Homemade Groceries & Supplies

One thing to take into consideration if the S hits the fan is that you should have all of your resources downloaded locally if possible.

Another thing to think about is that a whole lot of the books that we might use as resources in case of emergency rely heavily on things easily available in modern society.

There is a great site out there that archives books containing basic knowledge on pretty much anything you would ever need to know. The books range from the mid 1800's to about the 1960's and are pretty cool to just browse through.
The Librum Reading Room

I personally found a free version of a web spider download program a while back and grabbed all the content locally. Be warned it is a few Gigabytes total if you are thinking of doing this yourself.

I apologize..

Looks like things have changed at that site recently and they aren't making the books freely downloadable anymore

reply to post by whitewave


good thread!

i'll definitely have to keep this one in mind - thank you!

reply to post by Cadbury


Well, my alcohol content scale goes something like this

water

cough syrup

just right

fire

holy jesus I'm going to die


I'd say somewhere between just right and fire, more on the just right side. It warms your throat like a good wine.

I don't know percentages though, that'll come when I start the making of beer and ale =)

reply to post by candide


If there's something from the info you downloaded (before it became unavailable) that you think would fit in this thread, please feel free to share the wealth.

A lot of information that was common knowledge to our grandparents is quickly disappearing. Hopefully this thread will help keep it from fading into obscurity so that in 100 years we won't find ourselves in the position of having to re-invent the wheel, so to speak.

reply to post by Mr Headshot


LOL. Very descriptive scale you've got there. I make my wine somewhere between cough syrup and just right. Which is dangerous. Doesn't taste or feel like it's all that much but by the 3rd glass (for me) it has crept up on me unawares and made me stupid. Which is why my limit is 2.

reply to post by HunkaHunka


While you're on a bread kick, and while we are in frugal rather than survival mode, this might interest you and others: bread that doesn't require kneading:
artisan bread in five minutes

reply to post by whitewave


See, I'm afraid to make wine, and whiskey.

I'm afraid of wine because I don't like drinking vinegar, and I can make kool-aid cheaper; I'm afraid I'd get one of these.

Whiskey, because I'm worried I'd get the still wrong and kill myself.

Originally posted by mappam
Quick question whitewave - Where are you getting the LYE now?
Sodium Hydroxide is the main ingredient in most drain cleaners. Red Devil lye I think is still to be found at most home depot stores.
[edit on 6-9-2009 by mappam]

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


Those all look scrumptious. I can attest to how easy it is to make the breakfast pizza. Something even the kids will eat. And who doesn't like the idea of more foods on a stick?

reply to post by Mr Headshot


I'm not much of a drinker myself, wine or anything else but I like making it. We have a winery close to the house and the first time I went on a tour I was surprised to learn that they employed a vintner with a PhD in chemistry. I thought that wine making must be really difficult if it requires that level of education.

Then I started reading and realized how simple it really is. When I jumped in to wine-making it was with fear and trepidation and some batches were better than others but so far they've all been drinkable.

Since I make it to give away as gifts/barter items, I don't bother with whiskey because I don't know anyone who drinks whiskey. Definitely will be trying your mead recipe though.

In fact, I'll be making little baskets of homemade goodies this year to give out as xmas presents. Homemade liquors, breads, etc.

reply to post by whitewave


Hi WW. This has got to be one of the most important threads on ATS. What a wonderful collection of how to make home made staples. A copy and paste into a Word Doc for sure. S&F of course.

Hi WW. Here's my contribution to the thread.

Homemade Laundry Soap

We've been doing this for about three months and it's a real money saver.
We don't add any oils to the soap. Just use fabric softener. The softener is about the same price as essential oils.

Great thread. Starred and flagged.

[edit on 9/6/2009 by soldiermom]

Thanks LGM. I've enjoyed learning from everyone over the years and thought it was high time to give some back. Just never thought there'd be much interest.

There are quite a few knowledgeable people on the boards and I'm proud to be in the company of such generous souls as those who willingly enrich their fellows by helping them be all that they may be.

reply to post by soldiermom


Good one, soldiermom. Our household goes through a lot of laundry soap so this one will be a real money saver. Thanks.

slow cooking (5 minutes or more) oatmeal. if you can tolerate it. one of nature's most complete foods. can pratically live on it. has a long shelf life, doesn't need refrigeration and includes dietary fiber. can also be used in other foods to add flavor/texture/fiber.

can also be used as a poultice and a facial scrub. oatmeal powder/dust from bottom of container, can be used as a dry shampoo (no water).

whitewave I still have your recipe for lye soap, it is the one with lard and ammonia, I purchased the ingredients long ago just in case but wanted to ask since i dont like to use lard if I could substitute with regular vegetable shortning?

Also I have not read this whole thread but your homemade brownies are to die for!

reply to post by soldiermom


Wow I am going to try this right away, laundry soap has become criminal in the price! Thanks!

reply to post by undo


I love oatmeal and it does have an extremely long shelf life. That reminds me...I need to stock up on some more.

Bedford Griddle Cakes are a type of pancake using oats as the main ingredient. They're quite tasty and very filling. Let me know if you'd like the recipe.

REPLY TO ANTAR:
I've heard that you can use vegetable oil instead of lard; I've just never tried it myself. There may be others here that know more about that. I don't see why you couldn't. Being somewhat of a cheapskate, I don't want to spend the money for oil on something as basic as soap so I just use the cheaper lard.

It IS getting to be brownie weather again, isn't it? Cup of hot cocoa to wash it down...mmmmmm.

reply to post by whitewave


on the griddle cakes, surely! another way to use oatmeal, not unlike another way to use manna. here's a cute video about various ways to cook manna as sung from the perspective of the israelites. it's a silly song but made me stop to think....yeah, that would be definitely repetitive menu and you'd want some way to make it interesting



[edit on 6-9-2009 by undo]