The Art of Meal Stretching – Part 2, by Nurse Michele

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

I learned a long time ago that when the budget was particularly tight around our house if I stressed over it, I would see that stress reflected in my children. I tried, of course, to take the opportunity to display faith and trust in the Lord. There were times, I confess, that I stood firmer on my faith than at others. I remember one night in particular our car had broken down. There, in the freezing cold, on the side of a major highway in New Jersey, my kids and I stood waiting on a tow truck. The kids were 8 or 9 years old at this time and it was the same year that we lost everything. The additional loss of the car felt daunting. I can still hear the anguish in my daughter’s voice and the weariness in my own as she cried, “Now we don’t have a car! What are we going to do now?” and I answered, “I don’t know honey, the Lord will provide.” That was met with a grumbled, “You always say that!” Humph. Well.

As a woman of Italian heritage, raised in part by my immigrant grandmother, what one puts on the table has great significance. Food is how you say, “I love you.” Well-prepared, intentionally presented food says, “welcome to our home.” And good food at dinner time says, “I’ll take care of you.” For Italians, the kitchen is the heartbeat of the home and food is life itself. My goal then became bigger than just low-cost meal preparation. I deeply desired to put a meal in front of my family that made them feel secure and stable. And I honestly believe seeking Him during those times helped me to find some creativity in the kitchen, enabling me to go beyond just feeding my family ‘something’ but gathering them around the table to enjoy a wholesome, tasty and inviting dish that defied its dollar value.

Which brings me to Part 2 of Meal Stretching. As discussed in Part 1, meal stretching is the learned art of taking simple, inexpensive ingredients and turning them into not just one but several meals to satisfy one’s family. The basic premise usually focuses on a low-cost meat option and some accompanying food items, creating a menu for several days. In Part 1, I utilized chicken leg quarters, rice, beans and a few add-ons to make entrees for a family of four for 5 nights with a total cost of less than $18.

The following menus are meant to build on one another so I may utilize some items purchased for Part One’s menu. I have decided to list all of the ngredients needed upfront as a shopping list and then will repeat each one individually as they are utilized in the recipe. Continue reading“The Art of Meal Stretching – Part 2, by Nurse Michele”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the large number of permanent small business closures, nationwide. (See the Economy & Finance section.)

Precious Metals:

We’ll start out today’s column with this analysis from Jim Wyckoff: Price gains for gold, silver as bulls making good comeback

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Barrick and Buffett; Gold and Goldman

Economy & Finance:

Charles flagged this piece at Zero Hedge: “It’s Really Bad” – Almost One-Third Of Small Businesses In NY, NJ Have Closed

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In Fortune magazine: Nearly 100,000 establishments that temporarily shut down due to the pandemic are now out of business

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Reader H.L. suggested this detailed article at LewRockwell.com: Global Inflation Watch. JWR’s Comment: The included table is an eye-opener!

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Economists urge Congress to send out second round of $1,200 stimulus checks

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At Zero Hedge: Citi Warns “100% Probability Of Loss” In Most “Euphoric” Market Since Dot Com Bubble

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — December 3, 2020

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Today is the birthday of actor Brendan Fraser (born, 1968.) He often plays comedic “fish out of water” roles. Many preppers of course remember him from Blast From The Past.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the first entry for Round 92 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 92 ends on January 31, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

 

The Art of Meal Stretching – Part 1, by Nurse Michele

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Meal stretching is the learned art of taking simple, low-cost ingredients and turning them into not just one appealing meal for your family, but with some careful planning and a few adjustments, several meals to meet your family’s needs.

This is a subject I expect that most of us, at least SurvivalBlog readers, have already acquired a fair bit of knowledge. Sometimes it’s easy to assume then, that the ability to make one meal become three is all but ubiquitous. But recently something happened, making me re-think my assumption that folks at large are familiar with ways to help keep themselves and their loved ones fed, when lean times hit.

For most of their formative years my husband and I raised our children in a lovely suburb in New Jersey. Surprising to most, New Jersey has some of the nicest, safest towns in the country. No crime. Good schools. Surprisingly conservative morals. Close-knit communities. In peacetime, that is. Not a place to be when teh SHTF. Nice folks but no prepper awareness at all.

This community, though appealing, wasn’t one I could afford to live in. I was working there as the secretary in a small Baptist church but living in a more affordable town when, to no fault of our own, the apartment complex we were living in suffered damage and we lost everything. Like, everything. We left with nothing but the clothes we were wearing. In a not-worth-rehashing detail, our renter’s insurance found a way to not cover it. So, God’s people being who they are, took us under their wing and found someone-who-knew-someone in town with a wonderful apartment to rent at far below market value. The church folks also showed up with used furniture, toys, kitchen items–the works. In three days, I had a home and all we needed. We stayed there almost a decade. I’m still grateful.

So, while we were living there, surrounded by million-dollar homes, it was clear to the neighbors and our children’s friends that we ‘didn’t have a lot’ compared to them. Especially when we took the risk of me giving up my job to go to nursing school. Things were really lean for a while. In our neighborhood my children’s lack of electronics, our beat-up old cars, even our ‘not only on Sunday’ faith really stood out. Never bothered me one bit. And while I always assumed it was noticed, it wasn’t focused on. My children’s friends gravitated to us. And I fed every kid that walked in the door.

Fast forward to the current day, having voted with our feet several years ago, we now live in a small town with which we are more homogenous. Which brings me to a recent occurrence that brought home the fact that meal stretching is not naturally occurring but a learned art.

We all know that the Covid fallout has left a lot of people in lean times. Some, apparently, for the first time ever. Like Mary. A 20-something year old in New Jersey who, along with several of her family members, has lost her job. Last week Mary sought out my daughter on social media to ask for advice on “how to make cheap meals.” Her family is really struggling. She recalled our family and sought N out as a resource. Wow. For them, and perhaps many others, this is a new circumstance and a new challenge. One for which they are under-equipped. Mary’s situation really struck a chord with me. And while it’s easy to get judgmental about that level of ill-preparedness, this may be the reason the Lord allowed our “less-than-the-Jones’’ lifestyle to be on full display to our neighbors. He gave us knowledge to share with tangible and practical advice.Continue reading“The Art of Meal Stretching – Part 1, by Nurse Michele”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we examine the risks posed by major solar flares.

Largest Solar Flare In Years Reported

Over at Zero Hedge: Sun Ejects Biggest Solar Flare In Years Ahead Of Active Cycle. Here is a quote:

“‘Remarkably, the flare was even bigger than it seemed. The blast site is located just behind the sun’s southeastern limb, so the explosion was partially eclipsed by the body of the sun. “X-rays and UV radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth’s atmosphere, producing a shortwave radio blackout over the South Atlantic… Ham radio operators and mariners may have noticed strange propagation effects at frequencies below 20 MHz, with some transmissions below 10 MHz completely extinguished…”

The Great Relocation

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site is this piece on societal trends by Michael Snyder: The Great Relocation: Americans Are Relocating By The Millions Because They Can Feel What Is Coming.

An Update on ATF’s Ever-Changing Pistol Brace Policies

Over at Townhall Media, Cam Edwards (of Cam & Company) has posted his fascinating interview with Alex Bosco of SB Tactical: ATF Pistol Brace Shenanigans, A Sign Of Things To Come?  Bosco confirms that more than one million of his company’s SBA3 braces have been sold. He also points out that the ATF lied through omission about their approval letters for five other SB Tactical pistol brace models — not just the SB-15 and MPX-SB. Those five received specific ATF approval. Bosco assorted that there have been more than 4 million arm braces produced, nationwide. So banning them would NOT be trivial! Again, please repeatedly contact your U.S. Senators and U.S. Congressman to have them rein in or better yet disband the ATF!

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 2, 2020

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On December 2nd, 1823, what became known as the Monroe Doctrine was declared by President James Monroe to Congress outlining a foreign policy initiative that forbade European interference in the American hemisphere but also asserted U.S. neutrality in regard to future European conflicts.

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Today, we’re posting another review article by our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio. (Once in a while, article scheduling allows us to have two articles from Pat in the same week.)

CRKT Ken Onion Panache, by Pat Cascio

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Ken Onion is one of the most famous knife designers on the planet. I’ve never met him face to face, but I’ve spoken with him a few times on the phone and discussed his knife designs, as I was preparing articles about them. He is a wild man, to be sure! But he knows everything he needs to know about making some of the most in-demand knives in the world – both for collectors and practical users alike. To be sure, original Onion handmade knives don’t come cheap, so we have CRKT (Columbia River Knife & Tool) to thank for bringing some of Onion’s knives to the market in larger numbers, so that we all can afford them. I’m not sure if CRKT was the first knife company to do collaborations with custom knife makers, but they are at the forefront these days. Many of their knives are designed from collaboration with some of the best-known knife makers in the world.

I’ve probably written more articles about CRKT knives than any other writer out there. I’ve been covering their knives since about the first year they came on the scene. And, I haven’t come close to covering all the newest designs they introduce each year, if I did, I’d be writing about their knives all day long, for weeks on end – that’s how many new designs they come out with each year. I try to find the cutlery and tools from CRKT, that I believe will be of the most interest to SurvivalBlog.com readers. Our reader’s taste run the full gamut – from small EDC folders, to big fixed blades, to all manner of survival knives and tools.

I’ve witnessed many changes at CRKT over the years, and all for the good if you ask me. To be sure, many of their knives are made in Taiwan  – and there are a couple reasons for this. They can bring some outstanding knife designs to fruition, for a lot less money, than if they were made here in the USA. And, CRKT also has some of their executives going to the plants in Taiwan on a regular basis to make sure things are running smoothly, and the knives are made to their strict specifications, too. Their knives are NOT made in the slave labor factories of Mainland China, instead, they are manufactured in state of the art factories in Taiwan. That is Free China.

Today we’re looking at a Ken Onion designed folder that is called “Panache” – and if you don’t know the meaning of that term, then look it up. Plus, this is a limited edition and only 550 of these knives will be produced – making them instantly collectible. I don’t collect knives, and I certainly don’t collect firearms, either. Most readers would be surprised at how few knives and firearms I actually have on-hand, at any given time. Many firearms I review are on-loan from gun makers – I’ve love to purchase all the gun samples I get, but that’s impossible. Like most folks, my wife and I live paycheck to paycheck most months – some months we make ends meet, some months, we do – and do whatever it takes to get the bills paid.Continue reading“CRKT Ken Onion Panache, by Pat Cascio”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books, and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how-to” self-sufficiency videos. There is also an emphasis on links to sources for storage food and a variety of storage and caching containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This week the focus is on the wonderfully anachronistic music of Pokey La Farge. (See the Music section.)

Books:

Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents. This new book is by Rod Dreher, the author of the bestselling 2018 book The Benedict Option.

o  o  o

Jordan Peterson’s upcoming book release is already raising a ruckus: Beyond Order: 12 More Rules For Life. That will be released March 1st, but they’re already taking pre-orders. The book’s release is still more than three months out, and it is already ranked #179 in books, overall!  I should mention that I first heard of this book from this article: Penguin Random House Staff Melts Down After Learning They’re Publishing Jordan Peterson’s New Book. The book is of course a sequel to Peterson’s best-seller: 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos.

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And, speaking of pre-orders: This biography of famed explorer Joseph Banks won’t be released until September of 2021: Banks.

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The Complete Guide to Your New Root Cellar How to Build an Underground Root Cellar and Use It for Natural Storage of Fruits and Vegetables

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 1, 2020

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This is the birthday of novelist Rex Stout (1886–1975). Rex Stout was the brother of Ruth Stout, the gardener who wrote about no-till, year-round mulching, organic gardening in her book Gardening Without Work: For the Aging, the Busy, and the Indolent

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Today, in addition to announcing the most recent writing contest winners, we’re presenting the latest precious metals column from Stephen Cochran of Gainesville Coins. He kindly sends us this, monthly.

Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced: Round 91

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We’ve completed the judging for Round 91 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prize-winning authors are:

First Prize:

First prize is awarded to A.D.C. for: Kitting Out The Kalashnikov which ran in four parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 — posted November 5-8, 2020.

He will receive:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

Second Prize is awarded to N.E for: Range Estimation and Windage with Mil Reticles  Part 1 and Part 2, which ran on October 20th and 21st, 2020.

He will receive:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

Third prize is awarded to E.P. for his article  Making Dosa – Indian Fermented Bread. He will receive:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Editor’s Choice Award:

We had a bit of a quandary when judging Round 91. Two of the best articles submitted in Round 91 came from a writer who had won one of our top three prizes just 11 months ago. That made him ineligible to win any of the top three prizes until Round 92 of the writing contest. So we decided to present a first-ever Editor’s Choice Award. That prize a transferable $400 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, good toward the purchase of any of our pre-1899 antique guns. He in fact has already selected a S&W top-break .38 revolver, and it was just mailed to him late last week. Congrats to St. Funogas, the author of these two Editor’s Choice articles:

  • How to Make Wooden Mason Jar Crates, which ran in two parts:  Part 1 and Part 2, on October 24th and 25th, 2020, and,
  • Seed Saving Tips, which and in three parts:  Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, on November 20th, 21st, and 22nd 2020.

Honorable Mention Prizes:

The Honorable Mention prize winners will each receive $30 Amazon.com gift cards. The five Honorable Mention prize-winning articles are:

Round 92 ends on January 31, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

November 2020 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

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Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affected gold prices.

What Did Gold Do in November?

There were many different factors steering gold prices in November, but the two major influences were also the most controversial: the COVID epidemic and the Presidential election.

Gold gained in early November, as COVID infections and deaths rose in the US and Europe. The possibility of a contested Presidential election was an even larger factor in the early November gold rally. Prices were further supported by continued dollar weakness. The gold price weakened as the Democrats failed to capture a majority in the Senate, breaking the “Blue Wave” that some had predicted.

The announcement in the middle of the month of three different COVID vaccines passing human clinical trials sent stocks shooting higher, and depressed safe-haven assets such as the dollar and gold. The last brick supporting gold prices fell when President Trump allowed the GSA to release transition funds to Joe Biden’s team.

Gold dropped more than $100 over the next two weeks, hitting a five and a half month low of $1,770 before the US open on November 30th. November was the worst month for gold in nearly four years.

In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its best month since 1987, while the SP 500 and Nasdaq had their best months since April.

Factors Affecting Gold This Month

COVID SECOND WAVE AND VACCINES

COVID infections and deaths surged across the nation in November, once again straining hospitals to the breaking point. Pfizer announced on November 9th that its COVID vaccine had successfully passed human trials. The news sent the Dow 1,300 points higher at the opening bell. Gold fell by $67 at the open. December gold futures lost $98 on the day to settle at $1,854 an ounce. Spot gold closed at $1,863, down $86.

The next Monday, a second successful COVID vaccine was announced by Moderna. This time, the gold market had a muted reaction, leaking $20 lower on other news over the course of the week.

November 23rd saw a third COVID vaccine announced, this time by Astrazeneca and the University of Oxford in the UK.  Gold investors, shaken by a new vaccine being announced three weeks in a row, headed out the door and into the stock market. By Black Friday, gold prices had fallen another $90 an ounce, breaking below the important $1,800 level.

The economy is expected to rapidly recover as vaccines roll out.Continue reading“November 2020 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on some crowded rivers.   (See the Montana section.)

Idaho

Authorities arrest fugitive in Coeur d’Alene, rescue two children missing since 2012

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Boise virus order prompts ‘robocalls’ to jam phone lines, deter enforcement

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In court over Idaho Capitol arrest, Ammon Bundy accuses government of ‘conspiring’

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”