Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Pantry Paratus Announces Photo Contest

I just received this announcement: Pantry Paratus is excited to celebrate our second year on as an e-store.  We are looking to expand our digital marketing appeal with real pictures; so in order to do that we are hosting our first annual 2013 photo contest to celebrate all the harvest of this season’s bounty.  All the official rules are here, but the basics are these: -all photos must be original work and submitted to photocontest@pantryparatus.com between Friday, September 6th and Friday, September 20th. -there are two categories: “Canning” and “Food Preservation.”  The first one is easy to define, but the …


Letter Re: Question on Preparedness Course

Jim: I’m planning to get the “Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course.” Does it have any details on the shelf lives of foods like beans, rice, canned goods, and vitamins? Thanks So Much, – K.S. JWR Replies: Yes, and in fact the shelf life appendix (in tabular format) is quite extensive, spanning 15 pages. You can of course print out a hard copy, for your reference binder.


Stuff Hitting the Fan: A Position Paper – Part 4, by R.L.

(This is the conclusion to the article series that began on Friday.) Appendix A The following is essentially a “wish” list; however the items that are in bold are relatively important.  The tools and medical areas would be for a complement for 1-10 people.  The sundries area covers a family of six.  The food area is for one person for one year, multiply (or divide) as you see fit.  There is extra food included for charitable impulses.  Coordinate purchases among the group if you plan to congregate.  I live in Georgia, so the clothing and supplies are tailored for that …


National Preparedness Month — Three Concurrent Mountain House Sales!

During National Preparedness Month, Mountain House has removed their Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) restrictions on their authorized dealers for long term storage foods packed in #10 cans. This is the first time the company has ever done so, and it has created the opportunity for low prices that haven’t been seen in decades. Three SurvivalBlog advertisers are Mountain House dealers, and I strongly recommend that you stock up to take advantage of these sales prices in September. Here is a summary of the three September sales: A month-long sale on Mountain House long term storage foods began today at Safecastle. …


Understanding The Process of Freeze Drying Food, by Thomas Baldrick

To understand freeze drying there is less to digest than you might think. If you’re into survival, freeze dried food is your friend. It’s a good friend because you’ll enjoy it and feel good having it around. Like a weapon, a partner or a loyal dog, it serves as your trusted companion… always there for you when you need it most. Now let’s explain the process of freeze drying food and understand how this friendship begins. What is Freeze Drying? While today’s freeze drying industry is powered by some really smart people and super high tech equipment, the concept remains …


Finding Comfort When TSHTF, by P.R.

You could say that Y2K started us on a serious survival path. But long before that, preferring the peace and quiet of country life, we had already begun our search for a small acreage some distance from any cities. The idea of simple living and self-sufficiency appealed to both my husband and me. Finally, in 1998, we were blessed to find a few acres in Central Texas. With a partially built house on a dead-end road, trees and some pasture, it mostly fit all our requirements and was within our rather meager price range. So 15 years later, we are …


Emergency Preparedness: 101, by Jennie From the Flats

Wakeup Call  It was 2 o’clock in the morning when our two year old toddler woke me with a terrifying scream. She was just across the hallway, but I was disoriented for a moment and couldn’t figure out why I was blind.  As I realized the power was out, I looked for the battery-powered lantern I keep beside the bed only to find it missing.  The three year old had probably been playing with it again.  I felt my way around the house and hoped the lantern would still have power.  It clicked on and what a blessed sight that …


The Constipated Hordes at TEOTWAWKI: A Pharmacologic Strategy, by Anon, M.D.

In a situation that will be characterized by, among other things, gutted pharmacies and unmanned hospitals, the remaining population at TEOTWAWKI will be required to provide their own medical care and to meet their own pharmacologic needs.  While there have been numerous helpful articles outlining the importance of antibiotics in the context of TEOTWAWKI there has been very little addressing the importance of an overall pharmacologic strategy. Some of you—especially those who take daily prescription medication—have likely considered this problem before.  But perhaps you are young and healthy, unburdened by any medical diagnosis.  There should still be a pharmacologic component …


Five Letters Re: Car-Mageddon: Getting Home in a Disaster

Dear JWR: By way of background, I’m a middle aged woman in reasonable shape.  I go jogging, do pushups and take karate.  I have never been in the military.   Around a month ago I tried ruck marching with my 25 or 30 lb bug out bag (BOB), to see how well I could handle it.  I wore wool Army socks and a pair of boots that I thought were reasonably broken in, and walked laps around a park as fast as I could walk.  The ruck was a civilian backpacker’s external frame pack with a belt.  I carried some …


If Life Gives You Tomatoes, Make Salsa! By S.M. in Arizona

Gardening in the Southwestern United States is a huge challenge!  Growing a successful garden takes hard work and a commitment to never give up.  My gardening quest began in earnest in October 2010.  Prior to 2010 I had planted seeds in the ground with few, if any, results.  I had one lemon tree and aloe vera plants (part of my first aid kit, used for burns, skin irritations, etc.) that grew without much help from me.  A friend, who was a master gardener, gave a class one Saturday on how to start a garden.  He taught basic desert gardening and …


Bone Broth, a.k.a. Stone Soup, by H.A.

Bone broth is slow-simmered broth, made with bones.  Vegetables and/or vegetable scraps are also sometimes used, as is a shot of vinegar to help leach the minerals from the bones.  Bone broth is healthful and frugal. Why make bone broth?  For starters, prepping can be expensive!  Being frugal makes prepping easier.  Bone broth can be “almost” free to make, from items that you don’t even realize that you have, hence the “Stone Soup” title.   Also, bone broth is chock-full of minerals and nutrients, which is always a good thing, but especially so if/when the “balloon goes up”, when staying healthy …


Letter Re: Storing Foods to Eat for Pleasure

Dear JWR: You’ve probably heard of the “Mormon Four,” a starting place for beginning preppers wanting to attain a one-year food supply. The Mormon Four prescribes amounts of red hard winter wheat, powdered milk, sugar or honey, and salt to sustain life for one year. That’s a lot of bread making, preserving, and sprouting over and over! Yes, these foods are nutritious, have a long shelf life, and can keep you alive. However, my opinion is that the boredom factor in this diet is huge, even if you love bread. Here’s an idea: Everyone, and I mean everyone, from around …


Tips From an Amateur on Getting Through a Disaster, by F.M.H.

Back in 1979 I found myself in facing a hurricane by the name of Frederic. It had Mobile, Alabama in its cross-hairs. The category three hurricane made landfall on September 12. I did not take the warnings seriously and unfortunately there was little to no preparation made on my part. I barely had a quarter of a tank of gas in my car. I did not have a battery operated radio or a flashlight. There was some non perishable food in my pantry and a small amount of food in the fridge. I was basically like most folks, ill prepared …


On Safe Cooking, by Mrs. Icebear

Disclaimer: Please use common sense in applying anything you read here! In the (European) country where I live in we have a lot of cooking shows on television, and I never cease to be both shocked and amazed at seeing (some – thank God not all) professional chefs taste their exquisite creation with a spoon  and then put that spoon straight back into the pot. So, if anyone feels offended by my stating the obvious below, please don´t take it personally. For preppers/ survivalists/ people who want to be self sufficient there are of course a host of reasons to …


Survival Is Not Fun, by Wild EMT

Bug-Out! A friend and I recently discussed some of the possible physical difficulties that might be associated with a rapid exfiltration from a devastated area during a major grid-down scenario.  We thought it would be interesting to explore the personal effects of increased stress, combined with decreased caloric intake, which might be encountered while “bugging-out.”  We wanted to move away from academic knowledge to personal experience, so we created a seven day bug-out “challenge” for ourselves.   Background note: my survivalist friend was a U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam and then spent his career working on computers.  I’m a 46-year-old …