c do omer april 2011

7/31/2019 c Do Omer April 2011

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We are a married couple in ourlate thirties. On our blog, andin this ebook, we go by thenames Canadian Doomer (orC.D.) and Mr D. We have twosmall children. Explosion (atthe time I'm writing this) is athree-year-old who takes life atfull throttle and has been doingso since birth, while Starvation

is almost exactly two yearsyounger, far more mellow inpersonality and eats like ahobbit (breakfast, secondbreakfast, elevensies,luncheon, etc ) We live in amajor city in central Ontario,Canada. Due to some poordecisions regarding previouspartners, we both foundourselves lacking the assets andfinancial backbone which wehad built during our twenties.That's not a sob story that weintend to get into. I simply wishto establish that ... we'renearing forty, we have smallchildren, and we're poor byalmost anyone's standard. Wedo not own land. We do notown our own home. We do nothave thousands packed away insavings.

We are also Doomers. It's adepressing-sounding term.Simply put, it means this - webelieve that the era of cheap,easy oil is over. It's gone.Alternative energy will not save

us. Recycling will not save us. Bythe time our small children aregrown, we believe that NorthAmericans will be living in aworld that is dramaticallydifferent than the world inwhich we now live. There arevarious ideas about how this willplay out in reality, but we arepersonally preparing for a world

in which electricity is unreliableat best, gasoline is reserved forthe military and The Very Rich,food prices are terrifyingly high,and all of the resources that wetake for granted are gone.Imagine a world in which thegrocery store shelves are emptyand those few items that comein are priced at ten times whatthey are now.

Are we experts in survival andself-sufficiency?

Hardly. In fact, we're the peopleliving next door to you, the onewhere the husband loves hisMassive Multiplayer OnlineRoleplaying Games, the threeyear old knows how to work theDVD player and the wife'scookbook is on the computer.We're the couple that panicswhen the internet goes down forfive minutes. One of us hasalways lived in major cities andwouldn't know what to do with awood stove. The other has nevereven seen a rabbit killed. We

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April 2011 Issue 1

ContentsWhat is a Doomer?..................................2Thoughts on Food....................................3Being Too Frugal? ..................................3Safe Canning Methods.............................5Food Security Defined ............................5Optimal Food Storage..............................6Fermented Banana Bread.........................6Personalizing Food Storage.....................7

Bread Pudding.........................................8Pickle Juice .............................................933 Ways to Keep Warm Without Heat orElectricity ................................................9Pressure-Canning Meat..........................11Dumplings Make It Better ....................12My Five Year Plan ................................12Donating Expired Food..........................1326 Ways to Prepare for a Post-CollapseWorld ....................................................14Homemade Canned Cranberry FruitSauce......................................................16Rosy Meat..............................................17Radical Frugality...................................17

Buddy Burner ........................................19What Is Local? ......................................20Lots of Turkey Broth ............................21Frugal to the Max...................................21Organic or Processed Junk? ..................22Personalizing Food Storage: Sugar .......23Salvaged Beans......................................24Save Water and Energy ........................25Twenty-Five Minute Stew from FoodStorage...................................................25Bug Out Bags for All Ages....................26How to Make Oatmeal ..........................2617 tons ...................................................27Homemade Laundry Soap ....................28

Caramelized Onions ..............................30Not really a Doomer! ............................31Cornbread Two Versions....................32A Doomer's Library ..............................32What Can Money Buy? ........................33Copyright?.............................................34


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are both completed addicted tocoffee. We also live in a countrywhere, for the most part, onlycriminals and law enforcementare armed.

More than all of this, however,we plan to prepare our family

and get ready for whateverhappens when the ramificationsof a lack of oil fully hit oursociety.

And if we can do it - so can you.I hope you will enjoy this seriesof ebooks that I am putting out.Consider this one to be anIntroduction to Prepping,Canadian Doomer Style. Later

books will focus on frugalshopping and cooking, theunmentionables (likemenstruation and childbirth),transportation in our changingworld, shelter, energy use andconservation.

What is a Doomer?

Usually, when I tell people that

we're Doomers, they lookconfused. Today, someonenodded and said, "Okay, Iunderstand." Really?! She did,too. It was awesome.

So what is a Doomer? Wiki says"A Doomer is a peakist (one whohas peak oil related concernsthat oil depletion will lead to asevere economic recession or

another Great Depression) thatalso believes that a MalthusianCatastrophe will inevitablyfollow. Doomers attribute theirbeliefs to humanity's overreliance on petroleum foragricultural and industrialproductivity. Many doomers

are also survivalists."

If you don't know what a Doomeris, I expect that that justcreated more questions than itanswered. Let's see if I candismantle this, using us as anexample.

Peakist - Peakists believe thatwe are approaching Peak Oil orhave already reached it. Webelieve that Peak Oil Productionhas been achieved. This meansthat from now on, all of the oilin the planet is going to beincreasingly expensive anddifficult to acquire. Expectprices to soar. What prices?

Well, petroleum (in other words,gasoline) and anything which ismade from petroleum, usespetroleum in its production orneeds petroleum to betransported. That leads directlyto ...

"humanity's over reliance onpetroleum for agricultural andindustrial productivity". And

everything else. Seriously.Petroleum touches every singleaspect of most of our lives. Don'tbelieve me? Try to go a daywithout using plastic, or buyingfood that has not traveled in avehicle (good luck, unless yougrow everything yourself), orusing anything that was derived

from petroleum or usespetroleum. If you can do it, andespecially if you're doing it andusing the internet, please tellme how. We've been trying toeliminate plastics, just one smallaspect of our petroleum over-reliance, from our home over

the past few months, and it'salmost impossible.

And the guy with the funnyname? A Malthusian Catastrophebasically means that we aregoing to use up all of ourresources - namely petroleum -and return to a subsistence levelof existence. I think theReverend Malthus referred to it

as a state of misery. We expectthat climbing prices anddecreasing availibility ofresources will lead to abreakdown of civilizedinfrastructure.

Survivalists - One could be aDoomer and do nothing. Thereare plenty of apathetic peoplewho know that things are getting

bad, but they feel that nothingcan be done to prepare. Orperhaps they feel as though theydon't have the time, money,resources or knowledge toprepare.

Survivalists are not thosepeople. There are a range ofsurvivalists. Some callthemselves preppers. Some are

religious, some are not. Somestockpile weapons and some donot. Some are, admittedly,crazier than an outhouse rat.Most stockpile food, or work ondeveloping useful (and usuallyalmost forgotten) skills.Whatever the disaster, these

Page 2 Prepping in a City Apartment

This made me laugh, and I thought I'd

share.

How do you keep squirrels out of yourshed in the winter?

Stop feeding your cat.

(Oh, don't yell at me. I wouldn't do it.I don't have a shed.)


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are the people who aredetermined to make it throughwith intact skin, full bellies anda warm roof over their heads.There is an unfortunate air ofcompetition among survivalists,as though only one type of skillis important.

Thoughts on Food

We believe that we are facing aworld where electricity and fuelwill be in short supply, a worldthat will locally-focused much asour grandparents' world was.What does this mean?

Well, it means embracing the

current locavore movement, anddrastically decreasing the milesit takes to get our food to us.This naturally leads to growingfood whenever and whereverpossible and rethinking the ideathat food production belongsonly in urban areas. It meanspushing for small livestock incities, and community gardensand farmer's markets within

walking distance of everyone.

It means following the anti-microwave real food movementand eliminating artificial,factory-made food. It meansslow food and soaked grain.

It means taking part in the anti-plastic movement because weabsolutely must learn to live

without petroleum-basedproducts.

It means jumping in on therecent canning and preservingfad so that food acquired duringthe local growing season can beeaten all year.

It means looking into the(admittedly very small)fridgeless and heat-less (AKAFreeze Yer Buns) movement.

My reasons may not be thesame, and I may not do

everything they do (and I'llexplain why in other posts), butI do gain inspiration from a lot ofthese people.

Everyone needs to eat, and it'ssomething that we need to doevery day. In a world withoutfridges and freezers, blendersand food processors, heaters andair conditioners, could many of

us manage? In a world withoutreliable grocery stores filledwith a wide assortment ofinternationally-made foods,what would we do?

Being Too Frugal?

A few months ago, I wasspeaking with a close relative

about something we don't spendmoney on. It might have beencable TV, or it might have beenbuying coffee and donuts at TimHortons. It could well have beenthat she wanted us to join herand her family at a restaurantfor supper and I said "Look, wejust can't afford stuff like that."(Dinner out for the whole familywould cost us at least $60!)

Whatever it was, she was quitehorrified that we couldn't affordsuch a basic necessity of life,and began ranting about how weneeded to bring in more moneyso that we could afford to havea little fun. I finally stated

"Look, we're doing fine. In fact,we're not only debt-free, but wehave X amount of money IN thebank. Extra money would benice because it would increaseour savings, but it wouldn'tchange our spending."

Her response was priceless. Alook of shock passed over herface, and then utter confusion.She said, "So you CAN afford it.You do have the money. You just... choose not to spend it?" Itwas like a foreign concept thatpeople who live considerablybelow the "low income cut off"would choose money in the bankover "necessities" like cable and

cell phones. I rarely tell peoplehow much we save because mostof the people we know have farmore income than we do and areliving paycheque to paycheque.

Do we spend on non-necessities?Sure - after all, define"necessity". Many would saycoffee is not a necessity, otherssay meat is not a necessity, and

many would agree that our oldcar is not a necessity. I believethat Amy Dacyczyn herself,known to many as one of themost frugal people in NorthAmerica, received somenegative feedback because sheand her husband had six kids,bought antiques and live in avery large house. Some peoplewill say that approved canning

tools and methods are anexpensive non-necessity.

I've admitted that we go to alocal restaurant every Saturdaymorning for a family breakfast.We thoroughly enjoy it, the kidsare learning how to behave in

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such settings, and we alwaysbring home a container full ofleftovers which we fry up forlunch. During the warmerweather, by the way, we willprobably be having picnics in thepark instead.

I have difficulty thinking aboutany other similar splurge in ourlives, to be honest. And wehave, as I said, amassed a smallbut growing nest egg. Even withthe $84/month we spend onthose breakfasts, considerablymore than 10% of our moneygoes into the "black hole ofsavings." Of course, likeeveryone else, we justify and

excuse the expenses that wefeel are important!

Birthdays, Christmas, etc - Lastyear, Mr. D hunted the thriftstores to find a copy of AClockwork Orange for me. I wasthrilled. This year, I usedSwagbucks to buy him two bookshe wanted and a wind-upclock/flashlight/radio. We do

not get surprises for each otherunless they cost little to nomoney.

There seems to be a commonidea that frugality - especially ifone is "too frugal" - will causeburn-out. Amy Dacyczyn speaksabout frugality as a fun game,and that's the way I generallysee it. Frugality should not be

deprivation. There should not bea constant feeling that one issacrificing and struggling or thatone is going without fun andpleasure. Tracey McBride has afabulous book called FrugalLuxuries - I encourage you tobuy it or borrow it and enjoy a

good read. She has lots of greatideas about enjoying everysimple pleasure withoutspending a lot of money.

"A man is rich in proportion to the

number of things he can afford to let

alone." Henry David Thoreau

If you feel deprived and have anattitude of "We can't affordthat," then you are going to haveproblems and you will not beable to sustain a frugal lifestyle.This is especially important ifyou're earning more than aminimal income, because thosearound you will enforce the idea

that you must spend moremoney. They will insist that youare being "too frugal".Professionals frequently dealwith this lifestyle creep whichensures that expenses alwaysmatch, or exceed, income.However, even low incomepeople must deal with thefrugality-destroying attitude of"I work hard, damn it. I deserve

some pleasure in life!"

I made a comment on the BrokeProfessionals blog on Valentine'sDay. Mrs. BP was concernedabout people's reaction toadmitting that they can't affordto do anything except stay athome and exchange homemadegifts. She was perfectly right - ifyou tell people "We can't afford

to ..." they will respond with"Oh, I'm sorry" or something tothat effect. Instead, make itclear that you have chosen to docertain things because of theirpositive, family-affirmingbenefits. They're money-saving,of course, but if your focus is

always on the money, you willindeed feel deprived andmiserable.

We've chosen to not buyconvenience foods becausefrom-scratch cooking is so much

tastier and healthier, especiallywith the children's allergies.

We've chosen to forego thebirthday/holiday gift grabs inorder to focus on quiet,meaningful family time.

We've chosen not to spendmoney on cable TV because allstudies show television to be

harmful to growing minds.

By sowing frugality we reapliberty, a golden harvest.

Agesilaus

We've chosen not to buy certainfoods because we've chosen tohave a more local-based,seasonal diet. In addition, ourshopping and food storage is

simplified.

Do you think that it is possible tobe "too frugal"? And by that, Idon't mean engaging indangerous, harmful or criminalbehaviour like stealing fromrestaurants. Are you frugalbecause you can't afford tospend money, or do you choosenot to spend money because

you're frugal? Do you consider itimportant to have regularluxuries in order to keepyourself motivated?

I'll end with this - the Latin word"frugalis" meant 'virtuous,profitable'. It came from theroot word "frux" or 'produce of



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the soil' and was closely relatedto Latin "frui" which meant 'toenjoy'. From that base comesthe English words "fruit" and"frugal" - both closely related.Frugality is not about beingstingy or a miser. It is aboutwisely and carefully using all of

your resources.

Safe Canning Methods

There are two SAFE canningmethods:

Boiling Water Bath canning -This is perfectly safe for manyfoods - tomatoes, fruit, jams,

jellies, preserves and pickles. IBWB cranberry sauce, forexample. This will get as hot as(drum roll, please) boilingwater. 212F at sea level.

Pressure Canning - A pressurecanner (which is different thana pressure cooker) opens up awhole range of possibilities and,

surprisingly, it's easier than BWBcanning. You must PC all meats(including poultry and seafood)and vegetables - these areknown as low-acid foods. Thiswill get as hot as 240F.

Now, why do we have topressure can low-acid foods?Well, there's this nastymicroorganism called

Clostridium botulinum thatgrows well under certainconditions. It needs a highmoisture, low oxygen, low acid,low sodium, warm environment.In other words, the inside of acanning jar full of food. So whenwe can, we need to make surethat we introduce as little of the

microorganism, and kill as muchof it, as possible.

When Clostridium botulinumgrows, it turns into botulism,one of the deadliest neurotoxinswe know about. It occurs rarely,but when it does occur, it isfrequently fatal. One pound of

this neurotoxin is enough to killevery person on the planet. Anddid I mention that you cannotsee it and it cause NO changes inyour food? There is no way oftelling a botulism-infected jarfrom a safe jar unless you have alaboratory. This is why it is vital

to use modern, up to daterecipes, use the proper canningmethod and follow safetyprocedures carefully.

Whatever foods you can, andwhatever method you use,

please use a tested, provenrecipe!

Food Security Defined

Do you have it? At least threemillion Canadians don't*.

Now, Americans with about 300million people might not think

that a million is a large amount,but we have 33 million people inCanada.

Next time you're in a group of 11people, realize that at least oneof them worries about food.

Okay, so what IS food security,since it's a word I've been tossingaround a bunch?

According to the USDA, foodsecurity is:

Access by all people at all timesto enough food for an active,healthy life. Food securityincludes at a minimum: (1) theready availability of nutritionallyadequate and safe foods, and (2)an assured ability to acquire

acceptable foods in sociallyacceptable ways (e.g., withoutresorting to emergency foodsupplies, scavenging, stealing, orother coping strategies).

That sounds like a gooddefinition to me.

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Soaked OatmealI soak 2 cups old-fashioned oatsovernight in 4 cups of water thathas 2 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1teaspoon sea salt, 2 Tablespoonsmolasses and 1/2 teaspooncinnamon in it. In the morning, Icook it (over three tealights in acovered fondue pot, usually,because it's so easy!), stirring in 1cup of raisins when it's half done. Iserve each bowl with a little bit ofmilk.

It packs in a walloping 295 caloriesper serving, with only 3 grams offat, 0 cholesterol and 487 mg ofsodium. It has 573 g of potassium, 6grams of dietary fiber, 8 grams of

protein, 75 mg of calcium (more ifyou add some milk on top of eachbowl), and a bit of several othernutrients. A bowl will supply 24% ofyour B1 needs and 18% of your ironneeds for the day!

A Year's Oatmeal for Four requires:92 gallons of water60 kilograms of rolled oats1 1/2 gallons lemon juice or whey2 kilograms sea salt15 kilograms molasses

1 1/4 kilogram ground cinnamon53 kilograms of raisins


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If you're struggling financially dodeal with food allergies, or ifyou're accessing the food bankevery few months to cover thegap, or if it's difficult for you toget to the nearest grocery store,or if you find yourself saying "wecan't afford that" to foods that

many North Americans take forgranted, or if your town watersupply is not safe to drink anduse, then you do not have foodsecurity.

It seems quite ironic to me thatthose who can most afford tobuy food in bulk (whether grainsor a whole pig carcass), are theones who least need to do so.

Now, Canada came out withsomething called Canada'sAction Plan for Food Security

They set up three goals:

Zero hunger A sustainable food system Healthy and safe food

While we take them for granted,

food banks, community gardens,community kitchens, food-buying clubs and school-basedbreakfast and lunch programswere, according to the CanadaAction Plan, "never intended tobe long-term solutions."

While the Canada Action Planhas a lot of suggestions on howthe government can supportfood security across the country,I think that the real solution issummed up by Bill Mollison, oneof the two founders of thepermaculture movement:

We're only trulysecure when we canlook out our kitchen

window and see ourfood growing and ourfriends workingnearby.

Now that's a solution that I canget behind. However ... howworkable is that in our cities?

How much food can we actuallygrow in backyards and balconies?

Of course, it brings up morequestions. When I speak withMajor at the Salvation Army'sFamily Services in our city, shesays that many of their clientshave no idea how to cook basicfoods. They avoid giving peoplesuch things as flour, because far

too much of it ends up in thegarbage. If "potato"automatically translates to"french fries" in a person's mind,it does no good to provide themwith fresh, locally grownpotatoes.

There are three things which Ithink are necessary for foodsecurity in cities:

Easy, walkable access tosufficient garden spaceand qualified gardeningmentors

Affordable access to goodfood that can't be grownat home (meat, dairy,grains)

Fully-equipped communitykitchens, with equipment,

classes and people trainedin nutrition, cooking andfood preservation

Now I'll open this up todiscussion - maybe you guys cangive me something to write fornext Monday's post! :)

* According to Stats Canada for

1998/99, and I can't imagine thesituation has improved!

Optimal Food Storage

Food storage, to me, must be:

* sustainable without access tothe grid* as local as possible - backyard,

neighbourhood, city, province,country, world, in order ofpreference (and quantity)* affordable for wealthy or poor* real food, without TVP or

margarine or other things madein a factory* stuff that a person can

reasonably grow (depending onlaws and land availability)* preserved with simple,

reproducible methods* in sufficient quantity to get a

family (and guests) through abad harvest, not 30 years in abunker

Fermented BananaBread

While bananas are not local tous, they've been shipped by boatfor a long time and have becomea well-loved part of Canadiandiets. I ferment my bananas toincrease the flavour. In addition,it makes use of old, blackbananas. Like most of myfavourite recipes, it takes

variations well!

Dry ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda



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1/4 tsp. salt

Mix these.

If you want it spiced, add:

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp vanilla

Don't fret about it, and don't buyspices just for a recipe. I usedcinnamon and vanilla in thisloaf. Even without spices, it'lltaste great.

Now measure the banana. Ifthere's not enough to make 1cup, add applesauce or anyother pureed fruit. Remember,though, there will be a slightflavor from any variations.

Mix together:

1 cup banana and fruit

1/3 cup oil or fat of your choice(I used canola oil)

2 Tb milk or water (I used milk)

2 eggs

Now add the dry ingredients tothe wet ingredients. Mix well.

If you like raisins or nuts orchocolate chips in your bananabread, you can add 1/4 cup ofthe addition now. I like mybanana bread plain.

Banana bread takes anincredibly long time to cook. Itwill take an hour, give or take afew minutes. When it's done, theedges will have pulled awayfrom the side of the pan and atoothpick inserted into themiddle of the loaf will come out

clean. That's called thetoothpick test and it can also bedone with a broom straw. If yourbroom is made of straw andyou're fine with sticking thatinto your food. Otherwise, youcould get an Amish Broom CakeTester or the much less wastefulmetal Cake Tester. I'll behonest, though - I just use abread knife.

When the loaf is cooked, place itright side up on a cooling rackfor ten minutes, and THENinvert it on the cooling rack toremove.

With 2011 prices, and buyingfood in bulk, a loaf of bananabread costs me $1.

Personalizing FoodStorage

Have you heard the saying "Storewhat you eat and eat what youstore"? Well, in our house itwould do no good to store nutsor powdered milk or cow's milk

cheese. Since we're focusing oneating foods that are capable ofgrowing close to home, we don'tstore rice or quinoa or other faraway foods, either. There are nocans of pineapple in mycupboard - although I have tosay that I love pineapple. Whilecanola oil is a local product, itrequires far more processingthan I could reproduce in a

TEOTWAWKI situation. Samething when it comes todehydrated eggs or any of theinteresting items that Americanpreppers seem to store. (I'venever seen dehydrated eggs inany store, and it's not somethingI could ever make at home).

So what do we store anyway? Ijust canned seven quarts ofsliced carrots and seven quartsof potato chunks. Chicken legsare slowly cooking away in mycrock-pot (the four wholechickens are now bones, brothand a huge bowl of meat in thefridge), and I'll be canningchicken and broth tonight. Mycupboards are full of cannedmeatballs, ham in broth or inbbq sauce, pork in broth.

I save all of the fat. It is inmason jars in my fridge and Iuse it for everything. Dependingon the flavor I want, I have beeftallow (wonderful when fryingpotatoes), chicken schmalz,bacon fat and lard. My lard

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Bread bowls are a great way toserve thick, inexpensive dishes likechili or stew, and it makes themlook fancy enough for company.They're nothing more than extra-large rolls (usually 1/3 the size of aloaf of bread or the size of tworegular rolls, but they can be madesmaller) formed into rounds andbaked so that the sides don't touch.Cool on a rack and then slice offabout 1/2 at the top. Pull out theinsides, leaving a thick shell of

bread. Butter and toast theseslightly before filling with stew orchili or even spinach dip. Don'tforget to butter and toast the tops!


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cooked a bit longer than itshould have, so it's a bit "piggy"tasting, but that's notnecessarily a bad thing.

This evening, while the chickenis canning, we will be slicing upsome apples to go into the

dehydrator. Because of a lack ofplanning, I did not get anyadditional vegetables or fruitsstored for this winter. In asurvival situation, we'd be in abad spot right now.

We purchase and store vinegar,salt and white sugar. They'reneeded for preserving foods athome. Eventually we want to

learn how to use honey (withsome maple syrup) foreverything. We also purchaseand store cocoa and coffee.

Spices are, in my opinion, anecessity. There is a reason whytraders once traveled on foot,on horse and on camel withthese little pots of wonderful.

This is our first year of buildingup our food storage. By nextyear, we will have more variety.However, we will be constrainedby:- No nuts and seeds because ofallergies- No cow's milk products,including powdered milk- No foods that can only bemade in a factory.

- No foods that traveled morethan 500 miles to get to us.

Bread Pudding

My bread pudding recipe isbased off Paula Deen's. This is a

very frugal dessert or breakfast,because it uses up stale bread.But be creative and don't limityourself to plain white bread.Stale croissants are delicious.

Bread Pudding2 cups sugar

5 eggs2 cup milk1 tablespoon vanilla4 cup bread in chunks1 cup sugar1 tablespoon molasses1/4 cup softened butter1 egg1/2 tablespoon vanilla

Use a bread that would be tasty

if someone hadn't let it getstale. Mix the sugar, eggs,vanilla and milk. Pour over thebread in a large bowl and toss tocoat. Let it set for a fewminutes, toss it again, and thenpress it into a greased casseroledish.

What size dish? Why are youasking me? I can't see in your

cupboard. If you have a deep,round dish (like I have), you'llget a small amount of crustyoutside, which kids seem tolove, and a lot of gooey insides,which grownups in our houseprefer. But if you use a low,wide dish, you'll get theopposite.

Because I don't like to wake up

and immediately start preparingfood, and because I don't wantcold bread pudding forbreakfast, I made this up atnight, covered the casserolewith its glass lid, and put it inthe fridge.If you've put your dish in the

fridge overnight, put it on thecounter for a little while so it'snot too cold, and make sure notto turn on the oven until you putthe dish in it. I don't know if Ineed to tell people that puttinga cold glass dish in a very hotoven makes bad things happen.

Or so I've been told, because I'venever actually done it.Bake at 350F for about 30minutes, or until crusty on topand cooked inside.While it's cooking, mix sugar,molasses, vanilla, egg and butterin a small pot. Cook and stirtogether until butter melts. Pourover the pudding when servingit.

We're not having the saucebecause all of the eggs went intothe pudding.A few notes here. Use whatevermilk you normally use. We usegoat. I can see no reason whysoy "milk" or any of the otheralternatives wouldn't work.There might be some differencesin taste, but if you already drink

non-dairy alternatives, you'reused to those. I greased mycasserole with home-renderedlard, because a little "piggy"taste in the morning is a goodthing. Spraying the dish willhave the same effect, or coatingit with butter. If you usemargarine in the topping, itmight not taste as good, butthat's your call. Paula Deen

specifies real vanilla extract. Iused artificial. Again, what sizeeggs? If you're a normal person,you have standard large eggs inyour fridge and that works justfine. If you're a weirdo like me,you have oddly sized farm fresheggs, and that works just fine,



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too.

Basically, it comes down to this -it's bread pudding. It's a peasantdish designed to use upingredients that the farmwifehad in great quantities - stalebread, eggs, and milk. All of the

other is just prettying it up.

Pickle Juice

So let's say you've just finishedthe last jar of your favouritebread and butter pickles, andyou're wishing the collective youhadn't gobbled them up so fast?

Let's say that, like me, you havechronic low blood pressure andso just hate the thought oftossing out so much delicious,spicy, salty goodness?

And let's say you notice thatOntario greenhouse cucumbersare now available?

Well, what you do is pick up two

cucumbers, a small bunch oftomatoes-on-the-vine, and apound of bacon, and you comehome and have sandwiches forlunch and then fill up the picklejar with sliced cucumber. That'sall. Slice, slice, slice. (No, thebacon and tomatoes havenothing to do with the pickles.Although, you can cut off thestem and add a whole tomato to

a bottle of dill pickle juice. In aweek, you'll have a pickledtomato, of which Mr D says Iwouldn't make it on purpose. ButI wouldn't refuse another.)

And then you wait three days.

Well, if you're impatient likeme, you pick up the jar once aday and flip it to move thespices around, but no one saysyou absolutely have to.

And then you dig in and pull outa cucumber slice, musing that

they still LOOK like cucumberslices, not at all like properpickles, not even like "LazyPickle", and you ... CRUNCH.

OH, heavenly.

And you wish you had saved thepickle juice from all three jars.

I don't know if this can be

repeated. But I'm saving my dillpickle juice for a pickleassortment later this summer!They're obviously not truepickles, but they're more thanjust a marinated cucumber.

Other things to do with thatyummy pickle juice:- Add hard-boiled eggs for aweek to pickle them, and then

eat right away- Add feta cheese to the juice!- Not just cucumbers - try carrotslices, onions, or any hardvegetable (they might have tomarinade a while)- After Christmas (or any big)dinner, add leftover cooked, cutup vegetables to pickle juiceand marinade for a day or two.- Add a little to any recipe that

uses both vinegar and spices,like vinegar-based coleslaw.- sprinkle on french fries- use it with Worcestershiresauce to marinade thinly slicedmeat- cook brisket in the juice from afew jars of pickles

- brine chicken breast beforecooking- poach fish- perhaps pickle salmonovernight?

33 Ways to Keep WarmWithout Heat orElectricity

No power, no electricity, nowood heat ... you're stuck in acity apartment, it's winter in anorthern climate and the gridhas gone down. What are yougoing to do?

1. Dress in layers.Underclothes, then longunderclothes, then shirt andpants/long skirt, then asweater. A pair of heavytights can be worn under longunderwear by both men andwomen. It's important to havea layer directly against yourskin and then at least onelayer that traps air over the

first. There's nothing quite asjolting as frozen jeans againstyour inner thighs!2. When you go outside, adda warm hat that covers yourears, a wool scarf (I've neverfound a non-wool scarf thatwas worth a damn), and yourcoat and boots. A ski maskcan prevent frostbite if you'reoutside for a while.

3. Wear wool - wool socks,wool slacks/skirts, woolslippers. Keep your FEET andyour HANDS warm. One pairof cotton socks plus slippersin the house. One pair ofcotton socks plus wool socksinside your boots. Add

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another pair of wool socks ifyou're still getting cold toes.And that means buying bootsa size bigger than usual.Remember - you're not goingout into a heated car or bus.4. Keep your feet DRY. If yousweat, change your socks. If

you're feeling cold, trychanging your socks becauseyou've probably beensweating (because you'rewearing at least two pairs ofsocks, or socks and slippers,and now your feet are damp.5. Speaking of slippers -knitted wool slippers are theold faithful. If you havesomeone who loves you a lot,

ask them to get you a pair ofsheep shearling-lined suedeslippers from Land's End.Heavenly warm.6. Real fur and real leather.Or a heavy down comforter(even if fashion folks saythey're outdated - they'rewarm). And sheepskin - alambswool on a child's bedwill keep them wonderfully

warm. A heavy leather coatwith a sheepskin lining overtop of a wool sweater, andyou're toasty. Sorry, PETA,but animal skins aresustainable and really, reallywarm.7. Living animals are warm,too, although you can't reallywear them on your head orfeet. Cuddle with your cat or

dog.8. Wear a hat and fingerlessgloves indoors.9. Eat warm food and drinkcoffee and tea. If you can geta pot of hot water going, thiscan keep you warm. Or spicedhot cider, although again,

heating it will be an issue.Make sure you're using aninsulated coffee mug so thatyou're not losing all thatheat. It'll warm you twice -your hands around the mugand then when you drink it.10. Eat fatty food and stop

worrying about a few extrapounds. They won't kill you.They will, however, keep youwarmer through the winterand might keep you alive.People who thrive in coldclimates expect to put on abit of fat during the winter.Don't worry too much - you'llbe burning off a lot of thosecalories.

11. Don't drink much alcohol.You'll actually lose heat evenif you do feel warmer.12. During the day, if itwarms up at all, opencurtains. At night, shut them.And by the way, that meansheavy, heat-holding curtains,not silly frilly things. Thinktapestries, or even heavyblankets, on your windows.

13. Make sure there areplenty of blankets on beds.The only place to store your"extra" blankets in the winteris on the beds.14. A raggedy blanket can bequilted between two otherblankets, making one blanketthat traps heat well.15. Do not sleep alone. Mostdefinitely, children should

not be sleeping in their ownroom. Small children kick offblankets in the night - keepthem close enough that you'llnotice. At any rate, if severalbeds are in one room, theroom will be warmer.16. Sex will also warm you

up, except you don't want tobe doing that with kids in theroom AND it'll make yousweaty, so you might want toconsider this one carefully.17. Use flannel sheets. If youcan't find flannel pillowcases,make some.

18. Stuffed animals or a wallof pillows will insulate yourbed.19. During the day, make sureyour pillow is UNDER theblankets. Put yournightclothes under there,too.20. Do not EVER wear yourday clothes in bed. Changeeverything, right down to

socks and underwear. Yousweat all day, and you wantthat sweat OFF you at night.Have separate socks for bed.21. Wear pj's or a long flannelnightgown (or bedshirt formen!) to bed, with warmsocks. If it's cold enough,consider a night cap - yes, ahat, not booze. Footsiepajamas are cool. When I was

a teenager, I had a pair thateven had a bum flap.22. The very best bed, by theway, is a four poster withheavy curtains! Hack togethera way to create the sameeffect - surrounding thefamily's small sleeping areawith curtains to keep in thebody heat.23. A hot water bottle or two,

can be slipped under thecovers to warm up your bed.Put one at your feet and onenear your middle. (Wrapthem in a cloth so you don'tget burned.)24. When you stop moving,you cool off. Keep busy.



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Especially, keep your fingersmoving. Knitting orcrocheting is warmer thanreading.25. If you're not busy, wrapup in a blanket. All chairs andsofas should have a blanketNO bare floors - put a carpet

down under the kitchen tableand in front of the sink andstove.26. If there are any drafts,use draftstoppers. Make sureall windows and doors are asdraft-proof as possible. Checkthem - putty up any cracks,even ones as little as 1/8".Don't let ANY heat escape! Inour apartment, I would hang

heavy blankets to block offthe tiny entry hall, so thatcold air from the building'sunheated hall won't suck outmy precious heat.27. Humid air feels warmer,so if you can, get moistureinto the air. That's onebenefit to washing clothes byhand, because you need tohang them to dry.

Candles can go a long waytoward warming up a smallroom.28. Don't smoke. While itmight make your chest feelwarmer, it will cause theblood flow to your hands toalmost shut off! One pufflowers the temperature ofyour fingertips by 1-3F in 3minutes.

29. If you have a safe place touse a barbecue, this can be away to heat water and cookfood. Definitely this issomething to plan for. Buddyburners are a good idea, too.Do NOT use a barbecue insidethe house.

30. Party. The Scots havecilidhs, French-Canadianshave Fais do-do, and I'm sureevery cold climate culturehas some form of kitchenparty - it kept people busyand warm and entertainedduring long winter months.

Get a dozen or so of yourneighbours over on a coldwinter evening and spend thenight dancing, singing andswapping stories. Justremember to have room forpeople to sleep in caseeveryone gets snowed in.31. Small rooms and homesare easier to heat. If possible,block off bedrooms and keep

your activity, candles, etc. inone room so that you're onlytrying to heat a couplehundred square feet (yes,your whole family can live inthat). The blocked-off roomswill act as an extra bufferagainst the cold outdoors.When you do go in thoserooms, be prepared for ashock of cold.

32. Kerosene space heatersare one option, althoughremember that they'reconsidered dangerous andthey're not exactlysustainable. ANY form ofheating requires ventilation.33. Getting washed is going tobe miserable. There are goingto be a lot of stinky, stinkypeople. Not because water

will be hard to find (it's piledjust outside your door allwinter!) but because wewon't want to get naked andwet. Mastering the art of thesponge bath would be a goodidea. If you can block off allexcept one room and get that

room warm, wash there. Ourancestors would use privacyscreens, or a blanket over arope, so that Mom hadprivacy.

Pressure-Canning Meat

When I tell people that I canmeat, I'm often asked how. I tellthem that I usually simply cold-pack the raw meat beforeprocessing.

Frequently, people areconfused, thinking that thismeans I somehow preserve themeat raw, as in freezing.

Meat must ALWAYS be pressurecanned. There are noexceptions. People who tell youthat you can oven-can or boilingwater can meat are trying to killyou. Botulism is considered lowfrequency but high risk - peoplerarely get it, but you don't wantto be the one who does.

At any rate, I pack (usually raw)

meat into clean jars and thenprocess them in a pressurecanner. For pressure canning,the jars don't need to be hot andsterilized just clean and at thesame temperature as the waterinto which you're putting them.

At my altitude, that means Iprocess them at 11 Pounds Per

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Square Inch of pressure. (Withmy wonderful three-part weight,I now use 10 pounds) That's a lotof pressure! The inside of mypressure canner reaches anincredible 240F, and I hold itthere for over an hour. (75minutes for pints and 90 minutes

for quarts).

A quart of meat that cooks at240F, under 11 PSI pressure, foran hour and a half is completelycooked. In fact, it's falling apart,tender, rich and delicious. Theonly answer I can come up withis that all of the flavor stays inthere and becomes super-concentrated. Have you ever

heard people complain aboutslow-cooked food lacking flavor?Yea, well, not this stuff.Pressure-canned meat is slow-cooked tender but with infinitelymore flavor - and it takes afraction of the time.

Now, I said usually raw and Ishould explain. Ground beefneeds to be cooked before

canning, or it turns into a solidchunk in your jar. It can eitherbe formed as meatballs or friedand packed loosely into jars,with broth poured on top. WhenI pressure-can hot, cooked meat,I bring the water in my cannerup to the same temperature asthe meat, or I bring the meat toroom temperature beforeputting it in the water. If there

is a sudden change, jars canbreak.

Dumplings Make ItBetter

Were I poetic, I'd write an Ode

to a Dumpling.

We eat a lot of dumplings in ourhouse, at least during thewinter.

Do you want to know how EASYdumplings are to make?

Seriously.

1 cup flour1 Tb baking powder1/2 tsp salt1 cup milk (I just eyeball it)

Some people cut some cold fatinto the dry ingredients, whichwould make it more resemble

biscuit dough. In that case, formthe dumplings into balls withyour hands before droppingthem in. I don't do that. I dosometimes add some onionpowder or Italian seasoning.

Mix it with a fork to combine.Let it set for a minute and it willpuff. I find that that is JUSTenough batter to cover the

surface of my large pot of stew.

Drop by the spoonful intosimmering (not boiling) broth.Make sure there is a LOT ofbroth! The dumplings will puffand soak up as much liquid asthey can. The little bits ofdumpling that fall off willthicken the rest of the broth. Ifthere's not a lot of broth, you'll

end up with bits of meat andveggies stuck around dumplingsthat are sitting in a tiny amountof very thick gravy. (I'm notsaying that's a BAD thing ...)

Let that simmer for aboutfifteen minutes with the lid on.

I'm weird and I always flip mydumplings over so that bothsides are covered in soupy brothand stuff. Mr. D likes littledumplings dropped fromteaspoons. I like big and puffydumplings dropped fromtablespoons.

I've now made dumplings inchicken and beef soup/stew, aswell as meatball stew, and I'vemade dumplings in a failed-jam-syrup. Is there anything else Ican do with dumplings, Iwonder.

My Five Year Plan

This is my five year plan,starting from land purchase.

It's ambitious. When I think thatwe are currently the parents ofa toddler and a preschooler,quickly leaving our 30s, and wecurrently don't own any land, Iwonder if it's too ambitious. But

if you aim at the moon and miss,you'll still land among the stars,right? Yes, I KNOW it needs a lotof work. :)

As a note - we want to use"natural animal power" as muchas possible, because we will notbe using petroleum power. Pigsdig, chickens scratch, goatseat ... surely we can harnessthat to clear land AND growmeat/milk/eggs? Polyface Farmtalks about it from the positionof an established farm - howwould one start whenhomesteading on new land?

The modern idea of



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homesteading is that you alwayshave the city to fall back on,and all plans I read take thatinto account. What should onedo if the city is NOT an optionany longer?

Year One

Buy land, cash down.Start looking for a "good mouser"cat.Get a guardian dog.(Newfoundland, maybe) Not sureof the benefits of pup vs. dogMake sure that we have all thebasic tools we needGet a Berkshire pig and set it todo its thing tilling up landGet some land clear

Put a yurt or cheap mobile homeon the land and move inEstablish water systems forpeople, plants and animalsEstablish latrine systemIf electricity will be used,establish power systemDesignate and fence gardenareasPlant any permanent trees andcrops in the fenced areas, using

the most mature trees possibleto get a head startBuild up that compost heapEstablish a kitchen garden nearthe site for the permanent houseBuild a chicken coop, goat shedand firewood storage building toget practice at buildingCut firewood and stack it fornext year

Year TwoKeep working on an outsidesource of income and carefullywatch financesBuild a barn/workshop withsufficient hay storageFence pasture into paddocksKeep those pigs tilling, or get a

tiller and do it by human power(ugh!)Plant a full garden, try to growas much as possible and preservelike a madwomanBuy chickensBuy a couple of pregnant goatsMake sure that the area is

properly cleared and ready forthe permanent houseBuild a cold cellarPlant hayLocate a farmer who will sell usenough straw bales for the houseCut firewood

Year ThreeStart building the strawbalehouse

Plant a full garden, try to growas much as possible and preservelike a madwomanKeep working on the garden andpermanent pastures, includingfencesKeep working at something thatbrings in moneyCut firewood

Year Four

Finish the house if it's notfinishedPlant a full garden, try to growas much as possible and preservelike a madwomanKeep working on the garden andpermanent pasturesKeep working at something thatbrings in moneyCut firewood

Year FiveTake a deep breath and beamazed if we've actually doneall thisAdd new animalsPlant a full garden, try to growas much as possible and preservelike a madwoman

Try different cropsConsider getting a pair ofdraught ponies or mules andlearning how to work themCut firewood

Donating Expired Food

There's a common piece ofstockpiling advice that I haveseen in many places -

Regularly go throughthe food in yourstorage, find anythingthat has expired, anddonate it to foodbanks, a needy

family, etc.

Here's my version of this:

If it's not good enoughfor your family to eat,why would you expectanother family to eatit? When in doubt,throw it out. Don'tpass it along tosomeone who justmight be desperateenough to risk foodpoisoning.

There have been times when Ihave had to access food banks,and I've certainly known a lot ofpeople who have done so aswell. There's nothing quite likecarefully carting home aprecious pound of ground beef,or a bag of oranges, only to openit and find that it's long pastrotten. Here's a hint - the foodbanks don't actually want*expired* food, because theywon't be able to get it tosomeone in need before it goesbad.

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Now, I don't mean food that'sclose to expiry - as long as youknow that it will get used orfrozen quickly. Two days ago, Ibought 16 pounds of ground beefthat was about to expire. "Aboutto expire" isn't the same as

"expired". But if the food was"about to expire", you would useit instead of giving it away,right? Expired food is not safe.That's the reason why people aretold to go through their foodstorage and remove it. Expiredfood can give you foodpoisoning. Health Canadarecommends that we dispose ofexpired food for just that

reason.

Please - the poor tend to be lesshealthy, in part because theyhave less food, less healthyfood, and all too frequently,unsafe food. Poor health makesone even more susceptible tothings like food poisoning. Donot donate expired food. In fact,here's a shocker - don't donate

food at all! I'll explain why in asecond.

But the waste!

Well, here's a tip - once amonth, look through your foodstorage for food that will expireover the next month. Plan yourmenus around those items. Usethem up. You'll save money.

You'll learn how to rotate yourinventory. You'll get used towasting less food.

Oh, yea, you'll save money,right? And one of the coolestthings that you can do with thatmoney you've saved? Donate it

to a food bank. For every $1that you donate to a food bank,they can buy - through dealswith grocery stores and otherorganizations - between $3 and$10 worth of healthy, non-expired, nutritious food.Seriously! A food bank can buy

more for $1 than you can withthe same $1 - even from thesame grocery store. Save $10 byeating your stockpiled foodbefore it expires, donate $5 of itto your nearest food bank, andthey can buy up to $50 worth offood to provide to the hungry.

It's a win-win situation, folks.

26 Ways to Prepare fora Post-Collapse World

1. Forget the car. Post-Collapse, we are not goingto be driving cars. I'm surethe answer will bedifferent according tolocation, but hybrid andelectric cars are not, I

think, going to be theanswer. Start walking.Get a bicycle. Learn tomanage without going faroutside your community.

2. Consider how yourancestors (if you livewhere they did) dealtwith the seasons. In anorthern climate, winteris a time for hunkering

down and staying close tohome (and the woodstove).

3. Make sure your family hasa good supply of whateverlong-lasting, well-madeclothes are needed foryour climate. Here in

Canada, that means (inmy opinion) a lot ofleather, wool and fur -which are, incidentally,materials that can beacquired locally. (Flax,too, can be grown hereand turned into linen.)

4. Get local with your food.Even if you're notcurrently buying fromlocal suppliers, get usedto eating foods that growin your region. Figure outwhat exceptions you'llmake, and why, and whatyou'll do if those itemsaren't available for longperiods of time. Start

figuring out who the localfood suppliers are. Thetime to find these peopleis before the trucks stoprunning.

5. Get to know yourcommunity. Take walksand figure out what youcan access without avehicle. Talk to yourneighbours, too, and get

to know them. In a post-Collapse world, thestrength of yourneighbourhood couldmake all the difference.

6. Learn to make something.Learn to bake bread. Sewpractical clothes. Weave.Cobble shoes. Buildsomething from woodwithout power tools.

Make soap. Dip candles.Make music from classicinstruments. Or learn totell a really good yarn.We're going to needsingers and musicians andentertainers in a big way.

7. Store food. Better yet,



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grow food organically andlearn to store it in asustainable way. (Here's ahint - if it requireselectricity or petroleum,it's not sustainable.) TheMormons have the rightidea when it comes to

keeping a *rotating* year'sworth of food andhousehold goods.Personally, I think thatcommercially preservedfoods have a place ONLYas you're learning topreserve food at home.

8. While you're at it, learnhow to save seeds. (And Idon't mean buying a

sealed bucket "seedbank".)

9. Learn how to make thebasics. Vinegar. Mead.Sourdough. Pasta. Getconnected with your localSociety for CreativeAnachronism - they'repacked full of people withthese skills. How's this fora basic - can you start a

fire without a lighter?Without commercialmatches? (I can't, but Iwant to learn)

10. Get a goodreference guide for theedible plants in your area.Better yet, take coursesin foraging.

11. Learn to hunt andfish, preferably with tools

and weapons that can beeasily repaired.

12. Plan to go campingthis summer, with thekids, and "rough it" asmuch as you can.

13. Raising animalsmay be harder or easier

than hunting them, but atleast you know where tofind them at slaughtertime. Plus, they providemilk and eggs.

14. Start dumping theplastic. It's made frompetroleum and it breaks

down in nasty ways whilewe use it, but it doesn'tbreak down enough toever actually go away.

15. Homeschool. Stoprelying on other people toeducate your kids. Buildup a library of books youbelieve are worthwhile.

16. If you are currentlydoing well financially, the

sort of family that hasstocks and bonds, get outof debt. However, if yourincome is more modest(ie., you're poor folk), thismight be a lower prioritythan ensuring a supply offood and basic goods inyour home. (In the eventof a total collapse, I'm notconvinced that personal

debt is going to be veryimportant.)

17. Rethink yourdefinition of wealth. Landis wealth. Knowledge andpractical skills are wealth.Paper money is notwealth in a post-collapseworld. Work ondiminishing your need fora steady income.

18. Establish housingthat is as secure aspossible. If you own 1/10of your home and thebank owns the rest, it'snot secure. An acre thatyou own outright is betterthan fifty acres that you

co-own with the bank -and which requires asteady income for themonthly mortgagepayments. By the sametoken, high property taxesare not sustainablewithout a steady income.

(Will the governmenteliminate taxes in theevent of an economiccollapse? I can't see ithappening!)

19. Stop buying stuff.When you do buysomething, buy the bestquality you can, buy forlong-lasting value andtake care of it. Reduce

your need for new "stuff",and re-use everything thatyou can.

20. Build acomprehensive medicalkit for your home,keeping in mind that ourmodern medical systemmay be in disarray andmedication difficult tofind. Learn how to use it,

too.21. If possible, get

licensed to use firearmsand take lessons. This willnot be feasible foreveryone, though,depending on location,legal barriers, financesand other variables. Don'texpect to stockpileweapons and ammo and

keep your hungryneighbours out, though. Abetter plan is to work oncommunity survival andcooperate with thosearound you.

22. Mechanics - beingable to repair bicycles

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and other human-poweredequipment is going to be avital skill.

23. Stop consideringelectricity and oil as vitalcomponents of your life.Practice living without afreezer, then graduate to

living without a fridge.Unplug the tv. Turn offthe lights wheneverpossible. Considercandlelight dinners. Lookfor manual tools insteadof electric.

24. Remember what Isaid about community?The fact is that none of uscan master ALL of that

stuff. Develop your ownskill sets and grouptogether with people whohave complementaryskills. The other thing wecan't do alone (or even inone nuclear family) iskeep breeding ... whenchoosing your community,remember that yourgrandchildren will need

four biologically unrelatedgrandparents ...

25. Something we CANall do - start limiting yourreliance on thenational/internationaleconomy. We still have tolive in the currenteconomy, but we canwork on getting ourselveson the fringe of it. If

you're cash-poor andmostly self-reliant, you'regoing to weather aneconomic andinfrastructure collapsebetter than someonewhose life is completelydependent on the system.

As Orlov Dimitri puts it"Government is alreadyuseless. Commercialsector will becomeuseless quickly. Since theywill become useless toyou, you can start beinguseless to them ahead of

time."26. Get in shape. This

is hard for most of us, butif we had to start livingtoday without electricityand petroleum, most of uswould have heart attacksand busted knees within aweek. Start going forwalks - it's a great way toget to know your

neighbourhood!

Homemade CannedCranberry Fruit Sauce

Once a year, when cranberriesmake their long-awaitedappearance, I make cranberrysauce. The recipe is simple, but

it never fails to impress. Here'show I make mine.

HomemadeCannedCranberryand FruitSauce

6 12-ounce bags of cranberries1 navel orange4 Spartan apples4-6 cup sugar (4 will be tart, 6will be sweet)2 Tb molasses

This is as simple as it gets.

Check the berries for soft,squishy or freaky-colored onesand discard.

Zest the orange. Peel off thewhite pith and chop the pulp.Core and chop the apples.

Add everything to a very largepot. The little bit of molasses

will combine with the whitesugar to create brown sugar.

Simmer and stir until all of theberries have popped. I've nevertimed it. The berries will startpopping - that's what you'relooking for. In fact, the sauceisn't done until all of the berrieshave popped.

In order to have the space toboil everything, I cooked thesauce in my large pressurecanning pot, and sterilized myjars in my water bath canningpot I filled that pot with water,brought it to a bubbling boil andthen moved it off the stove,making sure that the jars wereall underwater.

While the fruit is cooking, putthe lids on to heat. Rings don't


How do I cook old dry beans?The longer dry beans are stored, the longer they may take to First, sort and rinse the beans. For each cup of beans, bring 3of water to boil, add the beans to the boiling water, and boiltwo minutes. Next, add 3/8 teaspoon of baking soda (sodiumbicarbonate) for each cup of beans, cover, and soak for 1 houmore. More baking soda may be required for older beans. Nexdrain and rinse the beans thoroughly, cover with water, bringboil, then reduce heat and simmer 1-2 hours or until tender.

add salt or other ingredients until the beans have softenedadequately. - From the Mormon's Provident Living FAQ


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need to be heated. Remember -despite what your mom saysabout boiling the lids for fiveminutes, that is no longerrecommended. But they do needto be NEW lids unless you'reusing reusables (in which case,adjust your rings according to

their directions.) Bring thewater just to a boil and turn itoff. Leave them in the hot wateruntil ready to can.

When the sauce is cooked, moveit off the stove, if you need to,in order to bring your pot of jarsback up to a boil.

Use your can lifter to take jars one at a time - out of the boilingwater. It is very easy to getboiling water dripping down thelifter and onto your hand. Try toavoid that.

And if you do get boiling wateron yourself, try not to drop the

jar. That will just make thingsworse.

I remove one jar, fill it and thenreturn it to the pot of water.

Ladle into hot, sterilized jars,using a wide-mouthed funnelthat's specially designed forfilling jars. Use something non-

metal to poke down the sauceand remove any air bubbles. Addlids.

The rings (if you're usingstandard one-use lids) should beput on HAND tight. There wasrecently a discussion on theCanning2 mailing list about it,

and many of us thought thatthey were to be finger-tight.The manufacturers actuallyrecommend that you tight themup fairly well, but only as tightlyas you can reasonably do withyour hand.

Process in a boiling water bath -15 minutes for half-pints andpints; 20 minutes for quarts.

Remove to a towel on thecounter. After 12-24 hours,check the seals, remove therings, label and store.

Rosy Meat

Adapted from Peg Bracken's IHate to Cook Book

1 pint Cranberry and Fruit Sauce

1 pint plain tomato sauce

1 pound meat

This is so versatile!

Mix the two sauces. Pour over

any sort of meat drainedcanned meat, raw chickenpieces, browned meatballs,leftover beef chunks and heaton stovetop, in oven, or incrockpot until the meat andsauce are hot. The time willdepend on the meat used andwhether it's cooked or raw. (Ifyou're doing this as a 100% foodstorage recipe, it only needs to

be warmed up.)

I've played around with it somuch over the years that mostof the family considers it "Thatcranberry dish of yours".I've made it:- with whole berry cranberrysauce and jellied sauce

- with homemade cranberrysauce and commercial- in a crockpot with a bag ofwhole uncooked berries and anextra half cup of liquid and 1/2cup of sugar added to the recipe- with plain tomato sauce,Italian-seasoned sauce, and

primavera sauce- with raw meat (best forchicken breasts!) and cookedmeat (best for meatballs)- In a crockpot, in the oven, andon the stovetop- Served on french fries, bakedpotatoes, rice and hamburgerbuns

Radical Frugality

What would you consider radicalfrugality? Is there anything wedo that you wouldn't do?

1. We are cash-only bychoice. Sometimes wefind it difficult to stick tothat, as people urge us topurchase online or oncredit. We do have a bank

account so that we canpay bills and cashcheques. It's quite funny,actually, when we pay forlarge purchases in cash.No one expects that thesedays.

2. We live in a small space.Although we have nevermeasured, the apartmenthas a galley eat-inkitchen, a narrow but longlivingroom, a smallbathroom, and twobedrooms.

3. We're taking the terrifyingstep of going car-free asof this summer

4. I cook from scratch.

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Really, really fromscratch. I put up meat,vegetables, broth andpickles in glass jars, usinga boiling water cannerand a pressure canner. Imake sourdough bread. Ihave learned how to make

bacon and corned beef. Imake ghee from butterand render lard from porkfat.

5. We don't have airconditioning in theapartment. For about twoweeks in the summer, wewish we had it but by thetime we've decided thatwe simply must get it, the

weather has cooled off.6. We use a slow cooker

(which we bought on saleat 50% off). I use it forslow-cooking things likeketchup and barbecuesauce for canning.

7. We do not buy "single use"items. I include not onlydisposable products likepaper towel, but items

like a popcorn popper, ora 'Smore maker.

8. We use Family Cloth.9. I dumpster dive if I see

something worth taking.I've noticed, though, thatfewer good things aregoing curbside. Fifteenyears ago, I swear I couldhave outfitted my homewith what people threw

out.10. We're working with our

church to get aCommunity Gardenstarted.

11. We've been quite radicalwith eliminating things inthe house that we don't

use. Less stuff equalsmore room for foodstorage.

12. We have fairlystreamlined wardrobesand don't change with theseasons. If we do reallyneed something (usually

just for the kids), we shopat Value Village.

13. The kids have minimaltoys and maximum books.The toys that they dohave are usually classicitems - Lego, woodentrain and car sets, a fewfavorite stuffed toys.

14. We buy almosteverything in bulk. And

we're not shy about askingabout further discountsfor dented boxes, about-to-expire meat, etc.

15. We love, love, loveFreecycle. Baby clothes,car seats, books, movies,even our bed - we'vefound so many greatthings through Freecycle.When we are not using

something any longer, weput it up on Freecyle, too.Yes, we could probablysell things, but I likegetting some Freecyclekarma.

16. I use Swagbucks as mysearch engine. I should beearning money for mysearches, not Yahoo.

17. We do not buy cold

cereal. Ever.18. Breakfast is almost

always old-fashionedoatmeal, soaked overnightand then cooked withcinnamon, molasses andraisins.

19. We do not have cable.

Actually, we don't evenreceive the publicstations.

20. We don't have cellphones, and ourphone/long-distance/internet isbundled, costing us less

than $100/month.21. We have no personal

debt.22. We have a practical gifts

rule, and no surprise giftsexcept for kids. We're notwealthy enough for "Oh,gee, you shouldn't have.

23. We are selective aboutwho we give gifts tooutside of the immediate

family, and all that we dogive are creativelyupcycled, carefully re-gifted, or hand-made.

24. We rarely eat out - whenwe do, we recognize thatwe're paying extra forsomeone else to shop,cook and clean. The foodisn't any better than, andoften it's not nearly as

good as, what I make athome. We don't go out forcoffee, nor do we go outand drink. Okay, we reallydon't drink. But if we did,we'd have a drink athome.

25. I save the whey frommaking Farmer's Cheeseand use it as the liquid inmy sourdough bread.

26. Oh, yes, I make Farmer'sCheese from goat's milkinstead of incrediblyexpensive chevre. I didsay I cook from scratch,right? I mean it.

27. We eat a lot of soup.And stew. In the winter,



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we pretty much live onstew and dumplings.

28. We don't eat a lot ofmeat. We LIKE meat.Okay, we love meat. Andif we had our own farmwhere we could raisechickens, rabbits, goats

and pigs, we'd be eatinglike decadent carnivorouskings. Right now, though,meat is expensive.

29. We have bought a wholepig, cut only into theprimal cuts, and will bebutchering and processingit ourselves.

30. We buy farm fresh eggsdirectly from a local

farmer, at a better pricethan I can get at thegrocery store.

31. Because I put up food injars, I can portion mealswell in order to minimizewaste.

32. We make coffee at homeand take it in travel mugs.

33. We don't use napkins -cloth or paper. After a

meal, people with messyfaces go to the bathroomand wash, unless they'retoo little. In that case,they have their faces andhands washed.

34. Most of my dishtowelshave become rags and I'mstill using them. Do theyreally have to look prettyin order to wash my

dishes?35. Oh, yea, among those

appliances we don't have -a dishwasher. Not that wecould fit one in thisapartment.

36. We don't ever, ever,ever buy bottled water.

Ever. We have metalwater bottles that we filland take in the summer.

37. We are very picky aboutwhat we buy. Wefrequently ask "Do weneed this? Really need it?"Then we go away and ask

ourselves that for a week.If the answer is still yes,and we could find nosubstitution, we buy it.

I'm no Frugal Zealot, but I thinkwe're doing pretty good. Iwonder if I've forgottenanything.

Buddy Burner

Do you know what this is? Maybeyou're an old-time boy scout.Anyway, I found this in one ofmy old cookbooks - Cooking WithStored Foods. It's an interestingbook, worth finding just to see atin can that says "One WHOLEchicken".

I'm tempted to go pick up someparaffin wax and try this.

Buddy Burner"Cut corrugatedcardboard as wide asthe can is high,cutting across thecorrugated strips. Coilthe cardboard tightlyinside the can. Pourmelted paraffin orcandle-wax over andbetween the coilsuntil the can is full.Use extreme cautionwhen handling hotparaffin or candle-wax. After the wax orparaffin hashardened, light the

coils by placingseveral burningmatches across thetop. Buddy burnersshould be placedinside a can-stove,see below, orbetween rocks so heat

is directed up to a panplaced over theburner.A small outdoor can-stove can be madefrom a number-10 canor a 46-ounce juicecan. On the open end,cut out a piece ofmetal about 3 incheshigh and 3 to 4 inches

long. On the closedend of the can, use apunch can-opener tomake holes aroundthe side at about 3-inch intervals.Through the largehole, insert a lightedBuddy Burner, ortwisted paper andsticks to make a fire.

Some foods such asbacon and eggs can becooked directly on thesurface of the can-stove. Pans or skilletscan also be used onthe stove.Construct a simpleoven by placinganother slightlysmaller can on top of

your can-stove.Biscuits, cakes andquick breads can bebaked in thesemakeshift ovens."

Now, personally, I think that'spretty cool. The only problem I

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can see is that I don't use verymany commercially cannedproducts and I'm working ateliminating the ones I do use. Ican't imagine having enoughcans to make more than a few ofthese. Still, it's a cool idea, isn'tit?

What Is Local?

What is local? Is there onedefinitive definition?

I'm going to define "local" on asliding scale from 1 through 10(from uber through not-at-all),and you can feel free to agree

with me or disagree with me.(And of course, please commenteither way) After writing this,and spending a couple of hourslooking at maps, I realize thatI'm redefining "local" for myself.

1 - Backyard - Really, it can't getmuch more local than that. Ifyou're growing it on a windowsillor balcony, under a grow lamp,

or in your backyard, this is aboutas local as it is possible to be.This is uber-local. Very fewpeople can raise/grow/makeeverything they need in theirhome or backyard, though.

2 - Neighbourhood - I wouldconsider this to be walkingdistance or within 1/2 a mile. Ifyou can reasonably walk there

(with children!), to work aCommunity Garden or barterwith/buy from a neighbour, youfit most people's definition ofextremely local.

3 - Extended neighbourhood - Iwould define this as the distance

you can reasonably bicycle - twomiles or less. I feel that post-Collapse, this will be theaccepted definition of local.

4 - Farmer's Reach - What else tocall this? Farmers with horsesand wagons post-Collapse will be

able to travel at a decadent 5-10mph in order to bring theirgoods to small markets.However, how will theircustomers reach them?

4 - City - I find it more and moredifficult, with soaring gas prices,to justify a 10 mile (each way)trip across town, even ifsomething closer is slightly more

expensive. Most people wouldcertainly consider "with the citylimits" to be local, at least fornow.

5 - Region or county - Whatabout our regional municipality?Now we're entering the fuzzyarea, especially when weconsider the end of cheap oil. Iwould love to consider the

region "local", because it opensup a lot. With cars/trucks andaffordable gas, it certainly islocal. The granary from which Iwill buy my next bulk order ofwheat, barley and oats is 10miles away from me. For now, Ican justify that, especially if Ifind others to combine a largequarterly order.

6 - 100 miles - Now, this musthave been picked arbitrarily. Formost of us, a 100 mile radiuscovers quite a large distance,larger than a city or county,smaller than a province (unlessyou live in PEI, in which case it'syour entire island plus good

chunks of Nova Scotia and NewBrunswick).

If you live in Ontarioand want to envision100 miles, it's thedistance from theToronto Pearson

Airport all the way toMuskoka Lake. Or thedistance betweenVankleek Hill on thefar east of Ottawa toArnprior.

Or, if you're in NovaScotia, it's thedistance fromWindmill Road,

Halifax to EcumSecum, or thedistance betweenAmherst and NewGlasgow, or from theCape Breton causewayall the way to NewWaterford!

Still feel local? It generally takes2 to 2 1/2 hours to drive 100

miles in a car, and almost 9hours to travel by bicycle.Walking? If you were in fabulousshape, you could do 20-30 milesa day, so that would be 3-5days.

7 - Province - Okay, if you live inPEI, flip #5 and #4 around, okay?We live in Ontario, which is amassive province at over

415,000 square miles. It has over250,000 freshwater lakes, a oneand a half million square milesaltwater bay, and threegeographical regions. Anincredibly variety of crops growin these three regions.

An in-province trip from



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Tillsonburg in southern Ontarioto Cobalt in northern Ontario isalmost 400 miles, and it crossesa ridiculously small part of theprovince.

Focusing on "Ontario grown" is awonderful way to introduce

people to the idea of localeating, but can I really callsomething local when it drives afull day to get to me?

8 - Country - Of course, we'reclearly out of the "local"category now, by anyone'sstandards. Is there ever a goodreason to buy, for example,kiwifruit from British Columbia

or Nova Scotia's Jost Ice Wine ifyou don't live there? (And I'mseriously asking) Should GlenBreton, Canada's only singlemalt Scotch, be restricted to theMaritimes? What about scallopsand lobster if you live inland? Ifhard wheat does not grow inyour province, do you purchaseit from the closest out-of-province source or do you adjust

your diet?

9 - Continent - Florida oranges.Molasses. Dried dates. Canadianshave been importing these sincesteam engine days, long beforerefrigerated trucks and jetengines.

10 - World - Spices. Tea (exceptspecific herbal teas). Coffee.

Cocoa. Rice.

Now, with all of those on thetable, it's time to analyze whereyou sit on the local spectrum.It's not a competition, especiallysince not everyone has access tothe same resources. There are

always going to be things thatyou will acquire from outsideyour area, however you definethat.

Lots of Turkey Broth

That's one of those BIG turkeyroasting pans. It fits on two ofmy burners when it's on thestove top.

When I first put the turkeycarcasses in, I should have takena picture. A friend gave me twoplastic shopping bags stuffed fullof turkey bones fromThanksgiving. That's CanadianThanksgiving in October, by theway.

The greatest fine art of thefuture will be the making of a

comfortable living from a smallpiece of land.

-Abraham Lincoln

Now, you know and I know thatplastic shopping bags are notproper freezer storage, don'twe? The amount of ice on thesebones was astounding. But Ipiled them into the roaster,added some water and stuck itin the oven to thaw at 200Fbecause I couldn't bear thethought of tossing them without

at least trying. Eventually theice melted and the bonesstarted cooking and collapsing.They were browning as they did.

My second shock was the sheervolume of meat on these"bones". Out of two carcasses,

there were two entire,untouched legs, all four wings,and a considerable amount ofbreast meat - all completelyfreezer burnt and dehydrated.I'm a little confused aboutsomeone being concerned aboutnot wasting the bones, butleaving that much meat onthem. (I've said as much to her.)

At any rate, I made sure thecarcasses were covered inwater, added a couple of wholeonions, and stuck it in the ovenat 200F, with the lid on. Then Iwent to bed.

In the morning, I took it out ofthe oven, topped up the waterand let it simmer on the stovetop until I had time to deal with

it. I simply strained it, put it inquart jars, along with the littlemeat I could salvage (I dividedthat among the jars) andpressure canned them at 11 PSIfor 90 minutes. I got exactly 7quarts - a full canner load - ofturkey soup starter (or I canstrain out the meat and use itseparately) from that big pot ofbones.

Frugal to the Max

1) Re-use your coffee grounds.Okay, the truly frugal don'tdrink coffee, do they, so Iguess I'm not quite that good.

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I make one or two cups in myFrench Press, as needed, sono coffee is wasted. Twoscoops of coffee will half-fillthe Press and fill my travelmug. Sometimes, especially inthe evening when I want acoffee that isn't incredibly

strong, I'll remove theplunger, add one scoop ofgrounds, and refresh it withboiling water. The coffee stilltastes better than I've had ina lot of restaurants. Now, ifyou're a coffee connoisseur,you're going to turn your noseup at this, and that's fine withme. If you and I have coffeetogether, you're buying. (Mr.

D reminded me that he usesthe same teabag all day. Idespise tea, so I hadforgotten about that.)

2) No more paper down thetoilet. I've been thinkingabout this for more than ayear, and the Challenge is myincentive. We have some TPin our storage closet, and I'd

like it to to last the rest ofthe year. So what do we do?Family Cloth! No, no, no, it'snot a cloth hanging in thebathroom for everyone touse. What I am going to do isthis: 1) A small pitcher in thebathroom to hold water sothat we can easily rinse off,Middle Eastern style, 2) Astack of small pieces of cloth

(cut up receiving blankets) forwiping *after* rinsing, 3) Alidded bucket beside thetoilet to hold cloths untilthey're washed.

3) Ladies Only - I havehesitated to use cloth

menstrual pads because thepre-made ones are veryexpensive, and my sewingskills are nonexistent. HillbillyHousewife has a few patternsand instructions on her site,so it's likely I can findsomething within my price

and skill range.

4) Beautiful bones - I buymeat with bones in, cook itwith the bones in, and then Imake broth. Lots and lots ofbroth. "Garbage bones" pluswater = nutritious broth.

5) Fashion Smashion - What,you say fashions change each

year? Keep your clothingsimple and classic and wear ituntil it falls apart. Takeadvantage of all those peoplewho do buy new every year -a lot of them are happy tojust give the "out of fashion"stuff away. (Yea, blows mymind, too. I haven't boughtnew clothes, other thanunderwear, in years.)

6) No More Yeast - Get asourdough starter going anduse it every day. Yeast ispretty expensive, especiallywhen you consider what it is.Make sure you serve someform of sourdough bread atevery meal - it's lessexpensive than anything elseon the table. Time

consuming? Then makedumplings.

7) Ditch the TV. Really -disconnect thecable/satellite/whatever, andimmediately save $60-150 amonth. Most things are

available online anyway.

8) Drink tap water. I knowthere are a few places wherethe water is undrinkable, butare any of those placesactually in North America?Most cities spend a lot of

money to make sure that thetap water is clean, safe anddrinkable. I don't filter ourtap water either, although Iwould in some cities.

9) Learn to love second hand.And not just purchasedsecond-hand, either. I thinkthat every city and town inNorth America has some

version of Freecycle, wherepeople can give and receiveitems for free. Put out theword that you need maternitywear, canning jars, blankets,a winter coat, and quite oftensomeone has one sittingaround with which they'd liketo part.

Organic or ProcessedJunk?

On Kathy Harrison's blog, acomment was made thatgrabbed my attention:

How do you (or any ofus?) convert thosewho look at their

limited food dollarsand face the hardchoice between a tinyamount of organicproduce and lots ofprocessed glop? Whodont let theirchildren get anyexercise by walking to



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school or playingoutdoors becausetheir neighborhoodsarent safe? Who livein nutritional desertsbecause a whole-foods grocery or farmmarket wont move

into their lower-income community?

It's not black and white! There issuch a huge spectrum between"tiny amount of organic produce"and "lots of processed glop". Apotato is still a potato, even ifit's non-organic, and a non-organic potato is far lessexpensive than a bag of french

fries. Flour, cornmeal, oats andother grains are still healthy,

even if they don't come in fancy,

over-priced paper bags. Factory-farmed meat, while definitelynot ideal, will still nourish andfeed your children.

Saying that people must choosebetween a tiny bit of organicproduce or tons of processedjunk is about the same as sayingEither I successfully run amarathon or I'm a fat couch

potato. The journey betweencouch potato and marathonrunner consists of many, manysmall steps.

I live in the "ghetto" of our city.There is no grocery store in theimmediate community. The

nearest Sobeys (certainly notknown for their low prices!) isonly about five minutes away - ifyou have a car, which few of myneighbours do. To get to adiscount grocery store requiresmuch more traveling, andthey're all so spread apart that

shopping at multiple storeswipes out any savings. I'm notsure what a Whole Foods is, butwe have two local Farmer'sMarkets - one is twenty minutes(by highway, no less) to thesouth of me and one is tenminutes to the north. However,the prices at both areastonishingly high. Growing ourown food isn't an option at this

time (although I hope to have acommunity plot or two this

spring).

And yet - we eat very well, andwe're saving money. It's possible.Home cooked food is so muchless expensive than processedstuff. The problem is that so fewpeople know how to cook eventhe most basic things. I have asister-in-law who considersherself a good cook because shecan put a roast in the crockpot

and turn it on. It's animprovement - her mother's best"recipe" involved a telephoneand 11 secret herbs and spices.

I suspect from what I read onother blogs that the problem isworse in the United States than

it is here in Canada. But thesolution is simple - stop tellingpeople that they have to ditchthe commercial crap for organic,100-mile produce, and startgetting them cooking. Just onething. Bake a potato instead ofopening a bag of fries. If it's

local, that's great, but don't fretabout it. Fry up a hamburgerpatty at home and serve it on astore bought bun. Just onething.

I'm not kidding. If a personthinks hamburgers comewrapped in waxed paper atMcDonald's, they're not ready forbuying organic, local meat and

produce, preserving the harvestor making their own pickles,cheese, bread or ketchup. Theyjust need to learn how to cook.

Discussion Follow-up:Farmgal: Well, I don't knowabout your stores but as a smallfarmer, you will be amazed atthe amount of folks I know thatmake deals to take all the "end

of day reduced items" to helpoff-set feed costs on therecritters. I work with my localapple orchard, they have anamazing deal on win-fall applesfor the farm critters, you pickthem up and get a bushel forjust a few dollars. We love ourapple flavor pork.

Personalizing FoodStorage: Sugar

I'm going to say this a lot - youcan't depend on someone else'slist when deciding what food tostore. Here is a really good

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A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balanceaccounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, giveorders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem,pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently,die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - Robert A. Heinlein - "TimeEnough For Love"


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example -- Sugar!

I found an official looking listthat laid out the recommendedamount of sugar to store:White granulated sugar = 40-50lbs. per personPowdered sugar = 6 lbs. per

personBrown sugar = 6 lbs. per personHoney = 6 lbs. per personMolasses = 1 jar per personJam = 2-3 jars per personSyrup = 2-3 jars per personPuddings and jellos = 3 lbs. perpersonCorn syrup = 1 jar per personHot cocoa mix or fruit drink mix= 1-2 lbs. per person

As a start, it's good. In ourhouse, let's see ... I've hadpowdered sugar in my cupboardfor ages. I finally used it up tomake some Potato Candy,because it was never going to beused otherwise. I have no ideawhy I ever bought it - what dopeople use it for? I don't buybrown sugar because it's easily

made from molasses and whitesugar. Honey? That would be 24pounds for our family, and itmight be enough, but only fourjars of molasses? That wouldn'tlast us two months. Jam? Thatshouldn't be in this list - that's ahomemade item. Syrup? That'svague, so I'm not sure what'smeant. Puddings and Jello? Wejust don't use Jello, and pudding

is a homemade item. Mr. Dfound a large, unopened bottleof corn syrup in the pantry a fewdays ago - I think I bought itabout 3 years ago for somerecipe that didn't get made. Hotcocoa mix is, again, ahomemade item, and we do not

- and will not - use powdereddrink mixes.

Don't throw up your hands andthink that you can't make thiswork, though. Look through anddecide what your family actuallyneeds.

White granulated sugar = 50pounds per person would be 200pounds for us. During most ofthe year, that would be enough,but jam-making and meat-curingeats up sugar like crazy. We willplan on eventually storing 75pounds (150 cups/19 gallon jars)of white sugar per person.Currently, we have 90 pounds on

hand and, during the winter, useless than a kilogram per month.Powdered sugar = NoneBrown sugar = NoneHoney = 15 pounds (about 20cups/10 pint jars) per personwith the aim of slowly increasingthis and decreasing the whitesugar.

Molasses = We use a lot of this.

15 pounds (about 20 cups/10pint jars) per person.Jam = NoneSyrup = The only syrup I reallywant is maple. Unfortunately, itis incredibly expensive does notstore well. For now, we haveone monster-sized jug ofpancake syrup in the fridge. One

jug lasts us a year or more.Puddings and jellos = None

Corn syrup = 1 jar total, keptsealed in the cupboard in case Iever actually need it.Hot cocoa mix or fruit drink mix= None

That totals 105 pounds of sugarper person, and that's a LOT of

sugar products! Why store somuch sugar? Well, in addition tojam-making and meat-curing,sugar is necessary for ourhealth. Ideally, we would beusing all honey and molasses andalmost no white sugar, but that'snot practical for us.

If we store these in quartcanning jars, we need 192 ofthem. However, I actually preferto store honey and molasses inpint jars to preventcontaminating all of it with dirtyspoons and the like, and sugarcould more easily be stored ingallon jars if I could only findthem. Therefore 76 gallon jars

and 80 pint jars would safelyhold our sugar for the year.

Salvaged Beans

Or: What To Do With ThoseCheap Cans of Beans?

Maybe they don't show up inyour pantry like they seem to inmine, but this is how I salvage

those bland cans of bakedbeans.

2 can beans

4 Tb molasses

1 cup sugar

1 cup ketchup

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

Don't do this with "Bush's BakedBeans" or any of the really goodkinds of baked beans becausethey already contain a decentsauce. Do this with the cheap



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"beans in tomato sauce".

I used no-name beans,homemade ketchup, mustardseeds that I ground to powder inmy mortar and pestle, alongwith regular white sugar, onionpowd

c do omer april 2011

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