After years of prepping and still going - by Victoria

[Victoria]

PANDEMIC DOCUMENTARY


Below is the link to a documentary entitled “Pandemic”, made by the BBC.  It’s about an hour and a half long.  This pandemic starts in Southeast Asia from deadly H5N1 in chickens that mutates into a form that enters the human body, rather than starting in China with ducks and chickens.  The documentary says that mutation hasn’t happened yet.   However, the documentary was made before it was known Chinese scientists have now made new viruses by combining deadly H5N1 with others and at least 5 of these new hybrids do infect humans so would be passed from human to human as it is shown in this documentary.

It is worth your time to watch this documentary.  In it, you will see a family in Florida prepare for the pandemic.  Look at what they have stored, and determine if that would be enough, or the right kind, for you.  You will see the only drug being used for this pandemic is Tamiflu and there isn’t enough.

If you have comments about this documentary, post your comments.  You may even decide to store certain items you don’t have.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/6GTclTRQvLw

[Victoria]

MOORE, OKLAHOMA, TORNADO


I had just posted an article here about the Texas tornado that killed people and now Moore has had a terrible one with more people dead and injured.

PLEASE GET A HELMET FOR YOU AND EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY.  Just go to Walmart and do it.  It’s difficult to live through a 4 or 5 tornado but you can protect your head.    I see in Moore that some bathrooms and some closets were still standing.  Bathrooms are safer than closets since there is pipe work around bathrooms to make them stronger just by the construction of the bathroom.

I read yesterday the government, that would be FEMA, was going to put helmets in their suggestions as to how to prepare for severe weather.  For once, I agree with FEMA.

There will be severe weather later today across the south to at least Memphis.  That line is also south and I hope it stays north of me.  I will be watching that this evening.  I have a 50% chance of rain with a thunderstorm.  There are no basements here.

All of you who live in this huge extended area for bad weather later today, be ready and get those helmets, okay?

[Victoria]

SPENT TIME IN SAFE ROOM  DUE TO TORNADOS IN THE AREA


My last post said I would be watching weather in my area that evening.  Sure enough, there was a tornado warning for my area - it was one of those weather channel warnings, “Take cover now!”.  so I took the puppy and headed to the bathroom.  I screwed up, so I’ll tell you what I didn’t do fast enough and what I’m doing to correct that. 

After I got in the bathroom, I realized I didn’t have my good emergency radio in there.  Left the bathroom, got the radio, then realized I had probably taken the batteries out.  Sure enough, no batteries.  Left bathroom again to get batteries out of cabinet close to bathroom.  Back in the bathroom, realized I needed my cell phone in there so I could see what time it was and know when I could leave bathroom as the emergency would be over at a certain time.  Could have also called 911 if I needed to do that.  Out of bathroom to get phone.  Back in bathroom, heck, I needed a light if power went off.  Out of bathroom to get the battery lantern I keep by my chair.  After getting the items, I put on the motorcycle helmet I keep in that bathroom, sat on the bathroom floor with the puppy in my lap and pulled a strong love seat cushion over the top of us.

The above is not acceptable.  I’ll make a printed list to keep in bathroom and when there is a tornado “watch”, I’ll use the list to get important items in there.  If the “watch” turns to warning, then it’s a few seconds to get in the bathroom for cover.

I made all those trips out of the bathroom for the first tornado warning.  After I was out of there when the danger passed, it wasn’t long until the weather channel called out the name of my town as having tornado circulation over the town.  I saw the red radar “hook” over the town,  That channel said all in my town to “Take cover!”.  Back to the bathroom for me and puppy.  We stayed almost thirty minutes before that danger was over.  The circulation stayed aloft and didn’t come down to the ground.   I thanked God for that.

Don’t make the mistakes I did.  Right now, decide what you need if you have to take cover from a tornado or other immediate danger.  Make a list, please.  Keep the list where you take cover, and use it when you hear “watch”, so you can take cover quickly if the “watch” turns to “warning”.

[Victoria]

YOUR TEETH - YES, YOUR TEETH


I'll have an article on here tomorrow about emergency tooth care.  A toothache can drive you crazy and something must be done even if there is no available dentist.  You know, a snow storm or a hurricane or tornado or the bridge is out or your car won't run or there is a flood or .....

[Victoria]

YOUR TEETH – YES, YOUR TEETH, PLUS WOUND CARE



Earlier in the history of this country, say the 1800s and before, people had no teeth by the time they were about fifty or even less.  Most people had dentures or they went without teeth.  The care of teeth became more common in the early 1900s.  Now, there are ways to have teeth all your life – either yours or artificial ones implanted.

When the SHTF, what do you do about a tooth ache?  Let’s take a real example instead of the scary SHTF total collapse of the world.  Something has happened to shut down businesses including dentist offices.  Is there an operational dentist office right now in Moore, Oklahoma?  A dental office there is likely on the ground in thousands of little pieces.  A snow storm up north could shut down dental offices along with other offices and it could last for days.  If a hurricane comes through Houston, towns south of Houston into Galveston won’t have open stores for days and that could be many days.  There won’t be a dental office open north of Houston for hundreds of miles and that includes my town. 

If anything shuts down power, forget going to a dentist, the office won’t be open.

The easy part is to download, for free, “When There Is No Dentist”.  You can also download for free, “When There Is No Doctor”.   These books are also in paperback on Amazon.  The free download of both books is here at the bottom of this page:

http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/where-there-is-no-doctor-and-dentist-free-download.htm

Now, let’s fix a tooth because the dentist’s office is closed.  If a filling falls out, no big deal, have a dental kit with the material to replace a filling.  That should last long enough that a dental office would be open.  There are many such kits on Amazon.  Put “dental kit” in search on Amazon and choose the one you like.  Someone I know said kits are available at Walmart.

Now, let’s talk tooth abscess as that is the mother of all toothaches.  That toothache is so bad it will consume your life and it isn’t going to stop until the infection is cured.  Let’s stop the pain first, then cure the infection.  Orajel from a drug store should be in your medicine stash.  Be sure you get the right one because they also make one for cold sores and you want the tooth ache one.  That will dull the pain for a while.

However, there is another pain killer for teeth and that is a TEA BAG.  Regular tea, not herbal tea.  What?  Yes, have a big stash of tea bags.  I have just found this out, that tannin in tea does this: "Tannin has anti-bacterial, anti-enzymatic and astringent properties. ... tannin is used to treat ulcers, toothache and wounds."  Put the tea bag in warm water to wet it, then take it out right then, we don’t want to make a cup of tea, we want a warm wet tea bag with as much tannin left in it as possible.  Put the bag on the tooth and close the mouth to keep the bag on the tooth.  The tooth pain should lessen – hopefully go completely away for a period of time but that may be pushing it.  You could repeat this as often as needed.

Now, you need an antibiotic to cure the infection to get rid of the pain.  Hopefully, you have some antibiotics from a fish store on the net.  These are the antibiotics usually used to cure a tooth infection:

amoxicillin
clindamycin
erythromycin
metronidazole
penicillin

You can find the dosage for these drugs by putting “dosage for (name of drug)” in search on the internet.

I am allergic to penicillin and any antibiotic related to it, so I have Ciprofloxacin.  Cipro is a broad spectrum antibiotic and is super powerful so it is overkill for an abscess, but due to allergy, that is what I have.  I read on the net the dosage for Cipro for tooth infection would be 250 mg capsules or tablets – 2 capsules or tablets twice daily for 5 days.

If the infection is cured, it will come back after a period of days.  Go to the dentist as soon as you can.  If the dentist office never opens, after the infection is cured, the tooth would have to be pulled.  Now, you can deal with a toothache. 

Tea/Tea Bags and Wounds:
Let’s also use a tea bag (tannin) to treat a wound.  Also, it appears if you have a stomach ulcer, drinking strong tea may be good to help it heal if you can’t get to a doctor or use it as an add on to pills the doctor would give for an ulcer.

I found these instructions for using tannin for wound care at
http://healingpastures.com/2009/05/28/tea-for-wound-healing/.  Here are the important steps:

“The tannins in tea have an astringent effect, producing a dry, tightening sensation, so they are useful for helping to stop bleeding. The tannins activate the thrombocytes for rapid blood clotting. The stronger the tea, the more the tannins. Tannins also have both anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects. Tea also stops infection from spreading by creating a protective layer over the exposed tissues, while helping the wound to heal.”

“After cleaning the wound area, place cool, moistened tea bags directly over bleeding wounds, sores or ulcers, cuts and even burns. To be effective, you’ll need to keep the tea bag in place for at least an hour (use tape, gauze or plaster to secure). If the wound is very wet, change the dressing regularly. Another way is to make a strong tea solution (make a cup of tea in the usual way, only more concentrated). After the tea has cooled completely, pour some tea on clean gauze and place it over the sores or wounds. Leave it on for at least 20 minutes but remove within an hour, or the gauze may stick to the affected area. This tea solution is even better straight from the fridge, because of the cooling effect. The tea solution may also be used for wound cleaning.”

Copy the directions in this article about how to use tea and tea bags and be sure you have plenty of tea bags and don’t use herbal tea bags for this.

[LvsChant]

+1 Victoria... I learned a lot from that article. Thank you!

[Victoria]

Lvs, bless you for the +1.  Tea is full of antioxidant, especially white tea which has the most, however, I didn't know about its properties for pain and wounds.  I was looking at dental kits and a tea bag was in one of the kits.  I thought "why a tea bag in a dental kit?"  Had to find out why and behold, tea bags are wonderful for other uses besides drinking.

This isn't a religious thread, but I think God put plants here to keep us healthy.  Where He screwed up, is, He didn't put the directions on the plants as to what they do for us.  We have to find that out for ourselves.

[Victoria]

PRESSURE COOKERS AND RISOTTO RECIPE ARTICLE COMING THIS SATURDAY


A pressure cooker is used for cooking food, not the other way it has been used recently.  They have been improved over the years and now you don't have to worry about screwing up and it blowing food all over the kitchen.  I have an old one and think it's time is over.  I was always concerned about that giggling piece on the top.  A number of new ones don't have that jiggly thing and they are almost quiet.

I pick my son up at airport tomorrow, Wednesday, and he flies out again on Friday.  He has no idea how much work he and I will do in the garden.  First, he has to put the composter together as it is still in the really big box and has a million parts I'm sure.  After that we'll get all the leaves in the garden in it and do cleaning up out there. 

So look for this article on pressure cookers and risotto recipe on Saturday.  I kept reading about people making risotto in a pressure cooker and I didn't know exactly what that was.  I knew it was rice but now I know how to use it so it makes a whole meal in the pressure cooker in a short amount of time.  I'm not reviewing electric ones as I want one to work when the power goes off.

[Victoria]

A CORRECTION


I made an error in speaking of "tannic acid" in tea.  It is TANNIN and NOT tannic acid.  I read it is common to confuse the two, but "tannic acid" is in oak leaves and tree bark and is used to tan leather.   "Tannin" is in tea and wine and is a completely different substance.  So, let's use the correct name, TANNIN.  Sorry I picked up the wrong term.  I don't like to make a mistake and pass it on.

[Victoria]

ALL PRESSURE COOKERS ARE NOT ALIKE


I’m posting about pressure cookers in this article and have another one about food to go in them as well as information on Risotto.  The food/Risotto section got too long so I’m separating the cookers from the food suggestions.  I’ll have the food/Risotto one on here before the day is over.

I used the 6 qt. pressure cookers to compare three companies and three prices, however there was not a 6 qt.  Kuhn Rikon, so I used their 5 1/4 qt. size.  If you want a pressure cooker to drastically shorten cooking time, these descriptions and price will give you enough information to choose what is best for you.  These cookers/prices are from Amazon.  I tried to find a cheaper price for Kuhn Rikon on the net but the Amazon price was cheaper than any other place. 

Remember, pressure cookers should not be filled more than 1/2 full or 2/3 full.  There has to be room for the pressured air inside.  There must also be some liquid in there.  The instructions that come with the pressure cooker will have this information.

Presto 6 qt. stainless  $50.54 free shipping – regulator on top - whistles – put under cool running water to depressurize
http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01365-6-Quart-Stainless-Pressure/dp/B005FYF4F2/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

Tri-clad base is made with a layer of aluminum sandwiched between two layers of stainless steel. extended 12-year limited warranty.

Fagor Splendid 6 qt.  $69.99 – hisses some – no jiggling regulator
http://www.amazon.com/Fagor-Splendid-6-Quart-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B0000717AU/ref=sr_1_12?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1369933887&sr=1-12&keywords=pressure+cooker

18/10 stainless steel with impact-bonded aluminum base for even heating. 
For safety, the pressure cooker has dual pressure settings on its handle--one in a dial control and another on a valve. Other safety measures include two pressure release valves and a locking handle to prevent the unit from opening while under pressure. A visual indicator rises up to indicate pressure is at cooking level.
This pressure cooker is dishwasher-safe.

If you have set a timer for your food, when your timer goes off, turn off the stove and set pot aside.  When the risen indicator goes down, the pressure is off to lift the lid safely.  Also, you can turn a dial to the “steam release” picture and the pressure will lower then.  Can also be placed under running water to depressurize.
10 Yr Warranty Fully Guaranteed Product – (some customers say they don’t stand behind their warranty)

Kuhn Rikon 3342 5-1/4-Quart Stainless-Steel Pressure Cooker  $179.95  free shipping – two cooking temperatures – does not whistle.
http://www.amazon.com/Kuhn-Rikon-3342-Stainless-Steel-Pressure/dp/B00004R8ZE/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

Solid thermal aluminum sandwich in bottom for even browning and rapid heat absorption.
Five over-pressure safety systems; automatic locking system; spring-loaded precision valve 
Made in Switzerland; 10-year warranty.
 
“The next generation, with memories of valves dancing and hissing on stovetops, snubbed pressure cookers. Now pressure cookers have come back, those old valves replaced by modern versions that ensure safety while delivering the speed, ease, and nutritional benefits of pressure cooking. Pressure cooking also saves 70 percent of the energy normally consumed while cooking.”

“The stem of the operating valve shows high and low pressure so you can adjust heat for different foods. After cooking, the pressure can be reduced slowly (just let the cooker sit for a while), normally (press the pressure indicator), or quickly (run tepid water on the lid's rim).”

“Rev up your kitchen with the "Mercedes-Benz of pressure cookers." Features five over-pressure safety systems, UL listed. Integrated automatic locking system. 18/10 stainless steel will not interact with food and is dishwasher safe. Solid thermal aluminum sandwich. For even browning and rapid heat absorption. Stainless steel steaming plate. New generation spring-loaded precision valve. User-friendly operation. Interior fill lines. 10-year warrantee on all non-replaceable parts, material and workmanship. Quick Cuisine Cookbook, a $14.00 value - free.  Some Suggested Uses: Whole 3.5 chicken; 4 lb. roasts; soups; stews; chili; cheesecake; corn-on-the-cob; dinner for 6-8.”
On Amazon, there is a 5 qt.  $171.76,     5 ¼ qt. $179.95,     7.4 qt.  $188.28 

[Victoria]

PRESSURE COOKER FOOD AND WHAT IS RISOTTO AND WHY DO WE CARE?


Miss Vickie is the master of pressure cookers.  I have not read all on her website, but just read there that she recommends the Kuhn Rikon cooker which is the top of the line, and as an economical one recommends the Fagor Splendid.  I covered both of these in the other article about pressure cookers.  She also says the 6 qt. is the most popular size.  The size of your family would be a consideration in choosing size.

Her website:
 http://www.missvickie.com/index.htm

She has two books at the links below.   I will get the “Real Food Real Fast Pressure Cooker Recipes”.   That is 215 recipes and it has Risotto recipes in there, too.  I want fast cooking and am not interested in fancy, more complicated recipes.  The other book is “Miss Vickie's Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes”.  That is nearly 400 recipes.  You may want both books – I figured the Real Fast ones would be plenty for me.  If you have company over, you might want the big cookbook to give you more choices.

Her website also has recipes and a lot of other information there.  There is quite a bit about cooking rice and beans.  There are cooking charts for veggies, various meats and eggs.  It’s all there to take the guess out of how long to cook various foods in a pressure cooker.  Here at the links to buy her books.

$16.05  Miss Vickie's Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes – nearly 400 recipes http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764597264?ie=UTF8&tag=pressurecooke-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0764597264

$15.39  Real Food Real Fast Pressure Cooker Recipes – 215recipes http://www.amazon.com/Miss-Vickies-Real-Pressure-Cooker/dp/0470873426/ref=bxgy_cc_b_text_a#_


RISOTTO

From Wikipedia,  “Risotto is a class of Italian rice dishes cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be meat-, fish-, or vegetable-based. Many types of risotto contain butter, wine and onion. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy.”

The important word is “creamy”.  If you cook rice, it’s just rice, it isn’t creamy.  Once made creamy/tasty, it is the perfect background to add other foods to make a one dish meal (one dish meals are a good thing, especially in an emergency).

I’m going to copy Vickie’s information on Risotto and it is involved.   Different types of rice are explained.  I can shorten that by saying for Risotto now before an emergency, use short grain rice as it absorbs more liquid faster to become creamy.  In an emergency, use whatever rice you have (bet it is long grain), and have a bit less creamy rice for the base of the dish you are making.  My long term stored rice is long grain.  My grocery store stored rice is 5 minute instant.  I will get some short grain rice to store along with the 5 minute instant.   If I didn’t have the short grain, I’d use the 5 minute.  If the short grain and 5 minute are gone, I’d use the long term stored long grain rice.  Rice is not expensive – yet.

Risotto will be done in 7 minutes in a pressure cooker.  Yes!  Any food can be in this dish – whatever you want in it – meats and veggies or just veggies, it’s up to you what you want in it.  After it cooks, put in cheese if you have it and want it in there.  Pre-cooked food can be added at the end.

From Vickie:

Risotto is quick and very versatile dish. It can be a side dish, a one pot meal, or dessert, depending on the added ingredients. It's also a great way to use up little bits of leftover meats, veggies or fruits. Risotto, the popular creamy Italian rice dish, is made from short grain Italian type of rice like Arborio, carnaroli and vialone nano, which are the classic Italian risotto rice varieties and the best choices for an authentic dish. ...


More info here:
http://www.missvickie.com/howto/grains/howtorisotto.html

Edited due to copyright issues -- please see here for Fair Use info.

[Mr. Bill]

Victoria, sorry I had to edit your post, but copyright law doesn't allow reposts of large sections of other people's work without their permission.  And Miss Vickie specifically prohibits reposting of her material -- see her FAQ.

[Victoria]

Sorry, Mr. Bill, that you had to do that.  However, the link there where the material was removed, goes straight to that information.  I know those copyright laws are used by some writers and not by others.  I thought by giving her credit for that writing, it would be okay, but it wasn't.  I know it would be a bad thing to not give credit to someone for original work.

I encourage everyone who has or gets a pressure cooker to get one of Vickie's books which will have all the material you need for your cooker. 

[Victoria]

Mr. Bill, I just read the two posts you have on copyright and shouldn't have a problem with that anymore as I understand the limits now and what can and cannot be done.  You wrote that explanation very well.  I'm glad to know those limits as I have wondered about where the limit is.

[Mr. Bill]

Thanks for understanding.  We're just trying to shield Jack from the copyright lawyers.

[Victoria]

SAFETY AND PRIVACY PREPS

Do you have a “smart” cell phone or a “dumb” cell phone?  Maybe you need a “less than smart” cell phone, maybe you need to use your house phone instead of your cell phone, maybe you need a short wave radio receiver, maybe you need to just shut up.  Maybe you should go live in a rabbit hole where no one can find you.  Or, maybe you need to prepare – that’s the ticket, let’s all prepare.  I should have this prep article written by the end of tomorrow (Sunday) or sooner.

[Victoria]

SAFETY AND PRIVACY PREPS


For a few years now, we have known Homeland Security has preppers (they call us survivalists), military vets, and religious right fanatics (I think that means Christians) on their list of possible domestic terrorists.

Now, this week we hear about the National Security Agency is sucking your information off the web and your phone.  This one really surprised me:  If you have a “smart” phone (I don’t, mine is a plain cell phone), which is one that connects to the internet and has other fancy things it can do, the NSA can not only trace that phone to a certain cell tower, it can find where you are actually are, and they can identify you on that phone by the way you walk and if you use someone else’s smart phone, you can still be found using that phone, by your walk pattern.  Smart phone are too smart (there is a certain chip in that phone that doesn’t turn off) and if I had one like that, I’d hand it in and get a plain one.  I would rather be private with my calls but that isn’t possible any more as any kind of cell phone can trace the cell tower it is talking to.  Maybe using a regular house phone can’t be sucked off by the NSA.  Consider the phone you have and if it is one of the high class smart ones, consider the risk and downsize if you want to lessen that risk. 

Look, I don’t like phones in the first place.  If I could, I wouldn’t have one, period.  I’ll prefer sending an email so it’s plain what I am saying.  But, I have to have a phone.  I use my house phone unless I have to call long distance.   And, I usually don’t carry my cell phone with me so I suppose “Big Brother” can’t find me.  Why does it matter if I can be tracked?  It matters, JUST BECAUSE.   Just because, it is none of their business where I am.  Where do we stop this?  Maybe you say, “Well, it’s okay if they know where I am because I’m not doing anything wrong.”  No, it is not okay if they know where you are – it is not okay.  This is too much like the book/film, “1984”.   The name of the film, “1984” was all over the web yesterday and the day before due to the surveillance of the program “Prism” that had been revealed the NSA was using to suck your information, emails, purchases from credit card companies and phone calls into that program.   It appears the information is going to a new complex for “information” built in Utah at a cost of billions.  It will be fully operational by the end of this year.  We can call that “The Ministry of Information”.
“1984”:  You can read that book at

http://www.george-orwell.org/1984/0.html 

You can watch the movie at

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=George+Orwell+1984+Movie&view=detail&mid=A100C52533577DE9A74EA100C52533577DE9A74E&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR

There are numerous versions of the film at the link above so you can watch the one the link starts or choose one of the other versions listed at the top and side of that page.  That movie/book is the start of the phrase, “Big Brother”.  Most people know what “Big Brother” means – that the government is watching you and running your life.

In “1984”, there are separate government divisions.  They are The Ministry of Truth, The Ministry of Peace, The Ministry of Plenty, and The Ministry of Love.  The goal of each government division is the opposite of the name.  The Truth division is rewriting every history book so it’s all lies, the Peace division is about lying about winning a war, the Plenty division is lying about having food and all goods, the Love division is lies because that is where they execute you.  These “Ministries” sound like the “Ministry of Information” almost built in Utah to house all our personal information.  When our health records are transmitted to government for our “health care”, that information will also be in Utah as that is now the information division that I just named “The Ministry of Information” .

I read in an article yesterday the fact that Homeland Security can turn off your TV and talk to you, telling you what to do, and they don’t have to turn the TV back on for regular programming.  (“1984” uses that technique, too and that system could see you move around your house).  Well, I’ve talked about this before and this article said the very same thing I have been saying – get a short wave receiver radio to listen to ham operators since Homeland Security and the NSA can’t control that.  Gee, the public should have listened to me many months ago when I brought that up in one of these articles.  No joke, consider getting a short wave receiver radio.  My friends who live in the Texas hill country did that and I’m glad they did.

Homeland Security and I suppose now we must add the NSA, are suspicious of preppers (survivalists).   Normally, a prepper will have a self-defense weapon and maybe more than one and use one or more of those for game for food if necessary.  I think it is having a weapon that puts us in the sights of these government entities.  I simply don’t think it’s water and food and batteries, etc., that makes us suspect.  If you read the news a lot, you know that since certain states passed strict gun laws, firearms are being confiscated illegally now by some of those states.  Power can be used for evil purposes so be careful who has that power.

Laws in general: 
A friend of mine who is heavily into politics and state government, talked about a law that was being discussed to be passed in our state Senate.  This was several years ago, not currently.  The Senate had a Republican majority.  I told her to remember a law affects both parties and asked would she want that law there if there was a Democrat majority?  Would she want a Democrat Senate to have that power?  She said she hadn’t thought about that and would have to consider that proposed law again. 

President George Bush wanted a new law, the Patriot Act, after 911, so he could find terrorists wherever they were – he needed to use surveillance to find these people.  That was a good law at that time to help keep the country safe.  I believe President Bush did not and would not, use that information against his political opponents or other citizens.  Then, a new president came in, Barack Hussein Obama, and that law was still law – now, he is using it to gather information on all of us – our emails, our phone calls, our credit card transactions, our posts on websites, everything about us.  You see, this is the same thing as passing a law in Texas when there was a Republican majority.  When the majority changes to the other party, is that still a good law?  I think President Hussein Obama is abusing that law just as his IRS people have abused IRS law to intimidate organizations that have Patriot or Tea Party in their names.  People stopped contributing to those organizations for fear they would be audited by the IRS if they did and it was true as some were audited.

Preps under the present situation:
How do you feel about your personal information being sucked off and it will be in a complex in Utah maybe forever?  Technology in the hands of a person who can’t be trusted, is a serious situation that can lead to tyranny as in “1984”.  There are already billions of bits of information the NSA has obtained and it will keep going as long as the present president is in power.

What can you do to protect your information? 
In a SHTF situation, you need a way to be able to get news that isn’t compromised and that is the short wave receiver battery operated radio.  Then, consider your options.  Every email or post you make, everything you do on Facebook can be mined and kept by the NSA, as well as your phone calls.  I am already toast since I write these articles on this website.  This website by its name, Survival Podcast, makes it a target of Homeland Security and the NSA.  I hope that sentence doesn’t get removed from this article because it is the truth.  Trying to hide on the internet isn’t possible.  Having “Survival” in the name of a website automatically makes it suspect.  If you post on this website, it can be, and probably is, captured. 

Internet: 
You need to decide how freely you want to act on the internet.  If you don’t connect to the internet at all, you have eliminated a threat to your information.  That would mean not sending an email, either.  Simply don’t connect for anything.   I can’t do that as part of my life happens on the internet.  The government already has enough information on me on the internet to label me an extreme prepper, so I’ll just keep writing articles.

Phones and hand held radios: 
Stop using a cell phone.  Don’t recharge it, let the battery die.  Use your house phone only if you absolutely need to make a call.  If you are in a line of sight from a friend, buy hand held radios and give one of them to your friend.  Those radios can’t be tracked by government entities.  If there is a mass of buildings between you and the other person, the signal can’t jump those buildings – remember “line of sight”.  A number of months ago, I researched these radios to see if I could connect to my friend who lives across town and I determined there is too much “junk” in the terrain between us for them to work.  As I remember, I think the term is “family radios” to put in search on Amazon to read about all the radios.  The bestselling set of radios on Amazon is the Motorola below.  Please read customer comments as they will give you an idea of how distance and objects affect these radios (on this page you can order a set of two or three):

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-MH230R-23-Mile-22-Channel-Two-Way/dp/B001UE6MIO/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

What else can you do to have privacy? 
You can store what you need to survive so if a collapse comes, which seems closer and closer, you have what you need, maybe even those radios for talking to friends/family, and you drop from civilization.  If you “need” items to survive in a case like that, you will end up asking the government for them and there goes your privacy – they have you from then on.  If you are totally sufficient, you don’t have to be around anyone, especially someone from the government who is there “to help you” – right.

Become INDEPENDENT.  Trust YOURSELF to supply your needs.  That is the best answer to provide PRIVACY for you and your family when it counts the most (and at that time, take the battery out of your cell phone “just in case” – and never at that time, walk around with it off your property as “The Information Ministry” might check to see where you are). 

[Victoria]

SPICE MEDICINE


I’m studying six spices to use as medicines for certain conditions.   If TSHTF and stores are closed, we need medicines.  Spices are made of “stuff” that has an effect on the body.   When one thinks about it, everything that goes in your stomach, except fiber, ends up in your blood stream.  Your blood delivers that “stuff” to your cells and can affect them for good or bad.

We are used to thinking medicine is something the doctor gives us.   We really don’t associate what we get over the counter in a drug store as actual medicine when compared to the prescription the doctor gives us.
What actually is medicine?  It’s “stuff” that goes in your blood stream and does something to or in, cells to change them some way.  If the cells are infected by an outside source, say a germ, a certain antibiotic will kill that germ and change the cells back to healthy cells.  Doctor type meds are made in a lab.  But, there are substances in plants that can affect cells, too.  Eat a poisonous mushroom and it kills cells.  Some plants are poisonous to cells and some plants are good for cells.

Research has been done with spices to see what effect they have on cells.  We find spices are medicines for certain infections and conditions.  I suspect drug companies would rather you buy their pills instead of using spices which are cheaper than their pills.  I’m not suggesting to dump a doctor’s prescription.  I’m saying if those prescriptions are not available, we can likely help ourselves by using spices.

It may take me more than one day to write the medicinal benefits of the spices below.  I’ll use prices from Swanson Health Products because I believe they sell more vitamins and supplements and spices than any store on line so they are more likely to have fresh bottles, and they are the cheapest.   When I get these bottles, I’ll put them with medicine along with a sheet describing their medicinal qualities.  I won’t put them in the kitchen to get mixed in with other bottles.

Turmeric
Paprika
Ginger
Cinnamon
Oregano
Garlic

Maybe I can post the article before today is over, or it will be tomorrow.

[Victoria]

SPICE MEDICINE



1.  GINGER:

You can find fresh ginger root in your grocery store.  It’s better to buy “organically” grown ginger so you have pure ginger with nothing added to the plant.  Buy firm roots.  It can be stored in fridge for three weeks and in the freezer for six months.  If you need ginger for its medicinal purposes while stores are open, use the fresh, but you also need a bottle of ground ginger when fresh ginger is no longer available.  It is found at Swanson at this link for $3.79:

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-organic-certified-organic-ginger-ground-1-6-oz-45-4-grams-pwdr

Click on the link below and read its health benefits.  You will also find out how to cook with it and how to eat it otherwise.   I urge you to read these studies and suggestions there for how to use/take ginger and the amounts.  You can copy and print the material for yourself.  You will need to do that so you know when it’s appropriate for your health problem.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=72

2.  TURMERIC:

Turmeric appears to be great for many ailments.  One can get it at Swanson for
$3.69.   Swanson also has Turmeric tea bags - check those out.

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-organic-certified-organic-turmeric-ground-1-8-oz-51-grams-pwdr

The studies and amounts to take for various illnesses is at:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=78


3.  PAPRIKA:

Find Paprika at Swanson here for $3.89:

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-organic-certified-organic-paprika-ground-1-5-oz-42-5-grams-pwdr

Studies and amounts to take for various illnesses is at the link below (go down the page)

http://healthfoodbenefits.com/herbs-benefits/paprika-benefits.html


4.  OREGANO:

Oregano at Swanson here for $2.99:

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-organic-certified-organic-oregano-flakes-0-5-oz-14-2-grams-flakes

Studies and amount to take for various illnesses:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=73


5.  CINNAMON:

Cinnamon at Swanson for $3.49:

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-organic-certified-organic-cinnamon-ground-1-5-oz-42-5-grams-pwdr

You can also get whole sticks of cinnamon at Swanson for $3.29.

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-organic-certified-organic-cinnamon-whole-sticks-1-6-oz-45-4-grams-pkg

Studies and amount to take for various illnesses:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=68


6.  GARLIC:

Can use fresh garlic from grocery while it is available, get organic. Garlic  powder at Swanson for $3.79:

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-organic-certified-organic-garlic-powder-2-5-oz-71-grams-pwdr

Studies and amount to take for various illnesses:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=60


The Swanson products are all organic.  When you click on The World’s Healthiest Foods (whfoods.com), to read about these spices, you will find more information than you knew existed about these spices.   The illnesses they help stop or prevent, is stunning and the studies are right there to prove it.  The dosage is there for most or all of them and there are also recipes if you want them.

One of you (Thanks, Sandra), just sent me a page of the top 10 anti-inflammatory “Herbs” (there are spices in there, too).  Some of the spices I covered in this article are on this new page, but it also includes Boswellia (never heard of it), Rosemary, Licorice (DO NOT EAT LICORICE IF YOU HAVE HEART PROBLEMS), Cayenne, Parsley, and Basil.  After you read about them, if you want to add these to your stash, find them on Swanson to get a good price and so they will be organic.  Here is the page to read about these other anti-inflammatories:

http://www.easytogrowherbs.com/Top-10-Anti-Inflammatory-Herbs.html

Medicine by the name of a spice or herb, is still a medicine.  I still say our not knowing how to use plants is God’s fault for not putting directions on plants.

[soccer grannie]

I always look forward to reading your posts, not just for the content, but because I know you put a lot of time researching what you write. 

[Hilltopper]

I too find Victoria's commentary the highlight of most of  the womens sections on the varying forums .   

[soccer grannie]

Just in the last few years, I've noticed doctors and hospitals asking if you are taking any vitamins or over the counter drugs. Apparently, they have figured out that these are also medicines along with the scripts we get from physicians.

[Victoria]

ALERT!  ALL CINNAMON IS NOT EQUAL


IN THE PRECIOUS ARTICLE ABOUT SPICES, DO NOT BUY THE CINNAMON AT THE LINK TO SWANSON HEALTH PRODUCTS!  DO NOT BUY THE CINNAMON STICKS AT THE LINK TO SWANSON HEALTH PRODUCTS!

YOU MAY BUY THIS CEYLON CINNAMON AT SWANSON HEALTH PRODUCTS:

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/frontier-natural-products-co-op-organic-ceylon-cinnamon-ground-1-76-oz-jar
That is a small bottle because Ceylon is expensive and there is a medical reason for that. 

ONLY BUY CEYLON CINNAMON!

For a better buy, here is Ceylon Cinnamon on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Indus-Organic-Cinnamon-Premium-Freshly/dp/B001GKV8DQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

In a short while, I’ll have an article on why you must not buy any cinnamon except Ceylon cinnamon.  If you have type 2 diabetes, this is a great product to control your blood sugar.  I will start using Ceylon cinnamon.  The cinnamon to avoid is cassia and that is the cinnamon in every grocery store.  Don’t buy it if you are going to use cinnamon to help control type 2 diabetes.  There is a dangerous substance in the cassia strain and I’ll explain that shortly after I get that written.   DO NOT BUY CASSIA CINNAMON, ONLY BUY CEYLON CINNAMON.

[Victoria]

ALL CINNAMON IS NOT EQUAL – HERE IS WHY


First, cinnamon helps regulate blood sugar levels in two ways and that is very beneficial to someone with type two diabetes.  It slows food down in the stomach so it leaves the stomach gradually, allowing a slower feed of sugar into the blood.   It also stimulates the pancreatic enzymes to process sugar and turns off an enzyme that turns the good enzymes off.  Various studies have proven this is true.  I will use Ceylon cinnamon for this purpose.  Likely one-half  teaspoon per day after eating lunch.  Will do more reading to see if I need to make that one teaspoon.  Suppose I’ll have a piece of cinnamon toast.  That will be having cinnamon every day and you must make that Ceylon if you use it like this, having it every day.  Here is why:

One good cinnamon, one really bad cinnamon:

There is Chinese cinnamon, called “cassia” cinnamon, and Ceylon cinnamon, called “true” cinnamon.

Chinese Cassia is the one in grocery stores under any company name.  They bottle Cassia because it’s much cheaper, both sticks and ground.  If there was a bottle of Ceylon, it would have Ceylon on the label.  If Ceylon is not on the label, it’s Chinese Cassia.  I read how to determine if a stick is cassia or Ceylon.  Cassia is thick wood off the tree and rolls up in a solid sheet.  The stick will be one piece of solid wood.  Examine a stick and see if it is one solid piece.  If it is, it’s cassia.  Ceylon cinnamon tree has very thin bark.  It rolls up in sheets.  Look at a stick and see if there are thin sheets you can see.  Well, I just opened a bottle of McCormick cinnamon sticks and those sticks are one solid sheet rolled from each end.  There is no doubt they are one solid sheet – I kept the bottle and dumped the sticks in the trash.  I have half a bottle of a large Tone bottle of cinnamon – just dumped it in the trash as it doesn’t say it’s Ceylon.

A substance called “coumarin” is in cinnamon.  It is moderately toxic to the liver and kidneys.  That substance can be used is a potent rat killer.  “Coumarin was banned as a food additive in the United States in 1954.  Coumarin is currently listed by FDA among ‘Substances Generally Prohibited From Direct Addition or Use as Human Food’".  Higher doses of coumarin can have anticoagulant properties which means it can cause your blood not to want to coagulate (stop bleeding).  If you already take a blood thinner, you definitely do not want a bunch of coumarin added to that.

The presence of coumarin is high in Chinese cassia cinnamon compared to Ceylon.   Indus Organic Ceylon Cinnamon Powder on Amazon gives these numbers:  Ceylon cinnamon has between 2-5 ppm of coumarin compared to Cassia having 2000-5000 ppm.  Indus Ceylon cinnamon is tested at US lab for Coumarin.   Look at that difference:  2-5 compared to 2000-5000.  I’m glad I just dumped the cassia.

If you only use cinnamon occasionally, you could get by using cassia without damage to your body.  But, if you are going to have it every day as medicinal, you should definitely use Ceylon.  I will also say if you are older, you don’t want a substance in your body that can mess with your liver or kidneys – we have enough trouble keeping our parts working right as it is.

Indus Organic Ceylon Cinnamon Powder Spice Pack, Premium Grade, Freshly Packed, is the number one cinnamon sold on Amazon.  There is a long paragraph  there showing the difference between Chinese cassia and Ceylon real cinnamon.  On this page you can buy 8 oz. or 16 oz.  I will get the 16 oz. to use it every day.

Even if you don’t buy it, go there to read the information about the two cinnamons.  Also read customer comments are there are many.

http://www.amazon.com/Indus-Organic-Cinnamon-Premium-Freshly/dp/B001GKV8DQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371150334&sr=8-1&keywords=Ceylon+cinnamon

Remember in the other article, we talked about spices being medicine because “stuff” goes in your blood and does something to your cells?  This cinnamon article spells that out, doesn’t it?  One type cinnamon can harm your cells really badly, and another type is really good for you.  A truism: “You are what you eat.”

[Victoria]

SUNFLOWERS AND KILLER MOTHS

Plant black seeded Sunflowers.  Outsmart moths that kill squash.

As soon as I get this written, I'll tell you why to plant black seeded Sunflowers and how, hopefully, to outsmart moths that kill your squash plus there is one squash they don't attack.  I should have this written by end of day tomorrow.

[Victoria]

PLANT SUNFLOWERS FOR OIL, EDIBLE SEEDS, AND POTATOES FOREVER – PLANT EGYPT WALKING ONIONS - KICK SQUASH BORERS’ BUTTS


All Sunflower Plants/Seeds Are Not Equal And Neither Are The Roots:

I have studied Sunflowers last week and this week plus found Egypt Walking Onions that last forever and have a way to maybe outsmart moths/borers that murder squash/zucchini. 

The Sunflower has been the subject of massive numbers of hybrid strains.  One would get lost in acres of Sunflowers if all the hybrids were planted at the same place.  Some plants are two feet tall and some are 4/5 feet tall and some are 8 feet tall and some are 10 feet tall.  Some have small flowers and some have flowers 10 inches across.  There are black/white striped seeds with less oil in them and there are the black seeds with more oil in them.  There are black seeds with moderate oil and black seeds with higher oil and black seeds with very high oil.  I will write how to get the oil out of the seeds to save it for cooking.  I know how to crush the seeds and to heat it to bring out the oil, but haven’t found a way to press out the oil.  It can be done with a “presser” but that is over $100 and up.  There has to be a cheaper way.

There are some varieties of Sunflower roots that are edible like potatoes.  I was so amazed about this Sunflower “potato”, let’s talk about this one first.

Have you ever heard the name of this food – Jerusalem Artichoke?  Guess what – it’s a certain type of Sunflower ROOT.  You can eat it raw and it’s been compared to eating Water Chestnuts as it’s crisp.  It is also sweet.  There is one variety to get, white “Fuseau”, as it is smooth skinned (not gnarled and bumpy like the others).  I’ll give the link below so you can see them for yourself – click to enlarge the picture and it looks like a bunch of baking potatoes.  They can grow to weigh FOUR pounds.  My goodness, if you had nothing to eat, that is four pounds of food that would feed several people and you don’t have to cook it unless you want to.  I would bake it if I had a way to do that, and I would even if power was off.  I read the weight of the tubers does vary so don’t expect all to be four pounds but they will be substantial. 

The Fuseau Sunflower grows to TEN FEET tall, and each plant has about TEN “tubers”.  If you planted ten plants, you would have 100 potato like tubers.  And, guess what?  They are perennial, which means you don’t have to plant them again – they will reproduce themselves under the ground.  Let’s say you wanted those 100 potato tubers from the ten plants.  Plant an extra five plants at the beginning and leave them alone.  You are not eating those.  I read they are fast multipliers so those five may be ten the next year or even more.  At some point, you will have to thin them or they will take over your garden.  Maybe your neighbor would like to plant some tubers you pulled up to thin your group.  I read some people sink metal sheets into the ground around their Sunflower plot so the tubers don’t take over the whole garden.  Or, if you have a spot off by itself, not connected to the main part of your garden, plant them there.

Here is the link:

http://www.landrethseeds.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5572

These tubers are sent in March so they have none now.  If you are interested in these, save that website link in your favorites and check it later this year and keep checking it. 

This may be the only company that sells them here because it is the only one in the United States I have found.  They are a specialty company so they have them.  I will continue to hunt for another United States seller so we could have two possibilities. 

I will stop here and continue in the next article – Egypt Walking Onions are totally neat – plant them and never plant them again and they will be there forever.

[Victoria]

EGYPT WALKING ONIONS – GATHERING SUNFLOWER OIL


If you plant these onions, and they are cheap to buy, you never have to plant any more as they are perennial which means they come back every year.  We know the Jerusalem Artichoke white Fuseau sunflower “potatoes” also come back every year.  You would never run out of food if you had these potatoes and onions.  You would not starve.  If there was a collapse of this country and you needed a barter item to trade, both the edible potatoes and edible onions are food to trade and you have an unending supply as they just keep growing.  You could also give these away to people you knew and trusted who needed food. 

The Egypt Walking Onions, put out long, hollow green limbs/leaves (like the top of the green onions you buy or grow now).  Use those green tops just like you do green onion tops.  At a point, they fall over and where they fall starts more onion plants.  The new onion plants grow those long limbs and they fall over and start new onions there.  That is how they walk and produce more onions.

Sweet and Hot:  The onions are sweet until they get more mature.  When the bulb is on or towards the top, they are hot.  I cannot explain adequately the stages through which they go.  Click on this link and you will be led through the life cycle of these walking onions and they can be bought there, too.  Click all over that website to see all the pictures and the process.  This is a fabulous website to explain Egypt (or Egyptian, both names work) Walking Onions.

http://www.egyptianwalkingonion.com/photogalleryonionpatch.htm

They are like the Jerusalem Sunflower in that these onions will take over your garden.  If you planted a few in your front yard, eventually your whole front yard would be onions.  I have a wood planter on the ground in my garden.  I will plant a few of these onions there and they will fill up the planter.  If the onions try to walk out of that planter, meaning limbs fall out of the planter and hit the ground, I will yell at them to get back in their house.  If yelling doesn’t work, I’ll cut them off to keep them in the planter only.


Sunflower Oil From Sunflower Black Seed:

It is difficult to find the black seed that has high oil.  These are not the Jerusalem kind as the Jerusalem kind isn’t for oil or eating seeds;  they are for the potato tubers.  There are two recommended below.  The first one is for sure a black seeded one for oil.  The next one is striped seed for eating.

As tall as twelve feet – “Black Oil” – for oil
http://www.mainstreetseedandsupply.com/Black_Oil_p/fssbo.htm


Two to three feet – “Sunspot” – seeds for eating, high in protein, flower is TEN INCHES ACROSS – that’s a lot of seeds to eat!  Eat them raw or toast/roast them.
 
http://www.mainstreetseedandsupply.com/Dwarf_Sunspot_p/fssds.htm


Reminder for Jerusalem Artichokes for edible roots, also known as “Sunchokes”, as tall as ten feet:

http://www.landrethseeds.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5572


Pressing Oil Out Of Black Sunflower Seed:

Why would you want to get this good oil?  In a SHTF situation, you may run oil of cooking oil.  With these plants, you’ve got good, healthy, oil.

The petals will fall from the flower and the head will turn toward the ground.  Get a paper bag and cut the flower head off into the bag to prevent losing seeds.

Rub the heads together to get all the seeds off.

Put the seeds in a colander and rinse to remove dirt/dust.  Let the seeds dry.  Preheat whatever you are using for an oven to about 250 degrees.  While the oven is heating, the seeds need to be crushed.  Put some in a bowl and use something for a pestle and grind them lightly to break all the hulls.

Put the seeds in a casserole dish and put in oven for about 15 -20 minutes.  Take out, put the seeds in the oil press and press the oil out into a cup.

Now, I don’t yet have anything to press the oil out in that last step.  I’m working on finding a way that will work as I’m not paying over $100 for a press.  I’ll report when I find something.

Next article is about war with borers that murder squash including zucchini.  There is one squash that is safe from these killer borers which are the children of certain moths.

[Victoria]

AVOIDING MOTHS/BORERS THAT MURDER SQUASH – FERTILIZER FOR PLANTS - CRAYOLAS


My two beautiful squash plants were murdered.  First one collapsed, turned yellow quickly and died, followed by the other one a few days later.

There is a nasty moth that is drawn to these hollow limbed plants.  The moth lays eggs at the base of the plant and borers are born that bore into the hollow limbs and eats it which kills the plant.  Once that cycle happens, that spot on/in the ground is polluted and another squash planted there will suffer the same murder event.

In order to “try” to avoid this problem, I ordered a tomato barrel with attached lattice.  It is here:

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-GCTB-Tomato-Barrel-4-Foot/dp/B004NBZDN6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1D70WWXB7EG23&coliid=I3NTQR9G5Y8RJ2

I have heirloom zucchini squash seed coming and will grow a few seeds into small plants.  I’ll take the best one and transplant it into the barrel which will have Miracle Gro potting soil mix in it.  The lattice on this barrel is circular so that will support the vine as it grows.  I will wrap netting around it, covering all parts from bottom to top.  I’m hoping enclosing the whole thing with net will foil the plans of the moths.  The barrel will sit on the deck - won’t be on the ground where moths like to be.

I don’t know if this will work, but it’s worth trying.  If it does work, I’ll report it.


ALL FERTILIZER IS NOT EQUAL

I looked into fertilizer.  The plants in containers have Miracle Gro potting soil mix in them that feed the plant for six months.  After that, fertilizer has to be added.  The plant food in the mix is a general mix food.

Look, I don’t want to mix fertilizer with water and put that in a sprayer bottle and hook that to the hose, and go to each plant and spray it just right, and …, and, ,…., etc.  Plus, it’s very hot in Texas to stand out there forever to get that done.

I researched Jobe’s spikes.  There are numerous different ones to choose from.  You have to choose based on your specific need.  I tried to buy the ones I need in stores here but they don’t carry those, so it was back to Amazon.

I got a package of Jobe’s general vegetable spikes for the beans growing up the lattice against the back wall.  That is the only plant now in the ground.  The other plants are in bags.  These spikes are only for plants in the ground.

Another one is Jobe’s general vegetable spikes for containers.  I will use a lot of these since most plants will be in containers.

I also got Jobe’s rose spikes.  I have two healthy rose bushes and two pretty much dead looking ones on the lattice against the back wall.  I haven’t fertilized roses in ages, so maybe these spikes will help them all produce more roses and save the lives of the two poorly ones.

It’s simple to stick spikes around the plants – won’t take much time in the heat.  Watering is fairly fast standing in the shade in the late afternoon and watering from that one spot. The spikes gradually feed the plant for about eight weeks.

Some of you likely have fancy watering mechanisms but my space is so small, it’s not worth it, plus most of the plants will grow in containers on the deck, so an automatic watering system isn’t called for.

Think about feeding your plants and how you are going to do that or how you are doing it now.  Can you keep that up if the SHTF?  Do you need to set aside some fertilizer to have in the future if there is none to buy?  Can you save seed from year to year so you will always have seed?


ALL CANDLES ARE NOT EQUAL

Do you remember coloring with Crayolas?  Do you know what Crayolas are?  They are CANDLES.  Each one burns for thirty minutes.  The brand we are familiar with, Crayola, is made of wax.  They are cheap.  If you have boxes of Crayolas, you have back up candles.  They could also be used for barter, cheap for you to buy now, but what would be their value if people didn’t have power and had no flashlights or had used up their regular type batteries and had no candles?  Or you could give some to people you trusted not to burn down your house if they needed them for light.  I saw a picture of one burning, and it’s a fairly tall flame to come from a Crayola.  I’ll add some for barter and giving to friends.  Candle Crayolas, that is neat.
 

[Victoria]

BUTTERNUT SQUASH


I meant to mention Butternut Squash has solid limbs, not hollow limbs like other squash, so murdering moths/borers are not attracted to them.  If my test with zucchini doesn’t work and moths/borers murder it, I will only plant Butternut Squash in containers from now on.

[Victoria]

GETTING OIL OUT OF BLACK SUNFLOWER SEEDS WITHOUT USING OIL PRESS


I knew there had to be a way to get oil out of black Sunflower seeds without using an expensive oil press.  I had already thought of my manual Family Grain Mill (use any brand manual grain mill) that would crush the seeds really fine but I didn’t know for sure if grinding them up would work to get the oil out.  A press just puts pressure on cracked seeds to press out the oil.

I found a process that will work by grinding up the black seeds rather than just cracking them and using an oil press.

In the other article about getting the oil out, do the same thing to get the seeds by rubbing one head against another until all the seeds are out of the flowers and clean them the same way by putting in a colander and rinsing and drying the seeds on a paper towel or cloth.

Then, the directions change.  Put the seeds in a blender (if you have power), or use a manual grain mill.  If in a blender, grind until it looks like fine meal.  For the grain mill, set the grind on fine, and manually grind the seeds through the mill.  Spread the now meal seeds in a container that is oven safe.

Have whatever you use for an oven set on about 300 degrees.  Stir the seed meal every five minutes for twenty minutes.  I know instructions say use an oven, but I’m thinking heating the seed meal in a skillet and stirring for the whole twenty minutes or less, would also release the oil.  You should be able to see the oil releasing and pooling in the skillet.  After that twenty minutes, or when you think the oil is out by the amount of oil in the skillet, let it cool just a bit and then pour it through a strainer into a heat proof container and there is your oil.  Help the oil get through the seed meal by stirring so the oil can find its way to drip out of the strainer into your container.

If you have no way to refrigerate the oil (lasts in fridge about one month), don’t grind all the seeds at one time.  When you need the oil, grind and heat some seeds then to give you a little oil, keeping the rest of the seeds for when you need more oil. 

If you don’t have a hand grain mill, the best price I’ve ever seen on one is this one on Amazon, “Victoria Corn Grinder”, “Ideal for grinding grains, corn, nuts and cereals.”  It’s $26.95 with free shipping.  This will grind anything you need to grind except perhaps wheat for very fine grind flour for bread.  I think a more expensive one would be required for very fine grind flour.  If you are going to make flour from wheat, you likely already have a hand mill for that and that’s good for both wheat and seeds.  If you have power, use your electric blender or hand grain mill.

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Northern-Popcorn-Company-Victoria/dp/B000U5NZ4I/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1372094818&sr=1-2&keywords=manual+grain+mill

Note:  There are positive and negative comments about this grinder on Amazon.  Please read them and decide if this grinder is acceptable or if you need to buy a higher priced one.