What did you do to prep today?

Suz said:
Sure! The two I'm re-reading now are:
Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Harrod Buhner
Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief by David Winston and Steven Maimes

One that always stays on the kitchen counter for reference is Rosemary Gladstar's Family Herbal.

There are tons of other great herbal books by David Winston, Rosemary Gladstar, Susun Weed, Stephen Buhner, Matthew Wood.
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Will look into these, thanks! I made the mistake of purchasing a book called Alternative Cures: More than 1,000 of the Most Effective Natural Home Remedies by Bill Gottlieb only to find that the author's firsthand knowledge was not very deep and he apparently depended on 'mainstream' doctors to provide much of the information. I know that sounds like a good idea, but my own common knowledge of herbs contained treatments not even referenced in the book.
 
I added to my internal fat storage system (okay, maybe it's now an EXTERNAL fat storage system) with a burger for lunch... It's part of my awesome abs camouflage system.

Using Forum Runner. Please excuse spelling errors, formatting, and absent links.
 
RichM said:
I added to my internal fat storage system (okay, maybe it's now an EXTERNAL fat storage system) with a burger for lunch... It's part of my awesome abs camouflage system.

Using Forum Runner. Please excuse spelling errors, formatting, and absent links.
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[rofl] good one
 
I think you might be surprised. It's not much taller than the 921. Maybe 6 inches. I can't go get a tape measure because I am on my 3rd glass of wine.
 
Zarathustra11 said:
Will look into these, thanks! I made the mistake of purchasing a book called Alternative Cures: More than 1,000 of the Most Effective Natural Home Remedies by Bill Gottlieb only to find that the author's firsthand knowledge was not very deep and he apparently depended on 'mainstream' doctors to provide much of the information. I know that sounds like a good idea, but my own common knowledge of herbs contained treatments not even referenced in the book.
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I wasn't familiar with that book, but was able to do a brief browse of it online... I don't think I would call it a "mistake", there seems to be some valid stuff in there that could come in handy if out in the field without medical assistance, but it's not a "herbal handbook". It does cover a lot of the simple basics though, various household and food items that can be used as remedies. I do have a little hesitation about the cancer recommendations (many mainstream doctors have only what they learned in med school to go by and much of it I don't agree with... cutting out meat and dairy for cancer for example. It's not the meat and dairy themselves, but the crap that's put into them by agribusiness and big pharma. RAW milk is one of the most nutritous and natural foods we have available. "Real" food is one of the best forms of medicine we have... *stepping off soapbox now*)
 
Not today, but: Stacked the wood that I got deliverd.

Found it was short (About 1 1/4 cords, when two were ordered). Called the town Weight's and Measures Dept., they told me to call the vendor, and if I did not get satisfaction, to call them back, and they'd go all "Official" on them.

Called the vendor, he was most apologetic, and will be out to "make amends" today.

Did you know that use of the word "Cord" in this context is not permitted in Mass?
 
I was just going to comment that a tightly packed pile may come up short due to an allowed less efficient stack, but I double checked and it is only in Maine.

Here it is for reference though.

Maine appears unique among U.S. states by also defining a "loose thrown cord" or pile of cut firewood: "A cord of 12 or 16 inches (30 or 41 cm) in length shall mean the amount of wood, bark and air contained in a space of 180 cubic feet (5.1 m3); and a cord of wood 24 inches (61 cm) in length shall mean the amount of wood, bark and air contained in a space of 195 cubic feet (5.5 m3). [1981, c. 219 (amd).]"
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PennyPincher said:
I think you might be surprised. It's not much taller than the 921. Maybe 6 inches. I can't go get a tape measure because I am on my 3rd glass of wine.
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That mother is HEAVY when it's full.

Canned 21quarts of chicken breast last night. 14in the 930 and 7 in the 921.
 
PennyPincher said:
That mother is HEAVY when it's full.

Canned 21quarts of chicken breast last night. 14in the 930 and 7 in the 921.
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I'm using a glass top stove, and it says not to use the canner on a glass stove. Although, it is what came with the house. So, I think I'm better off with the lighter canner, which will still weigh at least 40lbs when full.

This weekend, we tested the new 915 canner for pressure cooking only, to make beef stew. I tried sweet potatoes in it to see what would happen; they completely dissolved. It still tasted good, but my hope was to have sweet potato chunks in it, since I'm allergic to regular potatoes. Next step, actually pressure can with it...

We also walked some new trails in the woods today that we hadn't been on before, part of the Wapack trail. This is part of my goal to thoroughly learn all the roads/trails in my area.
 
Prepper said:
I'm using a glass top stove, and it says not to use the canner on a glass stove. Although, it is what came with the house. So, I think I'm better off with the lighter canner, which will still weigh at least 40lbs when full.

This weekend, we tested the new 915 canner for pressure cooking only, to make beef stew. I tried sweet potatoes in it to see what would happen; they completely dissolved. It still tasted good, but my hope was to have sweet potato chunks in it, since I'm allergic to regular potatoes. Next step, actually pressure can with it...

We also walked some new trails in the woods today that we hadn't been on before, part of the Wapack trail. This is part of my goal to thoroughly learn all the roads/trails in my area.
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I would love to know if you did anything different for seasoning with the sweet potatoes in it. I also have an 'issue' with potatoes but wastold adding sweet potatoes to beef stew would taste horrible. Maybe I will do try beef stew with sweet potatoes this week.

Definitely the 930 would not be good on a glass top. DH actually suggested we get a 'camp stove' single burner for it as it takes up so much space on the stove and trying to run both canners at once was ridiculous.
 
My seasonings aren't too sophisticated. Salt, pepper, bay leaf. Then I experiment a bit... balsamic vinegar, white or red cooking wine, etc. But, those are all optional.

I have a camp stove and was wondering about using it for this canner. Somehow, I need to heat the jars and then put in canner... no room for both. Although, the camp stove says to use outside. It is propane. Not 100% sure if that is necessary.
 
Prepper said:
My seasonings aren't too sophisticated. Salt, pepper, bay leaf. Then I experiment a bit... balsamic vinegar, white or red cooking wine, etc. But, those are all optional.

I have a camp stove and was wondering about using it for this canner. Somehow, I need to heat the jars and then put in canner... no room for both. Although, the camp stove says to use outside. It is propane. Not 100% sure if that is necessary.
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When I hot pack I usually just fill the jars with hot water from the faucet (125 degrees) and dump the water just before filling each jar. The jars don't need to be super hot. I know some people run the jars in the dishwasher just before filling. I would do that if mine wasn't always full of dishes. I *think* you can allow the soup/stew/whatever cool first and then pack into room temperature jars. I do a lot of raw packing so I don't have to keep everything hot. You also could just fill up any pan with hot water (like a large light weight pot used for water bath canning) and put the jars in there. Then you can remove it from the flame and the jars will stay 'hot' for some time while you are filling them.
 
PennyPincher said:
When I hot pack I usually just fill the jars with hot water from the faucet (125 degrees) and dump the water just before filling each jar. The jars don't need to be super hot. I know some people run the jars in the dishwasher just before filling. I would do that if mine wasn't always full of dishes. I *think* you can allow the soup/stew/whatever cool first and then pack into room temperature jars. I do a lot of raw packing so I don't have to keep everything hot. You also could just fill up any pan with hot water (like a large light weight pot used for water bath canning) and put the jars in there. Then you can remove it from the flame and the jars will stay 'hot' for some time while you are filling them.
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I was wondering about that. The Ball blue book says to heat them to 180, which I would only be able to do by boiling. It'd be much easier if I could just use hot water from the faucet. I have one of those hot water bath canners too, so it would be a convenient place to heat them.
 
Prepper said:
I have a camp stove and was wondering about using it for this canner. Somehow, I need to heat the jars and then put in canner... no room for both. Although, the camp stove says to use outside. It is propane. Not 100% sure if that is necessary.
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I have one of the Coleman propane two burner camp stoves. I've used it indoors on several occasions. No different from using a standard gas kitchen stove. Crack a window open if you're concerenced about CO2.

I was thinking about experimenting with alternate heat sources for canning. While this stove is fine for regular cooking chores, I'm not sure if it puts out enough BTU's for canning. Another consideration is the the propane bottle: would a one lb cylinder contain enough propane to maintain the canner at pressure for the required time ? I have a one burner attachment for a one lb bottle and it puts out noticeably more heat than the two burner stove. The issue is attempting to balance the canner on top of it and that's not something I'm willing to try.

I believe something like a "turkey fryer" burner would be ideal as it has a much stronger base and higher btu output.

I want to look into running a canner on a wood fired stove or even on top of a charcoal grill if it could take the weight. The only issue I see would be maintaining a consistent fire.
 
Twigg said:
I was thinking about experimenting with alternate heat sources for canning. While this stove is fine for regular cooking chores, I'm not sure if it puts out enough BTU's for canning. Another consideration is the the propane bottle: would a one lb cylinder contain enough propane to maintain the canner at pressure for the required time ? I have a one burner attachment for a one lb bottle and it puts out noticeably more heat than the two burner stove. The issue is attempting to balance the canner on top of it and that's not something I'm willing to try.
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Oh right, the propane bottle... that's another issue for using inside. Supposedly, I'm not supposed to do that with a 20lb tank. Although, I might have done that once during a week long power outage and I needed to fuel the Mr. Buddy heater. (But don't tell anyone.)

I have one of those propane turkey fryer burners, although the heat is rather intense and I'm pretty sure it could melt any counter top surface under it. So yeah, I think I need that outside if I went that route.
 
I finally got around to analyzing the radon remediation system that was installed as part of buying the new home. In short, if something goes wrong I can move two valves and bypass the whole thing. And, it looks like it requires a boat load of power when in use, something to take into consideration when I buy a second generator sometime next year (I'd probably bypass it to save power... the well pump already uses plenty on its own).

Studied/hiked another section of the trails around here.

Got some more ammo.
 
Today I cut and split about 1/3 cord of standing dead wood. Wanted to do more but the kids needed me!

Oh I spent some quality time with my kids... That was way more important that the wood.
 
Used a set of binoculars I got in a karma to look into my neighbors houses to see what they have in the cubbords. They are my offsite pantry stash
 

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