David Nash

26 Dec 2011

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

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:

Sumac Berries
Water
Sugar (to taste)

Preparation

Don’t pick the Sumac cones after rain since the flavor comes from the sap on the outside of the berries.
Remove as much leaves and twigs as possible. The more stems the more tannic acid you will get.
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.
Crush the berries with your hands.Let rest for about 30-60 minutes depending on how strong of a flavor you want.
Strain using a cheesecloth
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.

23 Dec 2011

Prepper Precepts #10 Violence Can Be the Answer

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.

19 Dec 2011

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.

16 Dec 2011

Prepper Precepts #9 Nobody Knows or Can Do Everything

I don’t know everything, and I cannot do everything. Our world is complex and integrated. To be prepared is to have a network of people who can fill in the gaps – not only physical but also spiritual. Having trusted friends multiplies your joys and divides you pain.

While publishing a list of prepper precepts for the world to see can be construed as arrogance, I am not so arrogant to think that I don’t need other people, or that I know or can do everything I need to have to survive.

I believe in TANSTAFL. There is no such thing as a free lunch, there is no way to know everything. I don’t know everything and while I can do a lot. Being a jack of most trades means I know few things well.

I shared a guest post about the Doctoral Process and how a Ph.D recipient knows everything about one thing just to show this idea.

Many experts that look at this sight shake their head because my methods aren’t perfect. I recognize that, but unlike most experts I am acceptable in a bunch of fields not just one.

Knowing that I don’t know everything, and I cannot do everything keeps me humble.

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

15 Dec 2011

Concealed vs. Open Carry of Handguns

This post addresses the issue of concealed vs. open carry of handguns.

One of the things I love about gun owners is that they (as a whole) are a fiercely independent sort. They take what you tell them and apply it to their life and toss it up to winnow out what works for them and what doesn’t.

As an instructor of firearms I run into this very often, and it has definitely impacted my teaching style. If you have read my book, or taken one of my classes you will know that I when asked “what kind of gun should I buy” I refuse to give a make and model but (sometimes infuriatingly) quiz the questioner on what they want the gun for and help them decide for themselves, because, if they ever have to use it, I want them to have what works for THEM and not me…

Once a shooter knows the fundamentals, and the law of their jurisdiction, they can begin the journey toward being able to effectively employ a handgun for self defense. There are several schools of thought, and I can give my opinion, but in the end it is the gun owner that must decide what works for them.

With that in mind, and because of two incidents I will post videos of below (they are not ccw/open carry per se, but about law enforcement dealing with the armed citizen), I have had firearm usage bubble up to the front of my mind. I knew this would be a controversial post on youtube, and it has gotten quite a few comments but before I go further I would like to give a few caveats:

I have no problem with open carry. I think it is how the framers of the Constitution envisioned the bear arms portion of the 2nd Amendment.
I don’t have a problem with seeing guns in public, I carry one every chance I legally can, and feel a sense of fraternity with other individuals that take responsibility for their own life. They get the same knowing wink I give a guy wearing a “shoot me first” vest (oops I meant 5.11 Vest).
I am not telling you how you should carry your gun. It’s called personal protection, so how can I tell YOU protect how to YOU…

My mindset, therefore the direction of the majority of my classes revolves around the defensive rather than sporting uses of firearms. So when I think and talk about handgun carry I want every edge possible. That’s why as a general rule I advocate concealed rather than open carry.

Defensive use involves your reaction to a threat. I carry a gun because I know that bad guys exist and that they may choose me as a target. If they pick me, I want to have the most effective tools at my disposal. But I am not expecting an attack. If I was expecting an attack, I would either not be there, or I’d have a buddy on over watch with a .50.

So my use of a handgun in a defensive situation would be unexpected (not a “surprise” just unexpected). This gives the criminal the upper hand at the initiation of the problem. At this point I am reacting. Action is faster than reaction.

One of the big youtube comment streams was I am less likely to be attacked if I am open carrying. I admit that is likely to be true. However, you cannot prove a negative. You may not have been attacked because of your gun, OR you might not have been around a criminal planning a violent assault. My manner of dress, speech, presence, and alertness are my main deterrents.

In my mind MY gun is not used as a deterrent, it’s used as a fight stopper. And so I would rather employ it most effectively as a defensive tool than as a signpost saying “hey I got a gun, pick someone else.” If someone has to be chosen by the thug – that “oh crap, I didn’t know he had a gun” look is priceless on a thug.

Feel free to comment, and disagree. I have put a lot of time into developing this idea of what, how and why I carry a firearm, and it works for me, so I won’t be mad at you for disagreeing. If you have a better way, or a rational argument, who knows I may evolve to a better program.

Author: David Nash