K_L

btw, I know that this doesn't work for everyone, when i had an invasion, traps, poision, had no effect over several months. (never tried pepermint) but some kids were giving away kittens out side the local grocery store, so I took one home. it only took 4 days and there wasn't a mouse in the house.

that kitty kept our home free of mice for 7 years, until he was catnapped buy a neighbors mentaly handycapped child. My kids were not happy (it was a good life experience for them) but we decided that it was best to let him keep the cat who he now keeps as a constant companion.

hey Cat Good luck!!

acutually pepermint will grow anywhere all they need is water. Just ask lady yarrow. she grows about 20 different types. (my favorite is chocolatemint it really does taste like chocolate.) and Annarchy moth balls have been proven to cause cancer(yikes!!) but just smelling them almost kills me, my brother uses them to keep skunks out of his shed, I personally would rather deal with skunk.

please keep us posted

I was so excited when I had first learned about the herb Stevia. It is a natural sweetner, 300 times sweeter than sugar. 1 teaspoon is equal to 1 c of sugar so says all the info I have read about it. It has no calories.

 

I bought a few plants and have just harvested my first batch. If you chew on a leaf you are amazed at how sweet it is.

 

I am a sugar addict and the thought of having a replacement that is healthy was very exciting to me.

 

I dried the leaves and ground them very fine and thought I would try it in my beloved iced tea.

 

OMG was it nasty! It had the same after taste that all artificial sweeteners have though not quite as bad. I was very disappointed.

 

 

If anyone has any suggestions please reply. I also have a question about baking with Stevia. Since 1 t = 1 c of sugar would I have to alter my recipes to account for that 1 c of extra bulk that will be missing? Or would it be better to make a liquid with the Stevia and use that as part of the liquid in the recipe?

 

 

Thanks

I hate the stuff, YUK! but a friend talked me into trying something called Agava, it is juice from some kind of a cactus, and I really like it. I have tried it in a lot of recipies and it works great. btw make sure you get the real thing, as some companies mix it with high fructose corn surype. it costs about as much as honey.

K_L

You should not put the lids on the cakes to seal. That is how botulism grows fast, in the absence of air. They only are safe to keep in the fridge for about 3 days. Freeze for longer storage than that.

I am still not recommending baking in the glass jars, but if you do, these would be the safest ways to do so.

 

For meats or any other foods, you must reprocess within the first 24 hours of the initial canning. Otherwise not all bacteria may be killed since the bacteria count would be so high.

Thanks Violet!

If the lids are put on and they seal when hot, botulism can grow quickly enough to cause death or paralysis within a few days. ( Same reason that foods need reprocessing within 24 hours of the initial canning if they don't seal. It grows that fast.)

So, if one insist on doing this, even with the risk of the glass explodiing in the oven, they should be baked, let cool totally. Then put a lid on, keep in the fridge no longer than 3 days or frozen. We still do not recommend doing this with the risk of the jars exploding.

Little cans would be much safer than jars. Grease and flour them, then use them.

Pyrex also had a glass tube for baking breads in called a bake a round, I think. I had one years ago.

The safest is to use small bread pans instead.

Violet, is it safe to reprocess meat, I mean it takes a few hours to be sure that the bottle is properly sealed. Won't the meat be Poisons by then?

Sorry not trying to hijack the thread.

(From: Campy"I have been scouting out some good "ambush spots". I have a deer run about 75' above the property and another about 150' below the property. Both runs meet up in back on my property. I have a hunch that venison may become a "staple" in the very near future.")

One point I think most people don't realize is that after the first few months of a SHTF situation, unless you live in a VERY unpopulated area there will not be any game left, because everyone will be out hunting. There was a city in Russia during the 2nd world war that was totally under siege in less than 2 months every single pigeon, rat, mouse, duck, and domestic animal was gone. Many people starved to death.

It will also be very dangerious because of all the unexperienced hunters wandering around shooting at everything that moves.

K_L