Survival Recipes

[Yowbarb]

One of the best "weeds" around is Stinging Nettles!  One can make a tea from it, one can make a soup from it, or eat it raw (yes, you can!  )  They are all over the place, where I live (Germany), and I like to collect them, especially in the Spring, when they are young. Here is some information about it and my favorite soup recipe, which is the last of the websites below.  ENJOY!:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle
http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/isabells_blog/nettle-many-uses-many-benefits.html
harvest stinging nettles and eating nettles raw!
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Nettle.html
http://www.nettlesoup.info/nettlesoup.htm
Bye for now,
Mary

Thank you, Mjoy. I have tried dandelions growing wild where I knew there was no pesticide on them... I think nettles are all around here but will have to check.
Am learning more about nettles.  Important they are young and tender... see below. - Yowbarb


You Grow Girl site,
http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2007/05/03/foraging-stinging-nettles/
Excerpt:
“This year I’m making more of an effort than usual to keep on top of foraging for early spring plants. There are several that are only edible within a short window of time and I don’t want to miss any of them, as is often the case. This year I got started harvesting stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) earlier than ever, since this is one herb that absolutely MUST be harvested in the early spring while the plants are still young and tender, and BEFORE flowers start to appear. I want to stress the importance of that fact since you can damage your kidneys consuming mature nettle parts.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
I went out partially prepared with snips and a collecting bag but forgot my gloves and was stuck slowly and delicately lifting each snipped piece into the bag wielding the sharp clippers like tongs. I suffered a few small “bites” to my hand after growing impatient with the delicate procedure but the early season foliage doesn’t seem to be as nasty as late-season plants because I didn’t need to seek out foliar antidotes (Rubbing the leaves of dock, mullein, jewelweed, or plantain on your skin will neutralize the sting. It is said that the cure is always growing within eyesight and in my experience that has proven to be the case everytime.)
I’m thinking of going out again before the plants mature. I’ve become intrigued by the idea of making up a batch of nettle soup after seeing it done by school kids reliving WW2 times on the BBC show Evacuation.
In the spirit of Be Nice to Nettles Week, we tried our hand at a batch of nettle soup using the site recipe as a basis. Let me tell you that a half pound of nettles is a whole lot more than you’d expect. I harvested enough young nettles (stems included) to fill a small plastic bag however once the stems and not so great parts were removed it came out to just slightly over 1/4 pound. Here’s what that looks like:
Just a reminder to protect your hands with gloves at any point in the process that involves touching any part of the fresh nettles including leaves and stems. The plant will lose its sting once cooked, but can get you at anytime when fresh, even when soaking under water.
The recipe seemed a little too bland so I chopped and added half a small onion before adding the nettles. We did not have sour cream or yoghurt on hand so I garnished mine with bits of smoked trout bought at my local farmer’s market. The soup was really good, tasting very much like vichyssoise. In fact I ate the leftovers cold. The geek in me was very satisfied that a portion of this meal was collected/foraged from the out-of-doors. Over the last year I’ve come back full circle to an early interest in wild foods and edible weeds that I haven’t really indulged since I was a teenager foraging for plants with 'Edible Weeds of Canada' tucked under my arm."
……………………………………………………………………………………….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle#Medicinal_uses   Stinging Nettle, medicinal uses

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle   Stinging nettle

[Yowbarb]

This is From svisioner
his own homemade tortilla recipe, which he posted on the COSTCO as an emergency supplier topic.
- Yowbarb
...
svisioner: We just got done making a batch on the wood stove (cool here today.)

Whole wheat Tortillas

Ingredients:
* 2 cups all purpose or whole wheat flour
* 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cut into pieces, we use olive oil 1/4 cup per batch
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/2 tsp. baking powder
* 3/4 cup warm water
You can use some garlic power or onion etc in the batch
Directions:
In a bowl, blend flour, salt, baking powder and shortening until it resembles fine meal.

Add warm water, a little at a time, to flour mixture and toss until liquid is incorporated. Water amountwill vary with different flour types.

Form dough into a ball and kneed on a floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic. Divide, and make 12 smaller balls. Cover and let stand at least 30 minutes.

Cooking Tortilla:
Roll each ball of dough on a floured surface to make 6 or 7 inch sized tortillas. Place on a pre-heated griddle or cast iron skillet and cook till medium golden on both sides.

Remove to a basket lined with a cloth towel or put between a towel until cool. After the tortillas have cooled completely, store them in a plastic bag. This recipe will make approximately 12 flour tortillas.

We make a triple batch, on the wood cook stove you can cook 6 at a time. Failing having a wood cook  stove you can make them on a case iron pan one at a time. Problem doing it that was is you'll eat them as them come off of the stove and never save any for later.



Visit WWW.PlaceofRefuge2012.com

[noproblemo2]

Note on making tortillas, it is VERY important to let the dough rest at least 30 minutes to an hour prior to shaping.

[Yowbarb]

Note on making tortillas, it is VERY important to let the dough rest at least 30 minutes to an hour prior to shaping.

BajaSusan, maybe this is why I didn't have much luck with homemade tortillas years ago. I probably tried to rush it and skipped this step! At the time I lived near Grand Central Market in L.A. and they had all kinds of cool supplies including masa flour.
BTW that should be added to the survival list... you probably already put it on.
Things like masa flour and canned butter, dried beans and seasonings... would help fill up a lot of stomachs...

All The Best,

Yowbarb

[noproblemo2]

Do you have the link for canned butter?

[Yowbarb]

Do you have the link for canned butter?

I have seen it, have posted a link to a store that had it, will have to look for it. Will have it posted here sometime next little while,
Yowbarb

[Yowbarb]

BajaSusan,well I don't know the very best deal but I just found this: A place where you can buy cases of clarified butter.
MRE Depot  http://www.mredepot.com/servlet/StoreFront
1 Case of Pure US Canned Ghee / Clarified...$109.95   Twelve 16-oz can

Also,
Red Feather Canned Butter
http://store.prepared.pro/redfeathercannedbutter.aspx

Price: $195.00
Red Feather Real Canned Butter from
http://store.prepared.pro/redfeathercannedbutter.aspx
Ballantyne's in New Zealand

If you have been looking to add REAL butter, not powdered or freeze dried, to your long term food storage program, then look no further!

We have found a canned butter that is imported from New Zealand that actually tastes better than any gourmet butter we had ever tried - and with an indefinite shelf life, no refrigeration is necessary!!

GREAT FOR CAMPING! PERFECT FOR THE BOAT OR RV!

Now you can finally have smooth, creamy, high-quality butter . . . and who cares if the electricity goes off??

And the best part (besides the great taste), is the list of ingredients: Pasteurized Cream and Salt - that's it!! No preservatives, food colorings or chemicals of any kind, just naturally made wholesome butter from down under.

Speaking of ingredients; Here's what the label lists for nutritional info compared to the American butter that we are all used to today;
Serving Size: 1 Tbsp (14g)
Servings per container: 24
Calories: 100
Calories from fat: 100

% Daily Value
Total fat: 11g 17%
Saturated fat: 8g 40%
Cholesterol: 30mg 9%
Sodium: 65mg 3%
Total Carbohydrates: 0g 0%
Protein: 0g 0%
Vitamin A: 8%

Each can contains 12 oz of butter - which works out to three traditional sticks of butter. Each case has 24 cans. THIS PRICE IS FOR ONE CASE 

[noproblemo2]

Thanks for the link

[Yowbarb]

Thanks for the link

BTW I have heard the following things about ghee - also known as ghi or clarified butter:
(All verbal info)

Ghi cleans out the liver and helps it to function
Ghi nourishes and protects the skin and helps to attract nourishment from the air
I met a woman who had been terminally ill.  (Apparantly not sick any more.)
She told me she bought ghi and began eating it and slathering it on her skin and getting lots of sun and air. She just kicked the ___ out of the cancer.
She didn't go back to the doctors just bought everything at Organicville and went on what she learned via the health grapevine, instincts... I think she did go vegetarian macrobiotic but added lots more ghi than what would be on the diet and also way more raw fruits, etc.
- Yowbarb

[noproblemo2]

Worth a try, found this recipe.

Recipe
Homemade Ghee

Accompanying article: Ghee (Clarified Butter)

Makes about 2 cups

It is critical to use unsalted butter to make ghee; and for the most flavorful result, use cultured butter. Organic Valley and some—but not all—European-Style butters are both cultured and unsalted. This recipe is easily doubled or tripled but requires increased cooking time.

1 pound cultured, unsalted organic butter

Place the butter in a heavy quart saucepan and melt over medium heat, do not cover the pot. When the butter starts foaming, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered and undisturbed for about 15 to 30 minutes, depending upon the heat and weight of the saucepan. As its water content vaporizes, it will foam and you’ll hear tiny, sharp crackling noises. The ghee is ready when it:

• Changes from a cloudy yellow to clear golden color
• Develops a popcorn-like aroma
• Stops foaming and making crackling noises
• Develops a thin, light tan, crust on the nearly motionless surface
• The milk solids at the bottom turn from white to tan

Keep a close watch on the ghee and remove from the heat when done. (If overcooked, it browns and starts foaming.) Let cool until it is just warm.

Pour through a fine sieve or through several layers of cheesecloth into a clean, dry glass storage jar. Discard he strained out solids. When the ghee is completely cool, cover tightly and store in a dry place away from direct sun light. It doesn't require refrigeration. Always use a clean spoon to dip into it.

Variation:  Oven-made Ghee

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the butter in a 1½ to 2 quart casserole or oven-proof pot. Place the butter in the oven without a lid and allow it to clarify, undisturbed, for 1 hour. As it boils and foams the water content vaporizes and if you open the oven you'll hear tiny, sharp crackling noises. The ghee is ready as detailed above.

Remove the ghee from the oven. Skim off the crust and, if desired, use it as a flavoring agent.

[Yowbarb]

 

[Yowbarb]

My Grandma Vina used to make "Garbage Soup." out of any leftovers whatsoever in the refrigerator, I think that 's what it was once a week or once every 2 weeks.
As long as it was not actually rotton, it went into a big pot.
(We didn't do the thing where you scrape someone's plate into the soup pot.)

All I can say is every single thing went into the garbage soup.
Back in those days we actually had to empty the fridge once in awhile and defrost it wash it down. Some of the things which would go into garbage soup: A bowl of leftover cooked vegetables. A small container of chopped onions or peppers, frozen. Some extra cooked hamburger meat. A frozen dab of soup or gravy.  I'm thinking maybe some tortillas or stale bread or spaghetti went in, good when cooked down. Not real sure what it was, but different every time, and always good.

I haven't really got into the habit, but I heard that in France they always keep a big pot simmering and they put in leftovers and cook it down to a wonderful soup. Now that the weather is cooling down I might do some soup pots.

I just now googled "Garbage Soup," because I wasn't sure if anyone else made that, and voila!
Here is one page. Serious Eats
...

http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2008/08/garbage-soup.html  Garbage Soup
Garbage Soup...
Posted by robincat, August 18, 2008 at 9:56 AM

"...and/or other creative, one of a kind, clean-out-the-fridge creations? Have some of your proudest culinary moments come from using up frozen leftovers, like broths from roasted beef or chicken and vegetables that “need to go today?” For me, soup from what I have on hand with a few pantry items added (beans, pasta, etc.) is intuitive cooking at its best and nearly always yields happy results. Unfortunately, the results are those which can never exactly be repeated…."

Yowbarb Note: Some comments there on the page. with recipe ideas, all is approximate, of course.

[Linda]

Just made a pot of soup today and a great batch of corn bread in the cast iron skillet! Yum

Linda

[Yowbarb]

Just made a pot of soup today and a great batch of corn bread in the cast iron skillet! Yum

Linda

Linda, that does sound wonderful!
Now that the weather is a little cooler, I have been craving soups but so far they are just canned. Now that I am caught up again around here I may be more inspired to make soup. I have a lotta different vegetables...
- Yowbarb

[Linda]

I just so happen to have seen a recipe on tv yesterday morning and I had all the ingredients to make it. Wow how often does that happen that you don't have to run to the market to get everything. It turned out great, had butternut squash in it, so it was very fall like.

Linda