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Food Prep Step 2 from the Urban Kansas Prairie

By ldavies1

Starting your food prep—

So you have decided to start storing food. Maybe you have not made a long term commitment but it sounds reasonable to move away from living from one grocery store run to the next. Inflation and possible job loss are enough to get you moving. So you start to add a little extra to the kitchen cabinets. Once you get past the obvious what do you buy?

Begin to make a list of the food and nonfood items you regularly use and how much you use each week or month. This is your guide to stocking up. It does no good to buy things you or your family will not eat. Buy what you normally eat. Also start listing prices so you can learn when a sale is really a good sale.

Where do you shop? Discount groceries, closeout stores, salvaged stores are all good sources but you need to know how to spot a good price. Then go for the loss leaders at the major stores. You absolutely need to learn to control impulse buying. If I go into the store and there is a cart full of discounted items, it is smart to look and see if there is anything you use and if the price is really good. Buying ice cream that is not on your list is not a good buy but it is your choice.

Balance in your storage is important. Fifty bottles of ketchup is not good storage. As you begin, start an inventory in a spreadsheet or notebook. As you prep, think in terms of meals. Canned chunky soup over rice can be a pretty good meal without much prep so several meals worth these two items can go a long way. There is also great variety. If you purchase spaghetti sauce you must also have the pasta. Meat is actually optional, good but optional.

In addition to maintaining an inventory, it is important to rotate your food so it is used by the expiration date. When I bring home new storage items, I write the expiration date on the lid or label with a fine magic marker. This makes it easier to find and read. Slide the previous purchased items to the front of the shelf and put the current ones in back. I have several can rotators in my kitchen cabinets. This makes it easy to rotate. It handles the rotating – first in first out. I must admit that I skipped this step for the first three months because my mind was still in the normal shopping mode. It was a lot of work to go back and write all of the expiration dates on the containers and organize them. So if your new to prepping, learn this one.

Finally, as your storage begins to grow, you need to set goals. My initial goals were six months of regular food and six months of long term storage. I have to admit I had very little idea of what long term storage was at this point but I continue to research and educate myself.

Warning: food storage, water storage, equipment, etc can become overwhelming. I started a list of other topics to explore so I could stay focused on whatever step I was on but not forget the passing idea.

Until next time

Ida from the Urban Kansas Prairie

How I got started prepping

by ldavies1
from the Urban Kansas Prairie

How I got started prepping—

I can’t remember what first peeked my curious 15 months ago but I began to read and research. I wanted to understand why people were prepping and how they were doing it. It was a year of many natural disasters so it was not completely out of the realm of understanding. I soon learned that I had a wealth of experiences that applied if I renewed my skills. I grew up in an urban area but my family camped, did lots of scouting, and had big gardens. Mom canned lots of fruits and vegetable. My dad was a carpenter so we did lots of hands on repair work on our house, my grandparents houses, neighbors, and the rental houses. So doing it yourself was always the first option. Over the years as I raised my children and they became adults, I had gotten so I did less and less for myself. Now as I approach retirement, I am prepping and rebuilding old skills and new ones. This is my journey. It is more about skill building than just acquiring stuff. As many have said, you can read all day long but if you do not learn to do it is of no use.

I started with food storage. I read and researched and printed more prepping lists than I care to admit. I finally came to the conclusion that I wanted six months of regular food and six months of long term storage food. I have accomplished both of those goals. So now when I find a GOOD sale I buy several. Last week I came up on an unadvertised sale of boneless hams for a dollar a pound. I purchased four of them. That was about 24 pounds. I brought them home and cut each one into three pieces and froze them. I now have meat for 48 meals for about fifty cents or less per meal. Not too bad.

Rotating the regular food storage is very important and I continue to find ways to do that. I have several can organizers in my kitchen cabinets. These little devices are easy –First In First out. I also have steel shelves in my storage room. Before I put can goods or jars on the shelves, I write the expiration date on the lid or label with a sharpie large enough to easily read. Then I put the new item at the back of the row sliding older items to the front. I always use the one with the closes expiration date next.

I also have some wheat and a hand grinder. One of my upcoming projects is to grind the wheat and make bread from scratch. I made bread from scratch many years ago but wheat grinding will be a new skill but that is for a future blog.
Ida

The Record Heat Waves

With the record heat waves and drought across the nation, the American Preppers Network hopes that you have been prepared.  Disasters of any type can and do happen anywhere, at anytime, and without warning.  We are now witnessing and will continue to witness a prime example of how one disaster can cause a chain reaction leading to other disasters.  Here are some potential disasters to be aware of as a result of the drought and heat waves.


1) Water shortages.  Water is the number 1 most important necessity to survival.  The average human can only survive 3 days without water, and even less in a heat wave.  I hope you've stored some.  If the water system shuts down or does not have enough, you could turn on the tap only to have a few drips.  If you run into a situation where there is not enough municipal water supply to your home, start looking for other sources of stored water.

• Your hot water tank may have 30 - 50 gallons of water stored. 
• The top supply tank to your toilette is typically clean water that you can use.
• Your plumbing in your house could have a few gallons.  Open a higher faucet in your house as in a shower, sink, or upstairs source to relieve pressure, then open a lower outside faucet to retrieve water from your plumbing system.

Don't short change yourself on water!  Make sure you have plenty for personal consumption.  If you stop sweating, that means you are dehydrated!   

Got Water?

2) Heat.  Heat poses many risks, including but not limited to:

• Heat Stroke.  Watch family members closely, especially the elderly, watch for slurred speech and disorientation.  When in doubt, call for help.  Time lost is brain lost.  Never leave pets or children in a vehicle, and keep them out of the direct sun.  Drink lots of water.
• Fire.  Fires are much more common in the heat.  Things dry out and become more flammable.  Keep dry brush and trash picked up.  Do not store fuel in or around your house, and keep well ventilated in a cool area out of the sun.  Keep grass cut short, especially if your city is rationing water and not allowing watering of lawns.  Do not store any flammables in the direct sun or in your attic.  
• Vehicle breakdowns. Avoid driving unless it's absolutely necessary, or drive at nite. Check your fluid levels and make sure your oil and coolant are topped off.  Bring extra oil and coolant with you in case you need it.  DO NOT top off your fuel tank!  Make sure your tires are property inflated and not over or under inflated.  Bring extra water with you in case you do break down.  Drive with the A/C off when going uphill.  Watch your vehicles tempature when climbing grades.  If your car starts to overheat when going uphill, pull over at a safe location to let it cool.  Check to make sure your thermostat is working before you make your trip.

3) Blackouts.   The nations grids are maxed out.  With everyone using A/C, expect rolling blackouts.  If you are in a blackout, you can wrap sleeping bags around your refrigerator or freezer to help insulate it.  To conserve power, only use what you absolutely need.  Keep lights turned off and keep your A/C set to the warmest temperature that you can safely stand.  Do you have a generator?  Be prepared to use it.  Do you have plenty of non-perishable food stored?  If there is an extended blackout, you may need it.  Stores and gas stations will be shut down in a blackout.  Do you have an emergency battery powered radio and flashlights?

4) Food Prices   Expect food prices to increase.  Especially meat.  Many ranchers are butchering all of there livestock as there is not enough food and water to care for them, this means shortages in the future.  Produce crops are drying up. Prices of corn, wheat and other grains will increase.  Even produce grown in unaffected areas may increase in price as well due to demand.  If the blackouts are too severe, stores, gas stations and truck stops may close down temporarily disrupting the supply chain and preventing food from making it to the stores.

Stay safe during this heat wave and dought.  This is a serious and potentially devastating national disaster.


If you have tips, ideas, news, videos or pictures that you wish to share regarding this heat wave you can submit your article to americanprepper@yahoo.com.  If your article is chosen we will post it on your states preppers network blog.  Top articles will get posted on APN.  The top article of the week will win a free flashlantern valued at $49.95 (made in the USA).  Articles must be submitted before 7/29.

Feel free to copy and repost this article in it's entirety.  Credit source as AmericanPreppersNetwork.com

Here are some free helpful pdf files to download

Fire and Heat Waves
- ARC - Are You Ready - Fire

- ARC - Are You Ready - Heat Wave

- ARC - Are You Ready - Wildfires

- Fact Sheet: Fires

- Fact Sheet: Fire Safe

- WildFires

Water
- ARC - Food and Water in Emergency

- Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water 

- How To Make A Solar Still (Plastic Cover)

- Purification Of Water On A Small Scale 

- Simple Solar Still For The Production Of Distilled Water

- Slow Sand Filters

- Water Purification

- Water Treatment

Fire Safety 

- Fighting Fire 

- Fire Safety

Get More Free Downloads here:
http://preppers.info/Free_Downloads.html

How to grow your own mushrooms indoors

You can go and purchase a mushroom growing kit or make your own.

First you will need a shallow container, something like a plastic storage bin works well.

We use a cardboard box lined with plastic.

Mix equal amounts of sterile compost, potting soil and peat, filling your container with a 2-to-3-inch layer. Reserve 1/4 cup for use later. Smooth the top layer of soil as uniformly as possible.

Now gather some shroom spores. If you know your wild mushrooms then go for it. However, if you are not sure, it is best to purchase your mushrooms. Grocery stores are fine to purchase them, as pesticides are not used in mushroom production. Once you have them you need to do some spore printing. Remove the stems and with gills down, press you mushroom caps down on a piece of clean white paper. Set aside and wait 12 hours for the spores to be released.

Mist the soil of your new kit with water enough to make the soil glisten. Scatter the spores over the top, then sprinkle your reserved soil over the top. Place plastic wrap over the top, poking several holes in the plastic for air flow.

Place this into your closet or anywhere that is is relatively dark and cooler, no more than 75F no less than 55F. Keep the soil lightly damp by misting every few days.

Mold will appear on the soil. when this happens (usually in about a week), remove the plastic wrap and cover with a light towel. Mushrooms could appear in as little as 10 days. Harvest your mushrooms at will.

You should be able to get mushrooms for 6-8 weeks using this homemade kit.




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Plants you should know; Redbud tree.

The flower buds are a high source of vitamin C. Without natural citrus growing in Kansas this is important. TEOTWAWKI happens, and we have a population suffering from scurvy, argh!

You can eat them raw, adding to your salad or pickle them for later use. (good replacement for capers)

Pickled Redbud Buds

2 cups flower buds (remove stem)

1 cup cider vinegar

1 tbl. sugar

1 tsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. canning salt

1-one inch long cinnamon stick

1 whole clove

Combine all. Bring to just boiling. Add to your sterilized jar. Refrigerate until ready for use. Or can as you would your cucumber pickles.

The pods are edible as well. Finding the right time to harvest the pods is a trial and error attempt, you want them young, but not so young that seeds have yet to develop. Eat and can like green beans.

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Eating the Lillies

Lillies are common here. People love to dress up their yards with them. But to a prepper they might not be the the flower you would want in your edible garden. But before you rip them out, think of them as a treat, a way to pep up that prepper diet of yours.

Day Lilly's are edible, Tiger Lilly's are not!

You can save them for future use by drying. Soak them for 30 minutes in water to rehydrate for use. Day Lilly's taste a little like green beans when used fresh.


Sautéed Day lily Buds
Melt a tablespoon of butter in a heavy skillet over a medium heat. Add rinsed and trimmed buds, sauté until lightly browned. Add a few teaspoons water. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and 10 min. drain.

Day Lilly Blossoms stuffed with Chicken salad

6 open day Lilly blossoms
2 1/2 c. cooked chicken breast meat, chopped
25 seedless grapes, cut in quarters
1 slice green sweet onion, diced
1/2 stalk celery, diced
3/4 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
2 tbsp. fresh chopped French tarragon
6 borage flowers
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Wash day Lilly blossoms and remove stamen . Make sure there are no flaws or discoloration in flowers. Mix chicken, grapes, celery, onion, mayonnaise, parsley, tarragon and pepper together in bowl. Stuff chicken salad into blossoms and top each with a borage flower.


Spiced Pickled Day Lilly
2 qt Day lily buds, unopened freshly picked
3 c White vinegar
3/4 c Light brown sugar, packed
1/2 ts Salt
1/2 ts Whole allspice
2 Two-inch sticks cinnamon,
10 To 12 whole cloves

Rinse and drain unopened day lily buds; remove any stem remnants. Place buds in to a saucepan. Add water so it barely covers buds. Bring to a quick boil, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Drain. Pack hot buds into 8 hot an sterile half-pint canning jars. Combine vinegar, brown sugar, salt, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil 3 minutes. Pour pickling solution over buds, distributing spices equally. Seal, process in a hot water bath 10 minutes.

You can stuff the Day Lilly buds with cheese after the 20 minute simmer, and drain, to serve as an appetizer.

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Hybrid does not mean GMO or GE

Cross post from A Homesteading Neophyte

I was wandering around the world wide web yesterday ( as it was too cool and wet to do much outside) and noticed something. It bothers me a bit when people that put themselves out there as an authority figure, confuse issues. If I give the wrong info I really hope someone calls me out on it. I will either give you examples as to way I think what I stated was correct, or apologize and fix the post. There are some out there however that are adamant that they are correct.

A woman asked a question about hybrids verses heirlooms. The answer by someone was that all hybrids are GMOs. No one questioned this. As I wasn't a member of the group, I was not allowed to correct the information. And I see little point just to join so that I can blast their leader.

Hybrid plants do not have their genomes messed with. They are plants that have been either open pollinated or done so by hand. As Humans we do this selective breeding all the time and have for centuries. It helps make once non-edible foods, or hard to digest foods, easier on our stomachs and our palates. Our heirloom and heritage plants were once hybrids, it just that these plants have been able to breed true for many many generation.

Do not fear the hybrid.

GE or GMO's are different. Man has gone in and spliced and removed certain genes to create a more perfect monster.

Attack of the killer Tomatoes

Now I am not going to go into why GMOs are good or bad. I think they should be clearly marked on food labels and seed/plants so that we can make decisions based on the information available and believed by the consumer. The point of this post is that hybrids are not GMOs.

Hybrids can be made by nature as well a by man.

When it comes to choosing a hybrid, look at the filial number. 1 means that it is the first cross hybrid generation. If you are choosing plants to seed save for, this filial number is not one you really want. You will be able to seed save and a plant will grow, however it will not be true. F2 and F3 are the 2nd and 3rd generation of that hybrid plant. Seeds saved from them will produce true to parent offspring. (exception to the F1 rule is plants that can only propagate themselves by roots, graphs (like apple trees) and vine)

Then you have your heritage and heirlooms that are almost guaranteed to produce true to parent plants because they are 100's of generation removed form the parents.

What seeds and plants to purchase and consume is up to you. Just do your research and make the best decisions for you and your family.

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How to sterilize your soil/compost;

Place soil in an oven roasting bag (like those turkey bags you see at the store). Add a bit of water (dampened) and tie off the bag. Place the bag on a cookie sheet and poke a hole for a meat thermometer. Heat oven to 200F. Bake soil until the dirt temp reaches 160-170F. (if soil reads higher, reduce your oven heat). Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and cool completely before using.

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3 ways to preserve your homemade broth

Before we start, does everyone here know how to make a basic broth?

There are 3 ways to preserve your homemade broths, be it beef, chicken or vegetable stock. (broth and stock are indeed different, however are interchangeable in your recipes). With all the following preservations, remove as much fat as possible. You can freeze the fat for use later in soap recipes.

The first is canning. Pour your hot broth into a pint canning jar and pressure can 20 minutes at 10 lbs (11lbs on dial gauges). Allow to cool for 24 hours and then stack up in your pantry.

Next is freezing.

Pour your broth evenly into an ice tray. I highly suggest you line your tray with parchment paper or foil. Allow to freeze, remove and store in a freezer bag. Each cube is 1/8 cup of stock. This is also considered a cold bouillon cube.

And finally, and my favorite, dehydration.

Pour 1 cup of stock onto a fruit rollup tray and place it into my dehydrator. Set it on the meat setting or 145F. It tends to withdraw from the center and pool along the edges. Let sit overnight.

Once dry, peel and crack off the tray onto foil.

Tightly fold up your foil and place into a zip-lock type bag. If you have a food saver I would use it, and remove as much air as possible.

You end up with a little packet of flavoring that equals 1 cup broth. Kind of like those Ramen packets. You can do more than 1 cup at a time, just be sure you keep track of how much you use. You will need to add the same amount of water to rehydrate it.

This packet makes 3 cups of broth.


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Making your own silage on a small scale

Now is a good time to start making and storing your own silage. It is rather easy on small scale.

The simplest is for those that mow their grass. Simply mow, allow to wilt, bag in a large zip type plastic baggy, or trash bag, and press out as much air as possible. If mold grows on it, the silage is ruined and should never be fed to your animals.

Depending on the animals that you are making silage for, you will need different plant materials. Crops suitable for silage are non-leguminous fodder crops rich in soluble carbohydrates, such as maize, oats, sorghum, pearl millet, and cultivated grasses are most suitable for ensiling. Materials can be grasses, legumes, fodder crops (sorghum, maize), crop residues or by-products. These items need to be harvested in the young age, before flowering, to help ensure that you have enough sugars for proper fermentation.

And don't forget your tree and shrub fodder. Just restrict the amount of tannins. And be cautious of the type of plants you are harvesting for your animals. Tannins has been shown to help with worm problems in sheep and goats, still restrict the amounts though.

If you are growing legumes, harvest leaves before your dry season, allow them to dry in the shade, then mix in with your silage.

If you wish to do it on a slightly larger scale, a pit works good for storage as well (cover with black plastic and weight it down with tires), as does a buried deep freezer. Place your silage in it in layers, then walk on it, pressing the silage down removing as much air as possible. Keep it cool and dry (plastic and weights work here as well).

Be sure that the fodder you are saving hasn't been sprayed with herbicides or insecticides.

Come winter, you can feed a nice nutritional "fresh" meal to all your lovely critters.

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Sandhill plum wine recipe

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wildplum.asp

This says Texas plum but also Chicksaw plum which is another name for sandhill plum.


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recipe for dandelion jelly

http://www.simplycanning.com/dandelion-jelly.html

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Steam juicer

http://www.canningpantry.com/a12.html

Had to download a new browser but am back to posting. This handy item beats the old fashioned way of getting juice from your fruits for jams and jellies.



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reusable canning lids

I'm not trying to endorse any product but the idea of being able to use canning lids over and over is a great idea. I just placed an order so will see how they work. With all the concern over food prices and availability canning lids may be in high demand this year.

http://shop.reusablecanninglids.com/

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Kansas Preppers Roll Call - All Preppers Please Check In

The American Preppers Network is conducting a network-wide roll call.  Whether you are a member or not please check in and let us know what you are doing to prepare.

This is a good opportunity to network with other preppers near you.

Kansas Preppers, to respond to the roll call please follow this link:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=325&t=9258

• Reply to the Roll Call and let us know what you have been doing to prepare.

If you are not yet a member of the forum you can register here for free:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/ucp.php?mode=register

Thinking about prepping

Unlike most of my posts on here this is not a link. On the parent website APN one of the longest lasting posts is the "what did you do to prep this week?" post. Sometimes it seems that I've done little in terms of buying or storing.

Finally it has come to the point where I believe that the mental plans we make are as much a part of prepping as the material or physical things we do. That is the plans that always run through our minds about what we need and how to accomplish our goals. Things like what you have on hand and what it would be nice to add. Things like what you want to go into your garden this year, plans for apartment dwellers to begin to use window gardens. Add to that list things like learning to can or learning to weave, knit, sew etc and then you realize that part is every bit as important as what we buy.

Just some thoughts early on a Sunday morning.

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instructions for wind turbine

http://www.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/




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starting a sourdough starter

http://www.sourdoughhome.com/startingastarter.html
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preserving eggs

I haven't tried these methods but thought they were worth a look.


http://www.oldandsold.com/articles11/miscellaneous-recipes-13.shtml

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