Monday, October 8, 2012
35 Lifechanging Ways To Use Everyday Objects
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The Homestead Survival: 35 Lifechanging Ways To Use Everyday Objects
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Monday, October 8, 2012
35 Lifechanging Ways To Use Everyday Objects
http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/35-lifechanging-ways-to-use-everyday-objects
The Homestead Survival: 35 Lifechanging Ways To Use Everyday Objects
DIY Pumpkin Spice Facial
By gerbermom / October 2, 2012
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I remember reading last year about a fancy spa offering a pumpkin spice facial and thinking how divine that sounded. If you can make lip gloss with it, surely pumpkin spice good for the rest of your body too, right? Plus I am always opening cans of pumpkin puree and then wondering what to do with the leftovers. This is a great way to use it up!
Pumpkin Apple Mask
I had no idea that pumpkin was so great for your skin. But it has lots of antioxidants and alpha hydroxy acids that gently exfoliate and moisturize at the same time. And apples, the other great fall ingredient, have lots of natural fruit acids that get rid of old skin cells.
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What You’ll Need:
- 1/2 green apple
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
- Dash of cinnamon
How to Prepare Your Mask:
Peel and chop the apple. Put it in the blender with the pumpkin until you have a smooth consistency. Add in the honey and milk. Slather on your face and neck (avoid the eyes) and enjoy a pumpkin spice latte while it sits for 15 minutes. Store the extra mask mixture in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks – or have a tasty snack!
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When you’re ready to wash it off, hit the shower with a Cinnamon Brown Sugar Scrub.
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Scrub
http://www.henryhappened.com/wp-cont...rown-sugar.jpg What you’ll need:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Almond or olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together until combined. Then slowly add your oil until the mixture sticks together but isn’t too runny. Stir as you go until you get the right texture. (I used way too much oil the first time I made this so go slow and add more sugar if needed.) Finish by adding the vanilla and you’re ready to scrub! This is best used on your body but it can be used for the face too if you’re extra gentle.
Enjoy smelling a bit like pumpkin pie the rest of the day! :) Do you have any fun fall beauty treatments? Please share!
DIY Pumpkin Spice Facial - Henry Happened
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Eggs Benedict ~ Heaven on a Plate
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April 16th is Eggs Benedict Day. I had no idea such a day even existed until I did a quick google search awhile back looking for recipes, but since I LOVE Eggs Benedict, I'm totally on board with them having their own day.
I enjoy cooking a leisurely breakfast on Sunday mornings and there's nothing better than using fresh eggs collected that very morning. They are wonderful scrambled, over easy, fried, and as omelets...but if I had to choose just one way to eat eggs for the rest of my life, I would chose Benedict-style.
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The keys to a perfect Eggs Benedict are fresh eggs and fresh lemon juice. This is actually a very easy recipe, it's just getting the technique and timing down that takes a few tries. But that just gives you an excuse to make it often and hone your technique!
Easy Eggs Benedict Recipe (serves two)
Poach 4 eggs in simmering water until soft set and keep warm.
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Toast 2 English muffins and keep warm.
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Meanwhile, for the sauce, whisk 3 egg yolks, 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice and 1 Tablespoon water in a heatproof glass (not metal) bowl set over a pot of boiling water.
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Slowly add a stick of room temperature butter, a small piece at a time, until it's all incorporated, whisking continuously.
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Continue to cook for another minute or two until sauce thickens. Season with salt and white pepper. Immediately remove from heat.
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Put an egg on each muffin half, cover with some sauce, and grate fresh nutmeg on top (optional).
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You can also add a slice or two of bacon or a round of Canadian bacon or ham, but I prefer to keep it simple...
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Voila ! Heaven on a plate.
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This recipe is shared here: Katie's French Language Cafe
Fresh Eggs Daily: Eggs Benedict ~ Heaven on a Plate
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Fresh Eggs Daily
Halloween countdown
I just love every hour after the autumnal (Fall) equinox. The days are cooler, the sunset is prettier. But what I really love the most is Halloween! And not just because of the candies, but during this holiday my creativity ignites like no other day of the year; hence my new “living dead” creations.
These spooky little cupcakes are made with chocolate but inside awaits a gooey and delicious raspberry filling. The idea is to give them a vampire’s bite and sink your fangs into the sweet blood-like stuff. To top it all, and to add a little shriek, I’ve placed some plastic skeletons (available at Michaels) which I sliced in parts and strategically arrange them over a bed of Nutella frosting. To make them look like they just raised from the ground, I used the parts of the cupcakes I took (to make way for the frosting) and toasted them on a pan. For recipes click each link! Hope you like Halloween (and all its goodies) as much as I do!
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http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile...35875603_q.jpg The Homestead Survival
Baby owl hats crochet,free pattern, patterns available thru adult sizes
http://homesteadsurvival.blogspot.com/2012/10/baby-owl-hats-crochetfree-pattern.html
How To Make Shrunkles… Scary Shrunken Apple Heads
4 Comments Posted on October 3, 2012
In the mid 1970’s, Milton Bradley was selling the Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture Kit. Who could resist, especially since it featured Vincent Price’s face on the box.
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The kit promised:
“Turn apples into Shrunken Heads with the SHRUNKEN HEAD Apple Sculpture kit.
Before you know it, you’ll have Shrunken Heads hanging from your belt. Or around you neck. Buy you kit now and get a Had-start on your friends! Having a Shrunken Head is like having Halloween year ‘round! You’ll find SHRUNKEN HEAD Apple Sculpture kits where ever toys and crafts are sold. Look for Vincent Prince’s pretty face on the cover.”
After searching the internet I found some basic information on how to make these groovy wonders and through some trial and error developed an easy method to make Shrunken Apple Heads which I call “Shrunkles.”
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Materials Needed:
Apples (see below)
Salt
Lemon Juice
Water
Large Bucket
Carving and Peeling Tools (see below)
Screens
Box Fan
Kitchen Oven
Brown or Black Acrylic Paint
Clear Polyurethane Sealant
Cotton Swabs
Twine or Wire
Material for Eyes (see below)
Hot Glue Gun
Glue Sticks
Lots of Time
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Making shrunken apple heads is a lot of fun and a great activity with the kids. The entire process takes about 4 weeks to complete, so if you want some for Halloween you had best start ASAP.
Let’s get started!
Fill a bucket that is large enough to hold all the apples you plan on making with cold water.
Add approximately ¼ cup lemon juice and ¼ cup salt per gallon of water used.
The salt and lemon juice will prevent the carved apples from oxidizing, or turning brown when exposed to the air.
Peel your apples. Any variety of apple will work, but I have found that Red Delicious or Yellow Delicious apples produce the best results.
When peeling leave a fair amount of skin on the top of the apple around the stem and at the base of the apple. (see photo below)
Place peeled apples in the water/lemon/salt mixture.
Now it’s creative time, time to carve the faces! Don’t fear, this is the fun part, trust me. You will need an assortment of carving tools: different size knives, x-acto knives, toothpicks, peelers, chopsticks, cookie cutters, caps to ink pens and markers and cheap clay carving tools available at a dollar store.
http://inspirewilddotcom.files.wordp...pg?w=300&h=225 Start with the eyes. Take the cap from a pen or marker and punch it into the apple where you want the eyes. When you remove the pen cap from the apple you will have a perfect circle cut into the apple, simply use a toothpick or small knife to remove the apple from the middle of the cut.
Next use a knife or other tool to create the basic shape of the face. Study the photos below and you can see how I used a simple tools to create the basic face shape. Don’t worry about details or smoothness, remember, the apples are going to shrink and shrivel so all you need to do is to create rough shapes determining the eyes, nose and mouth. The pictures illustrate the technique much better than an explanation.
After the faces have been carved in the apples, let them soak in the water/lemon/salt mixture for several hours.
Once the carved apples have soaked, place on a screen or some other surface that will allow complete air circulation. Use a box fan to continuously circulate the air, this speeds up the drying process considerably. (If you add a portable heater to the area for a couple of hours at a time it will dry in about a week but no more than a couple of hours at a time, keeping a good distance or they will dry to fast and cook)
Check the apples every few days and if necessary you can use your fingers to maintain the shape of the eyes, nose or mouth if it is drying or shriveling in a strange fashion.
After a couple of weeks (or longer depending on humidity) your apples should have shrunk to their final size. To insure that all the moisture is removed, put the apples on a cookie sheet and place in a warm (under 200 degrees F) oven for about four hours.
Our Shrunken Apple Heads are used as ornaments on a Halloween tree, so using an awl, a hole is punched through the core of the apple, then wire or twine is threaded through the hole to create a loop for hanging.
Once the apples have completely dried, either spray or dip them in a polyurethane seal sealant and let dry. The apples should now last for years without any worry about mold or rotting, just make sure they are completely dry before you seal them.
One final thing I like to do with the apple heads is to give them eyes. Eyes tend to give them a lot of personality. Before inserting the eyes, the sockets are painted using a dark brown acrylic paint and cotton swab. Let dry. Wooden beads, black eyed peas, lima beans or wiggly eyes from a craft store can then be glued into the eye socket.
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Orig. Post 2008 by Scotty Art: Shrunkles
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How To Make Shrunkles… Scary Shrunken Apple Heads | Inspire Wild
Braiding Onions and Garlic
Show off your prize homegrown onions and garlic by making a braid.
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You'll need 13 onions for this project. This technique will work with cloves of garlic, too.
Trim the roots of the onions to about an inch long and gently brush off any soil clinging to the bulbs.
Choose the three largest onions for the bottom of the braid.
Position one onion at the top and the two other large onions slightly below and to each side of the first bulb.
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Braiding Onions: Step 2
Take the leaves from bulb A and fold them back over the necks of bulbs B and C and then wrap them underneath.
Pull the leaves tight and then place them back in their original position.
This makes a "knot" at the base of the braid.
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Braiding Onions: Step 3
Take an onion and place it on top and in the middle of onions A, B, and C.
Line this new onion's leaves up with the leaves of onion B.
You should now have three strands of leaves.
Braid the three strands of tops together twice (just as you would hair), making sure that the braid is tight.
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Braiding Onions: Step 4
Add two more bulbs, one to each side of the braid.
Line their leaves up with the two existing outside braid sections; then braid the tops together twice.
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Braiding Onions: Step 5
Following the directions in steps 3 and 4, continue to add one onion, then two onions to the braid until you have used all the onions.
The top of the braid should finish with a single onion.
Braid the remaining tops together.
Secure the braid by wrapping sisal twine around the end and tying it off.
How to Braid Onions and Garlic: Organic Gardening
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Rosemary & Sausage Gravy Stuffed Muffins
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Ingredients:
Rosemary Gravy:
12-ounces spicy bulk pork sausage or pork sausage links with casings removed
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp green onions, finely sliced
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
paprika
Flaky Biscuit Dough
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoonsbaking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar(optional)
1/2 cup coldunsaltedbutter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Spray the inside of 12 cups of a cupcake pan. Set aside.
Heat a large non stick fry pan or a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, break it up with a wooden spoon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and rosemary and cook another minute.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a bowl, leaving the rendered fat in the skillet. Whisk the flour into the fat and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. While whisking, pour the milk into the skillet and bring the gravy to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Stir in the sausage, paprika, seasoning salt, sugar, pepper and 1/4 cup green onions. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Add a dash of paprika a pepper. Cover and turn burner down to low while you make biscuits.
In a large mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (use pastry blender, two knives, or fingertips). Add the milk and slightly beaten egg and stir until just combined. (The texture should be sticky, moist and lumpy.)
Place mixture on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough gently until it comes together and is a smooth dough.
Roll out dough to about a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out strips that are 2" wide and 5" long from the dough. Lightly coat with gravy mixture. Roll dough like you would a cinnamon roll and place in cupcake cup and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Plate and spoon gravy mixture over top and sprinkle with remaining green onions and paprika.
Biscuit recipe shared from: www.joyofbaking.com
My Favorite Things: Rosemary & Sausage Gravy Stuffed Muffins
How to Choose Groceries for Long Term Food Storage
Written by Tim Shettlesworth on October 7, 2012. Posted in Blog, emergency preparedness, self sufficiency, survival tips, TEOTWAWKI
There was a mix up on the author of this article. It was not written by Tim Shettlesworth but by Ray Boeyenga a guest author who also writes for Canada’s emergency preparedness centre. You can find a link to more of his articles at the bottom of this post.
When you want to establish a food supply for long-term storage, you must consider a few factors.
The food items you choose must be easy to store and store well over the long term. The food must also be easy to prepare and provide nutritional value. Long-term food storage will not be difficult if you follow a few basic tips.
Type of storage:
While a freezer is excellent for storing many foods, it may not be your best choice. Unless you have access to a generator or use solar power, your freezer may not be operational when you need it the most. The best choices for grocery items are those that are canned or well sealed in plastic.
Longevity of food products:
• Low acid canned foods – 2 to 5 years
• High acid canned foods – 1 to 2 years
• Boxed cereal – 6 to 12 months
• Uncooked cereal – 1 year
• Peanut butter – 2 years
• Crackers – 1 year
• Jellies – 2 years
• Dry pasta – 3 years
Honey, rice, sugar and chocolate powder will keep almost indefinitely if stored correctly. Honey may crystallize but it will still be safe. If you doubt the safety of an item, throw it out.
Ease of use:
No matter how long a food item can last, it will not be helpful if you cannot use it. Canned goods should not present a problem as long as you have a can opener. Canned goods with pop-top lids may be a better choice. Items that require heating to higher temperatures can present a problem.
While you should arrange for ways to warm your food, exact temperatures may be hard to control.
Choose foods that are pre-cooked or do not require higher heat for use. You can re-hydrate most items with a minimal amount of warmth; it just may take a bit longer. It is extremely important that you consider the additional water needs of dehydrated foods when you are planning items for storage.
Nutritional value:
Soups, nuts and energy bars all provide good nutritional sources. Add in dehydrated or freeze dried fruits and vegetables for variety. Energy or nutritional drinks are also an excellent choice.
When you work on your long-term food storage, date the items as you store them. Rotate these food items into your regular meals to keep your supply fresh. Every six to twelve months you should re-evaluate the types of items you are storing. Your needs may change over time.
Ray Boeyenga+ is an emergency preparedness and self-reliance advisor who regularly blogs at Canada’s Emergency Preparedness Centre.
How to Choose Groceries for Long Term Food Storage Rocky Mountain Survival
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Free PDF, Army correspondence course. Building Frame Structures
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http://www.preppers.info/uploads/us_army_cc_en0069_frame_structures.pdf
The Homestead Survival: Free PDF, Army correspondence course. Building Frame Structures
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Smoked Turkey , Pulled Pork and Smoked Salmon Recipes.
Look for sales on pork this month and turkey next month.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/editor/2735374603/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...;v=OnDI8oWo1F0
Smoked Turkey
Continued Below
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Smoked Pulled Pork
Continued Below
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Why Instant Oatmeal Should Be in Your Survival Kit
September 25, 2012
Survival Kits
Food. It’s the first thing most people think about in a survival situation. “I’ve got to find something to eat!”Instant Oatmeal: It’s All Good
Maybe it’s because we’re so accustomed to eating regularly throughout the day and our stomachs remind us when it’s getting close to mealtime. Maybe it’s a comfort activity; something that can be done to preserve a sense of normalcy in a situation that seems beyond our control. Whatever the reason, food is the first thing that most people think about in survival.
In reality, there are much more important things to worry about. If you recall the Rule of Three you know that air, shelter, water come first.
Nevertheless, you’ve got to eat sometime so carrying a lightweight, nutritious meal with you that can provide a bit of warmth on the inside is a good idea. It’ll help give you boost of energy and lift the spirits.You heard the axiom “Store what you eat and eat what you store.” They are words to prep by. That’s why one of the items I like to carry with me in my 72 hour kits is instant oatmeal.
Why?
- Lightweight. With some foods, you’re carrying around a lot of extra weight in the form of liquid. Not with instant oatmeal. It’s lightweight and easy to carry.
- Nutritious. One packet of instant oatmeal contains 20% of most of the FDA’s Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamins and minerals like Vitamin A, Iron, and Folic Acid. (Not that I put a lot of stock in the FDA’s recommendations, but that’s another story.)
- Servings. Since instant oatmeal is packaged in individual servings, it’s easy to carry and use only what you need.
- Preparation. It’s easy to make instant oatmeal. If you can boil water, you can make instant oatmeal.
- Packaging. The packaging is flammable. That can come in handy when you are trying to start a fire in the wilderness.
I typically carry my instant oatmeal in a homemade MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). The MRE contains 2 packages of instant oatmeal, a granola bar, a teabag, a paper towel, and a plastic spoon. It’s all vacuum sealed so it should stay fresh for a long time.
http://preppingtosurvive.files.wordp...0639.jpg?w=540
http://preppingtosurvive.files.wordp...0640.jpg?w=540Although I haven’t actually tried it, I suspect that I may be able to boil water in the plastic vacuum seal bag. I’ll give that a try sometime and let you know in another post about homemade MREs.
A Caveat
In a true survival situation, you’ll burn a lot of calories just trying to stay alive. Making a shelter, gathering firewood, searching for water, all take energy.
Instant oatmeal, when prepared with water, only contains around 130 calories per serving. That’s not a lot. It is high in carbohydrates, though. But you’ll need to supplement your instant oatmeal with other sources of calories if you’re going to be stranded for quite some time.
So, what about you? What do you carry for survival food?
Related Posts
- Survival Myth: Water Should Be Boiled for 30 Minutes
- Signs of Dehydration
- How to Go in the Woods
- You Cannot Hurry Survival
Why Instant Oatmeal Should Be in Your Survival Kit | PreppingToSurvive.com
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http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile...35875603_q.jpg The Homestead Survival
Fenugreek Benefits, can help with diabetes, cholestrol levels and even help to increase milk production for nursing mothers.
http://homesteadsurvival.blogspot.com/2012/10/fenugreek-benefits-can-help-with.html
"The Farm" Old World Garden Farms
A blog about creating a little slice of heaven in the middle of Ohio
"The Farm" Old World Garden Farms
Composting Leaves – 4 Simple Tips To Making Great Compost With Leaves
Oct2
by oldworldgarden
http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wor...pg?w=200&h=300 The leaves are turning – and that means it’s time to start making great compost!
The leaves have begun to turn to brilliant shades of red and orange. Each day – a few more start their gentle decent from high atop branches down to the ground. For gardeners –it signals that its time to get those compost piles and bins filled up with huge amounts of leaves – and turn them into valuable, plant loving compost!
For us – the falling leaves and resulting compost we make with them are a great way to obtain huge amounts of ”black gold” – the affectionate name many gardeners give to compost for it’s value to a successful garden.
Compost makes all the difference in helping to grow healthy plants – we mix in generous amounts to the soil when we plant our vegetables, as well as anytime we plant trees, shrubs or perennials in the landscape.
Here are 4 simple steps to help you make great leaf compost:
http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wor...pg?w=200&h=300 Maple leaves are some of the best to use when making compost
1. The Gathering Process – How To Get The Right Kind Of Leaves – And A Lot Of Them!
Although leaves are plentiful this time of year – some are better than others.
Maple, Birch, Ash, Beech and fruit tree leaves are fantastic to compost.
Oak leaves on the other hand should be composted in moderation. The leaves of Oak trees tend to be more acidic – too many in the compost pile can result in compost that is less than ideal for most vegetable gardens. A good rule of thumb - if Oak leaves make up less than 10 to 20% of your total pile – you should be good to go.
If you are not blessed with trees on your property – take a drive around and find neighborhoods that are – it usually doesn’t take too long to find them.
http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wor...pg?w=216&h=300 You don’t have to look far to find leaves piled high at the curbside.
Many times, the hard work is done for you – with the homeowners already raking leaves to their curb or even bagging them up curbside for pickup. A simple asking of the homeowner can usually net you more than you can handle.
For us – a simple evening drive through our heavily wooded neighborhood can fill the old farm truck up with 50 or so bags of ready to go leaves. What takes a few minutes to collect will result in healthy plants.
Even better – when you see those landscape companies out collecting – ask what they are doing with their haul – many times they are just taking them somewhere to dump – and will gladly drop them off at your house. It’s a win-win all the way around!
2. Shred – Shred – Shred!
http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wor...pg?w=270&h=270 A push mower or garden tractor makes a great leaf shredder
Like anything you put into a compost pile – leaves benefit greatly from being shredded first. Whole leaves won’t compost quickly if left alone on the ground – and especially in piles where they can bind together and become a soggy matted mess.
If you don’t own a shredder – no worries. A regular old push mower or riding mower will do a great job of shredding your leaves into a fine chopped mix.
We gather so many that we just pile them up and take care of business with a riding mower. In about 15 minutes, we can reduce 25 garbage bags of leaves into a couple wheelbarrow loads of shredded bits. However you do it – shred those leaves – the finer the better!
http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wor...pg?w=200&h=300 Fresh cut green lawn clippings make an excellent source of nitrogen to add your leaf composd pile and get it cooking
3. Add a Nitrogen Source to Your Leaf Compost Pile
A pile of leaves left on their own – even if shredded – can still take over a year to break down. So to speed up the decomposition process – you need to add a source of Nitrogen to get your pile cooking.
One easy remedy – freshly cut green grass. Fresh cut green grass is a great source of nitrogen and mixes easily with shredded leaves. Chicken, rabbit or horse manure also are great sources to get that pile of leaves heated up and cooking. If you have no access to grass or manure – you can always purchase a ready-made off the shelf compost activator – but good old natural green grass or manure works perfect for us.
As for how much of each to add – just use another good rule of thumb – the 5 to 1 ratio. For every 5 wheelbarrows, buckets or bags of shredded leaves you add to the pile – mix in 1 wheelbarrow, bucket or bag of cut grass clippings or manure.
http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wor...pg?w=213&h=243 Just like your regular compost pile – turning your leaf compost pile once or twice a week will help your pile heat up and break down quickly.
4. Keep It Together, Keep it Turned, And Keep It Moist
If you don’t have compost bins or a large enough composting area – make a temporary one in the middle of your garden. It’s important to keep your pile together to allow it to heat up and decompose. An inexpensive 3 foot wire fence section, made into a circle. can become a perfect temporary composting bin for the winter time. The best part is that your making your compost right where you are going to need it – in your garden! And while that pile is “cooking” – don’t be afraid to add some of your normal compost pile trimmings to it. Coffee grounds, fruit peels and scraps and grass clipping can be added while your turning to make your finished compost even better.
http://oldworldgardenfarms.files.wor...pg?w=200&h=300 Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants…and there is no quicker way to healthy soil than using lots of great compost.
If you want that pile to get heated up and compost even quicker – go out a few times a week and take a shovel or pitchfork and turn your pile. It doesn’t take great effort – especially with the light make-up of a leaf compost pile. However – turning that pile and mixing in oxygen gets it to heat up and break down quickly.
Last, make sure to keep the pile moist. You want it to be like the consistency of a damp sponge – if you get too many consecutive dry days – add a little water to your pile to keep it cooking strong.
So there you have it – some simple hints to composting all of those falling leaves. Now it’s time to get out there and start collecting!
Jim and Mary
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Composting Leaves – 4 Simple Tips To Making Great Compost With Leaves « "The Farm" Old World Garden Farms
Body By Design
A lifestyle blog to get you into the health & shape you desire
Body By Design | The Truth About Diets, Food, Weight Loss, Fitness & Your Health
Blackstrap Molasses Health Benefits
Posted by admin
Filed under Diet, Health Benefits | 40 Comments
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Blackstrap molasses is a sweetener that is actually good for you. Unlike refined white sugar and corn syrup (stripped of virtually all nutrients except simple carbohydrates) or artificial sweeteners like saccharine or aspartame (provide no useful nutrients and have been shown to cause health problems in sensitive individuals), blackstrap molasses is a healthful sweetener that contains significant amounts of a variety of minerals that promote your health (unlike agave: Is Agave Nectar a Health Scam?).
Where Does Molasses Come From?
Many people wonder what molasses is made of. Well, no secret ingredients here, molasses is a by-product from the process that turns sugar beet or cane into sugar.
Iron For Energy
In addition to providing quickly assimilated carbohydrates, blackstrap molasses can increase your energy by helping to replenish your iron stores. Blackstrap molasses is a very good source of iron.
Particularly for menstruating women, who are more at risk for iron deficiency, boosting iron stores with blackstrap molasses is a good idea–especially because, in comparison to red meat, a well known source of iron, blackstrap molasses provides more iron for less calories and is totally fat-free.
Iron is an integral component of hemoglobin, which transports oxygen from the lungs to all body cells, and is also part of key enzyme systems for energy production and metabolism. And, if you’re pregnant or lactating, your needs for iron increase. Growing children and adolescents also have increased needs for iron.
Just 2 teaspoons of blackstrap molasses will sweetly provide you with 13.3% of the daily recommended value for iron.
A Spoonful of Molasses Helps Your Calcium Needs Go Down
Blackstrap molasses is a very good source of calcium. Calcium, one of the most important minerals in the body, is involved in a variety of physiological activities essential to life, including:
- The ability of the heart and other muscles to contract.
- Blood clotting.
- The conduction of nerve impulses to and from the brain.
- Regulation of enzyme activity.
- Cell membrane function.
- Calcium is needed to form and maintain strong bones and teeth during youth and adolescence.
- Help prevent the loss of bone that can occur during menopause and as a result of rheumatoid arthritis.
- Calcium binds to and removes toxins from the colon, thus reducing the risk of colon cancer.
- Because it is involved in nerve conduction, may help prevent migraine attacks.
Two teaspoons of blackstrap molasses will meet 11.8% of your daily needs for calcium.
An Energizing Mineral-Dense Sweetener
Molasses is also an excellent source of:
- Copper
- Manganese
- Potassium
- Magnesium
Copper, an essential component of many enzymes, plays a role in a wide range of physiological processes including:
- Iron utilization
- Elimination of free radicals
- Development of bone and connective tissue
- The production of the skin and hair pigment called melanin.
Numerous health problems can develop when copper intake is inadequate:
- Iron deficiency anemia
- Ruptured blood vessels
- Osteoporosis
- Joint problems such as rheumatoid arthritis
- Brain disturbances
- Elevated LDL (bad) cholesterol and reduced HDL (good) cholesterol levels
- Irregular heartbeat
- Increased susceptibility to infections.
Using two teaspoons of blackstrap molasses to sweeten your morning cereal and the coffee or tea you drink during the day will supply you with 14.0% of the daily recommended value for copper.
That same amount of blackstrap molasses will also provide you with 18.0% of the day’s needs for manganese. This trace mineral helps:
- Produce energy from protein and carbohydrates
- The synthesis of fatty acids that are important for a healthy nervous system and in the production of cholesterol that is used by the body to produce sex hormones.
- Manganese is also a critical component of an important antioxidant enzyme called superoxide dismutase. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is found exclusively inside the body’s mitochondria (the oxygen-based energy factories inside most of our cells) where it provides protection against damage from the free radicals produced during energy production.
Like calcium, potassium plays an important role in muscle contraction and nerve transmission. When potassium is deficient in the diet, activity of both muscles and nerves can become compromised. Potassium is an especially important mineral for athletes since it is involved in carbohydrate storage for use by muscles as fuel and is also important in maintaining the body’s proper electrolyte and acid-base (pH) balance.
When potassium levels drop too low, muscles get weak, and athletes tire more easily during exercise, as potassium deficiency causes a decrease in glycogen (the fuel used by exercising muscles) storage.
Simply by adding two teaspoons of blackstrap molasses to your morning smoothie, you can supply 9.7% of your potassium needs for the day along with a healthy dose of carbohydrates to burn.
Calcium’s balancing major mineral, magnesium is also necessary for healthy bones and energy production. About two-thirds of the magnesium in the human body is found in our bones. Some helps give bones their physical structure, while the rest is found on the surface of the bone where it is stored for the body to draw upon as needed.
Magnesium, by balancing calcium, helps regulate nerve and muscle tone. In many nerve cells, magnesium serves as Nature’s own calcium channel blocker, preventing calcium from rushing into the nerve cell and activating the nerve. By blocking calcium’s entry, magnesium keeps our nerves (and the blood vessels and muscles they enervate) relaxed.
If our diet provides us with too little magnesium, however, calcium can gain free entry, and the nerve cell can become over-activated, sending too many messages and causing excessive contraction. Insufficient magnesium can thus contribute to:
- High blood pressure
- Muscle spasms (including spasms of the heart muscle or the spasms of the airways symptomatic of asthma)
- Migraine headaches
- Muscle cramps
- Tension
- Soreness
- Fatigue
In two teaspoons of blackstrap molasses, you will receive 7.3% of the daily value for magnesium.
Switching from nutrient-poor sweeteners like white sugar or corn syrup, or from potentially harmful fake sweeteners like aspartame or saccharin to nutrient-dense blackstrap molasses is one simple way that eating healthy can sweeten your life.
Blackstrap Molasses Health Benefits
Know Your Stuff: The 110 Best DIY Tips Ever
For Popular Mechanics' 110th anniversary, we decided to do something special: We dived into our archives to find the 110 best, handiest, and most helpful tips ever printed in PM. It's more than a century of DIY wisdom. (You can read the introduction to the project here.)
Print - Know Your Stuff: The 110 Best DIY Tips Ever - Popular Mechanics
18 December 2008
Kentucky Bourbon Balls
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Today I finished the Bourbon Balls I promised many months ago. They were a long time coming. I put off making them and then never found the recipe I was looking for, the one I tried some years ago that made a creamy centered Bourbon Ball like the ones from Rebecca Ruth Candies.
I did find a recipe for chocolate dipped Bourbon Balls filled with crunchy pecan bits. It came from "The Bourbon Book," a book I bought in Bardstown, Kentucky many years ago. I made them and, though they are quite delicious, they failed to satisfy as they were not quite what I was looking for. Finally I gave up looking through my files and cookbooks for that one particular recipe I remembered and began to search for something similar on-line.
Finally I turned up a recipe that sounded right. At Chowhound I found a recipe for Kentucky Style (Rebecca Ruth) Bourbon Balls. Knowing the writer was satisfied with this recipe for that same luscious Kentucky confection that I craved, I gave it a try. The result was just the thing I was looking for: butter soft, sweet and creamy with a distinct bourbon bite. Enrobed in dark chocolate and topped with a fresh pecan half these Bourbon Ball were a perfect taste of home.
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Kentucky Style Bourbon Balls
from Chowhound.chow.com
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
5 Tablespoons bourbon (Chowhound recommends Knob Creek brand)
Combine softened butter and powdered sugar until smooth.
Add bourbon and mix until incorporated.
Refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour.
Form the buttercream into 1 inch balls and place on waxed paper. Refrigerate until firm.
Transfer buttercream centers to a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze for several hours or overnight.
Dip in chocolate coating. (See Below)
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Old Kentucky Bourbon Balls
adapted from "The Book of Bourbon", p325
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 lb confectioners' sugar
3 Tablespoons bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup finely ground pecans
Combined softened butter and confectioners' sugar until smooth.
Add the bourbon and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
Add the nuts and mix thoroughly.
Roll the candy into 1-inch balls. Set in refrigerator until firm, then transfer to a Ziploc freezer bag and place in the freezer for a few hours or overnight.
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Chocolate Coating
(for either center prepared above)
4 to 6 ounces semisweet chocolate
30 -50 whole pecan halves, for garnish
Place a toothpick in each bourbon ball, sticking the toothpick into the center.
Melt chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave or a double boiler. Mix and heat until smooth.
Working quickly, dip the bourbon ball centers into the chocolate one at a time. Tap the toothpick against the side of the bowl to shake off excess chocolate. Set the coated bourbon ball on waxed paper covering a baking sheet or pizza pan. With another toothpick push the bourbon ball gently from the toothpick and cover the spot where it was with a pecan half.
When all bourbon balls have been dipped allow them to rest until set. (To speed the process the pan of bourbon balls can be placed in the refrigerator.) When set, transfer the candies to a holiday tin or other storage container.
Posted by Lisa at Thursday, December 18, 2008
My Own Sweet Thyme: Kentucky Bourbon Balls
Home Fire-Safe Checklist/Defensible Space, by Matthew Stein, P.E.
Fire Statistics
The following statistics from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) are for fires in the USA in 2009:
- There were 3,010 civilian deaths from fire, 2,565 of which occurred in the home.
- There were 260 civilian deaths from motor vehicle fires.
- Only 105 civilian fire deaths occurred in non-residential structures.
- US fire departments responded to an estimated 1,348,500 fires resulting in an estimated $12,531,000,000 in property losses and 17,050 civilian injuries.
In general, fires cause more loss of life and property in America than all natural disasters combined. Every year, fires are responsible for more loss of life, limb, and property in the USA than either hurricane Katrina or the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11! Statistically speaking, the easiest and most cost effective way to reduce the chances that you, your home, or your family might suffer great loss in a future event, is to improve the fire safety of your home, and the fire awareness of your loved ones.
With the record breaking heat, drought, and fire storms of the summer of 2012, most of us want to do what we can to improve the chances that our home will survive a local wildfire. Creating a “defensible space” is one of the first set of tasks that a rural homeowner or renter should do.
Creating a Defensible Space My buddy Jim Bolton, an experienced Reno fireman, tells me that when they enter a neighborhood, they take mental notes about which homes have maintained a defensible space and which have not. They don’t waste their time focusing on homes without a defensible space, but spend their time defending homes where they stand a decent chance of success, while keeping a watchful eye on nearby flames. These are brave guys, risking their necks where most of us would not go, but they have wives and kids so when a vicious fire storm gets dangerously close, they simply have to leave the neighborhood and let nature take its course.
• Clear dead brush from property and trim tall weeds short.
• Clean rain gutters and roof valleys of all dead leaves and pine needles.
• Place smoke detectors in all bedrooms, hallways, kitchens and at least one on every floor of your home.
• Put fire extinguishers in kitchen, garage, and workshop areas.
• Inspect and chimney sweep chimneys and woodstove pipes annually to prevent creosote buildup. Creosote is a black greasy gooey layer that is combustible, and is a common byproduct of incomplete wood combustion. Chimney fires destroy many homes each year.
• Store flammables (gasoline, kerosene, oily rags, paint thinner, etc.) in approved flame-resistant containers and away from living areas. Garage areas should have one-hour fire-wall code-approved construction (typically ?-inch sheetrock wall covering, or better).
• Clear ground of pine needles, dead leaves, etc. Rake them once in the spring and let them fall in the fall. Remove dead vegetation and debris.
• Thin out thick stands of shrubs and trees to create a separation.
• Remove “ladder fuels” like lower tree branches and shrubs underneath trees to keep wildfire from climbing and spreading. Prune all dead limbs from trees.
• Plant “green zones” of moist, fire-resistant plants that will act as a barrier, and not fuel for fires.
• Swimming pools, ornamental ponds, etc., provide extra water reserves for fighting fires, and may be tapped by either fire trucks’ onboard pumping systems or lighter-duty homeowner firefighting pump systems.
• Consider installing fireproof window shutters that will help prevent the heat of an approaching a firestorm from shattering your windows or transmitting enough radiant heat to ignite items inside the home.
• Your house number should be clearly visible from the street for identification by emergency vehicles.
Additionally, in rural areas it may be a smart idea to purchase a high-volume gasoline-powered home fire-fighting pump. Gel systems have the capability to get the most out of limited water supplies, and the sticky gel is a fire resistant gooey coating that provides much longer lasting protection than a simple water spray, when applied to walls, decking, and roofing.
About the author: Matthew Stein is SurvivalBlog's Back Country Editor. He is a design engineer, green builder, and author of two bestselling books: When Disaster Strikes: A Comprehensive Guide to Emergency Planning and Crisis Survival (Chelsea Green 2011), and When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency (Chelsea Green 2008). Stein is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he majored in Mechanical Engineering. Stein has appeared on numerous radio and television programs and is a repeat guest on Fox News, Coast-to-Coast AM, Alex Jones’ Infowars, Vince Finelli’s USA Prepares, and The Power Hour. He is an active mountain climber, serves as a guide and instructor for blind skiers, has written several articles on the subject of sustainable living, and is a guest columnist for the Huffington Post. His web sites are www.whentechfails.com and www.matstein.com
Home Fire-Safe Checklist/Defensible Space, by Matthew Stein, P.E. - SurvivalBlog.com
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Stay Warm in a Fire Bed Picture Step By Step Tutorialhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vk-XdIlwHF...g-80296729.jpg
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/woodworking/step-by-step-guides-offbeat-diy-projects-8
10 Places Anyone Can Store Food
October 15, 2012 by Thomas Miller
http://personallibertycom.files.word...1012_image.jpgIf you have a suitcase, then you have food storage.
One of the cornerstones of preparedness is storing food. No one argues the point of whether food is important. Maybe an argument can be found in where food is placed in the hierarchy of prepping needs, but no one will say that it does not have a place. What I have found, though, is that not too many discussions occur about where these rations will be stored.
It seems as though it is always assumed that every prepper has an extra room in the house to fill with shelves that can be neatly stacked with cans and boxes and labeled by category or a basement to do the same. I know that I, for one, have not always had these options available to me. Whether you live in a large house, a small house, an apartment or a dorm room, the need for stored food doesn’t change, resulting in the need for places to store foods wherever you may live.
Some of the places that storage food may be stored regardless of the type of dwelling you live in include:
Under the bed: There is a fair amount of space under a bed which can be used for storing food instead of lost TV remotes or slippers. What makes the space under the bed even easier to use for storage is some of the specially manufactured containers that specifically fit the dimensions of the underside of the bed. These containers slide in and out easily from under the bed and make it easy to organize your food storage. The flexibility of these containers would also allow for storage foods to easily be loaded up and taken with you in the event that an evacuation were necessary. A good substitute for these containers would be shallow cardboard boxes.
Under the coffee table: The shelf under a coffee table provides additional space for storing food. This can be a great option for someone who lives in a smaller living space like a loft. Obviously, this could be an eyesore in a main living area but can easily be disguised by covering the table with a tablecloth.
Under an end table: Storing food under an end table is essentially the same as a coffee table but on a smaller scale. This can be a useful tactic in the most size-restrictive spaces like dorm rooms or military barracks.
Make your own table: This is perhaps the perfect option for those who buy storage foods in bulk. It also happens to be the one non-standard food-storage option that I have heard of the most. Foods that are in boxes are especially well-suited for this storage idea. Make a table out of food storage by stacking two boxes of food on top of each other, centering a 2-by-2 piece of plywood on top of the boxes and cover with a tablecloth.
On the closet floor: You know that space on the floor of your closet? Yep. That space below your clothes that doesn’t really seem to be good for anything except for losing an occasional shoe. It can also be an ideal storage area. This area may be particularly ideal for storing long-term foods in No. 10 cans that you may get from companies like Mountain House.
On a closet shelf: The shelf in the top part of a bedroom closet is not always used. If there is open space or junk sitting on your closet shelf, it is space that most likely is being wasted. If shelf space is chosen to store food, always make sure that the shelf can support the weight of the items that are being stored on it. This is especially important to keep in mind when storing canned goods on shelving. Because of weight concerns, the top shelf of your closet might best serve as a storage area for foods such as pasta, instant potatoes, ramen noodles and other lightweight boxed foods.
In the linen closet: A linen closet can be another great storage area in the home, whether it is for linens or something else. When I lived in an apartment, there was a linen closet; but I did not have enough linen to make complete use of this area. In a situation such as this, excess space in a linen closet could be used to store food. Remember to always evaluate the amount of weight that you are thinking about placing on a shelf before you put it there to ensure that it will not cause the shelf to break or pose a safety risk.
Behind the couch: If the couch is up against the wall in your house, it is likely that you have at least 4 to 6 inches of space that most people would consider “dead” space. What can be done with this space depends on the individual piece of furniture; but it could allow for at least one row of soup cans, boxes of macaroni and cheese, jars of pasta sauce, etc. Essentially, the limit is the creativity of the person placing the food storage items behind the couch. If someone is really inclined toward engineering and is concerned about gaining quick access to these items, it could be possible to tie or tape these items together, which would allow them to be pulled out together without having to move the furniture.
Inside your luggage: Do you have luggage that sits empty in the closet for the greater part of the year? Most people do. This makes your empty luggage an ideal place to store items such as canned and/or dry goods while you are waiting for your next chance to relive the Spring Break trip you took with your friends in 1992.
Out in the open: OK, so I don’t mean literally just sitting out in the open. But if there is an open space in a room, there is an opportunity to use a set of cabinets or piece of furniture as a second pantry. This can look like just an ordinary piece of furniture in the home while disguising your emergency food stores.
While places to store food for a difficult time are limited only to your imagination and the space that you live in, there are without question places in every home where foods can be stored. Once a decision has been made as to where you plan on storing your food, make sure that it is in appropriate containers. Plastic totes are a great way to keep critters out and protect food from the elements that cause it to go bad at an accelerated pace. Don’t forget to annotate expiration dates and rotate storage foods so that you don’t end up with a cache of useless foods. Perhaps most importantly, don’t forget where you stored your food.
–Thomas Miller
10 Places Anyone Can Store Food : Personal Liberty Digest™
Viggies Veggies
adventures in urban homesteading
Viggies Veggies
Dehydrating Intro
Posted March 7, 2012
by viggie in Dehydrating
53 Comments
Several people have asked me about dehydrating in the last week or two, so thought I’d do a little write up about it. Dehydrating is my favorite method of preserving what I grow, so think it’s kind of funny that I haven’t really talked about it here!
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Dehydrating is a bit easier to do than canning because you prep the veggies or fruits and can let it sit in the dehydrator unattended. Because it’s less of a time investment, I did it a lot more when I was working and going to school and time was at a premium. You are also able to do any sized batches, which is great for those of us with smaller gardens who don’t always have enough for canning.
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It is recommended that you blanch most vegetables before dehydrating to” stop enzyme action and enhance destruction of microorganisms”. This chart published by the Colorado Extension gives their recommendations on how long to boil vegetables to blanch. Another option that may be cheaper and easier depending on the time of year, is to start with frozen vegetables which are already blanched.
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Vegetable Preparation Blanching Time* (mins.) Drying Time (hrs.) Asparagus Wash thoroughly. Halve large tips. 4-5 6-10 Beans, green Wash. Cut in pieces or strips. 4 8-14 Beets Cook as usual. Cool, peel. Cut into shoestring strips 1/8″ thick. None 10-12 Broccoli Wash. Trim, cut as for serving. Quarter stalks lengthwise. 4 12-15 Brussels sprouts Wash. Cut in half lengthwise through stem. 5-6 12-18 Cabbage Wash. Remove outer leaves, quarter and core. Cut into strips 1/8″ thick. 4 10-12 Carrots, parsnips Use only crisp, tender vegetables. Wash. Cut off roots and tops; peel. Cut in slices or strips 1/8″ thick. 4 6-10 Cauliflower Wash. Trim, cut into small pieces. 4-5 12-15 Celery Trim stalks. Wash stalks and leaves thoroughly. Slice stalks. 4 10-16 Chili peppers, green Wash. To loosen skins, cut slit in skin, then rotate over flame 6-8 minutes or scald in boiling water. Peel and split pods. Remove seeds and stem. (Wear gloves if necessary.) None 12-24 Chili peppers, red Wash thoroughly. Slice or leave whole if small. 4 12-24 Corn, cut Husk, trim. Wash well. Blanch until milk in corn is set. Cut the kernels from the cob. 4-6 6-10 Eggplant Wash, trim, cut into 1/4″ slices. 4 12-14 Horseradish Wash, remove small rootlets and stubs. Peel or scrape roots. Grate. None 6-10 Mushrooms** Scrub. Discard tough, woody stalks. Slice tender stalks 1/4″ thick. Peel large mushrooms, slice. Leave small mushrooms whole. Dip in solution of 1 tsp. citric acid/quart water for 10 minutes. Drain. None 8-12 Okra Wash thoroughly. Cut into 1/2” pieces or split lengthwise. 4 8-10 Onions Wash, remove outer paper skin. Remove tops and root ends, slice 1/8 to 1/4″ thick. 4 6-10 Parsley, other herbs Wash thoroughly. Separate clusters. Discard long or tough stems. 4 4-6 Peas Shell and wash. 4 8-10 Peppers, pimentos Wash, stem. Remove core and seeds. Cut into 1/4 to 1/2″ strips or rings. 4 8-12 Potatoes Wash, peel. Cut into 1/4″ shoestring strips or 1/8″ thick slices. 7 6-10 Spinach, greens
like Kale, Chard, mustardTrim and wash very thoroughly. Shake or pat dry to remove excess moisture. 4 6-10 Squash, summer or banana Wash, trim, cut into 1/4″ slices. 4 10-16 Squash, winter Wash rind. Cut nto pieces. Remove seeds and cavity pulp. Cut into 1″ wide strips. Peel rind. Cut strips crosswise into pieces about 1/8″ thick. 4 10-16 Tomatoes Steam or dip in boiling water to loosen skins. Chill in cold water. Peel. Slice 1/2″ thick or cut in 3/4″ sections. Dip in solution of 1 tsp. citric acid/quart water for 10 minutes. None 6-24
But honestly, I haven’t really noticed a difference between blanching and not blanching. Fruits that brown should also be treated. I simply put spray bottle top right on my bottle of lemon juice and spritz them.
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Most fruits and vegetables can be dehydrated at about 125 degrees. There are specific instructions and temperatures you can find if you pick up a book about dehydrating (I recommend The Dehydrator Bible) or google “how to dehydrate _____”. But not all dehydrators have a temperature adjustment and they still manage.
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I dehydrate everything until crisp to maximize storage. The food should be hard and plink when you drop it on the counter. It takes me much longer than estimates the extension gives, so don’t worry too much about that. You aren’t going to over-dry anything if you don’t take it out immediately either. When I had a busy schedule I checked my dehydrator once in the morning and once in the evening.
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Once done let your dehydrated vegges cool and store in air tight containers. Old food jars work great for this. You can easily store them a year or so this way. Many of mine have been in jars longer though.
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Many of the recipes I’ve posted, I’ve tried with fresh veggies in the summer and dehydrated veggies in the winter. Vegetables rehydrate well just by soaking them an hour of so before cooking with them. You can speed up that process (or help along veggies that are tougher like my carrots tend to be) by simmering them on the stove for a bit. When making soup, I just throw them in dry and add extra cooking time.
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On average, vegetables will rehydrate to twice their dehydrated size. So if a recipe calls for a cup of fresh carrots, you can substitute about a half cup dehydrated carrots.
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Dehydrating Intro « Viggies Veggies
New Evidence on Expiration Dates
October 12, 2012
27 Comments
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Over the years, I have expressed my opinions on the bogus nature of the expiration dates stamped on medications in pill or capsule form. I have cited the findings of the Shelf Life Extension Program, a program meant to investigate the possible usefulness of the millions of doses of various expired medications stockpiled by FEMA for use in peacetime disasters.
In my original article, “The Truth About Expiration Dates” 2 years ago, I indicated these findings were no longer available to the public. Now, a breakthrough scientific article has been published in the respected journal “The Archives of Internal Medicine”. Below is the article in its entirety, with important sections in bold type:
October 8, 2012 — An analysis of 8 medications indicates that most of the active ingredients they contain were present in adequate amounts decades after the drugs’ expiration dates, according to results from a study published online October 8 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Lee Cantrell, PharmD, from the California Poison Control System, San Diego Division, University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy, and colleagues used liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry to measure the amounts of the active ingredients in the medications. The medicines, which had expired 28 to 40 years ago, were found in a retail pharmacy in their original, unopened packaging.
To meet US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards, an active ingredient must be present in 90% to 110% of the amount indicated on the label. Drug expiration dates are set for 12 to 60 months after production, even though many compounds can persist far longer.
In the new analysis, 12 of the 14 active ingredients persisted in concentrations that were 90% or greater of the amount indicated on the label. These 12 compounds retained their full potency for 336 months (Dr. Bones 28 years) or longer. Eight of them retained potency for at least 480 months (dr. bones: 40 years). Dr. Cantrell’s team was unable to find a standard for homatropine, 1 of the 15 ingredients.
Only aspirin and amphetamine fell below the 90% cutoff. Phenacetin was present at greater than the cutoff in Fiorinal (butalbital, aspirin, caffeine, and codeine phosphate, but was considerably less in Codempiral No. 3. The authors attribute the deficit in Codempiral to conditions that led to preferential degradation of phenacetin because of its amide group, compared with codeine, which is also in Codempiral but is more chemically stable.
Three compounds persisted in greater than 110% of the labeled contents: methaqualone (in Somnafac), meprobamate (in Bamadex), and pentobarbital (in Nebralin). These relatively high amounts may reflect degradation of other components of the compounded drug, the fact that the samples were produced before FDA-instituted quality control measures in 1963, or inconsistencies of the analytical techniques between when the drugs were compounded and now. The new findings are consistent with the efforts of the Shelf-Life Extension Program, which has extended the expiration dates on 88% of 122 drugs tested so far. Extensions range from 66 to 278 months.
“Our results support the effectiveness of broadly extending expiration dates for many drugs,” the researchers conclude. They also point out that extending shelf life can significantly lower costs to consumers.
Limitations of the analysis, the investigators write, include an inability to confirm the storage conditions of the drug samples, as well as imprecise dating of the samples. The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
JAMA Network | Archives of Internal Medicine | Stability of Active Ingredients in Long-Expired Prescription Medications
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For the preparedness community, this information is very important, as it lends credence to what I have been telling you all along: Get your medical supplies together, and don’t throw out drugs in pill or capsule form just because they have passed their expiration dates. We are anxiously awaiting lists of the 122 drugs that the Shelf Life Extension Program has tested, but you can expect them to be medications that will be useful in the aftermath of a catastrophe.
Dr. Bones
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New Evidence on Expiration Dates | Doom and Bloom (TM)
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