Prepped Living Blog

At the beginning of the month, we put pine and fir needles in vinegar to soak as preparation for making our own cleaning solution. This reminded me one of our mottos: "Harvest what you have." We have a lot of pine and fir trees around (I love evergreens!) and we have used them for several projects. Here are some of the uses we have personally tried for pine tree products: 1) Pine needle infused vinegar for cleaning - Pine needles have anti-bacterial properties, and when combined with white vinegar can be used to create a cleaning solution for many household uses.  To make the vinegar cleaning infusion , simply cut up pine needles, place in a jar, cover with white vinegar, and infuse in a dark place for at least two weeks.  To use as a cleaning solution : Use a ratio of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. Add to a spray bottle and use for general cleaning. For greasy areas, you can use a stronger solution of 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water.  2) White pine tincture . - White ...

A couple of months ago, Apothecary Mary posted about butterfly pea flower tea. It looked delicious and its unusual blue hue was intriguing. A few months later, we ordered the Forgotten Home Apothecary . It includes a recipe for an anti-inflammatory tea that uses butterfly pea flowers. This prompted us to order some dried butterfly pea flowers to add to our tea repertoire. Inflammation is such a widespread health issue that it never hurts to have several options for combating it and the damage it causes.  Note: This blog post contains affiliate links for your convenience. As an affiliate we may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Our first exposure to butterfly pea flowers was with Empress Gin - a beautiful, purple gin with distinctive floral notes. During one of The Racketeer's (a local swanky cigar and whisky lounge) sushi night events, we were served a mixed drink that had Empress Gin in it. It had a refreshing and light floral note that was perfect for a...

In our area, many grocery stores offer fantastic deals on turkeys around Thanksgiving and Christmas. With the rising cost of groceries, this is often the most affordable meat we can find. Even though turkey is not our family's favorite meal, we really can't pass up the great prices that are offered. Thus, each year, we pick up some very affordable meat and put it in the freezer. This past fall, we ended up with two turkeys. We hadn't used up the two turkeys from the prior season, so it was past time for us to do something with them. One way we all enjoy turkey is in a pot pie, so I looked online to find a pot pie filling that could be canned. There were many recipes. Some called for ClearJel, some called for white wine, some called for specialty items. We ended up choosing a recipe that called for common items we typically have on hand. The recipe we used was from Farmhouse Harvest , though we found a similar recipe from SBcanning.com .  A friend was coming over to can with...

Each year we experience at least one power outage, usually due to a windstorm or snowstorm. During these outages we use several different options for lighting. With our recent power outage being a bit longer than normal, we thought it would be useful to give a brief description here of the pros and cons of some of our favorites with the hope that it will either 1) remind you to check your alternative lighting sources and make sure they are ready for use or 2) encourage you to prepare a backup lighting plan if you do not already have one. First, let us say that it is a good idea to have a mix of options- battery, solar, and low-tech. This enables you to have lighting if something goes wrong with one of your other options. Many will tell you that "two is one and one is none" or that "three is one and one is none." This is a simple reminder that having only one source (of light or anything else) can be catastrophic if that one source fails to work. Backups are essentia...

December was a crazy month. We had one adverse weather advisory followed by another - high winds and rain, flooding, high winds and rain, snowstorm, and high winds again. The windstorm one Tuesday night was quite strong - it took out a number of trees in our area, which then took out the power lines, blew transformers, and blocked roads. We were fortunate and were only without power for a day and a half. It took a while to get into town that Wednesday morning, but the road crews and the electric company crews were out bright and early working hard to open up roads and restore electricity.  It was a dark drive home Wednesday night with no lights along the freeway, but our oldest son had the oil lamps and candles lit at the house, offering a welcoming glow when we returned. Since our wood stove is not yet installed*, the house was a bit chilly. Husband had a plan, however, and with the help of a Mr. Heater indoor propane heater we picked up in town, we soon had the house nice and coz...

In a previous blog post we talked about the benefits of canning meat. While this is a great idea, we also love to can meals in a jar.  What is the difference? While canned meat can be eaten alone, it is usually intended to be an ingredient in a larger dish. Canned meals, on the other hand, have most or all of what you need for a complete meal. While you can add canned meals to rice or potatoes, for example, the meat, most of the vegetables, and the spices are already cooked together in the jar. One of many options for disaster preparedness Canned meals in a jar are the homestead version of  healthy   fast food. It may take time to prepare ahead, but you end up with a meal that is nearly ready to go - just heat and serve.  While you can do this with freezer meals as well, from a preparedness standpoint, it is always a good idea to store your items in many forms - frozen, canned, dehydrated, freeze-dried, etc. This gives you options for multiple scenarios.  For ex...