The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

maryb

The chat on this thread motivated me to get my canner out.  I ad a load of mince taking up too much room in the freezer so I made a giant vat of plain tomato and mince Bol sauce but without the Italian seasoning.  That way I can add herbs or chilli powder when I open the jars.  I also canned all the bags of chicken stock lurking in the freezer, they do accumulate.  I’d been putting it off for a long time because lids have been very difficult to get hold of since COVID.  But I’ve been saving lids since Si Clint said he reused his and I’d accumulated enough to do this session

everything sealed fine.  That was gratifying 

re Ukraine, I thought they exported a lot of grain.  We may not import much directly but it’s a major part of many of the foods we buy so might have knockon effects on other imports

Saipan

@maryb is right - Ukraine is one of the world's largest grain exporters.

My friends in Ukraine - who are anti-Russian-influence, and extremely anti-Putin! - are angry about the media coverage in the UK and US, as they see it as a smokescreen to distract from the domestic failings and unpopularity of both Biden and Johnson, without properly considering the impact on the situation.  They feel it is making the diplomatic position difficult and much prefer the EU's more restrained approach. 

I was listening to an interview with a US Congressman on the World Service, who seemed very well informed and pointed out that Russia has a legitimate concern about the security of its borders, while also saying that Putin has gone about things in entirely the wrong way and needs to change course quickly.  It was so refreshing to hear a balanced view, rather than the hysterical approach of some of the MSM in the UK.  
 .  

Happy_Sloth

I think this russia thing may kick me up the behind. 

i've always been a prepper and i have a good supply of matches, candles, blankets etc all the things for power outages.   

Even though i've got a reasonable supply of candles enough to last 1 week of power outages about 2 years ago I planned to make 50 hour candles and have the supplies sitting in the cuboard to make around 25.

however i've been abit lazy and haven't made them, i might add it to my todo list for tomorrow., 

Si_Clist

Saipan said:

... they see it as a smokescreen to distract from the domestic failings and unpopularity of both Biden and Johnson ...
 .  

Your friends in Ukraine aren't alone in seeing things that way.  Those of us old enough to recall how Tricky Dicky prolonged the Vietnam war in an attempt to get himself re-elected have no delusions about what politicians will do to stay in power.

elaine241

maryb said:

The chat on this thread motivated me to get my canner out.  I ad a load of mince taking up too much room in the freezer so I made a giant vat of plain tomato and mince Bol sauce but without the Italian seasoning.  That way I can add herbs or chilli powder when I open the jars.  I also canned all the bags of chicken stock lurking in the freezer, they do accumulate.  I’d been putting it off for a long time because lids have been very difficult to get hold of since COVID.  But I’ve been saving lids since Si Clint said he reused his and I’d accumulated enough to do this session

everything sealed fine.  That was gratifying 

re Ukraine, I thought they exported a lot of grain.  We may not import much directly but it’s a major part of many of the foods we buy so might have knockon effects on other imports

Ok probably stupid question, although I was told no question is stupid! If you defrost the chicken stock in the freezer does re processing it mean it should not be heated again? I have several stock bags in the freezer taking up room plus casseroles known as UFO's as they are unidentified frozen objects. Could I defrost casseroles, identify, and then can them for use off the shelf?

Si_Clist

maryb said:

re Ukraine, I thought they exported a lot of grain.  We may not import much directly but it’s a major part of many of the foods we buy so might have knockon effects on other imports

They did at one time, but the whole wheat thing worldwide is in disarray now due to poor harvests, low stocks, transport problems, higher fuel costs and this damned fool business of growing cereals to turn them into ethanol to power motor cars instead of feeding folk.  That means higher cereal prices for you and me, which means higher prices for meat as well as bread and flour, on account of modern cows eat so much grain - especially the might-as-well-be-factory-farmed beef cattle in the US of A. 

There's a lot of angst about the price of bread in the German media right now.

Wraithlady

elaine241 said:

Ok probably stupid question, although I was told no question is stupid! If you defrost the chicken stock in the freezer does re processing it mean it should not be heated again? I have several stock bags in the freezer taking up room plus casseroles known as UFO's as they are unidentified frozen objects. Could I defrost casseroles, identify, and then can them for use off the shelf?

I can say that I have successfully canned previously frozen stock and spag bol with no ill-effects. Casseroles might have an issue with texture , though, if it's large pieces of meat

thriftwizard

Back from Torquay, all safe although the van was getting pushed around a bit by the wind, both on Friday and today on the way back, but the roads were pretty empty so the journey seems less risky than usual! (Some drivers have a tendency to see a camper van, assume it's moving at snail's pace, and attempt to overtake it despite the fact it's already doing the limit, we're coming to the end of the dual carriageway going uphill, and their poor little Fiat Uno, complete with 3 passengers & luggage, is in danger of shaking apart...) 

maryb

The stock is heated up rapidly to boiling point from frozen before being canned immediately so it doesn't sit around after thawing.  I wouldn't try canning it if it had any time to acquire any contamination.  

Floss

Think I will be buying my small amounts of meat from a couple of local farms, one grass-fed beef & one pig (their bacon is delish).