Monday's Prepping Challenge post - 05-12-14

Wow!  Day began bright and early..... Actually TOO early, if you know what I mean!  (I have 4 kitties - 3 decided they wanted breakfast - NOW!  Widget TRIED being sweet - a gentle meowww  - which I carefully ignored and hugged my pillow tighter.  He then Nudged me - gently, claws sheathed.  No response. So he tried again - HARDER.  Still no response.  He then went to peer at my eyelids - and heaven help me if I wiggle an eyelid!  that didn't work - but my breathing pattern had changed an infinitesimal amount - so he POUNCED - legs straight and stiff - right on to my tum!  And then he ran for all he was worth!  Which was a good thing! and meant he is still with us!)

slowly it dawned on me that this was Judy's Prepping Challenge.  Actually I LIKE these things - and generally try to do the one on the Food Storage Made Easy site which I love!  (and which I sign up for yearly!)

Rules are - no buying in - uhmmm - hopefully no problem - esp since LAST week I did my grocery shopping - so this would be VERY unlike the REAL situation that happened in the dead of winter where we had a blizzard, power outage, and I had essentially ZERO money, and was truly limited in my food choices! Or worse yet - being at Nathan's following the tornadoes and realizing that he did NOT like veggies and had virtually NOTHING in his house other than hot sauce! And what I had brought from home the day before (freeze dried cauliflower, freeze dried broccoli, carrot chips).

Menu for today WAS (already changed slightly!)
B: rolled oats (I wanted a cheese sandwich instead - go figure!!!!)
L: Green Bean soup - which morphed into Garden Vegetable Soup - version 1 - uses carrots, onions (both from garden - last year's!!!), dehydrated and smashed up green beans, dehydrated and smashed up tomatoes, freeze dried zucchini that is mostly the "crumbs" - which means MOST of what I had! plus homegrown herbs of basil, garlic and the bought in fresh ground black pepper.  Add to that beef bouillion cubes (I NEED to buy in bullk on this - either that or can up my soups!  Frozen broth is long gone!)
Dinner tonight will be Fish tacos (new recipe for me!), refried beans, orange/apple salad.  Ummm - snacks I'm not sure about - Evening snack - probably that oatmeal I didn't have for breakfast! ( I DO  need to find the pliers though to remove the "canning" strip around the 5 gal bucket!)  Afternoon snack - either half a grapefruit or an orange or an apple.  All ARE do-able - since this is what I have on hand anyway!

One thing though - were this an actual emergency, I should make sure I have water on hand - supposedly 1 gallon per person per day for 14 days.  Not sure where I would put that - esp. since I can't store on concrete - which leaches out the water and kills the plastic containers.

LEARNED: 

• Store water for 14 days.  Buy a gallon everytime I go to store!  Use from sink - but store the gallons!
• Locate pliers and KEEP in took kit!
• Although no problem YET - buy beef bouillion and chicken bullion in bulk and prepare to divide into smaller amounts.  Better yet - can my own in addition to freezing it!
• Plant more carrots this year - a LOT more carrots!
• Zucchini - raise it!  Dehydrate it!  don't even try to get the freeze dried stuff - it powders entirely too easily!