BASIC LIST / SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

**AirborneSapper7** · 10-12-2012, 07:23 PM

Homemade Peanut Butter

by Averie @ Averie Cooks on July 3, 2012

Once you make peanut butter at home, it will be very difficult to get excited about storebought peanut butter ever again.Not that eating peanut butter of any kind would ever be a chore because I love it so, but homemade peanut butter is a delicacy. And a nearly effortless delicacy at that.

It’s akin to savoring a piece of high-end dark chocolate that’s rich and pure, uncomplicated by fillers, additives, or ingredients that have no place being in chocolate; and then grabbing a milk chocolate bar in the checkout line at the grocery store, which is likely a combination of tasteless, grainy, and waxy.Apples and oranges. Store-bought peanut butter versus homemade.

Once you have something amazing, it’s hard to get excited about any less than.That’s this peanut butter.

Sure, all peanut butter is good, and some is better than others, but this is in its own league.It’s similar in taste to store-bought varieties of “natural” peanut butter. It tastes like real peanuts and nothing else.

At room temperature, it’s similar in consistency to a stir-free natural peanut butter, thicker than almond butter, but thinner than conventional Jif or Skippy.I store my homemade peanut butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator and although I could keep it at room temperature, I’m sure it will keep longer being refrigerated and I prefer my peanut butter on the thicker side. Storing it in the fridge helps it to stay thicker and less runny, especially since my house is warmer now during the summer. Honestly, there’s not that much to store. Every time I open the fridge, I see the jar staring at me.And it calls my name.

Interestingly, my peanut butter has turned out to be “stir-free”.It has not separated into oil and a solid mass, which is something I detest about natural peanut butters; the oil slick on top and that stubborn dry blob on the bottom that never really wants to re-accept the oil.

Find a food processor and a spoon.This is crazy good.

The whole process takes less than 5 minutes.Here’s a step-by-step breakdown (a literal breakdown)

16 ounce bag or jar of peanuts (use honey roasted, plain, salted, unsalted, or try a jar of mixed nuts)

Add peanuts to the canister of the food processorNo oil, no salt, just peanuts

Turn it on and watch it go Wheeee!

There peanuts go through various stages in the approximately five minutes it takes to go from peanuts to peanut butter:crushed peanutscrushed into a fine powdera pastea thicker pasteand a big peanut butter “dough ball” will form

And then the big ball will magically break down

And turn into a gritty peanut butter

Keep processing and the peanut butter will get smoother, creamier, and thin outNo oil was ever added at any point during processing – just the natural oils from the peanuts are being releasedKeep processing until you’re certain the peanut butter is smooth enough for your liking, another minute or soI like my peanut butter very smooth, like buttah

The peanut butter is a little on the thinner and runnier side immediately post-processing because it’s warmed from the motor – similar in thickness to store-bought almond butterAfter refrigeration, it thickens up a bit

As suggested in the recipe section, flavor your peanut butter with anything you want from vanilla or coffee extractTo cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice or cocoa powderTo spicy or savory, which is great for 2-minute peanut sauce (vegan, GF)Or add some adult-version flavorings

This is your peanut butter. Get creative.No, wait, this is my peanut butter. And I’m not sharing.

Homemade Honey Roasted Peanut Butter (gluten-free, use roasted peanuts to keep vegan)Makes about 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter16 ounces honey roasted peanutsAdd peanuts to the canister of a food processor, process on high power until creamy and smooth, about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the canister if necessary.

Notes

The peanuts will go through stages of: crushed, crushed into a fine powder, a paste, a thicker paste, a big “dough ball”, and then the ball will break down into runnier peanut butter. At the point the peanut butter is runny, continue processing for about 1 more minute, making sure the peanut butter is as smooth as desired.If it wasn’t for taking pictures, in my food processor, it takes about 4 minutes and I did not need to scrape down the sides; there was very little splatter.I store my peanut butter in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator, where it keeps for many weeks. I prefer thicker peanut butter and the refrigerator helps it to stay thicker. You can store the peanut butter at room temperature where it will keep for at least a week. As with any food that has no preservatives, use common sense in terms of storage duration but in my experience, it will last for at least a month in the refrigerator, if not devoured much sooner.

Substitutions and Flavoring Suggestions

Substitute dry roasted, salted, or unsalted peanuts, mixed nuts, seasoned, or spicy nuts; I do not suggest raw nuts because they don’t have enough flavor depth for me but theoretically they will “work”, just a matter of taste preference.Salt, to taste (I added none)Peanut oil, canola oil, and I have also seen olive oil suggested, optional and only if necessary (I added none and although the paste is thick in the early to mid stages of blending causing one to ponder if oil is necessary, once you get past that stage, you’ll be glad to have not added oil because the finished peanut butter is already on the thinner side and the robust peanut flavor is not diluted by oil)Seasonings or flavorings to try and add in the final moments of processing and process until incorporated: cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, cardamom, brown sugar, vanilla extract, coffee extract, specialty oils and extracts from LorAnn, a pinch of cayenne or chili powder or savory spices, cocoa powder, chocolate/white chocolate/butterscotch/peanut butter chips and just pulse to incorporate; a handful of peanuts just pulsed to incorporate at the very end of processing to create a chunky-textured peanut butter. Add egg-less cookie dough chunks, dried fruits like raisins or dates; a splash of Baileys Irish Cream, Kahlua, Frangelico, Chambord, Godiva Liqueur; have fun with it.If you’re unsure how a flavoring will turn out, I suggest removing half the peanut butter or two-thirds of it, placing it in another container, and flavor a smaller portion, to taste, before flavoring the entire batch with one particular seasoning or flavor. Or get two or three flavors from one recipe based on how inspired you are.

Related recipes:Chocolate Coconut Cashew Butter (vegan, GF)

Two-Minute Peanut Sauce (vegan, GF) and Fresh Vegan Spring Rolls (vegan, GF)

Dark Rum Caramel Sauce (GF) – This is a fast and easy sauce and you’ll never need store-bought caramel sauce; rum optional but encouraged

Have you ever made your own nut butter?

Recipe links welcome and I would love to hear your method and results.I know I’m not the first, and in recent memory Amanda and Sally have made their own peanut butter.

This is not rocket science but if you’re never seen it before or tried making your own, I hope you do now.

Do you have a favorite peanut butter?

I love peanut butter in all ways, shapes, and sizes. I especially like honey-roasted peanut butter because it’s naturally sweeter. For baking and cooking, I typically use Jif Creamy.Here are 40 or so of the peanut butter recipes I’ve made and posted about over the years.Here are 20 peanut butter recipes for National Peanut Butter Day last month.For baking, especially cookies, I plan to stick with store-bought peanut butter because cookies are temperamental. Given that homemade peanut butter is thinner than store-bought, and because I don’t like flat cookies,

I’ll stick with the conventional.For bars or other desserts that call for peanut butter with a recipe, sure, homemade would be lovely but honestly, the taste is going to be masked from a combination of butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and then it’s baked, which is the main reason I bake with whatever peanut butter is on sale. I save the fancy peanut butters for when I can really focus on every pure, unadulterated, peanut butter bite and not “waste” a high end peanut butter inside a recipe.

I don’t tend to buy natural peanut butter because of the separating and stirring issues.There’s a reason I made this peanut butter. Consider this post a Part 1.Consider Part 2 a giveaway of epic proportions. Stay tuned for the next post…

Homemade Peanut Butter

**AirborneSapper7** · 10-12-2012, 07:28 PM

Averie Cooks

About Averie

Recent Posts

**AirborneSapper7** · 10-12-2012, 07:32 PM

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Honey Recipe, Made Without Bees

From Our Viewer Wayne, Thanks for Sharing Wayne.

Arlene's Honey

80 Blossoms White Clover
40 Blossoms Red Clover
5 Wild Rose Petals (Light Pink)
10 Cups of Sugar
3 Cups of Water
1/2 Teaspoon Powdered Alum

1) Combine sugar, water, alum and boil 5 minutes.
2) Pour syrup over blossoms and rose petals. Let stand 20 minutes.
3) Drain through cheese cloth and bottle.

The Homestead Survival: Honey Recipe, Made Without Bees

**AirborneSapper7** · 10-12-2012, 07:36 PM

Homestead Survival

My friend made the milk jug ghosts from our blog post. Turned out pretty cute.

**AirborneSapper7** · 10-12-2012, 07:38 PM

Friday, October 5, 2012

Why Licorice?

Historically Licorice has been associated with many claims - some have been researched and considered plausible but others mere fiction.For over 3000 years it has been considered a demulcent ( soothing to irritated membranes), an expectorant ( loosening and expelling mucus secretions), an anti-inflammatory agent and as a liver protectant. It has also been said to have ulcer healing properties in the stomach.

Read more here.
http://docmo.hubpages.com/hub/The-Benefits-and-Dangers-of-Licorice

Licorice

How to Take It:

Pediatric

Older children who have a sore throat can chew a piece of licorice root or drink licorice tea. Ask your doctor to help you determine the right dose for your child. Don't give a child licorice tea for more than a day without talking to your doctor. Never give any licorice tea to an infant or toddler.

Adult

Licorice can be taken in the following forms:

Dried root: 1 - 5 g as an infusion or decoction (boiled), 3 times daily
Licorice 1:5 tincture: 2 - 5 mL, 3 times daily
Standardized extract: 250 - 500 mg, 3 times daily, standardized to contain 20% glycyrrhizinic acid
DGL extract: 0.4 - 1.6 g, 3 times daily, for peptic ulcer
DGL extract 4:1: chew 300 - 400 mg, 3 times daily 20 minutes before meals, for peptic ulcer

Don't use these doses of licorice for longer than a week without talking to your doctor due to the risk of potentially dangerous side effects.

Precautions:

The use of herbs is a time honored approach to strengthening the body and treating disease. Herbs, however, contain components that can trigger side effects and that can interact with other herbs, supplements, or medications. For these reasons, you should take herbs with care, preferably under the supervision of a health care provider in the field of botanical medicine.

Licorice with glycyrrhizin may cause serious side effects. Too much glycyrrhizin causes a condition called pseudoaldosteronism, which can cause a person to become overly sensitive to a hormone in the adrenal cortex. This condition can lead to headaches, fatigue, high blood pressure, and even heart attacks. It may also cause water retention, which can lead to leg swelling and other problems.

Although the most dangerous effects mostly happen with high doses of licorice or glycyrrhizin,Â smallerÂ amounts of licorice may cause side effects. Some people have muscle pain or numbness in the arms and legs. To be safe, ask your health care provider to monitor your use of licorice.

People with the following conditions should not take licorice:

Heart failure
Heart disease
Hormone-sensitive cancers, such as breast, ovarian, uterine, or prostate cancer
Fluid retention
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Diabetes
Kidney disease
Liver disease
Low potassium (hypokalemia)
Erecetile dysfunction

Pregnant or breastfeeding women should not take licorice.

Read more here. http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/licorice-000262.htm

Nature's Answer Licorice Root Herbal Supplement, 1 Ounce

NOW Foods, LICORICE ROOT 450mg 100 CAPS

The Homestead Survival: Why Licorice?

**AirborneSapper7** · 10-12-2012, 07:43 PM

Homestead Survival

The Homestead Survival

Our suggestions in response to viewers questions.

Blog Archive

▼ 2012 (3740)
- ▼ 10/07 - 10/14 (131)
- ► 09/30 - 10/07 (169)
- ► 09/23 - 09/30 (202)
- ► 09/16 - 09/23 (172)
- ► 09/09 - 09/16 (176)
- ► 09/02 - 09/09 (235)
- ► 08/26 - 09/02 (217)
- ► 08/19 - 08/26 (175)
- ► 08/12 - 08/19 (120)
- ► 08/05 - 08/12 (146)
- ► 07/29 - 08/05 (150)
- ► 07/22 - 07/29 (107)
- ► 07/15 - 07/22 (142)
- ► 07/08 - 07/15 (106)
- ► 07/01 - 07/08 (123)
- ► 06/24 - 07/01 (132)
- ► 06/17 - 06/24 (79)
- ► 06/10 - 06/17 (92)
- ► 06/03 - 06/10 (113)
- ► 05/27 - 06/03 (113)
- ► 05/20 - 05/27 (123)
- ► 05/13 - 05/20 (118)
- ► 05/06 - 05/13 (126)
- ► 04/29 - 05/06 (103)
- ► 04/22 - 04/29 (79)
- ► 04/15 - 04/22 (214)
- ► 04/08 - 04/15 (77)

**AirborneSapper7** · 10-12-2012, 07:52 PM

Homestead Survival

Blackberries in the Fall (recipe: Blackberry Cordial)

http://homesteadsurvival.blogspot.com/2012/10/blackberries-in-fall-recipe-blackberry.html

**AirborneSapper7** · 10-12-2012, 07:54 PM

Homestead Survival
October 4

First Impressions of The Can Cooker

http://homesteadsurvival.blogspot.com/2012/10/first-impressions-of-can-cooker.html

**AirborneSapper7** · 10-12-2012, 08:20 PM

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Which Bug-Out Region Do You Live In?

The feasibility of any bug out plan depends a lot on your starting point.

Obviously, some regions of the country have more to offer than others in terms of places to go. But every part of the Lower 48 has its share of potential bug out locations. The map below shows eight major regions as I've divided them for the purposes of my book: Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It's Too Late.

There is some crossover between the regions shown here, but the illustrator has done a pretty good job of placing the demarcation lines approximately the way I have divided the bug out locations described in the book. Note the page numbers that will correspond to the beginning of each regional chapter. The first four chapters are on general information and planning, including gear and methods of transportation.

My reasoning for these divisions is that these specific regions offer distinct variations in terrain, climate and plant and animal communities. Again, there is some crossover in some areas, but anyone familiar with all these areas of the U.S. will see how survival skills and gear can be different from one region to the next. Natural hazards including everything from weather to dangerous wildlife vary according to these regions, as do resources such as the availability or lack or water, edible plants and game animals. It is this variation that made working on this book such an interesting project for me over the past several months, not to mention the real time I've spent out there backpacking, canoeing and kayaking in all of these regions at various times during the past 25 years. Writing each chapter made me reminiscence about past trips and long to load up a canoe or backpack and go again.

My home base is in the Gulf Coast region, and I stay here because of family ties as well as my love of the water - both the rivers and the Gulf itself. I'm lucky to have a large number of bug out options close by because I live in one of the least populated states east of the Mississippi River. Those of us living in small towns or rural areas are the least likely to need to bug out to begin with, but each region on the above map has its share of densely populated cities where the residents would do well to have a working knowledge of where to go if the SHTF and they have to get out. Keep in mind that the vast majority of the populations of those cities are not going to have this knowledge and most will not even try to leave, but will instead wait for outside help that may or may not come. Out here in the small towns and rural areas of America, most of us would pull together in such a situation and help each other out, as has been proven time and time again when the big Gulf hurricanes have hit the nearby coast. In the aftermath of Katrina, the media covered the chaos and violence going down in New Orleans, while people along the even harder hit Mississippi Coast quietly rolled up their sleeves and went to work digging out of the rubble and rebuilding.

So it's obvious that where you live has a lot to do with how you should formulate your survival plans and can be a big factor in your chances of success or at least the degree of difficulty you would face. But one thing we are blessed with here in the U.S. is plenty of undeveloped and uninhabited lands. It may not seem so when you're driving past mile after mile of strip malls and suburban sprawl, but compared to so many other countries in the world there is a lot of unused land here - both public and private. Have you explored all the potential bug out locations near you? What if you travel a lot for your job or for pleasure? Do you know where the big uninhabited areas are in other regions you frequent? If not, you should think about it. I hope that this kind of information detailed in my new book will be of use not only for bug out planning, but to encourage readers to get out and explore the great wild places available their own region and other parts of the country.

Bug-Out Survival: Which Bug-Out Region Do You Live In?

**AirborneSapper7** · 10-12-2012, 08:23 PM

The Top 50 Survival Blogs!

RANK	Blog Name			Score
1	SHTF Plan	5	25877	12
2	SurvivalBlog	5	30126	11
3	The Survival Podcast	4	32944	10
4	Urban Survival	5	60732	8
5	The Survivalist Blog	5	77585	7
6	The Survival & Emergency Preparedness Blog	3	54062	7
7	In Case Of Emergency	6	2464161	6
8	Off Grid Survival	5	127741	5
9	Pioneer Survival Blog	5	285809	5
10	Willow Haven Outdoor	5	531340	5
11	Preparedness Pantry	5	610228	5
12	Survival And Prosperity	5	1241422	5
13	Modern Survival Blog	4	81940	5
14	American Preppers Network	4	142687	4
15	Modern Survival Online	4	148121	4
16	Back Door Survival	4	154173	4
17	The Survival Mom	4	162147	4
18	Armageddon Online	4	225446	4
19	Prepper Website	4	227841	4
20	Doom And Bloom	4	229431	4
21	Preparedness Pro	4	263665	4
22	SHTF Blog	4	291562	4
23	Survival Spot	4	337156	4
24	Tactical Intelligence	4	361861	4
25	ATEP Emergency Preparedness Blog	4	411385	4
26	The Apartment Preppers Blog	4	442160	4
27	Surviving In Argentina	4	517612	4
28	TEOTWAWKI Blog	4	557554	4
29	Survival Joe	4	625058	4
30	Food Storage And Survival	4	715813	4
31	Wilderness Survival Skills	4	782119	4
32	Backwoods Survival Blog	4	810328	4
33	Stealth Survival	4	972257	4
34	Survival Topics	4	1102065	4
35	Nature Skills	4	1270239	4
36	SurvivalRing	4	1272194	4
37	Total Survivalist Libertarian Rantfest	4	1288941	4
38	Bug-Out Survival	4	1404977	4
39	Disaster Preparedness Blog	4	2924103	4
40	Be A Survivor	4	3816868	4
41	Doug Ritter	4	3878149	4
42	The Wilderness Survival Guide	4	4515014	4
43	The Just In Case Book Blog	4	4859690	4
44	CARDs Blog	4	6558220	4
45	Preparedness And Response	4	15882754	4
46	Survival Cache	3	103652	3
47	Simply Canning	3	153078	3
48	Survival And Beyond	3	271852	3
49	Advanced Survival Guide	3	304028	3
50	Shepherd School	3	434455	3

=> View these other great Survival Blogs that almost made the Top 50!

For Readers
These are the top 50 blogs in the survival niche. By keeping their blogs up to date with news, ideas, and fresh and valuable content they provide you with the very best survival information. Share this list with everyone you know who is interested in learning survival.

For Advertisers
The top 50 survival bloggers are some of the most influential in the survival niche. Getting your name and product in front of these survival bloggers and their audiences can bring increased awareness of your company and bring additional sales. If these guys don’t know who you are then you need to let them know!

For Bloggers
These are your friends. These are people as dedicated to learning and sharing information about survival as you are. The SurvivalTop50 lets you quickly see how your blog ranks compared to your peers. Oh yeah, and we hope the SurvivalTop50 sends you tons of traffic!

How are the survival blogs ranked?
The entire ranking is objective and for fun. The real goal of SurvivalTop50 is to bring exposure to great survival bloggers. Currently only Google and Alexa are used to rank a site and each get 10 points towards a total of 20. The better your blog does in the eyes of Google and Alexa, the better you will rank here.

Contact
bgreen@survivaltop50.com

The Top 50 Survival Blogs!