I was not paid to do this review. The following is my opinion, based on field testing prior to accepting advertising. All I ever guarantee is a fair review, based on use in the field. I will not sell, nor help anyone else sell any product I would not use myself.

The Dutch Oven dome works well with a standard 12-inch camp oven and Camp Chef double burner propane stove.

by Leon Pantenburg

Long before I gave much  thought to buying gear for long term survival, I bought a Camp Chef double burner propane stove.

At the time, during the early 1990s, I was looking for a reliable outdoor stove. It would be used to cook fish in a Dutch oven, boil lots of water quickly, serve as the main cooking stove for hunting and fishing camps, canning with a pressure cooker. The stove would be required  to do all the other things you’d expect out of an outdoor cooking implement.

The double burner has served me well for years! (To read the complete stove review, click here.)

The Camp Chef people, to their credit, realize that stove is the basis for a complete set of  preparedness tools and have added accessories accordingly.

One accessory I field-tested this summer was the Dutch Oven Dome. When used in conjunction with the double-burner and my Lodge 12-inch camp oven, this is a winning combination!

According to the package, the dome works by diverting, trapping and circulating the heat, creating a convection oven for cast iron outdoors. It reduces or eliminates the cost and mess of charcoal.

That last statement is important to the prepper/survivalist. One vital stockpile when the  SHTF (Stuff Hits The Fan) survival scenarios is fuel for cooking. In some instances, such as in the aftermath of a tornado, flood or other disaster a critical need would be water purification. Sometimes, boiling might be the only practical method. And the most effective stove  for that could be one that used standard propane containers, such as you’d find on barbecues.

In fact, during an urban situation, salvaged propane cylinders  from barbecues might end up being the safest, most plentiful single fuel source available.

And what about your storage foods? Some of them require lengthy baking times. If you have a campfire and lots of firewood, you can use the coals. But it takes a tremendous amount of burned firewood to make enough coals for extended baking. If charcoal and/or firewood are at a premium, what could be the best alternative for using on your Dutch oven?

After testing this Dutch oven dome, I’d suggest you consider it as part of your survival/off-grid cooking system.

The dome creates a convection oven atmosphere around the cast iron camp oven.

The dome is made of a sturdy, flexible reflective material, and it comes folded neatly in a square box. A circular metal disc comes with it, and the disc is placed over the flame. The disc defuses the heat and spreads it.

It is simplicity itself to use the dome. Light the burner, place the disc over it, and place your 12-inch  camp oven on top. Cover the whole setup with the dome.

The first time I used the dome was with a batch of biscuits. I had no idea of what to set the heat level at. So, assuming that a medium flame would produce a hot oven, that’s what I set the controls on.

When I checked a few minutes later, the bottom of the biscuits were already getting brown. I cut back the heat to low, and that setting proved to be about right.

Once you figure out your baking setting, the dome/double burner/camp oven combination worked with monotonous reliability. Once my setting was dialed in, there is no challenge at all to producing uniformly-baked foods. I would assume you could use the Camp Chef Remote Thermometer to get your settings down to really, really precise measurements.

The dome would work well with a roast or any other dish that required baking. And because the most effective settings (for my needs, anyway) are relatively low, there is not a tremendous propane consumption.

You will have to experiment some with the dome to figure out the best settings for your needs. Elevation, humidity and outside heat will all have some impact on how the dome works in different areas.

I didn’t do a lot of testing with other size ovens, since the 12-inch worked so well. I would image that a 14-inch oven might be too big for the dome to work effectively. Also, a smaller 10-inch might allow too much space between the oven and the dome sides for it to function as it does with the 12-inch.

You’ll just have to try it out!

But for my purposes, the dome works so well with the 12-inch camp oven, that there doesn’t seem to be much reason to experiment further!
For more survival recipes and cooking tips, check out these blogs: Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes, Survival Pantry, and Survival Recipes and Off-Grid Cooking

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“Have you heard of Damper? It’s an Australian bread that’s made using few ingredients and cooked in a campfire. Stockmen and drovers would make it using their basic camping rations.” from Alex in SurvivalCommonSense.com Comments

Two cups of flour makes a skillet-full of Damper, Australia's survival bread

by Leon Pantenburg

Actually, I had not heard of Damper, but I never need much excuse to experiment with survival foods, and asked Alex for a recipe.

“Leon, I think there are as many Damper recipes as there are cooks, and nobody agrees on what the real one is,” Alex replied. ” The basic recipe uses flour, baking powder, salt and milk, and is cooked in a campfire (either in a pot, or wrapped in foil, or suspended on a stick, or straight on the coals). It’s usually served with jam or honey or something similar.

“My great uncle was a drover, and he used to make it for us when he visited. We never could get his recipe straight – whenever we asked, he’d just grab handfuls of ingredients and say:  ‘You just add a bit of this and a bit of that…’ His came out perfect every time. Ours didn’t.”

Every prepper, survivalist or emergency preparedness enthusiast should have a variety of these simple, tasty recipes as part of their survival kit! Food is a basic survival requirement, but sometimes, even hunger can’t overcome  monotony. Eat the same thing, day after day, and some people might just quit eating.

So survival cooking, of necessity, must be simple and tasty! It makes sense that every region has an emergency-type  ration based on simple ingredients such as flour or meal.

Bannock, that staple among trappers and traders in the Northwest in the early to late 1800s,  probably originated in Scotland. “Ramrod rolls” were common in the Confederate Army because of  a lack of  options. In this recipe, a cornmeal dough was wrapped around a stick or ramrod, and toasted over a campfire.

Fry bread became a favorite among some Native

Hardtack, a very simple, long-lasting survival ration, is very easy to make and has the texture and consistency of a fired brick!

American tribes after they were forced onto reservations and issued flour and salt for rations. Hardtack was a standard American military ration for over 200 years.

Since Australia was colonized by Great Britain, I’d guess Damper is a variation of a popular English bread.

Regardless, Damper is easy to make, and don’t over-think it! In any of the following recipes, mix the dry ingredients together, add the milk or water and form a smooth dough. Don’t knead too much. Then, either make biscuits or a larger loaf, and bake it however you want to. It look really cool (and is a great kids’ activity in camp) when the dough is rolled around a stick and toasted over a campfire. Put peanut butter in the hole, and you have a delicious, warm sandwich.

Another recommended  idea is to amend the flour with one tablespoon of soy flour; one tablespoon of dried milk and one teaspoon of wheat germ per cup of white flour. This combination makes a complete protein of the flour, and turbocharges the nutritional value of the bread.

Here are a few Damper recipes that could work well in your survival kit:

Plain Damper

2 c self-rising flour (If you don’t have self-rising, add 1-1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt to every cup of regular or

Click here: Great jerky seasoning mixes!

all-purpose flour)

2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

water

Mix dry ingredients together first, then add water to make a soft dough. Knead until the dough sticks together, but not too long or the Damper will get tough. In a conventional oven bake at about 375 degrees about 20 minutes, or  until the edges start to brown.

Standard Damper

2 c self-rising flour

1/2 tsp salt

1-1-1/2 c milk

2 tsp butter

2 tsp sugar

Follow standard cooking directions.

• 4 c self-rising flour
• 1 1/2 c water
• 2 Tbs pecan chips
• a pinch of salt
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 c grated cheese
• 1 tsp chives
• 1 tsp crisp bacon, crumbled
• 1 small onion

Rub the butter into the flour. Add salt. When it looks like crumbs, add water and the rest of the ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon until it is a sticky dough. Turn out on to a floured board and mold into a round. Place in a well-greased cake tin and cut across to make 8 or 10 servings. Bake (at 35 degrees) for 20 minutes or it sounds hollow when you tap on it. Turn out and serve hot with butter. (Recipe courtesy of About.com. camping.)

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I was not paid to review this item. All this is my opinion!

Does a survival-type need a grainmill? Is the bulky, heavy item practical for a bug-out situation?  Would a grainmill be worth the weight and space it takes up in a survival situation?

by Leon Pantenburg

Those were the first questions I came up with, when asked to review the hand-powered Wondermill Wonder Junior. But since that question has come up from readers before, it seemed like a good time to address the issue!

Here are some possible urban or wilderness situations where a grainmill might be useful:

Gerald Gawith, left, holds the pan while his wife, Ann cranks the Wondermill. Experienced, expert off-grid cooks, the Gawiths own and operate Grubmasters Cast Iron Catering. Supervising the process are experienced Dutch oven cooks Jamie and Renee Basinger.

The SHTF (Sewage Hit The Fan) really, really hard and you have had to evacuate your home, and go to a safer area. Along the way to the new base camp or safe location, some oats, corn and barley were obtained from a damaged grain elevator or feed store.

Luckily, you have some off-grid cooking implements, and some basic baking condiments, so making some sort of bread is possible.

But the whole grains must first be ground into flour. Several of the survivors each get two bricks or flat rocks and start grinding the grain between them. Hours later, they have enough flour to start baking. But the flour is coarse and hard, the activity took time away from other vital activities and the bread baked from it will be tough and hard to digest.

Or suppose there is member of your survival group who is gluten-intolerant. You may have plenty of wheat flour, but all the baked goods will do is make that person sick. But you do have the above mentioned grains, and some rice and beans. With a grainmill you could convert those grains into digestible food.

A third scenario might be that several people have not gotten accustomed to a lot of wheat in their diets. While there is plenty of rice, oats and other whole grains available, it will have to be ground into a flour.

So the question is: How valuable would a grainmill be in a SHTF situation?

That was my approach when I agreed to review a Wonder Junior. I don’t own a grainmill, and like most folks, I had not given much thought about such an item as survival gear.

So, I took the brand new, in-the-box Junior to a recent gathering of the Central Oregon Dutch Oven Society. This off-grid cooking club is home to several avid off-grid foodies and cooks. Several are prepppers, and all were interested in how a grainmill could work under survival conditions.

The Wondermill set up easily outdoors and worked well under a simulated survival situation.

So we created the scenario where there was a group of people, some wheat berries and a Wondermill, and we would have to make flour outside to bake something.

Since this was a gear review, we did a common sense assessment. My first impression was that the Wonder Junior is all metal, built like a tank, and would last a long, long time. The crank and moving part worked smoothly and quietly. Changing and adjusting the stone wheels was simple and easily done.

I didn’t try to grind up a handful of gravel or run the odd pebble through the hopper and didn’t drop kick the machine or otherwise abuse it. (If you try hard enough, you can break anything!) If durability was the only consideration, I would have taken the machine to a Boy Scout campout. (Those kids could tear up an anvil!)

What we found:

Size: The Junior is not a lightweight , backpacking implement! (It weighs about 10 pounds or so) But the junior is small and compact enough to be included in a car bug out kit or placed in a survival retreat.

Ease of assembly: I deliberately didn’t look at the directions until I had everything assembled. (I got it right the first time!) There was nothing to setting it up or disassembling it, and anybody could put it together and get it working!

Efficiency: Since this was my first exposure to a grainmill, I had nothing to compare the Junior to. But we managed to quickly convert our wheat berries into flour.

Ease of use: Several people with varying degrees of strength used the machine. Our burly construction contractor could turn the crank all afternoon and easily produce flour. But two of the wispy ladies didn’t have the upper body strength to grind much flour. But this is not a deal-breaker by any stretch of the imagination. During a SHTF situation, there would be no shortage of  volunteers to crank!

Adaptability: This is a machine that needs a sturdy table to use. The force required to turn the handle was not excessive, but you do have to put some energy into it. I didn’t try attaching the Wondermill  to a tree branch, but I think that could be done.

A plastic, portable card table table from Costco wasn’t sturdy enough to handle the vibration caused by cranking. A sturdier wooden table worked OK, but there was excessive lateral movement that detracted from the cranking efficiency. A heavy picnic table, built with 2″ by 6″ lumber like you’d find at many parks or picnic areas, was perfect.

One aside: Wind is an issue when grinding flour outside. Several gusts scattered our flour, and we had to huddle around the grainmill to break the wind. This is just a good thing to know – in a SHTF situation, having all the flour blown away would be a definite morale-buster!

Now, there are some unexpected benefits that the Wonder  Junior could bring to a survival scenario. Unless the manufacturer specifically states otherwise, it is not recommended that most grainmills  be used for anything but grain.

Here is where a Junior shines, because it can grind herbs, rice, corn, coffee, spices, beans, and more.

The overall impression among the foodies at the cookoff was very positive. The Junior went home with an accomplished off-grid and Dutch oven cook for further testing on various grains, legumes and other whole food products, and we’ll be following up on that.

So, after this testing, do I think a survivalist needs a hand-powered grainmill?

I would answer with a qualified “Yes.”

The Wondermill  is not going to work as part of  a grab-and-go, Bug Out Bag, nor would it be practical to include in a standard 72-hour pack.  It would get old, quick, hauling it around in a backpack. And you would have to find a study base of some sort to use it.

But, the Junior’s versatility and effectiveness can help make the most of storage foods typically found in survival pantries. If there is no electricity or power, the Wondermill can keep going as long as there is someone willing to crank it.

And efficiency is a big deal. During a survival situation, your time is your most valuable resource. If you spend hours grinding flour for food, that is time taken from other vital survival tasks.

So,  over the long term, a Wondermill could prove to be one of the most useful, and used, tools in your survival setup!

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Survival food is sustenance that can be made easily during a survival or emergency situation using mainly simple, long-term storage food items, cooked outdoors, using off-the-grid methods.

Asparagus and  Bacon Pizza on the Grill

By Karla Moore

When it comes to comfort food, pizza ranks at the top of the list for a lot of people, my family included.   When you are in a survival situation, you have to use what is easily accessible and whatever food is on hand in your pantry to work with.

Pizza is serious comfort food!

Since it’s spring here on the farm, we have an abundance of fresh asparagus to work with. So, while thinking about what to make for this week’s survival recipe, I was thumbing through my well worn copy of Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes by Jan LeBaron.

On page 162 Jan  has a recipe for a Simple Homemade Pizza Sauce made entirely out of dried ingredients.  This stuff is so good, and easy to make, that you never have to worry about running out of the canned sauce again!

First, preheat your grill to around 350º

Next, make your pizza dough.  Here is a recipe that I’ve used for years.  It will make one large-sized pizza.

Pizza Dough

1 pkg. dry Yeast (or 1 Tbs)

1 tsp. Sugar

1 cup Warm Water (105º to 115º F)

2 Tbs. Oil  (I use Olive)

1 tsp. Salt

2 ½ cups all purpose flour (or bread flour if you have it)

Extra flour and cornmeal for dusting

In a medium sized bowl:  dissolve yeast in warm water, add rest of ingredients.  Beat vigorously with a spoon for 30 strokes.  Cover and let rest for 5 minutes in a warm place.

Pizza Sauce

¾ cup Water

¼ cup Tomato Powder

2 tsp. Sugar

2 tsp. Basil

1 tsp. Thyme

½ tsp. Garlic granules

1 Tbs. Oregano

Salt & Pepper to taste.

Whisk ingredients together thoroughly.   Set aside for 5 minutes to fully rehydrate. The sauce will thicken considerably upon standing.

Topping

Fresh asparagus

1/2 cup bacon-flavored TVP

Mozzarilla cheese, shredded

In a small bowl combine ½ cup bacon-flavored TVP in 1 cup water. Set aside.

If using  fresh asparagus, cut into smaller pieces if desired, lightly steam for 5 minutes to partially cook it. I used about ½ pound for this recipe.

Lightly knead the dough. Pat the pizza dough out into a circle on a lightly-floured counter top.  Transfer the dough onto a rimless cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.

When the grill is hot, slide the pizza crust directly off the cookie sheet onto the grate.  It will puff up and cook quickly.  Turn the dough over and cook until lightly brown. Take crust out of the grill.

Working quickly, spread the prepared sauce on top. (You probably won’t use the whole thing!) Drain the bacon TVP before adding to the Pizza.  Add the cooked asparagus and sprinkle with cheese.  You can use freeze dried, Parmesan, or fresh if you have it.  (I used fresh Goat Milk Mozzarella I made earlier in the week.) I also sprinkled on some extra Italian Seasoning.

Bake until the cheese melts and the pizza is bubbly.

For more survival and off-grid cooking tips, check out: Survival Pantry

Karla Moore

Karla Moore is a professional soaper, accomplished Dutch oven cook, prepper and avid do-it-yourselfer. She is the author of  “Survival Pantry” blog, and walks the talk when it comes to preparedness. Karla, and her husband Warren, live on a small farm outside Gilbert, Iowa. The Moores have a large garden and several fruit trees, and Karla spins, sews, cans, preserves food and makes cheese. In season, she and Warren are avid mushroom hunters.

Karla owns and operates “Heart of Iowa” soapworks. She started making soaps for her own personal use, and started her business in April, 2000. Karla has very sensitive skin and is allergic to the detergents used in most commercial soaps. Her experimentation, and earlier training as a cosmetologist, subsequently lead to a special line of soaps designed for people with allergies or similar skin conditions.

Today, Karla sells soap products all over the world and offers a complete line of scented and specialty soaps, shampoo bars, and custom blends. Karla specializes in soaps for people with allergies and teaches soapmaking classes. She enjoys visiting with both beginner and experienced soapers.

Karla’s idea of a good time is hosting a large family gathering at her farm, where she and several of her siblings team up to feed a crowd, using Dutch ovens and off-grid cooking methods!

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

I was the guest on Susan Labbee’s new BlogTalk Radio Show “Let’s Talk Preparedness” yesterday.

The discussion was about off-grid cooking, tornado preparedness and general survival common sense tips!

To listen to the show, click on the icon below!

Listen to internet radio with Preparedness Radio on Blog Talk Radio

For more information on making a survival kit, click here

To learn more about survival recipes and off-grid cooking, click here

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Survival food is sustenance that can be made easily during a survival or emergency situation using mainly simple, long-term storage food items, cooked outdoors, using off-the-grid methods.

The old saying goes:  “When life throws you lemons, make lemonade”.  In a survival situation, it’s best to take this in its literal sense!

By Karla Moore

Suppose all that you have to drink is stored water.  Well, water is fine. But, if you’re used to drinking something other than plain water, such as a can of soda, a flavored beverage is better than nothing.

Or maybe the storage water is thoroughly purified, but just tastes unpleasant  for a variety of reasons. There could be minerals in the water, or the purification method may have left an aftertaste.

Today, I ran out of my favorite Pepsi and didn’t want to run into town.

So, I dug around in my pantry, scoured my recipe file, and made Honey Lemon/Limeade. This recipe makes just the right amount to fill a half-gallon container. I used a thoroughly cleaned, re-purposed juice jug.

Honey Lemon/Limeade

To the jug add:
3 TBSP. Honey
2/3 cup White Sugar
½ cup Lime juice (I used bottled)
½ cup Lemon Juice (bottled)

Fill the bottle up with cold water.  Shake vigorously until sugar is dissolved.

Enjoy!

Karla Moore

Karla Moore is a professional soaper, accomplished Dutch oven cook, prepper and avid do-it-yourselfer. She is the author of  “Survival Pantry” blog, and walks the talk when it comes to preparedness. Karla, and her husband Warren, live on a small farm outside Gilbert, Iowa. The Moores have a large garden and several fruit trees, and Karla sews, cans, preserves food and makes cheese. In season, she and Warren are avid mushroom hunters.

Karla owns and operates “Heart of Iowa” soapworks. She started making soaps for her own personal use, and started her business in April, 2000. Karla has very sensitive skin and is allergic to the detergents used in most commercial soaps. Her experimentation, and earlier training as a cosmetologist, subsequently lead to a special line of soaps designed for people with allergies or similar skin conditions.

Today, Karla sells soap products all over the world and offers a complete line of scented and specialty soaps, shampoo bars, and custom blends. Karla specializes in soaps for people with allergies and teaches soapmaking classes. She enjoys visiting with both beginner and experienced soapers.

Karla’s idea of a good time is hosting a large family gathering at her farm, where she and several of her siblings team up to feed a crowd, using Dutch ovens and off-grid cooking methods!

For more Survival Pantry recipes, click here.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Survival food is sustenance that can be made easily during a survival or emergency situation using mainly simple, long-term storage food items, cooked outdoors, using off-the-grid methods.

by Leon Pantenburg

Enchiladas are a popular Mexican food, and is one of the most popular dishes that could be bought from a street vendor in Mexico. Hence, it is popularly known as “simple street food”.

Enchiladas can make a great survival meal!

The term “enchilada” simply means ” dipped in chili”. Mexican restaurants worldwide cater enchiladas with different kinds of filling. A few of the popular fillings for enchilada is Mexican beans and cheese, loved by many vegetarians around the globe, chicken and herb enchilada casserole, shrimp and crab enchiladas in chipotle cream sauce and so on.

But this is a survival recipe. During an emergency, you can’t guarantee exactly what form of protein you might need to convert into a familiar flavor! You could use pre-cooked and canned chicken if you do not have the fresh ones. Or, you could use virtually any small game animal.

To make, for example, squirrel enchiladas, you would boil the carcass until the meat comes easily off the bones. Then, just use that meat in a standard recipe. Obviously, you could substitute fresh ingredients if you had them!

Basic Red Enchilada Sauce

1/2 c tomato powder

2 c water

2 Tbs green chilies dehydrated (optional)

1/2 tsp garlic granules, dried

1/2 tsp cumin, ground, dried

1/4 tsp oregano, ground, dried

In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil 2 cups of water. Add green chilies, lower heat to simmer and cook for 5  minutes. Then whisk in tomato powder and all the spices. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Now it is ready to use with your favorite enchilada or to top a burrito.

From: “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Converting Stored Foods Into Usable Meals” by Jan LeBaron

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Survival food is sustenance that can be made easily during a survival or emergency situation using mainly simple, long-term storage food items, cooked outdoors, using off-the-grid methods.

Spaghetti is an easy, quick meal to make. With this dry spaghetti sauce mix, it can be even quicker!

by Leon Pantenburg

Spaghetti is a standard dish for feeding a lot of people cheaply and quickly. And a big plate of spaghetti or pasta covered with a tasty sauce can supply a lot of carbohydrates, which translates into energy. This energy may be vital to your survival, since it keeps you warm and  supplies the fuel to do rigorous activities during emergency situations!

But during survival or emergency situations, even a one-pot meal might be a challenge to prepare. And anything that can simplify and/or speed up the cooking process will probably be greatly appreciated!

Here is a spaghetti mix recipe from Jan LeBaron’s “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes.”

Make this up ahead of time, and store it in an airtight container. Then, when you need to whip up a quick meal, just add water to the mix to the desired consistency and serve over cooked pasta. (This is yet another recipe from Jan’s cookbook that  I’m adding to my backpacking favorites, and a container of this spaghetti mix will be in camp on my next big game hunt!)

Spaghetti Mix

1 c onions, chopped, dehydrated

3 Tbs garlic granules, dried

1/4 c parsley flakes, dried

1/2 c cornstarch

1/2 c Italian seasoning, dried

1/2 c mixed peppers, dehydrated

2 Tbs basil. dried

2 Tbs oregano, dried

1/2 c salt

1/4 c sugar

1 c tomato powder

Mix together and store in an airtight container. Use when making spaghetti, pizza and add to Italian soups.

From: “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Converting Stored Foods into Usable Meals.” (Page 100)

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Survival food is sustenance that can be made easily during a survival or emergency situation with simple, long-term storage food items, cooked outdoors, using off-the-grid methods.

Wheat berries can make a great snack and a nutritious addition to salads and baked potatoes.

Suppose you have a lot of wheat berries stored for whatever disaster might happen. At some point, you might be wondering: What are some of the options for using this resource?

This is a great recipe to use whole wheat. It stores very well, and and this makes a fun snack. It is also great sprinkled on salads or as a topping for baked potatoes.

And perhaps best of all, this simple recipe can be cooked over a campfire in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven!

Popped Wheat

1 c whole wheat berries

2 c water

3 TBS oil

seasonings (see below)

Soak wheat berries overnight, then the next morning, bring to a medium boil and cook for 30 minutes. Drain very well. In a heavy skillet, heat oil to about 350 degrees, fry small portions of the wheat berries until golden (about 30-45 seconds – you will actually hear a bit of popping sound!) Remove and drain on a paper towel. As soon as you remove from the oil sprinkle on the seasonings. Continue popping in bunches, drain and season.

Seasoning suggestions: salt and pepper; garlic, salt, barbecue seasoning and salt; ranch dressing, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese; Italian seasoning and salt, garlic granules, salt and pepper and cheese blend powder etc.

Use your imagination! Cool, completely and store in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid until gone – if  it lasts that long!

- From “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Converting Stored Foods into Usable Meals“ by Jan LaBaron

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Survival food is sustenance that can be made easily during a survival or emergency situation with simple, long-term storage food items, cooked outdoors, using off-the-grid methods.

By Leon Pantenburg

Whenever I get a question about off-grid or survival cooking, one of my most-trusted sources is Karla Moore, of Gilbert, Iowa. In addition to owning and operating “Heart of Iowa Soapworks,” Karla is also a farm wife, avid Dutch oven and off-grid cooking expert and a long-time prepper. She cans the produce from her garden, dries many of her own herbs and loves cooking for her extended family. Karla and her husband, Warren, have made many off-grid modifications to their farmhouse to help them get through the Iowa winters!

Subsequently, I value Karla’s opinion on Jan LaBaron’s latest cookbook “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Converting Stored Foods Into Usable Meals.” She got the cookbook with no instructions, other than to try it. Karla’s review was unsolicited and not reimbursed.

“I just got Jan’s cookbook a few days ago.  This book should be a pantry staple. Put it right on the shelf next to your stores! The recipes are straightforward, easy to follow and darn delicious!

“The first thing I made was the “Hummus With a Kick”  (page 96).  I liked it better than the store-bought product. While visiting relatives in Minnesota, I used her trick for “In a Pinch Buttermilk” to make Kringla (That’s a soft dough, sweet Norwegian cookie, for you non-Midwesterners! “Karla’s Kringla” is a family favorite, and her relatives would be sure to point out any variations of the tried-and-true recipe!)  No one even suspected that I didn’t use fresh buttermilk to make it!” – Karla Moore

Hummus With a Kick

2 c garbanzo beans (chickpeas), pre-cooked and drained but reserve liquid

2 Tbs basil dried

1/2 tsp garlic, granules, dried

1 tsp lemon granules

1/8 tsp pepper, ground, black Click here to view more details

1/8 tsp real mineral salt

1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like)

The easiest way to make this in in a food processor, but you can do it in a blender or in a bowl with a hand mixer. In a pinch, you could also prepare it by hand with a potato masher.

In your food processor, add drained beans, basil, garlic, lemon granules, pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes, turn on processor, and slowly start adding oil. While you are blending it into a puree, use a little of the reserved bean liquid if you want to thin slightly.

Put into a Tupperware container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate. This is great served on a sandwich, pita, crackers, or serve as a dip for vegetables. It’s a great, quick protein.

For variety, you can change the spices. You can use taco seasoning, Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese, and you can change this easily, depending on what you want. You can also use different beans; another good choice is black beans. Tahini is good added also, but not absolutely necessary.

- From “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Converting Stored Foods into Usable Meals” by Jan LaBaron

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