Violence is Not ALWAYS the Answer

Prepper Precepts #11 Violence is Not ALWAYS the Answer

 

27 Prepper Precepts #11
Buy at Amazon

I hear from many sheep that violence is not an answer, and I partially agree.  My prepper precept for today is that violence is not ALWAYS the answer.

I won’t kill over “stuff” because I believe that material items like a TV is not worth a human life.

However, if a person tries to steal property that impacts on my life safety – food, weapons, etc – then I feel that I am justified in using force to protect what protects me.  If someone is trying to kill me or my innocent loved ones, then it I feel I have a moral imperative to stop them.

Rules of Civility: The 110 Precepts that Guided Our First President in War and Peace

These precepts are my creed, and having prepper precepts guides me when I face tough choices.  A wise man once told me that when facing a moral problem, the right choice is usually the action you don’t want to take.

I am not a pollyanna person that is wishy washy or blindly follows rules, heck I have a little rebellious streak and love to know the WHY of rules, but I do respect and understand the need for law and know how vital it is for a society to have a moral code.

By knowing what I believe in you can know how I will act. This is very important in times of stress.  If you don’t want to read these precepts one by one, the completed list can be found here: Completed 27 Prepper Precepts.

How to Make Sumac Lemonade: A Survival Source of Vitamin C

How to Make Sumac Lemonade: A Survival Source of Vitamin C

 

Recipe Sumac
Buy at Amazon

Today we are going to take staghorn sumac and make a refreshing drink often called “sumac-aide” Thats hard to say so I just call it Sumac Lemonaide.

Sumacs grow throughout the world with Staghorn Sumac (Rhus Hirta- Rhus Glabra) is the most common.

While we don’t use it as a spice here in North America, sumac “stags” are used as a traditional spice in many cultures in the middle east. If you dry and grind staghorn sumac you will find it has a tangy flavor that is often used with grilled meats and fish.

I imagine you could proabably even use this as a wine base, if it works for dandelions, I bet it would be awesome with sumac.

While one should eat wild food without first consulting a pictorial guide and/or an expert, it is very easy to distinguish staghorn sumac from poison sumac. The color of the leaves is the biggest distinguishing characteristic.

Poison sumac has large white berries and only grows in wet areas – it is pretty rare.

Staghorn sumac has small red berries and is found all along country (and not so country) roads.

Besides being a very cheap drink that tastes a lot like pink lemonade at a FRACTION of the cost it has some health benefits. It is a good source of Vitamin C.  So preppers can use it to prevent scurvy. It also has Malic acid, calcium malate, Dihydrofisetin, Fisetin, Iodine, Gallic Acid, Tannic acid, Selenium, and Tartaric acid.

It has long been used as a folk medicine and has been the subject of research in modern medicine.

As far as a recipe – Its pretty much all to taste and pretty simple.

How to Make Sumac Lemonade

Ingredients:

  1. Sumac Berries
  2. Water
  3. Sugar (to taste)

Preparation

  1. Don’t pick the Sumac cones after rain since the flavor comes from the sap on the outside of the berries.
  2. Remove as much leaves and twigs as possible. The more stems the more tannic acid you will get.
  3. Place the Sumac berries in a container filled with fresh cold water. You’d want about 1 cup of water for each cone.Warm water will make your drink bitter.
  4. Crush the berries with your hands.Let rest for about 30-60 minutes depending on how strong of a flavor you want.
  5. Strain using a cheesecloth
  6. Sweeten to your liking. Serve cold with ice.  Personally while I have to have sugar in my tea I don’t feel that sumac-aide needs sweeteners.

I like Sumac Lemonade, I think it tastes good.  Additionally, it is easy to make. During a disaster, it is a good source of vitamin C to prevent scurvy and other diseases.

Violence Can Be the Answer

Prepper Precepts #10 Violence Can Be the Answer

 

27 Prepper Precepts #10
Buy at Amazon

Violence can be the answer to a problem, not always, but sometimes it is appropriate.  You don’t need my prepper precept to tell you that if someone is raping your wife, asking them to please stop is not as effective as a .45 caliber bullet traveling at his face at 1041 feet per second.

If you are unwilling or unable to fight for your beliefs and your liberty, you don’t have “rights” you have polite requests.

I am not a violent man, and I sure do not like to get physical with people in a violent manner.  However, there is only so far I am willing to go before I stand up and say “stop” and without the ability and willingness to commit violence then saying stop is worthless as it is just an act of begging rather than an ultimatum.

If you resort to violence and it did not solve the problem, you did not use enough of it.

Rules of Civility: The 110 Precepts that Guided Our First President in War and Peace

These precepts are my creed, and having prepper precepts guides me when I face tough choices.  A wise man once told me that when facing a moral problem, the right choice is usually the action you don’t want to take.

I am not a pollyanna person that is wishy washy or blindly follows rules, heck I have a little rebellious streak and love to know the WHY of rules, but I do respect and understand the need for law and know how vital it is for a society to have a moral code.

By knowing what I believe in you can know how I will act. This is very important in times of stress.  If you don’t want to read these precepts one by one, the completed list can be found here: Completed 27 Prepper Precepts.

How to Make Modern Pemmican Using Peanut Butter Instead of Grease

52 Unique Techniques for Stocking Food for Prepper
Buy at Amazon

I grew on a state park as a son of a park ranger and was encouraged (maybe that’s too strong a word –tolerated) to explore Native American crafts and wilderness survival skills. I had always wanted to make pemmican, but since I lived on a state park, I could not hunt so I never had access to enough meat and fats to make it. (Mom wouldn’t let me experiment with the family’s groceries unless I was cooking supper…. LOL)

The urge to make pemmican lay dormant for several decades as I went in the service, and later spent all my energy learning about ex-wives and the legal process. Now that I am settled and have a wife that understands me enough to let my creative juices float me in strange directions I decided to finally make some pemmican.

Basically pemmican is mixture of dried and pounded meat and rendered fat. Since meat spoils rapidly needs to be preserved, but because of the differences in makeup meat and fats have to be preserved using different methods.

In pemmican, dried meat and rendered fat is preserved separately.  It is then mixed back together to make a calorie dense food that has a long shelf life. Traditionally we hear about pemmican being made with dried berries also, but that did not make up the bulk of pemmican creation until the Europeans began buying it that way.

Here’s how to make traditional pemmican

  • Separate the meat from the fat
  • Dry the meat into jerky
  • Grind the meat. Use a commercial grinder, or pulverize, I threw mine into a blender.
  • Render the fat.
  • Combine meat and fat, in a ratio of 2 parts meat to 1 part fat.
  • Pack in airtight containers

If you want to add dried fruit you can do that also.

Modern Pemmican is more palatable

For a more modern (and easier to convince your wife to try) you can substitute peanut butter for the fat.

I dried a bag of freeze dried assorted fruits and added it with the peanut butter and meat. My wife ate some and would do so again. I doubt she would if she saw me dumping in a jar of rendered fat though….

Just one caveat, this stores well, and tastes pretty good, but modern pemmican is very calorie dense so its probably best suited as a meal replacement and not a neat snack.