Preparedness for when

mardatha

I haven't got an electric kettle, if the gas cylinder had a problem then I can't make tea - I need to get a cheap elect one I think for emergencies.
Does anybody know what sorrel tastes like or what you can do with it? I found some seeds left over from last year - was going to grow it for the chickens to eat, but I know humans can eat it too.

boultdj

I'v heard of sorrel soup and I think you can use the young leaves as salad.But I'v never eaten it myself so can't help with taste.

mardatha

Ok ty, I will have a look on the net but not sure where to start. Suppose the best thing would be to plant the stuff and try it - it canny be as bad as
kale :eek::eek:

westcoastscot

mardatha wrote: »

WCS that's why we keep the fire on all the time, it does work out cheaper than lighting it every day. But this summer we're going to try lighting a fire every second day, and just have baths alternate nights instead of every night. For dishes we can use a kettle, there's only 2 of us.

Worth a try, especially as there's only the two of you, and you have gas for the cooker don't you? We had gas before we moved here and it was fantastic - we built a loose wooden "thing" around it to keep the temp right - I loved it!

Cannot decide whether to make a start sowing seeds indoors, in the hope that spring arrives before June - I really want to make a go of growing veggies this year

mardatha

We fixed up a contraption of polystyrene and a cut-up milk carton WCS, and taped that over the hose. That was the bit that was freezing, even though Propane isn't supposed to freeze.
Glorious sunshine here for days now, makes me wish I had seeds in the windowsill. But the earth is still frozen solid. Round the back where the sun doesnt reach its still pure white and frozen.I wish I could access books on how we grew here in the old days, and what we ate.

[Deleted User]

MAR Sorrel is tangy and citrusy tasting, lovely in a sauce to go with fish. It's quite a strong zingy taste so if you are going to add it to salads, try a little but first to see if you like it raw. The classic dish is french peas with baby onions, lettuce and sorrel which is very nice.

JAYNEC I felt exactly the same about folks in real life regarding me as lunatic fringe until I found these lovely folks on the thread. In fact I didn't realise I was a prepper at first but now have the confidence to stand up and be counted!!! Welcome to the order of the 'BATTIES' which we all belong to and was originally invented by Butterfly Brain, it sums us up beautifully - if we ever achieve a meet up we all have to wear a bat somewhere visible, fun eh?

MARYB so glad the op was a success and hope your eye is very quickly not feeling sore, brilliant result, well done.

Have a good day all and stay warm, Cheers Lyn xxx.

VJsmum

You know those stoves made of tuna tins? Anyone know where I can get hold of "the thing wot makes the holes"?

taurusgb

As some of my stores have been depleted (on purpose, I needed to rethink some of what I am storing and use up some stock due to dates) I have just done an online order with Sainsb's. I added my last online shop to my basket so that I could see how much the same list would cost compared to November last year. It was a massive 35% increase :eek: this was approx 50/50 split between basics and non basics. There were 5 items no longer available for which there was a suggestion I ordered items costing more than twice as much. Scarey times.

Rosemary_Jane

Regarding the risks to security of the electricity supply, I can't remember if this link was on here or another forum:

"The Electricity Act 1989 obliges Ofgem to provide the Secretary of State with a report assessing different electricity capacity margins and the risk to security of supply associated with each alternative. Ofgem’s capacity assessment report is to be delivered to the Secretary of State by 1st September every year, starting in 2012."
"We assess that the risks to electricity security of supply will increase in the next four years"
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/WhlMkts/monitoring-energy-security/elec-capacity-assessment/Pages/index.aspx

Makes interesting reading.


Mar, in my favourite book Plants for a Future by Ken Fern
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plants-Future-Edible-Useful-Healthier/dp/1856230112/
he describes sorrel:
"a very tolerant and easily grown plant... the leaves have a delicious lemon-like flavour and are one of our favourite additions to salads, they can also be cooked....our large-leafed variety does not die down in winter so we can normally harvest it all year round...
Sorrel leaves contain oxalic acid and so should be used in moderation, and perhaps not at all if you suffer from rheumatism or arthritis.
All other parts of the plant are edible, though a lot less interesting than the leaves. Non-edible uses include an infusion of the stems used as a polish for bamboo, wicker furniture and silver. Juice of the plant removes stains from linen and also ink stains (not ballpoint pen) from white material. Dark green to brown and dark grey dyes can be obtained from the roots and a grey-blue dye is obtained from the leaves and stems."

The book is fascinating - I really want to grow the common reed first, and then every plant he talks about!!


With regard to cooking on a rocket stove, I am wondering whether it may be best to get a very light pan from a camping store. My heavy pans may use too much fuel to heat up properly. Mmmmm...

Rosemary

Rosemary_Jane

Rosemary_Jane wrote: »

Mar, in my favourite book Plants for a Future by Ken Fern
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plants-Future-Edible-Useful-Healthier/dp/1856230112/
he describes sorrel:

sorry to reply to my own post, but I have seen thet the book has it's own website -
http://www.pfaf.org/user/default.aspx
searchable databases for 7000 plants

well worth a look before buying,

R