Survival Food: How to Make Re-Fried Beans

Beans are a staple with preppers concerned about long term food storage. Beans are rich in nutrients, easy to cook and tasty. But you need a variety of recipes to add variety to your stored food. Here is a quick, easy recipe for using pinto beans

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Cooking When the Power Goes Off

On Jan. 16, 2010, there was snow in every state except Florida. For many areas, this meant the power was off, and for many people there was no way for them to cook or stay warm. Here is the SurvivalCommonSense.com Radio show of Jan. 14 in which Off Grid cooking expert Ann Gawith talks about how to set up for cooking when the power goes out.

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The Pantry, What a Resource

I was recently reading about well stocked pantry's in the article : Post Pantry Possibilities: Blitz Post from NM .
It is a very well written article and it made me check my cupboards. I live in a 2 bedrooms apt with my fiancee, two step kids, and a very small kitchen but I was very surprised at how much I was able to stockpile over the past few weeks. I have tons of stuff and I figured out after a few seconds of thinking why I had so much stuff, it all came from the food bank. I can not stress how much of a resource this is for people who qualify for it. They give a lot of stuff out in bulk form, most of the stockpile items in my small pantry have come from the oregon food bank. Now I am an advocate of self reliance but these items would be invaluable in a emergency. I have gotten a combined 27 and a half pounds of pastas, grains, and lentils (bean family) from the food bank. I have more canned goods than I can handle and I have enough bakery mix to feed a small army. My freezer is packed with frozen vegetables, seasoned fries, chicken, and fruit ALL IN BULK! Here are some photos.

My pantry

instant desserts 27 and a half pounds of pasta grains and lentils

instant sauces and drink mix's


But being prepared Comes down to more than just food and water. I have recently added 20 match books, a tin of emergency candles, 2 first aid kits, 4 fishing poles and tackle, 15 board games, a huge assortment of survival books, a good amount of field guides for plants and animals in my area, a large amount of do it yourself books and back to basics books, and a wealth of information that pertains to gold and silver deposits on my side of the state because gold will always work better than cash, 13 flashlights with spare bulbs and batteries, road flares, 3 acoustic guitars, assorted camo for the entire family, and tons of camping gear. And my preparing still isnt done. All of the stuff I listed above with the exception of the books and literature I procured from thrift stores for pennies to the dollar. There are resources for preparedness not just costco and cabellas although if you have the money for that it advisable. Point of all this is KEEP YOUR EYES AND EARS OPEN THERE ARE RESOURCES ALL AROUND YOU! You wouldn't want to get caught with you pants down now would you?

Seeds, gardening and yard work.

I made it out into the front yard to do some clean-up and garden prep finally. The weather so far this year has been a little temperamental and I'm not one to get wet and cold for fun, unless it's diving or hunting or for SAR or... ok so I'm not that much of a wimp, but the garden isn't a top priority when it's blustery because I don't get an instant gratification from it.

I'll get at least one more year from the raised beds, but I do need to do a little work to shore them up; I really should have used some screws instead of just nails when I assembled them, but I was saving a few bucks. I'll add 1-2 screws in each joint this year as I rework the soil.

Speaking of reworking the soil I need to rent/borrow a rototiller this year. I made it through the last two years without one but I want to expand into areas that have only had grass or blackberries. There are services that mow your yard, prep your flowerbeds; are there any that rent and deliver lawnmowers and rototillers? The delivery is a deal breaker around here, it's tough to fit something like that in a Wrangler, I suppose I should clean off the trailer and quit complaining.

After it started raining again I went in and checked on my seeds, I guess I could get by with what I have for the year or two but I really like fresh seeds and being a prepper need to have some backups to be comfortable.
I found a new website that looks promising; Get Seeds offers 100 packets for $49, with a wide assortment of seeds for a reasonable price. I'm not sure how many seeds are in each packet or the types of seeds or the care they provide but the price is right and with 100 packets you're likely to get a variety. They seal the pouch in Mylar but without a list of what they put in there I'd break it open, inventory it, buy anything seriously lacking and reseal it. I don't have any prior experience with them so I'm not endorsing them, just pointing them out.

A couple sites I do buy from with success are Seed Savers Exchange and Heirloom Seeds, remember to buy things likely to grow well in your area that you're interested in eating or storing for the future.

Rick

Have you seen this cooking freak?!

Alton Brown has a really good show called Good Eats on Food Network.

Sure it's fun, it's informative, educational but most importantly almost everything he makes is from scratch. Using basic components he teaches how to make food and at the same time why it becomes food.

Most of his recipes are aimed at fun, tasty or popular recipes but almost all of them include concepts that are useful for a prepper, how to use yeast and why it works, how to make pickles, making soup stock, BBQ, smoking foods, brisket... I could go on but you just need to go check it out if you haven't had the experience. Shoot, he even understands sourdough and cast iron pans, I'd love to show him how to cook nettles and cattails, he's already familiar with dandelions though.

While I love to learn things, Good Eats is one of the few programs on TV that entertain me at the same time I learn things.

There was a recent post on LifeHacker about Depression Cooking, I'd love to see his take using today's concepts and locally sourced foods. I think it would have to be about 4 episodes to do it justice, though I could easily see a full season. Bread(again), cheese(again), jerky(again), sausage(again), sprouts, yogurt; well maybe he's been in our back yard all along and we just didn't see it.

Honest, his brisket recipe (while traditional and not innovative) really works like a champ, it's what worked for 100+ years and he's right to push it, screw the health issues for a treat. His clay pot smoker works great here and while I have my own food dehydrator, his box fan dryer would be an awesome addition in the summer when I have the fan on anyway.

Rick

Some thoughts on unemployment and planning ahead

Oregon's unemployment numbers hit 9.9% - Link

We're running at close to +%1 a month here and while I'd like to point out how bad it is, it's not the highest in the nation; Michigan and California to name but two, beat us consistently.

I'd be willing to bet this average rate will continue for atleast 6 months even with the 'stimulus' package. Keep in mind that the Great Depression lasted about 10 years and if this is a similar condition we might have a little ways to go before it turns around.

I don't think I can put back 10 years of income as a cushion, 10 years of food are pretty much out of reach as well. What can I do for 10 years worth of a depression? Skills, knowledge, seeds, contacts, potentially some transportation. I can't expect my job to last 10 years, I'd love it to last 2 in this climate. I can continue with my volunteer work, which will let me buy some preps that I can justify writing off on my taxes (but if you don't have money how can you buy anything?), I can write off some mileage/gas/repairs, I might even be able to be paid occasionally for a shift.

Prepare now, it won't be long before you'll be using your 'preps' or sharing them. Even if you're unemployed and on some form of financial assistance you need to continue to prep, it's only going to get worse for everybody. There will likely be a time in our near future when there isn't any government money for health care, welfare or unemployed citizens. If the money is there, it's likely to be so overshadowed by inflation that $400/week is only worth sending to your creditors as it's not enough to by a sack of groceries.

Rick

Some personal opinions and thoughts

I'm just going to rant a bit here and you can feel free to comment, agree or laugh as your mood suits.

You could still buy gold if you want, I think it will go up another $100-150 during the next year without any help, it might go even higher and I'll just keep mine in the stash until I can't avoid using it. Silver is a little easier to find and might make more sense for daily purchases or trading. I don't expect it to gather the same amount of value but it's cheap compared to gold.

If you don't have a garden what the hell are you thinking? Grow something you like to eat even if it's in a couple pots on the patio, inside the sliding glass door (buy a cheap 3x5x18" shelf unit on wheels with 5 shelves) or on a window sill. If you have a yard and flower beds put something in there you can eat, if it's 'purty' that's a bonus, but even if it's potatoes it's food and your roof will likely provide the water it needs. Pansies and nasturtiums look great and the flowers are tasty in a salad even if they don't have a lot of calories.

Speaking of calories... When you purchase storage foods, animals or plant your garden consider what you're spending money on. Food has a few basic characteristics; nutrition, calories, flavor, mass (or fiber if you will), and fats if you can accept the differences. We love celery but it's a serious draw on water. It does have great fiber and can even be used for cordage, it adds some significant fiber to your diet, it can fill your void if needed, but it has zero effective calories and you could eat 10 lbs a day and die of starvation. Rabbits are a similar dead end, they are high in protein but have almost no fat. Tomatoes are high in sugar (carbs) and have other benefits but you just can't live on a single staple, balance is the key. You really need to handle all of the major 'food characteristics' for any kind of survival beyond the first month. Rice and beans will fill your tummy for a week or two, but $10 worth of spices and $30 worth of vegetables will make it taste a lot better if you actually have to eat it.

If you still have a job you need to suck up and stay with it, your odds of getting another job or a better job are slim to none and even if you did you would be low man on the totem pole. Last in are almost always first out unless you're seriously lucky. This will only get worse before it will get better, I think it will get much worse.

How many people can the government give money to before they drain our country of all worth (not that we have any left)? Once the US is giving just barely enough money every month for subsistence to 20% of the population where do you think the money is going to come from? The new health care options will only make it worse. Yes, it helps the people who have lost health benefits and I do feel for my friends and family that need the coverage, but the government is paying 2/3 of the cost!

Gas is headed back up, maybe not drastically but I think it will be consistant in it's increase and be fairly permanent, at least 2-3 years. The cheap stuff truly is gone and the hurt is being felt everywhere. Store some gas if it's your thing, if you want to store it for more than 6 months use a chemical to preserve it. I don't expect shortages unless the supply lines faulter.

Banks... I actually use a credit union and right now I trust it fairly completely. My whole check goes in there and I use a debit card to buy things. Even so most of my spare cash isn't in savings, it's either in food or goods or in FRNs stuck away in 'places'. I personally wouldn't leave a lot of wealth in a savings institution of any type. Banks can come and go as we've seen so often in the last year and honestly the FDIC is backed by what, a completely failed national financial system printing pretty green paper when they're low? Food and equipment are assets, gold and silver might eventually be worthwhile, FRN are just paper/linen and only good for today, tomorrow they may only be cheaper than firewood per pound.

Last tonight, will be a topic I have a hard time debating, not because I don't believe in them or have them myself but because they're so controversial, and hell, I'm a fence sitting libra. Guns baby, you do need guns and ammo. I'm not a militant SOB, honest, but I do believe people need to have the ability to protect themselves. For the last 9 years I've been a reserve police officer and I must admit I like to be the only person with a gun if there is a problem, but the next person (after my backup) I want to have a gun is anyone who supports the law. If you have a carry permit I trust you far more than I should. You went the extra mile to be legal and aboveboard and that means a lot to me. I do want to know if you have a ccw or are carrying, in most cases, it means you're a law abiding citizen and you deserve a break if everything else is equal. As a police officer I know that our coverage is decreasing locally. It's only going to get worse, even if our police departments don't want it to (we're not stupid), we want to provide more coverage, the powers that be just don't want to pay for it. In my opinion people need to be able and willing to protect themselves, you/we shouldn't rely on overtaxed , underpaid and unsupported public servants. While as a police officer, I'll do my best to protect your rights while you exercise them.

To you I wish a peaceful future, while I hope to prepare you and mine for one that likely won't be,

Rick

The Black Box

Guest blogger Brett is back again with another post he alluded to in his last one.

Well lets talk about the Black Box, I’m sure we all have one or a version of it. It could be called the blue box or the tan box. It just so happens that the store had this good sized tough plastic Black box on sale for twenty dollars, good buy I thought. Anyways, it’s just my fun name for a large “go box” or whatever acronym you would like to use.

It of course, started with my first cardboard box that was duct tapped together and held my odd assortment of supplies that led to my Hobo Lunches. That, of course, grew and adapted, as we all do. We learn from each other and experiment with what works for us and our likes and dislikes. So my fellow Prepper and friend Rick asked me what I keep in my Black Box. What kind of items do I keep, how do I plan to use it, how big is it and what am I missing.

WOW - well here goes, the Black Box and its contents more or less.
It measures 18’’x24 “x16” one long continuous hinge at the back, two clasps in the front and a spot for a lock. I will just give a basic run down of what is in it because there is so many things that it’s like a mini outlet store. Keep in mind this is my Box for my Bronco, I could not pack this around on my own. I consider this one of my 'home bases' or a cache. I think it is wise to have a few set up for yourself and family. If you can, make some that are placed in your vehicle or one that is small and mobile, so that it isn't hard to find in a last minute rush.

As I talked a bit about in the Hobo Lunch story, I shop at the canned food outlet or at stores like it. Not only my daily house food, but for some basics for the Black Box. I keep several types of canned goods like evaporated milk, spam, pork-n-beans, corned beef, canned chicken, Vienna sausages, tuna and albacore, refried beans. Oh boy, just all kinds of canned goods that I rotate through. Then, as well, I keep dry goods like 'add water only' pancake mix, plenty of pasta roni, stroganoff, rice-a-roni and a few other varieties that I’ll pick up as I see them. These things are great as they can keep for a long, long time and all you need is water and some of that evaporated milk.

I also have an assortment of those freeze-dried meals, everything from scrambled eggs to corn and more stroganoff and a number of other tasty flavors, I shop around for these as well, sports outlet stores at times, have these at a discounted prices or check around online, you can find great deals and save yourself the gas money to boot.

I have also hunted out deals on M.R.E.’s or partials, like just the entrees. I have numerous miscellaneous entree’s as well as full meals, about ten or so. A couple of those emergency protein bricks(lifeboat rations), they don’t taste great but they keep for a long time and are handy. A couple boxes of tea bags, honey and a couple bags of coffee (got to have that). I have a coffee pot in the box, but I came across a mini espresso maker, one of those totally self contained, extremely portable, ten ounce or so deals. Found this at another outlet style store, it’s hit and miss but keep looking, good and useful things are out their that are affordable. I got this thing for about eight dollars. Oh yes and that opened can of evaporated milk is great in here as well, mmm.

Keep in mind that these little things, even in the worst case scenario or locations can have a profound impact on your mood and lets face it, if your state of mind is down nothing else really feels right. As my wife says to me at times like this, just drink tea. {yes grasshopper, just drink tea and be just the tea, not everything else at least while your drinking tea} got to love a good woman.

So what else is in there, oh yes several bottles of water, several soda’s, plates, cups, camp silverware, gum, couple pots, a propane burner with a few bottles of propane, candles, a lantern and fuel for it, hatchet, knife, a no-battery flashlight, space blanket, small first aid kit, cordage, (can never have enough of that). I’m sure I have a ton of things floating around in the box I forgot about like matches and a flint. The point is with a Black Box, is to set it up with what you need for a few days to a week or more, for two people, to be self-sufficient if needed. Remember that if the need does come up, use all other options first, like food hand outs or fishing, whatever means you have before you go into the box with no clear restock date. I think its very important to keep a few of these types of setups handy and it can be done a piece here and part there with some wise shopping and imagination, keeping in mind your needs. No point in buying a bunch of stuff your not going to eat or use just because you can or it fills up your box. I’ll admit my box is full and heavy but it’s in my primary ride and as I talked about before, I do a lot of Hobo-Lunches out of it. I also keep a back pack in my ride, so if I have to foot it somewhere, I can load up what I need.

Now, if you can use out of your box, and restock it, this is real handy for being ready to go at a moments notice for lunch or camping and just incase a worse case issue comes along, you’re ready and lets face it with today’s economy it’s best to be stocked up as much as possible. You just don’t know what’s around the corner. So I keep one of these in each rig and one master box in the house and yes, my wife thinks I’m a little odd, but I think she understands why I do it. Besides the stuff in the box I keep sleeping bags, chairs, tables, large water container and even gasoline on my rig.

My wife and I use one of the smaller boxes on our canoe trips quite often. So, I guess if I were to give any advice on setting up or using a Black Box of your own, I would suggest that first off stock it with things you know you like to eat, don’t just buy stuff to stock up on that you can’t stand. Batteries are nice but unless they are those super long-lasting cells don’t waste your time, most of the time they go dead before you need them and even worse they can leak into your food supply. A hatchet is good and can double as a hammer; cordage, some stakes or big nails, a tarp, candle lantern are always good and those candles have multiple uses. Shop around and talk with like-minded people and ask where did you get that? But even with all the stuff that I have told you I keep, I’ll pass on another one-liner that my wife is fond of giving me but that makes sense here, “more is not always better, it’s just more” in other words just stick to what you need and will use.

Brett

Thanks Brett, another informative post,
Rick

Cheap prep foods

I can tell you that beans and rice are the perfect 'prep' food and I might be right, but if I don't tell you how to cook and serve these potentially nasty guys you'll be swearing at me when the time comes. Rice and beans both need a large amount of water to prepare them, you can probably (caveat emptor), use lower quality water to rehydrate both but your final preparation needs to be at temperatures higher than 170 degrees for pasteurization purposes.

Rice has a lot of uses; you can make a milk substitute, which I really don't go for but my kids like it with chocolate, yeah I'd fall for it too. As a breakfast cereal with honey and cinnamon it's tasty even if it's unusual. Adding soy sauce, meat and some vegetables and it's a main dish. Bake rice with a couple eggs, cumin, and some form of tomato and you have a great brunch.

To me, storage beans mean pintos. I know there are a bunch more but I store pintos for my family. I soak them atleast 12 hours before I try to cook them. In most cases I make refried beans, but they work well added to a soup, on tortillas, or in most any soup I try to make. The key is to make them palatable, they need to be boiled long enough that they are tender, adding spices even if it's just garlic or salt .

Lentils and split peas cook a lot faster, they can be added like herbs in the last 30 minutes or when rehydrating dried meats/vegetables.

Rick

The art of the Hobo Lunch

Here's a post from a guest blogger and another local prepper.

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Over the years I have continued to refine and evolve what a good, self-contained, efficient, cheap lunch could be and how to get the most out of it. With lunch being more of an adventure or outing, rather than a chore or an imposition due to financial restrictions.

When I first started doing these kinds of lunches it was years back. I had my first car and a job learning a skill (not used anymore) getting my 40 hours a week and living thin as far as a dollar went. We grew up in good sized city back in Nevada. Our Mom had to raise two sons on just her income, we learned early on the value of the buck and how to live cheap but, to live healthy and happy. Mom was a great enthusiast of the outdoors, hiking in the desert and the pine forest and showing us what bushes could be eaten and always a keen eye for watching the wildlife. It was during this time the idea's of how to be self sufficient and portable as possible started to percolate and grow.

A few years later with my first car and a small income I started my first “go box“; it had things that could keep as-is for long periods, such as canned spam, peaches or pears, oatmeal, a couple gallons of fresh water and my ever present potato's, yes they are great survival food just ask the Irish.

Another one of my favorite items was and still is the M.R.E., oh yes I love most of them anyways, back then we didn't have on-line stuff or EBAY(which I do use now days as it is saves a lot of money and time), so I would journey down to one of my favorite haunts the Twin City Surplus, otherwise known as a military outlet, so many good things for exactly this kind of stuff. Portable stoves, hand warmers, cold weather gear, tents and backpacks with the slight smell of mold and oil, equipment begging to go on another useful adventure. So from here my box grew a bit bigger and better. Now, I had a cheap two burner stove(gas fuel) M.R.E.’s, complete meals, a good knife and portable shovel, water tablets... So after a few more months I again refined the go box a little further. I went to the local second hand store and got a coffee pot for .50 cents, some camp plates and cups for a couple dollars. Oh and some of those first portable canvas chairs, a cheap oil lantern. Then back a staple that I had grown up on and use a lot even today, the canned food outlet style store and what do you know, tons of food with long shelf life that can be kept in your go box and is easy to prepare. Remember variety keeps it fun and tasty.

As time went by I came to calling on the go box for lunches at work, not having the finances to have made a fresh lunch or to go out to lunch with the others, I resorted back to my go box for lunch. With my camp stove fired up and water boiling for some Noodle Roni and applesauce with M.R.E. cookies and a tang like drink, I found that I not only had lunch for the day, that was very cheap, but that the making of it was very good for breaking up the monotony of the day and bringing back good memories of the outdoors. By pure necessity I stumble upon what I would later call the Hobo Lunch, oh sure at first I got a lot of strange looks (still do) seeing this dude pulling out a chair, a portable table, cooking gear and whipping up a lunch out of the back of my vehicle. Sitting anywhere, the parking lot, the park ,or even out in the boonies.

As the years went by, whether the money was thick or thin, I have often fallen back to the Hobo Lunch as a way to escape, even for a brief time. As well as a common ground to share ideas and a good conversation as with my friend Rick. I keep a flint striker and many other tools that easily slip into my pockets. However this is where the beauty of these lunches come in to play. Rick and I would slip off to a Hobo Lunch. Rick with some strange concoction of oats, dried beans and other ingredients in a cup. Added some hot water and what do you know, we had a instant hardy stew of a sorts and very good tasting as well. Rick even knew the basic break down of the nutrient levels, WOW! So now Rick had taken the Hobo Lunch and my Black Box ( I will talk about the black box at another time.) to a new level. Rick knew well, my buddy the potato, tossed next to the fire and letting it cook. Rick, being always the innovator of minimalism yet quality, showed me a stream of fun new ways to have dried supplies, that took less room and weighed far less (great for packing). I could go on and on here at some of the very interesting things that Rick and I would could converse on and attempt for lunch and I will definitely expand on that if there is any interest here.

What I want to impart here is the value that the Hobo Lunch could bring to you. It’s a continued lesson in how to be set up on long term foods (variety) and how to seek the best deals (you would be surprised how cheap you can shop). Finding and using things like portable chairs and tables (easily bought cheap at garage sales), or make your own portable stuff. This will make the atmosphere even better as a matter of fact. I almost always do a full set up, as it only takes a couple minutes to do so and you would be surprised how it will make you feel while eating.

I always kind of saw it as going on a Urban Safari. As on any Safari, I never liked to talk about work, or the woes of life, but rather to focus on the moment enjoying the lunch, learning from your Hobo Lunch Buddy and exploring ways to better ones situation. In times like these it's good to explore all options of affordable eating, yet without sacrificing taste or the fun of the outing. So okay it's not one of those swanky sit down restaurants or one of those fast food shacks. You have something better, self reliance, a sense of accomplishment, the outdoors even if it's in a parking lot. Look around and then you to will start seeing a lot more options around you that were hidden before and best of all, for at least the time it takes to make lunch and pack up, you’re free from all else. If not, you need to get into the Hobo Lunch Spirit!

Thanks again Rick for your encouragement.

Brett

Thanks for the post Brett, feel free to yell next time you're in town and will do lunch at our usual spot!

Quick blender Salsa

A cheap Superbowl addition served with chips.

1 28 oz can, whole tomatoes with juice
1 medium sized yellow onion - 1" dices (white onion makes it a little hotter)
1 jalapeno - 1/2" dices (seeded and deveined for mild)
2 cloves of garlic diced fine
2 Tbls lemon or lime juice (vinegar is ok, but not my preference
1 tsp kosher salt (brings out the flavor of the cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cayenne
2 Tbls cilantro - chopped to 1/2"

Pour the juice from the can of tomatoes into the blender and add the onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Pulse the blender a couple times to reduce the size of the veggies slightly.

Add the juice, salt and spices and then about 1/2 the can of tomatoes, blend for about 15 seconds until the tomatoes start to get incorporated, add the cilantro and the rest of the tomatoes and blend it again until the last of the tomatoes start to break down.

To make this from your pantry you can substitute 1 Tbls of dried jalapenos or red pepper flakes, 1/4 cup dried onion or 1/2 cup frozen, diced onion, 1/2 Tbls granulated garlic. Let dried ingredients soak in the tomato juice for an hour or two; or rehydrate by pouring 2 cups boiling water over them, let sit for 15 minutes and drain. Dried cilantro just isn't the same but 1 Tbls is about right if you have to.

I usually eat this immediately but it's better after 1 hour of refrigeration, esp. if using dried ingredients. Stores well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Rick