Food

[kj35]

53 minutes ago, Storm in the garden said:

 

 

Hi Messenger (I'm not completely tech savvy and haven't figured out how to highlighted someones name )

I'm writing this while eating a bowl of muesli topped with hemp seeds, my own organic strawberries and raw milk which I've recently sourced locally.

Yesterday I had a lunch of my own organic lettuce and my own hens free range egg, and the day before used my own organic cabbage, so I'm trying

I'm less than three years at this growing lark with zero previous experience so it's a steep learning curve for me, especially as I'm determined to grow everything organically and there are quite a few crawly things and flying things who want a piece of the action.

But I'm learning from previous mistakes and it's starting to come together now and this year I hope to have quite a bit of organic fruit and vegetables.

I know I won't ever be entirely self sufficient and I'll have to buy in part of my food needs, but I'll know that at least part of my food intake will be natural.

I have no confidence in vets either who all appear to be agents for big pharma so I'm treating my dogs with natural remedies too which seems to be working out really well.

So I am trying to eat healthily....really

 

I'll check out the quinoa and most likely give it a go (are you sure you're not on a commission?)

The only problem I have with it is the freezer aspect. 

This might sound ludicrous (but if I had described today's world four months ago everyone would have thought me crazy) but there may be a stage in the future where we have no or limited electricity thus rendering the freezer useless.

And in that type of scenario....well dare I say it?.......that much maligned bag of rice might actually come in handy 

 

 

Get an oil fired generator back up for fridge and freezer. They'll give you back up...unless they switch off electricity indefinitely...Then we're in a whole other ball game.

[kj35]

As for rice and China and India. My other great grandma was Italian (the non jooo). Pasta and pizza were poor people's food intended to bulk out scarce meat and vegetables.  The high carb content was ok as poor people often worked long manual intensive jobs  I've often thought it's a similar scenario to the rice dishes that come out of southern Asia. 

 

I can't stand white rice..I remember when they brought it in as a cheap filler for school dinners and there was nearly a riot :-)

 

love brown rice though.

Edited June 26, 2020 by kj35

[kj35]

On 6/25/2020 at 8:29 AM, Storm in the garden said:

 

Hmm...I wasn't aware of this, I must check it out. 

I'm not doubting that what you say is true mind, but I do wonder how China and India combined make up over a quarter of the worlds population and yet isn't their staple rice?

I know we should all strive to eat as healthily as possible, but in a SHIF situation the first priority is going to be that we eat. Even if what you say is true, I still think that rice should have a place in any preppers pantry, due to it's long term storage life, availability, and price. As the old saying goes "Better to be looking at it than looking for it", and the way this world is going that applies to everything food related.

 

On the subject of dehydrating I have one but never used it for myself. That's gotta change.

I bought it primarily to make raw, healthy treats for my dogs ( I pay much more attention to their dietary requirements than my own ).

A few days ago one of my dogs got diarrhoea so I looked it up on an excellent site called dogsfirst.ie, which is run by an Irish holistic vet.

They recommended sweet potato and tuna, and after feeding her for one day on this she's perfectly fine.

Anyway, what I'm taking from this is that it appears that sweet potato seems to be very good for improving the digestive system?

Do any of you knowledgeable dietary people out there agree, because i'm thinking of dehydrating sweet potato going forward, and not just for the dogs but for me also.

 

I've stocked up on kibble for my dogs. I don't like using it but if needs must I will. I live near a nature reserve and geese are easy to shoot (even with an air rifle)after dusk. Also theyre not protected and abundant. Also muntjac. I've no worries at all doing that if it keeps the dogs safe. Years of cooking has shown me how to degut a bird so humans have the exterior and dogs the organs and gizzard.  I'm not saying I want to do it. But I will. 

[kj35]

On 6/25/2020 at 9:48 AM, Storm in the garden said:

"Man does not live by bread alone"

I know the title of this topic is "Food" but I just thought I'd broaden it a little to encompass 'drink' too as in food & Drink 

Unless this whole 'virus' crap disappears pretty soon (highly unlikely) and with it the draconian rules connected to the re-opening of pubs/bars, I cannot see that particular area of society surviving. If you happen to be partial to the occasional social tipple, I think we might have to reinvent the wheel and a return to what we in my country refer to as "Shebeen pubs".

This is where friends and/or family gather in an unlicensed place unencumbered by social distancing rules and regulations to socialize and enjoy the 'craic'.

They obviously want to destroy any sense of 'fun' in society and turn us all into robotic drones so we have to ensure that we keep ourselves 'human' and oppose this dehumanizing aspect of the plan. What better way to combat that than to continue to socialize with friends and family?

You may be teetotal and not approve but my attitude is "my body, my choice" so I'll do what I do and you can do otherwise.

So, bearing that in mind, this is what I'm attempting to do. 

I know alcohol is readily available at the moment but as we've recently seen we can take nothing for granted going forward so my motto is "be prepared", and that applies to every aspect of life which we currently or previously experienced.

So I've taken to producing my own, in my case it's wine cause I'm partial to a glass of vino, but others can choose their own tipple of choice.

I haven't had the chance to taste any of the 'product' yet because it's early days and I'm new to all this but it appears to be 'so far, so good'.

All of the below have been produced from the garden and apart from adding sugar and yeast (and in some cases lemon) the results will work out quite reasonable cost wise (around one euro a bottle).

They are, from front to back...Nettle wine, Rhubarb wine, Elderflower wine, Dandelion wine.

I'm hoping to increase my 'wine cellar' as nature provides the ingredients with Raspberry wine, Blackcurrant wine, Elderberry wine and Blackberry wine

In fact I'll attempt to ferment anything which stays still long enough for me to gather it 

 

Edit: For some reason it won't let me upload a standard Jpeg file of less than 2mb, but you get the gist of it anyway

 

 

 

A friend of mine runs a small brewery and they are reporting that goldings used for lager the crops have all failed and the cost is going to rocket.  I can't find anything specific reported yet. We did have a harvest failures thread going pre hack. 

Edited June 26, 2020 by kj35

[kj35]

22 hours ago, EnigmaticWorld said:

 

 

Should be a warning to youngsters.

They look crack head thin before though imo

[EnigmaticWorld]

Just now, kj35 said:

They look crack head thin before though imo

 

Agreed, both are problematic.

[Storm in the garden]

18 minutes ago, kj35 said:

I've stocked up on kibble for my dogs. I don't like using it but if needs must I will. I live near a nature reserve and geese are easy to shoot (even with an air rifle)after dusk. Also theyre not protected and abundant. Also muntjac. I've no worries at all doing that if it keeps the dogs safe. Years of cooking has shown me how to degut a bird so humans have the exterior and dogs the organs and gizzard.  I'm not saying I want to do it. But I will. 

 

My biggest concern are my dogs in a meltdown scenario. I can provide for my human family but not so easy for the furry ones. I know kibble is a last resort but mine are raw fed and any time I was stuck and used even the best quality kibble like Taste of the Wild or Orijen it still caused them problems. 

I've a stock of high meat content tins of dog food if/when the raw becomes unavailable, and as a last resort I'd consider rice and tuna or sardines or raw eggs.

No geese here unfortunately, but there are wood pigeons and pheasants, so they could end up on the menu if they're not careful. No desire to shoot anything but dogs come before wildlife and I'll do what's necessary.

[kj35]

Today's bounty Swiss chard curly kale little gem lettuce parsley and mint

[kj35]

35 minutes ago, Storm in the garden said:

 

My biggest concern are my dogs in a meltdown scenario. I can provide for my human family but not so easy for the furry ones. I know kibble is a last resort but mine are raw fed and any time I was stuck and used even the best quality kibble like Taste of the Wild or Orijen it still caused them problems. 

I've a stock of high meat content tins of dog food if/when the raw becomes unavailable, and as a last resort I'd consider rice and tuna or sardines or raw eggs.

No geese here unfortunately, but there are wood pigeons and pheasants, so they could end up on the menu if they're not careful. No desire to shoot anything but dogs come before wildlife and I'll do what's necessary.

My boys riot if they see a wild bird..very prey driven so I'm not sure I'd have to do it for them :-) dogs are family 

[Storm in the garden]

1 hour ago, kj35 said:

Get an oil fired generator back up for fridge and freezer. They'll give you back up...unless they switch off electricity indefinitely...Then we're in a whole other ball game.

 

I had looked into this but there is a problem.

AFAIK all domestic generators are either diesel or petrol fueled.

Both diesel and petrol have a short shelf life (around 6 months) so...

You would have to buy the petrol/diesel shortly before the problems start?

So unless you know when the problem is going to arise, you would have to keep using up and renewing your fuel supply, and connecting and disconnecting your generator.

If you were doing that for a couple of years and nothing had happened to the grid power, you'd probably get disillusioned and forget about it....and probably about 6 months before the power is actually switched off 

[kj35]

2 minutes ago, Storm in the garden said:

 

I had looked into this but there is a problem.

AFAIK all domestic generators are either diesel or petrol fueled.

Both diesel and petrol have a short shelf life (around 6 months) so...

You would have to buy the petrol/diesel shortly before the problems start?

So unless you know when the problem is going to arise, you would have to keep using up and renewing your fuel supply, and connecting and disconnecting your generator.

If you were doing that for a couple of years and nothing had happened to the grid power, you'd probably get disillusioned and forget about it....and probably about 6 months before the power is actually switched off 

Very easy to drain cars though...

[Storm in the garden]

10 minutes ago, kj35 said:

My boys riot if they see a wild bird..very prey driven so I'm not sure I'd have to do it for them :-) dogs are family 

 

Mine too.......but I've never seen them catch one yet 

[kj35]

4 minutes ago, Storm in the garden said:

 

Mine too.......but I've never seen them catch one yet 

I have it's very clean and neat eaten in a couple of gulps with the odd flying loose feather. I also chuck them raw chicken plus our butcher butchers Monday pig Tuesday lamb and beef Wednesday beef so I get his offcuts I just donate to their charity although they don't ask me too. They have to pay to get the bones and offal taken away so it's a win win..bit stinky though

Edited June 26, 2020 by kj35

[Storm in the garden]

4 minutes ago, kj35 said:

I have it's very clean and neat eaten in a couple of gulps with the odd flying loose feather. I also chuck them raw chicken plus our butcher butchers Monday pig Tuesday lamb and beef Wednesday beef so I get his offcuts I just donate to their charity although they don't ask me too. They have to pay to get the bones and offal taken away so it's a win win

 

No wonder they can catch everything.....great diet for them.

Maybe mine are just lazy because everything is handed to them on a plate (well, dog bowl)

My local butcher isn't the best, I don't go to him very often but when I do he keeps trying to pawn off this "frozen pet mince" onto me which I refuse cause it sounds dubious.

 

And speaking of dubious....

 

14 minutes ago, kj35 said:

Very easy to drain cars though...

 

In a SHTF type scenario I think the masses will be stabbing each other over a carrot never mind a tank of fuel....wear a stab proof vest is my advice.....

[Jode]

I have noticed my last two weekly shops have been costing more - by around 20 quid! Looking closely it's the fresh produce going up in price! For example peppers have gone up by 25p a pack! Lots of things that were 80p now a pound, things that were a pound now 1.20....it soon adds up!!! Of course beige food is still cheap as ever 

[Messenger]

Hi @Storm in the garden

 

I'm not that tech savvy either but I did manage to figure out the highlight feature. Just type the @ symbol first and then the person's name should come up as you type the letters.  

 

You are doing way better than me with all your organic items you are growing. Impressive, keep up the great work.

 

I think even the most hardcore gardeners are not entirely self sufficient, and need to rely on a store for something, but the more we get back to our roots the better I think. Back to Earth, back to family, back to spirit.

 

Glad to hear your dogs are doing well too, and that natural remedies are working for them. 

 

Lol, no I am not on commission to sell quinoa, but maybe I should be. 

 

You don't need a freezer but a cool dry place helps too. I used to keep it on the counter top and it was fine also, I don't remember why I began putting it in the freezer.

[callmenuts]

I'd recommend to anyone with the space to do so, buy an xtra one or two of a basic item each week, I believe time is short before shortages but I hope I am wrong and I could be wrong. No coincidence so many so called outbreaks of covid seem to happening in meat and food plants. 

[Brad the lad]

12 hours ago, Storm in the garden said:

 

I had looked into this but there is a problem.

AFAIK all domestic generators are either diesel or petrol fueled.

Both diesel and petrol have a short shelf life (around 6 months) so...

You would have to buy the petrol/diesel shortly before the problems start?

So unless you know when the problem is going to arise, you would have to keep using up and renewing your fuel supply, and connecting and disconnecting your generator.

If you were doing that for a couple of years and nothing had happened to the grid power, you'd probably get disillusioned and forget about it....and probably about 6 months before the power is actually switched off 

 

I'm sure you are all aware of this but for those that don't know already then you can salt the food to preserveit if the freezers go down.This is not ideal due to the sodium content but way better than losing the food altogether. The brine created preserves the food. Use it for your veg too if you are harvesting more than you can eat at the time.

Himalayan pink salt works great for fish.

 

Generators are great but very noisy (100db). Put that on at night and the 'noise police' from the council will be knocking at your door in seconds. After two knocks at the door and no effort to co-operate they have the power to confiscate goods relating to the noise and enforce with police back up.

Years of doing house parties told me what they are all about!

[Alnitak]

Trip to the supermarket today also, another load of stuff gone up between 10 - 30% not across the board but some stuff. Alarming creep in prices and those that arent watching will not notice. Tell close friends n family who are not sheep to start looking.

 

Defo suggest as @callmenuts to start a creep of stocking up without making it too obvious. Its winter i think we are going to be hit, 2nd wave and then brexit at the same time and possibly with Christmas during the 2nd wave lock down or semi lock down. Were all going to be stuffed.

 

Water shortages being reported in mid Europe although this could be an annual occurance due to the heat but not usually reported. Everything being reported in the media is to ramp up the fear. Its all following the agenda to keep us in fear and feeling worried and useless. However we are not useless we are the awake and we are preparing what we can however we can.

[Storm in the garden]

5 hours ago, Alnitak said:

. Its winter i think we are going to be hit, 2nd wave and then brexit at the same time and possibly with Christmas during the 2nd wave lock down or semi lock down. Were all going to be stuffed.

 

Alnitak, have a look at my 2nd wave topic I've just posted. I think it may be sooner than that

[Storm in the garden]

7 hours ago, Brad the lad said:

Generators are great but very noisy (100db). Put that on at night and the 'noise police' from the council will be knocking at your door in seconds. After two knocks at the door and no effort to co-operate they have the power to confiscate goods relating to the noise and enforce with police back up.

Years of doing house parties told me what they are all about!

 

So, you're one of them noisy feckers with their 'house parties'?

I don't think any noise police will be paying me a visit Brad seeing as how my nearest human neighbor is about 200 yards away 

I'll check out the salting possibility, and I also want to investigate preserving in brine. 

[EnigmaticWorld]

 

[Dagmar Gross]

On 6/19/2020 at 12:24 PM, Brad the lad said:

Hydroponics or soil for indoor vegetable growing  inside a tent in the house. This only works  if you have the room of course.

 A 4ft x4ft tent will grow a good sized amount of food for one ot two people. Remember some veg is better than none. This will be dependent on them not turning the electricity off for more than 2 nights though.Pak choi, raddish and beans grows very qick from seed.

If indoor growing is not an option then theres always gorrila growing in the wild. Find a good spot and put some seeds down close to home.

.

Stinging nettles are a great source of vitamins. These have a very similar taste to spinach and are just as healthy...can also be used as a fertilizer for veg if soaked in water for 2 weeks.

The entire dandelion plant can be eaten and that includes the roots (also very healthy). Mushrooms are the king pick but that requires some skill (very easy to grow indoors though from spawn).

Berries in August are everywhere. Chestnuts in the winter. Some forest areas even have wild garlic in spring.

 

 

If all else fails then remember this....

 

You do not have to eat 3 times a day to survive. That is BULLSHIT!

They tell you that so that when they pull a famine out the bag like this the fear sets in and kills you way before the starvation does.

You can survive eating 3 times a week!

Drink homemade herbal teas daily and the minerals inside them will nourish you (not the shit you buy in the supermarket). Buy the herbs and make your own because the herbs store for years.

 

Check out Patrick Delves on You Tube (He eats twice a week and has done for decades). He is as fit as a fiddle as well.

You are absolutely on the right track there, Brad. I have long ago started to study the properties of wild plants and have been boosting my meals ever since with them. I always allow dandelions to grow amongst my decorative plants in shadier positions in my borders. Then the leaves mostly emerge more tender than in full sunshine. I don't have my own garden, but I have a large area of communal green space beside the flats I live in. Nobody else has been interested in taking out some lawn around the edges to create borders, so I could be free to do that and it all looks great and my neighbours are very happy with what they see. It's mostly decorative plants, but in one Council rose border I have interplanted with herbs: Fennel, of which one can eat the leaves chopped and added to stir-fries, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Lemon verbena and lemon balm. These last two both work very well in teas, as does Thyme. Oh, and I have Oregano in that border too.

I feel very lucky with where I live. In another border I have some globe artichokes, which have very decorative leaves and I grow them for the artichokes to eat. I leanr how to prepare them living in Mallorca for many years, where they are a big winter crop actually. In Scotland, where I live, they grow in the summer.

In-between these plants I always sow some cut and come again lettuces, dwarf peas and radishes, and this year I am trying dwarf runner beans. You see, the Council gave me written permission, but warned me not to turn these borders into an allotment. So, I have to cheat a bit, but such veggies look decorative too.

I also have a Salad Burnett cluster, some Sorrel, Chives, Parsley in the summer and a Lovage plant. Lovage leaves taste similar to celery stalks, so are great to flavour soups. In Germany and Poland, for example, this is known as the Maggi plant, because Maggi is a concentrate for soups that tastes the same and is probably made from it.

Speaking of Parsley, many of you may have a very pesky weed in your garden called Bishop's Weed. Its leaves taste quite similar to Parsley and I always use them in dishes. Monks apparently brought this plant to Britain in Roman times and grew it in monastery gardens. It is very invasive indeed, but as one can eat it safely, I don't think it's so terrible.

Oh, and Nasturtiums or Tom Thumbs are a great food source too! Leaves and flowers! They are a kind of cress.

 

This is just what I grow at the moment, but if things get worse, I will grow more. I bought a sprouter last year, several storeys high, which I still haven't used, but I have it if things get bad. For the time being, I can still by bags of different shoots and rocket too. I know that is lazy, but like I said, if times get difficult I will absolutely grow sprouting seeds too.

 

So, get yourselves a book on wild plants and their culinary uses those of you who don't know about them yet. One with good pictures. I have seen a number on sale locally on foraging. They should help you to find the right things. Oh, and if you happen to live near a rocky sea-shore, get one on seaweed! Most sea-weed is edible I believe and sooo nutritious!

Edited June 28, 2020 by Dagmar Gross

[Nobby Noboddy]

 

 

69.162.109.250

[Dagmar Gross]

6 hours ago, EnigmaticWorld said:

 

Damn them all! And I keep getting blocked for expressing myself fully!