Gold & Silver Forum - Weekly Prep Thread 22 June

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Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Ok, I'm up to my azz in cucumbers and tomatoes. I have dozens of quarts of pickles and stewed tomatoes in the pantry, and the dang things keep growing!

Oh, learned one important lesson about pressure canning: Never, EVER release the steam from the cooker after your food has processed. This causes a quick and dramatic drop of the pressure in the cooker, but your jars of tomatoes will have maintained the 12 pounds of pressure that you cooked them at.

End result? The inside of your cooker will be painted with five quarts of stewed tomatoes.

Oh, well. Good thing there's no shortage of tomatoes at my place.

Also jumped on board the group buy at Warrifles.com

How 'bout y'all?

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Ditto that on the pressure canning.....waiting is the key.

Started a root cellar last week....dug out an 8x8 hole on the end of the garage. (that end is built into the mountain and already had 7' of dirt up against a block wall ) Hope to get the block laid and a concrete top poured on it this week.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

I don't know about NCO's method, but we pressure can everything. You can do tomatoes IF they are high acid enough in a water bath, but then the question becomes "what is high acid enough"....so we pressure can all.

For whole tomatoes, put the tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes until the skins split, and then put them in cold water.....skin should now slip right off. Then we just put in jars with enough water to fill the jar within an inch and process. You can add a teaspoon of salt if you want, or do it later when using them in something. These we use for chili, etc.

Roma's we do the above to remove the skin, then run them thru the Vita-mix blender to puree, then cook them down and add some corn starch to thicken for tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce. Process the same as whole tomatoes unless you go ahead and add hamburger for a complete spaghetti sauce....then process 60min/pints, 90min/qts.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

You can't have TOO many canners, IMHO.....I have an OLD National ( heavy cast aluminum ) from the 50's, a Mirro/Presto as a backup, and then bought the All American. Sometimes we have all 3 going.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tn...Andy (Post 1157819)

You can't have TOO many canners, IMHO.....I have an OLD National ( heavy cast aluminum ) from the 50's, a Mirro/Presto as a backup, and then bought the All American. Sometimes we have all 3 going.

I am curious about canning- how does it work? Do you fill the can and put a lid on then pressurize/cook and the lid somehow seals? Any info would be appreciated as I see some interesting units on fleabay...

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Sorry....."canning" is sort of a misnomer...it's called canning, but you actually use glass jars with 2 piece lids ( a flat lid you use once and discard, and a ring that fits the threads on the jar you can re-use many times ). I don't know of any home use equipment that cans in actual metal cans like you get from the grocery store.

As to how it works, you fill the jar, put the flat lid on, screw the ring on, and run them in a pressure canner for a length of time and pressure based on the contents of the jar. As the jar cools when you remove them, it pulls a vacuum and seals. You actually hear the jars go "THUNK" as they seal.

Look up canning on YouTube....there are quite a few good videos on the process.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechGuy (Post 1157368)

I thought that stewed tomatoes were done in a water bath canner??? Can you post your recipe/process for pressure canning tomatoes?

Some varieties of tomatoes, when processed by themselves, have enough acidity to water bath. Thing is, you'll have to water bath them for 45min. (quarts). Some people like to add a couple teaspoons of lemon juice in each jar to raise the acidity before water bathing.

If you add any other ingredients, it's best to pressure can. Takes about the same amount of time (total - actual processing time is about 15 minutes once it comes to pressure), and guaranteed to kill the nasties.

Ditto on what Andy said as the first step, except that I core the tomatoes after I peel them, then cut out any green.

After I peel them, I'll cut the ginormous tomatoes in half otherwise I just leave them whole. Put 'em right into a big stew pot. Now, figuring on about 30 tomatoes, I'll chop up and add 3 large onions, peel and add a couple bulbs (bulbs, not cloves) of garlic, a few fresh jalapenos, salt (use canning salt - It's pure and wont turn your liquid cloudy during processing), whole peppercorns, dill, and some mustard seed.

No need to add any liquid. There's plenty that'll come out of the tomatoes.

Bring the whole mess to a simmer, stirring every couple minutes so nothing burns, and simmer for about 10 or 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and use a big slotted spoon or ladle and scoop those puppies into your jars. Leave about a half inch of headspace. I just fill to the bottom of the threads.

You'll have a lot of liquid left over. This is good stuff and shouldn't be thrown out. I pour what's left into jars and process it with the tomatoes.

I know 30 tomatoes look like a lot at the start, but will simmer down to about 5-6 quarts, depending on the size and amount of time you cook them.

Oh, yeah. One other thing, and this is kinda important. Don't release the pressure after taking the canner from the heat!

Trust me on this one.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

I bought 3 gallon of Coleman fuel for $8.47 gal. Seems kind of high but it sure beats over $5 quart they want some places. Also got 2 of the .22 LR Federal bulk packs.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Bought a case of powered milk. Also some 5lb bags of rice and a few 5lb bags of sugar. I picked up a few 7 round pistol magazines from a local pawn shop that were brand new for a few bucks apiece. Oh---and a case of Spaghetti O's with meatballs. Step by step.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Picked up a Taurus Model 94 .22 and another 525 rounds. See http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=276587

Also ordered 10 cases of the 2 quart jars for my "Techguy Dry Canning" project. It slow going here in MN. Veggies are a long way off except for some greens and the peas.

I did harvest about 15 lbs of rhubarb for a batch of rhubarb wine I'll put together in the fall.

Canning jars will be a split between rice, couscous, a bean mix, and 2 types of pasta; all stuff we eat very often.

Also, got some practice at catfishing. Had a heck of a night with over 90 lbs of fish (only 5 fish). None were keepers as they were too large. I'll only eat the little guys.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

15 gallons of water and a few cases of metal canned goods.
Tomatoes are coming in.

On the PC thing: All-American pressure cookers cannot be beat. I have several other cookers and two AAs. I only use the other cookers for smaller jobs as it does take a while to get a 40 quart PC up to temperature. And yes, do not release all the pressure at once. It is possible to bust the jars just releasing overpressure.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Quote:

Originally Posted by InfantryNCO (Post 1157181)

Also jumped on board the group buy at Warrifles.com

What's this group buy all about? I went to Warrifles to check it out but you have to be a member to view. If you could tell us a bit about it perhaps it would be a good idea to adopt.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tn...Andy (Post 1157307)

Ditto that on the pressure canning.....waiting is the key.

Started a root cellar last week....dug out an 8x8 hole on the end of the garage. (that end is built into the mountain and already had 7' of dirt up against a block wall ) Hope to get the block laid and a concrete top poured on it this week.

Hey Andy can you post some pics?

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Sure, when I get something worth viewing....right now, it's just a large hole.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Quote:

Originally Posted by Codger (Post 1159345)

What's this group buy all about? I went to Warrifles to check it out but you have to be a member to view. If you could tell us a bit about it perhaps it would be a good idea to adopt.

A group buy occurs when a vendor agrees to give discounted prices on one or a number of items to a group of people.

The vendor in this case is MREdepot.com, a sponsor vendor at WR.

Below is a copy of the Group Buy opening post from the vendor, perhaps that can explain it better than I can.

I'm a moderator over at Warrifles and yeah, you have to register at WR to view posts. That was done because of problems with spammers in the past. Registration is free, however.

In order to participate in the Group Buy, though, you must be a contributing member in good standing. The "ranks" as they're called there, start at $15 going to $300 annually, but even the lowest rank is good for any and all group buys for an entire year at WR. Ok, I'll stop sounding like I'm selling you all on Warrifles now. Wasn't my intention.

Quote:

Hi All;

Thanks for all the input on the �Heads Up� thread about what we should do with this Group Buy!! I�m happy to say that this GB is officially open as of right now. Below are the items we are going to set up for everyone, and for the first time I�m happy to say that the shipping will be free on every single one of them!!

First, let me see if I can cover the ground rules for this one. For starters, if anyone is not familiar with the concept of a Group Buy (although most of you probably know the concept better than me, since it was likely pioneered here first), the idea is that as a group, we have a combined purchasing power that often exceeds what many large wholesale or distributor accounts can do.

The theory is that we can gauge the interest by having people give us an idea on how many cases they would like, then tally up the totals and price it as one large purchase rather than many smaller individual purchases. That way the benefit of a wholesale discount will apply to the entire group regardless of how many cases you choose to purchase yourself.

Typically in the past they have been done with you having to send your money in to one central point and having them place the order on your behalf, having to wait while the product is shipped to the middle man and then wait some more while it is re-distributed or drop shipped directly to each individual. Obviously that can be cumbersome for one person to deal with, and it very often means you have to wait a long time for the entire group purchase to wrap up before you are able to receive your product.

HOW IT WORKS: We do it a little differently here. Since we have done this before with everyone, we know what the potential volume can be from this group, so we are able to come up with a fixed price up front, and like I mentioned before, shipping will be free.

When this buy is over, we process and list your orders on our secure website so you can check out and receive your order quickly. We will create a one-time code that can be used at your leisure to purchase securely online with a credit card, Gear Pay, PayPal or even a check or money order, and your order will usually ship the same business day it is placed rather than having to wait for the whole group buy to close.

Your post to this thread is your order, and we will expect you to follow through with payment and without changes once this GB has closed. Changes or cancellations can be processed prior to the close and need to be posted here before Midnight on July 15th in order to be accepted.

SITE RULES: The second (and probably most important) rule is that you need to be a site supporter prior to participating in the Buy. There�s enough information on how to become one if you are not already, so please respect this forum and it�s ownership by adhering to this one simple requirement.

HOW TO ORDER: I�d like to request that you place your order by simply posting the quantity and item(s) that you would like only on this thread. If you would, order by the product name, and not by the item number so there is no confusion. Please don�t e-mail me or PM me with your order.

VOLUME DISCOUNT: As far as volume goes, unlike the last time, I am not going to put any quantity or volume requirements on this GB that we will have to meet as a group. Because most of the items we are offering will likely never be for sale on our retail side ever again, I am confident that we can assume that the volume will be as high as it was the last time, so I will automatically assume we will need to price everyone at the lowest volume price level possible.

However, I would like to put a couple of benchmarks out there just in case the volume exceeds even my expectations;

1) If the gross sales volume of this GB exceeds $50,000 on July 15th at Midnight Eastern, we will take an additional 5% off each and every order/item as our thanks.
2) In the event that the sale volume winds up exceeding $100,000 when this closes, we will increase the discount/incentive to a total of 10% off for everyone.

LIMITS: I only have two limits on quantity for the purposes of this GB.
1) On item #4, USGI MRE�s, we may have to limit it to the first 200 cases. I can be a little flexible on this, so we�ll see how it looks halfway through and make a decision if we need to look at making more than 200 cases available. Strict limit of 10 cases per person.
2) On item #7, USGI MCW�s, we have to limit this to the first 75 Cases spoken for. Strict limit of 4 cases per person.

Everything else does not have any limits on the quantity.

UPDATES: As usual, I will keep a running tally for us, and post updates throughout the week so everyone can both see the volume of the group as well as verify that I have your order correct.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS: Unlike the last time, I�m afraid that we can�t offer any other items from our website in this group buy, since they will require UPS shipping to be calculated seperately and paid. Our WR Coupon Code (WARRIFLES) is still valid and will qualify anyone here to a 21% discount on any item in our warehouse except the canned bacon and the menu C MRE�s. So for purposes of this GB, we will only be able to work with the 7 items offered below.

DATES: This Group Buy is now open and will run for 3 � weeks. We will close this without exception on Tuesday July 15th at Midnight Eastern Standard Time.

Now for the best part. Here is what we or offering for this Group Buy;

ITEM #1

Case of Butterfield Farms Premium Canned Chicken Chunks. 24 Cans per case, 12.5 oz per Can. $55.00 Delivered (Free Shipping)!

In case you think this looks familiar, it�s because this is the same company that makes our canned whole chicken. They are also carried in many Costco�s around the Country - only for an average of about $3.75/can. Not to be confused with the small tuna sized cans - these are the same width as a Yoder�s can and just under half as short.

ITEM #2

Case of Bega Australian Canned Cheese, 36 Cans per Case, 8 oz per Can, $55.00 Delivered (Free Shipping)!

This is the same cheese as the Red Feather, same taste, same cheese, same size - Bega just Private Labels the cheese under our Red Feather Name. We have about 500 cases that just came off a boat 2 weeks ago. These particular cans have been at the Bega Factory for a couple of years under refrigeration to age them in the can, and they still have the old label with some Arabic writing on them. The date of manufacture was 11/02/06 and they have a Best Buy date of 5/3/08. These have at least another 10+ years on them, and probably more than 20 years of life left.

ITEM #3

Case of Bega Australian Canned Cheese mini-cans, 48 Cans per Case, 4 oz per Can, $45.00 Delivered (Free Shipping)!

This also is the same exact cheese as the Red Feather, just not private labeled for us and in single serving 4 oz cans. These are perfect for opening just one can for a large serving and not having to worry about left-over�s. We have about 800 cases that just came off a boat as well a couple of weeks ago. These cases have been in cold storage at Bega a little while as well. The date of manufacture was 10/24/06 and they have a Best Buy date of 4/24/08. These also have at least another 10+ years on them, and probably more than 20 years of life left.

ITEM #4

Case of U.S. Government Issue MRE�s (Meals Ready to Eat). Menu�s A & B, Manufacture Date of 2004, Inspection Date of 2007, 12 meals per case. $45.00 Delivered (Free Shipping)!

These are unopened, formerly government owned, military issue MRE�s. These are authentic - they are the real deal. We have 960 of them in stock, but we may have to limit it to the first 200 cases, as I have some dealers who really need inventory now that Mountain House has stopped delivering. They have been cold stored by the government until we picked them up when they rotated them out earlier this month.

NOTE: For single Cases purchase, you can not specify which menu you would like. However, for multiple case purchases, we will do our best to get you the best variety. Cases are sealed, and menus can not be specified. For a complete menu listing, please refer to the industry authority on MRE�s here; http://www.mreinfo.com/us/mre/menus-xiv-2004.html

ITEM #5

Case of USGI, Brand New, MRE Peanut Butter Packs. 300 Packs per case, 1.5 oz per pack. $95.00/case Delivered (Free Shipping) - that less than $0.32/pack!

We just picked up 104,000 packs last week - these are 2008, made in late May of this year, so extremely fresh. Realistically, these will have a 15+ year shelf life, and likely a LOT longer if keep them cool. Perfect for keeping in your car, boat, glove box or bug-out bag. These are even great for every day use at the office, on the trail or in the field.

ITEM #6

Case of USGI, Brand New, MRE Apple Jelly Packs. 400 Packs per cases, 1 oz per pack. $95.00/case Delivered (Free Shipping) - that less than $0.24/pack!

Limited to the first 90 cases, as I only have about 150 cases in stock. Manufactured in January of 2008, realistically, these will also have a 15+ year shelf life, and likely a LOT longer if keep them cool. Also perfect for keeping in your car, boat, glove box or bug-out bag. These are even great for every day use at the office, on the trail or in the field.

ITEM #7 (probably the first and last time that you will ever see this outside of eBay - thanks again for the idea NightSniper!)

Case of USGI, Cold Weather MRE�s (MCW - Meal, Cold Weather). EXTREMELY RARE! Sealed case of 12 meals, $95 delivered (Free Shipping)!

These MCW�s are very hard to find. They are priced because they are much higher in calories (1500 to 1800 calories per meal) in order to fuel a combat soldier in a harsh cold-weather environment, and last 30+ years because the main course entr�e�s are freeze dried. We only can make 75 cases available to this GB, so it will be first come, first served. These regular sell at auction on eBay for an average of $105 to $145 per case PLUS shipping.

For more detailed information on MCW's and for the complete menu listing, please see the following link; http://www.dscp.dla.mil/subs/rations...mcw/mcwabt.asp

___________________________________________

Thank you kindly for the participation! If I missed anything or can help with any questions, please don�t hesitate to post them here.

Thanks!

-Steven
__________________
www.MREdepot.com

- We Support & Gladly Accept - www.GearPay.com

We sponsor about five group buys a year from different at WR. This is MREdepots second of the year. First time around, he offered the red feather canned butter, whole canned chicken, Yoders canned meats, and a couple of other items.

Great stuff.

Hope this helps.

InfantryNCO

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

corn plants doing well on former lawn area, tomato plants healthy, strawberries producing. camped in the vw van for two days on oregon coast, practice bugout trip with baby and wife. stove worked real well[stainless model from wally world] sleeping bag good results also. edible shellfish [mussells] easy to acquire. soft side cooler held up well with two empty nut containers of frozen water. still had ice for trip home, approx 95 miles. stayed at state of oregon park near tillamook. 16.00 dollar/nite, place even had shower room in bathrooms! deluxe camping for sure. consumed 1 bottle propane for two day cooking. van is restocked with can food and water, need to restock propane, and install hho generator onto engine. will give mileage report on this thread and the water gas thread when done. rest of week will go to debt payoffs, and multi family yard sale for un needed items to convert into preps. good luck to the prepared!

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Picked up a new Remington Model 770 (.308) and and a digitized camo Ruger 10/22 to go with the Remington 870 recently acquired. Started off with a couple boxes of ammo for each from Wally World, but investigating some better sources for larger quantities. Setting a quota for acquiring canned goods, spent a couple hundred on some canned stuff at Costco, but trying to get up to speed on food preps, too bad no real land to grow my own - funds not really a problem, but trying to do this right without too much waste. Sucks to get started this late, but better now than tomorrow. Thanks to y'all for setting all the good examples to follow. You're helping a lot of people that need it.

Also picked up more Au and Ag on the dips lately.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

Thanks NCO, that clears it up. I thought it was probably along those lines. When I read your first post on this thread with the mention or group buy and warrifles I got very excited thinking it was ammo or firearm related. That would be touch to do though. Looks like you guys have a good thing going. I wonder if we will ever see something like this put together for GIM. Perhaps an APMEX group buy (has this happened before?).

So this week seems to be a firearm week for me. I just picked up a Remington model 870 for the grand price of ....NOTHING! 15 years ago I lent my Ithaca model 37 (Ithink) 20 guage to my father for deer hunting. I never got it back and he has forgotten what happened to it (probably sold it for alcohol). When I brought my new .22 pistol out to his place to shoot it the shotgun story came up. I guess he was feeling pretty bad about it and called me up last night and offered to trade. I said fine but I'm going to need about 15 years worth of ammo too. just kidding on the ammo part.

He's still in good shape on the firearms so I don't feel terrible about accepting it. Quite frankly I was an odd youngster and not having the 20 guage around may have been a good thing.

Re: Weekly Prep Thread 22 June - 28 June

bought a bunch of canned foods from Walmart the other day. People looking at our cart must think we're nuts. :D