May 1st, 2013 – Wednesday – Disaster Necessities Opinion

May has started!  It’s a cold day here in Utah, but spring is coming, and that means that Disaster Necessity Survival Emergency Preparedness slows down. Unless there is something big in the news, a crisis, most people slow their prep down in the spring and summer.  I think this is normal.  Summer is often a busy time, when we are out and about, and it also is a nice time, the weather is better, and life just seems to go by a bit more smoothly for most of us.

But it isn’t all spring and summer in reality.  We got news recently that job creation was really slow…  and that means our economic recovery is really not moving at the speed we had all hoped.  Apparently private jobs have fallen for the fifth month in a row.   In a time when our government is getting bigger and our private sector smaller… what do we do?

We can buy food storage… (we have a new Calorie Food Energy Bar page up!) but that’s not what I’m here to talk about.

I know a lot of you are concerned about the current political situation over the last few years.  Who wouldn’t be?  On either side of the aisle, no one seems happy.  I think the lesson in all this is that in many ways, we don’t have much control.  We are 1 in 300 million.  That is a very small percentage.  And yes, we can join large groups, and work really hard for change… but a lot of us have families, have jobs, health problems.  What do you do in such a big world with such huge problems?

I think we have to take care of our families and ourselves.  We have to exercise, eat right, and keep our minds sharp.  Spend quality time resting, spend quality time taking it easy.  We are so tempted to get emotional upset during these times when we feel so powerless.

The message I’m sending out to you, and I would love to hear your feedback is simple: You have to take care of yourself.  Your family.  Your small local community.  The big picture is overwhelming when you look at it.  Staring up at the night sky, you see so many stars, feel so insignificant… it’s a humbling feeling.  Well…looking at our federal government, you feel the same way.  It’s humbling.  The government is huge, and both sides of the aisle are not doing much to get it under control.  And you and I and our kids and our grandkids are the ones who are going to pay for it.

So that’s why I say again, take care of yourself.  I have a saying I remind my kids, and if you know me, you’ve heard me say it before:  In 100 years… I’ll be dead.  And none of this will matter.  I say that to keep things in perspective.  My life is small, humble, and insignificant in many ways.  By accepting that, I am free of huge expectations and I instead focus on loving my family, and creating a small bit of art for them and me.  In a time when everything is so big… so scary… my advice is to take a deep breath, relax, and avoid the temptation to get too worked up over it all… enjoy this day that you have and relax into it.  Your gifts and offerings as a human will come through in small but beautiful ways if you free of the emotional grasp of big government economic fears.

Spring is here.  Summer is coming. Enjoy it with all your heart.

Honeyville Emergency Food Storage Supplies: Whole Grains: Barley Flakes

Disaster Necessities presents our locally milled whole grain food storage Barley Flakes in a 50lb bag.  We use only the best barley available, not accepting lesser quality to make things cheaper.  The entire food storage emergency survival movement began with whole grains, for making bread, pasta, and cereals.  Whole Grain Barley Flakes are high in fiber and low in sodium, not to mention being very low in cholesterol free and low in fat.  Being nutritious with antioxidants and containing vitamins and minerals, Barley Flakes are a must for emergency food storage.  Eight essential amino acids are found in Barley.  We use them to make cookies and breads, soups, and stews.   These barley flakes should be stored in a cool, dry place, like most food storage, and has as shelf life of 1 year.

Barley is a major whole cereal grain and one of the first ever domesticated by humans.  Barely is also a major component in making beer.

Barley DOES contain Gluten, and is thus not suitable for those who require Gluten-Free foods because of celiac disease.
 
 



This Honeyville Barley Flakes Whole Grain Food Storage ships flat rat via UPS for $4.49 anywhere in the continental US.  Call for special pricing on large quantities!

Elk

I took this picture of a Mama Elk and her baby this week on my drive home!  

Star Map

I've been out of town for the weekend but now I'm back and saying hello to all my Food Storage friends on this blog and the website: www.disasternecessities.com

This incredible picture below makes me smile.  This weekend  I got the chance to do some serious reflection on life and the universe and in the cool air stared up at the stars. Sometimes I think looking at the night sky in quiet contemplation always provides the answers to whatever questions you might have.

Snow Buried Communities

When I see reports like the following, it reminds me that the Disaster Survival Emergency Preparedness industry is vital to the safety and protection of our nation.  Some may think it is superfluous to have 1 years supply of food, and who knows, maybe it will be, but there is ample evidence everywhere that being prepared with supplies for 72 hours, or a week, is just plain smart and necessary.

Snow-buried communities seek help from residents

Scrambled Eggs

We at Disasternecessities obviously offer a large number of different food storage Egg choices.  But I'm not going to talk about Food Storage Eggs today.  Instead I'm going to talk about a method of cook scrambled eggs that I've discovered recently that is is just fabulous.  In the old days I just broke the eggs in a pan and mixed them together.  Later, I learned the French way of cooking Scrambled Eggs, and found that to be delightful, but a lot of people don't appreciate that style.  Recently, I discovered a small little trick that has everyone in my family raving.  It is so simple, and some people probably already do it, but for me it's just been an exciting discovery.

The recipe is simple.  8 eggs, 1/4 a cup of half/half, 1/4 a tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of pepper.  Put that all in a bowl and whisk it REALLY well.  Then get your pan HOT, with butter, oil, bacon fat, whatever you like.  When it's hot, pour in the eggs.  Now comes the simple trick!  Instead of mixing it all together with your spatula... don't.  Pull it.  Use a rubber spatula, and start from the edge, and pull through the eggs all the way to the other edge.  You are folding the eggs essentially.  Then turn 90 degrees and pull from that side all the way over.  You don't have to pull a lot, but as you pull, the eggs fold up on each other, and the curd becomes bouncy and airy.  Slowly keep folding, keeping things moving, but don't mix ever mix them or chop them up. Towards the end of the cooking (a minute or two at most) you'll probably have to pick up a fold of eggs and flip it over quickly, because the top will be wet and uncooked, and folding won't work any more because you will have thick fluffy curd underneath it.  Just flip it over quickly, and it cooks solid in an instant.  Look through the pan and  you should have 3-5 or 6 at the most big fluffy hunks of egg, some of which you may have to flip to get the top to cook.

Take the eggs of quickly at this point, you don't want them sitting in the pan and creating that brown effect on the egg.  This morning I turned away for one instant and it browned a bit, which you don't want.

Serve them immediately and see if you don't like them.  My wife, my kids, my friends, they've all marveled at how much better they taste and feel.  It seems simple, but it really makes a big difference.  Give it a try and tell me how you like it!

January 18th, 2012 - Friday

How is everyone today?  Here in Utah it's brutally cold and yes, it's very beautiful, but it's tough.  I was thinking of running some promotions for something cold weather related.  I noticed Emergency Essentials took advantage of that idea and sent me a flyer yesterday advertising some cold weather stuff.

One thing that always concerns me in the winter is heat. I went and visited my 80 year old father last night, and we sat down and watched a movie (Ocean's Eleven) and sat next to his big wood burning stove.  He has a barn full of chopped wood and if the gas ever went out, he would survive in the winter.  He would have to gather in the one room of his house and the pipes would probably freeze, but he could produce warmth.

Have you ever had your furnace go out in the winter? I've had it gone out twice.  Both times I realized it wasn't working somewhere in the middle of the night and woke up seeing my breath.  It was crazy!  How quickly a house can get cold!  The worst part is that I don't have a wood burning stove or fireplace.  In both instances the heater was fixed quiet quickly, but it always made me think:  What if it couldn't be fixed? Or worse what if the gas was turned off?  My house would be unlivable.  I think everything would freeze, and I don't think I would be able to survive.  We might huddle under piles and piles of blankets, and using sleeping bags might be able to sleep.

All of this is to say, it's COLD outside and I've been thinking about how that effects Disaster Survival Emergency Planning.  I hope to one day have a home with a big fireplace and / or wood burning stove.  In the cold Utah Winters you would absolutely need it if the gas ever turned off.

Think about that . If the infrastructure of Natural Gas turned off in Northern Utah today, along with electricity, how many people would freeze to death?  It's scary.

Not trying to be a scare monger, just sharing some thoughts!  Everyone's thoughts are welcome!

Here's a picture of my Saint Bernard Churchill in the snow!  He is on creature who doesn't worry about the gas turning off!