Posts

Rice

In my continual quest to identify meals of different types that I can add into my Stores meal list (see October 17 Post, “Soup for Every Occasion”), I’ve run across some information that I find helpful. Specifically, different meals require different types of rice. For instance, most Indian-type meals call for Basmati rice, something I have not added to my stores. I have a good supply of long-grain white rice, but no other kinds. I’ve also discovered that I should probably store up Arborio rice. This is the rice used for Risotto, and it’s smaller and plumper than long-grain. Therefore, when cooked, if done correctly, you get a creamy, light, delicious product. I’ve watched enough Gordon Ramsey shows to know that creamy Risotto is a staple in his restaurants. It can also be used for rice pudding. Storing up Arborio rice and Basmati means that I can vary our rice dishes much more. Using rice twice a week, once a week by itself and once a week combined with beans, having different types o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Duckweed

In my continued search for high protein foods to add to my Stores, I ran across another unique piece of information. A common pond plant, known as duckweed, is currently being researched and is quickly moving into the position of our newest “superfood”. It’s packed with protein, far more by volume than almost ANY other protein source, doubles in volume every 24 hours (making it very plentiful), and can be eaten fresh alone, added to other foods such as salads or sandwiches, or dried and made into a powder to be sprinkled on eggs or any other food to add extra protein. It also can be fed to ducks, as it’s name suggests. I was fascinated! Since we have a backyard pond, I did more research. Turns out, it won’t work on our pond, which has a waterfall. It doesn’t like moving water. But it will grow in any nutrient-rich standing water. It reproduces asexually, like cloning, so it typically doesn’t seed. Some studies seem to indicate that, while it dies off at first frost, some particles drop...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pemmican

Two weeks ago, I was talking with my son about the possibility of a catastrophic emergency. Recently, he told me that he believes we will have a financial collapse and a regime change in our country within the next 2 years, so this is a topic we visit periodically. He pointed out that if the worst happens, he’ll have to stop working out because I won’t be able to provide enough protein to fuel his muscles. Of course, that got me thinking. If we lose the power grid, life will require all family members working hard from sun up to sundown just to survive, like in the Pioneer Days. We will need my son’s muscle and it would be in our family’s best interest to be able to supplement his food allotment with additional protein. With that in mind, I began researching high protein sources. I believe I’ve mentioned before that my father’s family were pioneers in the part of northern Alberta where they settled. They were the only non-Indians in that area. The Tribe that peopled that area were the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Loaf Bread VS Flatbread

 I haven’t posted in over a year; mainly because I had nothing more to say! People who know me well might find that very comical. But a recent conversation has spurred this Post. I have several friends who are part of a co-op from a store called Breadbecker’s. They are Atlanta-based but ship all over. They sell grains, beans, and other baking supplies. But their grains are unique in that they package the whole wheat berry in Mylar bags with the air removed and, then, in 42-lb. bucket. Before packaging, the wheat berries are treated for pests. The unique packaging, devoid of air and light, and sealed in a bucket away from bugs or rodents, and the whole berries as opposed to just the ground flour, makes these products shelf-stable for many, many years. Add in a hand-operated grinder and you have the basis for bread-making in your Stores. The advantage to the co-op is that you’re grouping orders together to discount the shipping and in order to apply volume discounts. Numerous times n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Other Fuel Ideas

I’ve written in the past about the need for fuel in a Catastrophic Emergency. I mentioned solar ovens and rocket stoves, which use very little fuel and can heat a kettle of water by burning just a few twigs. But it always concerns me that, in my neighborhood, many people will all be relying on the same materials for cooking fuel.  Several months ago, my husband and I visited my nephew, whose family lives in the North Georgia mountains. He has a large heating stove in his living room, situated in a corner that borders the stairway leading up to the bedrooms, that provides heat for the entire house. I realized that the location of a heating stove is critical. This location allows the heat, which always travels upwards, to make its way easily to the bedrooms upstairs, while also servicing the living room and dining room downstairs. The one disadvantage to his heater, which we discussed, is that it uses an electric blower, so it wouldn’t function if power were to be shut off. He told m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Water Storage

 I was talking with a friend today who is just beginning to create stores. She has purchased some reusable jugs for water storage and we were discussing where to put them once filled. I suggested to her that she utilize the crawl space under her house. Years ago, I read in a publication that this is a great, empty space that can be used for water storage. I acted on that suggestion and began to fill the taller sections of the crawl space (where you could almost stand upright) with crates full of water jugs. Then I got older and developed arthritis in my knees and all my children got too big to crawl through the opening easily, so I had to hire a young man in the neighborhood to pull out my crates of water for me. I moved them under my deck.  When I made the suggestion to my friend that she utilize her crawl space, she seemed a little taken aback. I added, “Or anywhere they’ll stay cool and dry, really.” She responded that dry isn’t a problem, but cool is another matter entirel...
Post a Comment
Read more

Composting

All of us are interested in projects we can accomplish for free. One of the best things you can do for your family is to begin composting. Instead of throwing out vegetable peels and scraps, add them to your compost pile. Over time, these scraps will break down and provide lovely organic fertilizer for your gardens. It will cost you nothing, as opposed to store-bought fertilizer, and will decrease trash going to the landfill. What can you compost? No meat and no dairy. But any vegetable or fruit scraps and egg shells can all go in your pile. Think potato, squash, and carrot peels, onion skins, the ends of your celery bunches, pineapple cores, crown (spiky parts on top), and rind, apple cores (unless you save them to make vinegar), orange and grapefruit peels, old salad, and nearly anything you’re putting down the disposal or throwing in the trash except . . . meat and dairy. You can also add grass clippings, leaves, and anything that will decay over time. I started composting a long ti...
Post a Comment
Read more