Allyson

Vinegar is one of those items that should be in every prep pack. It’s useful for SO many things! What can you use vinegar for?

• making drinks (shrub, sekanjabin, switchel, haymakers, etc.)
• baking (you can use it to make a buttermilk substitute)
• all purpose cleaner (AMAZING on windows)
• preservation (pickles, meats, etc.)
• descaling (clean scale from coffee makers, kettles, etc.)
• removes stains (especially yellowing along collar lines)
• weed killer (on its own it’s okay, mixed with Dawn detergent it’s better than most commercial mixes)
• insect repellent (I’ve read this one but haven’t tried it)
• wound cleaning
• treating nail fungus
• cleans chrome and helps windows be no-frost
• soothes a sunburn
• great for disinfecting cutting boards, especially wooden ones
• white vinegar in laundry helps remove general stains

I’m sure I missed stuff, but man, we use vinegar all over the place in our house. From salads to shower drains (where it kills off those little irritating gnats that come from drains), it’s basically an all purpose item to have in your go bag.

But what if you don’t have vinegar on hand? Fear not, it’s not actually difficult to make!

Making vinegar from scratch can be such a sinch, and coupled with its indispensability in the kitchen, makes it a worthwhile endeavor. The process of getting to vinegar is simple:

1. start with a sugary liquid
2. let the sugars ferment into alcohol by way of our friendly local wild yeast
3. then with continued air exposure the alcohol will be eaten up by native acetobacter making it into vinegar. Boom!

An even simpler overview:

1. crush fruit in your fermentation vessel of choice
2. leave it be until it tastes like vinegar.
3. strain the solids. So easy!

From: Ferment Pitsburgh

Basically, vinegar is made from scraps, the stuff you’d normally toss in the garbage. You can use apple cores, skins, bruised stuff even. You can use old wine that’s already starting to turn to vinegar, too.

A very basic apple cider vinegar recipe that I have used:

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Behind the  “read more” are lots of photos, so if you’re not on a good connection, beware. This is also replacing FBEL for the week, because I don’t have the mental space to write about politics right now. I hope you enjoy.

This past weekend was the first of three at Maine Renaissance Faire. It’s a lot of fun, a TON of work, and you never know what the weather will be. This is my fourth year presenting at MERF (as we call it), and though three weeks is a LOT at a single site, I have been looking forward to it.

When I prepare for a faire, I need to worry about different types of things. First, I need to address my infrastructure. When I’m at MERF, I get to use the kitchen tent of the Brotherhood of the Arrow and Sword, which is my 15th century historical group. They’ve been around for a couple of decades now, and so they’ve acquired the kind of equipment that I can only dream of. They have many amazing looking tents, trestle tables, medieval lamps and tripods and clothing, things I’m still working at achieving and creating. I have better cookware than they do, though. 😀

Their kitchen tent is a massive wedge that opens on one side. In modern parlance we’d call it a Baker’s tent, though it’s much larger than any one I’ve ever seen before. It can be used with the front closed, making it a plain old wedge tent (albeit one large enough to hold six queen sized air beds with room to move around) or you can put the side up (as seen in the pictures below) to use it for vending out of. This is where I sell my cookbooks, and where my cooking demonstrations begin (they end at the fire, of course).

The other tents are the type used by various medieval military. There are some bell wedges (wedges with ends that bump out to give you a bit of extra room), some square and rectangular wall tents, and a round tent (the most usual used by the average knight, at least according to paintings). My own tent is a tiny wedge, just big enough for me and a small cot and my personal gear. It, too, opens on one side (just like its big brother, the kitchen tent), but it’s not tall enough for most people to stand under. I’m tiny (only 5’1″), so it works for me. I have to stoop a bit, but not much, and I can get dressed standing up by shoving my cot on its side. When I’m at an event with my sweetie, though, we need something larger. We’ve been staying in the “modern camping” area for the past few years, in a very modern pop up easy set up tent that accommodates our queen air bed. I wanted to be closer to my Brotherhood, though, and so my sweetie finagled a “long term borrow” of a 9×9 wall tent for our use from his sister. It is just large enough for our queen bed, our personal clothing bags, and one “gear box” each. Luckily that’s all we really need, as other items are either stored in the car (cash box, harp) or in the kitchen tent (cast iron, chairs, tables).

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I adore Scotch Eggs. They’re the perfect match of sausage, egg, breading, and deliciousness. Done right, the exterior is crispy and salty, the sausage properly cooked without being greasy, and the egg yolk EVER so slightly soft. I will buy them at Ren Faires as a treat, but here’s how to make them at home!

Ingredients:

• 6 cooked eggs
• 1 cup ground breakfast sausage
• whisked egg and breadcrumbs, for coating
• salt and pepper to taste
• frying fat

Depending on how cooked you want your yolks to be, this can be tricky. I usually aim for very soft boiled eggs, around 6 minutes in boiling water. For hard boiled, you want 8 minutes in boiling water. (Note: always put eggs into cold water in the pot, then bring the temperature up to boiling, and start your timer when the water reaches the boil.) To make them easier to peel, you can prick the bottom of the egg (the fat end) with a pin, which lets the water in and separates it from the shell. I’m told baking powder in the water also works. When your eggs are boiled, put them in a cold water ice bath for at least 20 minutes before attempting to peel them.

Remove the shells and rinse then wipe the eggs dry. Using your hands, pick up a ball of ground sausage and make it into an oval shape, flattened to an equal thickness throughout. Wrap this carefully around your egg and gently mold until the entire egg is encased in sausage. The harder boiled your eggs are, the easier this is.

Set the whisked raw egg in one bowl and the breadcrumbs in another. Dip the sausage encased egg into the whisked egg, then roll it in the breadcrumbs to coat it. Add the coated egg to a fry pan with oil and fry them until they’re golden brown. Turn them constantly so that they cook evenly. You want the sausage to be cooked through (and the egg will cook a bit further while you’re cooking the sausage).

These can be served as is, hot and crispy. Alternatively, you can split them in half and serve them with sliced tomatoes and a whisked mixture of equal parts mustard and mayonnaise.

Laundry detergent is not the same as regular soap. There’s reasons for this, and they’re complex, but basically we are not made of cloth. We’re made of leather. Soap cleans leather just fine, but does less of a good job of cleaning cloth. If you want your clothing to be soft, clean, and to last for a long time, regular soap is not going to work. That said, in a pinch, you can absolutely clean your clothes with any regular soap bar. It will be very harsh on your clothing, and difficult to rinse out, so be prepared to do several rinse cycles.

I prefer liquid detergent, but we’ll start with powder because it’s easier.

Ingredients for powder laundry detergent:

• 1 bar Fels Naptha soap
• 2 cups Borax
• 2 cups washing soda

Start by grating up your soap. You want to grate it into very small pieces. You can do this by hand with a regular cheese grater, but it takes a long time. You can also do it in your food processor by cutting the soap into one inch cubes and then pulsing them until they’re in “smaller than pea” size pieces. I prefer to grate mine.

Mix together all the ingredients in a container that’s about 1/3 larger than your batch, and mix it well by stirring with a wooden spoon and shaking it. This is a great project for kids to help with, as you can seal the detergent into the container and then let them toss it around. You need to use a glass or hard plastic container, and not the softer “recyclable” containers you may have on hand. The lid also must seal tightly, or your detergent will clump horribly.

To use, add 2 tablespoons of powder to the drum of your washer (front loading or top loading). Do not add it to the automatic dispenser, as it will clump and block things up. For very large loads, you may need an extra tablespoon. For hand washing, dissolve 1 tablespoon of powder into a cup of hot water, then pour that into your wash water after the detergent has dissolved.

If you would like to have stinky laundry (ie you’re one of those folks who like scented detergent), simply add several drops of your favorite essential oil to the dry ingredients, and stir until it’s all incorporated.

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I belong to a small (in the hundreds) community of social media folk who are LGBT and are all done with the bullshit of the alphabet mafia. The vast majority are Trump supporters. All of them are Conservative. All of the ones I’ve personally connected with are intelligent, forward thinking, well educated, and forthright. It’s been a breath of fresh air to be able to have conversations over why I disagree with some of the stuff going on right now (the BBB comes to mind), without getting trampled.

One of the ladies I follow is a big butch dyke. When I say big, I don’t mean fat. She’s stocky, muscular, a little bit masculine but definitely female, and she has the (if you’ll excuse the term) typical lesbian short haircut. She’s a Christian, an unabashed Trump supporter, and is married to a person who is not a Trump supporter. They provide a fairly balanced viewpoint of things, which I really appreciated during the election time.

This lady was recently told that she has to stop identifying as a lesbian. Because she has a masculine look to her, and she wears cargo shorts and high neck tees, she’s “trans masc” and therefore that’s what she needs to present as.

Let’s just say that this order didn’t go down well with the butch. LOL… She very clearly, very concisely, and very pointedly explained that “we the normal gays” are no longer part of the “rainbow community.” There may have been some four letter words, but most were beeped out because TikTok is like that. Let it be said, the butch was not the least bit interested in backing down from her personal viewpoint of her own lesbian self. In Leftist speech, they didn’t respect her pronouns so they’re dead to her.

That whole incident has led to a new movement, though, and I thought it was a good idea to let you all know about it. The first thing these few hundred LGBT people did was to “fix” the pride flag. They took off the “TIAA+” part (the triangle on the left side) and replaced it with a purposefully poorly tacked on other regular rainbow.

Note, this is my version of it. I wanted you to get the idea. Basically, the idea is that if the alphabet mafia doesn’t want anything to do with “normal” gay folk, then they can go. And they should take their part of the flag with them.

The second thing they did was reclaim the rainbow. Keep in mind, these are largely Christian people. Not only did they lose their “gay” rainbow to the alphabet mafia, they lost their Biblical rainbow. So they took it back. Now, they’re doing an upside down rainbow. The upside down rainbow is meant to look like a smile. It represents both the original basis of the rainbow flag (solidarity, wanting to be a part of the greater human community, etc.) and the idea that God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.

I rather like it. So if you see someone with an upside down rainbow, they’re probably a gay Conservative. I might start sporting this one myself. And again, that’s my version of the smile. 🙂

You’ve seen pics of me. I obviously like food. However, I’m trying to be a lot healthier in what I’m eating. I love sweet treats, and if I could tolerate dairy, I could be happy with the occasional yogurt. However, dairy free yogurt is twice as expensive, and the cups are usually smaller. It’s a sad thing. That’s when I ran across this chia seed stuff.

So before you ask, yes, this is the same type of seed you used to smear on clay figurines in the 70’s and 80s (ch ch ch chia!). However, instead of growing them, you’re going to be eating them. It sounds odd, I know, but they’re cheap, and when they’re soaked overnight, they’re really tasty!

This recipe makes a single serving, so feel free to upscale as much as you like!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (or any other milk or milk substitute)
• 1 tbsp honey (or other sweetener of choice)
• 1 tsp cocoa powder

Put all of the ingredients into a jar or other container with a lid, and whisk together well. Let it sit for a couple of minutes, then whisk again, as sometimes the seeds or the cocoa can clump. Cover the container and put it in the fridge for at least two hours, and best overnight. Before serving, top it with a bit of fresh fruit or whatever you like!

It really is that simple, and it’s tasty. Just be careful to mix, let it sit for 2 to 3 minutes, then mix again. The seeds make a sort of gel around themselves (which makes them sort of like mini tapioca balls when you eat it), and so once that begins to happen they are easier to stir.

For those who are diet conscious, the above comes out to about 200 calories, 5g protein, 9g fat, and 28g carbs (but with a whopping 9g of fiber, which makes your net carbs only 19). A fairly balanced dessert!

One of the big things I worry about if the SHTF is hygiene. When you have less access to good quality running water, keeping clean becomes not just a personal choice, but an absolute necessity. Soap and water are your greatest armor against disease and septic injuries. But if you can’t run down to the corner store for soap, what do you do?

Of course you could just stock a 20 year pile of soap. It’s not that expensive. It does, however, take up space. The better choice is to store enough for a year, which gives you enough time to get settled and create the parts you need to make your own soap with nothing but stuff you’d nominally throw away anyhow.

Soap History

There’s a story about how soap was “discovered” in ancient Rome. It goes like this… Along a particular stream in Rome, women used to wash their clothes. The clothing was beaten against rocks, then rubbed with sand. They’d then submerge the clothing and let it sit in the running water, smaller stones holding it in place, until they figured they were clean. Then the clothes would be pulled out, wrung out, and hung to dry back at their homes. In one particular place along that stream, the clothing was MUCH more clean.

Apparently, upstream from the women, there was a place where they rendered fat. Some of the animal fat dripped into the water. It was enough that it created a sheen on top of the water. A little closer to the ladies was a spot where people would dump their ashes from their wood fires. That gave them the basic recipe for soap: water, fat, and lye (derived from wood ash) equals basic soap. The reason the women in that one spot had cleaner clothes is that they were using a rudimentary form of soap in the water to do their washing.

All that’s a story, of course. But it’s indeed plausible. It’s the sort of thing that happens. Making usable soap for your home is not quite so easy, of course, but it’s still possible. The first part of the process is to create the lye that is the base of your soap.

PLEASE NOTE THAT LYE IS CAUSTIC. IT CAN AND WILL BURN YOU IF YOU DON’T PAY FULL ATTENTION. ALWAYS WEAR PROTECTIVE GEAR WHEN MAKING OR USING LYE, OR ANY OTHER CAUSTIC AGENT!

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Many of you know that I’m on TikTok. I’m on it less since the outage around the election, only because they haven’t definitively decided what’s happening to it yet. Still, I find it a useful way to find out what “people in general” are thinking. It’s also very interesting to me to see what people post from TikTok to Facebook. Me, I post up images of jelly capybaras in coconut soup, wildcat kittens with massive murder mittens, and the occasional moose or bear video. Once in a while I post political stuff, but mostly not, and mostly very “center” in nature.

Yesterday, I started seeing the posts from people who were blaming Texas for the floods. First, it was about how this was all Trump’s fault, because the BBB cut people from the weather service. Then it was no big deal because (and I quote) “it was all just white Christian girls.” Then they blamed the meteorologists for not doing enough. And then they started getting onto people’s cases because the orange man is bad.

Somewhere in there, I ran into a lovely blue-haired lady with nose piercings. I admit, I braced myself. While not universally true, quite a lot of blue-haired nose piercing types are … well, not people I enjoy listening to. This young woman admitted freely that she was a democrat, and then went on to express shock and horror that some of her leftist “friends” were talking about how Texas got what they deserved, that they voted for this, and the rest.

She had a light bulb moment. She actually says, “They’re talking about immigrants being deported from the country just because of where they were born, but then say bad things about this horror in Texas and children drying, and those people were just born in Texas!” The hypocrisy of the dems appears to have hit her square between the eyes.

“Can you not see the hypocrisy of saying that Texas got what they deserved because they voted for it?” she pointed out. And also that not everyone in Texas voted that way, and on top of it all, CHILDREN ARE DYING and they didn’t vote.

I wrote to her and offered her cookies from the Right, and let her know to watch for the tide going out and people on “her side” dropping her like a hot potato. I let her know we have “untrained trauma groups” where we share our concerns for those remaining on the Left who are just… off their rocker. She responded, politely and with much thought in her words.

The leftists are continuing to move so far left that they’re leaving everyone with a brain behind. I feel so awful for this blue haired woman, because I remember just how painful that awakening was for me. I’m sorry that she’s going to be “excommunicated” by her friends (maybe not today, but if she continues to think for herself, it isn’t long off). I’m so sorry that she’s going to realize all sorts of horrid things about the world she’s lived in and participated in.

They are literally eating their own. I watched it happen to me. More importantly, I’m watching it happen in other places. I could be an outlier. Seeing it happen all over the place, that means it’s real. If you have a thought that doesn’t match everyone else, their cognitive dissonance kicks in and they have to exclude you. You must be surgically removed from the group. Why? Because you could infect others with your beliefs.

It’s terrifying.

I would call this a pesto but it isn’t actually pesto. There’s no Parmesan cheese, and no pine nuts. On the other hand, it’s healthy, and ZOMG so good. I made this two nights in a row, once over gnocchi, and once with chicken and veg, and it was just incredible. This is the chicken version.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup cashew yogurt or Greek yogurt (plain)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 6 oz chicken per person, cubed
• 1/2 red onion, rough chopped
• 6 large mushrooms, sliced thick
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 handful spinach

In a blender or food processor, add the basil, yogurt, yeast, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper, and pulse until thoroughly mixed. If it is too thick, add a drizzle of either milk or a non-dairy milk substitute (oatmilk or soy milk). Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large pan, saute your chicken until it’s browned. Add in the onions and mushrooms, and cook until the onions soften and the mushrooms have released their liquid. Add in the tomatoes and spinach at the end of the cooking time for just a minute or two. Turn off the heat, and add the creamy basil sauce. Stir to incorporate it evenly.

This can be served as is, or over pasta or rice. It’s quite good over potatoes, too. I would actually love this over cold pasta as a pasta salad!

I’ve tagged this “from behind enemy lines” because I didn’t know where to put it. It’s replacing today’s prepping article because I only have time to write one, and this one needs to be written.

Many of you know, maybe all of you, that I’ve drifted Right over the past few years. Some of it is indeed that the Left has run so far Left that I look Right, but some of it is the conservative beliefs I already had (fiscal conservatism, for instance, and my stance on 2A) coming to the forefront. I have gone from being a “never Trumper” to being cautiously optimistic about him. I think that’s the most I could ever really have for any President, because the act of becoming President means I should be examining their every move carefully. I don’t care if it’s Gandhi or Mother Teresa. If you’re President, every action you take should be scrutinized, constantly and unendingly. You are MY employee, not the other way around, and in order to make sure you do a good job, I need to watch what’s going on.

I am not a fan of the BBB (Congress.gov). First and foremost, I believe that things need to be simple, and people I trust have stated that this bill is full of pork. It’s as full of pork as any other budget that’s been put in front of the House. I don’t want pork. We The People didn’t elect Trump to put pork into bills; he was hired to remove it. The fact that it took some 16 hours for the bill to be read to the Senate says enough. The fact that I don’t have time to read the damn thing from beginning to end says more. The fact that the table of contents itself is larger than I believe ANY bill should be pretty much puts the last nail in the coffin.

If it’s too long for ME to read, then the average American isn’t going to read it. That’s just a statement of plain fact. It’s also a damn shame. It puts the country in another moment of “you have to vote the bill in to know what’s in it.” Nothing that this country’s government is passing should be beyond the understanding of the average American (I realize we need to educate our people more, and that’s another fight for another day, but let’s just assume that most people have the reading ability and comprehension to read most bills). If the government is inking up rules for us that we cannot comprehend, then we’re no better than Britain was 250 years ago, folks. It means we have a ruling class, and that is EXACTLY what we fought to get out of.

I realize some folks are always going to consent to be ruled from on high. I can’t help them. Frankly, I’m not even interested in helping them (though the thought of deporting them has come to mind). If you haven’t voted in the last four Presidential elections, then I’m not really talking to you. You can move along. I’m talking to those of you who give a shit, who try to keep up with this crap, and attempt to understand it in order to make educated choices.

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