GORP.....(or more correctly, GORMP)

 

 

 

Ever since I've started my last round of prudent living, I've thought about our 72 hour kits.  Our extended family had a fun dinner the last night the Lutz's were here in October eating assorted "survival" foods.  The freeze dried entrees tasted the best but then you had to be able to boil water.  The MRE's were just ok but you could warm them up under your armpit if you had to.  I decided canned goods were good enough...until I packed them in our backpacks.  Oh no.....this was NOT going to work.

 

My husband happened to mention trail mix and the little light bulb went off!  Of course!  Good Old Raisins and Peanuts.  I have to add the M&M's though to make it really, really good.  There's a good amount of protein here from the peanuts, a couple servings of fruit with the raisins and a sugar rush from the chocolate.  By including 2 oz EACH, we have 875 calories in only 6 oz of weight.  Now that's MUCH more acceptable for 2 little ole people lugging survival gear around. 



Makin Bacon

This is my bacon canning saga. Sorry about the little bitty pictures but I haven't yet mastered the picture-on-the-phone-to-email-and-onto-the-blog sequence yet. Anyway, as you can see, the picture to the right shows frying bacon. Another way of precooking it would have been on pans in the oven but I didn't have enough pans. If you plan on refrying it to reheat, I would suggest you not fry it much....maybe just enough to render some of the fat without getting it too brown. This bacon has been cut in half to fit better in the wide mouth quart jars.

This next picture show the "jelly roll" configuration that I used to wrap the partially cooked bacon in. I just cut unbleached scrolled paper that I bought at IKEA in about 5 foot lengths and then cut THAT in half lengthwise. Place the bacon on the paper like little soldiers in a line. If you want, you can put a line of bacon horizontally as well. Be careful not to make the roll too fat or you won't be able to fit it in the jar. Though other sites suggest you fold over the paper, I found it worked fine to just start rolling.

These are the finished jars. As you can see, I processed one pint....I just ran out of bacon. And for some reason that jar didn't seal which worked out ok for me because I really wanted to test the product anyway and I have a problem opening perfectly good jars just to test it.

When I opened the pint jar, the paper roll dropped out pretty easily. Because it had been processed, it's perfectly ok to eat it cold, but the taste was much better after a few minutes in the frying pan. Yes, there is a lot of grease. In a survival situation, we'll want all the fat calories we can find!!

So, in a nutshell, here's the skinny.

You will need:

About a pound and a half of bacon per quart jar

Wide mouth quart jars (duh), fresh lids and good rings

Parchment paper or the rolled paper from IKEA

Pressure canner

A couple extra jars to catch the bacon grease

1. Cut the paper about 5 feet long and the width that will comfortably fit in your quarts. This worked to about half the width roll of the paper I used. You'll need one for each jar. I like not worrying about the paper so I think I wasted a bit. Oh well!!!

2. Wash the jars and lids. Keep the lids simmering in water to soften the rubber around the edges.

3. Cook the bacon!!! Because I chose to fry it, it took me hours to get it all done and prepared. Anyway.....after the bacon is at the desired state of "doneness," drain it a bit and don't forget to collect the grease in a jar as you'll need it later.

4. Start water heating in your canner.

5. Lay your paper out on a nice flat surface and line your bacon up. Start rolling and adding until your roll is just capable of fitting into the wide mouth jar. Stuff it in. Repeat the process until all your jars and/or bacon have been used up.

6. At this point, use a funnel to put a couple inches of bacon grease in each jar. I used a cloth lightly moistened in rubbing alcohol to cut and clean the grease from around the rims. Not enough to drip into the jars of course!!!

7. Put your lids on each jar and screw a ring on each jar.

8. Place jars in the simmering canner.

9. Process the jars for 90 minutes at 10 pounds (at sea level to 2000 feet). If you choose to process pints, you only have to process for 75 minutes.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

I've been doing some experimenting lately around self sufficiency.  I have to admit that the threat of the National Nanny State has made me hyper sensitive to being dependent on government assistance for rescue.  Now I know that one day I will need help; however, my goal is to go as long as possible without it.

So that being said, last night I made split pea soup from storage foods and left over frozen ham.  The peas were rather old...20 years in a #10 can...and there IS a slight "old" smell, but they cooked down fine and had an acceptable taste.  To take it one step further, I dehydrated the leftover soup to see if it would rehydrate ok.  And it did!  I added 6 tablespoons of soup powder to 1/2 cup of boiling water and it tasted just fine.  So I'll packet it up in the Food Saver bags for a quickie lunch or emergency food.

Also, I purchased a Chili pouch at Aldis yesterday to try as a possibility for my 72 hour kit.  It calls for nearly 3 cups of water but I didn't realize that it also calls for tomato paste.  Okay.  So I made it for lunch today.  I like the flavor but it's definitely more a soup than an chili and not a good addition to my "Git Kit." 

The other thing that I've been concerned about is basic health care for WTSHTF.  I've been concerned that antibiotic ointment would lose potency and infection is a real threat when sanitation is compromised.  I've been introduced to Collodial Silver as an antibacterial agent and will be testing the ointment to see how it compares to my old standby.

I had the pleasure of going to a preparedness expo a few weeks ago and found some really good ideas to expand on.  I'm adding blood clotting compresses for dangerous bleeding as well as a tourniquet.  Let's face it, if you have profuse bleeding under your ear (think coratid artery), you are unlikely to want a tourniquet around your neck!!!  My daughter Penny gave me the idea to use contact lense saline solution for a wound wash, and she and my hubby  reminded me that superglue is very effective at joining human tissue (though I understand it burns really, really bad.)

I was going to buy a  commercial medical kit but an ailing air conditioner has mandated a different course of action for now.  So much to do!!!!

So What's Wrong With This Picture.......?????

I've been having knee issues since April.  No big deal really but a nuisance to be sure....until last month when I felt a pop in my knee.  The excruciating pain dropped me on the spot.  So began my forey into the American Medical Machine.

For a number of reasons, primarily financial, I have chosen to buy a high deductible policy.  Routine doctors' visits come out of my pocket but after I reach my deductible, all other covered charges are paid by my insurance.  For me it's worked well because it's tied to an HSA and because I own my own business, both premiums and HSA contributions are tax deductible.  I quickly realized, however,  that this relatively minor surgery that my knee requires will satisfy my financial obligations and then some.  After much thought and prayer, I've decided to postpone this surgery until I can more comfortably afford my portion and notified my doctor of same.

To my surprise, I got a call from the surgical center with a counter proposal.  They told me that if I choose to self pay, I could reduce my portion from $3985 to $1650.  So.....if I don't go through my insurance company, the medical center can reduce my fees 59%???????  And this explains to me why our medical system is out of control.  Apparently it isn't the cost of MEDICAL care that has hiked the prices.  If this model is accurate, 59% of my medical dollar goes to clerical workers.

HHHMMMMM.......

This is also interesting to me because I've recently become aware of the bargain prices in Costa Rica and other medical tourist destinations.  It makes me wonder if, for cases such as mine, if I could match those bargain prices right here in the States!

To Knee or Not to Knee......

In April I made my fourth trip up to Virginia to help my oldest daughter with the arrival of a new little soul, an excursion I enjoy.  Newborns are just special little critters.  No pretense, no drama.  They just be what they be!

Part of what I enjoy about Virginia are the lovely rolling hills just waiting to be walked.  And with my son in law starting his work out career with P90X I thought that this trip would be especially productive.  I would help with the kids, take care of kitchen duties AND get a little fitter in the process. 

It started out well.  I woke up early with Shaun and we pulled up, pushed up and kicked out our inertia.  Later on that day I went for a nice brisk walk.  The next day I limped around on a swollen knee.  Ok....that's happened before.  But it just never got a lot better.  A couple weeks ago (nearly 4 months later) I was hobbling around wondering what the heck was going on.  As I stepped backwards to pull a shopping cart out of line, I felt a POP and dropped to the ground, certain someone had shot me through the knee.  And MRI said I had a torn meniscus.  I am grateful it was not a torn ACL.  But still I wondered if I really needed the surgery. 

The answer is yes.  I'm not used to being limited.  I'm told that one day I will be, but 54 is too young to not be able to run through an airport to catch a plane.  It's too young to not be able to chase a grandchild or ride a horse or ride my bike.  So now I have my introduction into the American health care system.  Monday is telephone day.  It is the day that I call my orthopaedist, the surgical center and the aenesthesiologist to see what portion I get to pay.  Wish me luck!!

Getting Out of My Comfort Zone

I have been bored.  I'm tired of this.  I'm tired of eating the same things, of cooking the same things, of buying the same food.  This end, my horizons have shifted.  I am learning to cook things I've never cooked before, to use seasonings I don't normally use. 

For instance, I have discovered the joys and flavors of something unceremoniously called "fish sauce".   If you like the salty quality of soy sauce but not the heaviness of its taste, try fish sauce.  Don't be put off by the initial odor.  It really IS fish extract.  Aaahhh, but the flavor it adds to a basic stir fry is amazing.  I found it tastes best when coupled with shrimp, acceptable with chicken but not so good with beef (though my husband likes it even then). 

Tonight's experiment started with a quick trip to our local meat market where I picked up a pack of boneless skinless chicken breast (no stretch here), a small 7 boned steak (yawn) and a pound of goat.  Yes, GOAT.  My beloved hubby will grill a couple pieces of it tonight along with the chicken and steak, but tomorrow I'm going to braise and curry the rest of it. 

My research says that goat meat, or chevon as us cultured folk call it, is a healthier option than beef.  It's leaner and as goats usually live on grass, hay and roughage rather than so much grain, the fats that are in the meat are better for you. 

I'll keep you posted on the results!

Coming Into the 21st Century

I just spent the last 15 learning, one more time, how to save a picture to a printable file.  The fact that I even know what a printable file is surprises me as I write this.  Still, I'm very grateful to Penny for her patience and humor in teaching her mama this very essential skill. 

The contrast in life skills has shown up in an unexpected junxtiposition.  I sponsor a little girl overseas.  I don't know if she's ever even seen a computer.  But in an effort to connect, I'm printing pictures of my own grandkids to send to her.  Computer skills are expected here.  Knowledge of dirt and weather are essential there.  I used my computer to type the letter, to access the picture files and to print the photos.  And I'm sending them to a place that has no access to any of this.