THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

mardatha

Damn I always miss all the interesting bits. I bet the stuff that was deleted was very relevant and interesting too.
MrsL I am working hard on eating cheaper. Being more organised in menus and shopping lists etc.

mardatha

Ivy, the veg we eat is broccoli and cauli and turnip. I find cauli and brocc too hard to grow, and when I did grow turnips they were tough and horrible. So I gave up on the veg plot I think.

[Deleted User]

I'm investigating my history cookbooks, also trying new recipes from the vegan cookery books and trying to use pulses (particularly partial to chickpeas we are) as the main source of protein in some meals each week a) to get us used to having less meat and b) to reduce housekeeping levels if possible. So far out guts are adjusting to the slightly different make up of our diet (beans and the usual problems associated with digesting them) fairly well and we're not completely antisocial. We have the heating the house fairly well in hand with the woodstove and continually process scrounged/donated wood and add it to the woodstore even in the warmer months when we're not actually burning. I'm gradually replacing lightweight cooking pots with cast iron/enamel so I can use them on the outdoor stove at need and we're replacing outdoor/waterproof clothing and footwear with as good quality as we can afford for future use. Cider making will continue as it's a great deal cheaper (if you discount the manual labour involved) than buying in beer at the pub. Anything else we can do???

DigForVictory

Have just put the hand cranked mill to use (along with offspring - why have child about & ignore it?!), converting a bag of pearl barley (50 pence) into barley flour (£2 if you can find it) & then letting said child labour convert some of that into pancakes.

Acquired a couple of buckets to teach the lads how to wash a car (blimey - an entire chemistry set for chaps involved!) & was charmed to see equines being exercised recognised the bucket & flickered ears towards it with distinct hope. (My plans to TWOC a horse in the event of emergency are coming along nicely. I've even got a length of paracord & an old headcollar - the "control interface" [pfah!] is powering along.)

Husband is making a leg sheath for my throwing knives for me. Frankly this is intended as a meditative hobby, but you never know when certain skills may not come in handy.

[Deleted User]

Invest in several packets of Polo Mints D for V.....equinely irresistible when rattled in said bucket!!!

Should also have added into the mix in the post above that tomorrow sees me making the first of the home grown preserves for store and future consumption in the form of Strawberry Jam as we have a goodly picking again on the patch. It's one area where I DO have a little control and I shall be using every piece of produce that stands still long enough to be harvested and processed to put in 'futures' to make possibly 'bland' foods tastier and more palatable but also to barter for other things if all our outgoings are vastly more expensive. I love the idea of a barter society but I'll bet the taxman hates it!

mardatha

I'm staying with meat as we only have one big meal a day. Stews done in the slow cooker with tons of veg chucked in; chicken done in the oven with loads of veg; mixed grills with sausage liver & bacon rather than steak; big pots of soup. Supper is eggs or cheese on toast. Breakfast is porridge.
I should be able to cut down the bill a lot more yet, but all the wee extras sort of pile up. Tons of Greek yoghurt, soft cheese and cream for the RV's low carb diabetic diet stop us eating really cheap.

GreyQueen

DigForVictory wrote: »

Have just put the hand cranked mill to use (along with offspring - why have child about & ignore it?!), converting a bag of pearl barley (50 pence) into barley flour (£2 if you can find it) & then letting said child labour convert some of that into pancakes.

Acquired a couple of buckets to teach the lads how to wash a car (blimey - an entire chemistry set for chaps involved!) & was charmed to see equines being exercised recognised the bucket & flickered ears towards it with distinct hope. (My plans to TWOC a horse in the event of emergency are coming along nicely. I've even got a length of paracord & an old headcollar - the "control interface" [pfah!] is powering along.)

Husband is making a leg sheath for my throwing knives for me. Frankly this is intended as a meditative hobby, but you never know when certain skills may not come in handy.

Buckets are recognisable objects to most species of animal, and would be useful if needing to TWOC a cow or a goat, even chickens know good things get hand-delivered in buckets.

Re a length of paracord, this would be hard on the hands. How about a woven nylon dog-lead with a clip to attach to said headcollar? Assuming you can't pick up a proper lead rope somewhere easily. I also note that when trail-riding all day, our horses had head-collars on under their bridles, with the leading rein attached and tied up in a loop around the base of their necks when not in use.

When the horses were resting, we unfastened the bit on one side of the bridle so they could graze comfortably.

It's useful to know a bit about handling horses and other equines, even if one cannot ride (or said critter is a wee pony) it could be useful as a pack animal in a crisis.

Knowing how to manage large lifestock is a useful skill but never underestimate the risks. If you look at old newspapers, you'll see plenty of recorded deaths from handling horses and attached horse-drawn vehicles, back in the day. One of my own great-grandfathers died thus, of a head injury. A farmer friend, whose family farm was formerly a dairy farm, tells of the relief when AI became the thing, as his own father had several narrow squeaks with handling bulls.

Which reminds me of the old country joke (a sign on a field gate) Entrance free - the bull will charge later.:rotfl:

Jesting aside, it'd be an idea to familiarise oneself with the various species of cows and to be able to tell at a glance whether you're looking at a dairy or a beef species - the bulls of dairy species are much the more dangerous ones. Jersey cows are lovely, Jersey bulls are murderous little barstewards, never mind the doe eyes and supermodel eyelashes.

thriftwizard

You don't often see the bulls of beef cattle these days, except at Ag. Shows. I used to have to walk to & from school through a field of bullocks, and they're very much like teenage boys; full of lighthearted mischief that can suddenly turn to mayhem if they "take against" someone. And cows with calves at foot can be very dangerous if they think you're a threat to their calves. Most cattle are very docile, but not all...

I'm very excited this morning; just had a definite offer of a "real" allotment of my own, on a new site not too far from home. The arrangement with my friend probably won't outlast this summer; I suspect her OH has realised what an idiot he's been & is attempting to return to the fold. So it's lovely to have something I can make firm plans for!

mardatha

Lots of bulls up here, every farm seems to keep their own. Cows are def dangerous and I would never walk through a field of them, had too many close shaves, and when my son worked on the farm his boss was seriously injured when rolled on by a cow. Even rams in a field can be dodgy, I've been charged by one when I was a child.

[Deleted User]

I've just potted up 10 jars of strawberry and redcurrant jam, I was a bit low on lemons and redcurrants set like glue so I've not only saved the strawberry harvest after the pummelling they got from the rain last night but I've made a space in the freezer too and 10 jars to go into the store cannot be bad can it?