What did you do to prep today?

[Sherree]

I chopped and filled up a gallon Ziploc freezer bag of fresh green bell peppers from our garden this morning! First gallon of the season. Hopefully, this will continue. If there is one thing I use a lot of in preparing meals, that's green bell peppers and onions. Onions don't grow too well down here in the Deep South, though.

[Bezukhov]

Done, and done.

Our Guide to Prepping for the Oncoming Apocalypse
Satire

https://www.dailysquib.co.uk/world/1...pocalypse.html

[BugoutBear]

I ordered some Universal Battery Testers from BUDK.com and it's a really good thing I did.

I tested the batteries I've had in my personal BOBag and Mrs. Bear's and sure enough most no longer had any juice. <--- time to rotate.

Amazing how a simple $5 item can save you a lot of trouble down the road.

Sunday I'll check the car and truck BOB's. Replace as needed.

Btw BUDK.com is a really affoardable place to shop for Preps or if you're a blade collecter. Reasonable prices AND I'm impressed with the quality of their blades <--- and freakin' sharp!

[BugoutBear]

FYI: BUDK.com is having a sale on "RATS" = Rapid Application Tourniquet System for $10.

[Lenno]

FYI: BUDK.com is having a sale on "RATS" = Rapid Application Tourniquet System for $10.

ome of these have plastic parts that break when applied or are impossible to apply w/one hand, and I know that someone else is supposed to apply it for you but 'someone' may not be there quick enough, but this was tested by the US Army so sounds good
S

[Summerthyme]

I chopped and filled up a gallon Ziploc freezer bag of fresh green bell peppers from our garden this morning! First gallon of the season. Hopefully, this will continue. If there is one thing I use a lot of in preparing meals, that's green bell peppers and onions. Onions don't grow too well down here in the Deep South, though.

Sherree... I've been in and out a lot this summer, so somehow missed your post. Hope you'll come back and read again.

Anyway... peppers dehydrate *beautifully*! No blanching or pretreatment needed... just cut into whatever size pieces you prefer (I do about 3/8"-1/2".... they shrink a LOT when dry) and dry them until they're crisp. I grow several varieties of bell peppers (my own strains that I've been developing for almost 7 years now) and they ripen into gorgeous different hues... pumpkin orange, bright lipstick red, tangerine, yellow.

So I'll often dry a bunch of the same color at the same time and then, when several different varieties/colors are dry, I put them into mason jars in layers... sort of like how people "paint" with sand. They're really cool looking... make great Christmas presents for anyone who cooks, and even those who don't love how "cool" they look.

And a jar of all the colors mixed looks like confetti.

When you want to use peppers (they obviously don't rehydrate crisp like fresh, but they actually get much less mushy and soft than frozen peppers) Just put however many you want (they'll double to triple in size from their dry state) in a bowl, and pour enough boiling water over them to cover. If you aren't in a hurry, you can use cool water and just leave them soak longer. But with boiling water, they're usually ready to use in 10 minutes.

Drain (use the water in the dish you're adding them to... it definitely takes some of the flavor and vitamins from the peppers, which is why I use as little water as possible) and add to whatever you're making. We use them in omelets all winter, I add them to my Spanish Rice, chili con carne, several hamburger casseroles, and even in a stir fry with peppers, onions and homegrown sausage.

Which brings me to onions!! I've heard from others that onions don't do well in the Southeast... that's terrible! A farm visitor from Palm Beach FLA was amazed and just thrilled when she discovered that leeks grow wild everywhere in our woods. She couldn't imagine the riches of never running out of onion flavor, even if the garden had problems! LOL!

But... I'm sure there are places that sell onions in large (20-50# bags)... restaurant supply place, farmers market or Sam's Club? Call around... up here, prices can vary wildly.. .and Sam's never was priced all that great.

Anyway, cut the onions like you did the peppers, again taking into account that they shrink quite a bit. Dehydrate them the same way... just spread on sheets and put in the dehydrator (or, alternatively, you can use an oven set on it's lowest, with the door cracked open, but with where you live, I'm sure you're using AC... the additional cost for the AC to counteract that heat could probably pay for a decent dehydrator in short order!!) until they're crisp.

When you're sure they're dry, put them in glass jars and seal with a mason lid... you need to keep moisture out! Keep the jars out for 48 hours or so, and then look closely inside the glass... if you see ANY fogging or even the tiniest moisture droplets, your veggies need to be dehydrated until they're DRY. If you're not cutting large pieces, the chances are pretty low of that happening. But sometimes, big pieces "case harden" (dry on the outside, but then seal in the moisture in the center, but you can't feel it because the outside is hard. It usually happens with the temp being set to high, and pieces cut uneven thickness or just too large)

Then, store in a dark place... the cooler the better. Under reasonably cool conditions, they'll keep for 10 years, easy... in the dark, their color will darken slightly over several years, but they still taste the same as they did fresh.

If you could do this with 50# of onions, you'd have a nice onion stash for a LOT less than buying the dried onion "chips" (although, that's another option... you can get dried onion snips online for quite reasonable prices in bulk... you might want to look into that instead of getting involved in the whole dehydrator thing... although I can't imagine doing without my dehydrator!!), And your stash will take up less room than you can imagine. Two years ago, we had a huge, bumper sweet pepper crop. I cut and dried (saving the seeds, too! What a job) 8 bushels of peppers. When I was done, they had fit exactly into 12 quart jars!!

And they don't take any room in the freezer, don't stink up the freezer (or anything else, sealed in glass) and don't need to be defrosted!~

Summerthyme

[BugoutBear]

ome of these have plastic parts that break when applied or are impossible to apply w/one hand, and I know that someone else is supposed to apply it for you but 'someone' may not be there quick enough

Indeed.
I wear a belt with holes in it the entire length so I can use it as an expedient tourniquet God forbid.
Learned that trick back in the 70's when a biker got broadsided by a car which took his leg off above the knee. He was wearing a belt like that and I used it to stop the bleeding. (And even then he was more worried about his bike than missing a leg.)

ETA: and tampons are great to stick into bullet holes. Don't ask how I know that...

[grower]

ETA: and tampons are great to stick into bullet holes. Don't ask how I know that...

I've put panty liners in our BOB's to use as a quick and effective bandage for larger wounds. A panty liner or Kotex with some duct tape or electrical tape will help staunch bleeding and keep the wound cleaner than bandaids or gauze.

[BugoutBear]

I've put panty liners in our BOB's to use as a quick and effective bandage for larger wounds. A panty liner or Kotex with some duct tape or electrical tape will help staunch bleeding and keep the wound cleaner than bandaids or gauze.

It's true.
Back in the late 70's I came across an accident late at night. The man had a nasty gash on his head so I asked his wife if she had a Kotex in her purse. Just imagine the confusion. Happens she did have one and I promptly stuck it on his head. Imagine the scene: Emergency arrive to find a guy with a Kotex stuck to his head.

Hey, if it works!

[Elijah Gunn]

I went through my BOB, and LBE today for the first time in years. What a mess, and a bunch of junk that I really don't need. Time to visit youtube for some ideas, and how to get the thing organized. I have some good stuff too.
I'm also working on loosing weight, and getting in shape.