A Chef's Guide to 2012

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
Anyone living in North America should pick up a copy of the Petersons Field Guide to Wild Edible plants. When the grocery shelves are empty you will have no other options.

I just order it plus the other one about medicine plants, thanks for the advice.

By the way, does anybody know if is legal to buy bows/arrows or need a licence in USA?

reply to post by daryllyn


There is always an option : Grasshopper Tacos.

reply to post by Asktheanimals

Thanks Ata! Off the top of my head I can only think of a few things to add to your spice list. Bay leaves, mint and curry powder. I use the bay leaves for stock of course, but I like to use the mint in canning. Dried mint also has medical uses as well if I am not mistaken. Curry powder is my favorite. It can take the most disgusting foods and make it pretty tasty. But that's a personal preference.

For those of you that don't know what leaching is, It's pretty much just parboiling the product so its not "raw.

reply to post by Trueman


[color=dodgerblue] LOL

That is just gross! I'll stick to the chicken and peppers!

reply to post by sheepslayer247


Hey Sheepslayer! Nicely done. Thanks for the info. Just as an aside add honey and cloves to the pantry list as cloves can be used in oral applications (as in suck on it to numb a toothache) and honey, as honey, while really yummy, has also been used for centuries as a topical healing agent, anti-septic and scar reducer... just a thought.

Found the fruit candy idea interesting. But as a diabetic myself, I would caution over use of it to avoid sugar spikes and crashes in a shtf scenerio where insulin, or medical assistance, may not be available.

S&F

reply to post by sheepslayer247


Really enjoyed that post! Lots of great info!

I found myself wanting to add something- one can make flour out of chestnuts too!

I had a wierd period of getting "messages" of some sort years ago, which told me to prepare for something by moving inland and uphigh, and with everything I'd need to survive. Things just worked out in a way to facilitate this, by hazard, and we ended up buying a big 300 year old stone farm house at a high altitude in South France. We have three natural springs, lots of "caves" for storing food, and even a stone bread oven in our courtyard! With barns and land, lots of wild herbs, fruit, and game, we're pretty well set up. Amongst some of the material left in our barn, is even an old horse drawn plow (and I have a horse...).

Some of the things you mentioned, I already learned, as the french are really good at coming up with ways to keep food, and waste less. It's worth learning to make sausages, including blood sausages! I ate frogs legs for the first time this weekend and was surprised to find them succulent! Not ready to go for snails yet....but I should learn to prepare them just in case.

Maybe nothing will ever necessitate all this, but it is fun to learn anyways...

reply to post by MyMindIsMyOwn

Cloves are very handy and can be used in corning or pickling of meats.

Since you brought up honey, I thought it also handy to learn how to extract sap from trees. I love fresh maple syrup.

wiki.answers.com...

I cannot believe I forgot to add this to the OP, but here is another recipe for HARDTACK.

I learned about hardtack in history class, as it was widely used in the Civil War, its easy to make and requires only two ingredients. Wrap it up and it will last a long time.

how to make fire without matches or a lighter?

reply to post by WIND2000MPH


youtube: "how to make fire without fire or matches"

youtube: "how to survive"

any question you might ask, please reference youtube or google first, to go directly to documented sources

reply to post by sheepslayer247


Take it from one who knows more than the average bear about the making of pure maple syrup...... it's a job I would prefer to leave up to another although I am grateful for the knowledge on how to do it. It takes a heck of a lot of sap to make a little bit of syrup and it takes a heck of a long time as well with the old fashioned method I am familiar with. I will, however, be happy to barter a couple rolls of TP for a little real honest to goodness maple syrup if it ever came to that.

In the mean time however, I'll just be content with my homemade applesauce or homemade jams on my pancakes..... ooooohhhh... now you've made me hungry for pancakes!! LOL

Really great thread you have going here, S&Fs!
I love all ethnic foods, especially Indian food. I recommend a trip to the Little-India neighborhood to stock-up on some goods and eat some dishes in the buffets to test what you like to suppliment your food cache.
Here are ones I recommend, you can Google each:
Samosa
Indian Flatbread, Naan
Tandoori paste
Basmati rice, a lot of natural flavor
Legumes, split peas and lentils
Curry, red or yellow, spices

Transitioning to eating vegetarian is much easier with these in the pantry.
If fish and meats are still available, learning how to smoke them properly is important skill.
For example, smoking ham hocks and adding one to a stew is amazing. You could draw the elites out of the DUMBS if you pore a cup of broth down their ventalation shaft!

reply to post by sheepslayer247


Bravo! Excellent instructional thread. As a person who was raised by a depression-era mother who never let anything go to waste, I appreciate your effort to further this philosophy in a practical, easy-to-understand way.

Just wanted to share that in Cody Lundin's survival book "When All Hell Breaks Loose", he tells his recipe for "ash cakes", which are basically flour and water mixtures cooked on hot rocks from a campfire. Interesting! I may give it a try sometime.

reply to post by sheepslayer247


Great post S&F. I am also a certified chef and I think it is great that someone made a post like this. Many do not realized the advantages of making stock ands properly smoking foods. Besides tasting great, it will provide great nourishment. I would also like to add Pickeling. There are many foods that can be kept by pickeling them. Also people need to study up on the natural foods that grow in your native area. If you do not know what you are finding to eat you can get yourself into trouble. Mushrooms for example, come in many varities that look very similar but some can be quite dangerous.

reply to post by MyMindIsMyOwn

The sap idea was just a thought. I have never had the opportunity to learn. I be looking to make some sap....and I'll be trading for that tp.



reply to post by Granite
I am a huge fan of ethnic food, as American food tends to be based around meat, with some dingy sides. I love a good steak but would give that up for some well-made Bombay potatoes.

Also, lots of ethnic foods are easy to make on an open fire, ideal for survival.

reply to post by NazcaP

I used to have a river rock that was perfect for camping, but I switched over to cast Iron. Definitely a good idea and thanks for bringing it to our attention.

reply to post by I B Dazzlin
If there is one thing we have around this area it would be mushrooms. Every wooded area around here is packed after a good rain. Gotta love a fresh breaded Morrel.

Originally posted by sheepslayer247
reply to post by Asktheanimals

 

I use the bay leaves for stock of course, but I like to use the mint in canning. Dried mint also has medical uses as well if I am not mistaken.

Yes, dried mint has a couple of really good medicinal uses.....

Mint is an easily grown and dried herb which has a number of uses both medicinal as well as culinary. Mint is a general pick-me-up, good for colds, flu and fevers. Herbalists add that it also helps digestion, rheumatism, hiccups, stings, ear aches, flatulence and throat and sinus ailments.

Source

I have a question about the use of mint in your canning..... is there a specific purpose for that or is it purely personal taste given what you are canning if you are doing something other than mint jelly??

reply to post by MyMindIsMyOwn

Mostly I use the mint for personal tastes, but I also use it to give flavor to otherwise bland canned foods.

I also use mint when I cook wild game. Just enough so that the mint is present but not overpowering. It helps take away the game taste when I don't have buttermilk handy.

Found this 2 part video on how to make Pemmican. Hope it serves you well.

Part 1


Part 2

reply to post by sheepslayer247


I enjoyed the pemican video, thanks for posting that! But if you don't have a food dehydrator- is there other ways to dry it that could be suggested?

reply to post by coquine


Here is a link to a very handy manual on the entire process. It even has diagrams for making the drying racks and such. www.fao.org...