Recipe of the Week: Sweet Potato / Squash Casserole, by Polly in MO

I have served this on Thanksgiving every year for over 21 years. It is my granddaughter’s favorite, and she comments EVERY year at the start of dinner, “Sweet Potato / Squash Casserole! MY FAVORITE. I ate it as a baby on my first Thanksgiving!” Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups mashed butternut squash 1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potato 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup Brown sugar 1/3 cup melted butter (not margarine or spread) 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla extract Directions: Mix all together. ( I use a hand mixer.) Put in 9×9 baking dish. Sprinkle with topping and bake …


Two Letters Re: Coffee

Hi Sarah, I took great interest in your article about coffee, as I am one who loves a good cup or two of coffee daily. My concerns in a SHFT would also be how do I ensure that coffee would be available. Currently, I keep 10 lbs on hand of whole bean coffee. I do not refrigerate or freeze as I thought that would destroy the flavors. The coffee is in 2.5 lb bags and rotated. I purchased a hand grinder and also bought a French Press, which makes delicious coffee and uses no electricity. My setup is fine for …


Letter Re: Coffee

Mrs. Latimer, Thank you for your contributions to our survival knowledge. In regard to roasting your own coffee, we have been doing this for years and I thought I might share … Firstly we buy our beans green by the 150 pound (plus) burlap bags from Royal Coffee Co. and have it shipped to us. We have kept our beans in 5 gallon buckets in a cool place and have never had a problem with spoilage. Like you, we have gone through multiple evolutions of roasting techniques from cast iron pan to electric hot air popcorn popper, which I will …


Surviving Custer, by R.S.

Let’s be honest, how many of you ever expect to find yourself in a survival situation? You’ve probably day dreamed about it, wondering how you’d fare. The fact is, we don’t walk out the door in the morning expecting to find ourselves in a predicament. I certainly never expected to find myself in such a “survival” situation on a summer day in South Dakota’s Custer State Park. Yet, there I was facing such a situation just last summer. We had finally taken our long-awaited family vacation “out West”. We live in the suburbs outside a large Midwestern city. So the …


Letter Re: Coffee

Sarah, I have tried grinding my own coffee and do prefer it. However, buying only a few pounds at a time I found that the beans cost more than buying the ground coffee! That goes for the green coffee beans too. It reminded me of the old Heathkit radios that everyone said you paid for the privilege of putting together. Perhaps they would be cheaper if bought in volumes of 100 or 500 pounds, but I can not afford such a purchase on my own and there is no one in my family, friends or acquaintances who are willing to …


A Homemade Thermos Cooker, by M.P.

A thermos cooker is an energy saving cooking device. Earlier versions were a vacuum thermos that you placed uncooked food and boiling water into and then sealed it up, and in a few hours you had cooked food. Later versions have a pot that you put your ingredients into and place on your stove; you then bring the contents to a boil and place the pot into an insulated outer pot to hold the heat in and cook the food. Thermos cookers do not speed up cooking times; they only save energy, and in fact cooking times can be significantly …


Letter Re: 80% Lower Router Problems

Hugh, I wanted to add something here. You should not have to keep retightening a router bit after each cut. Having been a woodworker for 25+ years and having used routers to mill aluminum, here are a few safety tips: When inserting bit in collet make sure bit is not bottomed out all the way. Insert bit until it bottoms out and then slightly raise it up about 1/32 or 1/16″. The easy way to do this is to snug collet enough so you can insert bit into collet, and that bit will stay put when you take your hand …


Selecting An Escape Route, by KyoSa D

Everyone has a plan to “Get Out of Dodge” in an emergency. As I teach my self defense and firearms classes, I ask people and they all say, “I’d head up to my cabin” or “I’ll head out west”. The problem is, have you actually considered how you will leave the immediate area of your home or work? Most of the people I hear begin their plan ambiguously. They say, just simply, “I’d leave town”, but they have never done any reconnaissance or real-life consideration of their route. As humans, we are creatures of habit. If I want to leave …


Letter Re: 80% Firearms

Hugh, I recently completed a Complete AR-15 Rifle Kit with PTAC Upper from 80% Arms with their Easy Jig system, and I would like to share a few things from my experience. 80% Arms shipped the kit within just a few days. There were no missing parts or tools. That was my only experience with their customer service, but based on the rapid shipment I would rate them “excellent”. The instructions were quite complete and understandable, but you do need to read them carefully (preferably twice or more) before cutting and then follow them exactly step by step while cutting. …


Vinegar As An Essential Multi-Purpose Tool for TEOTWAWKI- Part 2, by J.R.

Equipment and Supplies Making your own vinegar at home is a simple, useful, practical skill that is applicable to TEOTWAWKI.  If you can crush apples and save the apple juice, you can make apple cider vinegar (ACV).  In addition to apple, there are many different types of vinegars you can make depending upon your needs and desires.  I have been making ACV for many years. I have gallons put away in my basement, and I always have a bottle in the fridge that I use on a continual basis.  Stocking up on some basic supplies ahead of time will ensure …


Letter Re: 80% Article

Hugh, Concerning the article titled “Building an 80% Firearm,” I just wanted you (and the readers, should you decide to post this) to know that the 80% handgun market is continuing to expand. In addition to the Not-A-Glock and 1911s, there is a website (matrixprecisionparts.com) that offers 80% Sigs for construction. On the website, they also sell refinished German Sig Sauer P228 9mm parts kits for the 80% receiver. This is easily one of the most satisfying builds I have done. Now if only someone would offer an 80% M1A or mini 14 receiver and tooling. – F.M.


Vinegar As An Essential Multi-Purpose Tool for TEOTWAWKI- Part 1, by J.R.

During TEOTWAWKI, long-term survivability will depend upon more than adequate caloric intake and the ability to defend oneself and one’s family.  Historically, the leading cause of death during times of prolonged war, conflict, or natural disasters has not been violence or the direct impact of disasters, rather, most people perished due to rampant disease and infections caused by the interruption of access to medical treatment, clean water, and adequate hygiene.  In dire times, access to medicinal agents and the ability to both prevent food and water-borne illness and to maintain hygienic living quarters may make the difference between life and …


Letter Re: Shielding a Cell Phone

Mr. Latimer: Simply as a departure point for thought: I placed my wife’s cell phone inside an empty metal coffee can and covered the open top with aluminum foil. I secured that by overlaying the plastic lid. The phone did not ring, nor would it receive a text. Outside of the can, both calls and texts went through. Should you (we) have a cell phone that has a integrated battery, this may make tracking or malicious communications more difficult. – Skyrat


Recipe of the Week: Garden Season Pico de Gallo (Cold Salsa), by L.H.

An easy and flavorful summertime garden treat. We eat it on our tacos and burritos. We eat it on the side of cottage cheese. We dip celery/carrot sticks and tortilla chips in it. It wonderfully tops a bowl of fresh shredded lettuce. Shoot, we sometimes just eat it out of the bowl with a spoon. It’s good stuff. Ingredients: 6 large garden tomatoes, chopped small (or) 4-5 cups smaller garden tomatoes such as cherries or romas (measured before chopping) 1/2 cup finely diced red onions 1 large medium-to-hot pepper such as jalapeno, habanero, Serrano etc., chopped fine 3 cloves garlic, …


Letter Re: Cell Phone Blocking/Masking

Hi James, For people with cell phones having non-removable batteries, I have wondered if cell phone tracking could be blocked by removing the sim card. I have such a phone, and although removing the battery is not an option, removing the sim card is pretty straightforward. – B.G. o o o Dear Editor, I work exclusively with cell phone RF protocols (4G/LTE, Bluetooth) and can say this “evidence bag” does the trick. http://a.co/7z56VAh In a separate item please let SurvivalBlog readers know that Polar Pure is back on the shelves in the USA after resolving its conflict with the geniuses …