In Holding Pattern

The fire seems to be just holding but no new outbreaks from yesterday. We are still at a level 2, they said for a couple more days as we are under red flag warnings. Plus air quality alerts as the smoke is so bad.
Even the Lewis/Clark valley is really bad.

Here is the ash falling on us last Thursday afternoon. Everything is covered with it but the wind today is helping that. Made the picture look like it's blurry but that is the ash.

This is what we look like yesterday and today.

Here is a recipe at Honeyville for all those that like Chocolate Brownies. These are made with zucchini.

http://honeyvillefarms.blogspot.com/2015/08/chocolate-zucchini-brownies.html#.Vdugb9VViko

More Fence & Gluten Free Tortillas

The fencing work continues. Concreting in posts we nail to, that replace the old, old 1930's Rock Jacks. Pulling T posts and taking old fencing down and putting new up. Right now the concrete has to cure for a few days before they can be finished.

The Elk did a real number on the old one below last winter, knocked it clean apart.

I was walking around in the woods and these are the things below one finds out there.

 This is the sun through the smoke. The sun looks red in real life.

Almond Flour Tortillas at this site.
One can use non gluten flour mix as well.
http://honeyvillefarms.blogspot.com/2015/08/almond-flour-tortillas.html#.VdOGY9VViko

5 ways to preserve milk from survivopedia

It has been hot but that doesn't stop the work that has to be done around here. Mostly working on fences, ours and helping the neighbor with his and our shared fence line.

Friday is supposed to bring some relief from the heat. We have been under red flag warnings as far as fire danger goes and everything outside is getting crunchy.

On another note a site has 5 ways to preserve milk. Looked good to me.

Site for directions

Salting

Salting is important to the preservation of anything and that includes your milk products.

Though you probably don’t want to salt your milk before you can it, you definitely want to salt your butter, cottage cheese and other products.

This will not only help them last longer but will also give you access to a food in your emergency food supply that has that necessary mineral (and flavor enhancer) in it.

Dehydrating

If you’ve dehydrated other foods, it may have occurred to you that you could do the same with milk. As bad as I hate to burst your bubble, it’s not so easy to do if you want to preserve the flavor and nutritional value. You also need to have special equipment such as an atomizer that won’t come cheap. You will also need a ton of milk just to yield a pint of dehydrated milk. Skip this idea and just buy powdered milk.

Freezing

Yes, it’s entirely possible to freeze milk but I recommend not doing so for a couple of reasons. First, if SHTF you probably won’t have the electricity to keep the freezer running so your milk will go bad within a couple of days, especially if it’s hot outside.

Second, frozen milk is fine to use but it often gets a grainy texture to it. It separates out but that can be dealt with just by shaking it up. Still, the texture thing is an issue and is the main reason that I don’t recommend freezing it for everyday use.

Canning Milk

We’ve discussed canning in other articles but many people don’t realize that milk can be canned, too. Just as with all canning procedures, it’s imperative that you make sure that your jars and seals are super clean. Warm your seals if necessary in order to get the best seal possible.

To can milk, start with extremely clean milk. Clean the udder, the buckets and all the equipment in addition to the jars. As I already stated, I recommend pasteurizing, too. At the very least, strain it well using a milk sieve or several layers of clean, lint-free cloth such as cheese cloth. Pour the milk into a clean bowl and cover it so that nothing gets into it while you’re prepping the jars.

Wash your jars in hot, soapy water and rinse them well. Keep them submerged in hot water until you’re ready to use each them.

Fill each jar with milk, leaving a half-inch at the top for headroom. Clean the rims of the jars thoroughly and put the sterilized hot rims and rings on them. Put them in your pressure canner and fill with the recommended amount of water. Place the canner over the hottest part of the stove, on about medium.

Bring the pressure to 10 and cook quarts for 25 minutes or pints for 20 minutes. Make sure the pressure stays at 10 or else you’ll need to start the time over.

The reason that I gave you directions for using a pressure canner is because milk is a low-acid food and is therefore susceptible to botulism found in the soil. Pressure canning brings the milk up to a safe temperature and holds it at that temperature long enough to kill any bacteria.

Canned milk will keep up to 2 years and is great for cooking and even drinking though the color will change. It will have a slight caramel color and may taste a bit sweeter or just cooked. Canned milk is great for any recipe that requires milk; however, you can’t make cheese, yogurt or rennet desserts from it because the milk won’t clabber.

From backdoorsurvival, Vinegar and Uses

Working here as possible, it has been hot but is cooler today. There is smoke coming in from west and south of us from the fires between us and Wala Wala WA. and the Southern part of the Umatilla National Forest in Oregon. High fire danger here but so far things are alright. 

We found these Devil's Trumpets growing in the crevices of huge boulders in AZ.

Here is some great suggestions on what uses vinegar has from Backdoor Survival. Backdoorsurvival

Why You Need Vinegar In Your Stockpiles

1. Disinfect wood cutting boards.

2. Soothe a sore throat; use 1 tsp. of vinegar per glass of warm water, then gargle.

3. Fight dandruff; after shampooing, rinse hair with vinegar and 2 cups of warm water.

4. Remove warts; apply daily a 50/50 solution of cider vinegar and glycerin until they’re gone.

5. Cure an upset stomach; drink 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar in one cup of water.

6. Polish chrome.

7. Keep boiled eggs from cracking; add 2 tbsp to water before boiling. (It helps sometimes)

8. Clean deposits from fish tanks.

9. Remove urine stains from carpet.

10. Keep fleas off dogs; add a little vinegar to the dog’s drinking water.

11. Keep car windows from frosting up; use a solution of 3 oz. vinegar to 1 oz. water.

12. Clean dentures; soak overnight in vinegar and then brush.

13. Get rid of lint in clothes; add 1/2 cup vinegar to rinse cycle.

14. Remove grease from suede.

15. Kill grass on sidewalks and driveways.

16. Make wool blankets softer; add 2 cups distilled vinegar to rinse cycle.

17. Remove skunk odor from a dog; rub fur with full strength vinegar and rinse.

18. Freshen wilted vegetables; soak them in 1 tbsp vinegar and a cup of cold water.

19. Dissolve mineral deposits in drip coffee makers.

20. Deodorize drains; pour a cup down the drain once a week, let sit for 30 minutes, then rinse.

21. Use as a replacement for a lemon; 0.25 tsp.. vinegar substitutes for 1 tsp. of lemon juice.

22. Make rice fluffier; add 1 tsp. of vinegar to water when it boils.

23. Prevent grease build-up in ovens; wipe oven with cleaning rag soaked in distilled vinegar and water.

24. Kill germs; mix a 50-50 solution of vinegar and water in a spray bottle.

25. Clean a clogged shower head; pour vinegar into a zip-lock bag and hang it around the shower head. Let it soak overnight to remove any mineral deposits.

26. Shine patent leather.

27. Remove the smell from laundry that has been left in the washer too long; pour 1 cup of vinegar in with the load and rewash it.

28. Make propane lantern wicks burn longer/brighter; soak them in vinegar for 3 hours, let dry.

29. Act as an air freshener.

30. Soften paint brushes; soak in hot vinegar then rinse with soapy water.

31. Remove bumper stickers and decals; simply cover them with vinegar-soaked cloth for several minutes.

32. Prolong the life of fresh-cut flowers; use 2 tbsp of vinegar and 3 tbsp of sugar per quart of warm water

33.  Prevent Mildew; Wipe down shower walls with a vinegar solution.

34. Soften calloused feet; soak your feet in a mixture 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water for 30 minutes then scrub them with a pumice stone. The dead skin should slough off easily.

35. Treat Acne; start with a solution of organic apple cider vinegar and water at a ration of 1:8, apply the toner to blemishes and  leave on a minimum of 2 minutes.

36. Preserve food; many vegetables that would otherwise require pressure canning may be water bath canned if you pickle them in vinegar.

37. Remove stains from white counter tops; mix a paste of baking soda and vinegar, apply it to the stain overnight, then scrub it clean in the morning.

38. Remove cooking spray build-up; vinegar cuts grease on baking sheets when spritzed on from a spray bottle, then washed as usual.

39. Control blood sugar; drink high quality apple cider vinegar 4 times per day to keep blood sugar under control.

40. Keep psoriasis under control; wash the affected area with plain white vinegar several times per week.

41. Kill moss; spray it, undiluted, on moss.

42. Penetrating fluid for rusty items; soak metal items that are rusted together in vinegar overnight. If you begin to get some movement, replace the vinegar with fresh vinegar and soak for one more day. The items should become freed up.

43. Use in place of commercial fabric softener; add it to the last cycle in your washing machine. (Don’t worry, the water will rinse out any vinegar smell)

44. Remove pesticide from produce; soak produce in a sink full of water with 1 cup of vinegar and half a cup of baking soda

45. Remove ballpoint pen marks from walls; dab full strength vinegar on the spot with a cloth. Repeat until the mark is gone. (Don’t scrub, though, or you’ll just smear the mark all over the wall.)

46. Remove sticky residue from scissors; dip them in a cup of full strength vinegar. Then use that vinegar for other cleaning purposes.

47. Remove candle wax; if you get candle wax on your wood table, soften the candle wax with the heat of a blow dryer. Dip a cloth into equal parts vinegar and water, then gently scrub away the rest of the wax.

48. Get rid of the smell of smoke; if you burn dinner (or have a smoker in your home), you can get rid of the smell by sitting a bowl of pure vinegar out in the area where the smell is.

49. Make a trap for fruit flies (gnats); put apple cider vinegar in a Mason jar.  Poke some holes in the lid large enough for them to get in. They’ll be drawn to the smell, then die in the jar.

50. Kill weeds in the cracks of your sidewalk; forget about using toxic Roundup on weeds. Spray full strength white vinegar on the plant at the roots. (10% is best if you have a real issue, not the kitchen kind).