Some Basic Vegetable Pickles

If you are a survivalist then one of the best things you can do is start pickling vegetables. In the event of a big disaster you may not have access to the soil to grow vegetables so this is where you can get some of your nutrition.

 

Dilly Green Beans

 

Prepare beans by snipping off both ends. Boil beans in water to cover until just tender.

 

Make brine syrup of:

 

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 cup vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

 

Bring this to a boil. Then put beans in sterilized jars and on top of beans place a head of green dill. Pour over and fill jar with boiling syrup. Seal.

 

Green Tomato Sweet Pickles

 

1 gallon green tomatoes (16 cups sliced)

1/4 cup salt

1/2 tablespoon powdered alum

3 cups vinegar (5% acidity)

1 cup water

4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon mixed spices

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon celery seed

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon mustard seed

 

Slice tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and allow to stand overnight.

 

Next morning drain and pour 2 quarts of boiling water with 1/2 tablespoon of powdered alum over the tomatoes and let stand 20 minutes.

 

Drain and cover with cold water, drain.

 

Combine vinegar, water, sugar and spices (tie spices loosely in bag) and bring to a boil. Pour over the tomatoes and let stand over night. .

 

Drain the next morning and repeat the above, bringing the solution to a boil and pouring it over the solution. Let it stand a second night.

 

On the third morning bring the pickles and solution to a boil. Pack into sterilized jars to within 1/2 inch of top. Put on cap, screw band firmly tight.

 

Process in boiling water bath 10 minutes and seal.

 

Yield: 8 pints.

Piccalilli

 

1 pound green tomatoes, sliced

1 green bell pepper, julienned

2 medium zucchini, sliced

1 yellow onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced

1 jalapeno, julienned

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon celery seeds

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon whole cloves

1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper

2 tablespoons salt

 

Prepare vegetables, add 1/2-cup salt and allow to sit overnight. Drain vegetables and place in heatproof bowl.

 

Place remaining ingredients in saucepan and heat to boil. Pour over vegetables and allow to cool.

 

Refrigerate and serve as needed, keeps for about 2 weeks.

 

 

Pickled Cauliflower

 

1 quart vinegar

2 tablespoons mustard seed

1 cup sugar

8 whole cloves

4 sticks cinnamon

2 heads cauliflower

 

Simmer all ingredients except the cauliflower together in a non-metallic pot for 15 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, wash cauliflower, cutting away all leaves and break into uniform flowerets. Blanch by putting them into a kettle of boiling water, turn off heat and let stand 2 minutes.

 

Drain and put flowerets into jars. Fill jars with strained hot syrup and seal. Makes 3 to 4 quarts.

 

 

Zucchini Pickles

 

2 pounds small zucchini

2 medium onions

1/4 cup salt

1 pint white vinegar

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon mustard seed

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

 

 

Wash and slice unpeeled zucchini and add sliced onions. Slice both very thin. Put into crock or bowl. Cover with water and add salt. Let stand 1 hour, then drain

 

Mix: the vinegar, sugar, spices and dry mustard together and bring to a boil in a pot. Pour over the onion and zucchini mixture

 

Pack in hot sterilized Jars and seal.

Survival
, ,

Being on a Budget Is a Must For Now

Part of survivalist strategy is being as rich as possible before any kind of disaster cn strike. To do this you have to have a budget that allows you to save money.

 

It’s not as complex as it sounds. It’s actually quite simple. First off, ask yourself how much do I make?

 

Even if your income is lower than you’d like, you can still budget success-fully, but it’s important to know what you have to work with in order to create a balanced budget.

 

When budgeting, it’s critical that you use your net income as opposed to the gross, that is, the amount after all deductions and taxes.   That is also where budget planning software or a money management program of some kind can come in handy.

 

Doing so will give you a more accurate representation about what you have today, factoring in what the government takes as deductions.

 

For all practical purposes, what is being deducted from your paycheck is money that isn’t yet available to spend. then when you file your tax return, treat the refund like a bonus.

 

if you have a variable paycheck, using a close estimate should suffice in most situations. a realistic estimate can be gathered by totaling your income from the past 3-6 months, and then divide by the income you received in that time.

 

You should then configure your fixed expenses. Some bills vary from month to month, but there are others that are constant. Many loans are structured so you pay the same amount every month.

 

For example, your car or home payments are fixed expenses. Rent and ca-ble bills are also usually the same amount every month.

 

Some examples of common fixed expenses are mortgage or rent, car payments, car insurance, property taxes, home insurance, loans and lines of credit.

 

Total these expenses and then take a look at your variable expenses. The good thing about these expenses is that you can change them. It includes expenses likegas, food, electricity and heating

It is in this last category that you can make signfigicant cuts that can make a big difference in how much money you can save a week. You can then put this money towards your survivalist budget.  It’s all very simple. All you really need to do is save more than you spend and make sure that the gap between what you earn and what you spend is as wide as possible in favour of garnering money and not losing it.

Survival