Old thread Todays Flu Prep IV was getting long.
Some local companies in my area seem to be taking notice of an opportunity. I just got a flier from the company that services my heating/ac and they are now selling stand-by generators. And the local tractor/lawn/light equipment company is selling portable generators.
I’m stressed about getting more done before my older two get out of school for the summer. My poor toddler keeps getting dragged around from one errand to the next. Glad she is oblivious to what I’m buying.
Last school day for my kiddos today.Noticed a flyer for a food auction here next week.Never saw that before.A semi full they say…I will be going for sure.
Whatever is going on with H5N1, regular life must continue. I’m in the midst of about 6 huge projects … not least of which is trying to fix all the damage from the break in and vandalism at our other property. Also, my 13 year old son will be going away from 3 weeks at the end of June on a Boy Scout survival canoe trip.
I’m trying to clean and reorganize so that I can add another round of preps to our inventory. I’m fairly confident I have enough to get by for 3 months for our family of 7. I would dearly love to get to 6 or 9 months before the end of July … but that simply is not happening until I can find more space to store things.
Don’t know if this is the right place for this request — but --- where do you buy canned Roast Beef? Thanks
One thing that prepping has ‘taught’ me, is how to be even more organized and stuff a large amount of things in a small space. My project this weekend is to clean out the kitchen cabinets which are filled with plenty of useless kitchen appliances and more stuff that I could ever use. I’m finding that once I get a closet/cabinet cleaned out, I’m amazed at what I can fit in there!!
BTW Kathy, I just purchased a canner on-line and am planning to start doing my very ‘first canning’ next month.
Another trip to Aldi’s last night. I got several cases of canned goods as well as more rice, flour and dry beans, both for at home and for our church pantry. Indo has made me a little jumpy. I also ordered some powdered eggs from Honeyville Grain. I must say they are prompt and very fair with their shipping charges. DW and I had our first salad out of the garden last night which was really nice. The months of July and August we pretty much eat entirely home grown items. I have very few canned and boxed food items left with a January purchase date on them so they are rotating through well.
AMIREADY at 7:16 - I don’t know where you are, but here in Texas, you can buy it at most grocery stores. I have bought two brands, one is Hormel and I can’t find a can of the other brand right now and don’t remember what is was. If I find one, I’ll post again with that info. Most stores do not have lots of it - here, it is on the aisle where the canned tuna, chicken, crab, etc is - but you really have to look for it - it’s in a small can, similar to a small can of pineapple in shape. Our store won’t have more than 10 cans of both brands at a time. Let me know if you have any questions, and yes, this thread is just fine for asking that kind of stuff:-)
Good morning Bill - gonna be hot and humid today in my part of Texas. Don’t even wanna know what your weather is like;-) Have those puppies eaten the basement yet?
AMIREADY: we get really good, inexpensive roast beef in gravy from ALdi’s, but I know those stores aren’t everywhere. Their canned chicken is really tasty also.
Mornin’ WIT! Horrificly hot and humid (at least for here) this week but much better today. Had to buy cages for the puppies while we are at work to preserve what walls were left in the basement. Still, we are losing an average of one household item a day per puppy. Just bought their THIRD set of collars at Wally World last night. Thank goodness they are so cute….
I live in New Hampshire and haven’t found it in my local store. Will look closer in the tuna isle. I have a Sam’s Club about an hour away and have been wanting to take a trip and join. Maybe they have it.
Thanks much everyone
Bill- no, I don’t think we have Aldi’s in Texas, at least not this part, but after listening to you “talk” about it, I sure wish we did. At least we have Sams. Hang in there - remember: the puppies will get bigger and then you lose larger household items;-)Our chocolate Labrador ate the wiring on my husbands’ boat, and that was after she ate the paneling in the utility room. I’m sure they are adorable though, we say the same thing about our youngest child with special needs - thank heavens she’s such a cutie (our CPS adoption caseworker told us that God made this one cute for a very good reason!!) Do ya’ll have air conditioning? I know we went to Red River, New Mexico one summer during a heat wave - it got up to 95 and no one had A/C, of course it was 40 at night, which helped.
AMIREADY - I have not seen it at my Sams, but that does not mean yours won’t have it - I think they are all different. But do try looking again at your local stores, it really is hard to find. Good luck.
WIT: Don’t dare ever post your address on the wiki or I will ship you both puppies. Didn’t you say your husband couldn’t resist them if he saw them?
ALDI’s is great, my supplies would be nowhere as extensive without them. We are getting a new Sams closer to where I work so that will be good as well.
No A/C at our house, but then there are usually only a few weeks in August when we wish we had it. Lots of shade, usually a breeze, and cooler temps at night keep the house pleasant.
Morning All! Its been hot and humid here too, though we had rain last night and it cooled things off-supposed to be nice this weekend. This is for AMAK-and anyone else interested from yesterdays post-FEMA units.
I’m sorry, I don’t know how to do links, but you can go back to Forum Index and pull up “Personal and Family Planning 05 December, posted by Skye at 22.21 theres a whole list of great links for all sorts of things. Under +food+ you will see the address for FEMA units.
or Google AAOOB Storable Foods
Thats the actual site. Bill- What kind of puppies do you have? Planning a trip to Aldis tomorrow-Ive only been there once before and thats been quite a while. Anything in particular thats especially good there?- I do know about the cash and quarter.
Eccles- I dug my styro cooler out- it was really grungy and needed to be cleaned up. Prep today is to try the styro rice. I do hope you were not offended by my smart a** car remark yesterday. I live with a couple of motorheads and often feel a childish need to get in a smart remark everynow and then. Its especially childish because I rely on these guys to fix anything and everything mechanical. But they give as good as they get!!!!!
Does anyone know where to get small amounts of powdered eggs? I would like to try them out before ordering a large amount. Has anyone cooked with these? We had chickens until fairly recently and afterwards eggs have been so cheap and easy to get I havn’t thought about powdered ones.
Thanks!
Hillbilly whathisname - I am sorry, I have no memory of ever saying that….who are you again…what husband….what puppies…..oh, and did I tell you we were moving soon…..to an undisclosed island reachable only by canoe during the first weekend of every third month? Signed, no name, no city, no state, no more puppies
Green Mom - I have been using the powdered eggs that I ordered from Honeyville and can not tell any difference in recipes. Shhhhhh…..don’t tell Hillbilly Bill I was here….no more puppies, no more pupppies…..
We can get canned beef at our local Walmart. Sam’s around here doesn’t have it. This past week, it was a huge display on the end of an aisle.
Green Mom – at 09:13 I’ve seen Just the Whites at the Whole Foods/ Wild Oats kind of stores. They are sold by the can (but smaller cans than Honeyville, if I remember correctly).
Green Mom- No offense taken. I usually just sit there when my wife’s male bashing friends make remarks that would be hurtful if males had sensors for reacting to those kinds of comments.
As for powdered eggs. I actually like the Honeyville powdered eggs and use them now for real (my wife still insists on the real deal). The only difference I have personally found is in making egg-drop soup, where the powdered egg does not create the threads you seek, but rather creates a cloud of powdered, cooked egg. Still tasty, but not cosmetically what was anticipated.
Green Mom – at 09:13 I ordered powdered eggs from Honeyville Grain. You can get a can for $10 plus shipping.
At Aldi’s I especially like the ready-to-serve soups (grilled chicken, beef, sirloin burger, etc.) They are hearty and if served over rice, one can would make a meal for 2–3 people. I also like their canned chicken and canned roast beef in gravy. The canned corned beef is good also, and a good item to add fat and protein to meals.
WIT: LOL!!! I’m going to print out your postings and let the puppies sniff them to get your scent…
Eccles- So glad you weren’t offended. I don’t go in for male bashing-it was the car thing….Dh and I are having a bit of a tiff as to just how much to spend on vehicles. We don’t have cable, but latly he’s been getting these mysterious packages wrapped in brown paper… Curiosity overcame me-a wifes gotta do what a wifes gotta do. Just as I suspected-his brother has been sending him tapes of “Monster Garage” Ive also caught him using the internet to download photos of re-built cars. He disappeares when “Car Talk” comes on-but I can hear it through the closed doors. I am beginning to suspect that the family station wagon really doesn’t need a turbo charged suspension system. :-)
On another note- $10 for a can of powdered eggs is not too bad-probably quite a bit cheaper than Whole Foods which can be pricey.
Green mom- I learned a long time ago that my wife does not consider household appliances or things of that nature to be “Gifts” on gift-giving occasions. Yet she persists in buying me tools and electronic gadgets on those occasions when she is giving me “Gifts”. Turns out, that’s OK with me. I suspect if I were ever to do sometiing like give her a vacuum cleaner, a team of surgeons would labor for 5 hours to remove the wand from where she ends up putting it.
Green Mom
Yes and the can is equivalant to 170 eggs - good deal and by a year from now, eggs prices will be up as they cull chickens.
I like to have them in the mornings with some of the “bacon bits” in them.
Eccles @ 10:46
LOL, LOL! Spoken like a happily married (and wise) man.
Becaue of recommendations on this site from all you wonderful people, we ordered 2 of the canned powdered eggs from Honeyville, along with some dried fruit. QESTION: after opening the can of eggs, how do you store them? Glass jars? Zip lock bags? Thanks!
The plastic lid on can. They can be stored for a year opened. Unless it takes you longer than a year to go through 170 eggs; try mason jars.
I have a dehydrator. How do you make jerky with meat? Do you just spice up the meat and put it in there to dehydrate or is there somethign you are supposed to add to it to make it last a long time first?
Thanks, Oremus. Forgot about the lid since I’ve already stored the box away.
TI gal — there are several sites that give you receipes for making beef jerky. I was reading up on them yesterday and now can’t find the site address. Just google “Beef Jerky recipes”
I hate to tell you guys, but the much anticipated “CIVIL UNREST” has begun. ;-) lol! Hubby and I went to a large store last night to stock up on items for emergency health kit. Every month we always purchase an extra gigantic bag of dog food to squirrel away . . .”just in case”. On the way to the cash registers, we stopped off at the book area and picked up a stack of books to read for June. (It couldn’t have taken more than 2–5minutes. Turned around and the dog food is GONE out of our cart! And there is a mother and what look to be her 13 year old child, hauling up the aisle towards the cashregisters with a 44 lb sack of OUR DOGFOOD. They had the gall to look back at us and laugh. Unbelievable.
Being the refined, positive, peacemaker type of person that I am, I start sprinting up the aisle loading my brain with all sorts of un-peacemaker choice words to share with these pariahs of human society. Hubby catches up with me and told me that I looked like those films of the North Korean soldiers parading before the government CEO’s over there, hopping and moving in jerky steps.
He said he would rather get another bag of dog food than have me start the first episode of civil unrest over preparing for a possible pandemic.
I HATE simple solutions . . .AND, I think it’s good to be prepared before anything happens. I am horrified, I could be dangerous if someone took a can of tuna or a roll of toilet paper out of my cart. ;−0
I have some good news. My sister who lives with me is actually helping me buy prep items now. She buys a case of water every week and she bought some n95 masks as well. Also she bought a bottle of Vodka to store away. My son helped me organize a closet this morning. He rearranged all the water, juices and gatorade. This week I just bought more water and canned food. I am living on a budget and so can only buy a little at a time. I worry about not putting enough food away. My son eats for three people and I cant imagine ever having enough food for him. Oh well, beats nothing, right? Take Care all.
Ange D, Someone taking dogfood out of your cart..OMG! That is pretty bad! What is that parent teaching her child? geez….
Go for Ramen noodles and cheap mac-n-cheese. They may not be his first choice to eat right now, but you’ll both be glad you have them later.
TreasureIslandGal – at 12:03 --- I have a dehydrator also. Here’s my recipe for making beef jerky:
Fill a 4-quart bowl about 1/2 way with Soy Sauce, and a tablespoon of Liquid Smoke (hickory or mesquite flavor)
Cut as much of the fat off the meat as you possible can. The fat won’t dry, and will turn rancid after a few days. Slice the meat about one-eighth to one-quarter inch thick. Drop the meat into the bowl and let stand for about 1/2 hour.
Put on a pair of latex or rubber gloves, and lay the meat out on the drying trays, leaving about 1/4 inch between the pieces. When empty, dump the soy sauce down the drain…you don’t want to keep it.
Grind some black pepper over the meat slices in the trays. Place the trays in your dryer and turn the heat up to about 145 degrees. Let it dry for about 18 - 24 hours.
Perfect jerky!! Just remember to make certain the meat is dry!!
You can change the recipe to suit your taste…
TreasureIslandGal – at 12:03 --- The recipe above assumes that your dehydrator has an electric fan at the bottom to circulate the air. If not, the meat will have to dry for about 48–72 hours. Don’t forget to rotate the trays—put those on top at the bottom, the ones in the middle on top, and those on the bottom in the middle.
Hmmmm…sounds like an old Johnny Cash song…
There used to be kits where you could make jerky out of ground beef. Not as good as using descent cuts of meat of course but it was cheaper. You would mix the ground beef with the seasoning packet then put that mixture into an extruding tool.
You pushed the trigger and the meat mixture was extruded to be the correct width and thickness for a “log” of jerky. My dad used to make it and it wasn’t bad at all, just different.
Who can resist the good natured guys on Car Talk. I assume we are talking NPR. I get it on my car radio now and then, and its always good for a laugh or two. I’m not a car nut though my husband was, and we had some of the great cars of this generation. He started out with a 37 Packard as a teen and I will admit I enjoyed what he bought too. People were always trying to buy them out from under us wherever we went, a pain, since we knew what they were worth, and a lot of people didn’t. Now my Honda Civic does it, though I hate that the lights don’t go off automatically, and the battery can’t take it. So, A few years back at the Grounds for Sculture in Hamilton I saw two embroidered hankies on the way as art work. One said, “IF you eat you Poop.” the other “If you live you die.” very profound. So today since I have enough to eat I bought a commode from Walmart. I am alive right now, I think, but I’m not ready to die, quite yet. Sorry, Grounds for Sculpture. Not ready to retype either. On the walls. They have some of the damndest things that they count as art. Not on the order of Duchamps urinal, but close. Its worth a trip, and eat if you can at Rats. or is it Ratties, though the food is fine at the cafeteria, and you eat with one of Manets Paintings in Sculpture. A fop trying to pick up a woman, while the waiter regards him with a jaundiced eye. Peacocks strut through caging a snack.A nice day if you can make it.
??
Got a commode, Bronco Bill.
BroncoBill – at 14:03 - I gave up a long time ago.
Ah well. I’ll save it for my other writing.
From here on, its just the facts.
Lily – at 14:25 --- Your style and grace in your writing amazes me. I missed that part as I read your post. Sorry….I’ll read more carefully in the future. ;-)
And, not just the facts, ma’am. More of your calm-ness is what is needed here…
HB — ;-)
AMIREADY—The canned roast beef and gravy (in the groceries here) will be with the other canned meats. (As others have said) In Walmart, it is on the top shelf, the Hormel is under $3.00/can.
You’ll find tuna, salmon, and the other canned seafood, then there should be a section of chili, another of chicken, and one of things like corned beef. The roast beef will be somewhere in there, if the display is arranged similar to my local stores.
Another area next to all this will have the Spams, and my personal taste test has found that WM’s house brand is tastier than Hormel Spam.
The canned roast beef can also be found in the various Dollar stores. It will be under different names such as Hereford, but it all comes from the same place.
One thing I’ve found is that visiting a smaller, more local type grocery will let you find things that the larger ones do not carry. For example, an Independent grocery in a very small town south of me carries a vast assortment of dried beans of all types, not just pintos and northerns. All for under $1.00/bag. They also carry the Morton House Gravy and Salisbury Steak, which was a regular item for me to eat years ago. It is $1.69 a can. There are other varieties, which I’d have to drive to a store 40 miles away to get, and gas is too high to do that.
My local big grocery is having a great sale on canned goods—Lucks Beans, all varieties are 10 for $5.00, and Margaret Holmes Turnip Greens, and Mixed Greens are $1.00 for a very large can. (They are good, believe it or not!) That, to me is a good meal, rice, beans, and turnip greens. But, I’m a Southerner. :^}
Have noticed the stores are putting out big bags of rice, 20 lbs., and a larger amount of the institutional sized cans.
Plus this; I’ve found a good thing—Jiffy Bisquit Mix, just add water. Makes really good buttermilk bisquits. WM doesn’t have it, but the Dollar stores do, 2 for $1.00.
I’ve had a very sucessful shopping expedition the last few days, and am feeling much better with that load of groceries in the cabinets. **GRIN**
Hi All - Thanks for the great advice. Just got back from a Super Walmart that is 3 towns away and they had CANNED ROAST BEEF!!!!!! Of course since I drove all the way there, I couldn’t just get that. Couldn’t get out the door without filling my cart. Found several things that were on my list so it was worth the trip. Had to clear another shelf for todays purchases. Of course the little chocolate covered donuts will be gone by tomorrow but then it will just be an excuse to go back to the store.
Thanks again.
Alton Brown has a wonderful reciepe for jerky. It is at foodtv dot com. Search under Alton Brown or Jerky and the receipe will come up. I have some sitting in my pantry now. I will never make it again because it is expensive and difficult (read time consuming). He said on his TV show that it will last for thirty years but be sure NOT to store in plastic baggie. Good luck and let me know how you like it.
LOL!
AMIREADY
Have not tried it, but Provident Pantry brand dried foods, available through Emergency Essentials at bepreparted.com, also carries dehydrated or Freeze Dried Roast Beef, plus the usual dried Chicken, Turkey etc. Sounds like it would be an alternative or backup to the canned goods. Have bought a few brands, but have not tried any yet, as opening a #10 can would leave me with a lot of food to eat.
bought a home drying book at used bookstore the other day. Home drying veg, fruits & Herbs. has instructions for eggs. copywrite is 1975 by Phyliss Hobsin
“combine several eggs in a bowl and beat with egg beater until light. spread in a thin layer on an earthenware platter or flexable cookie sheet with sides. Dry in a warm oven. break into pieces and grind in meat grinder or electric grinder. use the finest blade or highest speed.”
BroncoBill, do you partly freeze the beef before you slice it? I read that it’s easier to cut thin if it’s sorta firmed up by being slightly frozen. (Of course, then it hurts your fingers.)
I scored big today in the container department, yay! I have a neighbor who works at a large food production plant near here. It suddenly occurred to me to ask her if they had leftover food-grade buckets. (I have been slowly accumulating them, one or two at a time, from the grocery store bakery, but have been stressed lately about the increased pace of my preps outstripping my meager supply of containers…for now it’s harder to find a container than to find $4 to buy 25 lbs of flour at Sam’s, even on my tight budget.)
“Well,” she said, “I’m not sure, we just have these buckets (showing me some in her garage that were *exactly* what I was looking for). The only other ones we have are a bunch of those big 55 gallon plastic barrels. We just throw them all away, though. Did you want me to bring you some?” Although I just smiled and nodded and told her that I’d be more than happy to take as many as she could send my way, on the inside I was doing the happy dance! <grin>
Two neighbors down the street were moving out, too…one gave me about 15–20 ft of wire fencing to make trellises for the new raised garden beds I’ve added and the other gave me a huge piece (4′ x 8′?) of white plastic trellis. My garden just gained a lot of ‘upright’ growing space. <more grinning, lol>
My one other unexpected bounty was from someone, not even here in town, who knows I am trying to build up my garden and food storage, but also knows how difficult it is with dh in grad school and four children to feed. Out of the blue, she sent me $100 last night and told me to buy flour, seeds, whatever I needed. (I’ll definitely be needing those containers now!) I was beyond floored, to say the least. I think it’s time to check out Honeyville’s powdered eggs listing. ;o)
Petticoat Junction: Your post made me smile for the first time today. Thanks for sharing your good fortune with us.
Oops…except for Bronco Bill and Lily, who cheer me up quite frequently! Thanks!
Petticoat Junction – at 21:23
WOW!! This is just such great news!! Girl, I am so excited you got those 55 gal drums!! Just… WOW!!
I have been checking WalMarts for seeds… since Elisa D said they didn’t have any at her local WalMart. WalM in Alvin has tons. Also, the family stores and some big lots. The Stanton in Alvin has a really nice stock of seeds. A little pricey compared to the discount places (just watch the expiration dates), but really good quality. Stanton’s is a old country store… grocery, hardware, seed, feed… kind of place. Also, I have luck harvesting seeds from bell peppers… peppers in general. Also, cantaloupe. (I still have a cantaloupe plant “coming back” after 2 seasons!) I have heard alot of stuff about harvesting seeds like this, but heck, if it works… it works… if not, so what. Also, keep your eye open on garbage day. You will be amazed what shows up that can be used for gardening… containers, posts, wire, just all kind of creative things… don’t limit your creativity when it comes to things you can use!
I priced those powdered eggs… you had told me to look into them and they just seemed so pricey. But, it turns out to be about 70 cents a dozen before SH costs. Considering you don’t have to do any work, it is a good deal.
Congradulations!!!!
Swann - glad I could make you smile…it made me smile, too. :o)
EnoughAlready - I got the wire and trellis by watching what people were putting out the night before the trash came <blush>…then I just got up my nerve to go ask them for their discards, lol. A few weeks ago, the people across the street were going to throw out half a dozen of those metal chafing dish holders that use Sterno; they’d used them once for a party and didn’t want them anymore. They’re safely tucked away in my attic, lol. I hang out on the Freecycle loop, too, but haven’t had as good of luck there.
We don’t have Stanton’s here; sounds like it’s my loss. The WM here has a bunch of seeds, too, from 10 cents to $1.50/pkg, and Dollar General (or was it Family Dollar?) had a bunch at 25 cents each, too. I would prefer the heirloom seeds instead of the hybrids, but at least it’s better than nothing for now. I was at Ace Hardware a few weekends ago and the nursery guy asked me if I wanted some big flats of flowers he was going to have to toss. I said yes but realized once I got home that the real ‘deal’ was not the flowers, but two heavy-duty rubber/plastic nursery growing flats with 24 of those 4″ pots in each! I need to call him back and let him know I’d be happy to help him take care of any unwanted flats of half-dead annuals, lol.
Cantaloupe, eh? I need to go back and reread your post in the Houston thread on all the stuff you grow…it’s just sooo different from gardening in Colorado that I’m sure I’m missing lots of good opportunities.
I’m glad it looks like the eggs will work for you. I did the same thing and thought they were too pricey until I figured it out per dozen. With my windfall from last night, I need to figure out how many to get. I’d like to get the full case but can’t quite decide…
Oops, that was me…guess the kids erased the cookies. I feel like Bronco Bill in reverse, lol.
I got 2 cans of eggs from Honey… one to try out and one (172?) servinge to store, lomg term.
Blackbird, I’d love to hear how they work out for you. Looks like Eccles likes them, from his post above! :o)
I’m looking back at recipes for homemade ‘master mixes’ that make pancakes, biscuits, etc and trying to adapt them to adding powdered eggs. I could always reconstitute and add the egg in when I mix it up, depending upon what I was making, I guess, but would like to figure out how much to add in advance if I could. Might have to have separate boxes for whatever the mix would be designated instead, then (mix being made into pancakes would need eggs, but the same mix being turned into biscuits wouldn’t)…hmmm….
Two preps today to speak of. With major storms approaching, and conditions potentially developing to get water into the downstairs, I finally decided to actually check whether the hoses I had bought fit the fittings on the 120V and 12V pumps that I bought for moving water around in the event we ever had to harvest water. (Or get it up out of the downstairs quickly). it turns out that everything fit. But since this was the first time I actually tried fitting anything together, I could have been unpleasantly surprised.
Second prep of the day was to have my DSL go out AGAIN. Calling the help desk at before 11 PM got me talking to Timmy the Wonder Tech, who after going through his short script told me I needed to check my router settings. I told him that we had been through this before, that every time they make me take my whole setup apart it eventually turns out to be them, and that I am running an industrial router which up till THEY got hit by the storms had been up for 3 weeks straight. (Only that short because they went up and down like a YoYo one night). In the middle of discussion, the clock turned 11 and I was instantly talking to a disconnected line.
In order to get back on line, I went about connecting my old 56K modem to the router to use the Dial-Up service I still subscribe to. I had been planning to do that one of these days. As it turns out, I lack a Null Modem cable, and the straight-through cable that I have in stock doesn’t work. I have a bajillion kinds of modern cables in stock, but the obsolete stuff, I don’t have that one.
So, as many folks have urged, actually try out your stuff before you need them in an emergency. You will learn many things.
(By the way. DSL is still out till morning, when Eccles will calmly and gently make the service tech’s day a living hell until service is restored. And I am currently running over a dial-up connection using other equipment, improvised to get me running. So I can get things working, but it was really painful, and totally uncalled for.)
PetticoatJunction- I really do like those eggs. But you will find that the servings they call for are smaller than the servings I call for, so there are less than 172 servings in that can in Eccles-Land.
ne thing I have found to do with the egg powder is to add 2 tablespoons to the dough ingredients for my machine white bread recipe, and it comes out awfully close to Challah. I woulda never thought that 2 tablespoons would make that big of a change in a whole 1–1/2 pound loaf, but it does. You may need to add just a smidge more water to feed the egg powder. but you know bread dough, add water a teaspoonful at a time or suffer the (runny) consequences.
I feel your pain, Eccles. Our cable internet has coughed about thirty times a day over the past three weeks—Cox tells us it is because of all of the construction going on in our neighborhood. I have had no offers of refunds from Cox yet, but I am beginning to get ticked—dh runs his business from the house, and without Internet he is crippled!
Preps: four more airtight containers, smallish (5#) bags of rice and beans, table cream, miso, hot/sour soup, horseradish (clear your sinuses!) shelf stable cheese, jarred hummus and one lonely package of curry. Tomorrow, off to Sam’s for dog food, meat, tp, and other stuff.
Jefiner- I understand your husband’s position completely. the last time this happened on a weekday, and the resulting business impact cost me more than all of my preps combined.
Eccles—
DH has been reading your posts, especially on solar power, and he is *running* with it ;-) (e.e., rf engineer turned magazine publisher turned consultant). We have the solar monster in the making! Thanks for all your expertise!
Eccles – at 01:46 PetticoatJunction- I really do like those eggs. But you will find that the servings they call for are smaller than the servings I call for, so there are less than 172 servings in that can in Eccles-Land.
LOL, I suspect there would be fewer servings in our home too; egg fiends abound here! Do they seem to work out about right when used for baking, though?
It is amazing the difference that egg can make in dough (though I tried to like the bread machine someone gave me and ended up passing it on to someone else…just something about human contact with kneading, I guess…). I appreciate the input.
Stil trying to figure out how much to order ~ I’d really like to get a case, but wonder if it would be better to spread the available $ around right now and then go back later (hopefully!) to add more eggs….aaugh, the uncertainty!
Petticoat Junction – at 02:44 I bought two cans to start with, one to try and one to store. 170 eggs sounds like a lot but it isn’t really. If we find we like them I will definitely be getting more. Seems to be an easier way to add eggs o baking recipes.
I got up early this morning (puppies were awake at 5:30) so I mixed together a batch of sourdough bread using the Herman starter. I had just glanced through the recipe before and didn’t actually realize it took two days to make this bread. Of course, during SIP, that won’t be an issue. I want to get this bread thing nailed down now while I can still make mistakes with little or no consequences. I’m also thinking about tinkering together an “oven” that can be heated with my propane stove, sterno cans, or worse case a wood fire.
I saw some “just whites” powdered eggs at one of the local supermarkets (Raleys) yesterday (they were next to the powdered buttermilk). You’ll do better price-wise at Honeyville, but it’s good to know some are available without having to wait for shipping.
“without having to wait for shipping”
Honeyville was really quick with my order.
HBB - I’m seriously thinking of picking up one of these:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=895626
I’ve baked banana bread in my large grill using 1 burner on medium-low and a thermometer. I’m thinking that this device on a single burner propane stove might use less fuel per bake.
I was staring out the window, running ideas for making a sheet metal “oven” throuh my mind when I realized I was looking at the pile of bricks I have left over from bricking the addition to our house. I thought that I could build an outdoor, wood-fired oven out of the bricks. Sounds like a nice summer project. Has anybody seen any plans for something like this? A clean-out door like the one I have on the chimney for my woodburner would make a dandy door.
HillBilly Bill - there are a bunch online; perhaps you could modify them to suit your purposes. Brick Oven Plans
I have a friend who has been known to bake her bread in her closed grill/bbq to avoid heating up the kitchen in the summer. I bake a lot of bread but haven’t tried that.
Hmmm, a thought…I’ll bet there are camping recipes for cooking bread in coffee cans since I know there are oven-based ones that do the same thing. Generally speaking, they tend not to be yeast breads but it might be worth looking into. (eek, pardon my dangling participle; the baby and puppy kept me up most of the night)
Re: powdered eggs - I’ve looked all over town and have only been able to find a small can at a local grocery chain although people in other cities have found it at Super Target, too. The one I saw here is pricey, though…about $5 for the equivalent of just under 2 dzn eggs, yikes. They had powdered egg whites, too, but that can had fewer eggs’ worth for the same price.
Wanted to let y’all know that my “styro” experiment worked really well, cooked a dish of lentil curry, seperate dish of rice and it turned out quite well. I posted a whole thing about this yesterday but that post has disappeared! I’m really sorry but I don’t have time this a.m. to write it out again, if anyones interested, I’ll do it on Monday. I have a trip to Aldis planned today and lots o gardening since the weather has cleared. Have a nice weekend everyone!
More coffee can bread recipes mostly for the oven but could probably be adapted
Coffee Can Casserole & more camping recipes
Green Mom, I’d be very interested to hear about your experiment when you get the time!
Hey HB, if you are serious about the brick oven you might want to look here
They have free plans for pompeii ovens and they have a user’s group to help when you have questions. I was seriously considering building one for us, but it only makes sense if I build it at our primary SIP location. Unfortunately I don’t have access to enough wood for it to be practical at that location. I may still build one at our secondary location, but it isn’t a current priority.
Green Mom- Mmmmm Styro-food urghhhhhhhhh!
Jefiner- I’m glad that someone is able to benefit from anything I post here. Since your DH is a EE, I’m sure he has done all of the analyses before running with it. I’m not sure if care and feeding of batteries has been covered as heavily as other aspects, so as long as he treats them nicely, your system will do well.
My supermarkets have dried eggs, egg whites, and buttermilk, too, but they are in foil-lined cardboard cans, not metal, so they have a shorter shelf life.
nopower @ 9:27 I have that Coleman oven and it’s great. I started looking into it after many failed attempts at making a quality one out of a cardboard box and aluminum foil. I use it with a combo Coleman grill/stove (9921A), the stove burner is smaller than the what the oven was designed for - but as long as you are careful (no tipping) it works great. Watch for clearances or sales - I picked mine up at Sports Authority for less than $20.
For those who feel they need a handgun and are on a low income. I found a 9mm double action from a company called Highpoint for 103.99. This was at Impact Guns in Boise ID.
I have three cans of those eggs from Honeyville. From what I have read here, it sounds like I need to order another case.
AVanarts – at 11:31
Rather than throw more money into powdered eggs … though yea, I have three #10 cans myself … I’ve been looking into alternatives.
There are several good vegan egg substitutes like using flaxseed. You can also replace the egg content in some recipes with applesauce or prunesauce.
If you are talking scrambled eggs and souffles I haven’t found a viable substitute other than the powdered eggs, but there are egg substitutes for most other cooking stuff.
Kathy in Fl, Love your recipes but I started to print them out from the first thread (Feb. 8th I believe) and it was 172 pages long! I can’t do that many. Do you know of a way to print using less ink? Or some kind of cut and paste that I have heard about but do not know how to do. Very creative stuff on the posts. It reminds me of dinners I used to do but have long forgotten due to decreasing gray matter. The receipes are always such a “spark” to read. Thank you so much.
You can do a File/Save As/Text in Internet Explorer and edit as you please.
PBQ, I’ve been highlighting the text of the recipes I want, copying and then pasting into a Word document — that way I can change the margins to suit the recipe, etc.
Kathy in FL and Petticoat Junction: Thanks for the brick oven links! Maybe I’ll slap something together this summer. It would be nice to have an alternative that could be wood fired.
nopwower: I think I am going to get one of those camping ovens. Thye are small, but from what I have heard work well.
Okay, now I am thinking that 2 big cans of powdered eggs from Honeyville is not going to be enough, so I may have to place another order. I do have one can of the just egg whites that I got at a local grocery store - get this, I thought I might want to make meringue or perhaps a nice angel food cake - I also bought Meringue Powder, just in case. Sigh, the weird things that I think I might want when we SIP…..
Kathy in FL - we do the ground flax substitute for eggs in baking a lot here when we want to go completely vegan (plus you get the added health benefit of the flax).
For anyone who is wondering what we’re talking about, you can combine 1 Tbsp ground flax (freshly ground has the most nutrients) with 2–3 Tbsp of water, simmer a few minutes until it reaches a thick ‘eggy’ consistency and let cool. Use in baked goods as you would one egg.
Just keep the ratio to make a larger amount: 1 c ground flax to 3 c water makes roughly 16 eggs’ worth of substitute (one egg = 4 Tbsp or 1/4 c). You can refrigerate it for up to 2 wks.
Watching - lol on the meringue powder! I haven’t gotten enough of my basic preps in place to buy too many extras without stressing about it, but since I’ve never heard of meringue powder before you just know that’s going to be floating around in the back of my brain, lol! It will be well behind the choc chips, dried fruit, and coconut so will probably never make it into the house, but I’ll think of you whenever I see it now. ;o)
You can download fineprint for free, it allow you to print more on a page, saves paper and ink, but you may need a a magniying glass if your eyes are getting old like mine.
Just got back from Sportsman Warehouse, was that fun! They have all kinds of hunting and survial gear. I got me a loo bucket lid, a bung wrench for my barrels and a pump to get the water out of the barrels easier and they had all the different water purifiers, good to know since I had bought my katydine online and wondered where to get replacement stuff for it. Also saw they have an oven that fits on top of a cooking stove for $30.us $ so you can bake bread and other items, I didn’t pick it up yet but knowing it was available was cool, gonna hit walmart tomorrow and compare prices on that and the stove.
PBQ – at 12:23
Just cut and paste the individual recipes you want to save into a text file or other word processing program.
Then set the whole document to 2 columns.
Then set the whole document to smaller margins … say .7″ or something less than a 1″ margin but more than what your printer needs.
Change your font size to something smaller than 12 pt. Even 11 and 10 pt and still readable depending what font you are using. My favorite font is “Arial Narrow” at 10 pt … you can get mucho info on a single piece of paper this way.
After you get all of the recipes over you want, you can always pretty it up later.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the info. I’ll have to play around with it and then call DH for show and tell.
Don’t know where else I should ask this question, but, as I believe I am moving to the U.S. come fall, I am wondering if I will be able to bring my food preps over the border with me. I don’t want to buy more and not be able to take them. Checked out the U.S. and Canadian customs sites, but couldn’t find a specific answer. My understanding is that I probably couldn’t take fruit, seeds, or farm-things over, but dried food goods…?
Anyone know more details than me on this sort of thing?
First of all: what state are you moving to. We moved about a year ago from Munich, Germany to CT. The rules for taking food were very strict, stricter than usually. By now we have experience because we moved back and forth already a couple of times. This was the first time that I got the advice not to bring ANY food, I cheated a bit of course. They told us that the Homeland Security nowadays is focussed on stuff that looks like explosives, unlike other years when mad cow, dioxine chicken or drugs etc were the bad guy. I couldn’t even take my spice rack, in 18 years I moved that all over the world and got attached to it! It depends very much on what state you move to. Our shipment went from Europe to Boston, MA. Ask your shipping company, they will stick to the rules as much as possible, but you can cheat if it’s worth it. I even asked about that and the shipping company said that if you are caught they open your container and leave it in the harbor for months. That didn’t appeal to me. Strange thing is that in your suitcase or handluggage you can bring almost everything. My DH brings back cheese, cakes, candy, spices etc. all the time.
My advice: do you have a large shipment, your option would be: send the prepping ahead by airmail. But this is expensive so not really worth it if you have to pay for this yourself. Also no guarantee it arrives in one piece. Therefore: donate your prepping, and start over again rightaway when you arrive. (Find an Aldi ASAP!) This was my conclusion a couple of weeks ago when it looked like we had to change countries again (was false alarm, thank you Lord!) Good luck, let me know if you have more questions.
I went to Walmart, Sam’s, and Krogers today. I spent an additional 284.75
Bought: 100 lbs rice, 30 lbs sugar, 40 lbs pinto beans, 16 qts UHT milk, 75 lbs flour, various canned meats, vegs, and fruit. etc, etc, etc…
I could have easily cleaned out the items I was prepping at Walmart, and Krogers. I did clean out the 2% UHT milk at Walmart. WTSHTF the stores will run out fast.
I’m still working on getting the fam to prep. Sigh.
The good news: my sister is set on Ritz crackers and peanut butter! The bad news: my father’s reaction to me bringing up the possibility of a pandemic was to say, “I can’t deal with that now.”
I wish I had the luxury of being able to say that. Oy.
If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when? - Rabbi Hillel
ricewiki, since your move is not until fall, why not write a letter to both US and Canadian Customs offices, listing specifically what food items you wish to bring with you (ie, 20 cans of corn, 20 cans of dry-pack wheat, etc). Food items will only be banned for one of two reasons; they pose some kind of plant disease or insect threat (possible with dry-packed wheat, unlikely for cooked, canned green beans), or there is some kind of tariff or trade war issue on the product. Once you have a written reply to your letter in hand saying what’s allowed and what’s not, you can plan what to take and what you’ll have to leave behind. And keep the letters in hand for your move… if some Customs agent says you can’t bring those green beans in when the letter clearly says that it’s permissible, then you will have covered your a$$.
Here’s a link to the US Customs website about what food may be allowed; after reading it, if there is any doubt whatsoever in your mind, I would ask specifically about it. http://tinyurl.com/578c4
Thanks for the heads up, Oremus! Since we are both in the same city in SW Va, I will wait a day or two before hitting those stores so they have time to restock, especially the milk, which is on my “get next” list. Job well done <applause>
Ricewiiki - I’ve moved internationally as well. So much depends on how good your mover is, so do your hoemwork and check them out. If you have a significant amount of goods, you can cleverly hide some things but risk getting busted. The other consideration is the more you move the more it costs. Some cheaper/heavier/larger items might not be worth moving. And boon CT is right - even though yours is a shorter move than from Europe, your stuff could be stuck in a hot wharehouse for ages. Customs is nortoriously slow.
It would be wise also to inquire about possible tariffs on items you wish to bring. When we had our camping store we shipped items all over the world, and quickly found out (from irate customers) that some countries have import tariffs on certain items that may exceed the value of the actual item (the UK seems worst about this, just from my limited experience). You wouldn’t want to try to bring in 20 cans of green beans that had a tariff or import tax of $5.00 per can (just an example, have no idea if there’s any tariff or import tax on canned green beans!). It might be worth an advance visit to the port of entry you plan to use and try to talk to someone in charge, in person.
If I’m correct, tariffs are generally applicable in a sale/purchase transaction. Not certain if they would apply to a oerson moving something that they were moving for personal use and not intended for resale in the new country. They might, it just seems like a different situation to me than a commercial sale.
MAinVA, hmm, never thought about that, you’re probably correct. Might be worth asking about though, just to avoid unwelcome surprises.
Bought a couple of clay pots today. I’ll test the pot within a pot cooling system tomorrow, starting with water that I leave out overnight. It’s now 98 F on my shaded back patio (very low humidity), but should cool down to 68 F. At 4 pm my time, my house is at 82 F without any artificial cooling (other than blowing cool outside air around when I got up). Maybe the insulation I added is doing some good!
I tested my recipe for using sort of quick beans, without boiling them a long time. In a bowl put one cup of split skinless chickpeas (from an Indian market) and hot tap water to cover (with a excess of another 2 inches). The recipe says soak overnight. I soaked them 16 hours. Then I drained them and put them through a manual meat grinder twice. There were still some lumps, but it was fairly finely ground overall. Then I was really hungry, so I took about 1/3 of the puree, added a beaten egg and water to make a batter ( with garlic powder and powdered ginger) and poured enough for a 7 inch pancake into a frying pan with hot peanut oil. Cooked it covered until it was solid. Turned it and cooked uncovered. Ate with salt. The batter is supposed to sit for 30 minutes after the water is added, but I couldn’t wait. (Now I know how to assemble the grinder.) This made 2 pancakes. I think starting with boiling water might be better. Maybe grinding 3 times? I was really full for a while, but no unpleasant bean reactions. :)
The original recipe calls for mungbeans, and removing the skins after soaking. That was tedious, and I haven’t done it since the first time. The recipe calls for fresh pork, green beans, leeks, ginger and garlic. Also soysauce and toasted sesame oil. (It’s from Jeff Smith’s The Frugal Gourmet on our Immigrant Ancestors, Korean mungbean pancakes. When I’m in a hurry, I use only chickpea flour, eggs and water.
Mari- Would you please report on just how well that worked out? I know there are a bunch of us who would really like to get firsthand reports on how well that system does.
Boonct – at 20:38 yesterday
thanks - can I talk to you over email? I’m at rice wiki at hot mail dot com.
Kim,
thanks so much for that link! much clearer than anything I found!!
lauraB – at 07:31 and boonct:
I’ll be moving to Illinois; not using any professional mover, just driving across border with my bf. Just me and my boxes in the back seat! I only have two boxes of food goods; these are all dried (noodles etc.) or canned, or condiments. Good idea to pay an advance visit to the port of entry… I will be able to do this, too. thanks! And, of course, these two little boxes are for my personal use… not resale or anything.
Eccles - will do. I’ll record air temperatures & water temperatures, and compare the pot inside a pot separated by wet sand method with just using wrapping a jar of water with wet towels. Note that our relative humidity today was 6%, which will make a difference.
Eccles - Hmmm - I’ll have to look around for a thermometer that can measure from 60 to 100 F in liquid. I thought I could use my refrigerator thermometer, but it leaked. Any ideas?
Humidity at 6%? Wow, where are you? (not to be too nosy, just generally what kind of geography there?) This experiment may have to be done at different latitudes, eh? Chicago in the summer is pretty humid.
Mari- at 22:21
One of the instant read digital thermometers with a separate probe would measure that level very well. Under $20 at Walmart and these are Fabulous for hundreds of cooking and other jobs.
anonymous – at 01:21 {petticoatjunction??)
You can tap into previous years to see what to do for this year. For example, in July (I think it was) is when you plant seeds for broccoli for fall plants. Kinda handy little info!!
I gather those dead plants from nurseries, too! It’s the dirt I am after! Once and awhile the plant actually is worth the harvest!
well… don’t know what’s with that link. It is suppose to be a yearly report, by the month, of information about gardening. If the link I am fixin to post works, click on the Link to Horticulture Update Newsletter: The Southern Garden
Ooh, EA, thanks for the link! The TAMU site has some amazing stuff; it can just be hard to find it w/o Googling. There’s a nursery here that has a handout each month of what to do, also, but they won’t give you anything other than the current month and I never seem to get to stop in to pick up most months.
Yes, yes, love the dirt too! I am finishing building my 3rd raised bed (need more dirt! lol) and am gathering supplies to make a cold frame (not that it gets too cold, but I figure I could start seedlings in there around Thanksgiving and be ready to go by the end of Feb)
My friend from the factory brought me half a dozen food grade buckets/lids tonite…she said there was an entire pallet of them out back, ready to get thrown away, but that was all she could carry. That just hurt to hear, when there are so many people on FW who are looking for them. I guess her co-workers teased her about getting the buckets that she did, but she didn’t let it get to her. She also said that they are out of the empty 55 gallon barrels right now but she asked and they should have some soon, so she’ll bring me a couple. I wish you lived closer!
Well, that isn’t the page either. beats me what’s up. Do a google search for: The Southern Garden Contents by Dr. William C. Welch.
Then, click onto the Link To Horticulture Update Newsletter on the right hand side. A calender is what you are looking for, yearly and has monthly info. All state ag’s have such a page, BTW.
EA, found it, thanks so much. Does this link work for you??
Me too… wish I lived closer! So glad you are getting them!! Only thing I worry about is the flour and sugar. My daughter has an extra freezer with an extra shelf available. I think I am going to put them there… prepping for her too. I have them in containers I think will work. But, sheesh, sometimes ants get into sealed jars of PB out here!
A storage place here redid their flower beds. I got about 3 truckloads of landscape timber from them last fall. I was so excited. And, a neighbor tore down a pole barn to extend his pasture for his cows. Got all that lumber. I have been able to develop nearly an acre of gardens from other peoples trash!! Walk-ways, borders, containers, etc. Even 2 of those garden ponds… one is black plastic & the other is a cement pond. The cement one doesn’t have a plug for the hole. Haven’t figured out how to plug it up, so it has flower pots in it! I’m thinking about asking a plumber how to plug that hole up… it’s just a round hole in the middle of the bottom. Haven’t been able to find anything that will fit the hole to hold the water in. It is big enough to have a fountain spray in. thought it would be a good way to collect rainwater. if… I can plug that pesty hole up!
Went to a local “town” hurricane prep meeting tonight. hate to say it, but these people were a long way from being “ready”… the officials were there presenting to we citizens. It was disheartening. Basically they said we could take any road we wanted to this year, as opposed to being forced on specific roads. (I never wait til they tell me what road I can or can’t or have to take, so I couldn’t give a flyin fig about that part.) I was curious about reentering procedures… which they were unsure about. What a mess. Afterwards I asked these emergency planners what they intended to do if the pandemic hit. They laughed and said that wouldn’t happen. I told them they needed to tell that to our county, who sent me the notice to watch that ABC movie. And to check out the federal government pandemic website, CDC’s, Red Cross, and state of texas… they need to tell all those places, including our county, to get rid of their prep info because this city apparently has inside info it isn’t going to happen. I let them know if it did happen, it would make this hurricane stuff look like fun. They might want to at least entertain the idea of doing something… like create a city food pantry.
Does this link work for you??
That’s it! grumbling… wouldn’t work for me! ;) thnx
EA at 1:28….Sorry, had to go tend to one very sad baby (teething molars…just no fun).
I am envious of all of your ‘finds,’ especially all the timbers. I would love to see your acre of gardens, too. I am trying to find brick/rock to build some terraced garden boxes around the back deck; I pulled out 25 ft of boxwood hedges earlier this spring to free up the space for gardening. For now I just have containers along there, though.
Are you wanting a removable drain plug for the pond or would just filling it with concrete serve your purposes?
Re: the flour and sugar…do you have Shipley’s Donuts down there? They have square containers that hold approx 20 lbs of sugar ($11 for a 25 lb bag at Sam’s) or 25 lbs of flour ($4-something for 25 lbs of white flour, also at Sam’s). I tossed some bay leaves in on top of the flour and haven’t had any problems, even though for now they are just inside the garage. (Had the exterminator here this AM for annual inspection/spraying and to tackle the new carpenter ant issue in the eaves, aaugh)
Gee, great response from the emergency planners, eh? What would it hurt to be prepared? I guess that’s what I don’t understand. Someone here posted a line I remember often: “The price of being overprepared is nothing compared to the price of being underprepared.”
Sorry to cut it short, but this thread’s getting really long. Again. Let’s continue the conversation over here.