My Top 7 Handy Dandy Preparedness “Tools”

You may think that my top 7 handy dandy preparedness “tools” are an unusual list for emergency preparedness supplies, but I’m quite certain that you will find them invaluable under the right set of circumstances. I love discovering and using items that serve a dual-purpose, especially when those purposes are compounded substantially. If I have something in storage, chances are it serves more than one purpose. Whether it be medical supplies, seeds, a heater or wood, virtually everything I relegate space to store has multiple uses that I familiarize myself with so I get the most use out of my space. Without further ado, here is my Seven Handy Dandy “Tool” list.

1) Duct Tape: We have an entire case of duct tape in our basement. You can use it medically as well as to fix leaking or broken items. It’s even viable to use to mend clothing or shoe, too. It’s also affectionately called the “100 mile per hour tape.” When I was in my early 20’s I was in a car accident and “needed” the insurance money to live off of. Consequently, I used duct tape to reattach the bumper and away I rode… for another year and a half until I bought a new car. While I never went 100 miles per hour—not that I’m willing to admit, anyway—it worked just fine in keeping my car together.
2) Super Glue: Yet another case of supplies occupying our storage area. This can also be used in lieu of minor stitches as well as prolonging the life of items that may break down. In an emergency, you may very well have to rely on yourself for such instances as opposed to a professional “fix-it man” or medical personnel.
3) Bounce Dryer Sheets: Ah hah. I knew I’d get raised eyebrows on that one. Here’s just a few ways that your dryer sheets will be useful to you. They repel insects, including yellow jackets, bees, ants, and mosquitoes. All you have to do is loop it through a belt loop, and voila, you are a walking citronella candle. They also repel mice. Simply lay them down around an area that you are trying to protect, and you’ve scared little Mickey away. You can also use them to dissolve soap scum (just wet and scrub), prevent sewing thread from tangling (rub on a strip of thread prior to use) and removing baked-on foods from kitchen items (simply soak with a sheet in it and it comes off). Not to mention the everyday uses it provides you with such as cleaning blinds, eliminating static from your computer and TV screens, deodorizing shoes, books, and photo albums. It will truly serve as a duplicitous ally when you’re “roughing it.”
4) Tarp, Tarp, and More Tarp: We buy the blue tarps from Costco and have a small stack of them in the basement. They are sturdy, water proof, and priced much better than even one good quality tarp elsewhere. In the event of nuclear fall out, roof damage, window damage, freezing temperatures, and a myriad of other instances, I find that this is one product that makes sense to have on hand. In fact, even if my tents were to fail to provide me with shelter, I can always combine the tarps with my duct tape supply and have suitable protection from the elements. *wink*
5) Foil: In addition to the regular, everyday uses of foil, you can also use it for emergency signaling, cooking and insulating. You can even put water in a well made foil and duct tape “pan,” let it sit in the sun during a warm day and have distilled water at the end of the day.
6) Lemon Juice: We’ve got a great supply list for this, too. Lemon juice is great as a:
a. Deodorizer
b. Sanitizer
c. Antiseptic
d. Disinfectant (even for medical uses)
e. Dandruff treatment (add 1 T. prior to shampooing, then 2 T. diluted with water after rinsing)
f. Laxative—without the usual side-effects
g. Relief for a sore throat or hacking cough
h. Itch and pain reliever from poison ivy
i. Yummy flavoring
j. Blemish treatment (when mixed with honey)
k. Substitute for buttermilk (mix 1 T. with 1 cup of milk)
l. Tarnish remover
m. Bleach substitute in laundry.
I could share more with you, but since I’m certain I’m listed as a “right wing extremist”, I won’t egg anyone on talking about the self-defense measures that can be realized with lemon juice as well *wink*
7) Salt: You’ve heard biblically of salt being a critical component. Perhaps after seeing all of these uses you’ll understand why I always take advantage of sales on simple table salt. In addition to all of the ways salt can be used, it’s also a necessary nutrient that many underestimate. Salt can also help:
a. Prevent lettuce from wilting
b. Repel ants
c. Prevent food from sticking to your griddle (just rub it in)
d. As a wood preservative (boil your clothespins in them and they will last a LOT longer)
e. A boiling water accelerator (faster boiling means using less fuel)
f. Remove mildew (when used with lemon juice)
g. Remove stains (even works on grape juice in your carpet—but hey, who’s going to really care about the carpet in an emergency, right?)
h. Kill weeds
i. Prevent your laundry from freezing when you hang them out to dry in cold weather
j. Make your milk last longer with a dash of salt
k. As a plaster substitute (when mixed equally with starch)
l. Substitute for toothpaste (with equal parts of baking soda)
m. Relieve sore eyes (when rinsed with salt water)
A pinch of salt also improves the flavor of a lot of items that may taste stale otherwise such as cocoa, gelatin (it sets more quickly as well), fruits (when putting them in also water—this also prevents them from turning yellow), tea, cooking apples and warm milk (makes it more relaxing as well). Also, egg whites and whipping cream whip up faster with a pinch. And last but not least, when you soak your shelled nuts in salt water overnight, all you have to do is gently tap the edge gently and they will easily come open, providing a whole nut instead of crumbles that you have to hunt to find among the shells!

In addition to all of these items, I would also recommend you Google multiple uses for vinegar, wheat, rope, isopropyl and rubbing alcohol and apricot seeds, among other things. Obviously it doesn’t cost you any money to at least gain this knowledge. And you may end up being a real, live MacGyver in the end.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

Bring on the Sun!

By Kellene Bishop

A new book has been released illustrating with surprisingly reality and extensive details what would happen to America in the event of an EMP attack (Electric Magnetic Pulse). The book is "One Second After" by New York Times best-selling author William R. Forstchen, who talked about the possible impact of such an attack on the Sean Hannity Radio Show today. I’m also quite partial to a book by Pat Frank, “Alas, Babylon” that was wildly popular in the 1950’s which explores a similar situation and the necessary results of human beings having to get back to basics and innovation. For those of you who don’t know, such an attack is very possible and would paralyze our world as we know it. It would cause a financial, social, medical, and technical chaos as you’ve never seen previously. And it would certainly put us all in a true survival mode. Your world without electricity is much more restrictive than you can imagine. But with a little preparedness now, you’ll be just fine. All you have to do is simply learn how to harness the unfailing power of the sun.

Even in the winter, sun powered items will prove to be a boon to your comfort. Additionally, using the sun in as many instances as possible will enable you to conserve your other fuels such as kerosene, wood, and propane for other purposes.

My favorite “toy” is my solar powered oven. It not only cooks things wonderfully, but it can also be used to pasteurize water. (It also bakes bread, cookies, cooks meats, and everything else I can think of just fine and dandy.)

I also love my solar powered battery recharger. I had no idea how much I used batteries until I tried to put myself on a battery buying hiatus and started using my stored up amount. I was so disappointed in how many countless batteries I had in my storage that didn’t work any longer. Rechargeable batteries are clearly the answer, but not when you don’t have any electricity. Duh for me! Now, I’ve invested my money in the rechargeable batteries and a great solar powered battery recharger. You can even find one that will recharge your laptop battery!

Solar powered outdoor lamps are a good idea as well. I believe that they will provide some semblance of security for my home as I ride out the ensuing chaos in the event of an EMP attack or like magnitude.

Obviously there are some significant alterations you can make to your home at present by adding in solar panels for electricity. (It’s safer and more practical than using a gas-powered generator, folks.) With technology like this you don’t necessarily need to go without a hot shower. This doesn’t need to be an expensive, new-fangled kind of solution. For less than $350 you can make your own solar powered generator! (see: http://www.energyrefuge.com/how-to/solar_power_generator.htm)

There are also solar powered lights, radios, and cell-phone chargers. Also a mere 15 minutes of sun daily can provide you with an entire day’s worth of Vitamin D. Now that’s some lifesaving solar power!

There are far too many options on the types of solar products for me to give you a run down of a specific brands and costs. I recommend that you do a search on “solar powered + emergency” on the internet. Just take it one step at a time, but it would indeed be wise to take such steps. And read “Alas, Babylon.” I really think you’ll like it!

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.
You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

Bread! Glorious Bread!

Alright. You keep being told to store wheat right? But I bet that you’re wondering what the heck to do with it. I do address different ways you can use wheat in a previous article, and one of those ways is obviously bread. Let’s face it. Bread making in our homes is a lost art. I forced myself to learn for three reasons.

1) I knew that if there was an emergency which required me to live off of my food storage, I darn well better learn how to make bread out of all of this wheat I was storing.

2) I needed to find some way to introduce hearty wheat into my diet so that I didn’t put my digestive system into shock when I did start living off of it.

3) Even though I could get away with paying only 99 cents for a loaf of bread occasionally, I knew that if I could make it fresh, it would be sooo much better for me and therefore worth it.

As it turns out, my decision to learn how to make bread was a good choice for other reasons as well.

1) My husband LOVES it, as do the neighbors, my employees, and even me! (Plus, it makes for great gifts)

2) I now have the confidence I need to make it and know that we’ll be just fine surviving on it.

3) I now have a more accurate understanding of what OTHER items I need to have on hand in my food storage. (Go figure. You can’t just make wheat bread with just wheat.)

4) My quest for learning how to make it has led me to develop a KICK BUTT-No-Fail recipe! (I never thought I’d be saying that when it came to bread making?!)

So, I’m going to share the recipe with you today. For those of you who are already pros, I dare say that you’ll find some twists that I incorporate that may be helpful to you. And at the very least, you will LOVE the breadsticks idea. For the record, this bread turns out nice and soft even though it’s 100% whole wheat. It’s often been mistaken as “store bought” bread. (When feeding kids that can be a good thing.)

First, let me just share with you—don’t be discouraged by the methods that I use for making my bread just because you may not have them on hand. I have had ALL of my new-fangled luxuries break down at some point and thus have had to make due with good old fashioned elbow grease. I use a Bosch Universal Mixer and a Nutrimill to make this easy bread making. The Bosch does all of my kneading for me, however, I have used my Kitchen Aid mixer instead of my Bosch, but it seemed to be awfully hard on the motor. You’ve got to have one of the heavy-duty Kitchen Aid mixers if you’re going to make bread in it. Otherwise you’ll have to knead the bread the good old fashioned way—by hand. Also, keep in mind that I’m giving you my recipe based on the use of electricity and such. Obviously, that won’t do you much good if your power is out and you’re camping for a while. Don’t worry. If you begin making bread more regularly “in comfort”, then when it comes time to do it under “less than desirable circumstances” you’ll be able to easily adapt, much better than had you never mastered it.

Kellene’s Kick-Butt Wheat Bread (and her famous breadsticks)

Ingredients:

6 cups of warm water (How do you know it’s warm enough or not too hot? If it’s warm enough to bathe a baby in without scolding it, then it’s just fine.)
2 T. “Real Salt”
3 T. of Lecithin Granules
2/3 C of Vegetable oil (you can use apple sauce as a substitute)
2/3 C Honey
2 ½ T. of Dough Enhancer (I use the Magic Mill brand which you can usually find in the grocery stores, but definitely locate in your specialty kitchen stores. You can also use lemon juice as a dough enhancer)
12 to 16 C of wheat flour (I grind my own flour for this recipe each time with my Nutrimill—Yes, you can use white flour if you’d like, but you only need to knead the bread about ½ as long)
2 ½ T of Instant Yeast (I use SAF brand and I store the open package in the freezer or the fridge for years)
2 T. Vital Wheat Gluten (Note: ONLY use wheat gluten if your flour is old or a lesser quality wheat. If you’re using fresh ground wheat or a good quality flour, then you won’t need the wheat gluten.)

Place 9 cups of freshly ground flour in the mixing bowl with the dough hook attached. Then add 6 cups of warm water. Mix on speed level 1 until you’ve got a paste consistency. Turn off the machine and add the yeast, salt, honey, oil, and lecithin granules (and wheat gluten if you’re going to use it). Turn machine back on to speed 1. Begin adding additional cups of flour one cup at a time. As the machine bears down, increase the speed to 2. Continue adding additional flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I usually use a total of 15 ½ cups of flour.

Note: Here’s the trick. You want to make sure that you do not add too much flour. I like to add just enough so that the dough starts pulling away and that I can handle the dough. This approach, as well as the lecithin granules and dough enhancer, is the reason why my bread turns out so soft. Most folks who make homemade wheat bread add too much flour.

Set your timer and let the Bosch knead the dough for 7 to 8 minutes. Stop the mixer. Add the dough enhancer. Then let the Bosch knead the dough for another 2 minutes (still on Speed 2). Grease your hands and then gently remove all of the dough from the bowl and place it on a greased cutting board in an even rectangular shape. Using a knife, score your dough into 5 evenly spaced sections. Then pinch off each section, form it into an oblong loaf.

Note: Pinch your bread dough, not tear it. Only score your bread so that you can see the 5 sections. Don’t use the knife to actually cut the sections.

Place the loaf in 4 to 5 greased bread pans or you can use non-stick bread pans, depending on the size of loaves you desire. (I use 5 non-stick bread pans, but I still spray them with “Pam.” They should be about ½ to 2/3 full.)

Place the loaves where they will not be blown on by the air conditioning so that they can rise at room temperature. Cover the pans with Saran Wrap to keep them moist as they rise. (I spray the Saran Wrap with “Pam” on the sides that will be on top of the bread to prevent the dough from sticking to the wrap.) Let the dough rise until doubled. This should be approximately 1 ½ inches above the top of the pan.

When finished rising, place them in a pre-heated 350 degree oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes. When the bread is finished baking, you will be able to tap it lightly on top and have it sound “hollow.” Take the pans out and place them on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes. Then remove the loaves from the pans and cool sufficiently prior to storing.

Special Note: This recipe makes great rolls as well! As a special little trick when I’m hosting a party, I take the dough and roll them into small breadsticks (about 4 -5 inches long). Then I dip the “breadstick dough” into melted butter. Then I place them on a big cookie sheet about an inch apart from each other. I then sprinkle McCormick’s Salad Supreme seasoning generously on top of them and bake them at 350 degrees for 13 to 18 minutes. You will LOVE the taste of these bread sticks!

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.
You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

The Virtue of Powdered Milk

Ok, I admit it. I used to hate powdered milk as a kid. But I have to admit, it's come a long ways in 30 years, thank goodness. With the cost of milk nowadays, if you've got more than 2 mouths to feed, it can cost as much for milk as it does to fill up your car with gas. And if you're a "dairy freak" like I am, you'll wonder what in the world you'll do in the event of an emergency when you may be FORCED to use powdered milk regularly.

Other than the fact that I always type the word “powdered” incorrectly, I truly do value this storage staple. It will indulge my every dairy craving in a pinch, including buttermilk, cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt, and cottage cheese. Just a little bit of culturing and it turns into whatever dairy product I desire. In fact, I can even combine it with an equal amount of ice water and some flavoring and turn it into a yummy fluffy dessert topping. And it’s great in all of my recipes. It costs half as much as “fresh” milk, has zero cholesterol, zero fat, and is high in calcium, vitamin D and protein. And hey, it even comes in an easy to store box which I can neatly stack on my shelves. I have found no problem using it as a milk substitute in every recipe with just a bit of water added to it. I can also make dry baked mixes or beverage mixes ahead of time with it with no need for anything else but water. Ironically, the only thing I don’t care for powdered milk is as a substitute for just plain milk. However, I have discovered the trick of adding in a ½ teaspoon of vanilla per half gallon of powdered milk mixture to make it taste a lot better. I find that powdered milk tastes just fine when mixed equally with whole milk as well. Plus, I’ve never had kids complain when I mix chocolate syrup or strawberry syrup in it straight.

Powdered milk tastes best if it is mixed up and allowed to chill overnight before serving, or for at least 4 hours. Chilling actually aids in dissolving the powdered milk completely and gives it a fresher flavor.

OK. To use powdered milk for just about anything, you first need to learn to reconstitute it. So let’s start with that.

Reconstituted Powdered Milk:
Take a 2 quart pitcher and fill it just over half with very cold tap water. Then add 2 and 2/3 cup of powdered milk. Using a long whisk, whisk the milk until it appears to be well mixed and the milk appears to be mostly dissolved. Then fill the pitcher to full with additional cold water. It’s best to have a lid on the pitcher and then place it in the refrigerator overnight or at least 4 hours.

To make buttermilk from reconstituted milk, you’re going to need some “starter.” But don’t worry. You can buy the small pints of buttermilk and store them in your freezer until you’re ready to use them.

Cultured Buttermilk: You won’t believe how easy this is! Take 3 and ¾ cups of reconstituted milk and add it to ½ cup of commercial buttermilk. Allow it to sit on the counter overnight (8 to 10 hours at room temperature) and Voila! You’ve got buttermilk! (I store it refrigerated thereafter, just so you know.) I have to have buttermilk to make my all time favorite syrup recipe (Sorry, I’m going to save that for another post).

Here’s another idea that I have loved to use with powdered milk. It’s called “molasses milk.” All you do is warm up about ¾ cup of reconstituted milk and then stir in a regular spoonful of molasses (double and triple accordingly). It’s yummy. It kind of tastes like caramel toffee. And here you thought that molasses was just for cookies.

Hopefully from reading this you’ve thought about the importance of having powdered milk in your supplies, along with molasses, chocolate syrup, and vanilla extract in your storage items. For future reference I would also add that you’ll want lemon juice and cocoa as well.

I look forward to sharing more with you later.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.
You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

Pressure Cooking Pot Roast

Last Friday I elected to nurture an injury with some real, home cooked food. I was really craving a pot roast, but didn’t want to put the traditional time and energy into it. So what did I do? I talked my assistant through the step-by-step process of making a yummy pot roast in under an hour! And it was so good, my husband finished it off before I had a chance to have seconds (darn it).

So how did I accomplish such a feat? I used my pressure cooker. So in the event that you’re still waffling around about purchasing one, I’m going to share the wealth with you (Just as a reminder, I recommend the Kuhn Rikon brand – aka Duromatic).

1. In your pressure cooker, put two tablespoons of oil. On med-high heat, sear your pot roast (about 2 to 4 pounds) on all sides. Once it’s nicely seared, remove the pot roast from the pressure cooker and add 1 cup of red cooking wine.
2. Scrape the bottom of the pressure cooker with a wooden spoon, being sure to loosen all of the flavorful bits from the bottom.
3. Add the pot roast back to the pressure cooker along with 2 cups of water and one envelope of Lipton Onion Soup mix.
4. Bring the water to a boil, and then cover the pressure cooker. Allow the pressure to come up to high, then turn the heat down sufficient to maintain the high pressure. Cook the pot roast for 20 minutes per pound.
5. Once roast is finished cooking, release the pressure completely.
6. Add 2 heaping cups of potato wedges (because you don’t have to cut them small with a pressure cooker), 2 cups of baby carrots and a couple stalks of chopped celery. Be sure to add the potatoes first to make room for the smaller items, and be sure that you do not fill your pressure cooker more than two-thirds full.
7. Add an additional cup of water.
8. Bring the water to a boil and recover the pressure cooker.
9. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.
10. Release the pressure and enjoy a yummy, tender pot roast and perfectly seasoned vegetables!

Again, I wholeheartedly recommend a pressure cooker so that you can preserve your own physical energy, your fuel, and water. It cooks faster and more nutrient rich than any other method available. The new models that have been made as of late are much safer than what you might remember your grandmother using. They really, really are an asset to any kitchen now, or in an emergency.


Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.
You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

EZ Preparedness Recipes

I thought I’d give you a break today from all of the preparedness “thinking.” So today I’m simply providing you with two yummy recipes – Spam Friend Rice and Mexi-Cincy Chili – that you can easily make from what’s in your cupboards right now. Hopefully, knowing that you can make use of what you’ve got on hand (or can at least easily have on hand) will lessen any anxiety you may have in surviving a disruption to your regular way of life.

Be Safe and Be Prepared—Kellene

Spam Fried Rice

This recipe is an ideal use of Spam, the meat that seems to store as long as a Twinkie. And it’s an easy “dump” kind of recipe. Don’t shy away from this recipe just because it has Spam in it. If you don’t tell anyone, I’m certain they will never crinkle their nose to the Spam notion. J

Note: If you elect to make it as a non-food storage meal, you can use 8 to 10 ounces of boneless, diced pork chops and add a couple of stalks of sliced green onions (white and green portion) and use frozen peas instead.

As a food-storage meal, you can also substitute the Spam for canned chicken or canned baby shrimp too, if you prefer.

1 12 oz can of Spam, cut into small square pieces
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 package (6.2 oz.) of Rice-A-Roni Fried Rice flavor (The store brands work just as well for this recipe)
2 cups of water
1 can of peas- drained
Soy sauce for serving (optional)

Place the oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. And heat it over medium-high heat. Add the Spam pieces and cook, stirring until the Spam is browned a bit, 2-3 minutes.
Add the Rice-a-Roni including the seasoning contents. Pour in 2 cups of water and stir to loosen the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture come to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Let simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the peas and warm a bit longer, 3-5 minutes. Serve at once with soy sauce as desired.

Fuel conservation note: If you merely heat up the pan enough to bring the water to boiling, you needn’t continue to cook it on your fuel source. You can merely let the dish set for a while (about 30 – 45 minutes) and let it naturally absorb the water. The Spam is safe to eat whether it’s heated or not.

Mexi-Cincy Chili

This “chili” dish is actually served on top of cooked spaghetti. It’s commonly served this way in Cincinnati, OH. The chocolate ingredient is a take-off of Mexican mole’ cooking. It is often served with black beans instead of or in addition to beef, and is usually accompanied by shredded cheddar cheese on top. If you don’t have real cheese on hand in your food storage, you can also use Velveeta on top for serving.

1 can of canned beef (about 16 ounces)
1 tablespoon of granulated onion
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
2 cans of diced tomatoes. (You can use stewed tomatoes as well)
1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons of chili powder
1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of ground allspice
8 - 10 oz. of cooked and drained spaghetti

Sautee the beef, onion and garlic in your intended cooking pan (pressure cooker or Dutch oven). Cook and stir with a wooden spoon to break up the lumps and until the beef is heated through (about 4-5 minutes). Add the tomatoes and their liquid, water, tomato sauce, chili powder, cinnamon, cocoa, and all spice. If you’re cooking this in a Dutch oven, simply cook it low and slow for about 8 hours stirring occasionally.

If you’re cooking this in a pressure cooker, cover and bring the pressure cooker to low pressure. Cook for about 30 minutes for maximum flavor. You can use the quick release method when the time is up.

Top the spaghetti with your cooked mixture and enjoy!

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

Why You Should Store Food NOW

There are many who I share my expertise with who inevitably ask me, “Come on, Kellene. Your practices are good in the event that there’s a cataclysmic event, but what’s to say that all of your food storage won’t just be destroyed with the catastrophe?”

And so, in appreciation of those who require me to work harder and speak clearer, I dedicate today’s article.

First of all, it’s a myth for you to believe that your food storage is solely for the purpose of surviving a catastrophic event in nature. Emergency preparedness of food stores is indeed useful for such an event, but it is not isolated to such. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s heard stories of individuals who lived off of their food storage as the result of the loss of a job in their family or other hard financial times. While this is a common occurrence I hear in today’s economic climate, it is still not the primary reason why foods should be stored. It’s merely a scratching of the surface. And besides, even that isn’t reason enough for many because hundreds of thousands may rely on food stamps or help from their church in the event of a job loss anyway. So such motivation may not be enough to actually initiate food storage action. Let’s see if the following considerations do the trick for you.

Chemical Tainting or Recall: If you have ample supply of food, then in the event a food has been recalled suddenly or is known to have chemical impairment, you won’t have to do without.

Rationing: Recently big warehouses and grocery stores were rationing the purchase of wheat and rice. Such a ration has not been implemented in our country since the days of the Depression. This is in part because many foreigners have been buying up our supplies in order to feed their struggling nations as well as the fact that we have been exporting a significant portion of our wheat and other staples due to the famines which have affected 3rd world countries. If you have a years supply of food, then you are impervious to the effects of such rationing actions.

Diminishing U.S. Food Production: Over the last 5 years we have lost over 90% of our farmers to exorbitant costs of farming, farming regulations, bankruptcy, bad seed crops, and many more who have stopped growing food and instead are growing “fuel.” Fewer members of our population even know how to garden for themselves, let alone the number who actually do. The small farmers are now under threat with a new intrusion on their way of life, bill HR 875. This bill threatens to eliminate over 90% of the small farmers and to heavily regulate where they can sell their goods and how. Again, if you have a years supply as well as some accompanying knowledge of sprouting, then your dinner table will be unaffected by these awful intrusions.

Devaluation of the Dollar: In addition to the cost of food increasing in the nation, (due to the diminishing supply of it) the money we use to buy the food is becoming worth less. It boils down to supply and demand. Since the Federal Reserve is mindlessly printing up trillions and trillions of dollars without any accounting to the public just how much currency is in circulation at one time, the value of the dollar is taking a nose dive. In fact, thanks to the inflation rate which has been controlled by the Federal Reserve since 1913, the value of the 1913 dollar has now been diminished to a mere four cents today. So, if you purchase your food now, then when there is finally an economic reckoning in the future, your family will still survive.

Food for thought, folks. (Yes. Pun intended)





Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.