Preparedness Nuggets Part 12

8/14/2019 Preparedness Nuggets Part 12

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Preparedness Nuggets Part 12Return to Preparedness Nuggets IndexBetter Times Cookbook V | Justpeace | Better Times | BobWaldrop.net | Access toEnergy Conservation | On Pilgrimage in Oklahoma City | Bookstore | Better TimesII | Bulgar Bugle | Mutual Aid (Grassroots home and community scale disasterpreparations)Preparedness NuggetsA Cyberbook of Practical Wisdom for Daily Livinggathered from internet discussion groups and edited for web publication by

Mrs. Julianne Wiley .Part the Twelfth

Another great non-electric catalogBuild your own water distillerCook perfect riceCooking pinto beansCooling home-made soapCounty extension office for canning adviceCrank/solar radiosDehydrated foodDrying seeds

Fall gardeningForaging off the landForever foodsOur farmer friendsFree or cheap 5 gallon bucketsGlitchproofGoatpaint and other productsIs lye soap harsh?Mega-links for living green, off the gridMilk and juice jugs for waterMormon canneryPlanting store-bought potatoes?Plastic food/water containers

Poison oak and ivyPost y2k phone tipPump and sealPumping well waterSquare foot gardening email discussion listStorage food sourceStoring eggsSupplies and suppliersThermos cookingUsing those dried veggiesVacuum sealerWater in mylar-lined boxesWater purification straw

Waterbeds for storing water?Why not just buy water in jugs?Preparation/y2k info on the internet

FREE (OR CHEAP) 5 GALLON BUCKETS AND GALLON JARS TOPTry Krispy Kreme and other doughnut shops, bakeries, ice cream shops, Subway and


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other sandwich shops, the Deli or Bakery section to supermarket (WalMart Bakerydoesn't charge, AND they give you the lids!) , laundromats, and house painters(to get buckets of water-based paints that will wash out cleanly.) Depending oncondition, these can be used for water storage, food storage, or containergardening.--------------------------------------------------------------------WATER IN MYLAR-LINED BOXES TOP

We bought the system of water boxes and they work great. We have them storedunder all the beds and in the bottoms of closets: we just place our shoes onthem instead of on the floor. The mylar keeps light out and prevents bacteriafrom forming. The mylar will expand to hold six gal. of water if the electricityis out and the water should freeze and expand. Or if you need to store them isan out building. The water boxes are lined with a mylar bag with a spigot and aplug. They can be used over and over. The boxes make them easy to store and tocarry.Each bag holds up to 6 gal. (in case of freezing) - its designed for 5gal. The sides would just expand a little. The kit includes 5 boxes and 5 bagsfor a total of 25 gal. From Emergency Essentials its $25.00. Phone1-800-999-1863. Or:

http://www.beprepared.com/products/basicwater.html

---------------------------------------------------GLITCHPROOF TOPYou might want to check out the website http://www.glitchproof.com they have anextensive list of expiration dates of canned and prepackaged food. They have acategory called storage life of groceries...http://st4.yahoo.com/glitchproof/storlifofgro.html

---------------------------------------------------------WHY NOT JUST BUY WATER? TOP

Heres why: The plastic containers 1 gal., 2.5 gal, etc. bought in storeswill begin to develop leaks after 4 months. I bought 15 of the 2.5 gallon jugs ayear ago, as I like to keep them on hand for emergencies. After a year, I foundthat many of them had leaked all the water out The plastic literally breaks downand begins to leech into the water. All water will begin to 'breed' bacteriaafter 3-6 months unless it is treated with chlorine or an aerator product likeAerobic Oxygen. This is true for plastic milk cartons, too.-----------------------------------------------------------------

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STORAGE FOOD SOURCE TOPMany of the dehydrated fruits sold by food storage companies come from onecompany -- Vacu Dry (707) 829-4637 (ask for Sarah). These products are actuallylow moisture foods (3-6% moisture, not dehydrated 20-25% moisture). (They supplydry fruits to cereal manufacturers.) They will sell to us in bulk!!! You canorder factory-direct at a great savings IF purchasing their 25# boxes. (If youare purchasing smaller quantities, they will refer you to Scott Sperry at FoodStorage Sales 801-268-3913 --- and youll miss out on the great bulkdiscount.)YEAH!!! 25 lb boxes of low moisture fruits. Good turn around time! We shouldhave them in time for our canning dates before the end of this year. They also


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produce "Perma Pak"...low moisture fruits prepackaged in #10 cans. They do NOTsell those directly. You must go through a distributor. WOW what a mark-up!http://www.vacu-dry.com/products.htmlThese boxes are sealed to keep out moisture. One product I highly recommend if#4 mesh prunes. These are little chunks that can be added to cereals, breads,etc. Theyre $3.65 per lb.(remember there are about 7-8 lbs. of freshfruit per 1 lb. of dehydrated with no waste). Prunes an energy boost-- They alsohave lots of iron and other important nutrients.

---------------------------------------------PLASTIC FOOD/WATER CONTAINERS TOPThe company is United States Plastic Crop. out of Ohio. Their phone number is1-800-537-9724. They have some great deals on plastic buckets (5 gallon) thatare FDA approved ($3.92 + .83 for the cover. They also have MANY water storagecontainers (from 55 gallon drums at $42.15 new to 5 gallon containers at $3.20).In addition, if you buy in larger lots you can get discounts up to 15%.---------------------------------------------------------------MEGA-LINKS FOR LIVING GREEN, OFF-GRID TOPTheir "point" is reducing dependence on the large structures that are also whatmost of us are worried about relating to y2k. For mega-links regardingalternative shelter, power, community and etc., see these sites. One of theinteresting finds herein is that there is already a network of "eco-villages",

some in existence as long as 70 years, where experiments are on-going aboutdeveloping a community that is not dependent upon outside imports of energy orexports of waste.http://www.seattleantioch.edu/students/jschinnerer/Sustainable living -- food, shelter, communityhttp://www.gaia.org/Eco-Village Information Servicehttp://members.aol.com/renewpwr/links.htmThe Knapp's Favorite Links Pagehttp://csf.colorado.edu/earthships/Earth-friendly and self-sufficient architectures---------------------------------------------------------------SUPPLIES AND SUPPLIERS TOP

Emergency Essentials specialty is nonfood items like grain grinders and "72 hourkits", water box kits etc. You can order them by the item #-S21-KW-S100 Basic 25Gal. Boxed Water at $25.00 per kit. This includes 5 boxes, 5 mylar bags, tapeand instructions.Your best bet on dry beans, carrots, onions, sugar, flour, rice, wheat, powderedmilk, is an LDS cannery. They won't be in superpails but the #10 cans are sealedwith an oxygen packet. Maybe this is better for use anyway since you don't haveto open such a large amount. You will need to order powdered eggs, butter etc.elsewhere.If you are ordering, you might want to consider some T. V. P. pails. Each pailcontains over 1300 servings and is very inexpensive. I think we paid about$28.00 per pail last year and got chicken, beef, sausage and bacon. I figured alittle of the TVP in some beans or rice would go a long way in flavor and for

only pennies.Order a good cookbook to help with these gourmet meals One of the best I haveordered is "Cooking With Home Storage" by Vicki Tate. Besides the usual, she hasa last chapter on what to do when your home storage runs out. This includes howto cook frogs and grasshoppers. Let's hope that's one thing we never need toknow!---------------------------------------------------STORING EGGS TOPWe are the stewards of a flock of approximately 50 muscovy ducks. 35 are justchicks but we know we have 4 drakes and 11 hens of the mature ducks. They laybetween 100 and 120 eggs a year per hen, if we end up with 20 hens that we keep


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that means about 2,000 delicious eggs. Naturally I am concerned about storingeggs. So here is some of my egg research. Lehman sells waterglass, enough topreserve 40 dozen, that means by my recipe they are selling about a 1/2 pint forapproximately $21. I bought 1pt 14 oz (almost 2 pints) for $8.19 at thepharmacy. I simply asked for Sodium Silicate Solution. They can order it if theydon't have it This brand is made by HUMCO out of Texarkana TX and will expire onFeb of 2003. 1 gallon of the solution (1 pint of sodium silicate solution to 9or 10 pints of water yielding a little more than a gallon) should preserve 75 to

100 dozen eggs (900 - 1200 eggs) according to Carla Emery's an Encyclopedia ofCountry Living Old Fashioned Recipe Book. p 346.Here are the details of the method referred to as the Water-glass method. Packthem between 24 hours and 4 day old eggs. Older eggs don't keep as well. Eggswith no roosters or drakes around will keep longer than fertile eggs, but ofcourse you then have to cope with unhappy roosters or drakes.20 years ago when she wrote the book it was about $1.05 a pint now its $4.10 apint still a bargain. Again, check the pharmacy first and I was told that manycar parts dealers also have it. It is a 1:9 ratio if you want smaller quantitiesjust keep the ratio intact. 1 cup to 9 cups or in my case 1 pint to 9 pints ofwater.Have your crock scaled clean to start with she used deep plastic cans. I usedplastic for the few eggs I had. Boil the water and let it cool before you add

the waterglass. Then pour the mixed solution into the crock. Remember not tofill the crock or container too full of the solution because you will be addingeggs so no more than a third full. Add the eggs. Make certain there is an extra2 inches covering them. In hot weather it evaporates pretty fast so watch itcarefully. Earthenware, enamel, glass or plastic all work fine.Cover the container as tightly as you can. Don't let it freeze but store it in acool dark place. It starts out clear liquid but gradually turns cloudy into amilk color sort of jelly. The book says it isn't harmful but the container hadall these becarefuls on the labels so I asked the pharmacist and he said in a1:9 ration it has no harmful effects. It won't hurt you if you get it on yourhands after it is mixed but I wore gloves to mix it.Make up enough solution as you go to handle any new eggs you put in. So if youare putting ten eggs make enough to cover them leaving 2 inches over the eggs.

If it gets low due to evaporation add some more solution that is mixed 1:9. Touse the egg you will have to wash them so the goop doesn't fall into the food orif you hard boil them you should prick the small end so they don't pop. Thesodium silicate works by sealing the eggs and should keep them for up to a year.

Here is a neat tidbit - don't wash the egg before preserving it because the eggis actually covered by a natural sealer and without it it is more susceptible tobacteria and evaporation. Any particularly dirty eggs wash and use right away.Don't use cracked eggs. Carla says that eggs harvested between March and Maykeep better she is guessing that its because of the milder temperature.To freeze eggs you should separate any that will need to added to recipesseparated or only needs egg whites. When we do this we put the extra yolks inthe egg mixture we make. The freezer life is 8 months (even enough for Minnesota

winters). Wash the eggs thoroughly, use very well cleaned utensils (not justsomething out of a drawer). You will have to use them within 12 hours of thawingthem, so keep your frozen packages small to avoid waste unless you are a familyof 10, that should mean no more than 6 eggs at a pop. She uses baby food jars.Simply break the egg into a jar and label it as whole egg. If you do whites onlyfor meringues or other recipes then be very careful that not even a speck ofyolk gets in with them. Don't add anything to the whites. To do the yolks as 1tsp. of honey per 1/2 cup of yolks or 1/4 tsp. salt per 1/2 cup of yolks becertain to label what you have done to the yolks.1 1/2 TBSP. of thawed yolk equals 1 egg yolk2 TBSP. of thawed egg white equals 1 egg white


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3 TBSP. of whole egg equals 1 egg more or less.

One recipe also allowed for lightly mixed eggs as if you were going to makescrambled eggs with just a dash of salt.GOOD RECIPE: ice cream mush (call it sorbet and people will think it's supposeto be that way)- It is nutritious but hard to gauge the hardness exactly. 1 cupof whipping cream, 6 eggs, 1 cup of crushed pineapple, 1 mashed banana, and

diced section of orange. Whip cream and eggs separately. Add 1/4 tsp. vanilla.Fold the mixed fruit into the egg, then into the whipped cream. Put it in thefreezer occasionally lifting it to keep the fruit from staying at the bottom. Ifyou use blueberries or raspberries add a little honey to sweeten it. We usedapples and added some honey and it was so goooood.Crepes and French toast and fried egg sandwiches can all be made when the eggsare plentiful and be frozen. As long as we have electricity I plan on freezingthings and in MN the winter will take care of it.I am not going to worry about fat/cholesterol when my work level is increased,my stress level is increased and God has been kind enough to provide food. Thefeed for 50 ducks costs about $6.50 a month. I love the muscovy ducks we havethey are friendly, polite, the hens are pretty and they like the snow and don'tneed a pond. The don't quack and they are wonderful mothers!

In all things and in all times Praise the name of the Lord.------------------------------------------------------------------SQUARE FOOT GARDENING EMAIL DISCUSSION LIST TOPHi everyone. I subscribe to a service - http://www.tipworld.com that send outtips on a variety of topics. While NOT y2k related it offers a large number ofbrief 'daily' tips on a large number of topics which may interest preparers. One example:SQFTSquare-foot gardening works on the principle that American gardening practicehas been too heavily influenced by the demands of large-scale agriculture. Thesquare-foot home garden, as popularized by Mel Bartholomew, takes up less spaceand is less labor-intensive than a traditional garden with 20-foot rows and 2 to4 feet between rows. Talk with others who cultivate this efficient gardening

style, send an e-mailto [email protected] with the message subscribe sqf----------------------------------------------------------------------------

POST Y2K PHONE TIP TOPIf electrical power is down in your area, but your phone companyhas alternativepower or is in an area where electricity is working, your phone may still work*IF* you have a phone that doesn't require an external AC power supply. Manycordless phones don't work if the power is out. Ditto for some of the featureladen integrated phone/answering machine devices. If your phone plugs into a110V electric socket in addition to the phone jack, check and see if it workswhen unplugged from the electrical socket. If not, go buy a cheap phone thatworks on just the phone jack alone w/o the need of external power supply. This

way you might be able to use your phone in an electrical outage.-------------------------------------------------USING THOSE DRIED VEGGIES TOPYou can add them to soup, zucchini bread, etc. I bought this soup mix at Sam'sand read the ingredients....it was parboiled long grain rice, wild rice anddehydrated, green peppers, redpeppers, onions , etc. Anyway, you just added water. So I home-made the samemix. I added a bit of chicken bouillon: my 14year old son (the one with hollowlegs when he eats), LOVED it.I would always buy celery and before I used it all, some would go bad and Iwould end up giving it to the chickens. Well, now I use it fresh for whatever


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and they I dehydrate the rest. When I make soup, or potato salad, I just throwin a scoop of the dehydrated ones and it is great. I do rehydrate a bit forpotato salad. You don't get the crunch of celery, but the taste comes through.------------------------------------------------------POISON OAK, IVY TOPWe have poison oak and ivy all over our place, so one of the things we'restocking up on is Calamine Lotion and Oak-N-Ivy Cleansing Treatment. But if weever have to make-do without these OTC remedies, the following will work:

Plantain or jewelweed (often found growing right next to the poison ivy),crushed to a mush and then applied to the rash.-------------------------------------------------------VACUUM SEALER TOP@e purchased our food saver at a garage sale for $50. Since that time...about 5years ago....we have seen several for sale at garage sales or in those PeddlerPost's type newspapers. Also...if you live where they have "Service Merchandise"stores....they sell the Food Savers and at times SAM'S Warehouse has them Thebest one is the FoodSaver from Tilia. It goes for around $200.00, but you canget from Caribou Cry in Canada for 210.00 Canadian dollars, which translates toabout $138.00 US dollars. If you go to the Online Y2K Bookstorehttp://www.shilhavy.com/y2k/bookstore/and click on "Other Resources," you will find a link to it there.

-----------------------------------------------------------FOREVER FOODS TOPOur family based business, Forever Foods, is Christian values based businesswhich provides all-natural (i.e. NO preservatives) gourmet-style foods with 8-15year storage life as well as organic sprouting seeds, peas/beans/grains, andeven pre-packaged purified water.Our Website, http://www.foreverfoods.com , gives descriptions of these productsand also has good information on food storage and the "best of the best" Weblinks on how to prepare for Y2K. Also, we have included the June '98 update toSteve Gregg's report "Does the Year 2000 Problem Present Dangers for YourFamily?'.If you'd like a catalog, price list, and 2-serving sample meal mailed to you,please send $10 ($5 for catalog only) by check or money order to:

Forever FoodsP.O. Box 207Yamhill, OR [email protected]://www.foreverfoods.com-------------------------------------------------------------------PLANTING STORE-BOUGHT POTATOES? TOP...The first year you start just buy the seed potatoes you like then saved themafter that. We love the red skinned potatoes here in Vermont. They seem to dowell in the rocky ground and last long in the root cellar. Usually one eye ofthe potato makes one plant which will grow one lb. We can get 1000 lbs with 50lbs of seed potatoes if everything is perfect. But we have been averaging 500

lbs to 700 lbs a year. Except the year we decided to give the garden a rest. Ilove potatoes because they are easy to grow and you can do all kinds of thingswith them. They also have vitamin c.Store potatoes may have disease. Then again they may not. Commercial growers usecertified seed potatoes. If you were to use your own potatoes year after year,you'd have the same chance of disease. So it's your choice. But they should workjust fine. BTW, I'd plant in a different location each year. That helps preventdisease and bugs from getting *too* bad------------------------------------------------IS LYE SOAP HARSH? TOPAll soap is made with lye. Even the expensive stuff in the stores. Soap is made


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with lye, but if it's done correctly, there is no lye in the finished product. Achemical reaction occurs between the lye and the oils. This is calledsaponification. You can make wonderful gentle emollient soap at home. You canuse any oil you like, if you know how to adjust the amount of lye.Do not use Drano! Use 100% lye. Yes, it is necessary to use some kind of lye.Our grandmothers made their own by leaching the wood ashes they had saved allwinter from the fireplace and stove. But it was not as reliable as what iscommercially available today. Might get really soft slimy soap, for example.

-------------------------------------------------------------------COOL YOUR HOMEMADE SOAP BATCH QUICK TOPWhen making my soap I add ice cubes or frozen milk cubes to the lye. The recipecalls for three cups water or milk / with ice floating. That is why it doesn'tget as hot as it would with just plain room temperature liquidGuess what? You can use ice cubes and water to immerse the container youdissolve your lye and liquid in for my recipes too. This really helps speed upthe time needed to make the soap. Another idea is to mix your lye and water thenight before you plan to make soap. Just be sure you label it, cap it, put it uphigh, whatever is necessary to keep anyone from touching it!--------------------------------ANOTHER GREAT NON-ELECTRIC CATALOG TOPPLUS; SOAPMAKING

Fruitful Acres, Rt. 1 Box 6991, Palatka, FL 32177. Catalog costs $2.Christian family owned business.We sell soapmaking supplies, among other things. Making soap is fairly easy,just be very careful with the lye. Buy a can of Red Devil Lye (or anything inthe drain cleaner section of grocery store that says 100% lye - not Drano!). Geta good scale, like a kitchen scale or a postal scale. Here are a couple ofrecipes to try. They use cheap or easily accessible ingredients. Let me knowwhat oils, etc. you have or would like to use. I can probably find a recipe foryou.Wear rubber gloves. Don't use any metal other than quality stainless steel.Don't use plastic that isn't capable of handling temps of at least 200*. Avoidbreathing the fumes when you first add lye to water.Sprinkle 2.35 oz. lye over 6.1 oz. water (measure as accurately as you can and

then don't worry about it.) Set aside in a safe place (where no one will touchit or drink it). Let cool. Melt 16 oz. beef tallow that was previously rendered.Cool both tallow and lye to about 100*. some people recommend room temp so Iassume it doesn't matter too much. Drizzle lye solution slowly into meltedcooled tallow. Stir vigorously (wear gloves!) until it is the consistency ofpudding. Pour into mold. cover and wrap in blankets to prevent temp variations.Wait 18 - 24 hours. Uncover, mark, and cut into bars. Let dry for 3 weeks beforeusing. Turn occasionally during that time.To substitute lard: use 16 oz. lard, 2.1 oz. lye, and 6 oz. water.To substitute olive oil: use 16 oz. oil, 2 oz. lye, and 5.9 oz. water.To add other oils for their nourishing properties to the skin (such as cocoabutter), add up to .75 oz. before pouring into mold. Stir well.Let me know if you have any questions or problems.

Anne Keckler, Fruitful Acres raykeckler@juno.com---------------------------------------------------------------COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE ON CANNING TOPFor all you new folks to canning and wondering what's safe and what isn't and soforth. Please take the time to stop by your local county extension office. I gota whole stack full of recipes and canning directions...which are always the mostup-to-date guidelines from the USDA. All this is free to you. Many extensionoffices also offer canning classes for free....you may as well use the servicesas long as they are available to you. The most recent flyer I got from them washow to can everything at 15lbs of pressure...since so few people actually adjusttheir weighted pressure canners. It's a one page reference sheet and I found it


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very helpful-----------------------------------------------GOAT PAINT AND OTHER PRODUCTS TOPThe best book I've found on any goat related products, cheese, chevon recipes,soap, etc. Is the book "Goats Produce Too" by Mary Jane Toth. You can order thebook from Mary Jane directly or Hoegger Supply.Mary Jane Toth2833 N. Lewis Rd.

Coleman, MI 48618(517) 465-1982 The book is about $12One of the best homestead investments I've ever made.>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~COOK PERFECT RICE TOPI think there are three basic reasons that rice gets sticky. Too much water, toolong cooking and stirring when its simmering. I use 2 1/4 c. water to 1 c. brownrice (doesn't matter which variety). I heat til its boiling and simmer(covered)about 45 min. I don't peek until the end to make sure the liquid isgone. Personally I think warm brown rice with honey is delectable.-----------------------------------------------------FALL GARDENING TOPHave you tried sprouting? That is a nice way to have greens in the winter (and

watch things grow!) Also, you could bring in any herb plants that you might havegrown outside (parsley especially!) I'm going to bring in a patio tomato plantand see if I can get some out of it in the house. You could also build a coldframe in your garden and plant more cold hardy veggies in that.-------------------------------------------------------------------THERMOS COOKING TOPYou can save lots of energy by cooking many things in a thermos. I have cookedbeans, wheat and rice in a thermos very successfully. Some beans require 2heatings but most things only need the initial heating and more time than usual.For more information and good instructions go tohttp://kurtsaxon.com/foods06.html---------------------------------------------------------

CRANK/SOLAR RADIOS TOPYou can get a crank radio with shortwave from Lehman's ([email protected])$115.00 includes shippingKansas Wind Power (785) 364-4407 $87.00+ antennae $10.00 + S/H $10.00 = $107.00Real Goods 1-800-762-7325$109.00 + $19.95 for solar option + S/H $9.25These Times (518) 392-2886$97.50 + antennae $16.50 + S/H $8.50-----------------------------------------FORAGING OFF THE LAND TOPDepending on the severity and duration of Y2K, I thought some of us who may not

be well schooled in foraging off the land may be interested in a "crash course"so I provided some useful information to that end. Much of this is redundantfrom link to link, but, I found some interesting info on many of the links.Hopefully we will not have to rely on these skills, but, better safe than sorry.

This site has some excellent information for those who may have to live off theland. Besides, this is simply good information to know in case of an emergency.http://www.eduplace.com/links/theme_18.htmlCaptain Dave's Survival Centerhttp://www.survival-center.com/index.htmCase a Month Club for those who want to stock up on food supplies but


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cannot afford to do it all at once. It may be getting late, but, it isbetter than nothing. http://www.securefuture.com/club.html

Link with articles related to survivalismhttp://www.ezonline.com/ditto/howto.html

Various links with applicable info:http://www.smartlink.net/~fred/survival.htmhttp://theepicenter.com/http://www.doubleought.com/index.htmlhttp://w1.2225.telia.com/~u222500171/survivalism/Survivalism.htm--------------------------------------------------------------DEHYDRATED FOOD TOPI dry much of our home grown produce, plus cherries, apples, bananas, peachesand beef jerky. The home produce includes carrots, parsley, peppers, andtomatoes. The trick is to make sure the veggies are completely dry, usually tothe point where they are brittle to the touch, not soft or damp in any way. Onebit of damp food in a bag can cause the whole bunch to mold. I store my driedveggies in small (sandwich size) ziplock bags, then I put those in a gallon bag,

and put that in a bucket and seal it. The #1 test for dryness is to break apartthe dried food and look for any minute beads of water. If there is even thetiniest drop of water( Look closely. You may or may not require a magnifyingglass), the food is not dry enough.I have simply stored everything I dry in plastic bags inside coffee cans. I havenever once had mold problems or bugs. And I have literally stored for years! NoO2 absorbers needed if the food is dried long enough. Better dried too much thennot enough."Dried foods will last from one season to the next...For optimum quality, driedfruits and vegetables should be replaced annually...I repeat, I think it is agood idea to use dried foods within one year of drying them, just as you wouldcanned and frozen foods."If you find any MOLD, simply slice at the place. To prevent further mold, put

dried pieces of food on Aluminum foil and bake at 200* for 15 minutes------------------------------------------------------------------PUMPING WELL WATER TOPWhat to do for water well if you can't get the water out without electricity?Install an old fashioned pitcher hand pump on your wellhead. This will work ONLYif your static level (the depth at which your water stands in the well when it'snot being pumped) is under 21 feet. It doesn't matter how deep your well is.That has nothing to do with its static level. Many wells have a static level of20 feet or less, even though theyre hundreds of feet deep. I used to be awell driller and drilled hundreds of them that fit this descriptionA pitcher pump will cost $50.-$65. at most building supply places. You'll need acheck valve, shutoff valve, and some fittings. It's easy to do yourself. If youhave a submersible pump (one that's placed near the bottom of your well), as

most wells do, you won't need another drop pipe with a foot valve on it. You canactually pump the water by hand right through your pump and the pipe it hangsON. (Note: the shut off valve will be turned off when the electricity is on andthe pump is running. When the electricity is off the shut off valve will beopened. Just prime the hand pump and youre in business.)Every well with a submersible pump has a tee valve on the top with a plug facingup. Turn off the power to the pump. TURN OFF THE POWER TO YOUR HOT WATER HEATER,drain the pressure tank (turn on an outside hose). Remove the plug at the top ofthe wellhead and plumb in you newly purchased hand pump. Any water well companycan give you helpful advice as well as any pump co. With a little knowledge youcan easily do it yourself . If you have a jet pump it gets a little more


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complicated, but not much. Ask for help and get it set up.The most important thing in case of a crisis is having a water supply for youand your family. Please suggest this idea to your neighbors & friends. Here inOregon we're going to put one on our church well to help those in the communitywho maybe weren't prepared when the power goes out. Kerry@aol.com--------------------------------------------------FORWARD THIS TO YOUR FARMER FRIENDS TOPI was pleased to see an article, written by a John Skorburg, in the Farm Bureau

News. Skorburg gave a forewarning to our farmers regarding the need to preparefor disruptions of essential services and supplies due to Y2K. To read theentire article go to:http://www.fb.com/news/fbn/html/millennium.htmlHere is an excerpt:


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keep you posted as the millennium approaches. Farm Bureau is working with theCanadian Federation of Agriculture to get the news out on how farmers andranchers can protect their capital investments from feeling the pinch of thisbug.>>-------------------------------------------------------------DRYING SEEDS TOPFrom: Chip and Alice Cantrell Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 16:53:19 -0500

I have only experimented with non-hybrid and heirloom seed saving for a fewseasons now but I must say, the ones I have tried have been VERY viable with agermination rate well over what was claimed on the packages. We let the heirloombroccoli we grew last fall go to seed (probably about 18-24 plants) and what wedidn't harvest soon enough is now coming up all over the garden! What we didharvest made literally MILLIONS of seeds and my mother has been sprouting themto eat like alfalfa seed. She says they are wonderful and even higher in all thevitamins and good stuff than the full grown broccoli itself! We did not use theoven(gas) or electricity to dry our seed.For the beans and peas we waited for them to get fairly dry on the bush and thenpicked them and brought them in. Don't shell them right away, it's better ifthey can dry completely in their pods, then shell them. We just let them layspread out on a sheet in the house for a couple of weeks. (Jacob's Cattle Beans

are really great for saving, and growing and EATING !)For the broccoli we just cut the whole bush down and hung it in the garage tilldry. I guess you could do this with the beans too.The pumpkins were stored in a cool place until eaten and that is when we tooktheir seeds out and spread them on a cookie sheet to dry.There are some really good heirloom seed companies on the web... The NewSeed-Starters Handbook by Nancy BubelGreat reference book for all "seed" questions. Instructions on how to start morethan 200 plants from seed. Also source lists for seeds. Seed starting problemsolutions. Seed saving tips for specific plants.Rodale PressEmmaus Penna.-------------------------------------------------

WATER PURIFICATION STRAW TOPhttp://www.survivalstraw.com/ Click here: Survival Straw * AComplete Water Purification System in a . . .straw----------------------------------------------------------------WATERBEDS FOR STORAGE TOPYou can use a water bed for water storage. Use Clorox at 1 tsp. per 10 gal h2oto keep bacteria down. There are algaecides sold to prevent algae growth inwaterbeds: but we have use a waterbed for over 20 yrs and never added anythingbut water, and never had a problem. In those rare instances that we needed todrain the bed, the water came out clear, with no evidence of algae. I suspectthat algae will usually not grow in waterbeds because of the lack of light. Idon't think h2O2 will help for water purification. You might want to check thesites on long-term water storage (Captain Dave's site, Emergency Essentials,

Watertanks, etc.--and others have this kind of info).A lot of the flexible watertanks are made out of the same basic material aswaterbed mattresses; in fact, the watertanks.com "bag in a box" bag is made by awaterbed manufacturer.Our basic plan is to store our "main" water in flexible tanks like the above,using chlorine, and filter it before we drink it.----------------------------------------------------MORMON CANNERY TOPThe Mormons don't offer everything a normal dried food storage company does, butthey did have quite a bit. I just did the dried foods today and will be goingback for more. Product is put in #10 cans and then nitrogen packed for


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freshness.In comparing prices with some of these dried food storage companies, they weregenerally much cheaper. Some products were much less. Example: Hot cocoa mix-#10 can at Waltons is $14.45. Same thing at the Mormon Cannery was $5.21.They also have a wet canning process that can be used, but they need a minimumof about 14 people at a time in order to make it worth starting up theirsteamers and cookers. Can get in with a larger group by appointment. Must committo buying at least one case of each item, such as chicken noodle soup, beef

stew, chili con carne, turkey chunks, potatoes, applesauce, etc.You can't get everything there, but you can get quite a bit, and at greatprices. Will also let you bring in your own food products and use their canningmachine and nitro packs for a very small fee. Something like .50 per can.And most importantly, you walk in and take it out with you. No waiting aroundfor 15 week delivery times. Ouchhhh!I understand there are about 30 or so of these canneries throughout the country.Check out your particular area.----------------------------------------------------------MILK, JUICE JUGS FOR WATER TOPWith jugs that have had anything other than water, you have to presoak them in aconcentrated solution of at least 10 drops per quart of bleach with a standard 51/4% Sodium Hypochlorite content like Clorox and some generic or store brands.

Whatever brand you use, purity it important and we use Clorox. Some bleachesalso contain soaps which might be good for laundry but not good for bleachingthe contaminants from a plastic water container. For our use, the soap is itselfa contaminant.This procedure of pre-soaking plastic water containers is an old campers' trick.Boat and RV owners have used this procedure forever to get the plastic "taste"out of the water, particularly on new boat and RV water tanks. (Have you evertaken a drink from a garden hose on a hot day? YECH!) Dianne and I have alsoused container bleaching with success on 15, 25 and 55 gal. water barrels thathad previously stored Pepsi concentrate.We use the Clorox concentrate to pre-soak two barrels to economize. We let onebarrel soak for about a week and then transfer the solution to a second barrel.After flushing the first barrel with clean water, we use a small "squirrel cage"

fan to completely dry it. We take off both barrel caps and put the fan on top ofone of the two holes. This fan takes very little electricity and helps insure noresidual bacterial process from moisture trapped in the barrel after cleaning.The container is now ready for filling with the final fill of water with a muchsmaller concentration of bleach.This method of "leaching" the taste and impurities from any plastic watercontainer is an important tool to make the water better for drinking andcooking, particularly from containers with previous liquids other than water.I expect that a water bed can also be made safe for water storage by bleachleaching.----------------------------------------------------------------Y2K/PREPARATION INFO ON THE INTERNET TOPAnyone with a new reader can also read the misc.survivalism newsgroup. Lot's of

preparation stuff there. Windows users can get a free news reader at ...http://www.forteinc.com/getfa/getfa.htm--------------------------------------------------------------------

BUILD YOUR OWN WATER DISTILLER TOPFrom: Dick Agnew Several years ago, a friend of mine was griping about having to buy distilledwater. The long and short of it is that he and I worked together to build asolar water still. This is about how we did it.As I recall, we had enough scrap on hand to do this without any purchases, and


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we found the plans in some dusty magazine, probably something like a popularmechanics or something.We used an old shower door for the glass.Materials:Sheet of glass - arbitrary size greater than 6 sqftSheet of plywood .5 to .75 thickness a little larger than glassA length of 2X6 and a length of 2X4 the width of the glassA shallow, narrow though - such as a 1" PVC pipe cut in half lengthwise or

use your imagination. Like build one from scrap wood. Also needs to be aslong as width if glass (approx.)Small supply of waterproof paint and caulk.Nail, screws and stuff.

Concept:

Build a box the size of the glass, such that the glass will be a tight fittinglid. The box's ends use the 2X6 on one end and the 2X4 on the other. The bottomof the box is from plywood, as is the sides. The sides need to be cut at anangle so that the ends of each side are flush with the 2X ends. Once the box is

built, use caulk and waterproof black paint to seal and protect the wood.Using scrap plastic and PVC glue, block the ends of the trough so that it willhold water. Then drill a .25 diameter hole in one end and attach a short lengthof plastic tubing and seal well.Mount the trough on the 2X4 at the shallow end so that it is about 1.5 in abovethe bottom of the box, drill a hole in the box to feed the plastic tubingthrough.Run a bead of caulk along the width of the glass a little from one end such thatthe caulk will be directly above the trough when the glass lid is in place.Place the box in a protected location in full sun, on a table or stand or sawhorses. Pour in about a gallon or so of water you want to purify. Put the tubinginto the mouth of a water jug. Place the glass lid on top, and wait.The sun will warm the water, which will evaporate. The vapor will condense onto

the glass and run down the underside of the glass till it reaches the caulk beadthen it drips into the trough, and out the tube winding up in the water jug. Ifthe temp. is too hot, the vapor might not condense on the glass. If thishappens, pour a little cool non-purified water over the glass to cool it offevery now and then,--careful not to get any of it into the purified water. Isuggest emptying this every night to reduce bacteria build up. I also suggestusing a mild bleach solution to disinfect the glass, trough, and tubing beforeuse.Most all commercially available silicon latex caulk would be safe for use inthis. They typically include a mildew-cide, but shouldn't hurt. If you areconcerned, use an aquarium save silicon caulk for the drip bead.As I recall about 8 - 10 sqft glass surface can result in 1 gallon of purifiedwater per day, depending on sun, temperature, and humidity.

_______________________________________PUMP & SEAL TOPI bought a Pump & Seal per the advise of my uncle who has used one with greatsuccess. He has canned food all his life and now dries most of it. He hasseveral dryers and seems to like the ones with their own fan in them the best,one of them being a Mr. Coffee, that he bought at Walmart. Anyway, he keepsdried foods for years and really likes the Pump & Seal. I did tomatoes the otherday and used mine for the first time. It seems very easy to use. Itdoesnt come with many seals though so I ordered some from a man in W. Va.They cost about $7.00 per hundred. I sent a letter of to the company yesterdayto see if I could order directly from them any cheaper. I'm anxious to try it on


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freezer bags as they say you wont get any freezer burn if you use it.---------------------------------------------------COOKING PINTO BEANS TOP1. Soaking them overnight is a good idea, even though they don't seem very soft,they do cook quicker if this is done.2. Once you have started them cooking, only add hot water, don't add cold. Anddon't add salt until the last half hour or so. Both of these have to do withmaking sure the skins of the beans are soft and not hard (no clues as to why it

works, but it does).3. Beans can be slow cooked in a Dutch oven covered with coals, it's been a longtime since I've done it this way, but I would say if you buried them overnightthey would be great in the AM, or put them on in the morning and eat them fordinner. Effectively, these are baked beans. Be sure to add a lot of water onthis one, if you are starting with raw beans (at least four or five times theamount of beans, so the larger Dutch ovens are much better than the smallerones).4. Some people say sprouting the beans before cooking them increases the foodcontent; can't vouch for personal experience here. Bean sprouts of all kinds aregood to eat and often used in salads.5. Beans are a very bland food, and thus the cultures which use beans as amainstay are big on seasonings, and all of us should follow their example. Bay

leaves, cumin, chili powder, garlic, onions (garlic powder/onion powder, ordried flakes), Italian seasonings (e.g. oregano), as well as maple syrup andsugar and tomato sauce can be used to flavor beans.6. When cooking beans and fuel is a concern, here are my suggestions. The bestwould be to cook on top of a wood stove, or a Dutch-oven/campfire or fireplace.Any way you look at it, if you are using propane, it is going to be at least acouple of hours of propane cooking. One way around this, which will be my summerproject this next year, while the natural gas is still working, is to cook a lotof the dried beans that I am buying right now and can them, so that cooking themin January 2000 will be a simple matter of grinding them. In a health foodstore, I've bought dehydrated refried beans, and I am thinking about trying thatwith my Wal-mart dehydrator (it will probably be necessary to use the mat thatis usually used for fruit leather). Beans don't require bacon, salt pork, or ham

hocks for flavor, they help, but might not be available if the stores aren'topen. Vegetarian beans are more healthy, anyway. About half-way through thecooking process, I usually add some rice, whose protein compliments that of thebeans to make a nutritionally complete protein for use in building human bodiesumpteen ways.7. One of the food preservation books I've consulted, can't remember which oneright off the top of my head, will look for it and post it later, has recipesfor vegetable and bean leather, made in a food dehydrator, which seemspromising.8. Dried beans can be ground into flour and substituted for part of the wheat inmaking bread, rolls, and biscuits (say 1 cup bean flour for 1 cup wheat flour).Adds nutritional value and compliments the wheat protein for the same reasonscited in 6 above.

9. You can use cooked pinto beans to make a great sweet pinto bean pie. Justmake your typical recipe for pecan pie, only instead of using pecans, use pintobeans (flavored however they are). I have personally made this pie and while Ihave never served it to anyone who wasn't dubious about the first bite,everybody always asks for more and the pie never lasts more than one meal.10. Cooked beans in spaghetti sauce, with perhaps some dried or fresh shreddedcarrot and squash, is a great topping for any kind of pasta.11. In fact, in my own kind of crazed way in the kitchen, I tend to think ofpinto beans as a general all-around substitute for hamburger. If I don't havehamburger, but I do have beans, just about any recipe that calls for hamburger Imay cook using beans, thus, I have on occasion produced bean pie (instead of a


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meat pie), Bean Shepherd's Pie (this one has received rave reviews from all thecarnivores who have tried it, even without the hamburger), and variouscombinations of beans, cheese, rice/noodles/macaroni, and vegetables, withvarious kinds of sauces (i.e. made from beef bouillon, or chicken bouillon, orcream of mushroom soup, etc.), in casseroles. And yes, I have made sandwichesfrom refried beans, onions, cheese, and mayonnaise. (tastes better than itsounds).12. Thus far, we have hardly even touched on the wide variety of Mexican dishes

that use beans, but the possibilities here include burritos, enchiladas,tostadas.13. Beans for breakfast, over biscuits, or on toast, is very good.14. I believe there are bean recipes on my website Better Times cookbook.15. Beans come in many different formats, so to speak, and it is often fun tocombine several different colors of beans for a festive soup or casserole.16. Beans can be eaten every day, without boredom, as long as you have spices.they can be eaten without spices, of course, especially if the alternative isstarvation, but people will complain and the quality of life will bedeteriorated.17. When making beans, you can add extra water and make bean soup. You can putdumplings, cooked rice, barley, or pasta in to make it a more hefty bean soup.18. there are various recipes for bean burgers, but I haven't met one yet that I

was satisfied with, but then, maybe I wasn't hungry enough. An exception isfalafel, made from garbanzo beans, which is quite tasty, whether it is baked orfried.19. If you soak the beans in water overnight, then cook them in a pressurecooker, it reduces the amount of time and fuel required drastically. Pressurecooking requires much less water than the old open-pot method, and water will bea prime commodity. You can put onions, garlic, cumin etc. in with the beans, butdon't add salt or acidic things like tomatoes, or the beans will never soften.After they're cooked and soft (about 45 minutes) you can salt them and add driedham soup base and things like that to season them. Yummy, cheap and nutritious.20. I made a cardboard box solar oven here while back and cooked up a mess 'obeans. It was a crock pot type recipe, but I wound up adding more water. Cookedabout 6 or 7 hours on a hot, sunny day. Served it up with embedded chips and

embedded salsa so as to be politically correct (:0)> (just kidding 'bout thesalsa)21. We have decided to build an outdoor brickoven. They can be constructedsimply or very ornately. One of the many uses for these ovens aside from bakingbread is the heat that is "left over" after the initial baking is done is greatfor many things. You can simply put some beans, spices and water in an oldfashioned bean crock, place in the oven over night. In the morning....bakedbeans. AND no fuel is used!!!! Just left over heat!!!22. Another option is to hang an old-fashioned cooking crane in your fireplace(if you have one) and cook as you heat!Better Times Cookbook V | Justpeace | Better Times | BobWaldrop.net | Access toEnergy Conservation | On Pilgrimage in Oklahoma City | Bookstore | Better TimesII | Bulgar Bugle | Mutual Aid (Grassroots home and community scale disaster

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Preparedness Nuggets Part 12

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