duke.edu/sos/simplife.html

SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE!

Here are 10 easy steps to organized living.

1. Organization is a skill.
It is not an inborn trait (No matter what my mother says!) Like any skill, it takes practice and work to master. But you can learn it and make it part of your daily life.

2. Clutter is enemy number one. Most of us have problems getting
organized because we simply have too much stuff. It is shoved into closets, piled under the bed, stacked on the dryer, lying the great big heaps on the bedroom floor and looming on our desktops. Our clutter is the heart of the problem. Imagine if you lived on a desert island with only three possessions. It would be pretty hard to be disorganized, wouldn’t it?

3. You have to know what you want. It’s not about organizing your physical space, it’s about organizing your mental, psychological, and spiritual space, too. If you don’t know what your goals are, getting organized isn’t going to help you achieve them but it’s an excellent first step to making enough space in your life to figure out where you want to go.

4. Organization is part housework. Sadly, getting organized is not a project
that you can do once and forget about forever, just like you can’t do the laundry once. Life goes on, and those little organizational tasks will keep creeping up on you. The good news is that you can create a simple system so that being organized becomes a habit.

5. and part decision-making. Should I toss that purple t-shirt? Where
should I store the scissors? What do I do about the unwanted gift I got from my great aunt Doris? Decision-making is what makes organizing different that housework, and this is why you can’t hire a housekeeper. You can, however, hire someone to help you get started, and once you get good at making a decision, getting organized and staying organized becomes simple.

6. Perfectionism is an obstacle to organized living. We just don’t have
enough time in the day to make sure that everything in our lives is perfect. Perfectionism gets in the way of our priorities by causing us to focus on insignificant details instead of the big picture. Repeat after me! Some things worth doing are not worth doing well!! Organization is about focusing on the big picture and making room for the important parts of our lives.

7. It’s important to have the right tools and the right skills. It’s just too
darn hard to do a job right when you’re not properly equipped. Ditch those squeaky file drawers, rusty scissors and dried out ball-point pens. Think about the job you need to do and make sure you’ve got the basic tools to do the job right. This means that you’ll have sharp knives in the kitchen, a working stapler in the office, and that you’ll have finally learned how to use the electric drill in the garage.

8. Simplicity is part of the solution. Organization and simplicity share a
piece of the same spectrum. Simplifying our lives is the notion that it makes sense for us to pare down the activities and stuff that we cram into our lives, and focus instead on just those parts of life that truly matter to us, whether that means our kids, our partners, and wonderful career, volunteer work in Kenya or a hobby making model airplanes. Another part of the spectrum is the idea that

9. Frugality is a worthy goal. Organization is economical. When you are
organized, you don’t have to buy duplicates, you don’t loose, break, or ruin quite so many belongings, you have the time and the inclination to repair things when they do break, ravel, and come unglued, and you don’t feel the need to drown your disorganized sorrows with an evening at the mall. You can buy in bulk and on sale, and you don’t need to eat out as often (because you end up with a little time to cook). Frugality doesn’t have much to do with how much money you have, only with your attitude toward that cash.

10. Organization is good for the environment. For many of the same
reasons organization is frugal, it’s environmentally friendly, too. The organized person is a bit more likely to practice reducing, reusing, and recycling, that is, “Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without.”

http://tim-gamble.blogspot.com/2009/02/mvm-027-better-soil.html

Thursday, February 12, 2009
MVM #027 - Better Soil
MVM is the official newsletter of the Modern Victory Movement.

MVM #027 - Building Better Soil

One of the primary tenets of MVM is to encourage people to raise and preserve much of their own food (the “Victory Garden” aspect of MVM). A part of this tenet is improving the soil so that you can grow lots of nutritious fruits and vegetables. But, how do you improve the soil?

Two excellent articles to read on the subject of improving your soil are:

Build Better Garden Soil - An article By Harvey Ussery from Mother Earth News.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/2007-04-01/Better-Garden-Soil.aspx

The Soul of Soil - by the staff of Countryside & Small Stock Journal

http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/83/83-5/the_soul_of_soil.html

Home Composting!

How to Make Compost, Courtesy of Ohio State University:

Composting is a great way to discard yard waste and kitchen scraps. In many cases, it’s more economical than paying to have these wastes hauled away. And you can improve the health of your soil by adding the compost to your garden or yard.

To construct a composting area, determine the size. “A large compost pile will insulate itself and hold the heat of microbial activity,” said Joe Heimlich, environmental science leader for Ohio State University Extension. “Its center will be warmer than its edges. Piles smaller than 3 feet cubed (27 cu. ft.)will have trouble holding this heat, while piles larger than 5 feet cubed (125 cu. ft.) don’t allow enough air to reach the microbes at the center. These proportions are of importance only if your goal is a fast, hot compost. Slower composting requires no exact proportions.”

First, remove the grass and sod from the designated area. This allows decaying materials direct contact with soil microorganisms. Heimlich suggests the following “recipe” for constructing compost heaps that work the fastest:

* First layer: about 3-4 inches of chopped brush or other coarse material on top of the soil surface allow air circulation around the base of the heap.

* Second layer: About 6-8 inches of mixed scraps, leaves, grass clippings or sawdust. Materials should be “sponge damp.”

* Third layer: One inch of soil serves as an innoculant by adding microorganisms to the heap.

* Fourth layer (optional): About 2-3 inches of manure will provide the nitrogen needed by microorganisms. Sprinkle lime, wood ashes and/or rock phosphate over the layer of manure to reduce the heap’s acidity. Add water if the manure is dry.

* Fifth layer: Repeat steps 1-4 until the bin is almost full. Top off the heap with a 4-6 inch layer of straw and scoop out a basin at the top to catch rainwater.

Your compost heap should reach temperatures between 120 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit in four to five days. The pile should then begin to settle-a sign the heap is working properly.

After five or six weeks, move materials into a new pile and turn the contents so that the outside of the old heap is now the center of the new heap. Add water if necessary.

Your compost should be ready to use in three to four months. For spring compost, start a heap in late autumn. For fall compost, start a pile in early spring. The more often you turn the pile, the faster you will have compost. Check the internal temperature regularly and if it changes substantially (usually after about a week), turn the pile.

You’ll know when your compost is done “baking” because it will be dark brown, crumbly and earthy-smelling. Be sure to let it stabilize for a few extra days and screen it through a half-inch screen if you want a finely textured material.

Vermiculture

Vermiculture is composting with worms. The wikipedia article on vermiculture is a great introduction, as is the earth911 article on composting with worms.

Composting Toilets

The use of composting toilets is a great way to turn human waste into compost and safe, usable soil. Done correctly, it is very hygienic and there is no odor. See the wikipedia article on composting toilets for an introduction.

Short documentary on composting toilets:

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Posted by Tim Gamble