The American Preppers Network is conducting a Network-Wide Roll Call....

These Network-Wide Roll calls only happen a few times a year and serve a few purposes. They remind people that haven't been to the forum in awhile to come back and check us out and see what's new, plus they also serve as a membership drive. But it's much more than that. They help you, our members, to better network with each other. Members who haven't been back in awhile can reconnect with members that are still active. New members can network with more experienced members, and members who've been trying to start meetup groups and get-togethers have a better opportunity to connect with each other. But most of all, there is a huge brainstorm of tips, ideas and information that we all share with each other.

Please respond to this post and let us know what you've been doing to prepare lately. Share any tips, ideas or educational information that you might have for others. The information you share is especially helpful to new members who are checking in.

In addition to responding to this post, please also respond to your states group as well and check to see if there are any new meetup plans.

To respond to your states roll call, follow this link to the state directory:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewforum.php?f=36

Then click the "Check In Here" link for your state and respond to the most recent Roll Call.

It`s a Disaster....

Gotcha dint I!

Really it`s not that bad, just putting up a post for FedHealth, to promote their book "It`s a Disaster"

No matter where you live there is a chance some type of disaster or emergency can (or at some time will) occur. Whether it’s a flood, wildfire, hurricane, a chemical spill forcing an evacuation, or your child getting a bloody nose – stuff happens.

The question is … what are YOU gonna do about it?

"IT'S A DISASTER!..." helps families and businesses "be aware, be prepared, and have a plan" for most types of emergencies and disasters (including Terrorism). The 268-page paperback provides quick-reference instructional bullets in 2-color format. It is not written to alarm people, rather it suggests tips on what folks should think about and do before, during and after specific types of scenarios, as well as how to administer basic first aid.

There is a lot of information in our book … possibly more than some people may want to read, but it's a handy reference tool to keep on the shelf, in kits, desk drawers and vehicles. We believe if more people take responsibility and learn what to do ~ it could alleviate some problems, fear and stress on ourselves, our First Responders and nation.
Most books combining both disaster preparedness and first aid can run $30 - $50, but our $14.99 paperback is available here for only $14.00 U.S. (for 1 to 4 copies) .. or .. $7.00 (for 5 to 20 copies)! Need over 20, please call.

If you would like to order the book, there`s a link on the top right of my page that takes you directly to their site...

thanx,
Ed

Cooking with Cob, Part II.....cooking vessels

So you`ve built your oven and developed a bit of a homesite for your rag-tag group...

You`ve learned you CAN build with only your bare hands and maybe a camp shovel (if you’re lucky enough to have one…)

Now, how do you cook with this thing?

  Direct contact. Place your raw food directly on the floor of the oven. This will work best for bread or similar items. You will need to fashion a peel to load/unload the oven, so on to the next step.

  Get your axe….you did remember to grab it didn`t you? The tools and utensils you will need can all be made with just an axe, and refined a bit with a hatchet if you have one along...everything can be made by riving (splitting along the grain lines). Even the carving part can be done by a bit of judicious splitting.

  Planking. This is an old method of cooking, mainly used for fish or meat. Start with a piece of wood approximately 1” thick, and as long/wide as the food you will be cooking. Typically people use cedar, but many woods are good like alder, oak, maple, cherry or apple. You can make planks rather easily by splitting them down from logs, riving out the size you need. Give the planks a good soak in water for around an hour or so before use that will keep them from bursting into flames when you put them in the oven.

  Trencher. A carved wooden plate, the name coming from the Old French tranchier; "to cut". When you’re splitting out planks, save some of the more straight grained pieces to be carved out for trenchers. They work well for porridges and stews, or you could make them a bit small and make a basic pie using them for the serving dish. If you carve them deep enough you can fashion loaf pans for bread baking.        

You will also need utensils, so whoever in your group is handy at a bit of woodworking will be the one to take on this task and teach the others. First item is to make a peel. You`ve probably seen them in the pizza commercials or on the cooking shows, the long handled gadget that they reach into the oven to get the pizza out with.  Your probably won`t need to be quite as big right now, you`re working with a smaller oven.  You`ll also need a hook, something long enough to reach the back of the oven and pull out planks or trenchers.

By dividing up the tasks, you can make short work of all this, and build confidence in the group by delegating out work to those best suited. This seems like a lot, but your new “family” will need to stay busy. Too much free time and people start to worry about their situation. Keep them busy and productive, at the end of the day they`ll feel like a more cohesive unit, the ties they develop during this work will help to foster the strength to get them through the hard times.

You`ve built an oven, a place to feed the group. You`ve made tools and utensils, and things for people to eat off of. You`ve done this as a group, with hardly any tools.  An axe, maybe a hatchet and a shovel are all you need for this.

The heart of every home is always considered the kitchen….guess what?

You just gave your new “home” a heart…

Cooking with Cob...

So you`ve made the great escape, made it out of dodge with your BOB intact. You didn`t have enough time/money/whatever to develop a BOL, and you have a group of people along that you`ve collected along the way. Everybody has contributed something in the way of supplies (food mostly...). So, now they look to you as their “leader” to figure everything out.

They`re getting hungry, and not everybody will be willing to take their turn waiting on dinner to be cooked in the one little pot you managed to salvage along the way, so how to feed this mob? This is where cob comes in.  Lots of food can be cooked at one time, and rather quickly. No need for a large fire, this method is from ancient days and is still being practiced today.

So what is cob? Cob is an earth based building material, normally fashioned from mud, clay, straw, grass, rocks, or whatever else you have on hand. Think adobe, mud hut, just on a smaller scale. To build you oven requires only time and manpower, all the materials can be found in nature. Straw/grass can be cut & dried from any field or roadside.  Rocks…well everybody can find rocks, they`re everywhere. Mud/clay, this is the part you might have to hunt/dig for. Most regions of the US have natural clay deposits; you just have to know how to find them.

Once you find your clay, dig a lot of it and move it to your chosen building site. Start a “pit” to mix the clay and mud, add the straw/grass as a binder. Mixing works easiest when done by foot traffic, so pick a few people to stomp around in the goo. Send everybody that`s not mixing on a rock hunt, the more the merrier.  Find as many as possible, the bigger the better. If you can find a pile of discarded bricks even better!

Now you`ve got your rocks, you`ve got your clay/mud/straw mix (cob), now to get building. Start by stacking your most stable rocks in a ring, fill the inside with the smaller ones and dirt, and pack it down good. Once you get up to a workable height, make a level platform with your flattest rocks (or bricks if you have any). This will be your cooking surface, make it as nice a possible using your best materials. Build a ledge on one side; this will be the entry/exit for your oven. Now,  build up a dome shape using sand or something you can remove later without too much trouble, size it to hold a small fire and what you will be cooking. Cover this with paper, straw, old fabric, or what you have, just something to keep it from sticking to the next layer.

Now comes the cob. Cover your dome with a generous layer, several inches thick. Form into whatever final shape you desire, most of these I have seen are simple mounds, but here`s where the artist in your group can flourish. Let them have free reign to finish the final coat, adding whatever decoration they might fancy.  Allow this to dry for a few days, maybe up to a week. Then dig out the inner dome, smooth the inside faces of the oven while you’re at it. Let this dry for another day or so, and then build a series of small fires inside the oven to help speed up the curing process. While working through this stage, fashion a door for the oven, this will help speed the cooking process by controlling heat loss.

You can cook with the fire inside of the oven, or dig out the coals and let the residual heat do the job, this will allow for more food to be in the oven at one time. Remember, wood burns at over 400 degrees, so once you have your oven fired and warmed up; this will be the temperature range you will be working with. Plan ahead on how you will be cooking, as the oven will hold heat for a long time.

Once all this is said and done, you will have a very serviceable oven capable of cooking a wide variety of foods. You have also established a sense of order and permanence in your group; this will help to build the bonds of community and family, as they are your new “family”.

Here`s a link to one of my favorite ovens I have found on the web…

http://sourdough.com/building-cob-oven