The theme this week for the SurvivalCommonSense.com Email Update is food: all sorts of survival food, from hardtack to corn meal mush.

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Camping during a disaster can be challenging. This Civil War photo shows how a soldier's family lived in camp. (Library of Congress photo)

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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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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.

Hiking can burn up energy, and this recipe can help restore it!

These breakfast bars, from “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes,” can easily double as energy bars for a quick snack on a hike or any kind of outing.  Just make the night before, place in plastic sandwich bags, and eat one whenever you find your energy dropping!

The freeze dried fruits could also be substituted with fresh berries if such were available. In fact, this would make a great outing: Go pick some wild blueberries or raspberries, or whatever is in season, and include them in a batch of breakfast bars! (Or, you try some of the dried fruit blend on special this week!)

Marionberry or Raspberry Breakfast Bars

2 c marionberries or raspberries, freeze dried

2-1/2 TBS cornstarch

1 Tbs lemon juice

1 c white enriched flour

1 c whole wheat flour

2 c quick oats

1 c brown sugar

1-1/4 tsp baking powder

2 TSP butter or margarine

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 c butter ( used canned butter or make from your own butter powder)

Set oven temperature at 400 degrees. Spray a 9x13x2 inch baking pan with vegetable cooking oil. In medium bowl, add berries and cover with 3 cups of boiling water, and let stand for about 5 minutes. Drain, and reserve liquid from the berries. Add additional water if necessary to make one cup of liquid.

Combine reserved juice with cornstarch and lemon juice. Put into a a small pan and cook over low heat until thickened, gently stir in berries, remove from heat and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press 2/3 of the mixture into greased pan. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; spread berries over this crust. Crumble remaining flour/oat mixture over berry layer and press lightly. Bake 20-25 minutes more until lightly browned. Cool in pan and cut into 24 bars.

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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SurvivalCommonSense.com was featured on the Survival Mom Radio show on Thursday, July 14.

The g uests were Leon Pantenburg and Linda Dixon.  Leon shared ideas for easy and safe outdoor/campsite cooking using foil.

All you need to make a foil dinner is aluminum foil, food and a heat source.

Linda is the author of “Just Dutch It!” and discussed using a Dutch oven to make all types of delicious foods.

Click here to hear the Survival Mom Show interviews!

Here are the posts that Leon referred to during the discussion:

How to cook with foil wraps over a campfire

How to cook trout (or other fish) in foil over a campfire

How to make a Dutch oven survival kit

To see more off-grid survival recipes, click here.

Click here to check out these survival recipes that use storage food!

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.

This week’s survival recipe features Dried Chicken Dices.

These  chicken dices can be substituted in virtually any dish that uses fresh chicken. The chicken dices are great in Chicken Noodle soup, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Fajitas, Casseroles, Chicken Pot Pies, just to name a few.

Chicken fajitas are a quick, tasty meal that uses food storage products!

Chicken Fajitas

2 cups freeze dried chicken (white or dark is fine, or TVP)

2 tsp chicken soup base

1/4 cup tomato flakes(dehydrated or freeze dried)

1/2 cup mixed peppers (dehydrated or freeze dried)

dash of cayenne, cajun or fajita seasoning

salsa or salsa seasoning powder mixed with tomato powder

1/2 cup freeze dried cheddar cheese (or dehydrated cheese powder)

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp soy sauce or Braggs aminos

1 tbs clear jel

1 tsp garlic granules

Flour tortillas

In a saucepan, or bowl in microwave, rehydrate peppers 1 cup of water until tender; 3-5 minutes.

In a separate pan, simmer meat chunks, chicken soup base and 1 cup water until tender and all moisture has been absorbed.

Add 1 cup water, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce or Braggs aminos, clear jel, garlic, cayenne (or cajun or fajita), salsa and reserved peppers.  Simmer with chicken until thickened.  Add freeze dried cheddar cheese in last, slowly turning to melt in with the chicken mixture.

Serve in flour tortillas.

- from “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Converting Stored Foods Into Usable Meals”

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One of the few edible wild plants most people can recognize is the cattail. Found virtually everywhere, the plant flourishes wherever there is water and mud.

It is a four-season food, medicinal, and utility plant. What other plant can boast eight food products, three medicinals, and at least 12 other functional uses?

This cattail would provide good firestarting tinder.

Here is an informative article from Backwoods Home magazine. Check out the many uses of this plant:  click here.

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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!

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.

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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I was the guest on Destiny Survival Radio  show Thursday.  The discussion was about starting out camping, what gear to look for, and how to use that gear for prepping and wilderness survival.

A tarp shelter can be a valuable addition to any camp.

“How do I get started?”

That seems to be the most frequent question asked by newcomers to the prepping and survival scene. And for many,  where to start buying camping gear, when you have no equipment  or camping experience, can be a daunting prospect.

Here is a discussion about what gear to buy, what properties to look for in sleeping bags and tents, ways to carry water, and what kinds of food to pack in your survival kit.

We also talked about tarp shelters, and why it is important to know how to make and use one!

To listen to the interview, click here.

For tips on survival recipes and off-grid cooking, click here!

For more related SurvivalCommonSense.com tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:

• STOP: Use this exercise to reduce stress and focus your thoughts.
• Write a note to let people know where you went, before you left.
• Have a plan to make a tarp shelter.
• Carry lightweight, compact firestarter.
• Find the most effective fire ignition system.
• How to make charcloth, a material that can catch a spark from any source.
• Use charcloth as an effective method of catching a spark to make a fire.
• Hardtack: A great emergency food
• About Leon Pantenburg

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