CrabGrassAcres

Participants: Crabby and dear daughter Skills: Animal care, gardening, herbal lore, midwifery, rough carpentry, nursing, canning, drying food, nutrition, butchering animals, hatching birds and raising them, teaching, music, sewing, knitting, crochet, weaving, quilting, painting. Animals 5 does, 1 buck (dairy goats, my buck is an Alpine) 4 Great Pyrenees LGDs Trio of geese Trio of turkeys 6 chicken hens and 2 roosters Trio of guineas Trio of ducks Pair of piglets? The goats can walk, as can the dogs. The birds will have to go in crates. For the animals, I'll need some buckets and feed pans. About 400# of grains for animals. My wagon will be pulled by a pair of oxen. Kitchen: Wonder Jr Grain Mill Big Berkey water filter and extra candles. Cast iron meat grinder Cast iron spider, cast iron dutch oven on legs with flat lid for baking, cast iron pot (5 gallons) for washing and making soap or whatever you need a big pot for. (I don’t own these, but hope to.) I do have several large cast iron skillets. 6 tin plates, 6 spoons, 6 forks, 6 knives, 6 tin cups Set of nesting stainless steel pots with lids Large metal bowl for making bread. Cast iron bread pans, 4. Long handled metal spoon, spatula, tongs, ladle. Set of kitchen knives and sharpener. Folding table and 2 folding chairs. All American Pressure canner Extra lids, rings and jars. Stainless steel coffee pot Stainless steel kettle Food: Grains Beans Flour Sugar Salt Dried veggies and fruits Spices Lard Dried meat Hard Tack Portable soup Chocolate Coffee beans Tea Powdered Milk Water Health Sanitation: 5 pounds activated charcoal assortment of herbs Several large bottles of benedryl, Tylenol, aspirin, motrin, multi vitamins, vitamin c, vitamin d, etc. Several gallon jugs of cod liver oil. Collection of fish antibiotics First aid trunk (not going to list contents, but it is large and comprehensive.) Soap, alcohol, betadine, vinegar, turpentine. Pine salve. Cayenne pepper. Laundry Two galvanized tin washtubs, scrub board and hand operated wringer. Gardening: Shovel, hoe head, rake head, plow head. Seeds. (Including fruit tree seeds.) Clothing: In a chest, 2 pairs sturdy shoes each and 2 pairs stout boots each. Extra soles and shoe nails and leather working tools. Socks, 12 pair each. 6 pair cotton and 6 pair wool. 6 skirts each, 3 gingham or muslin and 3 wool 6 shirtwaists each, 3 summer and 3 winter 1 light coat and 1 heavy coat each 2 warm shawls each 1 raincoat each (oil cloth) 2 warm sweaters each 2 good sunbonnets each 1 good Sunday hat each 12 pairs long legged underdrawers each 2 sets wool longjohns each 6 sturdy bras each (I ain't wearing no corsets and that's that!) 2 summer and 2 winter petticoats each 2 linen nightgowns and 2 wool nightgowns each 2 night caps each 2 pairs wool mittens each 2 pairs work gloves each 2 pairs mens denim overalls each (cause sometimes a skirt just ain't gonna do) Several bolts of material. Thread, yarn, buttons, pins, needles. Tools: Treadle sewing machine (I have a nice one and it will be really good to have.) Ax, hammers, hand saws, files, planes, splitting wedge, drill brace and bits, chisels, screwdrivers, cat’s claw, crow bar, pliers, bolt cutters, Metal stove pipe for the clay stove I’m making when I get “there”. Iron griddle for the top of my stove. Screws, nails, nuts and bolts and washers. Rope. Lots of rope. Tie wire, different gauges. Lighting: 6 lanterns, 6 Aladdins, extra wicks, mantles, chimneys and lamp oil. 50 pounds candle wax. Wick thread. Shelter: Tarps, (I need a tent, maybe a canvas wall tent) All my warm blankets and quilts. Canvas ground cloth 2 folding cots Protection and hunting: 12 gauge shotgun 22 lr rifle .303 British Enfield rifle .22 lr hand gun .38 special snub nose revolver Ammo for above and reloading supplies and equipment. Books: Bible, song books, concordance, Bible dictionary, as many of my extensive collection of how too books as possible.

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Oregon Trail, by Francis Parkman, Jr http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1015/1015-h/1015-h.htm Y'all might find this interesting. I haven't started packing yet. Had to have a new computer. LOL

My old computer was dying so I stopped at a second hand and found a really nice one for $100! Should do me for quite some time.

After I cut all the meat I could off a front leg from my sow I butchered, I cut the leg into three pieces at the joints. Cleaned off the foot real well and boiled it to bits. Took off the rest of the meat and put it back in the pot with navy beans, whole green peas, lentils and yellow split peas, when those were done I added dried onions, dried celery, dried mixed bell peppers and parboiled rice. I seasoned with salt and a little bit of jerky marinade. This is good and I could probably eat it a couple times a month. I made a huge pot so I'll have to freeze some for later or can it. Prob just freeze it.

Alexis, just use the mylar in the bucket. You don't need to do the extra work or expense of making smaller bags too. Do get the O2 absorbers and put them in the buckets. Should be good for 20-30 yrs if you start with fresh beans and corn. The shortening doesn't last as long and should be rotated every yr or two if at all possible unless stored in a freezer. If kept frozen it can be kept a good 10 yrs or so. If it accidentally gets thawed it can be refrozen with no problem.

I assume that most people are going to have pots already. You do need a grinder, like a corona. You should try to get a pressure cooker if fuel is a problem. If you heat with wood, just cook on the heating stove. Otherwise, you can use twigs or even a solar cooker.

Rechecking prices Pinto beans 50# $24.86 now 25.43 Jan 19 2008 Field corn #50 8.50 6.50 Shortening 18.68 22.49 So while corn has gone up, beans and shortning are actually less. Buy one container liq shortening $18.68, 2 bags of beans $49.72, 6 bags of corn $51.00, Total 119.40 .

Terrible disease. I was 3 when the vaccine came out. My best friend's MIL got it and she was pg with BF's husband. It stunted him, he is smaller than anybody in the family. His mom did ok for a long time then started having trouble again.

I take activated charcoal to adsorb the toxins and get rid of the symptoms at the same time.

I've never cooked it like that. I think the reconstituted texture would be better than the frozen texture though. Cricket, I don't blanch it, just slice it about 1/4 inch thick and spread on the trays. I try to work fast and get it right into the dehydrator.

Yes, I've dehydrated yellow, zucchini, patty pan squash and cucumbers. I use any of them in stew or soup, just drop the dry veggie into the pot. I like the squash reconstituted and fried up with potatoes and onions. Melt a little cheddar over it. I sometimes chop some of the dried veggies up and add them to spaghetti sauce or chili.

Next time I cook for 100 (Hoping never again!) I better have a bunch of helpers or I ain't doing it!

http://members.tripod.com/~AlchemyAcres/archive.htm

I'm looking for more info on the Abingtons (the family that lived next door to G. Washington's father.) The Kimbrells (Kimble, Kimball, Kimbel, Kimbrel), Brashier, in Alabama, S Carolina, NC, Virginia and the colonial area. Particularly I am looking for Ransom Kimbrell and info about the masacre and survivors since that is where I lost the thread. Also looking for info on the Biddy family of Alabama and the Bells, Popes and Welches of Mississippi. The Gilmores came over with Flora McDonald and I'm trying to trace them to my family in MS.

Mini, my daughter is Celiac, I'm not. Sometimes I just want stuff she cannot have, so I fix it for myself and fix her something different. Some things I like and she hates and some she loves and I hate. If hubby doesn't like stew, make a big pot and freeze it in individual portions. Feed him what he wants and heat a bowl of stew for yourself. Maybe do the stirfry, but cook each item individually, mix yours the way you want and let him pick and choose what he wants.

Just coincidence that it "worked". If it really worked, hatcheries could set only the female eggs for breeds that they have a hard time selling the males, like Leghorns. Millions are hatched every yr and half are male. Leghorn males are not worth feeding if you are only wanting meat. So hatcheries have to find a way to get rid of all those male chicks. They usually get to be snake food.

I get "cooking food fatigue" all the time! LOL I do try to identify what is lacking so I can cook better meals. Then see if it is something I need to add to the storage food or is it something I need to start producing like fresh veggies. Still working on that one......

I was thinking about this today. The other day I treated us to Taco Bell for the first time in ten forevers. My DD was so excited I had to stop her from hopping out while we were still moving. I noticed the portions were much smaller and I could have made quite a meal for the money. We probably won't do this again for a very, very long time. I felt yuck afterwards and not because of how much I spent. That stuff just isn't healthy. What are some of the things your family likes when you eat out? Can you make healthier versions at home? Some things, like egg McMuffins are really easy to do. What are some of the convenience foods you normally buy? Do you use a lot of canned soups? Try making them from scratch. You won't believe how much better they taste. Another thing is to decorate the food. Have you ever made radish roses? Carrot curls? Draw faces on the oatmeal with homemade fruit syrup. Put slices of boiled egg on the spinach. When you make cornbread use those cute iron molds shaped like corncobs. Color makes a big difference and seasoning. I was surprised to find out many people don't put salt in the oatmeal and wonder why the kids don't like it. If I had kids old enough and capable of learning, they would be doing a lot of the cooking. I've been cooking since I was 9.

Glycerin is a byproduct of soap making. When we make soap at home we don't remove the glycerin so our soap is easier on our skin. Commercial soap normally has the glycerin removed because they make more money selling the glycerin on the side. You can buy it online from soap maker's supply places or from your local health food store. It isn't cheap.

Hanging out at Frugal's? LOL

I used to eat it a lot in CO but have never seen it here. We ate the seeds from the Chinese elms in salads in spring. Have you ever had tumbleweed soup? When the seedlings come up in early spring they are really tiny. Just pinch the tops off and they make a great soup on the order of split pea. (This is the tumble pigweed, BTW>)

1/2 cup cooked chick peas 4 pieces marinated artichoke 2 tablespoons sliced green olives 2 chopped boiled eggs 1 tablespoon chopped onion Salad dressing of choice You all have a favorite COLD bean dish?

The masa harina from the store is a bit stale but that is the only dry masa I've tried. You might want to dry some of your grains and decide how you would prefer doing it. It would probably be easier to dry the corn before grinding if you were planning to keep it a while. It is a lot of time prep but it makes a big difference in the nutrition. I only saw a passing reference to the continuous soak with no details.