There are a lot of self-sufficiency, survival, or homesteading books that I own. I wanted to start listing them, but won’t include books like “Stranger in a Strange Land” by Robert Heinlein, even though I’ve read it over a dozen times, and consider it to be a must-read. I will list each book one at […]
Author: db
Reef Hunter
I’ve mentioned my friend SB several times. He and his family introduced me to spear fishing, a past time I’ve used to replace one of my old loves, hunting. SB has also impressed me with his smoked rabbit and reminded me of the value of brining before cooking. And since he was raised where
Jalapeno Spam
Ironically, this article about Spam will be short. We make, buy, stock and eat quite a bit of canned meats. From canned mullet and to Yoders bacon to canned rabbit, I’ve probably tried making it, or at least tasting it. And of course, I’ve eaten my share of Spam. Not as much as the average […]
Saving Lost Skills – Pioneer Family Days at Heathcote Botanical Gardens
I received an email from my wife’s aunt, Nan, who happens to be Heathcote Botanical Gardens’s Educational Coordinator. Her email was in regards to yesterday’s post on harvesting meat rabbits. She mentioned that she would be willing to run the camera for me to better show the process (one of two offers I received – […]
Harvesting a meat rabbit
Since I’ve made it known that I eat them, the question of “How do you process them?” has come up many times. I recently timed myself and wrote out the entire process when the question of how long it takes me per animal came up on a live chat session with some of the folks […]
Having Options
(Remember when I wrote about re-purposing my old Droid cell phone? This post is being written completely on that tiny computer as a testament to its ability to function as a option, should the need arise.) Having options is always a step in the preparedness direction, and while you may never need them, the peace […]
Grind Your Own Red Pepper Flakes For Better Quality and Flavor
When I was writing about making curry powder from long term preps, I also included a bit about grinding my own red pepper flakes. I mentioned that once a year I gather as many different dried peppers as I can find. This year, I was able to locate
Baited Breath Part 3 – Bait Shrimp
In the past year, I’ve eaten mullet, and sand fleas, and while both are considered bait locally, both are edible, and are on my “goto” list….if the world ever ends. Actually, neither were that bad, just not worth the effort when other options are available A few days ago, I was fishing with a friend, […]
Canning Meat
As I sit here typing this out, I can hear the pressure canner merrily rattling along every twenty seconds or so. Pork butts and chicken thighs were on sale this week, and I took the opportunity to put some up the old-fashioned way, pressure canning it. I will go over the general process, but I […]
Backyard Egg Options
A box without hinges, key, or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid. “Eggses!” I have a fairly wide selection of eggs in my refrigerator, considering I raise them myself on little over a quarter acre in town. Here are the results from