How to Make Yeast for Bread

I had been trying to figure this out, and being spurred on by reading a great book about self-sufficiency "Living the Good Life: How one family changed their world from their own backyard", I searched for and found this recipe.

And since I just made bread 2 days ago, first thing tomorrow, I'm starting a batch of this yeast!

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Step 1: This step pulls the wild yeast from the air in your kitchen. The more you bake with yeast, the more you'll have in your air, so be sure to capture yeast shortly after you bake bread.

Combine in a medium-sized bowl: 2 cups of warm water, 1 tablespoon white table sugar, 2 cups of flour. Cover bowl with a cheesecloth, and place in a warm area in the kitchen. Stir every day at least once. When it bubbles, it means you have captured yeast from the air. From then on, just allow it to sit for 3-4 days to continue to bubble.

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Step 2: This step makes the yeast into something you can use.

After the 3-4 days of bubbling, prepare a cookie sheet or dehydrator tray with plastic wrap or waxed paper. Thinly spread the liquid mixture on the prepared tray. When dry, break the dried yeast into small chunks. Grint into a powder (food processor or mortar/pestle). Use what you need. For longer, place in an air-tight container and store for short term in refrigerator. For long term storage, freeze in the container.

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Step 3: This step shows how to use the yeast you made. This yeast isn't as concentrated as the yeast you can purchase (since it's mostly flour), so plan to use 1 cup of homemade yeast for 1 ounce of store-bought yeast.

Take 1 cup of liquid that your recipe calls for, and dissolve 1 cup of homemade yeast in it. Make the dough, making sure to reduce the flour you need by 1 cup (because your yeast is mostly flour!). Knead and rise dough as usual, which may take longer to do. Bake as usual.

Food Prices Gonna Rise? More?

I keep following links from blogs about how the prices of food stuffs (like rice, wheat and cocoa) are gonna rise big-time and soon. I've been reading that for a while, and I myself posted something to that effect a while ago.

Yes, I see prices increasing. Yes, I see supplies decreasing. But here I am, tucked in my comfy temporary home, all snug and warm, with pantry bursting and closets filled to the brim, while a blizzard rages outside. Over a foot of snow in the last 20 hours or so, and still more expected over the next 24.

We keep a list of supplies we'd like more of, and when prices are low, we stock up. We have enough potatoes, rice, beans, peas, dried fruit/veggies, canned fruit and soups, cocoa, flours (regular and gluten-free), quinoa, amaranth, and much more for probably 9 months. NOT that we're gonna be home-bound that long! Please?!?

So keep a sharp eye out for the grocery circulars, and pop into Costco or Sam's Clubs when you get a chance. Personally... we're asking family and friends for gift card to Amazon.com for birthday and holiday gifts so we can get more cans of powdered rice milk (pic above) and more.

BPA in canning jars

I just read a post about how Bisphenol-A (BPA) is part of the rings, lids and seals that we use to preserve our harvests. BPA is a poison. Here's a link about the effects of BPA: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/484739_5

Check out these links:
- http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/is-there-bpa-in-your-home-canning.php
- http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=921820
- http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/home_canning_faq/42.php
- http://frugalcanning.blogspot.com/2009/09/used-jar-lids.html

That's just a small sampling.

BPA has even been found in some baby food jars! Yes, those we find at the grocery store! AND supposedly in most pre-canned products on any grocery shelf.

Those purported to have BPA in the lids/rings are Ball, Kerr, Golden Harvest, and Bernardin brands. I heard a rumor that Weck Canning jars don't have BPA but can't find confirmation on their website ... they don't even address it.

This makes me very glad that I dehydrate almost everything.

I gotta figure out an alternative to canning. It was bothering me, anyway, about how I needed to buy new lids every year. What did people do to "put up" their harvests before jars were invented?

When Toilet Paper Runs Out...

Substitution for Every-Day Items:

You store 48 super-size packages of toilet paper, but you've been confined to your home due to [fill-in-the-blank] for a long time and you're down to your last package. What do you do?

Warning: This is not a post to read if you have a queasy stomach or while you're eating!

1. You could make your own toilet paper by making your own paper (will post a how-to within a month or so)
2. You could use other things like:
   -Kitchen towel (ick)
   -Old newspaper (crumple to get soft)
   -Phone books (ditto)
   -Mail-order catalog (ditto)
   -Bank notes or other laying-around paper, leaves (ditto)
3. Other Methods:
   -a bidet + towel to dry off
   -an upturned shower head + a towel to dry off
   -a wet sponge (that's how the Romans did it)
   -your hand - which is how people in the third world do it - that's why you see them eating with their opposite hand!

As for water use, a drought is always a concern and must be dealt with prudently. Discuss with your family members what to do should you run out of toilet paper. Start working on an alternate plan now.

Substitution for Electronic Watches

Watches: Old Fashion Wind-up versus Digital and Electronic

The battery in my watch died about the same time as our VHTS. It got me thinking. In these days, it seems like everything is being digitized or computerized or both. Especially watches. What happens if for some reason we don't have a battery handy when the one in the watch dies, or worse yet we are out where there isn't a Wal-Mart or other store available?

Society now seems to think that if you don't have the latest hi-tech watch with every possible function or a cell phone, blackberry or computer then there must be something wrong with you. But if you are out in the woods and your cell phone has no service then how do you keep the clock on it accurate and keep it going with no electricity to charge the battery?

Primitive or an old-fashioned wind-up analog watch can be a very important item to carry with you. First off you don't need to put a new battery in it to keep it working. You just need to make sure to wind it every day (or some work when you move your arm and it will self-wind.)

A wind-up watch can be used in other ways:

• If you are lost and the sun is out, then you can find north using the hands of the watch and the sun. The process is to point the twelve toward the sun and then figure the direction by splitting the area between the hour and the minute hand and head in the direction of the difference.
• If the watch is a glow-in-the-dark kind, and you have been out in the sun, then you will be able to see the time for hours without having to use a battery.
• If you need to time something, the second hand makes a nice timer.
• If you don't have matches and need to start a fire during the day, the watch lens makes a good magnifying glass in a pinch. Some even have a magnifying portion for numbers to small to be seen but will also catch the sun.
• Another advantage is that if the watch should happen to get wet, the spring will work after it dries but won't short, burn or run out of energy like a battery would do.
• The face of it is shiny enough will act as a mirror if a rescue plane is flying by that you can reflect sunlight at it and attract attention.

So the next time that you see someone using an old-fashioned wind-up watch to check the time, you might want to ask the person where they got it! They might be more in touch then most people think.

By Doug

Substitution for Cooking Oil, Sprays or Butter

In researching self-sufficiency, we came across another question: If we were to run out of stored cooking oil (olive, canola, corn, etc.), and cooking/baking sprays, what would we use in its place? (Substitute / Replace)

Corn? We've researched making corn oil - it takes 56 lbs (1 bushel) to make about 1.2 lbs of corn oil. Wow, that's a lot of corn. Plus it's an involved procedure with soaking and more. Would that be the best way to use the corn?

Almond? To make almond oil, you would squeeze or press the oil/water from the raw almonds, leaving behind a tasteless powder (which could probably used as flour). Our research can't find more details, but it bears looking into.

Olive? We'd probably have to grow a lot of miniature olive trees in a tall greenhouse to make enough olive oil to be worth it.

Cotton? Soybean? Sunflower?

How about we just make sure we have plenty of butter!?!

Meanwhile, if anyone has the information on the best and most efficient way to make cooking oil from something easily grown, please let us know so that we can do further research, and pass along the information. Thanks.

Inventory Check: Birth Control

Not really something we've seen mentioned very often on other "preparation" websites, but it's pretty essential. Assume, for a month, a worst-case scenario. TSHTF. Catastrophe. Complete anarchy. Earth changes. No more condoms or birth control pills, IUDs or etc. You get that urge, and have no more condoms or anything else left. Do you NOT, um, you know, do it?

Yeah, right.

And a month later, a pregnancy is discovered. Do you have any "birthin' " books on hand? A doula or midwife nearby? How is an 8-month pregnant woman going to help defend the property, chop wood, plow the land?

Did you give this any consideration?

Quote from:http://www.moondragon.org/obgyn/contraception/herbalbirthcontrol.html

Numerous herbs have been used historically to reduce fertility, and modern scientific research has confirmed anti-fertility effects in at least some of the herbs tested. Herbal contraception may never reach the level of contraceptive protection as the pill, but it offers alternatives for women who have difficulty with modern contraceptive options or who just want to try a different way. Very little is known about many of the herbs, or about long term side effects or safety concerns. Most herbalists don't recommend herbs for contraception, because of their potential unreliability. Many herbal methods have been tried with mixed results. People who are not interested in getting pregnant are usually not interested in mixed results. With any method of contraception, there is some risk of pregnancy. Each woman has to decide how much of a risk is too much. Most modern forms of birth control are 70% to 99% effective depending on the method chosen. For women who can't use modern forms of contraception, herbs can offer alternatives, and reducing fertility would be better than no birth control at all.

Here's another link that gives a lot more information: http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=55355

So... you can stock up on condoms and sponges and jellies and cervical caps (pills will grow old), and/or take advantage of herbal knowledge. Remember, these will NOT protect against sexually transmitted diseases.

Just, please, be prepared.

NOTE: Expired condoms can be used to cover the muzzle of a gun when out in damp/raining/snowing weather.

DISCLAIMER: We are not medical professionals so please consult your medical professional before using anything other than prescriptions.

Make a Tin-Can Cookstove

We've been experimenting with several sizes of tin cans and ways to make cookstoves from them. Then, we searched the net. Duh.

Here's a few links for your info:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfy2iw5kTA4
• http://technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DpIANWSJAVGM
• http://technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DeqUsUMlyIeQ
• http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Rocket_Stove
• http://patverettosfrugalliving.blogspot.com/2007/09/variation-on-theme-candle-stove.html
• http://www.bioenergylists.org/en/bollmtt
• http://www.instructables.com/id/Tin-Can-Sterno-Stove/
• http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/9411/a-tcan.html
• http://www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org/candlecook.html

We're still experimenting with items we picked up at yard sales and thrift stores. Do you have a favorite cheapo-but-effective homemade stove?

Eating in the Wilderness

If you need to bug-out to the wilderness, be sure to take your provisions and special bag. But, while you're out there, do your best to eat off the land before you have to dip into your supplies. You may not know how long you have to be out there.

For your bug-out-bag, be sure to include...
Water purification system/drops, cooking equipment, fire-starting equipment, hunting/fishing equipment, books identifying plants and insects, etc. We'll talk more about these later in this blog.

Gather from nature...
So much to choose from if you know what to look for.... from insects and fish to berries to plants and roots. Be sure to vary your choices as you still need fat, protein, carbs, vitamins and minerals. If you don't have a lot of water, try not to eat too much (will make you thirstier).

Water:
Find a source of water. Remember, you've packed your filtration system or purification drops, so make that your first priority. Food you can do without for a while. Water, you can't.

Bugs:
They have lots of nutrition and fat. Don't let the grossness get to you. If you're hungry, you'll eat them. Maybe you'll even get to like them! Maybe heat in an aluminum foil pocket with a little liquid, dried veggies and powdered cheese. Yum!

Plants:
Depending of time of the year you will almost always find edible plants and berries in the wilderness. The problem is knowing which ones are edible. That's where your identification book will come in handy.

Fish:
Learn NOW how to fish - using a hook and line, or a seine (where acceptable). They are easy to prepare and cook, and full of protein, fat and amino acids.

Animals:
If you don't already have experience hunting, you probably shouldn't waste your energy, supplies and calories trying to get animals/meat in a survival situation. It can be hard, and you'll end up using more calories than you'll get. However, trapping is easier than hunting. You can set the traps, and go look for other food sources, coming back from time to time to check the traps.

Eggs:
Most eggs from local birds are great for survival meals. They are high in nutrition, protein, and are yummy boiled, fried, or baked.

Next time you drive by a thrift store, stop in to check for "identification books". After looking at them, cover to cover, pack them in your bug-out-bag.

Homemade Maple Syrup vs Honey

I read a recipe today on a blog I follow. It gave a recipe to make "maple syrup" from ingredients in your pantry: sugar, brown sugar, water and maple flavoring. I understand that some people can't have their pancakes without it, but...

As a family, we discussed storing syrup, and decided that storing/making syrup (short shelf life, no nutritional value, needs time and patience and equipment to make) vs honey (long shelf life and lots of vitamins/minerals/nutrients/anti-allergen properties) is really no contest.

We're buying gallons of honey from Sam's, while we alternate using the last of our purchased syrup and honey. It took a bit to get used to, but now, 12 year old Son asks for honey on almost everything bread-like we make.

For instance, I experimented with an oat-muffin and after two tries, turned out quite tasty. Son refused to eat it without honey. Picky picky.

That's ok. It's better for him. Oh, a lot less trouble.

Baking Soda

We've been doing a lot of research under the "what if" category. We wondered:

"What if we had to be secluded for a long while and ran out of... baking soda. What would we do?"

The internet, surprisingly, didn't yield much of answer. Yes, we got the chemical composition and how it's made in factories. But not how WE could make it at home, or what we could substitute for it.

Then it hit us. We very rarely use baking soda anyway. We don't use it much in baking. Or cooking. Or cleaning (preferring vinegar that's easier to make).

What do we need to replace it for?

About you ... how often do you use baking soda? Cooking? Cleaning? Other? What would happen if you couldn't restock your supply for, say, a year... what would you do? We'd love to hear your comments.