A Liberal’s View of Preppers

gunsI’m writing this in response to a blog post by a liberal blogger that appears to live in Oregon and calls Barney Frank her hero!

She recently blogged that:

Preppers Scare the Crap Out of Me

In a post which is loaded with prejudice, falsehoods, slander and other good stuff.   I’m writing this response for a couple reasons.  First, to try to explore the thoughts and mindset of those who are dead-set against being prepared for hard times.  Second, to look at some of the falsehoods presented in her post.  Third, to rant a bit about crazy people who believe that everything is peachy in the world.

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Bug Out Vehicle Project

RVOutsideLeft sm

The Bug Out Vehicle (BOV) is an essential part of every preppers inventory.  It is the means by which, should we find ourselves in a SHTF scenario, you will get you and your family to safety.  It should be able to not only provide reliable transportation for the family, but to haul all the gear you plan to take with you.  Alternatively it can also provide shelter, depending on your needs and how you see yourself bugging out.

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Book Bomb – How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It

This is a little reminder for those that might have already heard, or a great intro for those that haven’t.  James Wesley Rawles, Author of the renowned survivalblog, as well as the novel Patriots (which we reviewed here before) has a new book coming out shortly.  It’s been available for pre-order for a little bit now, but everybody was requested to wait until today (9/25/09) to actually place pre-orders.  This makes a big difference to companies such as amazon, which use the purchase velocity in their rankings. Continue reading “Book Bomb – How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It”

Liquid or Powdered Pectin

This year has been a big experiment in new canning recipes, and foods.  In doing that, my wife especially has been learning a lot as she has stretched beyond some of the basic recipes we’ve used in previous years.

Well, over on her own blog, my wife made a comment about something she’s learned this year.  Go check out what she’s learned on the difference between liquid and powdered pectin.

And boy has she been using that a lot this year.  I’ve been grabbing pictures to post up here, hopefully I can get to it soon.

Organic red wheat at cost

A neighbor of mine just harvested red wheat on his family farm here in Utah and is selling it at cost. They had the wheat processed and bagged at Lehi Roller Mills. It is organic hard red wheat and priced at $10 per 60 lb bag. That is thirty-percent less than what you can get it for at the LDS Home Storage Centers. That’s 600 pounds for only $100! Contact Wade for more information.

Dehydrating Peppers

Peppers courtesy of the garden
Peppers courtesy of the garden

Harvest season is upon us here in Utah, so I’ve been pretty busy preserving the harvest.  This year I grew pepper plants from seed and have LOTS of peppers in my garden.  Some are hot and some are mild.  This is a good thing if you like peppers a lot, but I do not.  Thankfully my husband does, but even a pepper lover like him can only eat so many peppers.  So what do we do with all those peppers?  We eat a few, put a few in salsa, and save the rest for later by dehydrating them.

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September 19th one day Ham Radio class‏

ONE DAY TECHNICIAN CLASS

ham_antenna
The Technician license is the entry level license for getting started in HAM radio. The Amateur Radio Club of Utah Valley often presents one day courses followed by a test to obtain your Technician class license.

The next class is Saturday September 19th, 2009 on the BYU campus. Seating is very limited so if you are interested please read on to find out how to sign up.
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Store zucchini in bread

I have been searching for the best way to store zucchini and have found the answer: in bread. Instead of trying to freeze the zucchini itself, make it into bread first and freeze the loaves.

Other options that I am trying are freezing the shredded zucchini pre-measured in individual bags and as bread dough, pre-measured in individual, disposable baking tins. Freezing the shredded zucchini allows for convenience as you only have to thaw exactly what you need and it’s already measured for the recipe. The frozen dough is even more convenient as it only requires baking, saving you time and a messy kitchen. The most convenient option of course is pre-baked loaves though as they come out of the freezer ready to eat. I’m going to do some comparisons through the winter to see how much of a difference in taste and texture there is between bread baked from frozen dough and the pre-baked frozen loaves. If it turns out that the frozen loaves are just as good as freshly baked bread, then I will stick with that. It’s much easier and saves a lot of electricity to have a baking day where you cook it all at once. Continue reading “Store zucchini in bread”

Freezing green onions

green_onions

I pulled a bunch of onions this evening, sliced them up, and arranged them in the dehydrator to run through the night. A post on that will be coming soon. I thought I’d post a quick note about green onions tonight though. Just because you have more than you can eat, don’t throw the rest out. Freeze them! Green onions freeze well and they don’t even have to be blanched. The texture changes a little so you probably won’t want to each them in a salad, but besides that they do quite well. I have enough that I won’t need to buy green onions again. Really. I’ll still be pulling them out of the freezer when next year’s are ready to harvest.

Survival Book Review: “Patriots: A novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse”

This is the second of a number of preparedness related book reviews that we are planning. See our first review on One Second After. If there is a specific book or other resource that you would like us to review, please tell us in the comments.  You should also review our preparedness bookshelf post for some other titles that you may want to check out yourself.

Patriots
Patriots

For this review we are trying something a little different. Nearly all the authors on this site have read this novel, often in several editions so several of us will be offering our thoughts on this most recent edition.

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Swine flu fact check

Part of prepping is being smart. Educating yourself with existing knowledge and acquiring the skills to accurately and quickly secure and evaluate future information is critical for survival. Preppers should be leaders. People will look to you in an emergency for leadership and direction. Many people already do. As we work to help people understand the importance of prepping, it is crucial that we do it in a way that is not only sincere, but honest. Using scare tactics is not the right approach.

While stories of fear and death may motivate someone in the short term, its effects will not last and will not produce the change of lifestyle required for someone to truly be prepared. Being seen as a conspiracy theorist and a radical nut-job will also not help your efforts to convert friends and family, or worse, progress towards larger efforts for larger subjects nationally and across the world. Regardless of what you believe, where you stand, or which way you lean politically, your actions contribute to the perceived image of a prepper. Whether it’s individual rights, big-brother, small government, war, or the current battle over health care, the way you contribute to the conversation has a dramatic effect over the conversation. Continue reading “Swine flu fact check”