Recipe: Smoked Ham Hocks & Beans

Baked beans all finished up and ready to eat

   My last post was about the importance of growing and preparing your own food - since the custom still project has stalled due to the cold weather - this post will be a recipe based on homegrown and easily stored food items, the base of prepping. The following recipe is prepared with dry beans, which can be stored for very long periods of time, if done properly; fresh produce you can grow yourself and store in a root-cellar (or refrigerator); also, home raised pork products that have been preserved through curing/brining and smoking.

   Not only is this dish delicious, especially after a day of working outside during the fall or winter (being high in carbohydrates, protein, and fat, it fills you up and replenishes your energy), but it's also a great dish for using up prepping stocks. This meal is very straightforward to prepare, the worst part of this dish is having to smell how delicious it is for the nearly four hours it takes to cook, before you can eat it. If you're a fan of baked beans, you know one of the best parts is mopping the sauce up at the end with a piece of bread, so I've included an easy and delicious loaf that pairs very nicely with the beans.

Vegetable scraps and rosemary stems
used for the vegetable stock

Smoked Ham Hocks & Beans

900     grams          Navy Beans

290     grams          White Onion, Small Dice

28       grams          Garlic, Rough Chopped

225     grams          Celery, Small Dice

195     grams          Carrots, Small Dice

2         sprigs          Rosemary, Fine Chopped

3         whole          Bay Leaves

1.2      kilograms     Smoked Pork Hocks ¹

227     grams          Bacon Scrap, Medium Dice ²

250     milliliters     Maple Syrup

250     milliliters     Molasses

Everything in the pan, waiting on vegetable stock

2         liters            Vegetable Stock

1) Rinse navy beans & soak overnight

2) Preheat a conventional oven to 350

3) Drain beans & transfer to a large roasting pan

4) Clean & dice all vegetables, add to roasting pan

5) Place vegetable scrap in a medium sauce pot with just over 2 liters of water & let simmer for 30 minutes

6) Add the bay leaves & rosemary to roasting pan

7) Dice bacon scrap & add to roasting pan

8) Press pork hocks into beans so as little as possible is above the other ingredients

9) Add maple syrup & molasses to roasting pan

10) Strain off vegetable stock, measure out 2 liters (adjust quantity with water if needed), add to roasting pan

11) Add kosher or sea salt & fresh ground pepper to season

12) Place lid on roasting pan and bake for 2.5 hours

13) Remove hocks, pick & dice meat, return meat to pan

14) Remove lid from roasting pan and continue to bake until sauce starts to thicken, about 1-1.5 hours.

¹ These can be prepared from your own animal, or purchased already prepared from a meat shop.

² This is the trim from the ends of homemade bacon when being sliced and packaged, you can use regular sliced bacon if you haven't made your own.

The hock meat being added back to the beans
after picking and chopping

Beautifully moist and flavourful inside,
glazed and crunchy exterior

Caramelized Onion & Rosemary Bread

2   medium       White Onion, Thinly Sliced

3   sprigs          Rosemary, Finely Chopped

1   cup              Water, Warm

3   tablespoon    Sugar

1   teaspoon      Salt

1   tablespoon    Yeast, Dry Active

3   cup              All Purpose Flour

1                       Egg White

1   tablespoon    Milk, 2%

Caramelized onions and rosemary for the bread

1) Slice onions & place in a small sauce pot or frying pan with a small amount of vegetable oil

2) On a very low heat, while stirring regularly, cook onions until soft and caramelized

3) Remove onions from heat & allow to cool, mix in chopped rosemary

4) In a large mixing bowl, dissolve sugar & salt in warm water

5) Add yeast to bowl & allow to activate

6) Once activated, add 2 cups of flour & onion mixture, begin to mix

7) Turn dough out onto a floured surface and begin to knead in remaining flour

Caramelized onion and rosemary dough, ready for proofing

Loaves with the egg wash on, doing the second proof

8) When dough reaches a smooth & firm texture, form into a ball & transfer to a lightly oiled bowl

9) Cover the dough bowl with a towel or cling wrap, place in a warm area, allow to rise for 1 hour

10) While dough is proofing, whisk together egg white and milk

11) Turn dough out onto a clean dry surface, punch down, & portion into two equal loaves

12) Place loaves in lightly greased or parchment lined pans, brush with egg wash & sprinkle with kosher or sea salt & fresh ground black pepper

13) Return to proofing area for 30 minutes

14) Bake loaves for 30 minutes

15) Brush loaves with egg wash, sprinkle with salt and pepper, bake another 15 minutes

16) Remove loaves and allow to cool before cutting

   This is one of my favorite dishes to prepare, both due to simplicity and flavour. A fantastic meal on a chilly evening or an equally great lunch during a cold work day. Making this dish with ingredients that you've have a hand in producing or preparing adds another layer of pride, and sense of accomplishment, to the dish. I hope you have a chance to try this meal out, even if you don't use home raised products, it still makes a fantastic dish. Try the recipe out, let me know what you think. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, or what changes you've made based on your own tastes. I'd love to hear from you. As always; Be Prepared. Be Safe. Have Fun.

Loaves fresh from the oven, looking golden-delicious

Homegrown Harvest

   It's autumn which means it's harvest time for lots of plants and animals on the farm, I spent some time at my parents place this week helping out, so that's what this week's post will be about. I'll hopefully have a new post up next week on the custom still lid project.

A few of the delicious carrots that came from the garden

   One of the most important parts of prepping is building up food stores. You can simply go about this by purchasing all your stock from the supermarket, or you can get involved in the actual production of your food. Knowing how to grow, raise, hunt, and forage the ingredients for your meals is a far better insurance policy than buying large stocks of canned and dried goods. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with buying shelf-stable food for the long term, but if you can raise and process your own food you will be much better off.
   A prepper skill that I've mentioned before (actually wrote a post about it: Garden Variety Prepping) that was invaluable was being able to grow a garden. If you've read the article you know I grow a small backyard garden, this is the best I can do with the time and space I have to work with. My parents, on the other hand, having ample amount of space, are able to grow a beautiful large garden and maintain a very productive greenhouse. With the output of vegetables from these they are able to not just have fresh vegetables, but also process and preserve items and ingredients through canning, pickling, dehydration, and natural cold storage for long periods of time. Through these methods, they have available all year round, access to wholesome organic food that cost not much more than the time put in to making it. The time put in is long and hard, but in the end you have an investment in natural nutrition and have honed your skills in both growing and processing your own vegetables.

After scrapping and washing,
we're ready for gutting

   Autumn also brings livestock to harvest. Since I certainly don't have space to raise chickens and pigs in the city, my parents raise some animals for us on their land. If you've ever purchased animal protein from the supermarket you know how expensive even a small amount is - if you've ever been to a farmer's market you know the price is even higher for good quality meats - which is a good enough reason in it's self to raise your own. But aside from the price, when raising your own animals you know exactly what's going into your food. Another plus for raising livestock comes during the butchery process. If you're butchering it yourself (or paying someone to do it for you) you can choose exactly what cuts to get out of it. There's obviously more dirty work involved in raising your own animals, but that's the point where you will find the disconnection between people and their food. If you are going to eat something on a regular basis you should know how it made it's way to your plate.
    Having so much food - grown with the philosophy of "I'm going to eat this and I want it to be good for me" - ready for consumption or processing, that you have had some part (beyond handing a cashier your debit card) in producing is very rewarding. I'm not knocking buying your food at a grocery store, we all do it, what I'm advocating is knowing where your food comes from and how to produce it. This is one of the keys to prepping: food acquisition and stockpiling.

Some pickled green onions

   The knowledge you gain from doing any of these things will only make you stronger when the time comes that you may need to rely on them. As a species, in relation to our lives, we've settled down long ago. We went from hunter-gatherer to domestication, and started mass production, so long ago that most of us have no idea how to survive without a grocery store. To truly be prepared the skills to grow and prepare food need to be re-learned. You don't need to run out and buy a farm right now, but try to grow a small garden. Buy some jars and a few pounds of cucumbers, learn how to make pickles. Buy a pork belly, learn how to cure and smoke it for bacon. These are basic preservation techniques that have been around for thousands of years, that we still use today, that add to our preparedness. If it worked for our species to thrive and spread long before the industrial age, we should use them to prepare us for any troubles we encounter in the future.
   I hope you enjoyed reading this and understand the importance of learning these important skills. As always, until next time. Be Prepared.  Be Safe. Have Fun.

Some pork belly going into the cure for bacon

Still Lid for Soviet Canteen Part 1: Attempting to Cast a Lid (Learning Curve)

   So, to start with, I've been away for a while due to how busy my job has been, but recently we've slowed down so I have some time to work with. Though I haven't posted on the blog lately, I have been making small projects in my spare time, and have also been posting on other social media like instagram and twitter. Since the last time we spoke I've built a backyard mini foundry and recently built a mini tripod for my phone which has allowed me to start filming builds, I also started a project for my friend Josh based on my Canteen Cup Still.

   Now a bit of background on my current project: I'm working on a still conversion for my buddy who owns a Soviet VDV Paratrooper Mess Kit. The problem with this setup is no one has ever produce an after market lid for the canteen cup, so I have nothing to start with. That means I need to make a lid from scratch and modify that. I thought this would be a fun project to develop my aluminum casting skills and also have a long term project to work on (and generate content for the blog).

    Since I built the foundry a few months ago I have been collecting scrap aluminum and casting it into ingots. My house doesn't produce a ton of scrap aluminum, so it's taken a while to accumulate three and a half pounds of it. Now that I have a reasonable amount of metal to work with - I can't start with too little because some is lost every time you scrap and recast, which will happen frequently - I figured it was a good time to start working on casting the lid.

   While I was stocking up on metal I made measurements and plans for the piece I needed to create, I took these plans and produced some foamcore investments for the casting process, and did a ton of research on the subject of hobbyists aluminum casting. Reading or watching information on a subject and then trying to apply it, feeling it out through trial and error, is my favorite way to learn, and I'm going to be doing this for the entire project.

   I will have more in-depth information on the making of the foam investments and molding process for this project in the coming posts, but for now I wanted to introduce you to what my learning process was like. As with most makers experiences - as well as most times teaching yourself a new skill - the first attempt was not a success, but it was a good learning experience. The failed casting allowed me to make changes to my method and try again, knowing the next time would bring me closer to where I needed to be. My second attempt at the casting (which is the subject of the video below) was also less than perfect. I knew before pouring this one wouldn't work perfectly, it was more to test a few changes from the previous attempt and determine what my next steps would be. Though I only got a very rough and less than half complete cast, I made much better progress than my first try and believe I'll have a usable piece in two or three more castings. I've already taken what I've learned from this and made changes to my next investment process, and also planned what I may have to change in attempt number four.
   I hope this post and corresponding video give you a bit of insight into what I'm working on right now. This project is still fairly young, with lots more instruction and information to come. My next post will be less of a briefing on what I've been doing all summer, and more focused on the foam investment and molding procedure I use for casting. Future posts in this series will deal with casting and finishing the lid, the procedures for modifying the lid into the still, and a finished product summary and demonstration.

   The whole process featured in this video, from setup to teardown, took about two hours. During this time I shot about 45 minutes of footage, and ended up with just under fourteen minutes of video. There's a ton of down time involved; waiting for the foundry to heat up, waiting for metal to melt or cool, sawing your failures apart. I'm also working with a single low-end smartphone for recording, so I'm pretty impressed with how well this video depicts the process.
    Thanks for reading and watching, I hope you enjoyed this post and are interested in this series future posts. As always, until next time: Be Prepared. Be Safe. Have Fun.

   

Canteen Cup Still

My canteen, cup, lid, and canvas pouch

   Just recently I picked up a canteen and canteen cup, and even more recently started rereading the SAS Survival Handbook. In the book is a section on water collection and sterilization, and in this section the author explains how you can make sterilized water from pretty much any source if you can distill it. Basically, if you have a heat source, a container with lid and a hose, you can boil dirty (or salty) water and distill it into safe drinking water.
   There are quicker and more convenient ways to make safe drinking water, but a still gives you the ability to complete a couple of important steps at once with minimal effort. The most important part of safe drinking water is sterilization; the destruction or removal of viruses, bacteria, and parasites. This can be done chemically with chlorine or iodine, by boiling the water for at least five minutes, or by passing it through a 1 micron (or smaller) filter. A still uses the boiling method, which is the surest way of sterilization by destroying all microorganisms.
   The second step accomplished is filtering: removing the larger particles. As the water boils it evaporates into clean water vapour and the heavy stuff gets left behind, like dirt from muddy water or salt from sea water. The clean water vapour is then caught in a condenser coil and drips back into clean, clear, liquid water.
    Knowing the basics of how a still functions means making one out of the right materials won't be very difficult. With this knowledge - and the realization that I had a perfectly good still pot stored in my canteen pouch; my canteen cup and lid - I hashed out the basics in my head. Since the lid snaps onto the canteen cup fairly tight, I wasn't worried about having to make a gasket on the lid to prevent steam from escaping. What I needed to focus on was the steam port - where the steam would leave the boiler and enter the condenser. Because I wanted the still to be as lightweight and low-profile as possible, as well as easy to set up and tear down, I wanted a basic fitting that would thread through the lid and connect to a hose, and that would be easy to disconnect without any tools. I needed the hose long enough to reach from the still (sitting on a camp fire) to my canteen (away from the heat), but not too long as to make the system bulky. I wanted parts that would be easy to replace should they get worn or lost, yet durable enough that they should last quite a while. Now that I had a basic plan, it was time to go shopping.

Marking the position of the steam port

   After browsing the hardware store for some time I decided to go with a 1/8" hose x 1/4" male thread brass hose barb. I chose this based on the fact that 1/8" hose would be rather slim and lightweight, a 1/4" thread is very common, the fitting is compact, and the hole I would have to drill into the lid would be relatively small - meaning I could still use the lid as a pot lid if needed. The other item I needed was my condenser, I bought a coil of clear 1/8" polyethylene tubing. The rest of the hardware - nuts, washers, and gaskets - I knew I already had, or could easily make. Now that I had all the pieces I could start assembling the puzzle.

The hardware for the still lid

   The first piece of the puzzle was determining where I was going to drill the hole for the steam port. I have to admit that I messed this up a little, not a huge problem, just slightly irritating. Since I had the canteen's curve instead of its handle facing me, I put the hole in the side that will be on the left-hand side while the handle is facing me. Since I'm right handed this means I will either have to work across my body while the still is on the fire, or lose a small amount of hose length by crossing the canteen to the right side. This is why you measure twice, cut once. Once I had the position marked it was time to start drilling - using my drill press and a bit of WD-40 I bored through the canteen lid. I slightly undercut the hole for the fitting so that I could use my rotary tool to get a snug fit.

Plumber's tape helps with a tight seal and easy removal

   The steam port assembly that would be going through this hole was pretty straightforward: on the top side of would sit the gasket (which I cut from a bicycle tire inner tube, just slightly larger than my washer), not in direct contact with the boiling water (to slow down the deterioration) yet a firm enough seal to prevent the loss of steam; on top of that sits a flat washer, preventing the fitting from damaging the gasket and creating a stronger seal through tension over greater surface area; through these three layers goes the fitting, passing thread well through the back of the lid; everything is secured with a brass nut on the underside of the lid. Wrapping the fitting in thread seal tape before assembly helps keep a clean thread and tight seal, meaning removal is easy and wear is slowed.

Profile of the steam port assembly

   With everything fitted together, I can attach the tubing to the barb. To ensure a tight fit I needed to heat the tubing to stretch it over the barb, since I don't own a heat gun I used boiling water. Emerging the end into boiling water for a few minutes makes the tubing soft enough that you can force it over the barb with a small amount of force, and when the polyethylene cools it forms a very snug fit. With the tubing pushed to the base of the barb - since it won't be load-bearing, or under any amount of pressure - I won't have to worry about it coming loose. Now I needed to trim the tubing down to size. I measured how far I thought I would need to keep the canteen from melting next to a fire (which turned out to be three feet), and cut it to length. I have all kinds of tubing left over, so if I find this length is too short I can cut a longer condenser line.

    After everything was assembled I had to make sure it worked properly. I filled the canteen cup about 3/4 of the way with tap water - you don't want the water level near the steam port or you risk getting particulate in the condenser during boiling - and set it on the burner. Once the boil was rolling I pushed on the lid, ran the condenser to my canteen, and lowered the heat slightly. Almost instantly I could see the steam traveling through the condenser, after a couple of minutes there was enough in the line for a steady drip of distilled water. This test wasn't under field testing conditions, it was simply meant for me to discover any leaks or other problems (which there were none), and a field test will follow soon.

   As I said in the beginning, though this system works great, there are easier ways to get safe drinking water. This still is meant mainly for salt water and survival situations. You also need to keep in mind that this is very low-tech - it's not a water treatment plant - so you must be conscious of the fact that chemical pollution will not be removed, and to ensure the best performance you should do at least a basic filtering of dirty water going into the boiler. I am very happy with how this project turned out and I can't wait to try it in the field. I hope you enjoyed reading and gained new ideas and knowledge. As always, until next time: Be Prepared. Be Safe. Have Fun.

Heating the tubing to be fitted on the hose barb

Pushing the tubing onto the barb

The still fully assembled

The first water vapour to run through the still

My first drops of distilled water being collected in the canteen

First Aid Inventory

   While shopping for groceries with my wife today, we bought some stuff to replenish our first aid kits. So, seeing as I was going to have all the kits out - as well as having to make a new compact kit to throw in my wife's purse for day to day use - I thought I may as well inventory and re-organize everything. If you read my last post you will know how much I love lists, they played a large roll in this project.

Everything knolled and ready to be inventoried

   After pulling all the supplies from my first aid kits, I knolled everything out on my kitchen island to begin a full inventory. If you don't know what knolling is, it's a fantastic way of doing a quick inventory of things. Grouping similar items and arranging them neatly at 90º angles to each other, it gives you a very organized and complete image of what you have to work with. Having your gear knolled for a project like this is beneficial in not only making inventory quick and painless, but also that moving items to several different kits simultaneously is much easier.

   As I was taking inventory I was also taking note of what supplies I needed to buy, any time I came across something that was getting low, I would mark an asterisk beside it. I can now add these items to my grocery lists in the future for replenishment, and add my updated inventory to my master spreadsheet and, my Prepper app, for easy reference. It's easy to forget what your supply levels are in something like a first aid kit, but doing a regular inventory is a great way to keep it fresh in your mind, and allows you to see what needs to be replaced. It also shows you what items are more often used in each kit, allowing you to make par stock adjustments if needed.

This is halfway through two and a half pages of inventory

   I always have at least a basic first aid kit on me, with more advanced or specialized kits in different packs. My EDC kit (the one I carry at the bottom of my day pack) is a pretty standard base kit; antiseptic swabs, different size gauze pads, roll of gauze bandage, medical tape, adhesive bandages of various sizes, cotton swabs, latex gloves, tweezers, small medical scissors, nail clippers, super glue, and a medication pack (Gravol, Ibuprofen, Benadryl, etc.) I keep this kit in with my toiletries pack, so it's enhanced with the normal items you would find in there. This is kind of my template for building first aid kits - the one I carry daily is so basic because I'm never far from better first aid suppplies (home) or hospitals, so I don't need to rely on it as heavily. Using this starter template allows me to build more thorough kits, or much smaller ones.

All the kits are stocked and inventoried

   The kit I built my wife is specialized in that it's meant to treat toddlers and school kids on a daily basis. It's filed with a lot of large and medium sized adhesive bandages, small alcohol swabs, tweezers, nail clippers, a small amount of gauze (roll), and a small amount of tape. It's a great thing to have with active children who are always on the go, and prone to falling down. The kit has lots of antiseptic wipes and adhesive bandages, great for treating scraped knees on the playground. But also small amounts of gauze and tape, in case something more serious happens a bit farther from home. All of this is packed into a small container, unobtrusive enough to carry in a purse.
   My home first aid kit is kind of like the depot, where I draw supplies from for other kits, always being replenished with bulk supplies. Stocked with large amounts of your main items; adhesive bandages, gauze pads and rolls, medical tape, triangular bandages, antiseptics, gloves, and burn packs. Also regularly stocked in this kit are items like cold packs and mouth to mouth masks, as well as medications like Benadryl, anti-inflamitory tabs, Gravol, and  cold and sinus pills. Because there is always so much traffic through our house we have a large amount minor injury items, things to treat cuts, burns, and bangs.

My first aid kits, freshly stocked and organized.

   My "trauma" kit, as in the kit with the more specialized tools, is the MOLLE kit (Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment, pronounced "Molly"). Since the bags I carry with me have molle webbing, I used a molle pouch to pack all of the items that would be needed in specific situations. Not only do I keep minor injury supplies, a decent amount of light wound dressings, but also items that I would need for more serious problems. It's used to compliment the home kit while stored, but also easily carried to take when farther away from home and emergency care. This kit allows me to have a more robust home first aid kit, without the unnecessary clutter in our high traffic kit. As well, it allows me to take emergency supplies with me very easily, which is great if I plan on going camping or hunting.
    Aside from these main first aid kits, I also pack a small amount of first aid supplies in a toiletries kit I keep in my outdoors bag. Not very notable, but convenient for minor injuries while on trips without having to access the trauma pack. I should note that I also keep other bulkier supplies (bottles of alcohol and peroxide, polysporin, aloe vera, etc.), not in my first aid kit, but close by as frontline supplies.

The kits freshly inventoried and ready to go where they belong

   I hope this post illustrated the benefits of occasional first aid inventory, as well as one of the many uses of lists. This should also give you an idea of the benefits to building specialized kits, and how easy it all is to do. I will be purchasing a new molle pouch for my trauma pack in the near future, when I get it there will be a more in-depth look at that kit. As always, thanks for reading, and until next time. Be Prepared. Be Safe. Have Fun.

Being organized or: how I learned to stop worrying and love the list

   If you find yourself in an emergency situation everything is going to be in different states of chaos. Some situations less so than others, but it's an emergency, so there's still going to be some level of stress involved. Whether it be a simple nighttime power outage during a snow storm or a full scale evacuation due to a catastrophic event, there are items you will have to rely on so you need to know if you have them where they are. You don't want to be fumbling around in the dark for a flashlight you think is in that drawer, that may have working batteries in it. Or, more seriously, be looking for copies of important documents that you thought you packed in your "go bag", but may still be sitting on your computer desk in your abandoned home.
   It's for these "maybe" situations organization is invaluable. In an emergency you shouldn't have to question your preparedness, you depend on it, there will be enough "maybe's" thrown your way that you have no control over. When your safety is at hand you should be able to relieve some stress from the situation knowing you have what you need and you know where it is. In saying "organization is key" there are tons of ways people organize themselves, my favorite is the list. More specifically, lots of lists.
   lists are a big part of my life, being a professional cook I use them multiple times a day at work, and being a person who likes to be organized I use them all the time at home. That's the beauty of lists, you can use them for anything. From basic bullet point, to more in-depth lists referencing lists, you can organize pretty much anything. This is an important part of prepping because it gives you an easy to read, yet thorough, inventory of supplies. Since you're likely to have resources in different bags or areas of your home, you can see what's stocked and cross reference from different caches.
   Any time I switch supplies in my bags, which is multiple times a year, I pull everything out and re-catalog what's going back in. Not only does it help you keep track of what's in your pack and what's in reserve, it helps to keep the inventory fresh in your mind so you shouldn't have to check your list all of the time. Keeping mental lists works great for regular use bags, but for less often rotated caches like: food, water, medical supplies, ammunition, etc. You should keep well detailed lists.
   Important information to include isn't just the item and where it's stored, but also details such as: units of measurement (each, pound, liter, etc.), cost per unit, expiration date, current stock, par stock (how much you should have). All this information helps you see where your stuff is, how much you have, and how much you need. It also helps track the cost of supplies to have a better idea of what you've put in and how much you still need to spend.
   When it comes to list making it's all about personal choice of how detailed you feel like being and how much time you're willing to put in. A piece of scrap paper with bullet points works well when updating a pack. A more detailed spreadsheet, done in Excel or the likes, is very useful for large stores or all of your prepping work as whole. I'm a person who likes to be well organized and have detailed information ready at hand, so I lean more towards the spreadsheet.
   Just recently I downloaded a new app for my phone that makes the inventory and tracking of supplies very easy, Prepper by Duckbone Apps is a fantastic organizational tool. It gives you the ability to not only list your items, you can also create par stocks, track the amount of supplies you have, denote the unit size, price items, and organize each item into categories and areas of storage. It's a pretty well rounded app for people interested in prepping.
   Like I said in the beginning, organization is invaluable, and lists are a great way to get and stay organized. Even with minimal effort put in you will still hold an advantage in an emergency, when everything else is working against you. I hope this post has been helpful and put into perspective just how easy it is to get organized, hopefully you will start making lists when you're done reading. If you have any questions about how to organize your inventory, or any other questions at all, please feel free to drop a comment below. As always, thanks for reading, and until next time. Be Prepared. Be Safe. Have Fun.

Importance of Being Prepared

   This week is emergency preparedness week; a time when the Emergency Management Office, RCMP, Fire Departments, and every other emergency service tries to inform the general public on the importance of being prepared. It's a great time filled with useful information and the announcement of new initiatives - Nova Scotia just launched a new Arabic language brochure on the use of 911 and emergency preparedness. That's the good news for the week.
   The bad news is that, while we ramp up efforts to get people informed on being prepared, there are wild fires raging on the other side of the country forcing thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes. The forest fires have been burning for a few days, but in a matter of a few hours it went from sitting on the city limits to jumping a highway and river to set the city of Fort McMurray ablaze. Neighbourhoods had started to be evacuated early in the day, but by the end of it the entire city, over 80,000 people, were placed under mandatory evacuation.
   Unfortunately this isn't an isolated incident. British Columbia is currently fighting forest fires, and five years ago there were evacuations due to the Slave Lake fires - also in Alberta. Unfortunately, if you have a forest in your country and you get a bout of hot and dry weather, you're susceptible to wild fires.
   I wish I could avoid using Fort McMurray to illustrate my point to try and be more sensitive to their current situation, but if not there it could be any other part of the country. Even here in coastal Nova Scotia, this time of year in 2009, 1,000 people had to be evacuated in my area due to forest fires. I know people who were effected then, and are being effected now.
   This all leads in to the main point I want to get across: you need to be prepared. When a disaster strikes you won't always be able to stay with your main resources, you may have to evacuate. When you're placed under mandatory evacuation you have minutes, mere minutes, to grab what you can and get out. When you're not sure when you will be back, or if your home will still be there, that creates serious chaos. Trying to decide on what to bring and what to leave can eat up valuable time. That's why it's important to have a bug out bag ready to go, you know that you have all of the necessary items already packed. Including all forms of ID, deeds, and insurance information.
   However, having a bag packed will only get you so far, you also need a solid plan. With the fires in Fort McMurray everyone was evacuated in a very narrow window of time. Though emergency services have been doing a great job of directing people and maintaining a safe evacuation, it had still caused serious gridlock outbound from the city. Another side effect is that gas stations started running out of fuel. That's not a great situation for people on the tail end of the evacuation who may have empty tanks. This is why planning is the base of the prepping pyramid. If you have a plan that takes into account the strain on traffic and resources you will be much better off. Having stores of food and fuel ready or in your vehicle can save you a lot of hassle. Having a plan to get you out of danger and to safety before everyone else can save your life.
   Unfortunately we have too many examples of why we should be prepared for anything, but that's exactly why we do. It can happen any time, any place, and it can happen quick. Take the time to read up on sites like Emergency Management Office, or other prepping blogs. Watch videos, borrow or buy books on the subject. The more you learn the better off you'll be.
   I wish the best to all the people dealing with disasters at home and abroad. I hope this post makes everyone think about preparedness more seriously and has been some amount of help to someone. As always, until next time. Be Prepared. Be Safe. Have Fun.

Garden Variety Prepping

Joe going over the plot with a Roto-tiller

   A large portion of prepping is the accumulation and storage of food. Wrapped in to this is the production and processing of raw ingredients, aside from foraging, the most basic form of this is gardening and preserving. Since spring has sprung it's time to get the garden plot ready for the growing season.
   The last few years my family and I have kept a small backyard garden, this year will be different. Bigger. Better. Some like minded friends have gotten together and found a nice little area that we'll be working. After a few months of searching and viewing different properties we finally found one that met our criteria, all thanks to Joe at Dartmouth City Farms.
   The garden will be the subject of more in-depth posts over the following months but this post will be more about the planning and preparation. The garden we're working on is a 24 foot by 18 foot plot, larger than my normal garden of about six feet by twelve feet, but much smaller than my parents garden which takes up most of their huge back yard, this should be a fun project to tackle this summer.

Jessica and Joe smoothing out the surface after tilling

    Since there are several people involved in this project we will all be using the large garden for the plants we are all interested in growing, and still maintaining small gardens for "specialty" plants that each party would like to grow independently.
   Now that we have a bit of background on the project let's talk about what we've done so far to get the plot ready for the season. Before we even found a piece of land to work we decided that we wanted a garden with dimensions in the ballpark of 30'x20'. We weighed in pretty close with this plot. After considering plots that ranged from deer territory to pasture land an hour outside of the city, we did some soil tests on a yard a stone's throw from one of our houses and they came back with great results.

   Now that we had a location close to home, and not in deer country, we measured out a rough plot. This worked surprisingly well since our dimensions fell within the range of a garden that had previously sat there. So after everyone had inspected the site and had discussed the plan with Joe, we set a date to break ground.

   The plot had sat for a while since the last garden had been there so we went to work with shovels and rakes. After only a few hours of work we turned over a 26'x20' patch of earth. Save for a rock pile we knew existed in the middle of the garden, rocks were not an issue. Seeing the turned earth made me nervous the plot wouldn't be large enough for our plans, but we carried on.
  

 The next step was to run a Roto-tiller over the ground to loosen the dirt and breakup the root systems of the grass and few remaining weeds. I'd say the engine hadn't been run all winter (why would it?) since it took a bit for us to get it started. But once we got it going we made quick work of the tilling. This was my first experience using a gas-powered tiller, I really hope it's not my last. I fell in love with this piece of equipment. We tore through the plot in no time, and seeing the garden all tilled up made me a lot more at ease with the size of it.

All tilled and ready to tarp

   The final step we could take for the time being was to cover the top of the garden with tarps to "smother" the grass and whatnot. By both blocking the sun and warming the ground we should be able to kill the majority of the plant matter that's currently there while simultaneously composting it into our soil. While we wait for the end date of the frost we will accumulate the materials we need to incorporate into the garden. Seaweed, bonemeal, and fertalizer. In a week or so we will un-tarp the plot, even out the earth, spread our nutrients, then re-tarp the garden. After letting it sit for a bit we're going to mix the top layer of nutrients throughout the soil by giving it a second tilling, then all we have to do is wait for the frost to pass.

   This may sound like there is a lot of idle time, but there is not. While we wait for everything to "cook" we will be planning out what's going where. By drawing up a plot on grid paper, and playing the garden planning equivalent to Tetris (Which you will get to see at a later date), we will have an almost precise plan of where all of our plants will go. This, of course, is in addition to the gathering of nutrients, and any construction we may need to do for boxing or sheltering.

Took us three large tarps to cover the whole garden

   As you can see, if you've never done any gardening before, growing your own food isn't as easy as just tossing some seeds into the ground. Gardening in and of itself is what prepping is all about at heart. Careful planning, constant nurturing, hard work, and eventually reaping what you sow (quite literally and figuratively). As we progress through this project I will do more posts on each step of the process, so stay tuned. I hope everyone has enjoyed this project so far. As always: Be Prepared. Be Safe. Have Fun.

Prototype: Hatchet Blade Cover

Second prototype and final design

   So, in the introduction to this blog I had mentioned that I would be posting all kinds of information related to prepping. Since I've done some posts on what prepping is all about, and also some information on gear and supplies, I've decided to post some info on a project I'm working on. This post will be more in-depth and considerably longer than my previous posts. I will include pictures and some basic instruction on what I've done.
   So, a bit of a rundown: The project we're working on is a hatchet blade cover. In the past I carried a hatchet in my bush pack, however I switched to carrying a machete last summer and haven't used the hatchet in a while. Machetes are great versatile and lightweight tools, but the hatchet is just much better at some jobs. I planned on going for a hike to try and track down some fatwood and decided I'd break out the ol' hatchet. I gave it a really nice sharpening and then encountered a problem; I haven't packed the hatchet in a while and it never came with any decent kind of blade guard or sheath. So I decided I needed to make one so I wouldn't destroy the other gear in my pack.
   Normally a person would make a sheath out of leather. Since I'm not a leather worker - nor do I have scrap leather kicking around my house - I decided to use what I did have. I headed out to my shed and grabbed some scrap wood. Wondering how I was going to carve a narrow curved channel into some relatively narrow wood, I thought maybe my circular saw blade had roughly the same curvature, a quick side-by-side of my hatchet to the saw blade showed it to be pretty close.

Hard to show the channel cut, this is
as close as I could get.

   First I drilled two holes through either end of the board to secure it to my work bench, then set it with wood screws. Once secure to the bench I marked out roughly the length of my blade and the overall length I wanted. To get the channel where my blade would rest I made a series of lengthwise cuts, tapering at either end, in the center (not so much) of the board. This gave me a long shallow valley ranging from halfway through the board at the peaks on either end, to about three quarters of the way through at the deepest point. To smooth out the roughness on the inside of the guard I simply used either side of the channel as a blade stop and moved the blade of the circular saw side to side through the cut. After the blade rest area was all carved out, and cleaned up as well as I could with the saw, I cut off the excess board from either side bringing my guard closer to final length.

Body and hardware ready to be assembled.
A fresh coat of varnish to help protect
the wood in the field.

   Next I needed hardware to secure the hatchet in the guard. I recently salvaged some hex key bolts and threaded knobs that would help me test this prototype. I thought that having two knobs sticking out of the side would be kind of bulky and figured it would double my chances of having it catch on things in my pack, so I opted to use a threaded insert to double as a rest for the underside of the blade. With my hatchet placed in the guard I marked where I would need to drill to have the bolts hold the top and bottom of the axe head firmly in place. I then marked another hole to be drilled on the top of the guard to make a sliding channel to allow the blade to be inserted and removed. Since I was drilling through two thin sides I used wedges in the channel to prevent blowout and started with a smaller than need bit and gradually increased the size to avoid splitting the wood. After all the wholes were drilled I carved out the remaining wood in the sliding channel and smoothed everything out with medium grit sandpaper.

The other side of the final assembly.

All varnished and hardware installed.
Ready to go on the hatchet.

   After loosely assembling the hardware in the body I inserted the axe head. Using a hex key and the friction of the threaded insert in it's hole, I tightened the bottom to a snug (not tight) fit. Making sure the underside of the axe head was resting on the threaded insert, I slid the top bolt down its channel to rest on the top of the axe head and tightened it up. Making adjustments to the lower bolt to eliminate side to side play, then filed down the sides of the extrusion from the insert to be cut off. Using a rotary tool with a cutting disk made cutting and smoothing the end of the bolt quick and easy. I reassembled everything to make sure it wasn't a fluke that it had worked then took it all apart again for a coat of protective varnish. After letting it dry overnight I reassembled everything for a field test.

Much more bulky than a leather sheath
but not bad for what I had laying around.

   I was afraid that I would catch the knob or overhang on stuff in my pack, but it actually didn't snag nearly as bad as predicted. After carrying it for a while, the first time I took the hatchet out it hadn't loosened or shifted at all, in fact it hadn't even after removing and replacing it several times during the hike. I used the hatchet quite a few times during and never found it to be irritating to remove and replace the guard.

A nice snug fit. No up and down
or side to side play.

   Considering this was only the second prototype I made, and the first of this design, I think this is a pretty solid build. There are a couple of improvements I will make on the final build (whenever I get to that): Firstly I'd like to make the closing knob lower profile, possibly a more slender wooden knob with a nut set in the center. Since this was the best hardware I had at the time it worked out surprisingly well, but if it was less protruding it would be better. Secondly, the overall size of the guard could be cut down a bit. I spent time rounding the corners and edges with a wood rasp and sandpaper, but I think there could be a little more taken off the outside front face to make it more round and slimmer. The last major issue I have with this build is that, since I did this freehand with a circular saw, the channel isn't centered or evenly cut through the whole piece. When I get a table saw I will experiment with making a more centered channel that will taper in from the back edge to the depth of the valley in the channel. Overall, I'm very happy with how this piece of gear turned out. For only a couple of hours worth of work it's already passed the test on it's first field trial. You probably noticed there were no measurements or precise instructions included here, that's because I didn't make any. I did this entirely on the fly only as a test, so in the future when I get to build the final version I will do another post complete with all the build instructions.

Smooth insertion and removal.

   I hope you've found this post to be of value to your prepping. I'm sure the post on the finished piece will be much more useful with full instruction, but I built it without having even this much information so you could easily make it. Some people may just say "Why would I do this when I can go out and buy a sheath?" To which I will answer; do that if you want, but wouldn't it be handy to know how to make one out of scrap just in case? If you do decide to make one, drop a comment in the comment section and let me know how it goes. Have any ideas on how I could make this one better? Lemme know. Made a sheath or some other accessory for your hatchet or axe? Drop a comment down below. As always, I hope you all enjoyed the post, and until next time. Be Prepared. Be Safe. Have Fun.

Knives: What makes the cut?

   In my last post we talked about EDC and the basic components that are shared almost universally. This post will delve deeper into one of them: the knife. Being a tool of almost unlimited variation, we will have a look at some of the basics and their uses.
   I've found that with most preppers we are almost always tinkering with things. Building this, fixing that, dismantling the other thing. There's wood to be carved out or boxes to be opened. Many of us also spend time in the outdoors: fishing, hunting, camping, etc. Though there are specific tools for most of these jobs a trusty knife can easily be your go to for all of them and save you from carrying a tool box everywhere.
   However, before you just go out and buy a random knife thinking you can use it for everything, you need to know what your expectations for the tool are. Not all knives are good for all jobs. Due to my career and pastimes I own a lot of knives, but you won't see me carrying a 10" Henckel French knife with me when I go hunting. Sure it cuts things, but it's not built for the job.
   So the first question you have to ask yourself is "why am I carrying a knife, what will I use it for?" Opening boxes? Carving wood? Skinning animals? Self defense (not a legal reason to carry a knife in Canada, just so you know)? Once you know what the knife will be doing then you can start shopping around.
   I said shopping, I didn't say buy one yet. There are more things to consider. Blade and overall length are important. For most EDC purposes I find you won't need anything over four inches in blade length. Another consideration is weight. If you're going to be carrying a few items on you every day you're not going to want each of them to be too heavy, it adds up quicker than you think. The build quality of your potential knife is of great importance. A good quality blade steel means you won't have to devote as much time to maintaining your edge, and a good quality handle means your knife won't break from regular use.
   We're getting closer but there are still some things we must consider, and they are rolled in to deciding on a fixed blade or folding blade. First off is how heavy is your expected daily workload. If you will be cutting open boxes or slicing through softer material, a folding knife can handle that no problem. If you plan on using it to baton through wood or in some other heavy or forceful manner, a fixed blade is better suited. Not saying that the two can't be interchanged, because there are some very well suited knives for these jobs in both categories, but as a starting point a folding blade is better for light work and a fixed blade is better for heavier work. Next we should consider the profile or size of the knife. If you're carrying a knife in public it's a good idea to keep it out of sight, you will get some uneasy looks or possibly a visit from the police if people see it on you (it's not illegal to carry as long as you have a good reason for having it. Self defense is not a good reason.) Having a compact system that comfortably fits in your pocket is ideal. Having a blade that folds into the handle makes low profile carrying much easier.
   Now that you know what your knife will be doing and the qualities to look for to get it done you can start shopping for styles that suit you personally. Don't think you only need one knife either, as with most of prepping your system is always evolving. Some people carry a couple of knives to cover the whole range of situations they may encounter, and others may rotate knives in and out of their EDC. You just have to keep in mind what you need to do with the knife and match that to the specifications of the construction.
   I hope you've found this a helpful introduction to EDC knives, I will do more in-depth posts on specific styles and products in the future, this is just to get you thinking on the right track of what to be prepared with. If you have any questions or comments about EDC knives please feel free to post them in the comments. Thanks so much for reading, and as always. Be Prepared. Be Safe. Have Fun.

EDC: What's in your pocket?

   A term you will hear on a regular basis when around preppers is "EDC", which stands for "everyday carry". EDC, as the name suggests, is a collection of items that you have on you at all times. Generally these items are carried to make ones life easier when dealing with regularly occurring situations, or items that will be immediately useful in the event of an emergency.
   The most common items you will find shared among preppers are a knife of some sort, flashlight, keys to all important locks (house, car, firearms locker, etc.), cash, and communication device (generally a cellphone). Other items that are included are normally occupation and situation specific.
   I'll use myself as a case study for EDC. Since I commute mostly by city transit and I spend a large majority of my day and week away from my home, my EDC is a little bit more hefty than most. On my person my gear is pretty standard: wallet, narrow blade folding knife, keys, Zippo lighter, and cellphone. I also carry an additional Bic lighter in all my coats (you can never have too many ways to start a fire). Where my gear starts to get more in-depth is in my day pack.
   If you're like me and sport a backpack everywhere you go, I can't stress the importance of comfort. I've used numerous different packs over the years, and my current kits use three different bags (I'll talk about the other two in different posts). As I've evolved through my outdoors and prepping activities I've come to fully understand and appreciate the comfort factors of a pack. When you start carrying around a medium to heavy load for several hours a day, most days of the week, in a backpack that's not designed for comfort you will truly start to hate being prepared.
   My current EDC pack, the bag I take everywhere, is the SOG Ninja Daypack in coyote tan. With a large main pocket and multiple smaller pockets and compartments it's great for keeping all my gear organized. It also has padded straps with sternum strap and a padded back. The pockets are arranged so that even the heaviest loads are comfortably distributed through the shoulder straps.

Here's a quick rundown of what my EDC pack contains:

Light/Warmth/Fire

• Flashlights: I carry a minimum of two flashlights in my pack at all times.
• Matches: A container with waterproof matches and a striking strip is a must.
• Lighters: Like I said earlier, you can never have too many ways to start a fire. I usually have between three and four Bic lighters in my bag at all times.
• Hand/Foot Warmers: This item is a rotating seasonal item. I keep a set in my pack from late fall to early spring.
• Emergency Blanket: Sometimes called a "space blanket" or "survival blanket" is a sheet of Mylar which is a very lightweight and insulating sheet for conserving body heat in an emergency.
• Clothing: Rotating seasonal items such as heavy toques, gloves, rain coat, extra socks, etc. Layering clothing is important, having the appropriate layers packed is essential.
• Poncho: Having a backup poncho is good to have. If you already have a rain coat with you it can be used as a rain cover for your bag.

Tools

• Knives: A good quality folding knife is within short reach in my bag. I sometimes also carry a fixed blade, but that normally lives in my wilderness kit.
• Multi-tool: Keeping a multi-tool (Leatherman as most people know them) in your kit is invaluable. having pliers and screwdrivers without carrying a toolbox is great.
• Screwdrivers: I keep a really handy precision screwdriver set in my bag. The drivers are interchangeable, but the whole set is only the size of a thick pen.
• Crazy Glue: You'd be crazy not to have a few tubes of this with you. I can't even count the amount of things I've fixed with it.
• Duct Tape: Much like crazy glue, it's invaluable. It also makes a decent fire starter.
• Glasses Repair Kit: If you wear glasses this is a great, small item you can throw in your pack.
• Cordage: I keep a few feet of safety yellow cord in my bag. Who knows when you may need to tie something back together, or replace a broken shoelace.
• Sewing Kit: Tear the ass out of your pants? That's an embarrassing trip home if you can't patch them up.
• Sharpening Stone: I keep a fine stone in my kit for any emergency knife maintenance.

Health/Hygiene

• First Aid Kit: So important. I wont go in to detail about my kits here, but we will cover it in later posts.
• Med-Kit: I keep my medications separate from, but together with, my first aid kit. It makes inventorying and resupplying a lot easier.
• Toiletries Kit: Since I'm not at home much I keep a small toiletries kit in my bag with small amount of all the essentials.

Power/Technology

• Batteries: If you have something that runs off batteries, always carry a spare set.
• Portable Charger: I carry a very slim, lightweight, portable charger that can give my phone a full charge plus a little extra power left over.
• USB Cord & Charging Block: Not only can I charge my phone from a wall outlet, I can use the USB cord with the portable charger or to plug in to a computer.
• Memory Devices: Having a USB stick and a MicroSD card with SD card adapter is useful if you need to share files with people.
• Two-way Radio: A good set of two way radios is a great addition to your pack. It allows communication when cellphones don't work, and you can also monitor weather and emergency channels.

Miscellaneous

• Water Bottle: Always have some drinking water, it can save you a ton of hassle.
• Glasses: Breaking a pair of glasses when you're nowhere near a spare is incredibly inconvenient. I always keep a backup pair in my pack.
• Notepad/Pens: Something to write on, and with, is great when you need to take quick notes or the likes.
• Cards: A deck of playing cards is a fantastic morale booster when you're stuck somewhere for long periods of time. Not an essential item, but I find it very useful.

   This is a quick rundown of my everyday carry. If you're starting out with prepping please don't take this as scripture, it's only meant as an example of what we do and what you should consider carrying. This works for me, but you will have to figure out the best gear for yourself. It takes a lot of trial and error to develop a pack, and mine is always evolving, so this may be updated in the future. I hope you find this a usable reference material and a good insight into the beginnings or prepping.

   As always, thanks for reading, and until next time. Be Prepared. Be Safe. Have Fun.