Beans Beans the Magical Fruit...

Let me start off with "I LOVE GARDENBURGERS" lol. Maybe coz I was made in California with Philippine Parts but...I dig them and they are good with sprouts. Ironically, you can have both with your 'preps.' And if you haven't tried them don't knock them.

Almost everyone into preparedness has beans and hard wheat in their stores. Gardenburgers for the most part of made of beans and hard wheat that will sprout. It's up to you to learn to make your own bread - even if it's quickbread or instant bread bagged and oxygen packed I advise you to learn to make it. The recipe on bread is pretty straightforward just read carefully and go slowly and if you have doubts just watch a few videos on youtube.com.

I really like watching some preppers pages on youtube and was inspired by YankeePrepper to try to make some of my own gardenburgers. He calls his Martial law burgers but I call mine Bankster burgers. I must mention that this does call for a food processor - but if you do not have one then you can use a pastry cutter (see below) and 2 stainless steel bowls- you should have a pastry cutter anyways for making biscuits - but that's a whole different blog

You can feel free to use my recipes or search for a few and test them out (http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/gardenburger.html) . The whole point is to test them out now and find what ratios and combinations you like. My burgers have a bit of ground beef or fish in them to make the transition easier to basic food that is stored long term. People say you should store food that you like - and that is true to an EXTENT...moreover, you should learn to cook what you store into ways that you like - that is more realistic in this time of high prices. Unfortunately we cannot hang onto that comfortable arrogance to only eat what we like. If the Japanese disaster doesn't paint a picture for you - then I can't help you kids.














Bankster Burgers

"burger"

4c cooked beans (I use half black half kidney)
1 lb ground beef/chicken/turkey (gently cooked or re-hydrated)
2 pcs stale bread - or 1 c breadcrumbs
1 small onion
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 chopped (grated) carrots
1/2 c cilantro
1/2 c tomato sauce or salsa
herbs/seasonings to taste
1/4 tsp liquid smoke

in food processor pulse bread and veggies into beans and meat. Pulse LOOSE not fine - scrape sides and pulse gently - remove from processor. hand mix until it resembles ground beef

form into 8 patties
fry on med high on both sides - maybe 2 TBSP oil
serve normally as burgers

"FEMA FISH CAKE" haha

3 cups cooked garbanzos - or rehydrated
1/2 c sunflower seeds or pecans
2 cans tuna or 1 can salmon - drained
1 small onion
1 green onion
1 c bread crumbs or cracker meal
lemon pepper, basil, garlic powder and paprika make this one taste really good
wasabi powder optional.
but just season to your liking

follow same directions as bankster burger - but add fish last by hand.

form into 6 patties

frying these is tricky - i use a cast iron - heat it very hot then i spray Pam on the fish patties.
Same technique as making blackened fish. serve on bread with a little tartar and some romaine

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I suppose you could make these in the solar oven but I haven't tried the solar oven out yet. Just cook them long enough to heat them through the center and/or to toast the outside. You know when a "burger is done" just follow those rules and if you have doubt cut into the center and feel it, if it is hot inside it's ready. In a worse case scenario you could eat this as is. The other thing I use the bankster burgers for is:

• soft corn tortilla tacos topped with melty cheese and chopped cabbage,
• meatballs - form into meatballs and pan fry then serve on top of pasta and sauce
• meatloaf - mix in a cup of oatmeal and more herbs
• gyros - "roll them out into strips, cut and fry" then serve on flatbread with veggies
• fishsticks - roll logs in breadcrumbs or panko and pan fry
  

Just use your imagination a bit and you can figure out some substitutions. And while you are at it - work on some pork and beans recipes and some chili recipes...it won't kill you.

I will explain how to make a beancake in a later blog - but those call for azuki beans or mung beans which only some people stock.

Happy Cooking!

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ps: if you need guides to cooking beans just go to whatscookingamerica.net

here's equivalencies:

1/3 cup dry - 1 cup cooked
1/2 cup dry - 1 1/2 cup cooked
2/3 cup dry - 2 cups cooked
1 cup dry - 3 cups cooked
2 cups (1lb) dry - 6 cups cooked

an Award by definition...

An award by definition is:

1. To grant as merited or due: awarded prizes to the winners.

2. To give as legally due: awarded damages to the plaintiff.

well...at least according to freedictionary.com

I guess this is one of those pay it forward type blogger awards that people hand off to each other who like each others blogs.

I was handed mind by ScifiChick whom I met in the American Preppers Network Chat. I dig her blog because not only is it informative but she also lets you hitchhike on her journey.

Blogs are a 2 headed beast...I first started reading blogs about 10 years ago. As a person who has kept a journal since I was 11 it was almost like peeking into someones diary, back then people who blogged generally had something to say or at least documented their life in some way and it was like a tv series for your brain. And like anything that becomes fashionable and mainstream - blogging has become a bit bastardized. There are a LOT of people who now blog because it's no different than having a facebook, a twitter, a myspace, a whatever - it has put a LOT of pointless shit out there that isn't even worth reading - i mean C'MON do i really care if you got some makeup on sale, or that you are in line at the store, or you are hungry and don't know what to eat or blah blah blah. More and more it has become infested with pollution. I rarely go blog "shopping" anymore.

Why do i blog? Although I still keep a handwritten journal (unlined paper) thank you very much...blogging was a natural progression to document my cooking adventures and in my pre-prepping days I even used to write poetry. It was also an avenue for me to write down recipes for friends and family who were always asking for them. The last year and a half I've really slowed down on my social tirades and recipe posting but I am back at it again, at least once a week or if something great happens in the kitchen. But since I am learning more and more new things - I will start blogging again.

Well - back to the award. The award has two requirements: 1) disclose 7 things your readers might not know about you. 2) PASS this award onto 15 bloggers you think deserve the award.

Part 1) Disclosure
1) I don't sleep very long but when I do I'm out in a coma.
2) I took my first international flight by myself at 8 years old. Yup no lie
3) I only have 2 best friends - and that's enough for me.
4) I don't talk to exes in any way, shape or form. It's an exercise in futility.
5) I grind my teeth in my sleep.
6) I think people don't really need 8 glasses of water per day (see AU aboriginals)
7) I resent retarded people getting pregnant so easily.

Part 2) Hooking it up

Bear in mind these are in random order - and most of them probably don't even know I exist - which is okay for me because when you don't write for an audience you are generally sincere. This is in random order - and there are 2 or 3 more that i follow but this is what caught my eye.

1) My girl Alfie - not just for her art but just because she's awesome
2) My boy Jojo - even though he's like me and hasn't posted in the last couple years
3) That girl SciFiChick - coz "she's just sayin..."
4) Anthony - his blog is more on his photos, but our talks vary from horror flicks to hyperinflation and all the things in between
5) Korean Yummies - my bestie pointed me to this site! She makes it look easy yay
6) Ghostface Killa - just coz he's nuts...
7) the Homie Tariq - who else goes from AZ- S.America - AZ - relocate to Thailand
8) How to Butcher a Chicken - the title says it all
9) The Doctor who Knows What's Hot! - the doctor that loves to cook
10) Maggie - she's new to this prepping thing like me and I dig her perspective
11) Afroprepper - it's really a Vlog - but you KNOW it counts besides he's with me haha
12) Jason - one of my favorite artists
13) Survival blog - it was a kickoff point for me
14) Burnt Lumpia - just coz i like to see other Filipino Folks doin it in the kitchen!
15) Mine - well if you can't congratulate yourself who will. HAHA

Well that's it - that's the whole thing. We'll just see where it goes.

I got 'Yo Tinfoil Hat Right here Pal...

So I'm studying...and I get a text from Mr. Man asking me to make him a tin foil hat.

Lol Okay - no problem it will take like 10 minutes.
I send him the pic and he replies,"Awesome, thanks."



I think I already know where this is going for him - He's got a Vlog -www.youtube.com/afroprepper - I think he is just sick and tired of all the Pshaws, naysayers and Whatevers. Because basically we don't gain anything by telling people to store away a little food, check your ammo stores and have a first aid kit. We gain absolutely nothing. We aren't trying to "SCARE" anyone either - coz we aren't scared, coz we have almost everything we need in case of an emergency or whatever - and that includes having each other.

This weekend alone gas went up another 25 cents a gallon and almost everything in the store was 40-50 cents more. If people are just stocking up now - I feel bad for you. If you are just stocking up now and we warned you months ago - that's what you bastids get. I feel most sorry for the little childrens parents who don't even give a shit enough to store a months worth of eats in the house, much less medicine, first aid or even shoes in increasing sizes -- oh but you bougie hoes have the latest coach purse huh and your mac makeup that don't even help your ugly ass.

How about we naysay STUPIDITY.

People feel entitled to stuff - and I'm here to tell you, no one wants to give you shit, help you with shit nor do they GIVE a shit. This morning in my 7am class these 3 girls figured out they were dropped from class WEEKS ago due to absences and tardiness. I was laughing my ass off because they had been coming to class for weeks at 7am for no reason at all. Then they tried to fuss at the professor and accusingly asked him,"why didn't you tell us?" I looked at those bubbleheads and said,"that's not his job - it's his job to teach those of us who want to be here..." They STILL pressed on and said,"he should have told us..." and thing like that. I laughed even harder and said,"If you weren't courteous enough to show up, why should he show courtesy to your ass." and they Left. Hahahhaha. Gooood Shit. But yeah - what makes them entitled to that - squash that noise...because if I'm running interference you will get your feelings hurt.

Some of our friends have started preparations and some have not. Our policy still stands about SHTF situations; if you come to our door empty handed, don't come at all.




But yeah... this is his tin Foil hat, golf style. Coz if the aliens do come - haha - we can turn their planet into a driving range. Bastids.

Give Mama Some Sugar...Effin Chase Bank

So Um...the banksters (gangster bankers) are at it again. First of all I don't LIKE Chase - if any of you didn't know their initial wealth was gained through slavery - the buying, selling and using of slaves. So if that is the foundation of their seed money - what makes you think it isn't embedded in their corporate culture. But that's a whole OTHER blog.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/03/02/bloomberg1376-LHFC2S07SXKX01-1JMQNEU8R7QIQ7CVIVE9K9IC51.DTL

JP Morgan is taking delivery of almost 1 Million (yeah 1 MILLION) metric tons of sugar including raw sugar. For what? Last time I saw that was called cornering the market. I remember last year when that English Guy tried to take delivery of 7% of the world cocoa (cacao) market - they popped his ass. and I think that was only a quarter million tons. And just like the Jp Morgan dorks - his little plot leaked also. I think his name is Anthony...um Anthony Ward...but unlike Anthony Ward - Chase is gonna get away with this cornering the market shit.

Now I know a lot of you will say - oh so what we can live without sugar. Well sure we can. But primarily I use it in my baking of cakes and cookies, and to feed the yeast for my bread and for preservative (for pickling, jams jellies and marmalade,). Also know that sugar is used to rehydrate in combination with salt and baking soda to create electrolytes. Sugar is used in the processing of medicines both pill and syrup. Also, it's just nice to have a bit of sugar in your coffee or lemonade sometimes - it makes life a bit better. But no one in this house is addicted to sugar.

This country and many other countries are VERY addicted to sugar. I can't tell you how many people at work and school and in the general public LOSE THEIR EFFIN MINDS if they can't have their soda/gatorade/starbucks. It's in a lot of the buns you eat at fast food joints, and it's in all the soft drinks, it's even in some of the meat you eat and you don't even know it. To give you an idea of consumption in Asia a regular soda is 6 oz - that's a childrens size drink here, and a large is probably about a 12 oz. here the small is now 16 oz and the large is about 1 liter. People drink these throughout the day and are accustomed to drinking processed drinks on that level. If they go through the combination of sugar and caffeine withdrawal it could be bad news for the rest of us who have our heads on right.

We are very spoiled with the many decades of sugar at a low price. I have seen harvests of sugar cane - it is dangerous (machete and machining) and scary (field snakes and sugar cane rats) and it is also back breaking work that is hard on your hands. My parents first house was actually in Spreckels, California. They had this little clapboard farmhouse looking things and for many years I could not stand the smell of sugar and I attributed it to the processing of beets for sugar. But that is the easy way to create sugar. I saw a place in OHIO that still makes beet sugar on my last trip to Detroit and Chicago. I have always known that sugar was not easy to make, but even I took for granted it's low price and availability -- I could bake whatever I wanted and send out cookies, candies, cakes, cupcakes, chocolates whenever I felt like it. But that is about to change.

I don't want to go on about the things this will impact - but I can tell you it will impact a lot of things you take for granted that come at a cheap price. I'm not writing this to make anyone panic and buy up some sugar - I'm writing this so that we can all face the fact that the powers that be are trying to SCREW us out of every last dime and jack up the market. Having said that - go out and buy yourself some as soon as possible. It does not really expire if you put it away properly - and get all forms of sugar - white sugar, superfine sugar, powdered sugar, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, raw sugar, raw cane sugar (golden), muscovado, zap sugar, crystallized sugar for cupcakes...just put it away and call it a day - it's not like it's going to hurt you to have it...if you don't use it this year then you just use it over the next couple years and your grocery bags won't be as heavy.

I tell you this - shit could be hitting the fan - but if I'm pulling some cookies out the oven it is a little spot of happiness in someones day. Like the old Momma's say - it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Variety In your Everyday Eats...part 1

Try to get yourself a decent Japanese knife - this one retails for about 60 bucks but i found the same exact one at Marshalls for like 12.99. It's nice to have a light knife for chopping a lot of light stuff like herbs and vegetables.

Variety is pretty normal in this house - we will flip from American Style Stews and Casseroles, to Filipino Food, to Soul Food, to Stir Fry, to Korean Food and almost always Mexican Food and occasionally Italian Food. I'm not really that particular when it comes to food, so if anyone in the house has a request I usually just roll with it.

Since we started prepping I made sure that we included Asian spices and sauces in our stores. Reason#1) We like it Reason #2) Long term storage always includes rice, flour and cornstarch - so there will always be a component for rice dishes, noodles and soups -also, a big part of our storage is dried vegetables and mung beans so after reconstitution - stir frying will prevent overcooking and will impart more nutrition.

Having said that if you would like to have more Asian inspired dishes in your cooking make sure to include - Oyster Sauce (5 yr shelf life - as seen by my mothers restaurant, the label will say 3), Hoisin Sauce, SriRaCha hot sauce, Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Rice Wine Vinegar, Curry Powder (vac seal in mini pouches to preserve quality), Coconut Milk, optional would be Korean Kochu Jang chili paste, sesame oil (also vac seal these in 16 oz packets), fermented soy sauce, chinese 5 spice, galangga powder, in my canned stores I also include straw mushrooms,baby corn, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots and some other stuff i have that you probably won't need lol.

Below are some samples of dishes that you can probably concoct from dehydrated food with the exception of the shrimp - but asian stores do have the dehydrated shrimp - and they stink to high heaven but they impart a great taste.




green bean shrimp with hoisin sauce



young mustard greens with ground pork and ginger



curried chicken with long beans and kabotcha squash (yams can be substituted)



not asian but we love it - Paella...with sausage and shrimp



Okra with chicken breast and water chestnuts



and from my previous blog - the chinese hand cut noodles - dry or wet.

If anyone wants any recipes please let me know - asian cooking looks tougher than it is...
it is really just about prepping the veggies and the timing of putting them in.

Home Made Knife Cut Noodles...Chinese Style

Here is an easy recipe my bestie linked me to.

This is a great recipe for everyday - on warmer days I stirfry them with just about anything in the house but I prefer beef and baby bokchoy with ginger. On colder days I make a basic wonton soup broth and add the noodles and whatever is available in the fridge.



Ingredients:

3 cups of flour – all purpose
1 cup of rice flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1- 2 cups of water



Heat up a large pot of water, add a few pinches of salt. Clean off your countertop, pour a bit of oil on top and then mix the dry ingredients and form a volcano structure. Slowly pour about 1/4 cup of water and draw in the flour mix into the water to mix. Repeat till the pasta dough is moist but not sticky. ( This is the experimental part). Knead for about 10 mins and roll into short log shape. Let rest for 10-15 mins.

Sharpen your knife and slice either lenghwise along the dough log or vertically to give long strips of pasta and allow the pasta to fall into your boiling pot of water. If the dough sticks to the knife, sharpen it more and /or put the pasta into the freezer for a few mins. It may also be too wet so you may need to knead in some more flour into the dough.

Noodles cook in about 5-10 mins. Drain and rinse in cold water.

You can add the noodles to a bowl of hot chicken broth with napa cabbage, bok choy, some oyster mushrooms, a few slices of Chinese BBQ cha xiu pork and thinly sliced green onions. Season with soy sauce, sesame oil and hot chili sauce. Enjoy!

bleh - I'm kind of nice.

A friend of a friend is having a birthday...




She just asked that I make something pretty and not too big and she would pay for it - yeah right - it's not that serious yet. Lol when gas is 5 bucks I may just charge for materials, depends if i like you or not - so she said her friend likes strawberries and she likes chocolate so ta da - i pulled out a cast iron bundt pan - modified a yellow cake recipe with chocolate and made a simple ganache - well and i filled the cake with the ganache too.

Just in case anyone didn't know ganache is basically truffle filling.

Here is the recipe

Filling/Topping
Chocolate Ganache

1 pint heavy cream
1/2 stick butter
1 handful of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 bags chocolate chips (about 18 oz)

put chocolate, vanilla, butter in a stainless steel bowl on a dry towel. set aside
scald milk - so that it's steaming - if you get thick heavy cream you can boil it.

Pour the milk onto the chocolate bowl and stir with a wood spoon or heat proof spatula.
Stir until smooth - it will look broken just work it. If it is too loose just add handfuls of chocolate chips at a time until it is the consistency of melted ice cream.

Cake:

7 eggs
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 1/2 c flour
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp butter melted.

Grease 1 8 inch round pan or 1 bundt pan - i also flour mine for this recipe.

Mix eggs and sugar on medium with a whisk until they are tall and fluffy. While those are mixing sift the cocoa powder and flour together - set aside. Melt butter. When eggs and sugar have about doubled and look semi solid turn off mixer. Fold in butter and vanilla. GENTLY Fold in flour and cocoa powder. Pour into pans - Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes ut crumbly...






That's it - that's all I have to say - school is crazy right now - I'm falling behind on my laundry and dehydrating - but I've got A's and I made this cake. I've also had this nagging nausea for like 5 days - i dunno! I try to keep it balanced - I do something nice and i do something MEAN - haha! Of course one is more fun than the other

Have a great weekend everybody.