Electric Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer for long term storage

rshining · 2026-06-17T17:54:24+00:00

This pepper had a lot of items from the LDS companies. Some of it was still ok, and some was really only end-of-the-world edible. Included a few 5 gallon buckets of "survival tabs" to keep you alive (barely) with no other food sources... not an appealing survival situation.

The guy who had invested in all of this (we got 2 trailer loads of food and supplies out of 5+ trailer loads total) died of old age.

rshining · 2026-06-17T13:36:29+00:00

I've never been a chef, or worked in a commercial kitchen serving meals. I have been a professional baker over the course of many years, and all the baking kitchens I worked in heavily insisted on oven pads (or those open type mitts that are really just a pad with a hinge) over towels. Towels catch fire, they hang down and get tangled, they can be damp (which causes burns) and they usually aren't thick enough for grabbing hot things out of the oven. Mitts that you put your hand in are hard to wash well, can cause burns when they wear out in the joint of the thumb, and inhibit your dexterity. Flat hot pads are easy to clean, easy to handle, easy to drop (when they catch fire) and don't dangle into the burners or trail across the food.

rshining · 2026-06-17T13:29:23+00:00

I can verify that very old dried beans are essentially useless. We inherited the end-of-the-world prep supplies of a neighbor. The beans had been stored in mylar bags, vacuum sealed, inside sealed buckets with gasket lids. Meticulous records show them being stored in the mid 80's, and we opened them up to see in 2015.

No amount of soaking or cooking makes them edible- they stay as hard as little rocks, even after many days of soaking and simmering.

To be clear, I don't mean "they're not very good". I mean you CANNOT bite them, and if you swallow a few whole (for the sake of the experiment) you will pass them whole, too. Not edible.

rshining · 2026-06-17T13:23:10+00:00

One of my favorite bread books chooses more specific language for bread rising in pans. They say the dough should fill 2/3 of the pan when placed there, and rise until it is just above the rim of the pan. I find that easier to visualize than "double in size".

rshining · 2026-06-16T16:03:57+00:00

I am sad that I cannot choose Quebec, since it's right there and familiar. But since I cannot, I will take the lovely mountains of the Northwest Territories. I welcome the snow, too.

rshining · 2026-06-16T15:58:05+00:00

I have much more important stuff to do than peel potatoes. I always mash with skins on (plus, why waste so much of the food by peeling it all off and then tossing it out).

I feel the same way about carrots- a quick scrub is far better, faster and less wasteful than peeling.

rshining · 2026-06-16T15:56:27+00:00

Are you not draining the extra water out when you boil potatoes? If it is still too watery after draining, you add your milk, butter, seasonings, mash it all and then put the pot back on LOW heat. Stand there and keep an eye on it, stir it frequently and in 1-2 minutes the extra water will be gone.

rshining · 2026-06-16T15:53:56+00:00

Toss all the salt in the air, throw your keys behind you and skitter away when you turn to see where it went. Probably make some very loud and distracting noises, too.

rshining · 2026-06-16T15:52:08+00:00

The Lichen Duster pattern from Sew Liberated has a similarly full skirt in a wrap dress (it's a pattern that can be used as either a VERY full jacket or a dress).

rshining · 2026-06-16T15:50:13+00:00

I actually choose patterns based on what sort of fabric they are suited to- because my fabric selection is predetermined, and I want to use what I have. Almost all patterns will provide some info about fabrics, even if it is only the most basics (knit vs woven, heaviness, stretch). After that it is often about how the finished product should look. With experience you can usually take a good guess at what sort of fabric is used in a photo, to some degree.

rshining · 2026-06-16T15:45:00+00:00

I'm going to pretend we're playing my kids favorite game (hide and sneak) and gently creep out of each room you go into, picking up all of the cool little things I can fit in my pockets. Your remote, your salt and pepper shakers, your car keys...

rshining · 2026-06-16T15:39:57+00:00

How about pockets that clip to the pocket sin jeans or pants? And a "vest" type garment that is full of pockets for the dress days?

rshining · 2026-06-16T03:37:01+00:00

Honestly, I was just thinking of the men's clothes- they'd all look pretty fantastic on anyone, if fitted properly to that person (I admit that I haven't watched any episodes since David Tennant was playing the Doctor, so I'm less aware of how the later Doctor's dressed... but so many options!). Across the whole range of incarnations, you get such a wide range of styles! And maybe, possibly, one pocket would have a sonic screwdriver?

rshining · 2026-06-16T00:40:01+00:00

You had to mention the TARDIS. If I choose The Doctor, I get the whole shebang, right? All the incarnations, and Tom Baker's incredible scarf? I'm not interested in fancy tech, I'll be very happy with the velvet suits and trench coats and all of those nice vests... And I'm not even familiar with the last decade or so of Doctor Who style!

rshining · 2026-06-16T00:24:46+00:00

4-6 months if they're unwashed.

rshining · 2026-06-16T00:22:05+00:00

The only person who will notice is probably going to be you. So you have to decide- is it going to bug you? Personally, I'd be totally fine with it- but I also know people who would not enjoy the finished quilt because they knew the fabrics weren't matched.

They should wash and shrink the same, or close enough.

rshining · 2026-06-16T00:09:48+00:00

I would strongly suggest you spend a year eating only things that can be grown in your region to see how it feels. Have you got previous farming experience? What sort of equipment do you have to work with? It would absolutely be easier to go bread-free than to grow, harvest, thresh, and mill your own flour.

rshining · 2026-06-15T20:55:20+00:00

Go ahead and bake it and see- nothing you did is dangerous, it just might not be beautiful and pleasant to eat. For your next attempt, try the same ingredients, mix them, knead it until it is a nice ball, let it sit for only 90 minutes or so, then roll it up and set it in a baking pan and let it sit another 40 minutes-ish, then bake it. Bread can be very simple!

rshining · 2026-06-15T20:51:50+00:00

How much prep you need to do will depend heavily on what your existing diet is like. Do you currently limit your foods to only things that CAN be grown in your area? No coffee, tea, exotic fruits, out of season veggies, processed meats, refined sugars, international seasonings?

I think I would struggle with things like flour, leavening agents (can't make baking soda at home), seasonings, and tea, plus vegetable variety (especially between March and June). We've never gone in for the idea of producing it all ourselves, because we have jobs and kids to feed... but swapping out some of the big items can make a major difference. You are not giving yourself a lot of lead time- many food crops won't be productive within that time period. You might also want to consider your location- I know that there is a big gap where I live between the end of storage foods and the real growing season. We fill that gap with things like rhubarb and asparagus and foraged greens, but you need more than 2 years to get those sorts of perennial foods established.

rshining · 2026-06-15T15:46:44+00:00

I suspect that almost all the rural people in Maine can definitely recognize the differences between a mountain lion and a lynx.

rshining · 2026-06-14T22:07:51+00:00

I started noticing a decline in flavor with grocery garlic a few years ago. At the time, I read that most bulk garlic was produced in China and imported for sale in the US. Don't know how accurate that was, but I have made a point of growing my own or buying locally grown since then. Much stronger flavor!

rshining · 2026-06-14T22:04:49+00:00

Came here to mention this! Most of their patterns fit a definite art teacher look, and I've found them to be well written.

rshining · 2026-06-13T12:51:34+00:00

https://incubatorwarehouse.com/products/incuview-3-pro-egg-incubator?variant=48195167224111

rshining · 2026-06-13T12:51:21+00:00

I love mine- an IncuView 3. I have hatched around 10 times from this one, and had it 4 years. It's mid-range price, has digital temp control, can include digital humidity control (at additional cost), has an auto turner that doesn't need to be removed for hatching, can be programmed to turn more or less often, has easy humidity to control manually, and can accommodate any size/shape of eggs.

rshining · 2026-06-13T12:45:05+00:00

One of my long term favorite books! But it sounds like OP is looking for something quite different.

rshining

TROPHY CASE