The Weekly Watch
Simple Food Stockpiling Strategies
There's concern about the food supply due to the war we've declared on Russia. Make no mistake, the US egged on this war, and with the sanctions, essentially declared war. Now we're going around the world threatening other countries to sanction Russia and provide arms to promote this war in Ukraine as long as possible. Perhaps this will be the death knell of this evil empire as country after country defies our demands. When you hear 'the world is on our side', they're talking about one third of the world. The other two thirds are supporting Russia or at least being neutral.
A few years back I wrote a piece about food preservation which you might want to revisit for details on freezing, canning, and drying foods. To my mind the best food storage tool is your freezer. We're considering buying a second one. We do can somethings. We dry herbs, but lots of foods can be dried. This is a good year to think food storage. If you don't or can't garden get to know your local producers, they will have your back if store shelves are empty.
Ukraine and Russia are both major grain producers, growing something like 40% of the world's grains. I don't eat much in the way of grains, and I think we are over reliant on them as a food source (and foolishly use them to make alcohol to add to gas). However, if you rely on bread, flour, pasta, and so on, grains are stable and easy to store. Flour can be frozen or refrigerated to extend their shelf life. Wheat harvest in the Southeast will be in another month or so. We grow soft red winter wheat used to grind pastry flour. The least expensive way to buy most foods is to get them in season and buy in bulk if you can afford it.
Another easy to store item is dried beans and peas. They provide protein in addition to carbohydrates and fiber. We grow peas as a cover crop in summer, black eyed and crowder peas. Normally I cut the black eyed peas at bloom to maximize their green manure value and let the crowder peas go to maturity. We normally save a gallon or so of shelled peas in glass jars which is enough for the year.
We like to eat meats and leafy greens. We're able to grow most of our greens, and have local meat producers where we source most of our meats. If you have enough freezer space you can buy whole, half, or quarters of whole animals. We stock up through the summer and fill about half the freezer full of beef, pork, and chicken. I usually buy canned or frozen wild caught salmon. Fish and grass finished ruminants have the important omega-3 fatty acids.
We also grow sweet potatoes. Here in the hot South they are easy to grow. We end up with several boxes which we store in our upstairs loft and pantry. They contain several nutrients, but are primarily carbohydrates. We eat them about once a week through the year.
If you are going for a survival garden this summer you can't go wrong with potatoes. Easy to grow and highly productive. Again they are primarily carbohydrates, but it is easy to reduce their glycemic index by cooking and then refrigerating them over night. Upon reheating the carbs have been made more resistant causing them to get down lower into your gut and feeding your microbiome rather than the releasing sugars in the upper tract.
Another good, productive, and fairly easy crop is cabbage. Easy to ferment into kraut, make into slaw, or cook. I like to cut 3/4 inch slabs off the head and cook in butter in the cast iron skillet.
Peppers are easy to grow and freeze. They are expensive in winter so it is a good bang for your buck to grow them in the summer. We dice them, put them in a freezer bag, and use through the winter.
The first nation peoples in this area grew the three sisters....corn, beans, and squash. I don't bother with corn, but we grow beans and primarily winter squash like butternut (which stores well into spring). They also had fish weirs and collected fish daily for food and fertilizer. Speaking of which, is becoming an issue since much of the world fertilizer comes from Russia. Fortunately we have a nearby horse farm where we source our composted manure.
"Washington aims to protect farmers from fertilizer shortages
US exempts critical Russian commodity from sanctions.Washington has eased sanctions on Russian agricultural products, including fertilizers, placed on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine. The move aims to protect US farmers from a shortage of chemical products as food prices in the country continue to soar.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury recently published a new general license dated March 24, which effectively removed restrictions on the import of Russian fertilizers."
https://www.rt.com/business/553034-us-russia-fertilizers-sanctions/
Additionally...
The volume of Russian oil imports by the United States has increased by 43% from March 19 to 25 compared to the previous week, according to a new report by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Data showed the US imported up to 100,000 barrels of Russian crude per day.
https://www.rt.com/business/553002-us-russia-oil-imports/
All as we bully other countries not to do so. What hypocrites.
I've been listening to Alex and Gonzalo for Ukraine news as well as Scott Ritter interviews like this one.
What are you reading or listening to?
So there's really not much you don't already know in the this essay, but I hope it reminded you to prepare now for the likely shortages this fall and winter. It is odd to face up to the fact our country is driving this global disaster in order to enrich the MIC which owns and controls our politicians and government, just as big pharma owns them causing our disastrous response to COVID. We've become the shit hole country that we once denigrated and are putting the biosphere at risk to garner more for the already obscenely rich. The US empire is collapsing before our eyes. Best prepare.
Comments
I had been thinking of relocating to a third world country,
now all we need to do is wait for third world status to arrive here.
Thanks for addressing home gardening issues, a very timely subject.
My wife and I love our starchy tubers but have yet to find a workable storage strategy that gets us past early spring sprouting eruptions. Any tips on extending tater storage (excluding chemical solutions)? We’ve also a bit of a scale issue, which may simply be a lack of space for regular crop rotations. Our gardening efforts have been pretty much recreational. Shifting to a sustenance strategy seems a sensible shift to consider at this point.
Also, I’m curious about cook-and-reheat of carbohydrates tempering glycemic effects. Does this apply to all carbohydrates? Is there a study/paper that gets into the chemistry of the phenomenon?
Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes
There are several studies...
here's one
https://www.diabetesincontrol.com/cold-potatos-have-a-lower-glycemic-index/
As to storing potatoes, this is pretty good advice...
https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-store-potatoes-1389145
Another idea is to grow two crops, spring and fall. One of the amazing things about potatoes is you can plant any grocery store variety you like and have seed potatoes forever as a result. If you're squeezed for space, consider using pots, buckets, or grow bags.
https://www.apieceofrainbow.com/grow-potatoes-in-containers-bags/
Best of luck, and happy gardening!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
One other point w/potatoes...
About storage: there are considerable differences between varieties as to how they do in
storage. Probably a good idea to seek advice from someone knowledgeable about good candidates for your area.
Timely advice, Lookout.
I find myself reading frugal food forums lately, and I participate in a farm to table coop every few weeks that runs throughout the western US. I do plan to talk to local growers who set up in a nearby Saturday market. I wonder what kind of shares or subscriptions they offer. I don't know enough about preserving food. I've been thinking about dehydrating. I've got a big learning curve to climb. My problem with growers, whom I greatly admire, is that we live in different time zones. I am a night owl and go to bed about the time they are waking up. Our paths almost never cross. I might as well be living on the other side of the planet.
As usual, the US Neocons running the Alzheimer's government seem to be flying blind:
.
I don't think the US is going get a sanctions do-over. The State Department Psychopaths proclaimed draconian sanctions against Russia's economy — and started seizing the property and bank accounts of Russian citizens — very, very early in the Ukraine Proxy war. This surprised no on, especially after the spectacle of the US seizing Afghanistan's money, and pushing as many as 22 million Afghans and their chidden to the brink of starvation. Far more Afghanis are likely to starve to death during the current US genocide, than died globally during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Putin, was addressing a group of parliament members, when the news of the banking sanctions began to ripple through the group. As he listened to the sanctions details, Putin turned to his aids and said: "Stop all fertilizer exports immediately!" He knew just where to strike.
That may be the first and only public reaction that Putin had to the US sanction announcements. If he remarked on sanctions since then, I didn't hear about it.
The US sanctions pretty clearly harm vulnerable Americans as much as they harm Russians. But I don't think it is possible for Putin to back down from this — especially since his daughter was sanctioned in the past 24 hours. And even though the sanctions will do lasting harm to the European NATO States, they can only look on helplessly. Putin will honor all oil contracts in process or in the pipeline, but the US dollar will soon be set aside. Russia cannot spend US dollars for the things they need. They might as well be holding handfuls of straw.
I've subscribed to a certain think tank in France for many years, Their mission is to accurately predict the future, and they are pretty good at it. Things look strange in Europe's immediate future. I'll post a bit of it later, if I can find time.
Thanks for another intriguing Sunday essay.
By the way, this was something I never thought about before:
That paragraph is tightly packed. I'm trying to think if through.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Good morning PR
I like your idea of making contact at the farmers market. There after perhaps you could email and avoid early hours. I think we're in WWIII and no telling how it will play out. Bad for most folks I suspect.
Sounds like Taiwan is to be Ukraine 2.0 in the Pacific. What can you say? It is what it is, and I'm glad I can hang out here in the holler.
When I started on my diet exploration after OPOL's essay a few years back, I learned insulin is key. Whenever we eat carbs, insulin spikes...and makes you hungrier. That's why a pancake breakfast leaves you hungry soon after eating it. Fat is satiating and stifles hunger, however the seed oils they recommend are not healthy. The whole dietary pyramid is wrong, and has caused far more death and sickness than COVID ever has. There's a reason the US is fat and sick. The food industry is every bit as evil as the tobacco industry.
Well, thanks for coming by and reading today. Take care and be well!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good forward looking content on the issues of food preservation
Have learned canning methods, pickling and fermenting tricks.
Having a big pressure cooker helps, as does lots of freezer space.
Configuring a 'smart' voltage regulator today for one of the boats.
Wicked complicated. The internet is a great teacher.
Planning another butterfly garden, conditioning the squirrels to stay
off the suet feeder by using cayenne (doesn't affect the birds) and
generally enjoying the spring like weather.
Thanks for the watch!
Depending on your setup. I have one of these and it is
effective keeping the squirrels away.
Heh - I have one of those too but those furry tailed
tree rats can jump enormous distances. I have taken to feeding safflower to minimize their depredations further.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I had that problem also but I resolved it by simply moving
the pole. It is true that they are good jumpers but the baffle works well if located in the right spot.
My yard is designed that the feeder is surrounded
by fruit trees or roofs just about anywhere I put it except out in this one expanse of shade free open space where we can't see it, but the locally resident cooper's hawk can. Just one of those things.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
That there
is a tasty looking squirrel...
Well, they can be tasty - but depends a lot on what they've been eating.
Unfortunately we are still living under the "Dubya Doctrine"
of you're either with us or against, nuance, diplomacy be damned
Headlines from Zerohedge
https://www.zerohedge.com/
NATO To Engage In Asia-Pacifc To Counter China
teaser image
"...We have seen that China is unwilling to condemn Russia’s aggression... This is a serious challenge to us all..."
SUN APR 10, AT 4:30 AM
994
Pakistan's Imran Khan Ousted In Midnight No Confidence Vote, Urges Supporters Rise Up Against US-Led "Foreign Conspiracy"
teaser image
PM Khan had controversially met with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Feb.24 - a mere hours before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine...
SUN APR 10, AT 11:00 AM
18
And here is an excellent read from Automatic Earth from a former Senior Swiss Intelligence Officer
https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2022/04/debt-rattle-april-10-2022/
Thanks for the WW LO and the revisiting of food preservation. We are about to plant our little "Survival Garden" in hopes that it will never be needed.
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
With or agin us....
What a sick global approach. WWIII has started. The USD will not be threatened, and TPTB will fight to the last person to protect the reserve currency. It is the only thing floating our broke demented country.
One thing about it, we live in interesting times.
Thanks for the links and visit!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Oops...forgot to mention lettuce.
One of the easiest things to grow. Plus they do well in containers if you don't have a garden. We grow several types and colors and use it for salads, wraps, and when we're overloaded, soup. It is fast too. Quick seed to salad. Can't believe I forgot to cover this important home garden crop.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Great info. LO!
Our garden is growing very nicely. Purple hull peas, corn,cucumbers, green beans, varieties of bell peppers, and jalapenos. We may till up more ground to plant lettuce, potatoes, and pintos.
The whole food shortage problem has been in my brain since the pandemic began. Break in supply chain then, more breaks since the war broke out.
I have been "prepping" for 2 years now. My pantries are stuffed, as are my 2 freezers. I am going to make some appliance purchases in anticipation that China will stop trading with us. Today, a new washer and dryer. I am considering another freezer. Every trip to the grocer reveals empty shelves here and there.
Tough times ahead. Be prepared.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
We're thinking a 2nd freezer is a good idea
One for meats and one for veggies. We try our best to work through the freezer veggies before this years crops start up. We've done a pretty good job working through it all this winter. It is easy for things to be lost and forgotten in the freezer. We try to pull everything out and reorganize before starting summer storage.
Happy gardening. I get a kick out of growing things. Y'all have a good Sunday!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I forgot!
Tomatoes. I haven't grown a garden in years. I couldn't do it by myself anymore. Well, having a husband with a green thumb changed things for the better.
I think we are headed for a drought. Water might be a problem.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Tomatoes are like the queen of the garden
Our favorite is Cherokee Purple, but we also grow Brandywine, and better boys. I also like to have one super sweet cherry tomato. We drive posts at the ends of the tomato bed and string a rope through the cages from one post to the other to keep them from blowing over. When they get big we've had them blow over and break.
Enjoy the garden. It is a beautiful day here. We started the day at about 34 degrees. The cabbage and broccoli and stuff cruised through no problem.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
We are headed to Lowe's to buy some fencing.
Deer tracks through the garden is not a good sign. I think husband will make his tomato cages and anchor those puppies. Winds are not a typical issue, but shit happens. Today, it is high 70s, sunny, with gusts of 40mph wind. I was knocked of my feet by a 40 mph wind up near the Texas Hill Country.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I built a 9 foot fence around our garden
and it was a job, but it has kept the deer out. Best of luck with your project!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Are your electricity prices low over there?
Here they are gone up so much, I avoid to buy a second freezer I am already mad at my sister as she is so lonely that she needs two TVs running all day to have the feeling that she has not lost the voices of her deceased husband and daughter years ago.
Some things are really sad to watch.
https://www.euronews.com/
Freezer good
as long as it is keeping stuff frozen, that is. Would be quite a debacle if you couldn't keep it going during a hot spell, no?
I would recommend the type of freezer
that does not have an automatic de-froster function
they are a waste of electricity using heating coils.
We do have cheap TVA power...
My two meters, house and barn, are less than $100/month combined. We also have a back up generator for the freezer and other appliances if our power goes out....which is pretty rare here, but it does happen. I have a larger generator down by the well house. We've had to use it a time or two. We run it for an hour or two and take care of our water needs by filling jugs and such.
Everyone has to look at their own situation and prepare accordingly.
Mimi, I'm so sorry your country's leadership is more wed to the "Great Reset" than the needs of German citizens. Y'all are in for a rough ride. I wish it wasn't so.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Twitter strikes again! The truth shall not be shared.
This is the supposed offence.
th truth may NOT be told...
I think Scott moved to telegram, which I've never visited other than to grab that link. Gonzalo is there as well.
Lots of folks migrating to Rumble, rokfin, and odysee as well.
The ironic thing about banning Scott is he was the one that called fake WMDs in the lead up to the iraq war. He was silenced then too.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Obviously this advice was not taken.
Cohen was correct...
but TPTB never listen to voices of reason.
I've heard the story that Zelenskyy did try to end the conflict, but the Azov Nazis told him to shove it or he and his family were dead. Of course he's now a multimillionaire...pretty good for a comedic actor.
Thanks for the tweet.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good afternoon Lookout. Thanks for the
refresher/reminder. I see a real possibility of flour shortages for home cooks, and we use a lot of flour in our house. In theory we live in a great area for a lot of otherr foodstuffs, though there is the economic issue - it doesn't matter how much of everything your area produces if the producers decide to ship it all out to markets which pay higher prices. I hope the situation is clearer by summer.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I suspect we'll have plenty of flour...
because we grow lots of wheat. Next year it may be an issue due to fertilizer shortages causing poor yields next spring. We'll just have to stay tuned to the situation...not frightened but prepared.
Hope you're having a nice day. Hit 70 today after a cold start.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Canada bans foreign home buying; tax home flippers
It's not much, but it's something
We could use it here
what a fiasco Canada has become
I mean freezing bank accounts of those that donate to causes which the gov't disapproves?
With all their timber and lumber it is curious they can't cover housing. So no foreign oligarchs can buy one now but the Canadian ones can.
Our homeless situation is worse than theirs I believe. Of course it is easier to live under a bridge in the warmer US.
Thanks for the bit of good news.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Wind energy generation passes coal and uranium
link
Somewhat related.
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/joe-manchin-coal-west-...
Another way in which Ukraine has managed to control...
the narrative (propaganda)
pulling flase flags on the regular
as the actor/president adds to the show.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Here's a better view on youtube...
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KML9td8gyjs]
This is what the US does with the help of CIA.
I thought he out played them with the call for election
but we bought out the judges as well as their politicians.
I hate to say it, but I'm disgusted by my own country.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Time for a refreshing pause that is not war related.
I'll sign off with this
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98-Hqvrnl9I]
“Alice” written by Reina del Cid
Candy Apple Red album out April 29
PREORDER: https://bit.ly/rdcshop
Here’s a live, one-take version of “Alice” recorded at The Hideaway in Minneapolis! Stay tuned for more live performances of songs off our new album coming up.
I wrote Alice in 2020 and am so excited that it’s finally going to be released on our album later this month! Inspired by the couple weeks I spent in Ireland in 2019, “Alice” is a nod to Irish folk music with a bit of an Americana twist. We got together at the Hideaway this week to perform a few songs off our album live, and this is the first one from that session.
Have a good night!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Gonzalo has posted the following on Telegram
WARNING! GRUESOME ENDING!
Horrible.
Such a young woman involved with such promotion of murder.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Something's wrong with her face
She appears to have been struck....
Looks like
she got smacked in the mouth, or make up, or even a cold sore in the corner of her mouth.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I have been thinking about something
ever since I started noticing shortages and seeing price increases.
If we do screw around with China, and China stops trading with us, WalMart shelves will be empty. To visible protest from the Waltons.
Fertilizer shortages will hurt industrial farming and meat processing and meat producers. No protests from them.
Where are they on this policy to grind Russia and China into dirt? They will disappear long before Russia and China.
I know shortages cause rising costs, and price gouging, but cows eat grass and hay. Good luck growing hay without fertilizing. No hay, no cows.
Good luck selling appliances and household goods made in China when they are no longer available.
I hear about 90% of everything on a Walmart shelf is from China. And the Waltons say nothing.
How do the 1% sustain their business models when trade breaks?
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Greg Judy does it without fertilizer
and very little hay. He is a grazing guru moving his 200-300 head herd twice a day.
4 min
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44vQisn-TCA]
He improves farms with his grazing practices. He's amazing. Too bad more farmers don't use his methods.
As to losing Chinese goods, I wonder if we'll start making products here in the US.
We'll weather this storm. The shame of it all is we created this situation.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
What a disappointment Germany & the Greens have turned out to be
When push comes to shove, they don’t believe in freedom, fair play, or diversity of opinion at all.
The elite have the one true take on everything (still dictated by the Allied occupiers of 75 years ago).
“Public” TV is used to propagandize and blast this one true take into the minds of the “public”.
Any dissent will be presented as disloyalty and mental illness in the service of foreign enemies, and banned and sanctioned subject to the whim of huge media tech monopolies controlled by U.S. billionaires and The Blob (the U.S. military-industrial-spy-agency complex).
I am in disbelief at Germany's stupidity
If German PTB cared about the people, they would tell the US to F off and open Nord stream 2 (built primarily with German funds). Instead they are sending weapons to Ukraine. What fools.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
An eye opener that will go unseen.
Too bad the West will not allow facts...
like this to be broadcast. It is all theater.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Dang, I wish I could have been here on Sunday...
To thank you for this. It's awesome. Had a goat giving birth on Sunday morning super early. I was zonked by the time I could come inside. Anyway, me and my husband do most of these things. We have two freezers, a chest freezer and a stand up freezer. One stores things for a 'long time' (the chest freezer. The other stores frozen milk, dinners, homemade sauces, soups, etc. I used to do a lot of canning. Wanted to do some again last year, but... no canning jar lids! Nowhere in the stores, or online. It was weird. So I've bought some in the off season to try to stock up. They still aren't really for sale at the local stores and whatnot.
Anyway, once again, thank you!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
canning lids...
have been an issue but are back on the shelves in our world.
And the amazon monster has them too if you use their service...
https://www.amazon.com/jar-lids/s?k=jar+lids
We do what we have to do. Sometimes that including using the monster Amazon.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Yep, sometimes Amazon is it, unfortunately
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so