Gunplumber

I have a couple Chinese and Lodge odds and ends, but am ready to buy new (used, new to me) cast iron. Griswold and Wagner are now both owned by the same company. So does it really matter? I just want to stick with one brand so that a #6 skillet and a #6 lid will fit together. Are there any real differences in quality or value (quality/price) between the two. I've seen some nice deals on ebay - like 5 skillets for $60.

While the guy that wrote the book on cast iron collecting says to never sandblast - I've sandblasted and then beadblasted all kinds of old cookware, cast iron and steel, as a quick way of removing 50 years of crud. I don't see any problem with it. When quality pieces are made, they are finished by grinding flat, and that is far more aggressive than blasting with something like #80 aluminum oxide followed up by fine glass bead, thorough rinse, then season as you would a new one.

you'll also need the pot, fuel, and water to cook it. How many cords of wood to boil a pot of water every day?

It is common in famine areas to augment rice portions with plant oil. The LDS church has a starvation recipe they use in africa. Shortening is extremely valuable - I understand it was the mechanism for barter in germany during the second world war.

I keep a lot of crisco in my pantry. Lot of uses, shelf stable and dense. For health reasons, I prefer olive oil, but the latter doesn't keep as well. One of the things I have done is to replace my large containers with multiple smaller ones. Food is a barter item and its nice to have small change, and not just hundred dollar bills.

It is odd that the same foods I avoid for heath reasons in good times are the ones I'd choose in bad times.

Minute rice has no fiber - but it will rapidly "cook" even in cold water. This granola bar says "only 200 calories". Maybe nice if you're on a diet, but in hard times I want the one that says "over 400 calories." Same with cooking oils. The same things that make them "bad" for you, versus olive and canola, are what help them keep shelf stable for ten years.