Weekly Roundup - Living On Nothing Edition [Survival Today

Did you hear about the guy that lives on nothing? No seriously, he lives on zero dollars a day. Meet Daniel Suelo, who lives in a cave outside Moab, Utah. Suelo has no mortgage, no car payment, no debt of any kind. He also has no home, no car, no television, and absolutely no “creature comforts.” But he does have a lot of creatures, as in the mice and bugs that scurry about the cave floor he’s called home for the last three years.

To us, Suelo probably sounds a little extreme. Actually, he probably sounds very extreme. After all, I suspect most of you reading this are doing so under the protection of some sort of man-made shelter, and with some amount of money on your person, and probably a few needs for money, too. And who doesn’t need money unless they have completely unplugged from the grid? Still, it’s an amusing story about a guy who rejects all forms of consumerism as we know it.

How to Brew Your Own Beer and Maybe Save Some Money. A fantastic introduction to home brewing, something I’ve never done myself, but always been interested in trying. (@Generation X Finance)

Contentment: A Great Financial Principle. If I had to name one required emotion for living a frugal lifestyle it would be contentment. Once you are content with your belongings and your lot in life you can ignore forces attempting to separate you from your money. (@Personal Finance by the Book)

Use Energy Star Appliances to Save On Utility Costs. I enjoyed this post because it included actual numbers, and actual total savings, from someone who upgraded to new, energy star appliances. (@The Digerati Life)

Over-Saving for Retirement? Is it possible to “over-save” for retirement? Yes, I think so. At some point I like the idea of putting some money aside in taxable investments outside of retirement funds, to be accessed prior to traditional retirement age. (@The Simple Dollar)

40 Things to Teach My Kids Before They Leave Home. A great list of both practical and philosophical lessons to teach your kids before they reach the age where they know everything. I think that now happens around 13 years-old. (@My Supercharged Life)

Index Fund Investing Overview. If you are looking for a place to invest with high diversification and relatively low fees (for broader index funds with low turnover), index funds are a great place to start. (@Money Smart Life)

5 Reasons To Line Dry Your Laundry. My wife and I may soon be installing a clothesline in our backyard. In many neighborhoods they are frowned upon - one of the reasons I don’t like living in a neighborhood. I digress. One of our neighbors recently put up a clothesline, and we might just follow his lead. (@Simple Mom)

* 4 Quick Tips for Getting Out of a Rut * Young and Cash Rich * Embracing Simple Style * First Trading Experience With OptionsHouse * The Exponential Power of Delayed Consumption * How Much Emergency Fund is Enough? * 50 Questions that Will Free Your Mind * Save Money On Car Insurance

You’re invited to a free webinar on DIY Biodiesel: Keeping It Safe, Keeping It Legal !

This FREE webinar is the second in a series on farm-scale biodiesel production.

DIY Biodiesel: Keeping It Safe, Keeping It Legal will help the novice biodiesel producer on the right track to establishing safe and legal production practices. It will cover safety practices including:

* personal safety
* workspace safety
* materials handling and regulations
* waste stream handling
* methanol; and
* compatibility with equipment and environmental safety and regulations

There will also be time to ask and get answers to your questions.

The webinar will feature a presentation by NCAT energy specialist and biodiesel homebrewer Rich Dana, along with special guest expert Steve Fugate. Dana is an energy specialist in NCAT’s Midwest office. He is an avid biodiesel home brewer, producing more than 400 gallons a year for use as a farm and heating fuel. In the past he has operated a community biodiesel pilot project in Grinnell, Iowa, and served as president of the Iowa Renewable Energy Association and legislative liaison for the Iowa Farmers Union. Fugate is the founder of the Yoderville Biodiesel Collective in Kalona, Iowa, and the biodiesel project leader for the Iowa DNR’s Trails Crew.

This free webinar will be held Thursday, January 28th at 11 a.m. MST. Please register in advance at http://www.attra.ncat.org/webinars2010/biodiesel2.

On the day of the presentation, please log on to the webinar Web site 10 minutes early to allow the required software to download. You can then listen to the webinar through your computer’s speakers and see the presentation slides on your computer screen. You may also listen to the webinar by calling a phone number provided after you register online.

TITLE: DIY Biodiesel: Keeping It Safe, Keeping It Legal
WHEN: Thursday, January 28th, 11 a.m. MST
WHERE: http://www.attra.ncat.org/webinars2010/biodiesel2

Please join us on January 28th for this informative webinar.

ATTRA — National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (http://www.attra.ncat.org) is one of the nation’s oldest and most respected sources for sustainable agriculture information. Resources include hundreds of expert publications and worksheets, as well as sustainable agriculture specialists who provide personalized technical assistance on sustainable agriculture topics. ATTRA is funded under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service (http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/index.html) and managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) (http://www.ncat.org), a nonprofit organization focusing on sustainable agriculture, energy and communities.

The following reports were added to the Open CRS database on Saturday January 09, 2010

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program: Background and Issues for Congress
RL30563 - December 22, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/RL30563/

Air Force Next-Generation Bomber: Background and Issues for Congress
RL34406 - December 22, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/RL34406/

U.S. Nuclear Cooperation with India: Issues for Congress
RL33016 - December 17, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/RL33016/

Chile: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations
R40126 - December 10, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/R40126/

Kuwait: Security, Reform, and U.S. Policy
RS21513 - December 09, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/RS21513/

Iran Sanctions
RS20871 - December 09, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/RS20871/

Status of the Copenhagen Climate Change Negotiations
R40910 - December 09, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/R40910/

Spyware: Background and Policy Issues for Congress
RL32706 - December 09, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/RL32706/

Iraq: Politics, Elections, and Benchmarks
RS21968 - December 08, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/RS21968/

China’s Currency: A Summary of the Economic Issues
RS21625 - December 07, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/RS21625/

Strategic Arms Control After START: Issues and Options
R40084 - December 07, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/R40084/

The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement
R40502 - December 07, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/R40502/

Spring Food Crisis May Trigger Economic Collapse

farmers across America and in many other parts of the world are calling 2009 the worst harvest they’ve ever seen – largely due to extended bouts of bad weather

January 7, 2010
By Michael Hampton

You have maybe two months to stock up on the necessities of life before food prices rise dramatically, potentially prompting a food panic, widespread famine, and quite possibly the long-expected collapse of the U.S. economy.

Farmers across America and in many other parts of the world are calling 2009 the worst harvest they’ve ever seen in their lives, owing largely to extended bouts of bad weather. At the same time the U.S. Department of Agriculture is officially forecasting bumper crops, while grain elevators stand nearly empty and close to three-fourths of the country’s farmland is in areas declared eligible for federal disaster assistance due to failed crops.

A popular farmers’ Web site is chock full of stories of entire crops of soybeans rejected for moisture damage, long delays in harvesting corn only to find out the corn is moldy, damaged or too light to be used as animal feed or even ethanol, and farmers unsure if they’ll even have a farm for another year due to the losses they’ve taken.

Most agricultural products are purchased in futures, which are promises to deliver a quantity of a commodity at a future date. Futures carry many risks, prominent among them the possibility that the commodity simply won’t be available at the promised delivery date. While futures prices are set by the market, some of the information used to set the prices comes from the USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates reports. The unrealistic 2009 bumper crop predictions in its recent reports, which may have seemed reasonable months ago before 2009’s long string of bad weather but which USDA has failed to revise, drove futures prices artificially low.

But grain futures prices have already risen well above the USDA’s latest projections as the corn harvest threatens to drag on into March in some areas of the country, thanks to an unusually wet 2009 and unprecedented fall flooding in the Midwest.

The good news is that even with 2009 being the worst harvest in human memory, there will still be plenty of food in the U.S. to feed everyone in the U.S. The bad news — if you’re in the U.S. — is that the food won’t be used to feed everyone in the U.S.

It seems China has finally figured out what to do with all the U.S. dollars it’s holding. You’ll recall that the Federal Reserve took some pretty extreme measures over the last two years, ostensibly to save the U.S. economy. In fact, those measures have set us up the bomb. For decades China has been buying U.S. debt and financing Americans’ credit addiction as well as the government’s massive spending on millions of projects it has no business being involved in. But, it seems, they’ve had enough of the dollar and are about to pull the plug.

In the meantime, China has been using those dollars to buy every morsel of American food it can get its hands on. Combined with 2009’s bad weather and the USDA’s ridiculous numbers, this prompted a late August soybean shortage which is expected to continue through 2010.

The U.S. has a very good reason to fudge the numbers on crop estimates. If it published realistic numbers, and crop futures prices rose sharply, three things would likely happen: Wall Street would take massive losses, inflation fears would cause investors to dump bonds, frustrating the government’s attempts to finance its incredible expanding debt, and most importantly, China, whose currency is tied closely to the U.S. dollar, would allow it to appreciate. That alone would likely send the U.S. dollar into freefall; all three would mean utter economic collapse.

Of course, you can’t fool the market for long; as noted above, futures prices are already well above the USDA’s numbers. All they really managed to do with their numbers game was buy the U.S. dollar another year of life.

One market analyst believes that the 2010 food shortage will be the catalyst which not only brings about the collapse of the U.S. economy, but takes down Great Britain and Japan with it.

While a food crisis was unavoidable to some extent because of the abnormal weather and financial crisis, the total panic which will soon grip world agricultural markets is a creation of the USDA and its fictitious production estimates. If not for the USDA’s interference, food prices would have risen in the first half of 2009 in anticipation of the 2009/10 shortage. The United States Department of Agriculture has caused incalculable damage to the world economy by encouraging overconsumption of rapidly diminishing food supplies.
Once the 2010 Food Crisis starts, confidence in the US government will be shattered as a result of the USDA’s faulty estimates. The starvation and misery caused by higher food prices will also create a lot of anger . . . — Market Skeptics

In this scenario, rural banks will begin failing rapidly, especially in the Midwest, and the inevitable bailouts will drive up U.S. debt further. These bailouts, combined with the Chinese allowing the yuan to appreciate, will erode confidence in the U.S. dollar to the point that foreign banks and investors begin dumping U.S. debt at fire sale prices. At that point the Federal Reserve will have no choice but to print money, leading directly to hyperinflation.

I shouldn’t have to tell you what hyperinflation will look like, but in case you need a reminder, it will likely make the Great Depression look like a minor recession. Tens of millions of people who have never known want in their entire lives are going to be shocked to wake up broke and hungry, with no idea what happened or why it happened to them. The government will almost certainly be unable to fulfill its promises of food stamps, social security and other such welfare programs. Food riots are likely and people will almost certainly die when the government attempts to put them down.

Worst of all, almost nobody will assign blame where it truly belongs: central banks and fiat currency.

Market Skeptics and many other foreign investors I’ve seen quoted widely in foreign media but virtually never in the U.S., recommend investing in agriculture, except derivatives, and in precious metals. I also recommend you invest in as much nonperishable food as you can lay hands on in the next two months, at least a year’s supply if you can manage it. If there’s no collapse, you can eat it, and if there is, you’ll at least have something to eat. And when you read a headline such as “Yuan allowed to rise versus dollar,” it’s time to head for the hills.

http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2010/01/07/spring-food-crisis-may-trigger-economic-collapse/

>>>My pantry is over flowing.<<<

Well, we are making a dent in ours - think we have eaten about 7 or 8 cases so far...

Of course potatoes, butternuts, cabbage, etc all add to it.

I am looking for two more racks 6’tall and 3’wide as I still have some stacked in cases. As well as the 5 gallon pails (have only used two of them so far. One sugar and one flour)

Oh, and can’t forget the dried veggies and meat... Had venison stew - all from dried the other night. Yum... Venison, potatoes, green beans, mushrooms, limas, corn, zucchini and yellow summer squash. All dried. Fresh made biscuits and pickled watermelon rind- Mmmmm Mmmmm Good. On that snowy, cold day with the wind getting 30-40 mph,wind chill about 6 degrees, the dinner was a huge hit with everyone.

We MAY finish up most of the pickled items I got on a kick and made two years ago... Sauerkraut, broccoli, beets, relish, sweet and dill pickles, mixed vegetable pickles, pickled green tomatoes and pickled green beans. Made way more than we could have eaten, so this year I will probably pickle up a storm again.

Sure is a reassuring feeling.

Just canned up some more too - store had boneless-skinless chicken breasts for .99 - so we canned up 3 cases of them and froze a bunch more.

They can say 6% inflation all they want, but I can show you many items that have more than doubled in the last year!

As the seed catalogs are now starting to trickle in, I’m going through my saved seeds and deciding what new ones I’ll need for this year. The way things look, I’m planning to increase garden size again this year by about 50% - Gee, won’t have much time for FR this summer LOL.

Oh, and I am still getting some Romaine lettuce from the garden... that cover has kept it great.

http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/Credit%20Crunch%20Recipes.htm

Credit Crunch Recipes
A collection of cheap recipes for the credit crunch

Published September 2008

This page is part of a series of articles on this site devised to give practical advice for saving money and preventing unnecessary food wastage. That’s extra money in the bank to spend on other things.

See Also: - Introduction | Cutting your Food Bills | BOFOFs (Buy one Get One Free) | Money Saving Foods

Below are just a few main course recipes on this site which will help you beat the credit crunch. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to find lots more similar recipes throughout the site which will enable you to save money on your food shopping bill whilst still being able to prepare delicious, exciting and nutritious recipes for yourself, your family and your friends.

Key:- Veg = Vegetarian HT = Hot CD = Cold MC = Main Course

Recipes using Leftovers Soup Recipes

Eggs & Vegetarian economical recipes

Chilli Omelette Veg HT MC 20mins

Chickpeas with Raisins Veg HT MC Moroccan 35mins

Cannelloni with Mushrooms Veg HT MC 40mins

Creamy Spinach Pasta Bake Veg HT MC 45mins

Cheese and Onion Quiche Veg HT MC 50mins

Cheese Stuffed Courgettes Veg HT MC 50mins

Cheese and Spinach Pie Veg HT MC 90mins

Economical Meat recipes

Egyptian Kofta HT MC 20mins plus chilling

Coriander Pork Burgers HT MC 30mins

Beef and Cabbage Bake HT MC British 75mins

Pork and Potato Tourtière HT MC Canadian 80mins

Meatballs in Tomato Sauce HT MC 90mins

Coriander Beef Stew HT MC Peruvian 90mins plus marinating

Lancashire Hotpot HT MC 135mins

Cheap Offal recipes

Fried Liver and Bacon HT MC 15mins

Braised Chicken Livers HT MC 20mins New! October 2008

Braised Liver with Orange HT MC 25mins

Liver with Mushrooms HT MC 25mins New! October 2008

Maitre Grilled Kidneys HT MC 25mins

Kidney and Bacon Brochettes HT MC 30mins

Cheap Pasta, Rice and Pulses recipes

Eliche alla Cipolle HT MC 20mins

Garlic and Mushroom Pasta Veg HT MC 20mins

Frankfurters with Macaroni HT MC 25mins

Haddock and Spinach Pasta HT MC 25mins New! October 2008

Cannelloni with Mushrooms Veg HT MC 40mins

Creamy Spinach Pasta Bake Veg HT MC 45mins

Ham and Mushroom Cannelloni HT MC 50mins

Economical Poultry recipes

Chicken and Bean Stir Fry HT MC 30mins New! October 2008

Coriander Turkey Burgers HT MC 30mins

Gingered Chicken Kebabs HT MC 30mins plus marinating

Khmer Grilled Chicken HT MC Cambodian 30mins plus marinating

Turkey Ginger Stir Fry HT MC 30mins New! October 2008

Molasses Chicken HT MC 35mins

Easy Chicken Curry HT MC 40mins New! October 2008

Find UK Holiday Cottages

For ease of reference, below are direct links to main sections on this site

Recipes4us is a lifestyle website featuring food related articles and sections on travel, culture, sport, health, gardening, home, history and reference covering all aspects of understanding, preparing and cooking food.

We are confident that there is something for everyone and we are constantly adding new recipes, articles and other food and cooking related material. All recipes are published for your convenience and are both suitable and tasty enough to be eaten by anyone without food allergies, as part of a normal diet.

Take a look at the neat house Heather built and so much more on this old and useful site:

http://peaceandcarrots.homestead.com/index.html

Links to Links pages....[have fun]

http://peaceandcarrots.homestead.com/OurFavoriteLinks.html

Our Favorite Links
Wendy’s Favorite Recipes

Wild Edible Foods, Foraging, Medicinal Herb Links

Camping and RVing Links

Camp Cooking Links

Dutch Oven Links

Collected Foil Packet and Pie Iron Recipes, Etc.

Foil Packet Meal Links

Backpacking Food

Recipes and Food Links

Thermos, solar and hay box cooking Links

PDF Cookbook Links

Pantry Links

Root Cellar Links

Gardening and Permaculture Links

Homesteading Links

Urban Homesteading Links

Involuntary Simplicity and Frugal Living Links

Brick, Adobe, Stone or other Bake Ovens Links

Alternative Structures and Systems Links

Prudent Survival Preparation Links

Dumpster Diving Links

72 hour kit Links

Sewing, Quilting and Needlecraft Links

Scrapbooking and Altered Book Links

Wood Heating Links

Homemade Wine, Beer and Soda Links

Fermented Foods Links

Canning, Freezing, Drying and Preserving Links

Whole Grain Milling and Baking Links

Sprouting Links

Greenhouse Construction and Use Links

Forest Management and Forest Gardening Links

Backyard Orchard Links

Bio Gas Production Links

Self Knowledge and Spiritual Growth Links

Links to My Diseases

Maple Sugaring Links

Primitive Living Skills Links

Barter and Local Currency Links

[Granny thinks all of you should start building a solar greenhouse and attach it to the home you live in, so you can continue growing food next winter, no matter how awful it is.

Trust me, you will love having one, I did.

granny]

http://www.mapi.com/ayurveda_health_care/newsletters/newsfood-lunch.html

Lunch the Ayurveda Way

The most important thing to remember about the ayurvedic approach to diet is that our meals should be warm cooked meals. Eating warm food is nourishing and balancing to all the doshas. It is possible to prepare a warm lunch while you are getting ready to go to work or at work. The following tips will help you find alternatives to sandwiches and fast foods.

* Invest in a stainless steel thermos. Nissan makes a special thermos that is shorter and wider, to hold warm foods. In the morning, cook some fresh vegetables, dhal and a whole grain. Pour into the container. Pack some ready-made chapatis, flat breads or matzo crackers. To make lassi, take an empty glass container and fill with 1/4 part yogurt, 1 cup water, sugar and 1 teaspoon rosewater, and shake for several minutes. Take the jar with you to work with he other items and you can have a warm healthy lunch.

* If the dining hall at your workplace has a kitchenette, then keep a slow cooker there. Assemble all the ingredients at home for a hearty vegetable bean soup. When you get to work just put the already cut vegetables and measured out beans, spices and grains in the slow cooker with water. Take along some flatbreads and lassi. Your lunch will be done by the time you are ready to eat, and it will be fresh and hot. Don’t forget to turn the slow cooker on though.
* The Council of Maharishi Ayurveda Physicians recommends avoiding the commercial flavored yogurts. Fresh homemade yogurt is best because it has fresh lactobacilli in it that help keep the intestinal flora healthy. Commercial yogurts are cold and difficult to digest. They also may have been sitting on grocery shelves for weeks, with the lactobacilli dead and worthless. Many people eat these as snacks, and colds, congestion, and weight gain may result from this type of yogurt in your diet.
* For snacks, eat dates with the pit removed and a bit of ghee inside where the pit was. Almonds and raisins, and plenty of fresh sweet juicy fruit such as pears or plums are also excellent choices for energy and balance. Warm milk with a little Almond Energy or Raja’s Cup is great for your “coffee” breaks.

For a special snack, try Maharishi Ayurveda’s Almond Butter on crackers. If you are feeling a bit irritable or frustrated, try eating a spoon of Rose Petal Preserve. This delicious preserve helps to balance sadhaka pitta, which governs our happiness quotient.

The following are some recipes for take-along lunches:

Thermos Lunch

* 1/4 cup split mung dahl beans
* 1/4 cup basmati rice
* 1/2 cup fresh chopped vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, broccoli
* 1 teaspoon vata or pitta churna
* 2 cups boiling water
* 1 teaspoon ghee

Heat ghee in a frying pan. Add churna and vegetables and sauté for several minutes. Add the rice and dahl and stir. Add the boiling water and cook only for a few minutes. Pour everything in a stainless steel thermos and close lid tightly. Keep closed for about 4 hours. It will be done cooking in the thermos by lunch-time.

Slow Cooker Lunch

* 1/4 cup split mung dahl or any bean that has been soaked overnight
such as aduki beans or kidney beans
* 1/4 cup quinoa
* 1/2 cup chopped vegetables
* 1 teaspoon vata or pitta churna
* 1 teaspoon ghee
* 3 cups of hot water
* salt to taste

Place contents in slow cooker. Cook on high for 2 hours or cook on low for 4 hours.

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These articles provide a great resource from The Council of Maharishi Ayurveda Physicians on the knowledge, practices, products, and applications of Maharishi Ayurveda.

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