Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Letter Re: Putting the Fats Back Into Non-Fat Powdered Milk

In regards to the letter on powdered milk, the method described in the web site works, but does not produce milk that tastes very good (depending on the oil used). Growing up all over the world we often were in places where tuberculosis (TB) was endemic in the cattle populations. As a result you could not drink milk but could drink/eat yogurt based products (the process of conversion to yogurt will kill off the TB). Of course to this day I always test positive for TB because I ate the yogurt — even though I don’t have it — as …


Letter Re: Putting the Fats Back Into Non-Fat Powdered Milk

Hello Mr. Rawles, Here is a link to Chow How that I thought some of your readers might wish to print out and add to their preparedness manuals. It tells you how to add the fats back to powdered milk (with oil) to make whole milk. It is important that toddlers have the fat for proper brain growth. It would also be a good idea for pregnant women to have the extra fats. Hope this link is helpful to some of your readers. Sincerely, ~ Garnet


Five Preparedness Lessons Learned, by Allen C.

I was speaking with a friend recently who mentioned he still has a generator in the box taking up space in his garage.  It has been there for ten years.  He did not know what to do during the Y2K panic so he spent money to make himself feel better.  I am not knocking the value of a good generator.  I have used mine for almost twenty years.  However, purchasing a generator he did not know how to use without at least buying some gasoline to go with it was a waste of money.  It has been said the humans …


Letter Re: Grub and Gear–Lessons Learned from an Alaskan Trapper

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James, Going through some old gear last month, I found my food supply lists and notes from 1976-79. I thought the old list might be of interest and the lessons I learned during the first three years in the remote Alaska bush may be helpful to a few of your readers. I do not recommend Alaska for a TEOTWAWKI retreat but the lessons I learned the hard way may be helpful to any one in a cold climate. I grew up in California listing to stories from my grandfather about Alaska and the Yukon. When I graduated from high school …


Letter Re: Storage Food Cookbooks

Hello James; I was just today shopping at the good ol value village and saw this book called Cooking With Stored Foods by Carlene Tejada and Carroll Latham. It contains great tips on storing foods and cooking stored foods. It lists also the shelf life of stored foods and there are diagrams for gravity fed can storage systems. I got it for ninety nine cents but your readers can find it on amazon.com for as little as $0.67 [plus postage]. God bless and many prayers for the loss of your Memsahib – Eric L JWR Replies: Thanks for that recommendation. …


The Disaster Garden–What’s Not in the Can, by C. the Old Farmer

“I’m going to garden if the Spinach hits the Fan…I’ve got my seeds in long term storage,” my prepper friend sighed with an attitude of  that’s taken care of now, thank goodness!  I asked if he had a garden.  “No, but I’m ready to start one if I have to.” As a homestead gardener of over 30 years from a long line of homestead gardeners, here is some practical advice culled from my years of experience growing food.  There is no instant garden by digging up the back yard.  I wish it were so!  Lawn grass is one of the …


One Woman’s View of Budget Preparedness, by Lisa L.

I wanted to write something for the contest for other ladies with children were in the same situation with wanting to be more prepared but not having the means to do so like the books recommend. I’ve had my frustrations but I’ve learned and bought gradually and wanted to share. 🙂 It always upsets me when I hear in the media or from people their point of view that people are helpless due to their income level. This is what I’ve learned so far, how to cook with wheat, stockpiling shampoo for very little and ways to acquire some supplies …


Preparing for Uncertain Times–A Simple Guide to Getting Ready, by Mr. and Mrs. Joe Patriot

Introduction Imagine this situation: All of the media outlets have gone to commercial-free coverage. They are reporting that the Dow has dropped 2,000 points and trading has been suspended on Wall Street. The Chinese, along with other countries have transferred their reserves from the US Dollar. Oil futures climb $50 a barrel in hours. A national bank holiday shuts down the financial system on Main Street. Within 24 hours the grocery stores are cleared out of all food stocks. The gas pumps dry up in 12 hours. Trucks delivering goods are stuck at truck stops waiting on fuel that may …


Letter Re: Thoughts on Shedding Bad Habits, and Developing Good Ones

Hello Mr Rawles, In response to Jane L.’s letter on shedding bad habits posted on September 3rd, it is admirable she has identified things in her life she can move away from for a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle. I would like to caution her, as well as others, that preparedness and survivalism is not an activity one does for a few weeks, and “is ready”. It is a lifestyle changing activity that probably reaches every facet of life, changing many things all at once. Don’t burn out on it. Things like the glass of wine, some breath mints or …


Letter Re: Thoughts on Shedding Bad Habits, and Developing Good Ones

Hi Mr. Rawles, I was thinking today about a section I read either on the blog or in the book about getting rid of any habits you may have. I instantly thought, “thank God I quit smoking” and left it at that. Until yesterday. I thought of all the things I do that are my habits that would not be there in a melt down. I found some that I just had not even thought about as being a bad habit that needed to be curbed. I am keeping a written diary of my habits to see where I need …


Letter Re: A Nation of Improvisers–More About Everyday Life in Communist Cuba

First our prayers are with your family in these dire times. The first thing about surviving in Cuba was that we did not see it as “surviving”, it was more like living, we did not know anything else, as the media in Cuba is tightly controlled. I remember as a child we did not have glue so we made glue out of Styrofoam and gasoline, just mix them up in a glass container that you could close to preserve and that’s it (if you go a little crazy on the gas it would be too liquid and take forever to …


Developing Our Family’s Survival Strategy, by FBP

We started prepping about 18 months ago. I have felt like a chicken with its head cut off, going wildly in all directions. I’ve learned a lot about a lot, some by research, but have learned most from doing. Being prior military (I served six years in the Army Captain, and as a civilian, I was a financial planner), I started identifying mission statements and initiating plans, backwards (aka backwards planning) in order to get them accomplished on time. The first mission: “How do we survive hyperinflation?” My readings led me to believe that the best protection is to plan …


Real-Life Inspiration for Preparedness, by K.P.

Background Information: My interest in preparedness started in earnest really just a few months ago.  Before that, I had been an avid backpacker, rock climber, and other sports which require self-sufficiency and forethought.  I am also a Red Cross volunteer.  I was at hurricane Wilma, and I have done local search and rescue, amongst other things.  This February I was dispatched to the south-western region of Kentucky for the Ice Storms.  What I learned there changed me in a lot of ways. I was aware of the pending economic collapse, but hadn’t really thought of practical things to do until …


Two Letters Re: A Method for Storing Fresh Eggs up to Two Years

Jim, Thank you for the great information you share. I read the post about storing eggs with a Vaseline coating and have a couple of questions. Do they have to be stored on a refrigerated shelf? Does this work with store bought eggs? My guess is this only works for fresh eggs and I don’t have a chicken….yet. Thank you. – Angela S. Jim, First, I want to wish you and yours all the best. Thank you for this site, friends and I have been learning from your site for about a year now. It has continually supplied us with …


Letter Re: A Method for Storing Fresh Eggs up to Two Years

Mister Rawles, You can store eggs on the shelf for two years with this simple process: 1.When you gather your eggs simply wipe them off with a dry rags to remove anything stuck on the egg. Do not wash them! 2. Get a partner to help with this next step. Cover the palms of your hands with Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. Cover each egg evenly with a thin layer of Vaseline. (This prevents air from entering the shell). Have your partner place the now very slippery egg into a Styrofoam carton. If using cardboard cartons, then line them with plastic wrap …