My kids wanted to be in one of my videos, so I fried up some quick bannock and let them taste test it.

Home and Family Safety in Tough Times

After a series of local violent crimes, home invasions and flash mob attacks, I felt it would be wise to go over some family security measures.

Incident: Home invasion
My Baby Sister's fiance was a victim of a home invasion while visiting a friends house. They were hanging out when there was a knock at the door.They saw a mutual friend through the window, but when they opened the door, gun wielding gangbangers burst in and held everyone at gunpoint while everyone gave up their valuables and watched as everything of value was stripped from the home. Ultimately, one person was shot and everyone else was pistol slapped.

What happened?
The friend that was at the door was taken hostage at gunpoint as he approached the door. The thugs forced him to knock at the door, thus preying on the lack of OPSEC in your average household.

What can people do to prevent this?
My family has a special knock we require friends to know if they are going to show up unexpected. If someone knocks at the door, and it isn't that knock, we answer the door with weapon in hand.

If someone is going to be showing up after dark, we make them call first or we don't come to the door. If the knocking continues, we come to the door with a weapon and make everyone back up off the porch before the door opens. One of us will be at the door, the other will have a defensive position with a clear shot.

People say we are too security minded, but read the news. Home invasions are at an all time high. Rape, burglary, murder... people are getting crazy and I have a family I love and will protect. 


Communications
A family needs to establish at least a few code words that can be used to quickly convey information in times of duress. For matters of OPSEC, I wont share our words but I will give some good examples. 

1. False pet names - Mom and Dad always have names for each other. "Honey butt", "Pumpkin", "Muffin", whatever! But if you establish One Specific Term of Endearment, as a signal of danger. If you want to expand on it further, certain names can mean certain things.
   "Pumpkin" Might mean Get in the truck and bail. Like Cinderella's fabled pumpkin ride.
   "Doll Face" May be something as innocent as Something is up, be on alert.
2. One Word Instructions - You can establish single word trigger commands where everyone knows to do a certain thing when they hear that word. The word should be outside common use but also be something that can be used with total clarity because you may need to either whisper it or yell it at the top of your lungs.
   "Hollyhock" May mean "We are being attacked/invaded, children get to your safe place and everyone man your defensive posts."
   "Alabaster" May mean that there is an active shooter and to immediately get low and follow a pre-made escape plan.
3. "Duderino" May easily mean "Don't trust this guy." Example: Check out El Duderino over there.
   
   Very simply, come up with easy to use terms and make sure everyone knows them. 

So I got bored one day and began cruising the internet for another hobby to teach myself (idle hands are a devils... something or other) and I stumbled upon some wine making sites. I used to ferment juice when I was in High school and sell it to friends. This would be a step up from that.

I went out and gathered the supplies, and decided to get 'r' done. What I ended up with was some very nice dry strawberry apple hooch. I call it hooch because, although I ended up with some damn good results, I used some really cheap ingredients. For example, instead of using wine makers yeast, I just used regular bread makers yeast. Instead of fine corn sugar, I used bleached granulated sugar etc...

I learned a few things and I have gone on to brew better, more flavorful and favorable wines. But I wanted to go on the record here by stating that you can absolutely make same damn good stuff right there at home for almost no real cost at all. Ill share some simple instructions in a moment. But first, some warnings for the novice so you don't make the same mistakes that I did.

1. The more you invest and the more patient you are, the better your results will be. You WONT be patient your first time around, its too much fun and its too exciting. But when you do it the second time, try to do it right. 
2. More sugar = more alcohol. Don't expect the wine (hooch) to be sweet. Most of the time, the yeast eats all the sugar and you are left with a very dry wine. Don't get upset! You can easily sweeten it after you are done with more sugar (Ill tell you how to prevent reactivating the yeast - if you want to do it that way. Seriously, find that entry before you just add more sugar.) You can also simply add so much sugar when you're making the original mix that the yeast eats as much as it can and produces so much alcohol that it poisons its self to death. This works too, and you get some seriously hard-core alcohol content this way AND the uneaten sugar sweetens the wine. BUT if you add WAY too much, you have ruined the wine and its like drinking alcoholic sugar water. 

If you plan to sweeten the wine after you are finished fermenting it, you need to do something to make sure the yeast is all completely dead. Some people boil the wine, which DOES work, but in my opinion it does something... icky... to the flavor. I have heard people say that it depends entirely on what you fermented and that some fruits and basic grape wines actually get better by boiling and it reduces some of the bitterness. Ill keep looking into that and some day Ill know, until then there is the other method I know that works. (Potassium sorbate, sold as a chemical or with a product name of Sorbistat K, its a commercial wine stabilizer. Potassium sorbate disrupts the reproductive cycle of yeast. Yeast can't reproduce and dies off. Add 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of wine dissolved in a cup or two of the wine you are treating and stirred thoroughly. Allow it to sit a few moments and look for small white lumps of undissolved powder. If present, keep stirring until the wine is clear without any lumps. Then add it to the larger batch and stir well.)

After you let it sit a couple days, you may then add either regular sugar, corn sugar, flavored syrups... whatever you want, depending on how traditional you want to be.



My Generic Recipe:

• 12 cans/bottles of any 100% juice concentrate
• Yeast (either bakers yeast or wine makers yeast, depending on how traditional you want to be and how much you want to spend) - Anywhere from one to 4 packets of yeast (or 1-4 tbsp if you're doing it that way.) More yeast often means more alcohol and a faster fermentation. 
• 3 gallons of water
• 4 cups sugar (or whatever... try more if you want to. More sugar also means more alcohol, just remember my warning about too much sugar). 

1.  You will need an airlock (or you can use the method where you stretch a balloon over it and poke a few tiny holes in it. Like I said, it depends on how much cash you want to spend. )
2. You will need a 4 gallon jug. The water plus the juice concentrate plus the sugar takes a lot of room. You may even want to use less water depending on how much room you have to work with. Don't sweat it, it doesn't make any difference in the long run. This is your first batch, you will master these skills and have it all worked out by the time you run your next batch.
3. When it is all in the jug and bubbling and fermenting away, just sit back and relax. When the activity is done you just need to siphon it either into your individual drinking jugs or into a big holding jug to let it settle. This 2nd option is preferred as it leads to a better quality wine, but if you are just brewing hooch for a party so you can make some cheap get'r'drunk punch, then you don't care about this step. 
4. If you want a better wine, keep following these instructions. You will have siphoned your wine into a holding jug and left the bottom layer of wine in the fermenting jug. This stuff is nasty, you don't want it. Let it settle in here and add the Potassium Sorbate and then the sugar if you are going to sweeten it. You will probably have a little more settling on the bottom after another month or so. (the longer the better)
5. siphon into your drinking jugs/bottles/whatever. You can either drink it now or "Rack" it for a while. The longer it sits, the fuller the flavor. There are a lot of people with a lot of theories on racking the wine. Do whichever suits you, I just store it on its side. Let it sit for a while (professionals say 3 months, fancy pants vintners say a year minimum... But trust me, you could have probably just drank the stuff on stage 3 if you just wanted to get drunk. Stage 4 makes a very nice home wine... but after 3 years, if stored properly, you have some damn  fine stuff you can impress any date with. (unless maybe you're drinking it out of a mason jar... that usually only impresses hillbilly girls. 

If you have any questions, just send me an email.

Herbal Medicine

Holy Basil - Tulsi

Great for treating cold and flu ailments. Also works as an antiviral agent. 1. Healing Power: The tulsi plant has many medicinal properties. The leaves are a nerve tonic and also sharpen memory. They promote the removal of the catarrhal matter and phlegm from the bronchial tube. The leaves strengthen the stomach and induce copious perspiration. The seed of the plant are mucilaginous. 2. Fever & Common Cold: The leaves of basil are specific for many fevers. During the rainy season, when malaria and dengue fever are widely prevalent, tender leaves, boiled with tea, act as preventive against theses diseases. In case of acute fevers, a decoction of the leaves boiled with powdered cardamom in half a liter of water and mixed with sugar and milk brings down the temperature. The juice of tulsi leaves can be used to bring down fever. Extract of tulsi leaves in fresh water should be given every 2 to 3 hours. In between one can keep giving sips of cold water. In children, it is every effective in bringing down the temperature. 3. Coughs: Tulsi is an important constituent of many Ayurvedic cough syrups and expectorants. It helps to mobilize mucus in bronchitis and asthma. Chewing tulsi leaves relieves cold and flu. 4. Sore Throat: Water boiled with basil leaves can be taken as drink in case of sore throat. This water can also be used as a gargle. 5. Respiratory Disorder: The herb is useful in the treatment of respiratory system disorder. A decoction of the leaves, with honey and ginger is an effective remedy for bronchitis, asthma, influenza, cough and cold. A decoction of the leaves, cloves and common salt also gives immediate relief in case of influenza. They should be boiled in half a liter of water till only half the water is left and add then taken. 6. Kidney Stone: Basil has strengthening effect on the kidney. In case of renal stone the juice of basil leaves and honey, if taken regularly for 6 months it will expel them via the urinary tract. 7. Heart Disorder: Basil has a beneficial effect in cardiac disease and the weakness resulting from them. It reduces the level of blood cholesterol. 8. Children's Ailments: Common pediatric problems like cough cold, fever, diarrhea and vomiting respond favorably to the juice of basil leaves. If pustules of chicken pox delay their appearance, basil leaves taken with saffron will hasten them. 9. Stress: Basil leaves are regarded as an 'adaptogen' or anti-stress agent. Recent studies have shown that the leaves afford significant protection against stress. Even healthy persons can chew 12 leaves of basil, twice a day, to prevent stress. It purifies blood and helps prevent several common elements. 10. Mouth Infections: The leaves are quit effective for the ulcer and infections in the mouth. A few leaves chewed will cure these conditions. 11. Insect Bites: The herb is a prophylactic or preventive and curative for insect stings or bites. A teaspoonful of the juice of the leaves is taken and is repeated after a few hours. Fresh juice must also be applied to the affected parts. A paste of fresh roots is also effective in case of bites of insects and leeches. 12. Skin Disorders: Applied locally, basil juice is beneficial in the treatment of ringworm and other skin diseases. It has also been tried successfully by some naturopaths in the treatment of leucoderma. 13. Teeth Disorder: The herb is useful in teeth disorders. Its leaves, dried in the sun and powdered, can be used for brushing teeth. It can also be mixed with mustered oil to make a paste and used as toothpaste. This is very good for maintaining dental health, counteracting bad breath and for massaging the gums. It is also useful in pyorrhea and other teeth disorders. 14. Headaches: Basil makes a good medicine for headache. A decoction of the leaves can be given for this disorder. Pounded leaves mixed with sandalwood paste can also be applied on the forehead for getting relief from heat, headache, and for providing coolness in general. 15. Eye Disorders: Basil juice is an effective remedy for sore eyes and night-blindness, which is generally caused by deficiency of vitamin A. Two drops of black basil juice are put into the eyes daily at bedtime. Source:

http://wildplanthealing.com/category/wild_medicine/

Thoughts on winter foraging for wild edible plants

 I would say that the trick to winter edible is summer preparation. Knowing the edible roots and where the plants are found was the old way of surviving. Knowing what you are looking for precisely (and in cases similar to the poisonous vs edible members of the carrot family for example), you can recognize areas likely to be fruitful even under snow cover.

Parsnip, queen annes lace, cattail, wild onions, chicory, etc... all of these roots are edible after prepared. They may not be as enticing as other things, but they are more than plentiful in the wild if you know what to look for.

Other edibles would be tasty treats like the toasted inner bark of the white pine or black birch tree, truffles (that grow on the roots of oak trees).
If you are lucky enough to score it, deliscious sweet sugar maple sap or even birch sap can be collected and used as a drink for a light sugary beverage (birch sap is not as sweet but can be boiled down just as sugar maple but it takes more sap than the maple does to make any kind of sugar/syrup. If the temp raises above ~45 degrees during the day but dips below freezing at night, you can tap a sugar maple well into Feb. Red maple, Black birch, hickory, and walnut can all be tapped for sap too though arent generally as fruitful.

White Pine Tree

White Pine tree

Black Birch

sugar maple

harvesting wild cattails

Know your plants first. There are members of the hemlock family that look just like edible members of the carrot family, but will kill you dead. Be positive or be dead.