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

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/clay69.html

A child’s garden - more than child’s play

By Jackie Clay

[snipped out most of article]

Suggested crops

It’s best to pick large-seeded vegetables or started plants, such as tomato or broccoli, for younger children. The large items are easier for little hands to hold and plant. And, large seeds quickly develop into lusty plants, which are visible and easily distinguished from weeds, protecting them from over-eager hoeing.

Among the suggested vegetables for children’s gardens are: sweet corn, peas, radishes, green beans, tomatoes, pumpkins, gourds, and annual flowers such as sunflowers, cosmos, marigolds, and morning glories. Help your child choose easy-to-grow varieties, which germinate quickly and grow rampantly. Avoid such crops as carrots and parsnips, as they germinate slowly and produce tiny, slow-growing seedlings. Such crops quickly become overrun with weeds and the child loses interest. Save them for future years when they have had more experience.

I like to throw in one type of vegetable my child does not like to eat. In growing it in their own garden, the child forms an attachment to the vegetable and, when harvested, is much more apt to give it a try. This is especially true when they help you cook it using a really tasty recipe.

Try giant varieties of vegetable seeds. They hold special appeal for children. David now grows giant pumpkins, bushel gourds, giant sunflowers, and giant tomatoes. Kids love harvesting huge vegetables from their own garden. They subscribe to the “bigger the better” philosophy. (You know how they keep asking when they will be “big.”) It’s truly awesome to them to harvest a pumpkin that they can sit on, a tomato that produces slices big enough to cover a slice of sandwich bread, or a sunflower that is taller than Mom and Dad.

Another thing we do is grow ethnic vegetable varieties in our garden. You might like to try that one, too. Our family has Native American roots—Cherokee on my husband, Bob’s, side. As the Cherokee have always been a gardening people, there are lots of traditional heritage crops for David to try. We’ve grown Cherokee White Flour Corn, which also makes great sweet corn and is nine feet tall, Cherokee Trail of Tears pole green beans, which mature to a pretty purple, various squash, and Cherokee Cornfield Beans.

Whether your family traces their roots to African-American, Italian, Mexican, Spanish, Irish, or any other roots there are crops your child could grow that would not only produce smiles but pride in their native heritage. Besides it’s a lot of fun to learn about crops our ancestors grew. Even Moms and Dads can learn a lot in the process, and the sharing of this special experience is without measure.

Special effects

Do you want to make your child’s garden magical? Consider adding such special effects as a bean tipi on which pole beans can climb, a sunflower bower, or even a chicken wire-based dragon covered with runner beans resplendent with red flowers and dragon-sized bean pods.

Plants are easy for young hands to handle.
Plants are easy for young hands to handle.

A bean tipi is easily constructed by tying four or more poles, one to two inches in diameter, together at the top and pushing the poles into the soil at the bottom, forming a tipi shape. At the base of each pole plant four or five bean seeds. We also add blue morning glory and small mixed gourd seeds for color variation and interest. Using scarlet runner beans, purple-podded green beans, or yellow pole beans also adds variety. Heavily mulch the “inside” of the tipi with straw, then place a small bench in the center. This makes a magical playhouse as the beans, gourds, and morning glories intertwine, grow, and bloom.

A sunflower bower is also great fun. David’s was a square of giant sunflower seeds planted a foot apart all around the square but for a “door” space. When the sunflowers were up a foot or so, we planted pole beans and morning glories at the base of each sunflower stalk. The sunflowers were soon up seven feet high, with twining beans and flowers rapidly ascending the stalks. Tying the tops gently together a bit provided the roof. It was truly amazing in the late summer when it was covered with bean and morning glory vines, leaves, and flowers. A great place to play magic castles and to read special books.

We’ve also tried a dragon and dinosaur, created by forming old chicken wire onto steel reinforcing rod scavenged from a demolished bridge. Seven feet tall and covered by masses of thick pole green beans, they looked almost alive in the evening twilight. Next spring, we’re going to try a flying dragon.

Simpler, yet exciting, projects include an arched garden gate complete with vivid blue morning glories and a small section of fence with brilliant scarlet runner beans climbing rampantly on it.

Remember, too, that the flowers of these climbing beans and flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds in droves, adding to the magical aspect of even modest projects.

Once you and your children begin to get involved in gardening together, you’ll discover that you have so much in common, from the joy of the first sprouting seeds to the juicy taste of the super fresh harvest. And both parent and child will learn so many invaluable lessons, naturally, without stress and strain, that it is scarcely believable. I think God gave us children and gardens for the same reason: to learn of the joy of nurturing a living being and discovering the unique treasures brought by watching the garden, and the child, mature.

[This reminded me, of playing in our grape house, LOL, Dad had built a frame for his grape vines, looking back over the years, it seemed large then, but I suspect that it was about
40 inches high, maybe higher, and had wire? over the top, he planted the grapes so they covered the top of his frame and we had a play area in the shady insides of the frame.

He also grew plants in the corner where he had the rabbit hutches, sold the meat black market during WW2.

I remember the giant tomato plants that grew from under the hutches and a vine, watermelon? or squash? all I recall is it also gave us a play area.

No, he did not plan for us to play there, but we did.

We did not have a lot of store toys in those days, so made do with blocks of wood and our imagination.
granny]

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/silveira119.html

The Coming American Dictatorship, Part XI
The Tenth Amendement Movement

By John Silveira

[snipped]

“And there are many people in this country who want a strong central government. It wouldn’t surprise me if many wouldn’t balk at the institution of a dictatorship — if it could be the dictatorship of their choosing.

“And a lot of people will buy into the accusation that the Tenth Amendment Movement is just a mask for a secessionist movement, so they’ll oppose it not so much out of self-interest as ignorance. New Hampshire’s resolution was characterized as such by its opponents, so it lost when it was introduced to the legislature. But it’s likely to be reintroduced.”

“How do you think the movement is going to fare?” Dave asked.

Mac smiled ruefully and said, “I’m cautiously optimistic, which is another way of saying I hope it succeeds but I don’t have much hope for it. And for quite a few reasons.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“When it comes down to the reasons why they are intruding in our lives, the government argues that it’s the only way it can function efficiently. The logical counterargument is that by doing so, the government infringes on our rights. But the concept of rights is becoming more and more abstract for the average voter.”

“Furthermore, the average voter doesn’t even know what’s in the Constitution, never mind what Article I, Section 8, the Ninth Amendment, or the Tenth Amendment say.

“Then there’s past history and the way the public behaves.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“In 1994 Americans threw both houses of Congress to the Republicans on the basis of the promises they made in their Contract with America to rein in big government. But once they had power, with the exception of some of their freshman senators and representatives, the Republican Party turned its back on most of its own ‘contract’ and the federal government continued with business as usual. And what did the voters do? They did what they always do. They reelected them.

“What kind of message does that send to politicians about not keeping their promises?”

Dave said, “If you think about it, Mac, we already have the way to bring about change at our disposal, and we can do it without a Tenth Amendment Movement, without a Constitutional amendment, and without a Constitutional convention.”

Mac nodded. He knew.

“What is it?” I asked.

“If we really want to see power returned to the states, all we have to do is vote almost all of the guys currently in office out. It’s the very men and women We the People are sending to Congress who are leading the charge to empower the federal government even more. If we throw them out, and keep throwing them out when they trample on our rights, we can have the kind of government we’re supposed to have.”

“And because of these things, I’m not too optimistic about the movement’s future,” Mac said.

“But,” he said as he rose from his seat again, “I am optimistic about fishing the Rogue this morning. So, I’m out of here.”

“Wanna go?” Dave asked me.

“Sure,” I replied. And with that, all three of us went out the door.

More information on the
Tenth Amendment Movement:

Tenth Amendment Center
www.tenthamendmentcenter.com

The John Birch Society
www.jbs.org
P.O. Box 8040
Appleton, Wisconsin 54912
920-749-3780

U.S. Constitution online
www.usconstitution.net

The CATO Institute
www.cato.org
1000 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001-5403

The Heritage Foundation
www.heritage.org
214 Massachusetts Ave NE
Washington DC 20002-4999
202-546-4400

Reason Magazine
www.reason.com
1-888-732-7668

The New American
www.thenewamerican.com

Campaign For Liberty
www.campaignforliberty.com
6186 Old Franconia Rd, Ste. B
Alexandria, VA 22310
Phone: 703-347-6886

Stand up for America
http://standupforamerica.wordpress.com

State Sovereignty Movement
www.statesovereignty.org

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/wolfe118.html

Preparing for civil unrest

By Claire Wolfe

The most remarkable thing about civil unrest is that there hasn’t been more of it.

Politicians are making a hash of this country—and much of the rest of the civilized world. We know it. They know it. They know we know it. But we don’t feel we can do anything much to stop them.

That right there is the pre-condition for civil unrest—when people are frustrated and politicians are nervous.

[snipped, this is the end of the article....]

If we ever have serious food shortages, expect rural areas to be besieged.

Even when civil unrest confines itself to the cities, airports, or highways it can affect us in crazy ways. Here’s a funny example of unpredictable (in this case mild) consequences. A friend was due to have her first book published in Canada. She was very excited—then disappointed when weeks dragged by and the book didn’t appear. Turns out that a band of Indians was blocking a highway bridge the printer’s truck had to cross. The union truckers, in solidarity, refused to route around the protest. Just one small consequence. But you can see the unpredictability.

The simple truth is that we don’t know what kinds of unrest to anticipate. We don’t know when, or if, we’ll see civil unrest. But thinking about the problem and preparing ourselves mentally and physically to deal with it should be just another aspect of our personal preparedness.
What we can do

1. Keep standard emergency preps up to date. First thing to do is make sure all our typical household preparedness supplies and plans are current. As BHM readers know, backup food, water, and other supplies are our mainstay for everything from bad storms to long-term unemployment, from power outages to social breakdowns. During civil unrest, especially at Level Three or Four, we might not be able to get out to buy things we need—or we might consider it more prudent to stay at home. On the other hand, if we ourselves are part of the unrest, we may need those supplies to sit out a siege.

2. Don’t fall into foolish complacency. We who live in the country tend to have an “it can’t happen here” attitude toward political violence or social upheaval. We see those things as urban pheonomena. And mostly, they are. But there’s no ironclad rule that says they have to be. If anything disrupts the supply chain, for instance, rural areas could be the first to be cut off from food, medicines, fuel, or other necessities. If government breaks down to the point where it can’t deliver food stamps, housing vouchers, social security, or bureaucrats’ pay, the rural poor and unemployed could become just as restive as their urban counterparts.

3. Watch your health. As I write this, the airwaves are shrilling about swine flu. This outbreak may fizzle; after all, perfectly normal flu kills many every year without causing panic, martial law, or incessant media coverage. On the other hand, it’s certain that one day some illness will rampage across the globe. Few things inspire public panic more quickly than contagious disease, and once again rural areas are not immune. Take all the standard recommended precautions like frequent handwashing. Make sure your preparedness kit includes surgical masks and disposable gloves as well as a selection of frequently updated medications. And be ready to lay low at home for a long time in the event a serious plague gets loose.

4. Make common cause with your neighbors. I’ve said it before, but establishing a strong bond with people in your community—right now—is vital to every sort of emergency preparedness. In event of a Level One or Two emergency, these are the folks who could come to your house to make sure you’re okay. They might give you a ride out or a place to sleep if you accidentally end up in a “hot zone” of riot or protest. In a deeper or more long-term emergency, they could pool resources with you to make supply runs. They can advise you if they’ve spotted a roadblock. They might let you cross their land to avoid a route that has become dangerous.

5. If you grow crops or raise food animals and the unrest is due to a food shortage (or something has driven city people out into the countryside), prepare to protect your resources day and night. Here again neighbors can do each other valuable services, like taking shifts guarding fields, barns, private roads, and gardens. Yes, this is an apocalyptic scenario. Not a likely one. But if it happens, it’s a Level Three or Level Four emergency—delivered to your own front yard.

6. Get advance word on local conditions when traveling. We’re used to hopping into our vehicles or onto airplanes and going wherever we want to go. But as the worldwide economy deteriorates, it’s wise to keep an eye on our destination. Right now, this warning pertains more to overseas travel than jaunts within the U.S. If you plan to go abroad, visit online sites like Travelfish.org. They’ll have bulletins about adverse conditions in areas you plan to visit; you may even be able to receive alerts via email that will warn you about anything from political protests to disease outbreaks in places you plan to go.

7. Watch for signs of trouble when in an unfamiliar area. Sometimes the only advance notice you get is the notice your own senses give you. When walking, driving, biking, or otherwise traveling in unfamiliar places, stay in what gunfolk call “condition yellow.” This is different than the meaningless colored threat levels the Department of Homeland Security puts out. It just means “be alert!” Never simply allow yourself to slouch along obliviously. Always be aware of who’s nearby and what’s going on around you. If you spot trouble developing, turn. Avoid it if at all possible.

8. If you stumble into a “hot zone” of unrest, be prepared to think on your feet. Not many people are qualified to give you advice about how to behave if you unavoidably find yourself in the midst of trouble—a riot, a mass protest that suddenly engulfs your familiar downtown, a spot where police are bashing heads or hurling tear gas seemingly at random. That’s because not many people have ever been there and every catastrophe is different. If street-level chaos surrounds you, do your best to keep a cool head, move away from the worst of it if you get the chance, and get inside if possible.

9. If you’re swept up in mass arrests during a riot or demonstration, the officers probably aren’t going to be listening to your protestations of being an innocent bystander. You’ll only tick them off and possibly get a charge of resisting arrest. The best advice I’ve received from my friends who’ve been busted during out-of-hand protests: Go along as best you can. Usually, all charges in such cases are either dropped or reduced once calm is restored. Only if we’ve reached the extreme point where police are rounding people up and throwing them into detention camps or “disappearing” them is fighting cops on the street likely to be worth it; then...fight like a demon.

10. Have a good lawyer and carry his or her card with you. Once again, in the heat of chaos it may not do you much good. But that card will come in handy later. Besides, if you and a police officer have an encounter in calmer circumstances, a lawyer’s card, along with your calm assertion of your legal rights, will help you to be taken seriously. Police officers are like anybody else; they’re more likely to go after easy targets than ones who are obviously knowledgeable and prepared. My lawyer has a helpful little list on the back of his card of the things you should do—and not do— when accosted by a police officer.1 I’d trust that more than my own nerves in a tight situation.

11. Be careful of roadblocks. This is a hard one. If we reach Level Three or Four of unrest, we may not only see the obnoxious police “checkpoints” we’re burdened with today. We might also see two other things. One would be expanded police roadblocks, with warrantless searches, harsh questioning, and possibly mass arrests. Another could be “freelance” roadblocks—roadblocks set up by anybody from political protesters to highwaymen. (Just as gangs of home invaders now masquerade as SWAT teams, highwaymen might masquerade as government officials to rob the unwary.) If it’s humanly possible, avoid roadblocks. It’s not illegal to turn away from them, as long as you don’t disobey any traffic laws. Police do consider it suspicious behavior and may come after you, even if you’ve done nothing wrong; but in a time of civil unrest, avoiding a roadblock could save your skin. Of course, both police and freelancers will set up their blockades to make them as hard as possible to avoid—all the more reason to be alert, know where roadblocks are likely to be, and have a mental map of alternate routes. If, in a time and place of unrest, you’re in a line approaching a roadblock, watch what happens to the people ahead of you. If you see any sign that the motorists ahead are being abused, get out of there.

So far, we’ve talked mostly as if civil unrest is something apart from us—something we might have to be wary of, something we might stumble accidentally into. But the fact is that as our country becomes less free, we might of course be the civil unrest.

We might resist having our premises tagged for NAIS or having our herds slaughtered for real or bogus health reasons. We might end up fighting evictions (as farmers and many rural dwellers have for centuries during hard times). We might be the ones who say, “Hell no, we won’t go!” when the mobile vaccination van comes to town, or the ones who try to keep our neighbors from being rounded up and sent to camps. Times are uncertain. We simply don’t know.

But in every case, preparedness, foreknowledge, and a cool head will come in handy.

Some of us already have lines in the sand that would inspire us to resist abuses of authority. And that, right there, is something our would-be masters fear—our disobedience. What will happen? And when? Nobody has a crystal ball. But the combination of public frustration and governmental apprehension is an explosive one. Someday, somebody will light the match.

1 Here’s the copy on the lawyer’s card (capitalization his):

IF YOU ARE ARRESTED OR CONFRONTED BY THE POLICE:

1. FIRST, ask to call your lawyer.

2. Be courteous; do not resist.

3. Do not consent to search or entry.

4. Do not talk about anything; do not admit OR DENY anything.

5. Ask if you are free to go. If you are, GO.

I’ve had several different lawyer’s cards over the years that say similar, but slightly different things. Another great source of information on how to handle yourself when confronted by police is the DVD Busted: The Citizen’s Guide to Surviving Police Encounters. It’s great because it shows very realistic scenarios and coaches you vividly on how to navigate them. Clips from “Busted” are online at the link above.

http://www.google.com/search?q=preparations+for+civil+unrest&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

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1.
Preparing for Civil Unrest in America
Preparing for Civil Unrest in America. Legislation to Establish Internment Camps on US Military Bases. by Michel Chossudovsky ...
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Preparing for civil unrest By Claire Wolfe 118
Preparing for civil unrest - Article by Claire Wolfe from Issue #118.
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Civil disorder: preparing for the worst - Cover Story | FBI Law ...
Civil disorder: preparing for the worst - Cover Story from FBI Law ... are relevant to any urban law enforcement agency that may confront civil unrest. ...
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Preparing For Civil Unrest
Defining civil unrest; Look up “preparations for civil unrest” on Google and...What’s that echo I hear?-you’ll find nothing that’s going to help you. ...
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Preparing for civil unrest | Republic Broadcasting Network
Jul 8, 2009 ... By Claire Wolfe The most remarkable thing about civil unrest is that there hasn’t been more of it. Politicians are making a hash of this ...
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Survival of a sitx ( CIVIL UNREST ), Preparation thinking., page 1
15 posts - 7 authors - Last post: Jun 26, 2008
Discusion about Survival of a sitx ( CIVIL UNREST ), Preparation thinking. in the AboveTopSecret.com website alternative topics discussion ...
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7.
Virginia Preppers Network: Preparing for Civil Unrest
Jul 7, 2009 ... Commentary on Prepping and Survival in Virginia During Economic Collapse and Martial Law.
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8.
More on Military Preparations and Civil Unrest in East Europe
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9.
Army deploys combat unit in US for possible civil unrest
Sep 25, 2008 ... “They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control,” the ... the real source of the growing preparations for the use of US ...
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10.
Corporate Media Notices War College Report on Economic Crisis
Dec 30, 2008 ... it is a possibility and is making preparations for civil unrest. ..... That does not eliminate the fact that if there is civil unrest ...
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http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ainsworth0403.html

Getting logs

By Dorothy Ainsworth Dorothy Ainsworth

Attention: Would-be loggers. There have been changes in policy at the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. I have just found out that the procedure to obtain logs through the USFS or BLM has changed drastically because of the NEPA (National Environmental Protection Agency). You can no longer go into a ranger station like I did and simply get a permit to cut your own logs in a given area. Now you have to go through a “process”. The USFS and BLM both told me that now, even THEY have to “jump through hoops” to satisfy the NEPA! Now one has to bid at an auction to be able to log an area that they open up to the public, and the winner takes all. To find out more about what, when, and how to bid, I went to the google.com search engine, typed in “USDA National Forest (or BLM)”, then clicked on “timber auctions”. There are auctions listed all over the US. Another google search I typed in was: “Standing Timber Sales”, then clicked on “forestry commission and timber sales’ procedures”, then “public auctions”. That was also fruitful.

Other sources on the web that had good info about obtaining logs were: “Timber Source.com and Loghome links.com. Another route to go is to find a log supplier to buy cut logs from (peeled or unpeeled). The best one I came across was Akerwoods.com (Aker Wood Company). They post a price sheet on every size (diameter and length) they offer and how much per log. They seemed fairly reasonable to me, considering all the work it takes to get the logs by hand. The way things have recently changed, I think I’d recommend buying the logs from a log supplier (really shop around though!) , then do all the rest of the work of building to save money on labor. I used 300 logs in my house and got them the hard way ( almost free), but at $10 to $20 apiece (unpeeled) wouldn’t be that outrageous to pay if one could save on labor in every other stage of building. (Don’t pay extra for peeled logs- peeling is easy!)

Another way to go is down to the local ranger station and ask to see their geological survey maps on timberland and see who owns what, or go to the county tax assessor’s office and search their records to find out who owns certain parcels of timberland , close to you. Write down names and addresses and phone numbers and start calling for possible permission to cut logs off their property in return for money or clean-up work on slash piles or tree thinning or whatever trade you can make that would be fair for both parties. That’s exactly what I did after my first house burned down and I found out that they closed my old USFS logging area because of the spotted owl problem. I found a man who had 600 acres of mostly lodgepole pine and he said YES! Kirt and I were extremely careful and responsible and followed the owner’s wishes every step of the way, but when all was said and done we had our logs in only 3 weeks (a pickup load per day) and everybody was happy.

Another possible source is to find out who the big corporations like Boise/Cascade SUBCONTRACT the logging work out to, and buy their CULLS. Culls don’t necessarily mean rotted; sometimes it just means too crooked to mill lumber out of. Most of my logs were crooked and I loved them that way. The subcontractors, I was told, can do anything they want with the culls, but I’m not sure about this.

Then there’s the obvious solution: Buy your own land with timber rights and cut your own logs with nobody looking over your shoulder.

As far as Oregon goes, I called the “special-use-permits” director in Oregon, Gena Duggins @(541)560-3466 and she advised me to call the USFS supervisor’s office for the Rogue River/ Siskiyou National Forest @(541)858-2200 or the Chemult Ranger Station @(541)365-7001 for pending bid-auctions. By request, they will send you a prospectus containing maps, bid forms, instructions, and how to pay info, when an area is opened up to bid on.You will have one month to check out the area and respond if you decide to bid. Sometimes the logging companies beat you to it, but if it’s a small area they may not want it. On a larger area you could go in with 3 or 4 other people who want to build their own log homes too and share the expense.

I highly recommend that you do a ton of research on the Internet and I’m sure you’ll reap the rewards. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Good luck!

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/butler95.html

Gather rose hips for health

By Gail Butler

Vitamin C-rich rose hips can be found in dried form in most health food stores, but why not gather your own? You’ll save money and you’ll know where they came from and the conditions in which they grew. Furthermore, you’ll be adding to your own self-sufficiency by locating and gathering a nutrient-dense food source to nourish yourself and your family.

Growing along the main irrigation canal in the small farming community where I live are hedgerows of wild roses. In spring they produce lovely pink blossoms. As the petals fade, a green hip, or hypanthium, begins to swell at each blossom’s base. From mid-September into October when they are fully red and ripe, and before frost tinges their foliage with autumn color making the hips harder to see, I gather bagfuls for making soup, wine, syrup, jelly, and tea.

Most wild roses will have four- or five-petal blossoms that are either white, yellow, or pink. Five-petal pink blossoms cover the wild roses in my area in spring.
Most wild roses will have four- or five-petal blossoms that are either white, yellow, or pink. Five-petal pink blossoms cover the wild roses in my area in spring.

If you live, as I do, in a temperature zone that’s too cold to grow citrus fruit, rose hips are an excellent alternative food source of Vitamin C. All roses are edible, but we are most familiar with the rose’s tasty cousins—fruits such as plums, apples, blackberries, and raspberries—all of which have small, rose-like white or pink flowers before setting fruit. A rose hip is merely the fruit of the rose plant.

Unlike their popular fruiting cousins, rose hips don’t have much flesh beneath their skins. Instead, they are filled with tiny seeds covered with silky hairs. The skin of the hip, often tasting like an apple, is where most of the food value and nutrition lies.

Nutritional powerhouses

Known mostly for beauty in the garden and as a floral declaration of love, roses don’t usually come to mind when we think of either food or nutrition. Yet, all parts of the rose, and especially the hips, are storehouses of Vitamin C and other important nutrients.

Compare the nutritional content of oranges to rose hips and you will find that rose hips contain 25 percent more iron, 20 to 40 percent more Vitamin C (depending upon variety), 25 times the Vitamin A, and 28 percent more calcium.

Dry rose hips on an old cookie sheet for a couple of weeks until completely dry. When ready to store, they should be darker than their fresh counterparts, hard, and semi-wrinkley.
Dry rose hips on an old cookie sheet for a couple of weeks until completely dry. When ready to store, they should be darker than their fresh counterparts, hard, and semi-wrinkley.

In addition, rose hips are a rich source of bioflavanoids, pectin, Vitamin E, selenium, manganese, and the B-complex vitamins. Rose hips also contain trace amounts of magnesium, potassium, sulfur and silicon.

Finding and gathering rose hips

Wild roses grow throughout the world. There are literally thousands of varieties worldwide and most have been part of the human diet. In fact, it is difficult to find an area of the world or a temperature zone—barring parts of the Antarctic and the Sahara Desert—where wild roses don’t grow.

We can also look to our own gardens. The domesticated roses we find there are rich in nutrients. Look for Rosa rugosa that develops many large, bright red hips that look and taste like small apples. Rugosa roses are found in most nurseries and plant catalogs. Rosa gallica, a native of the Middle East no longer found in the wild but available from nurseries and plant catalogs, is a favored old garden rose. It will grace your garden with beauty and scent and your table with nutritious foods and beverages. Even the well-loved “hybrid tea” roses produce edible hips, although not as prolifically as their wild and semi-domesticated garden cousins.

Rose hip tea is a tasty, nutritious beverage that can be made from fresh or dried hips. This cup was made from freshly gathered wild rose hips.
Rose hip tea is a tasty, nutritious beverage that can be made from fresh or dried hips. This cup was made from freshly gathered wild rose hips.

Many enthusiastic gardeners never see the development of colorful hips because as soon as blossoms fade they are snipped off to tidy up the garden. Blossoms must be left on the plant to naturally fade and fall for hips to develop.

The most abundant source of Vitamin C-rich rose hips is from wild hedgerows and thickets. Here hips can be gathered in ample quantities for cooking and storing. You’d have to grow a vast number of garden-variety roses to get a sufficient quantity of hips for use all year long. As most roses have thorns, gloves are helpful although not essential when gathering hips.

Rose hips as food

Once you locate your rose hip source there still remains the question of turning them into something we deem not only edible, but tasty too. Rose hips can be made into a variety of appetizing, healthy dishes. Turned into jelly, syrup, and wine, they make delightful gifts.

Rose hips may be used fresh or dried. To dry them, discard any with discoloration then rinse in cold water, pat dry, and spread on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. It takes a couple of weeks for them to dry. They will be darker in color, hard, and semi-wrinkly. Rub off any stems or remaining blossom ends. Pour them into jars for storage in a dark pantry or cupboard.

One of my favorite ways to use rose hips is to brew them into tea. For tea they may be used fresh or dried. For fresh brewing, steep a tablespoon or two of clean hips in a cup of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Sweeten with honey and enjoy. To make a tea of dried hips, use only two teaspoons to one cup of boiling water and steep for 10 to 15 minutes.

My favorite syrup for pancakes, waffles, and vanilla ice cream is made from freshly gathered rose hips. Rinse and pat dry the hips and place them in a saucepan. Barely cover with water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until soft, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool and strain the mixture, pressing the liquid off the hips gently with the back of a spoon, being careful not to break them open and release the seeds. If this happens, merely strain the seeds out. The resulting liquid may be frozen in batches for future use in soup or jelly, or turned into tasty syrup. The solids left over from straining can be fed to chickens or tossed onto the compost pile.

In late summer, rose hips ripen to bright red and are ready for gathering.
In late summer, rose hips ripen to bright red and are ready for gathering.

To make rose hip syrup, add one part honey to two parts of the heated, strained liquid. Stir to dissolve the honey and refrigerate. After refrigeration, the syrup will thicken slightly. Rose hip syrup will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks. Reheat the syrup for use on pancakes and waffles. Use it warm or cold to top vanilla ice cream.

Heated syrup may be canned by pouring it into hot, sterile jars and processing in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. For every 1,000 feet above an elevation of 5,000 feet, add one minute to the processing time.

For a refreshing spring tonic punch, simmer rhubarb in rose hip syrup until soft. Strain and adjust sweetening as needed. Chill, and pour over ice for a refreshing, healthful libation to clear out the winter cobwebs. Add a sprig of fresh spearmint or lemon balm as garnish. Rose hip syrup may be used to sweeten and flavor herbal or black teas, as well.

A favorite dish of the Swedish is rose hip soup. They literally consume rose hips by the tons each year. To make approximately four servings you’ll need:

3 cups of freshly made or thawed unsweetened rose hip liquid
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. corn starch
4 Tbsp. sour cream or yogurt as a garnish
minced mint

In a saucepan, heat the liquid and add the honey and lemon juice. Remove ½ cup of the heated mixture. Into this, whisk the cornstarch until smooth. Add the cornstarch mixture back into the pan and bring to a high simmer, stirring, until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt to each serving, topping with minced fresh mint, if desired.

If you make your own wine, the following recipe for rose hip wine is one of the healthiest and most lovely in color. You’ll need:

After a hard frost, autumn color makes the hips harder to see.
After a hard frost, autumn color makes the hips harder to see.

4 pounds of fresh rose hips
3 pounds of sugar
1 gallon boiling water
1 tsp. black tea
1 tsp. baker’s or wine yeast

Rinse and drain the hips. Place them in a primary fermenting vessel such as a clean food-grade plastic bucket that has a tight-fitting lid. Pour in one gallon of boiling water. Add the teaspoon of tea and all the sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let the mixture sit tightly covered for 24 hours. Add one teaspoon of baker’s or wine yeast and let the mixture ferment for seven days, covered, stirring once per day with a clean spoon.

Strain off the rose hips and pour the liquid into a one-gallon glass jug (an old wine jug works great) and fit with a fermentation lock or balloon. If you use a balloon, be sure to release the gases occasionally or it will burst. Place the jug in a warm spot until fermentation ceases. Siphon (rack) the liquid off of the yeast solids into a clean glass jug and refit with the fermentation lock or balloon.

Racking will usually reactivate fermentation for a short time. When fermentation ceases completely for several weeks, siphon the wine into clean wine bottles. Cork the bottles securely or use wine bottles with screw-on tops and store in a cool spot for six months or longer. There will usually be a glass or two of wine left after bottling. This you can enjoy right away.

Precautions

Wherever you gather rose hips, be sure they have not been treated with herbicides or pesticides. If wild roses grow on your property or you gather from your garden roses, you can manage them to your satisfaction.

Wild roses, despite their beauty and usefulness as perimeter plantings, food, and wildlife habitats, are considered by many to be a nuisance. They do spread by suckering, and a single plant will become a thicket eventually. If you have enough property to sustain several thickets where they can grow without interfering with your other operations, you will have an ample source of nutritious hips to nourish yourself and your family throughout the year.

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Cooking from long-term
food storage

By Jackie Clay

All self-reliant families know they should have at least a year’s worth of food and essential supplies stored up in a large pantry. Unfortunately, actually eating from long-term food storage conjures up images of consuming endless tedious, tasteless meals of boiled rice and beans. You know—“survival” food.

But this is not how my household works. If I were to serve such meals, there would be total rebellion. After all, we’ve had at least two years’ food stored for twenty years, and we eat daily from this food. We are not martyrs, and we do not eat tasteless food in order to be “healthy.” Instead, we eat three meals a day from good tasting, comforting, healthy food, much of it home-raised, home-grown or harvested from the wild.

With a little practice and imagination, any family can quickly learn to produce meals, drawn from your food storage, that draw rave reviews from family members. And you do not need to spend hours in food preparation time either.

Buying for long-term food storage

A lot of problems arise when a family purchases foods they are not used to eating, and are not especially fond of in the first place. During hard times, or in an emergency, are definitely not times to begin eating such “survival” food. When you’re stressed out, worried, and depressed, you need a lift, not countless meals of boring, tasteless food.

Old-fashioned baked beans
2 cups dry navy beans
¼ cup ham or bacon flavored TVPs or canned
ham
½ cup dehydrated chopped onions
8 Tbsp. molasses
4 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
3 Tbsp. vinegar
½ cup tomato sauce
¼ cup catsup

Sort beans, soak overnight in water enough to cover. In the morning, drain beans, discarding water. Place beans in 6-quart or larger heavy pot with 12 cups water and simmer, covered for just long enough to get beans tender (older beans require longer cooking). Drain and discard water. In a 3-quart or larger casserole, mix beans with other ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 1½ to 2 hours, adding water if necessary to keep beans from drying out. Serve hot with fresh whole wheat bread for a comforting, hearty meal.

Take stock of the foods your family really likes. Then build your storage pantry on these preferences. Just about anything you regularly eat can be included. One notable exception is hamburgers and cheeseburgers. You can home can hamburgers, by lightly frying tiny patties, then stacking them into wide mouth jars. I do a few, just for novelty, layered with finely chopped onion. When ready to use, refry them, adding cheese if desired. They’re good, but aren’t the same as the regular hamburgers the family is used to. And there isn’t an alternative to home canned hamburger available for purchase.

Have your family go through the supermarket with you and take notes as to what interests them, even if you have not cooked it before, or recently. You need variety in your long-term storage foods. Meals are like buildings. They need foundation blocks like potatoes, rice or beans, but also windows and doorways like fruits, meats, vegetables, and spices.

Oriental chicken fried rice
2 cups cooked white rice, cooled
½ cup finely diced onions (you may substitute
rehydrated dry)
¼ cup rehydrated freeze dried or air dried
green peas
1 cup rehydrated shredded carrots (or fresh)
¼ cup oil or shortening
1 Tbsp. peanut butter
½ cup chopped cooked chicken
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 eggs, equivalent in dehydrated egg powder
Spices to taste, including garlic, tumeric, hot
pepper

In a large, heavy frying pan, heat oil. Add rice, onions, chicken, and carrots. Stir frequently with spatula until rice begins to lightly brown. Add peanut butter (no, it doesn’t taste “weird”), soy sauce, peas, and spices. Continue stirring while flavors mix. As rice mixture appears to be done, quickly add beaten egg mixture and continue stirring with spatula until egg is cooked. Serve at once with soy sauce, sweet and sour sauce, or hot mustard sauce.

Choose the foods carefully, taking into consideration those you use daily or would use, if you had the time....and had no alternatives. Two frequently overlooked items are shortening/margerine and eggs. And make sure there are plenty of opportunities for “goodies,” such as cookies, pies, puddings, Jello, etc.

Introducing the family to seldom-used staples

There’s a definite place in a long-term storage pantry for such staples as dried beans and rice, but instead of buying all navy beans and white rice, consider that there are over a dozen varieties of beans and perhaps six varieties of rice available, each with its own unique taste, texture, appearance, and uses. In our pantry, I have many kinds of beans which we use: navy, red kidney, pinto, Anasazzi, black, and several varieties of Native American beans that we grow at home. You might include a couple of limas (which our family just does not like), cowpeas, Great Northerns, or others.

Tamale pie
½ cup cornmeal
½ cup white flour or freshly ground whole wheat
flour
¼ cup honey or white sugar
¼ cup shortening
1 egg (equivalent in dry egg powder, rehydrated)
1 cup rehydrated dry milk (+ or -)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
½ cup cooked hamburger (I use home canned)
or beef TVP
2 cups tomato sauce
½ cup dry chopped onions
¼ cup dry chopped green peppers or chile
peppers
2 tsp. mild chile powder
¼ cup dry sweet corn or ½ cup canned corn

Mix first eight ingredients well, making a medium batter (not runny or not stiff). Then in medium sized cast iron frying pan or 8 x 8 cake pan, mix the last six ingredients well, then top with cornmeal batter. Bake at 350 degrees until top turns golden brown. Serve hot with cold salsa.

Then try a few really good recipes and gently ask all family members to try just one small serving with a meal they love.

Work your way into beans. Don’t just cook up a huge pot and insist everyone eat them for a meal. You can “sneak” beans into meals by mashing cooked pintos in with taco filling, putting a few mashed beans in a layer of casserole, or into a hearty vegetable stew or soup.

Old-fashioned baked beans, complete with ham or bacon chunks, molasses and catsup will usually do the trick on a cold winter’s day.

When cooking from a long-term storage pantry, learn to buy or home-can meat in smaller cans and jars. This allows one to use the meat as flavoring and texture to a meal, making a little go a long way, and not give the impression of “making do” or “surviving.”

A couple of examples that we regularly use are Oriental Chicken Fried Rice and Tamale Pie. I never have leftovers.

Homemade pizza
Crust:

2 cups flour
½ tsp. seasoning salt
¼ cup olive oil
2 tsp. dry yeast
1 cup, plus warm water

Mix dry yeast and one cup warm water. While softening, mix other ingredients in medium bowl. Add softened yeast and enough warm water to make a soft, but not tacky, ball of dough. Work dough with hands, greased with a small bit of olive oil until elastic, then set aside in bowl, covered, for half an hour to rise. Oil baking pan with liberal olive oil, press out dough with hands. Prick dough with fork every few inches to avoid bubbles. Bake at 350 degrees until just barely done. It will not be browned but will lift easily from pan when picked up with a fork at corner.

Topping:

1 cup thick tomato sauce
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. rehydrated green peppers
1 Tbsp. dry onion
¼ cup chopped olives
¼ cup sausage TVPs
1 tsp. oregano
¼ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. basil
1 cup mozzarella or
½ cup dried grated parmesan cheese

Spread tomato sauce evenly on baked crust and sprinkle brown sugar, green peppers, olives, and spices on top. Top with cheese. Bake until cheese is barely golden brown and bubbly. This is yummy, and it is much in demand at our house. As a bonus, there are many variations including making a double batch of crust, using the second dough to be formed as bread sticks, which can be brushed with tomato sauce, herbs, and sprinkled with cheese and baked at the same time as the pizza. The bread sticks, dipped in a warm herbed tomato sauce, make a great addition to the steaming pizza.

The same with rice. Few people like a big plate full of steamed white rice. “I don’t like rice!” is the usual comment. My answer is get to know rice and all its uses.

Perhaps the easiest way to interest a family member in rice is to serve Oriental fried rice, complete with little chunks of chicken or pork. Spanish rice is another interesting way of introducing rice into a meal. The point is to introduce staples gently into meals, before called on to use them every day.

Fried tuna patties
2 cans light tuna, drained
1 cup crushed dried bread crumbs
¼ cup dehydrated onion flakes
3 eggs, rehydrated equivalent
½ tsp. lemon pepper
flour to coat patties
oil to fry

Mix drained tuna, bread crumbs, egg, onion flakes, and lemon pepper. Divide into golf ball-sized portions, pat into patties, dip both sides in flour. Heat oil to medium heat and gently place patties into frying pan. After one side is done, turn and finish cooking. This is a quick and easy alternative to “fish sticks.”

The use of ethnic meals is a great way to introduce a family to basics, as most less-wealthy nations have fabulous recipes, using cheaper staples as the base for meals. You can learn to do wonders with corn flour and corn meal, beans and chiles, rice, vegetables, sauces, and bits of meat, potatoes, and vegetables. I quickly learned that America is one of the few nations in the world where meat is used as the foundation of a meal. (We had adopted two older children from India and three from Korea, as well as sponsoring a family of nine from Vietnam.)

Such goodies as homemade pizza are always hits at home, especially in an emergency or hard-times situation. Key ingredients, such as pepperoni and mozzarella cheese, are in few long-term storage pantries. When one has their own dairy animal, the cheese is a snap, and dry-cured pepperoni lasts for months without refrigeration under cool, dry conditions. I also have canned chunks of pepperoni and am going to try mozzarella cheese too. But without these options, pizza is still a definite “go”. Check out recipe above.

Roast beef hash
1 pint (16 oz) canned roast beef (or wild meat)
½ cup rehydrated onion flakes
1 quart (32 oz) canned potatoes, drained well
oil to fry

Grind meat, potatoes and onion together with hand meat grinder. Heat oil to medium heat in large frying pan. Slide hash into pan, being careful not to spatter. Arrange the hash in a shallow layer, covering the bottom of the frying pan. Allow to cook, turning and stirring with spatula. Add seasonings, finish frying to preference, and serve. Popular condiments include salsa and catsup. Hash makes a satisfying one-dish meal. Leftovers are great for breakfast with scrambled eggs.

But we’ll miss fried foods!

I think one of the things a family misses most, living totally from a long-term storage pantry, is simple fried foods. Now this can have an up side, as well as a down. The fewer the fried foods consumed, the better health we enjoy. But, honestly speaking, some fried foods do a lot to boost our morale during rough times.

Now, of course, if a family has their own garden, which a self-reliant family should have anyway, they will have abundant potatoes, fresh or in the cellar. If not, you can fry up a batch of canned potatoes, from time to time, or make potato patties out of leftover mashed potatoes (adding two beaten eggs to hold them together). There are also dehydrated and freeze-dried hashbrowns that are quite good.

Homemade noodles in chicken broth
1½ cup flour (either freshly ground whole wheat
or white
¼ tsp. salt
2 eggs, reconstituted or fresh

Place flour in mound on board, making a nest or well in the center of the mound. Pour eggs into nest. Beat the eggs with a fork, gradually bringing the flour into the mix. Work the dough into a ball with your hands, picking up only as much flour as it takes to make a stiff, but workable ball. Knead the dough for about five minutes. It should not stick to the board. If it seems too moist, add a little more flour; if too dry, dampen your hands and knead longer.
Divide the ball into quarters. Cover three and reserve one to work with immediately. Lightly sprinkle board with flour and roll out dough, pulling it into a uniform thickness oval. Make it as thin as workable and let rest in a warm, dry place. Repeat with other three quarters.
When all dough is dry, but not stiff and brittle, roll like a jelly roll, cutting into desired thickness with a sharp knife. You can then either fluff out to separate and then carefully hang to dry or lay it flat to air dry for an hour.
Pour a quart of chicken broth (or use dry chicken granules to make a broth) into a large pot. Add diced, canned, or freeze dried chicken meat, if desired, as well as onion, carrots, and spices as wanted. Bring to a medium boil, then carefully add noodles, simmering just long enough to make them tender. The flour on the noodles provides natural thickening. You’ll get raves for this simple, yet satisfying meal.

One satisfying, simple recipe we enjoy from our pantry is fried tuna patties. This provides meat, as well as satisfying an occasional craving for “fried food.”

Roast beef hash is another “alternative” fried food. Unless fresh meat, either home grown or wild, is available, there will be little fried meat available.

One of the home storage pantry’s best capabilities is providing quick, nutritious soups and stews at quick notice. These include those using pasta and noodles, as well as the more traditional.

One of our favorites is homemade noodles, cooked with chicken broth. You can use store-bought noodles, but there is absolutely no comparison in taste or texture. And noodles are very easy to make, only taking a few minutes once you get the hang of it. Even “mistakes” are very edible.

Breads

Don’t forget the staff of life. Breads provide an endless base to home meals, unlike their tasteless plastic wrapped cousins from the store. On one camping trip, we made an entire meal out of a crispy, fragrant loaf of French bread, without a dab of butter.

Basic whole wheat bread
Heat 4 cups milk (rehydrated dry or fresh). Soften 4 Tbsp. dry yeast in ¾ cup warm water. Add ¼ c. honey to warm milk, along with 1/3 cup oil or melted shortening, 2 tsp. salt, and 2 eggs.
Beat well, then as milk cools to luke warm, gently add yeast. Add about 14 c. fresh whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, mixing after each. When nearly stiff, mix with hands, incorporating just enough flour to make an elastic, workable ball of dough. Don’t stop if it’s sticky, and don’t get it too stiff. Knead on a floured board for 10 minutes. Grease a large mixing bowl, place ball into bowl, and grease top. Pull ball out and put back in, greased top up. Cover with a warm, damp kitchen towel and let rise in warm place until about double. Knock down and let rise again. Divide into two or three loaves and place into greased bread pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When loaves are nearly doubled in size, place in oven and bake for about 35 minutes until tops are golden brown. Grease tops with margarine to soften. Enjoy the best bread you’ve ever tasted.

Breads can be made of varying flours for entirely different tastes, textures, and appearances. Aside from the “normal” white flour from the store, one can, and should, grind their own grains, producing a wide, wonderful, array of fresh flours. This produces a wholesome taste that most folks have never even dreamed of.

As all grains store much longer as whole grains, it is wise to stock up on these grains and grind the flours as you need them. Some suggestions are red and golden hard wheat for bread, soft wheat for pastries, flour corn for cornmeal, hominy corn for corn flour, buckwheat for pancake flour, rye for rye and pumpernickel bread, and rice for Asian cooking.

You will find that when you are cooking solely from the long-term storage pantry under times of duress, just the milling of the flour and baking of bread will bring peace and contentment to the whole family.

While “plain” bread will probably be most often used, stretch your creativity by expanding to more “exotic” breads such as pitas, tortillas, and sweet rolls, both for taste and variety. Most use about the same simple ingredients, and with just a little variation you can create a whole spectrum of tastes and possibilities.

One of our favorite breads is a versatile quick roll recipe. This recipe makes soft, tender dinner rolls, but also free-form breads, hamburger buns, sweet rolls, and coffee cake with little change.

Tips for cooking from home storage

Cooking from a long-term storage pantry is easy, basic, and very fulfilling. But it is not something one learns to do overnight. It’s sort of like gardening. The time to learn to garden is not when the trucks stop hauling food to supermarkets and there are acute food shortages. It takes time to get into the rhythm of gardening, learning what works, what does not, and how to do the most work with the least effort.

Halftime spoon rolls
Dissolve 2 tsp. dry yeast in ½ cup warm water, and set aside. Combine 1/3 cup shortening, ¼ cup of sugar or honey, 1 tsp. salt with ¾ cup hot milk (reconstituted dry or fresh). Cool to lukewarm by adding ½ cup cold water. Add 1 egg (or equivalent reconstituted dry) and softened yeast. Mix in 3½ cups sifted flour. Cover in same bowl, letting rise in a warm place till doubled. Stir dough with greased spoon. With an ice cream scoop (works easiest) dip sticky batter into greased muffin tins, filling half full. Let rise and bake at 375 degrees until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush margarine on top to soften nicely. I promise raves from this one. And you can modify it easily. With the addition of just a little more flour (about ½ cup), the dough will be firm enough to handle lightly, which makes forming hamburger buns on a greased cookie sheet easy, or forming into caramel rolls, cinnamon rolls, or coffee cake.

When a person plunges into cooking solely from home storage, they are quite often frustrated by “all the hard work,” the poor results from their cooking, and the lack of enthusiasm from family members. Sort of like when a new young bride begins cooking for her husband for the first time. The results are often ho-hum.

Try taking one day a week, at first, to practice cooking out of your storage pantry. Ease into it with a few of these recipes; they are easy and basic. Then expand to others, found in some of the books listed below. Mennonite, Amish, Mormon, and Seventh Day Adventist cookbooks usually provide a good start for comforting, tasty meals with basics, as these religions stress commonsense preparedness and good family eating from basic, healthy ingredients.

It’s well to mention at this time that it makes good sense to develop a small garden, at least, and learn to forage for wild foods (which are great tasting, by the way), while learning to cook meals from the food you have stored. Fresh foods are a very welcome change to dehydrated and canned, and they not only taste great, but provide extra nutrition, which could conceivably be lacking in a few long-term storage foods.

Likewise, if it is at all possible, develop your own sourceof fresh milk, eggs, and meat. Grandmas all over the world raised a small flock of chickens, even in town. It’s funny that the U.S. is one of the few countries where this is not common today. Remember that variety is truly the spice of life; cultivate all the variety you can in your family’s diet.

You’ll find you get into the rhythm of this type of cooking easily. And you’ll quickly develop time-saving ways of doing things. For instance, it didn’t take me long to decide that if I ground a week’s worth of grains I truly saved time, and cleaning of the grain mill, and I always had the grain I needed on hand conveniently.

I can honestly say that it takes only minutes longer per meal to prepare a great dining experience from my pantry than it does to rip and pry plastic wrap from something that appears to be food. And it makes the whole family feel great. We believe in living, not just surviving!

Suggested Reading

Amish Country Cooking by Andy & Millie Yoder
Bread Winners by Mel London
Cookin’ with Home Storage by Vicki Tate
Dehydrated Food Cooking by Stan Smith
Kitchen Magic-Cooking with Common Grains by Deanna Sudweeks
Marlene’s Magic with Food Storage by Marlene Peterson
The Natural Nine (Cooking with the 9 most common grains) By Lorraine D. Tyler

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[Has drawings of dryer, a simple one]

Food Drying

By Marcella Shaffer

The oldest known method of food preservation is drying food using the heat from the sun. Unfortunately it has become the least used as freezers and pressure canners have taken its place. While these methods of food preservation are certainly effective, they have drawbacks when compared to solar food drying.

Freezing is quick and easy but requires purchasing an expensive freezer if you don’t already own one. It also requires electricity (or other form of energy) to operate. Unless you are “off-the-grid,” a power outage can result in food loss.

Canning food requires more work than freezing but is generally unaffected by power outages. The initial expense of getting started can be substantial if you have to purchase the canner itself and related items like jars, lids, etc., and new lids must be purchased each year. Also, a source of energy is required, (electric, wood, gas, propane, etc.) while preserving, and canned food requires a lot of storage space.

Preserving food by solar drying requires no energy except the heat of the sun. Dried food also requires no energy to maintain it while stored. Related expenses are practically nothing, and little storage space is required. Drying food is easy to do and doesn’t require any special skills or equipment.

Dried food is excellent for hiking and camping because of its light weight and compact size. Several days rations can easily be placed in a backpack or your pockets. Best of all, dried food is delicious and nutritious.

Solar drying basics

Dried food is preserved by its moisture content, or rather the lack of it. It is always better to have food overly dry than not dry enough. Mold, due to inadequate drying, is the main cause of food spoilage while stored.

Climate can affect solar drying. The ideal climate is one with low humidity and bright, strong sunshine. If you live in a humid or rainy area you may wish to dry foods with a dehydrator or in the oven. While drying in this manner will require some form of energy, the other benefits of dried food will still be available to you.

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Do not dry your food outside in an area with a lot of traffic or air pollution. Contamination is possible from airborne emissions.

After food is prepared for drying, spread it in a single layer (pieces not touching) on drying trays and place in a sunny spot which permits good air circulation. Turn food daily. Dry strong-flavored or odored foods by themselves.

Drying trays can be made by simply using a frame and covering it with cheesecloth or plastic screen. Stretch tightly and fasten on the back with staples or tacks. A string can be placed across the back for reinforcement to prevent sagging (See illustration).

Do not use metal screen unless you cover it with cheese cloth. It may contaminate or ruin your food. Window frames, window screens, door frames, or discarded screen doors all make good drying trays. Set the tray on rocks or pieces of wood to permit air circulation from all sides. If insects are a problem while drying, loosely drape cheesecloth or other such fabric over the drying food. Arrange it so it does not touch food or it may stick.

To intensify the heat from the sun, an old window or piece of glass, can be placed above the food on the drying rack, allowing several inches of space for air circulation.

A simple solar dryer can be built from scrap material and an old window. Build a box similar to a gardening cold frame and cover with a piece of glass or plastic. Ventilation holes can be covered with screen to control insects if you wish. If the temperature inside gets too high (over 135-140 degrees F) provide more ventilation by raising the glass top a few inches.

Selecting a warm spot, like a heat reflecting driveway or roof-top, can help also.

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Bring your trays inside at night or if rain threatens. Finish drying in the oven or over your heating stove if necessary.

Variables like your particular locality and climate, humidity, heat, and the food itself can affect the length of time it takes for food to dry, so it is impossible to give specifics. The following guidelines offer some dryness indications for particular foods.

Harvest your fruits and vegetables when they are at the peak of flavor. It is better if they are slightly immature than overly ripe.

Never place dried food which is still warm directly into the storage containers. Always let it cool completely first.

Fruits

Wash and dry fruit. Peel if desired and slice thinly. Apples, peaches, and other fruits may darken when exposed to air. This is caused by oxidation which can damage flavor and vitamin content. To prevent oxidation you can dip the fruit slices in a preserving solution. One solution is a salt water dip which is made by adding six tablespoons of pickling salt to one gallon of water. Soak for two to three minutes, then drain. Pat dry. Another solution is two tablespoons of ascorbic acid powder to one quart of lukewarm water. Soak, drain, and dry as above. Commercial fruit preservatives can also be purchased for this purpose.

Fruits are dry when somewhere between leathery and brittle. Drying times are affected by a number of factors, so experience and common sense are the best guides. After sun drying fruit it needs to be “equalized.” Remove from trays and place in a bowl inside the house. Several times per day, for one week, stir the fruit pieces. This will allow any moisture from pieces that are not totally dry to be transferred to those which are overly dry.

Another way to equalize dried fruit is to place it in a paper bag after removing from drying trays. Fold over the top of the bag and hang from the clothesline. Shake gently several times a day for two days.

Fruit leathers

Overripe fruit can be used to make fruit leathers and is actually better than fruit which is at its peak. To prepare fruit for leathers, rinse then turn into puree by grinding, putting through a food mill, or mashing with a potato masher. Remove peels, pits, and seeds. Add fruit juice if necessary until it is of a consistency that will pour. If the fruit is too runny, thicken by cooking over low heat to evaporate water or add a thickener, such as wheat or oat bran.

Sweetening or spices can be added if you choose. Begin by adding only one to two spoons of sweetener since many totally ripe fruits need nothing more. If you are making leathers from light colored fruits such as apples or peaches, heat to almost boiling before beginning to dry. This will help prevent browning.

Fruits can also be combined. Some good combinations are cherries and rhubarb and strawberries and rhubarb. All of the small berries like raspberries, blackberries, and mulberries go well together.

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Line a cookie sheet or tray with plastic (don’t use wax paper or foil) or coat with a non-stick vegetable spray or cooking oil. Pour the puree in and spread evenly by tilting the tray or sheet back and forth to spread it out. The thinner and more consistent the thickness, the better and quicker it will dry. One-eighth of an inch thick works well. If it is too thick it may spoil before drying, and if not consistent it will not dry evenly.

When top side is dry, remove from backing and turn over. Let the other side dry. Cut into squares or strips and roll up. Leather which is slightly sticky to touch will keep for about four to six weeks. Leather which is completely dried will keep longer but may be too brittle to roll.

Store leather in airtight containers with plastic wrap or paper between them to prevent sticking. Leather can be used as snacks or dissolved in water and used in any recipe calling for fruit.

Vegetables

Vegetables, like fruits, should be harvested at their peak of flavor. Wash to remove dirt, then prepare for drying by peeling, slicing, etc., as desired.

Controversy abounds over blanching vegetables before drying. Some insist on it, while others feel it is not necessary and successfully preserve without it. To blanch vegetables, steam them over boiling water until they are heated throughout and look translucent when cut with a knife. Remove from steamer and cool immediately with cold running water or plunging into a pan of ice water. Drain, then pat dry with cloth or towel.

Spread on drying trays, as with fruits, and dry in the sun. Most vegetables are dry when they are brittle and will shatter when struck. Slices will snap when bent.

Storing dried food

Often fruit, even when dry, will stick together when stored. A tasty way to help prevent this is by “dusting” before storing. Powdered sugar, spices, or powdered oats can be used as “dust.” Place it in a bag then add fruit and shake to coat the pieces. Dusting fruit leather or placing pieces of paper between the rolls will prevent them from sticking.

Almost anything can be used as a storage container, as long as it has a tight fitting lid. Recycled jars or other containers work well, as well as storage bags or canning jars. If using a metal lid, place a piece of paper between the food and lid. Light causes oxidation, so store the dried food in a dark place or put the containers inside paper bags or a cardboard box to block light. Keep in a cool place.

Storing in small batches is wise. In the event one piece is not dry, it will not ruin the entire batch. Check weekly for signs of mold for the first several weeks. Label the food before storing.

Using dried foods

Add dried vegetables to soups or stews. The liquid will “re-hydrate” them while cooking. They can also be used in casseroles, sauces like spaghetti, and in nearly any recipe requiring vegetables.

Fruits can be eaten as they are for snacks. They can also be “re-hydrated” by soaking or cooking in juice. The warmer the liquid, the quicker the fruit will soak it up. Use dried fruits to stew, in baking, jams, sauces, or for syrups.

Dried foods will keep a minimum of six months in storage under the proper conditions.

Drying meat

continues and has a facts chart.....

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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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