Strike-On-Lid Match Jar

What a great idea to keep in your 72-hr kit, your vehicle, or with your camping gear. I think I'll keep a couple in my house so when the power goes out, which happens often in our neck of the woods, I can find it easily in the dark to light a candle or oil lamp.

 

I found this nifty idea here. 

If you have a gas stove, this would be an attractive way to keep matches handy for cooking. Visit the great site I found this on and the author, Linda, shows how she also punches a hole in the lid for quicker access. That would be great next to the kitchen stove, rather than having to unscrew the lid each time.

Tie a bow around the lid and it would make a nice little gift for someone you care about!

Magical Myrrh

Photo from Florida Herb House

When Christ was a child, he was presented with gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh from the Magi. Myrrh was important and valuable enough in their culture to be considered a great gift from a king.

Myrrh is one of the most used herbal remedies in our home. It is the resin that is taken from the Myrrh Gum tree which grows in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Northern African countries.

About 15 years ago, I began searching all my herbal remedy books for an alternative to eating garlic as an antibiotic. As effective as garlic is (see Food For Health - Garlic), it isn't always the most pleasant to consume and can upset your stomach if you eat very much over a short period of time.

Myrrh has strong antibiotic properties, as well as antiseptic. Which is probably why it was used anciently to anoint, in oil form, dead bodies to keep them from stinking. It is used both internally and externally for an abundance of wonderful reasons. Several of my herbal resource books cite that in laboratory testing myrrh has been found to increase the white blood count by as much as four times. The white corpuscles are the immune system factor that fight off the unwanted intruders. It also tones the digestive system and helps the body to discharge mucus.

Internally, myrrh is used for:

• Antibiotic to kill internal infection, especially when used together with other herbs, like echinacea.
• Mouth wash and gargle for healthy gums, helps with gum diseases and sore throat
• A remedy for bad breath - known as the herbal breath freshener
• Tonsillitis
• Lungs, as an expectorant and to help clear asthma, cough, tuberculosis and all chest infections. 
• Stomach problems like ulcers
• An excellent cleanser for the bowels. It tones the colon and increases peristaltic action.
• Used for low blood sugar and diabetes
• kidney tonic and kidney stones
• Bladder and urinary problems
• Promotes menstruation
• Increases and enriches milk in nursing mothers
• As a stimulant to increase blood flow to the capillaries
• Chronic sinus problems

Externally, myrrh is great for:

• Anti-fungal treatment
• Skin sores, boils, and ulcerations 
• Antiseptic for wounds
• Hemorrhoids
• Gangrene
• Ear drops
• Eye wash
• Herpes
• Bed sores

Like most herbs, myrrh can be used in a variety of forms: tincture, infusion (tea), salve, oil, poultice, ointment, or taken in powdered form. The name "Myrrh" comes from "murr", which is an Arabic word for "bitter". And it IS very bitter! I buy it in powdered form and encapsulate it. You can buy it in capsules, oil, tincture, or other forms at probably most any health food store.

In our family, usually when we first feel a "bug" coming on, we'll take a capsule or two of myrrh, and maybe a couple of turmeric capsules with it. (see Food For Health - Turmeric) Within an hour or two, or by the next morning, the oncoming infection seems to be gone. If an infection has already taken hold, I take a couple of capsules several times throughout the day. It seems to give my body the extra ammunition to fight whatever infection is there. The illness will be mild and short in duration, and I'm good to go again!

I order myrrh in one pound bags from a food co-op (Azure Standard - currently $19.05/lb). It's not a very expensive herb to begin with, but is even less expensive that way. I also buy the gelatin capsules in bags of 1,000 and easily encapsulate 24 at a time with an encapsulator. It's a simple little gadget that's very quick and easy to use. As you learn to use more herbs for your health and healing, it's much less expensive to fill your own capsules. It's also very simple to make tea, tinctures and salves.

I certainly don't advocate replacing doctors when they are needed, but they may not always be available. Having and knowing how to use effective natural remedies is an important way to become self-reliant. Especially when my children were smaller, it brought me much peace of mind to know that we could take care of ourselves when we were sick if we needed to. Self reliance is achieved by learning one new thing at a time and using it so it's a part of your normal living. You are comfortable with it and prepared when a crisis hits, rather than having to add to the stressful situation by learning and using so many things that are unfamiliar.

This is the perfect time, as we honor the birth of Christ, to add some myrrh to your preparedness list. Try it out when the winter cold or flu sets in and give yourself the gift of healthier healing!

Survival Bread

Many years ago, at a Preparedness Fair, I picked up this recipe for Survival Bread. The recipe says that after it's made, it "will keep indefinitely". Hmmm... Made me think of Lembas bread - something the elves would make (for you Lord of the Rings fans). "One small bite will fill the belly of a grown man." Since I can't stand to waste, it didn't sound like anything I wanted to HAVE to consume on an otherwise perfectly good day, with soft yeast bread and an abundance of other good foods in the fridge. But this recipe keeps popping up in front of me, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and bake up a brick of Survival Bread today.

Here's the original recipe, just as I received it:

Survival Bread

2 cups oats

2 1/2 cups powdered milk

1 cup sugar 

3 Tbl honey

3 Tbl water

1 pkg. lemon or orange Jell-O (3oz)

Combine oats, powdered milk and sugar. In a medium pan, mix water, Jell-O and honey. Bring to a boil. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. (If the dough is too dry, add a small amount of water a teaspoon at a time.) Shape dough into a loaf. (About the size of a brick.) Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool. Wrap in aluminum foil to store. This bread will keep indefinitely and each loaf is the daily nutrients for one adult. 

 Well, the ingredients don't sound too bad, but that last line bothers me for some reason. Healthy food should deteriorate, shouldn't it? I have teenage boys and not much goes to waste around here, so I figured it was worth trying out. Even though the recipe doesn't specify, I used quick oats. As for the liquid, that little bit didn't even begin to cover it. It was so dry, I was still stirring mostly powder, so I ended up adding another 1/3 cup water plus more - almost 1/2 cup! It was very stiff, and very sticky. I wonder if I should have added less and got my hands in there and just packed it all together when it was still a lot drier. I don't know, but here's  the results:

It doesn't look so bad! AND - it actually tasted pretty good! It has a heavy powdered milk taste, which I'm not a big fan of, but with a little butter, or honey, or butter AND honey(!) I hardly noticed. I'm sure the recipe can be altered. Maybe less powdered milk and more oats? Unless it's formulated to an exact scientifically nutritional specification! :)  But I doubt it.

Has anyone else had any experience with survival bread? Or maybe if you have a different recipe you'd like to share, email it to me and I'll post it with your name. My email is naugafarm@gmail.com. I'm always looking for good recipes that are made from truly storage-type ingredients - things easy to store, and nothing out of the ordinary.

First 100 Items to Disappear During An Emergency

When the power went out surrounding the DC area, residents reported that store shelves were emptied within hours. Every time we have a big snow storm here, all the stores run out of shovels the first day. I always wonder how so many people could live in Northern Montana and not have a snow shovel, until after a blizzard has buried them. It happens every time. Wouldn't it be a good idea to buy a shovel in the spring when they are all on sale? Then it will be in the garage next winter, just waiting for the snow. This picture is of me and my friend from Brazil. She is experiencing, and shoveling, snow for the first time in her life!

What if any kind of emergency hits your city, town or neighborhood and you have to get out - maybe go to a relative's house. Do you have enough gas? Remember how many people sat in mile-long lines on the side of the road waiting to get some gas from the pumps, until they were empty? Those who kept a few 5-gallon

gas cans full in their garage were able to hit the road and make it to safety. It's pretty easy. Every few months you dump that gas in your car and refill the cans. The gas is always good and ready to get you where you need to go.

If you have candles, oil lamps or other emergency lighting, you won't be left in the dark if your power goes out. It's happened here many times. 9:00 at night and all of a sudden the house goes black. No panic - no problem. I feel my way to the closest matches (and I know right where they are), light one, go to the nearest candle or oil lamp and light it. We calmly carry on with whatever we're doing until the power returns. Picture the alternative: the baby is upstairs, you trip over unseen obstacles on the floor, you were in the middle of writing or cooking or bathing. It's frightening to children and very inconvenient, at the least. It's so easy to buy a few candles or lamps when they are in abundance and even on sale. We just HAVE to plan ahead!

So take a minute and ponder your possible scenarios - however unlikely. What will you be in need of if:
- your power goes out?
- your heat source is off?
- you have no phone?
- the city water is off, or your well pump can't operate?
- you can't get to a doctor?
- you can't get to a pharmacy to refill your prescription?
- you have to get out of town and need gas for the car?
- you need supplies for the baby?
- the store shelves are empty?
- you have pets to feed?
- a pandemic hits the area and the only safety is to stay in your home?
- looters are looking for unprotected food and provisions?
- you don't have a stove to cook on?
- you have to flee your home and camp out?
- the only food you will have is what you can grow?
- the water supply is contaminated?
- you need some wood to burn but have no way to cut up a tree, fence, boards, etc?
- you have a bicycle to ride for help, but the tire is flat?

Following is a list that was first assembled over 10 years ago by Joseph Almond (before Y2K). I don't know the criteria he used in deciding these items, but I'm sure it's a great resource for considering things that you may want to make sure you have. Since someone started circulating it on the Internet, some of you might have seen it there. Of course, the specifics will vary a little depending on the area, but it's a good list to go over as you plan how you will take care of yourself, your family, or others when an emergency hits. 

Top 100 Items to Disappear First During a National Emergency
1. Generators (Drawbacks: Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy...target of thieves; maintenance etc.)
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood can take 6 months to 2 years to become dried, for home uses.
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First Choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile ANY!)
6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much.
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.
8. Hand can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white & brown sugar
10. Rice - Beans - Wheat
11. Vegetable Oil (for cooking) Without it food burns/must be boiled etc.,)
12. Charcoal, Lighter Fluid (Will become scarce suddenly)
13. Water Containers (Urgent Item to obtain.) Any size. Small: HARD CLEAR PLASTIC ONLY - note - food grade if for drinking.
16. Propane Cylinders (Urgent: Definite shortages will occur.)
17. Survival Guide Book.
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting is difficult.)
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, etc.
20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
21. Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22. Vitamins
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder (Urgent: Small canister use is dangerous without this item)
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.
25. Thermal underwear (Tops & Bottoms)
26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil)
27. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item)
28. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)
29. Garbage Bags (Impossible To Have Too Many).
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels
31. Milk - Powdered & Condensed (Shake Liquid every 3 to 4 months)
32. Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid) (A MUST)
33. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST)
34. Coleman's Pump Repair Kit
35. Tuna Fish (in oil)
36. Fire Extinguishers (or..large box of Baking Soda in every room)
37. First aid kits
38. Batteries (all sizes...buy furthest-out for Expiration Dates)
39. Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40. Big Dogs (and plenty of dog food)
41. Flour, yeast & salt
42. Matches. ("Strike Anywhere" preferred.) Boxed, wooden matches will go first
43. Writing paper/pads/pencils, solar calculators
44. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in Wintertime.)
45. Workboots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
46. Flashlights/LIGHTSTICKS & torches, "No. 76 Dietz" Lanterns
47. Journals, Diaries & Scrapbooks (jot down ideas, feelings, experience; Historic Times)
48. Garbage cans, Plastic (great for storage, water, transporting - if with wheels)
49. Men's Hygiene: Shampoo, Toothbrush/paste, Mouthwash/floss, nail clippers, etc
50. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
51. Fishing supplies/tools
52. Mosquito coils/repellent, sprays/creams
53. Duct Tape
54. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes
55. Candles
56. Laundry Detergent (liquid)
57. Backpacks, Duffel Bags
58. Garden tools & supplies
59. Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies
60. Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.
61. Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
62. Canning supplies, (Jars/lids/wax)
63. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
64. Bicycles...Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, etc
65. Sleeping Bags & blankets/pillows/mats
66. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered)
67. Board Games, Cards, Dice
68. d-con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer
69. Mousetraps, Ant traps & cockroach magnets
70. Paper plates/cups/utensils (stock up, folks)
71. Baby wipes, oils, waterless & Antibacterial soap (saves a lot of water)
72. Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
73. Shaving supplies (razors & creams, talc, after shave)
74. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)
75. Soysauce, vinegar, bullions/gravy/soupbase
76. Reading glasses
77. Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers)
78. "Survival-in-a-Can"
79. Woolen clothing, scarves/ear-muffs/mittens
80. Boy Scout Handbook, / also Leaders Catalog
81. Roll-on Window Insulation Kit (MANCO)
82. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky
83. Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts
84. Socks, Underwear, T-shirts, etc. (extras)
85. Lumber (all types)
86. Wagons & carts (for transport to and from)
87. Cots & Inflatable mattress's
88. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, etc.
89. Lantern Hangers
90. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws, nuts & bolts
91. Teas
92. Coffee
93. Cigarettes
94. Wine/Liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc,)
95. Paraffin wax
96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc.
97. Chewing gum/candies
98. Atomizers (for cooling/bathing)
99. Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
100. Livestock

Self-Reliant Health - Comfrey

Comfrey is one of the first herbs I ever used, and another one that I would highly recommend everyone keeping on hand. It is an amazing herb for healing wounds and injuries. It is known as a "cell proliferant". In other words, it promotes cell growth in the repair process. The Blackfoot Indians from this area refer to comfrey as "bone knit." It can be used topically as a poultice or in a healing salve - or "green" salve. Most "green" healing salves you buy will have comfrey as the main ingredient.

Comfrey Healing Salve
I've made my own healing salves over the years and always keep some "green salve" on hand. It is also easy to find in health stores and not very expensive. Comfrey is easy to grow and will spread if not kept under control. A couple of plants were added to my parent's garden area and left to grow freely, and now they have about 1/4 acre of fresh, organic comfrey!

In our home we use a comfrey salve on any cuts or open wounds. With 3 boys, we've had plenty of injuries over the years. If comfrey is kept on the wound until healing is complete, there is usually no scar left behind.

A friend of ours used a homemade comfrey salve on her son's finger when he accidentally cut the tip off. He had severed the entire pad on the end of one finger, leaving only the skin attached on one side. They laid the pad back on and covered the entire end of the finger with the salve and wrapped it up. It healed with no visible scar and complete feeling.

Comfrey Poultice
We've also had a lot of experience in our family using comfrey poultices. To make a poultice, you either blend the fresh comfrey plant in the blender, or use a dried comfrey powder. Both the plant and the roots are used for healing. You can mix other healing herbs with it, or use just the comfrey. Make a paste out of it by mixing it with Wheat Germ Oil or some other oil. Honey also has healing properties and can be added to the mixture.

On one occasion, a friend of ours who is a fiddle player dislocated his elbow in a biking accident. The elbow was moved completely out of it's socket and the ligaments pulled. Since it was the "bowing" (right) arm that was injured, the one that gets the most movement, the doctor told him he would not be able to play the fiddle for several months. We made a poultice with comfrey powder and Wheat Germ oil and covered his entire elbow with it. Plastic was laid over the comfrey mixture and then wrapped in flannel. Within 2 weeks he was playing again just fine.

My brother has used comfrey poultices with great success. When his daughter broke her wrist, they had it x-rayed and found she had a buckle fracture. He put a comfrey poultice over the fractured area, covered it with gauze and then loosely wrapped it with Saran Wrap so she could sleep without getting it on the bedding. The aching stopped and she had no more pain. The fracture had been completely healed when it was checked again at 5 weeks.

My aunt had a horse who was badly injured when a barn collapsed. A large hole was gouged in it's rump area. My brother made a poultice from comfrey, lobelia, plantain, dandelion root, carrot juice, honey and Wheat Germ oil. He harvested all the herbs fresh except for the lobelia, which he had some dried plant on hand that he had bought. He blended it all together in the blender, and they packed the hole, which was big enough to put your fist into, with the mixture. Puss oozed out when they packed it in. They covered it with gauze and taped it in place. After a few weeks it was completely healed. Even the hair grew back completely and in it's natural color. Often, with horses, if the hair regrows over a wound, it will grow back white, without the normal pigment.

When my aunt took her horse to the veterinarian initially, she was told that it should be put down (killed) because it would not be able to heal well enough to ever function normally. Well, since her horses are like her kids, she took him home and called my brother. A few weeks later, she took the horse back to the vet who was shocked. He had never seen anything heal like that and wanted to know what she had done. She just told him that her nephew had "filled it with some weeds"!

Another horse was badly injured on his front shoulder. We think he'd been chased by a mountain lion since another horse with him had claw marks down his rump. The horse ran into a fence or the end of a log or something that tore a large hole, almost the size of a dinner plate, and a couple inches deep. Like the first horse, the wound was packed full of a very similar mixture. Within a few weeks, new flesh had grown in to fill the hole, natural brown colored hair grew back over the area, and there was almost no scar. She also fed the horse 2 to 5 lbs of carrots a day to help in the healing process.

You can also take comfrey internally, but like all substances, it's wise to only use what your body needs. If you don't have an injury for your body to use it on, I would not recommend consuming it. If comfrey is growing around livestock, they will only eat it when they are wounded. We can learn a lot about how to heal ourselves, by observing what animals do naturally.

So put on your list to make a quick stop at a health food store and pick up some comfrey powder. Then you'll have it, and the next time you or someone else is injured, mix a little comfrey with some honey or oil and try it out. If you really want to be self-sufficient, get a few comfrey starts and grow your own. You can have enough to help a lot of people in a crisis. And without spending hardly anything!

Crazy Montana Weather!

We have a saying here: "If you don't like the weather - wait 5 minutes."  I remember more than one occasion in this valley when it was 82 degrees one day and snow flakes falling the next! I love the Spring because it's very common to be in a torrential downpour while the sun is shining brightly! One big isolated cloud will be gushing it's contents while the rest of the sky is clear and blue. It's beautiful!

Last week we had a sunny snow storm. Snowflakes falling in the sun is a surreal sight. These flakes were "falling" horizontally! They painted the south side of all the trees, then the wind stopped and left everything as bright and calm as before against the backdrop of a bright blue sky.

Like most other places, we used to get a lot more snow on the average than we do these days. But last winter we got dumped on pretty hard.

This is my husband and oldest son shoveling off the garage and lean-to.

 

Our mailboxes.

Daniel with his prized icicle.

The road to my house.

A view from my deck.

Dad, finding his sidewalk.

A cold day on the ski slopes.

Here are a few more frosty day pictures:

And of course, where there is crazy weather - there are crazy people! This is the annual Polar Plunge held on New Year's Day on Flathead Lake. Some years, ice has to be broken up for the "crazies" to get in the water. The guy sitting in the water in the center of the second picture, is my husband. (We're only related by marriage. :-))

Now you know why I grew up preparedness-minded! The snow last winter typifies what every winter was like - and often we had a lot more than that. I knew to never get in the car and leave without having a pair of boots, warm hat, mittens and face scarf, a blanket, and basic first aid and emergency kits. It could be clear and mild when you left the house, but we knew the weather could change dramatically within a very short time. Living several miles out of town, up steep gravel roads with only our home and my grandparent's ranch at the end of it, I had to leave the car in the snow and walk the last mile on more than one occasion! Our road was not the county snowplow's top priority when a blizzard hit. And there were no cell phones. 

I'm grateful for having been taught to take responsibility for myself and others, and to be as prepared as possible for whatever situation I might find myself in. As I've traveled and lived in more populated areas, the matches and pocket knife I ALWAYS have in my purse, have been the topic of many good-natured chidings. But I, and many others, have sure been glad they were there on a whole lot of occasions! 

Most of us live where there is food, water and shelter always around us. It's so easy to take the convenience for granted and then be caught off guard when they are gone. The blizzards, flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes and power-outages that have been happening around the globe, are prompting many more people to plan for the unexpected. And then there are the others - who watch the news in amazement, but don't think it will ever happen to them. Or maybe just haven't made it a high enough priority to take inventory and start stocking up yet. Please start preparing now, and if you've already begun - keep going! A lot of people around you will be in need if a disaster strikes. Preparedness is Peace of Mind!

It's better to have it and not need it - 

than need it and not have it!

Aluminum Foil - Survival Cooking Essential

One of the nice aspects to blogging that I hadn't anticipated, is making friends. I had hoped to share useful information that would motivate and inspire others to become more self-reliant and able to take care of themselves in tougher times that are sure to come. But in the short time I've been posting, already I feel like you are my friends, and therefor feel an even greater interest in knowing that you will have the food and supplies you need to stay warm, fed, comfortable, or even alive, in the face of disaster. Planning doesn't have to be elaborate. "Simple" is the perfect place to start. You can always add to it from there.

We have to eat. Whether it's a hobo dinner, a reflector oven, or a make-shift griddle - If you have aluminum foil and sufficient heat, you can cook. This is "simple". I buy the large, restaurant supply rolls of aluminum foil at Costco Warehouse. You get a lot more for your money than in the smaller containers, and the heavy-duty foil will hold up much better than some of the very thin kitchen-use foil.

Hobo Dinners
Probably everyone knows what a Hobo Dinner is, but just in case: It's typically meat, onions, other vegetables and seasoning wrapped in foil and placed on a grate over a fire, or in the hot coals. You can really cook a whole lot of things this way - cobbler, cake, camp breads, stews, any vegetables or meats... Rather than completely wrapping the food, you can also form a "pot" shape to set over the heat source.

When cooking in a campfire, it's best to not have the foil right in the middle of the hottest part of the fire and glowing coals, or your food may burn. I learned that the hard way! Pulling some hot coals away into a pile and "burying" your foil dinner in them works great. Or set it on a grate of some kind, just above the heat. I've sat a foil dinner right at the edge of a good, hot fire and just turned it around a few times.

One of my favorite foil desserts is a Banana Boat.
~ Slice a banana from top to bottom on the inside of the curve. Cut clear through the banana without cutting into the peel on the back of the banana. Leave the banana in its peel.
~ Pull the banana open a little along the cut and stuff it with pieces of chocolate and marshmallows.
~ Set the banana on a sheet of foil and wrap it tightly around the banana, twisting and securing the ends.
~ Place it in the coals and let cook for about 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how much heat you have it in.
~Open the foil, grab a spoon and dig in!

Mmmmm! I love those!

Reflector Oven
There are several ways to make a reflector oven. A Solar Oven is a type of reflector oven made of reflective material that focuses the sun's rays onto the food. Or you can make a reflector to sit next to a fire and reflect its heat onto the food, like the one in the picture on the right.

A cardboard box can be lined with foil to set your dutch oven or other container inside with hot briquettes, like the picture on the left. I don't have any photos of my own, so I got these from Google Images to give you an idea of the different options.


The reflector oven I've used is a little different. I lined the inside of a box with foil. Then you set it upside down with one end propped up with rocks about an inch. Inside, you have hot briquettes, and 2 or 4 tin cans to set your cooking dish on top of. For now, you will have to get the idea from my not-so-professional sketches below. I have cooked a casserole and baked a cake this way. I've watched others bake bread  and cupcakes. They sat a cookie sheet on the tin cans and then put the bread pans on the cookie sheet. You would bake in this reflector oven the very same as you would in a conventional oven. I was really amazed at how simple and efficient it was.

When our weather turns nicer, I will do some reflector oven baking and take some good photos to show you how it works. Not that you need nice weather of course! This would be the perfect way to cook outside on the ground or a patio or apartment deck in the dead of winter. Just make sure your surface is heat safe. I'll also give more info on how many briquettes you need, depending on how hot you want your oven.

Makeshift foil griddle or pan
This is pretty basic. Lay foil flat over a fire grate, on top of a wood stove, or anywhere else that you can get sufficient heat. If you need to, you can shape the foil into a container to heat a small amount of water or soup or something else with liquid.

While we have easy access to the internet, is the time to search for and collect recipes that we like and other information that would be useful.

Aluminum Concerns
For many years, I have been leery of cooking with aluminum. The warnings came out long ago to throw out our aluminum cookware and replace them with steel or earthenware. We take in aluminum every day. It occurs naturally in the air, soil and water. It is sometimes used in pain killers and other medications, toothpaste, antiperspirant, baking powder, beer, bleached flour, grated cheese, table salt and a variety of other things. Municipal water can be one of our highest sources of aluminum intake.

I've done some research over the years and continue to find conflicting information. Some say that the minuscule amount of aluminum we would get from cooking is insignificant. But there is plenty of literature to warn of the dangers of Aluminum Toxicity. I continue to be cautious. The last time we made foil dinners (Hobo dinners), we wrapped the meat and vegetables in cabbage leaves and then wrapped that with the foil. The cabbage made the food taste even better but put something between it and the aluminum. We threw the leaves away.

In spite of my concerns, I have plenty of aluminum foil on hand for emergency cooking. It would be better to be able to cook with foil, than not cook at all. Also, you can fold a significant amount of foil into a flat shape that takes very little room for backpacking, or to put in an emergency 72-hour kit.

We would be wise to learn all we can and make educated decisions as we plan to provide for ourselves, families and others. I pray you are all taking steps to store necessities and gain needed skills, because  preparedness is peace of mind, not panic.

Light - One More Idea (Addendum!)

Another great idea for either long or short-term alternative lighting is outdoor solar lights. For those of you who didn't see the comment left by "Kristy", she mentioned using those after Hurricane Ike. If you are lucky enough to have sun during the day, charge them up and then bring them indoors at night. I had intended to include that option and then forgot about it, so thank you Kristy for the insightful comment!

I don't have any experience with outdoor solar lights. I'm wondering if they need direct sunlight, or if they'll charge even on a cloudy day. Does anyone know? I'd love some comments if you have experience or knowledge about that.

And look at all the options! With ambiance like this, I think they would be a very soothing alternative during a crisis. Maybe I'll start using them - crisis or not! And save a lot of money on electric bills at the same time.

Light - When The Power Goes Out - Part 2

A flashlight just isn't going to cut it if you are without power for a week, or a month, or indefinitely. You will need some long-burning lamps or lanterns, and they need fuel. They can use lamp oil, kerosene, other fuels, or solar powered.

Oil lamps are easy to use and inexpensive. The basic requirements are a container to hold the oil, a wick. Most of them have glass coverings around the flame and come in hundreds of designs and styles. They come in free standing, hanging or wall-mount design. You can burn almost any oil in them, including
olive oil, nut and seed oils, hemp oil, vegetable oils, fish oil, mustard oil, Castor oil... you name it. Other kinds of fuel are coal oil, white gas, and  kerosene, also known as paraffin oil. Some fuels burn cleaner than others, and give off different odors. There are a dozen or more different sizes of wicks used, depending on the lamp. We have lamps that use 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8". I keep this lamp sitting on top of a bookshelf, filled and accessible all the time. We've had to use it many times when the power was out.

Here are a few more samples of styles of oil lamps:

Pressure lamps/lanterns use a "mantel" instead of a wick. The fuel is pressurized, usually by you pumping a lever. These give off a much brighter light than a wick lamp. I'm not going to go into detail here about how they work. When you shop for lanterns or lamps, you can learn the details specific to whatever you buy. We have a Coleman lantern and an Aladdin lamp, like the ones in the pictures.

Lamps and lanterns are usually not very expensive. Neither are the accessories for them: wicks, mantels, fuel, extra chimneys (the glass covering). Now is the time to do a little shopping, and stock up on plenty of fuel, wicks, mantels and matches.

And here is one of my little candle lamps that I didn't include in the last "Light" post.