Posted on 07/24/2009 3:37:21 AM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Weekly Roundup - Living On Nothing Edition Category: Roundups | Comments(15)
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.
The Frugal Roundup
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)
A Few Others I Enjoyed
* 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
I have looked for this for a long time. Thank you whoever bumped it!
THE LATEST PHONE SCAM
Targets Your Bank Account
06/21/10
phone
Imagine getting hundreds or thousands of calls on your home, business, or cell phone, tying up the lines. And when you answer, you hear anything from dead air to recorded messages, advertisements, or even phone sex menus.
It’s annoying, no doubt. But it could be more than that—it could be a sign that you’re being victimized by the latest scam making the rounds. This ”telephone denial-of-service attack“ could be the precursor to a crime targeting your bank accounts.
Denial-of-service attacks, by themselves, are nothing new—computer hackers use them to take down websites by flooding them with large amounts of traffic.
In a recent twist, criminals have transferred this activity to telephones, using automated dialing programs and multiple accounts to overwhelm the phone lines of unsuspecting citizens.
share.gif
Why are they doing it? Turns out the calls are simply a diversionary tactic: while the lines are tied up, the criminals—masquerading as the victims themselves—are raiding the victims’ bank accounts and online trading or other money management accounts.
Here, in a nutshell, is how the whole thing works:
*
Weeks or months before the phone calls start, a criminal uses social engineering tactics or malware to elicit personal information from a victim that this person’s bank or financial institution would have—like account numbers and passwords. Perhaps the victim responded to a bogus e-mail phishing for information, inadvertently gave out sensitive information during a phone call, or put too much personal information on social networking sites that are trolled by criminals.
*
Using technology, the criminal ties up the victim’s various phone lines.
*
Then, the criminal either contacts the financial institution pretending to be the victim…or pilfers the victim’s online bank accounts using fraudulent transactions. Normally, the institution calls to verify the transactions, but of course they can’t get through to the victim over the phone.
*
If the transactions aren’t made, the criminals sometimes re-contact the financial institution as the victim and ask for it to be done. Or they add their own phone number to victims’ accounts and just wait for the bank to call.
By the time the victim or the financial institution realizes what happens, it’s too late.
Law enforcement and industry response
While the lines are tied up, the criminals are raiding victims’ accounts.
The FBI first learned about this emerging scheme through one of its private industry partners, which told us how a Florida dentist lost $400,000 from his retirement account after a denial-of-service attack on his phones.
And as of April of this year, there has definitely been a noticeable surge in telephone denial-of-service attacks, with numerous incidents having been reported in several Eastern states.
To help fight these schemes, the FBI has teamed up with the Communication Fraud Control Association—comprised of security professionals from communication providers—to analyze the patterns and trends of telephone denial-of-service attacks, educate the public, and identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
Ultimately, though, it’s individual consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses on the front line of this battle. So take precautions: never give out personal information to an unsolicited phone caller or via e-mail; change online banking and automated telephone system passwords frequently; check your account balances often; and protect your computers with the latest virus protection and security software.
And if you think you may have been targeted by a telephone denial-of-service attack, contact your financial institution and your telephone provider, and file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Resources:
- Common Fraud Schemes
Weekly Harvest Newsletter
http://attra.ncat.org
Sustainable Agriculture News Briefs - June 23, 2010
Weekly sustainable agriculture news and resources gleaned from the Internet
by NCAT staff for the ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information
Service Web site. The Weekly Harvest Newsletter is also available online.
http://attra.ncat.org/newsletter/archives.html#wh
Share The Harvest: Please forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues
who might be interested in the latest sustainable agriculture news, funding
opportunities, and events.
News & Resources
* USDA Seeks Input on Agricultural Renewable Energy Use
* Beginning Farmer Fact Sheet Available
* NSAC Releases Conservation Program Fact Sheet
* Program to Help Geographically Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers
* Small Farms Program Seeks Input From Beginning Farmers
* Podcasts Available for Dairy Farmers
Funding Opportunities
* Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program
* New Hampshire Conservation Innovation Grant
* 50 States for Good Grant
Coming Events
* Late Blight Webinar
* Northeast Permaculture Convergence
* Heritage Wheat Field Day
__________________________________________________
News & Resources
USDA Seeks Input on Agricultural Renewable Energy Use
http://bit.ly/dyM27z
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2010 - The Department of Agriculture’s National
Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is seeking stakeholder input as it
develops an annual program to collect and publish data about agriculture’s
production and use of renewable energy.
Beginning Farmer Fact Sheet Available
http://bit.ly/a4e6q5
Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) has released a new
fact sheet, So You Want to Start a Farm? This 12-page booklet features a
variety of resources for the beginning or aspiring organic farmer. It
discusses how to define your basic goals, available training programs and
field days, financing, marketing, licensing requirements, and finally how to
find a place to farm.
NSAC Releases Conservation Program Fact Sheet
http://bit.ly/bIyUzs
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has issued a new five page
fact sheet (PDF/176KB: http://bit.ly/a6XDDs) on the Conservation Stewardship
Program (CSP). The fact sheet reflects changes to the program made under the
final rule issued on June 3, 2010 by USDA as well as other administrative
changes affecting the current sign up now under way. Farmers and ranchers
wanting to enroll in the Conservation Stewardship Program have until June
25th to file a simple application form with their local NRCS office.
Program to Help Geographically Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers
http://bit.ly/cf7jZO
American farmers
and ranchers outside the 48 contiguous United States who experience high
transportation costs will soon see relief through funding authorized through
the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill). The payments
announced today through the Farm Service Agency (FSA) are intended to offset
a portion of the costs of transporting agricultural inputs and products over
long distances. The Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program for
Geographically Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (RTCP) assists farmers and
ranchers in Alaska, Hawaii, and areas including the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
U.S. Virgin Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the
Marshall Islands and Republic of Palau who paid to transport either an
agricultural commodity or an input used to produce an agricultural
commodity.
Small Farms Program Seeks Input From Beginning Farmers
http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu
Cornell’s Beginning Farmer Education Enhancement team needs your help
prioritizing the challenges and needs of new farmers after their start-up.
This effort is directed at the entire Northeast Region and is an attempt to
capture as broad and diverse a beginning farmer sample as possible. Please
complete this survey and share it with other farmers. The items in the
survey were generated by farmers and Beginning Farmer service providers.
Getting more input from both audiences on prioritizing the items is
absolutely critical. Results from this survey will be used by economic,
production and social researchers to guide their efforts toward solving the
highest priority beginning farmer problems.
Podcasts Available for Dairy Farmers
http://bit.ly/cRpAqO
Dairy farmers soon will have podcasts as a new resource for industry
information from Purdue University. “Purdue Dairy Digest,”
(http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/DD) a podcast series created by three Purdue
Extension animal science specialists, will be available for free download by
noon each Wednesday beginning June 16. Each podcast will run about two
minutes and will include both information directed to dairy farmers and some
general information for the public. Podcasts will include information on
general dairy topics, management issues, animal welfare, updates on upcoming
conferences and meetings and more.
> More Breaking News: http://attra.ncat.org/news
__________________________________________________
Funding Opportunities
Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program
http://bit.ly/d9gFUj
The goal of this program is to support rural and urban farming, gardening
and food system partnerships that work with refugee families. These programs
should help the families improve their incomes, diet, and integration into
American society. Applications are expected to combine elements of food
production, training, land access, financing, and partnership development,
with attention to client culture, language and literacy. Projects may
incorporate the goal of having an adequate supply of healthy food in a
community.
Proposals are due July 12, 2010.
New Hampshire Conservation Innovation Grant
http://bit.ly/bVTCQH
The New Hampshire State Office of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) requests applications for Conservation Innovation Grants
(CIG) to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation
approaches and technologies. Applications will be accepted from any eligible
entity for projects within the State of New Hampshire. Funds will be awarded
through a statewide competitive grants process. Applications are requested
from eligible government or non-government organizations or individuals
within the State of New Hampshire for competitive consideration of grant
awards for projects between one and three years in duration. There are two
CIG components available in FY2010: (1) Natural Resource Concerns Component,
and (2) Technology Component.
Proposals are due July 2, 2010.
50 States for Good Grant
http://bit.ly/dikE5f
50 States for Good is a national initiative to support the goodness behind
grassroots community projects and we need you to nominate and vote for your
favorites. Five organizations will share in our $100,000 sponsorship fund.
Project must have a positive impact on the community in 1 of 3 areas:
environmental goodness, healthy human goodness and animal goodness.
Proposals are due July 2, 2010.
> More Funding Opportunities: http://attra.ncat.org/funding
__________________________________________________
Coming Events
Late Blight Webinar
http://bit.ly/9Lmaf9
July 1, 2010
8 p.m. EST, 7 p.m. CST, 6 p.m. MST, 5 p.m., PST
Late blight is a serious disease of potato and tomato family (Solanaceous)
crops worldwide that reached epidemic proportions on U.S. farms in 2009.
Join eOrganic presenters Dr. Sally Miller of Ohio State University and Dr.
Meg McGrath of Cornell University for a free Webinar to learn about the
state of late blight in 2010, the late blight disease cycle, how to scout
and diagnose the disease, and how to manage late blight on your organic
farm.
Northeast Permaculture Convergence
http://bit.ly/9JeHcP
July 2-4, 2010
Unity, Maine
The 6th Annual Northeast Permaculture Convergence continues the tradition of
bringing the community together to share, learn, collaborate and celebrate!
We expect to offer sessions ranging from “new-to-permaculture” workshops up
through advanced permaculture strategies. Special kids and wellness areas
are planned also!
Heritage Wheat Field Day
http://growseed.org
July 7, 2010
Deerfield, Massachusetts
Discover almost-lost heritage wheats that thrive in organic soils. Learn how
to integrate small grains in a diversified rotation. Share practical
experiences to build a local wheat-to-bread system. Taste high nutrition
einkorn bread that is safe for many gluten allergies.
> More Events: http://attra.ncat.org/calendar
__________________________________________________
New & Updated Publications
Beyond Basic Compensation
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=330
Montana Farmers Market EBT Manual
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=337
Worms for Bait or Waste Processing (Vermicomposting)
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=256
Question of the Week
What information can you give me on mist irrigation for vegetative cuttings?
http://bit.ly/9rMo1N
Feature of the Week
Sustainable Agriculture Publications
http://www.attra.org/publication.html
Ask a Sustainable Agriculture Expert
Submit questions to our professional staff online
http://attra.ncat.org/ask.php
__________________________________________________
Subscribe to the Weekly Harvest
http://bit.ly/a116jO
Subscribe to Cosecha Mensual (Monthly Harvest), ATTRA’s Spanish-language
e-newsletter
http://attra.ncat.org/espanol/boletin.php
Comments? Questions? Contact us.
http://attra.ncat.org/management/contact.html
Weekly Harvest and ATTRAnews Archives Available Online
http://attra.ncat.org/newsletter/archives.html
Digital versions of recent Weekly Harvest and ATTRAnews newsletters are
available online. ATTRAnews is the newsletter of ATTRA - National
Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service - ATTRA - was
developed and is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology
(NCAT). The project is funded through a cooperative agreement with the
United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business-Cooperative
Service.
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/index.html
Visit the NCAT Web site for more information on our other sustainable
agriculture and energy projects.
http://www.ncat.org/sarc_current.php
C Copyright 2010 NCAT
Fiskars’ Project Orange Thumb - garden contributions near $1 Million in 2010
With that in mind, Fiskars® is sowing the seeds of community togetherness with the
return of its philanthropic initiative, Project Orange Thumb®. The program, which
has awarded nearly $1 million in contributions and supported over 115 community
groups since 2002, is comprised of two major elements - an annual gift of cash and
garden tools awarded to applicants from across North America, and three spectacular
garden makeovers.
Fiskars partners with Canadian Tire and City of Vancouver to plant a community garden
today June 23
Two vacant City of Vancouver-owned lots at the intersection of East 8th Avenue and
Commercial Drive in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood will become a source of
community pride today as Fiskars’ Project Orange Thumb transforms the barren patch
of soil into a beautiful and productive neighborhood garden in a single day.
Sting Harvests ‘Vertical Farm’ Book For Documentary
Sting is getting into the documentary business. The former Police front man and
co-founder of The Rainforest Fund, and his manager/producing partner Kathryn Schenker,
bought film rights to The Vertical Farm, the book by Dr. Dickson Despommier that
the St. Martin’s Press imprint Thomas Dunne Books will publish in October.
A movement toward “backyard farming” is alive, well in Oklahoma City
Talk about the value and importance of local, sustainable food sources has been
rampant the past couple years. Movies have been filmed, books have been written
and immeasurable oxygen has been sucked from the atmosphere in discussing the subject.
But Bruce Edwards, director of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma’s Urban Harvest
program, is doing more than talking; he’s putting it into practice to feed the hungry
and activate the community into not taking the practices of our ancestors for granted.
The Role of Urban Agriculture in Sustainable Urban Nutrient Management
This issue will look at options for closing the loop through safe
recycling of urban wastes, and argues that urban agriculture can play an important
role in creating sustainable urban nutrient management. It is produced in collaboration
with WASTE.
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Stories here:
City Farmer News [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103509172598&s=1304&e=001iSEnUnELvcnLBrODUDBLRChiYGHn3ec1R8NE-niXlLbCG3Q1jFjC9URejFsUpQ4GyBirR39H3wNicOwwLIb_EDePLoXSFq9p2t44pylt0fRqOXjZNCIsBQ==]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Levenston
City Farmer - Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture
1978-2010
http://www.nhteapartycoalition.org/tea/2010/06/12/gun-ban-being-crafted-in-secrecy/
ACTION ALERT!!! U.S. agrees to timetable for UN Gun Ban
June 23, 2010 by randyedye
(NATIONAL GUN RIGHTS) The United Nations and Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton are moving forward with their plan to confiscate your guns.
The United States joined 152 other countries in support of the Arms Trade
Treaty Resolution, which establishes the dates for the 2012 UN conference
intended to attack American sovereignty by stripping
Americans of the right to keep and bear arms.
Working groups of anti-gun countries will begin scripting language for the
conference this year, creating a blueprint for other countries when they
meet at the full conference.
The stakes couldn’t be higher.
Former United Nation’s ambassador John Bolton has cautioned gun owners
about the Arms Trade Treaty and says the UN “is trying to act as though
this is really just a treaty about international arms trade
between nation states, but there’s no doubt that the real agenda here is
domestic firearms control.”
Establishing the dates for the Arms Trade Treaty Conference is just the
first step toward their plans for total gun confiscation.
The worldwide gun control mob will ensure the passage of an egregious,
anti-gun treaty.
. . .and that’s where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton steps in.
Once the UN Gun Ban is passed by the General Assembly of the United
Nations it must be ratified by each nation, including the United States.
As an arch enemy of gun owners, Clinton has pledged to push the U.S.
Senate to ratify the treaty. She will push for passage of this outrageous
treaty designed to register, ban and CONFISCATE firearms
owned by private citizens like YOU.
That’s why it’s vital you sign the special petition I’ve made up for your
signature that DEMANDS your U.S. Senators vote AGAINST ratification of the
UN’s “Small Arms Treaty.”
So far, the gun-grabbers have successfully kept the exact wording
snip...
Advance Notice for Termination of the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of Medical Products and Devices
Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:00:00 -0500
Per the FDA-issued advance notice letters listed below, the declaration of Public Health Emergency determination for 2009 H1N1 Influenza expires on June 23, 2010.
New CDC Test to Detect Human Infections with the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Virus Authorized for Use by FDA
Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:00:00 -0500
A test developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to diagnose human infections with the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus (formerly known as swine flu or pandemic H1N1 flu) was authorized for use today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2010/r100622.htm
Date: Tue 22 Jun 2010
Source: UPI (United Press International), US News [edited]
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/06/22/Fatal-hepatitis-E-reported-in-Texas/UPI-86981277232652/
Fatal hepatitis E reported in Texas
snipped from a ProMedMail.org post....
PROJECT: Looking for Developer
Posted: 24 Jun 2010 07:58 AM PDT
I’m looking for a developer that I can add to my software team for a very cool project. Here’s what I am looking for:
* Ruby on Rails and open source software wiz.
* Able to build mash-ups.
* Smart and reliable.
* Resourceful.
It’s a paid position and you can work from home. If you are interested, send me a note:
systemdisruption-web @yahoo.com
[Some of the links he publishes are very useful, so I subscribe and now get all kinds of info from them.
Thought this might suit the needs of someone.
granny]
This message consists of the following:
1. CPSC Announces Recall to Repair Child Craft Brand Stationary-Side Cribs with Dowel Due to Entrapment and Strangulation Hazards, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10271.html
2. Child Craft Drop-Side Cribs Recalled Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10272.html
3. Delta Recalls to Repair Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10273.html
4. Evenflo Recalls to Repair Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10274.html
5. Jardine Recalls to Repair Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10275.html
6. LaJobi Recalls to Repair Bonavita, Babi Italia and ISSI Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10276.html
7. Million Dollar Baby Recalls to Repair Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10277.html
8. Simmons Recalls to Repair Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10278.html
9. Youth Tiara Recalled by Wilton Industries Due to Lead Exposure Hazard, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10279.html
10. Seven Manufacturers Announce Recalls to Repair Cribs to Address Entrapment, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10270.html
Friends, I am testing out the wet towel method of keeping cool.
My cooler quit working and the temp is about 110 here, so not much energy for posting or thinking.
called a man, “ will be there by noon “, 2 days and still waiting.
hugs to all of you.
>>>Friends, I am testing out the wet towel method of keeping cool.
My cooler quit working and the temp is about 110 here, so not much energy for posting or thinking.<<<
Granny, if you have a fan, take a couple of towels and hang them from the back of two chairs with one end in a roaster pan, bucket or other water holding container on the floor - put water in the container and have the fan blow across the two towels. This will serve as a temporary ‘swamp cooler’. Not quite as efficient as the aspen padded ones, but it will wick the water up and evaporate it as the fan blows across the towels, giving you some cooling.
Hope this helps - I remember how hot it gets out there!
Give that guy another call!
A company with the intriguing name “Silk Road Textile Merchants” has
put up a very handy guide to removing stains in fabrics. It’s at
http://www.srfabrics.com/care/stain.htm
Snippets from page at:
http://bisonsurvivalblog.blogspot.com/
I remember the pleasure of taking six raw eggs and blending them into orange juice for the best breakfast ever. It almost made up for having to clean up after the foul fowl. And of course, nowadays, everybody is so paranoid about being sued that they go overboard on the safety issues. So I never thought that eggs would keep just fine for a week out of the fridge. Just put them in a jar of plain water. If they turn bad they start to float. I’ve been eating eggs now for almost two weeks and it makes a huge difference. I have a lot more energy with the extra, cheap protein.
We’ve already covered butter ( a glass jar filled with butter, then turned upside down in a larger jar full of water keeps butter for at least a week ), condiments ( good for several weeks out of the fridge, but don’t buy the economy sized because they do soon start to mold ) and canned meat ( Spam sucks ). Today I’m just sharing my menu ideas to give you an idea of the possibilities for dinner. If you move off grid, or if you become homeless, or if the rolling brownouts become the norm again, it might be nice to have this information before you need it. If you home can your own meat than this will have little interest to you. Everyone else, proceed with caution.
*
You could live quite well if your protein source was butter, eggs and cheese ( to keep cheese, lightly sprinkle vinegar on cheesecloth [available at the grocery or fabric store] and wrap the hard cheese in it for longer life outside the fridge ). If you want more conventional meat dishes, yet are trying to eat cheap and avoid the worst chemically preserved items, here are a few suggestions. If you have a Family Dollar near you, they sell a can of beef in gravy for two dollars. Wal-Mart’s version is closer to $4. Also at Family Dollar is a can of cream of chicken soup for fifty cents. Wal-Mart sells a can of white gravy with breakfast sausage in it for $1.59. Or a can of jalapeno nacho cheese for $2. Or chili for about a buck ( it varies week to week from 75 cents to $1.30 for the same brand ). All of these taste simply heavenly poured over cubed fried potatoes ( if you are a meat and taters kind of diner- don’t dilute the soup with anything ). Rice comes in second place in the taste test. My diet is whole wheat microwave bread for breakfast and lunch, then one of the above for dinner, five days a week. Meat with beans or rice or potatoes two or three times a week. I eat a couple of eggs to get me from after work to dinner. The reason I started experimenting with the canned protein was my fear that raw meat might keep going up in price. As if $4 a pound for beef for the crap cuts isn’t bad enough. Again, this is a diet without a refrigerator. I can’t buy the larger portions to save money.
*
Heating with hot rocks Other than candles, lamps, and camp stoves (which you should always use carefully and with adequate ventilation), never have an open flame in the house. But that doesn’t mean you can’t build a fire outside and bring the heat back in. One of the best ways to do this is heating up rocks. Just build a roaring fire and drop a quantity of bricks or football sized rocks in it until they turn red hot, then carry them back into the house in a stainless steel bucket or big, non-coated, cooking pot. Avoid aluminum as it tends to burn through rather quickly. And always get the rocks from a high, dry area - never from a place where they may have absorbed moisture, as this can cause them to explode when heated.
Carry the bucket very carefully to avoid getting burned, perhaps running a stout pole or broomstick through the handle for two person transport. Then place it on a non-combustible insulated platform such as a baking pan or an oven rack supported by bricks. A two gallon bucket of hot rocks will heat an average sized room for hours. When the rocks have cooled off enough to touch, they can then be tucked beneath blankets to help provide a warm bed and sleeping area.
If your shelter is outside on warm ground, you can dig a trench beneath the bedding area and line it with hot rocks. Then refill the trench with dirt, allow the moisture to evaporate, and put your bedding over the top.
Hot rocks can also be used for cooking. Just plunk a small hot rock in a kettle of water and watch it boil. Outside you van dig a pit in the ground and line it with hot rocks, thus creating an oven.
THIS IS THOUGHT PROVOKING. TAKE THE TIME TO READ IT, AND IF YOU AGREE, YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEND IT ON TO THOSE THAT YOU THINK WILL SEE THE WISDOM IN IT AS WELL.
There was a chemistry professor in a large college that had some
exchange students in his class. One day while the class was in the
lab, the professor noticed one young man, an exchange student,
who kept rubbing his back and stretching as if his back hurt.
The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country’s government and install a new communist regime.
In the midst of his story , he looked at the professor and asked a
strange question. He asked:
“Do you know how to catch wild pigs?”
The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said that it was no joke.
You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and
putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come
everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every
day, you place a fence down one side where they are used to coming.
When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side.
The pigs, which are used to the free corn, start to come through the
gate to eat that free corn again.
You then slam the gate shut on them. The wild pigs have lost their
freedom and run around and around inside the fence, but can’t
escape
Soon they just go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it by now that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, and they simply accept their captivity.
The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees
happening in America. The government keeps pushing us toward
Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tax cuts, tax exemptions, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc., while we continually lose our freedoms, just a little at a time.
One should always remember two truths:
1) There is no such thing as a free lunch.
2) And you can never hire someone to provide a service for you
cheaper than you can do it yourself.
If you agree that all of this wonderful government ‘help’ is a problem
confronting the future of democracy in America, you might want to send this on to others to ponder.
Those who think the free ride is essential to their way of life, will likely just delete this email.
But God help us all when the gate slams shut!
Author Unknown To Me
Re: Rice(Rather long text)
Hello. The only way I could find to get this here was by pasting it.
It is rather long, but I found the information quite useful. I hope
you do also.gwen
Meals, Buckets and Cache
By GS
Individual Meals
The first thing we will cover, is homemade survival meals. This meal
should be made now, as time has run out. We can still order, and
still have deliveries, but we should plan on them quitting anytime,
and the chores still have to be done.
If you can order more food, do so, if not, then pay attention to this
quick way to build meals, that will keep you from starving.
I developed these meals, when I was doing major time in the
wilderness, and had to cover many miles, and utilize many hours of
daylight, for my work. Not having much time for meals these meals
were developed to sustain and supplement with wild meat when
available.
I dried my own veggies, in a commercial food dryer, and cured most of
my own meat in a smoker I had made. I practiced meat drying for ease
of storing, persevering, and maintaining the protein within the meat
itself.
Here is what you will need to start making your own MRE’s,
(1) vacuum seal a mealer ( go with quality, and figure about 200$ to
get one)
(*) Plenty of seal a meal bags, start with the pints, first, until
you get good enough
sealer. The bags can become expensive, so you will have to pay
attention to
detail and not make mistakes.
(*) Dried veggies, cut in small pieces, and when drying, dry an extra
4 hours to en-
sure that all the moisture is out of veggies.
(*) Bullion cubes, ( place two cubes in each meal)
(*) 25# of rice and barley
When I started making these meals, it worked out about 18 cents
apiece, I think now they would be little higher, but still very cheap
to make in mass. When sealing the open end, I always doubled the seal
to insure they did not leak. You have to be gentle when packing these
meals, so they do not loose there seal, but once packed, they last a
long, long time.........
Now if you can’t dry the veggies, you can go to health food stores,
and large chain stores such as Albertson, Winco, etc,... and they
have bulk foods, and you will find the veggies there already dried
ready to be used.
With a pint size vacuum seal a meal bag, I place 1/2 cup of rice and
barley in bags, add 1/3 cup of dried veggies and two bullion cubes
and seal. There is your meal, already to go, with 20 minutes of
cooking you have enough to stave hunger, and you can throw in some
squirrel meat, or fish to get more protein. I always pack my dried
meat in another package to ensure nothing went bad. With these
individual meals, you can put about 45 meals in one 5 gallon plastic
bucket. That could be one persons food for about 20 days and it would
weight in about 4 pounds.
I myself have broken down my foods and resealed them in vacuum seal a
meal bags, for several major reasons, one, is like supplies you do
not want all of them at one place, same with food, if you had 10 1/2
# bags of sugar, instead of 1 pound container, you are less likely to
spoil, or loose all 5 #.
You can very quickly put together a pack full of food that will pack
well, not spill, or get damaged. I can put 25 meals into my ruck and
head out........with #10 cans, you will have to take care in moving
them without them being spilt. Remember you will have animals
smelling and tracking you. In say 5 minutes you could issue 2 buckets
to each person in your group and head out. You can combine these
individual meals into one big stew, but there is more positive to
making these meals that there is not. And trust me, if you have to
get into these meals, or buckets, you will most likely be very happy
to each rice and veggies.
Survival Bucket
I had developed the survival bucket or cache bucket in the late 80’
working in the field and wilderness of the pacific northwest.
Something I have realized, in developing these buckets is they can be
used for anything, last a long time, weather proof, can be sealed
tightly, and successfully stored in two positions, right side up and
upside down, which will be covered in depth later in this essay.
First you want to find a source of free or cheap buckets with lids.
Most chain stores who have bakery’s can furnish you these buckets on
a regular bases. Some might want to charge a little, but that is okay
as well. You want to make sure they have no holes in them, a lid with
a rubber seal, and a good handle for carrying. Wash out bucket with
hot, hot steaming water with lots of soap. Most of these buckets held
frosting, so you need to get the smell out as much as possible, to
keep bears from digging these valuable contents.
Container distributors are everywhere just check your yellow pages,
and when you buy bulk, it comes much cheaper.
The contents of these buckets can be most anything. I would start
with placing some of these homemade meals in these buckets, and also
put water purification, toilet paper, and matches to make sure there
is water, fire and food available.
I have made radio buckets, battery buckets, first aid buckets, toilet
paper buckets, ammo buckets, food buckets,......books buckets ( how
too books) and the list can go on and on.
The one thing you do want to do, and that is evacuate all the air (
oxygen) out of bucket before sealing so as not to cause condensation
which can cause damage to electronic, medical and special gear.
In all my buckets that I have sealed, and will not open again till
needed, I have used an only technique to force all the air out of
bucket. Have on hand, in the freezer some (dried ice), once you have
placed all that you plan on putting in the bucket (as full as you can
get it), place apiece of dried ice in the bottom of the bucket, then
place lid on the bucket, but do not seal just yet. The dried ice will
create a fog that will force out all the air in the buckets, once
that is done then seal bucket on just 4 sides. Wait another day, burp
the lid, and reseal immediately, and the bucket will be sealed and
secure until you need it. Now you can stack, store, bury, or even
place underwater until you need it.
Here is some ideas when you build these buckets, first of all paint
them something earthy, anything but white. Also scrub the buckets
before painting, with ammonia to neutralize the smell of humans and
or frosting then paint.
I would also urge all to make an inventory of what you have placed in
buckets and mark them so you will know what is inside without having
to break the seal to the bucket.
You might want to rub some Vaseline petroleum jell on the rubber
gaskets in the lids. Replace any that is broken, cut or not whole.
Once you get into the field of bucket preps you will see all the
advantages of exploring this field and becoming involved.
Now think of all that you could do with all the empty buckets you
have now at your base camp................so it has gone from a
container, to now a tool, whether it be for hauling water to the
garden, porty potti, to storing next years food you have preserved
this year.............................
Caching
Cache: to store, hide, keep hidden, when needed, safe for the future
Heck the word cache, means just what it says, doesn’t it. The
pioneers that first set foot in this country, always divided their
supplies and secured them in a cache through out their area of
operation. They did this for the protection of their supplies,
against man and animal (bear), and with out caching their supplies,
it would of taken another 100 years to settle this great land. During
the pioneer day in the lower 48 the caches were usually burdied or
hung in trees, or in caves or in among large rocks, more to have
ready when needed, or resupply their possible bag... and in some
cases when they were overwhelmed within their forts and had to escape
and evade the attackers they could go to there cache, resupply and
escape. In Alaska cache were more to keep the animals out of your
supplies, than it was humans, and so they built their cache 12’ to
15’ above ground.
Cache means an entirely different reason for us in the very near
future than what it meant say 100 years ago. Cache for us will be a
resupply of items and supplies that can not and most likely will not
be able to replace anytime soon.
Here is an outline for what you might want to do, if you was say
burying buckets, and the order in which this should be accomplished.
Further along in this paper, I will also share ideas on where, how,
and when to do this cache effort.
(1) Deciding what you want to cache,
(2) Picking a seal proof container to store your supplies
(3) Utilize your inventory so that not all your cookies are in just
one cache, ie: DO NOT put all of your ammo in one cache, spread it
out among all of the caches.
(4) Figure where you want to put your cache
Not in flood plan
good digging soil would be nice
Plenty of cover and concealment to allow you privacy to dig hole, or
recover gear
coordinate actual placement of cache and camouflage of same.
(5) Actual guidelines for preparing hole.
separate topsoil and place on tarp
removing dirt to accommodate the buckets or things to be cached.
removing displaced dirt from site to attract attention
(6) replacing dirt and top soil and camouflaging site to look
undisturbed
(7) Marking the site of cache in such a way only you and your group
would recognize the sign that a cache is near.
(8) Being able to find cache in all four seasons, day or night.
Now you have filled and recorded all that you put in buckets, you
have evacuated the excess oxygen within the bucket, you have painted
the buckets an earthy color. Now you are ready to bury cache. You
have located the area you want to cache the buckets. Making sure
nobody has seen you move the gear to this site and dug hole, you have
spread a sheet of plastic near intended hole, you very carefully take
off the first 4 inches of top soil in squares and place the top soil
on the plastic and set aside.
Now you dig the hole and all the displaced dirt from hole, you will
place on a sheet of plastic as well.
If you are going to place just a single layer of buckets into the
ground, so you will need to dig hole about 30 inches deep. Place
buckets rightside up in hole very tightly, once you have gotten the
buckets all stacked properly within the hole, you now place another
tarp or sheet of plastic over all the buckets and tuck the excess
plastic along the sides of the hole, to add another layer of
protection upon the buckets. Now you sprinkle ammonia, and bleach all
around the hole and the cache this will remove all the human scent
and not attract all sorts of wild animals,.
You back fill the hole with the dirt you had taken out of the hole,
and placed upon the plastic sheet. once you have done that now you
can place the original top soil back onto the existing hole and make
it look like nothing has been done there. The excess dirt you still
have left on the sheet of plastic, you will now need to remove
approx. 200 yards from where you buried your buckets.
Now I placed the size of print bigger and changed the color to red,
because you need to remember this. From the time you dig hole, till
you fill it in, and remove displayed dirt, HAS to be the shortest
possible time, to evade all the technology that is out there today.
All that is left is to mark it, so you will recognize it when you
return, whether if has been for weeks, months, or even years.
For those who plan on staying in place or within the confines of a
built up area, there are many places to cache. Most man hole covers
within your streets have a crawl space to store many buckets, the
trouble here is, you could only use them after the infrastructure has
failed. Burying in the back yard, I know a couple who have built
there shelter and rootcellar under their homes and barns with
connecting tunnels, with the idea that they will burn down their home
and barn upon them covering up all known exit except for the one they
have planned on using. the exposed pipe from the plumbing of their
house will also serve as a breather piper for them to draw in fresh
air. Anyone coming onto this site, will see there is no need to poke
around because everything above ground has been destroyed.
Many cities and towns, have vast areas already underground and
reinforced. From utility tunnels, to sewer tunnels. You just need to
research these things out, or talk to old timers and you will learn
much.
The only guidance I would give these people is make your caches
small, so if discovered you haven’t given your idea and supplies
away. Always fill in the hole after recovering cache, so as not to
teach the bad guys about this trick.
Here again, the active imagination will come up with cache techniques
that haven’t even been discovered yet.
Now that you have painted the buckets, you did remember to also paint
the bottom and tops, and here is why. I have stored buckets in trees
hung by a rope, in my elk camps,(reason bear), but like animals,
humans in the woods do not normally look up, especially in
mountainous country. So painting them on top and bottom, you have
reduced the chance that somebody might JUST look up and see the white
bottom of a unpainted bucket.
If you do not intentionally evacuate the oxygen out of the buckets,
you can attach a short piece of rope say 3 feet, and weight it down
to sink, throw outfit into 20 feet of water, and your bucket will
ride safely upside down just three feet from the bottom. Here again
if the bottom is painted, even in clear water, the chance of these
buckets being found in unlikely. Take caution here in what you place
in buckets due to the high percentage of condensation due to cold
water. Wisdom is used in situation like this.
My rule is never make a cache bigger than you can carry away when you
leave.
Always cover hole back in, and return site as close as possible to
before you dug it up.
Where I live, there are many old wrecks and old mining equipment in
the mountains, and thanks to the relic and antique act the government
passed years ago, it has been illegal for years to remove from the
woods. So there is plenty of old rear ends or transmissions laying
around, something so big nobody would want to haul it out, but
something that would be there after a forest fire. You need to take
extra care in picking a spot for your cache, as seasonal change and
disasters such as forest fires, flood or landslide, can change the
landscape.
If you have an old wreck in the national forest near you, why not dig
hole next to it, place your buckets in hole, fill up, and use
comealong to pull old wreck over your cache.
Every farm has a dump, and you can bury much under them, and nobody
will bother them, not in the short time left.
I even know a guy who buried his cache deep in the sand traps of his
golf course he lives next too. He knows what hole he needs to go to,
to get something special, good prior planning.
OLD VERTICAL MINE SHAFTS, OLD WELLS, AND CISTERNS
Do not use compass to plot your cache, use natural terrain instead.
The compass will not be reliable in the very near future, because of
pole shifts. Where I live now, the runway azimuth has changed 23
degrees in the 5 years I have lived here. So use landmarks that only
god can move, you can use pace count but learn to not rely on the
compass.
There is a section in Steve Quayle’s website with a downloadable
manual on Cache used by the Special Forces. There is also many other
books on cache, but the best cache is the one not thought of yet.
Something that might happen to you, when you are out scouting
locations for cache. You could very easily stumble upon one not done
correctly by somebody else.
Stay way from grave yards, because many grave yards will be dug up
and looted for the jewelry, when there is no law to stop them.
If you booby trap your cache, remember a booby trap is not prejudice,
they kill anybody.
There are many things you can do to protect something you want to
bury or hid. Just plan on the worse thing happening and you will be
set. If the worse happens you at least planned on it, and made
arrangements to solve problem. Anything less is considered a blessing
from the only true I AM...........
In West Texas water is the first shortage and must have to even survive a week. Winters are mostly mils. Maybe no more than 10/20 days/nights of freezing weather
God help us in our day, in Jesus name, amen.
Zesty Red Onion Jelly
1 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tsp finely julienned lemon zest
3/4 cup white vinegar
3 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin
Prepare jars, caps and bands.
In a large saucepan combine red oinion, lemon zest and vinegar. Stir in
sugar. Over high heat
stirring constantly, bring to a full rolling boil. Stir in pectin. Boil
hard for 1 minute stirring constantly.
Ladle hot mixture into jars leaving a 1/4” headspace. Process for 10
minutes in a boiling water bath.
Adjust time according to altitude.
Makes: 3 half pints
Kool-Aid Jelly
1 package Kool-Aid, any flavor (no sugar added)
1 package Sure-Jell
3 cups granulated sugar
3 cups water
Mix water, Sure-Jell and Kool-Aid together. Bring to a boil, stirring
constantly. Stir in sugar. Stir and bring to a full rolling boil that
cannot be stirred down. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove
from heat. Quickly skim off foam with a large metal spoon. Pour into
jelly glasses and seal.
saved by Chris E. in Central NE
Can’t remember who actually posted this but THANK YOU!!!!!
Suggestion: Check jelly processing time in Ball Blue Book
Corn Cob Jelly
12 Sweet corn cobs
4 cups water
4 cups sugar
1 box fruit pectin
Place cobs and water in pot and bring to a boil, then continue boiling
for 10 minutes.
Measure 3 cups of liquid out, and strain thru cheesecloth. Place
strained fluid in large sauce pot and bring to a roiling boil. Add sugar
and return to a boil, then simmer three minutes. Skim, stir in food
coloring (if desired) and pour into scalded jars leaving ¼ inch head
space. Lid and process boiling water bath for 5 minute.
Makes approximately 5 ½ pints
I made 2 pints and one ½ pint for each of my three batches.
Food coloring was added, I have bright orange, electric blue and
florescent green
Brandied Dried Fruit Preserves
Elegant desserts are easy and fast with this spirited preserve on hand. Serve
over icecream, frozen yogurt, fresh fruits and cakes. You will probably find
other uses also. This recipe you can increase to what ever size you want.
1 1/2 cups dried fruits of your choice
1 inch piece crystallized ginger, thinly sliced
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 thin strips orange rind, chopped
1/2 cup brandy or cognac
Place dried fruits and ginger in a saucepan. Cover with cold water, bring to a
boil, remove from heat and let cool. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
Drain fruit, reserving liquid. Add enough water to liquid to make 3/4 cup. In a
saucepan, combine liquid, sugar and orange rind. Bring to a boil, stirring until
sugar dissolves. Add drained fruit, warm. Remove from heat and stir in brandy.
Pack fruit into prepared jars. Ladle liquid over the fruit leaving a 1/2”
headspace. Check for air bubbles and adjust headspace by adding more liquid if
needed.
Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Adjust time according to
altitude.
Makes: 2 half pints or 1 pint
Submitted by: Darlene
RUTH CURRY’S DEPRESSION JELLY posted by Brandie Rugh
4 c. sugar
4 c. tomatoes (fresh), peeled
and chopped
1 (6 oz.) pkg. blackberry or
raspberry Jell-O
Simmer tomatoes and sugar 30 minutes. Remove and stir
in 1 package of Jell-O. Put in hot jars and seal or cool and
refrigerate. May put wax on to seal, if you prefer.
Note: Tastes like the Jell-O flavor, not the tomatoes.
(don’t use wax its not safe, Brandie)
[My friend Mary made a version of this, using figs and strawberry jello, made a good strawberry jam.
granny]
Caramelized Onion Jam
4 whole garlic bulbs
1 tsp. vegetable oil
5 cups chopped sweet onions (1.5 lbs.)
1/4 cup butter, cubed
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1.5 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
6 cups sugar
1 pouch (3 oz.) liquid pectin
Instructions:
Remove papery outer skin form garlic (do not peel or separate cloves). Cut the tops off garlic bulbs; brush with oil. Wrap each bulb in heavy duty foil. Bake at 425 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until softened. Cool for 10-15 minutes.
In a dutch oven, saute onions in butter for 3-40 minutes or until lightly browned. Squeeze softened garlic into the pan with onions. Stir in cider vinegar, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, ginger and cloves. Bring to a rolling boil. Gradually add sugar, stirring constantly. Return to a boil for 3 minutes.
Add pectin; bring to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; let stand for 3 minutes. Skim off foam (if any). Pour hot mixture into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust caps. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.
This recipe yielded 7 half pints for me.
Lara
Cantaloupe Preserves posted by Johnny Tackitt
2 lbs deseeded, peeled cantaloupe
4 C sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Slice melon into wedges. Slice wedges into pieces appros. 1” x 1/4”
thick. Mix sugar and cantaloupe slices in a large non-reactive kettle.
Cover and let stand overnight.
Next morning, add the lemon juice and cook until pieces are translucent.
Stir gently to prevent sticking. Fill prepared 8 oz jars leaving 1/2”
headspace. Apply lids per mfg. recommendation. BWB for 5 minutes.
Note: Honeydew melons may be prepared in the same manner.
Beet Jelly
Recipe By :Cathy Johnson
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Canning Jams/Jellies
Vegetables
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
———— —————— ————————————————
12 medium beets - (to 13) — peeled, chopped
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 package Sure-Jell
6 cups sugar
Wash beets and peel, cut into small pieces. Grind and cover with water.
Cook until tender strain through a jelly cloth. Add lemon juice, Sure-Jell,
and stir until dissolved.
Put over high heat and stir until mixture boils hard. At once stir in 6
cups sugar, bring to a full rolling boil, boil hard 1 minute or until jelly
sheets from spoon.
Remove from heat skim off foam and pour into sterilized glasses. Process in
hot water bath.
This recipe yields ?? servings
Source:
“Lynn Thomas on the Food Forum BB at http://food.bb.prodigy.net/";
S(Formatted for MC5):
“08-24-2000 by Joe Comiskey -
Basil Jelly
Here’s the recipe:
1 cup basil leaves
1 cup white vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cups water
6 1/2 cups sugar
2 pouches liquid pectin
food coloring if desired (I used about 3 drops green)
Place basil leaves, lemon juice, vinegar in 8-10 quart saucepot. Add 2 cups
water and food coloring. Heat to boil then add sugar. Bring to hard boil then
add pectin, bring back to hard boil for 1 minutes. Remove from heat and remove
basil leaves and skim for foam if needed. Ladle into jars leaving 1/4”
headspace. Process in BWB canner 5 minutes.
This produces an amazing jelly, not exactly your morning toast spread but
wonderful poured over a block of cream cheese or maybe as a meat glaze. I added
just a couple drops of green coloring since it seemed a bit pale without and I
was making with the fair in mind.
Ingrid
Interesting blog about food of the Civil War era.
http://civilwarinteractive.com/cooking/
Comment: This is a very intriguing little recipe, particularly the last line. A yeast pancake? Hmm. At any rate this will allow you to serve afternoon guests “tea and crumpets” without having to be all snooty about it. As always, we list the ingredients separately at the top for the convenience of readers. In most recipes of this period the list of ingredients makes up the majority of the recipe itself, with only minor instructions on technique and cooking procedures added.
1/2 lb. flour
1 Tbs. fresh (homemade) brewer’s yeast
1/4 ts. (baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Milk enough to make thin batter
Half a pound of flour, one table-spoon of fresh brewer’s yeast, a salt-spoon of soda, half a teaspoon of salt, and sufficient rich milk to form a fluid paste; let it rise, and bake like pancakes.
From The Housekeeper’s Encyclopedia by Mrs. E. F. Haskell, 1861
Filed under :Vegetable
Comment: One word in this recipe–which in its cooking elements is quite straightforward–sent us on a lengthy hunt. If you were in the mid 19th century and were assigned to assemble asparagus stalks into bundles of 25, what would you use to hold them together? Dr. K says “…tie them up…with bass, if you can get it, or tape (string cuts them to pieces).” After sifting through musical instruments, male singing voices, and assorted other definitions not useful here, we find this: “Bass \Bass\, n. [A corruption of bast.] 1. (Bot.) The linden or lime tree… also, its bark, which is used for making mats.” Apparently in the days before adhesive tapes, the bark of the linden tree, cut into strips, could serve to tie things together. The things you learn in this line of work.
Asparagus
Water
Salt
Set a stew-pan with plenty of water in it on the fire; sprinkle a handful of salt in it; let it boil, and skim it; then put in your asparagus, prepared thus: scrape all the stalks till they are perfectly clean; throw them into a pan of cold water as you scrape them; when they are all done, tie them up in little bundles, of about a quarter of a hundred each, with bass, if you can get it, or tape (string cuts them to pieces): cut off the stalks at the bottom that they may be all of a length, leaving only just enough to serve as a handle for the green part; when they are tender at the stalk, which will be in from twenty to thirty minutes, they are done enough. Great care must be taken to watch the exact time of their becoming tender; take them up just at that instant, and they will have their true flavour and colour: a minute or two more boiling destroys both.
While the asparagus is boiling, toast a round of a quartern loaf, about half an inch thick; brown it delicately on both sides; dip it lightly in the liquor the asparagus was boiled in, and lay it in the middle of a dish: melt some butter; then lay the asparagus upon the toast, which must project beyond the asparagus, that the company may see there is a toast. Pour no butter over them, but send some up in a boat, or white sauce.
From The Cook’s Oracle or Housekeeper’s Manual by William Kitchiner M. D., New York, 1839
Snipped.
A set of tin measures (with small spouts or lips) from a gallon down to half a jill, will be found very convenient in every kitchen; through common pitchers, bowls, glasses, &c., may be substituted. It is also well to have a set of wooden measures from a bushel to a quarter of a peck.
Let it be remembered, that of liquid measure:
Two jills are half a pint.
Two pints–one quart
Four quarts–one gallon.
Of dry measure–
Half a gallon is a quarter of a peck
One gallon–half a peck
Two gallons–one peck
Four gallons–half a bushel
Eight gallons–one bushel.
About twenty-five drops of any thin liquid will fill a common sized tea-spoon.
Four table-spoonfuls or half a jill, will fill a common wine glass.
Four wine glasses will fill a half-pint or common tumbler or a large coffee-cup.
A quart black bottle holds in reality about a pint and a half.
Of flour, butter, sugar and most articles used in cakes and pastry, a quart is generally about equal in quantity to a pound avoirdupois, (sixteen ounces.) Avourdupois is the weight designated throughout this book.
Ten eggs generally weigh one pound before they are broken.
A table-spoonful of salt is generally about one ounce.
From Miss Leslie’s Directions for Cookery, by Eliza Leslie, Philadelphia (2nd Edition published 1851; revised and expanded from first edition published 1837)
TO ROAST WILD DUCKS
Posted by Xan on Wednesday Feb 17, 2010 Filed under :Uncategorized, Wild Game
Comment: This recipe clearly dates to the times when cooking was done before a large fireplace or hearth, with the meat placed on a spit or grill in front of, not over, the fire, so that drippings could fall into a pan set underneath the meat on the floor. The technique of “dredging”, or sprinkling, the meat with flour when it was nearly done, so that the flour would provide a browned coating, is almost entirely lost in these times of “roasting” in an enclosed oven. The great culinary historian Karen Hess (now, alas, deceased) noted tartly that what we call “roasting” in the case of meats would more correctly be called “baking.” As you might guess, she was a big fan of hearth cookery.
Since tearing out a wall of one’s kitchen to install a cooking hearth is impracticable for most people, the technique is most readily duplicated with a large outdoor grill, fired with either wood or charcoal. If yours does not come equipped with a spit and rotisserie unit, you will have to place the ducks on the grill and rotate by hand as necessary. Basting will be required to keep the fowl from drying out, but the dredging business is entirely up to you.
Ducks
Salt
Pepper
1 minced onion per duck
2-3 minced sage leaves (1-2 tsp. dried sage)
1/8 tsp. mace
1 tbs. port wine
Lard for basting
Gravy:
Duck giblets, minced
Butter
Flour
Cayenne pepper
Nutmeg, grated
Lemon pickle
After your ducks are cleaned, lay them in milk and water for at least three hours before they are cooked, which will in a great measure draw out the strong taste. Wipe them dry with a cloth, season them sufficiently with salt and pepper, and put into each a minced onion, with two or three minced sage leaves, a very little mace and a spoonful of red wine. Roast them before a brisk fire, basting them occasionally with lard. When nearly done, dredge them lightly with flour, and continue to baste them till done. Serve them up with slices of lemon or some other nice fruit, laid round. Make gravy of the giblets, a little butter, flour, cayenne pepper, nutmeg and lemon pickle; put a few spoonfuls over the ducks, and serve the rest in a boat.
Accompany them with stewed cranberries, cherries or peaches and rice.
From The Kentucky Housewife by Mrs. Lettice Bryan, Cincinnati, 1839
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