Anyone prepping for corona?

[jennypenny]

I was thinking yesterday that if we could go back to the days of having a 'milk man' then I wouldn't have to go out at all for the next six months.

It seems easier this week to catch home-delivery grocery slots. I guess enough people are comfortable going to the grocery store to ease demand.

[Alphaville]

I was thinking yesterday that if we could go back to the days of having a 'milk man' then I wouldn't have to go out at all for the next six months.

It seems easier this week to catch home-delivery grocery slots. I guess enough people are comfortable going to the grocery store to ease demand.

i found one in my region btw. you might have similar.

https://skarsgardfarms.deliverybizpro.c ... works.html

[Frita]

@fiby41
I am glad to hear you’re able to monitor your kidney stone condition with water intake. From people I know, I hear they are extremely painful.

Stocking up on fresh produce has been a bust here as well. Most things simply don’t last more than a week and don’t freeze well. (Choco-banana “popsicles” with homemade magic shell have been a hit here though it’s more like eating a chocolate bar with a side of frozen banana. I wish I could find some nice ripe mango or watermelon as those are even better prepared this way.) The first several days after purchasing I eat massive salads as I miss the greens.

@jennypenny
I was thinking about the milkman as well as I’d feel better about using/recycling those glass bottles. Also, the fact that one can buy milk and still drink it two weeks later makes me wonder what’s in the stuff. (I seem to have developed a milk intolerance in my late-40s. Maybe I have an issue with the chemicals?)

[jennypenny]

@Frita -- You can dip bananas in a honey bath and dehydrate them in the oven. It's not as healthy, but they're pretty good.

[fiby41]

@Frita appreciate your concern although I don't have kidney stones. I was referring to a discussion by a dear forum member who described his ordeal of passing one. It was many pages ago.

Generally once a kidney gets in the habit of making one, they seem to do that again. I'm simple stating my experiment in trying not to develop one. It can also be used as a preventive measure although the sample size is one.

[Alphaville]

@Frita appreciate your concern although I don't have kidney stones. I was referring to a discussion by a dear forum member who described his ordeal of passing one. It was many pages ago.

Generally once a kidney gets in the habit of making one, they seem to do that again. I'm simple stating my experiment in trying not to develop one. It can also be used as a preventive measure although the sample size is one.

i think it’s more of a genetic trait than a functional habit. nevertheless—drink water! plain, clean, clear water....

[jennypenny]

The grocery store was almost fully stocked today and all quantity restrictions were lifted. I may clear out some space in my freezers and go buy some more meat in case there are future shortages.

Things were busy and there was lots of traffic even though schools and many businesses are still closed. Well ... there were 'closed' signs up in lots of windows but the stores looked open. I saw women coming out of the nail salon who'd obviously just gotten a pedicure. A neighbor went to New Hope this weekend and said it was packed.

[Frita]

@fitby41
Thank you for correcting me. I was obviously confused. May your experiment be successful.

@jennypenny
Your honey-dipped bananas look fantastic. Thanks for the visual inspiration.

[chenda]

@jp Milkmen had started to make a revival here due to concerns over plastic waste.

How are people quarantining supplies ? I'm leaving non perishable in the hall for 3 days, perishables in a section of the fridge for the same. Stuff to freeze gets immersed in a bucket of water mixed with bleach.

[George the original one]

I may clear out some space in my freezers and go buy some more meat in case there are future shortages.

We definitely have meat shortages hereabouts; only generic Safeway chicken & ground beef are available. Tyson chicken in the PNW is pretty much not producing since their meat-packing sites are closed due to COVID-19 infecting the staff. Now a seafood packer in Astoria is closed because they've had 11 of 35 employees test positive with more staff yet to be tested. Coos Bay had a jump in infections last week and I wonder if it was due to another seafood packer.

Plenty of more expensive beef cuts are available though, if you want to pay those prices.

[Alphaville]

i'm actually prepping directly for a meatless future. too much involved in buying and storing meat and keeping freezers running.

i do love my canned fish but even that may suffer: e.g. story that @george the og posted re: sockeye in alaska.

so i'm storing whey powder for main animal protein, with some collagen powder as auxiliary (for skin+connective tissue). i love that whey is easily absorbable, shelf-stable, a complete protein, lactose free (my wife is lactose intolerant), etc.

then there's the vegetable protein layer: lentils + peas + beans + some soy (i am not a soy fan but will ingest it sporadically, when in need)

calories are storable in the body, but protein... only as muscle (and who wants to lose muscle?).

there are essential aminoacids and essential fats. everything other macronutrient is replaceable, more or less. micronutrients: i take vitamin supplements... b-12 for the meat.

[jennypenny]

@Alpha--DS developed a bean allergy, so our protein sources are more limited than they once were. He can still eat black beans but other beans and peas are off limits.I've slowly been giving away our been stockpiles.

@G--There was a lot more of the choice meat cuts than the smaller/cheaper ones. I don't mind buying that though. I may pay more per pound for an entire roast, but I can get a lot of meals out of it and usually get some stock out of it too. I presume there's also less handling before I buy it.

@Chenda--I wipe everything down with bleach. Then, if possible, I remove it from the store packaging. The fridge and freezer preserve the virus so you lose any benefit from letting something sit a while before using it. If it needs refrigeration, you have to clean it before it goes into the fridge or freezer. If it's produce, I put it in a sunny window all day, then wash, blanche, peel/chop, and store in the fridge that way. It's actually easier to cook now because I do so much prep work on the food first, even if it's going into the freezer for a while.

[Jason]

Our fifty pound bag of pizza flour arrived yesterday. Our concerns about the Fed Ex person or us having to carry it were immediately removed when the driver bound out of the truck and ran with it like delivering fifty pounds of pizza dough was an Olympic event. It was nothing to him. We immediately made a pizza and with the commercial dough its like buying one from a NYC pizzeria. We tried making bread with it and it came out smaller so we have to figure that out. It will probably be a post-corona staple.

[George the original one]

Frickin' freezer went on the fritz! We're scrambling to cook all the meat this afternoon-evening.

[Alphaville]

Frickin' freezer went on the fritz! We're scrambling to cook all the meat this afternoon-evening.

yikes!

hang in there though, i’m sure it’s worth the effort. it should be a fantastic feast!

for comparison, i just ate some canned pork which was flavorless and cooked to ground paper texture

[jennypenny]

When apocalypses collide ...

I mentioned upthread that I stockpiled a lot of extra stuff when the pandemic started. I have 2 refrigerators and 1 enormous freezer full of food. We had severe weather roll through yesterday and knock out the power. The electric company is estimating we won't get it back until saturday or sunday. *sigh*

We have a generator and enough gas on hand to keep those appliances running, but I gotta say, between COVID, ending up in Philly during the riots last Saturday night, and now this ... I'm a little SHTF'd out.

[Alphaville]

@jennypenny

yah, true emergency supplies can’t be frozen/refrigerated.

i only have fruits and veggies in the freezer, and while important, they’re not essentials (i have other sources of fiber + vitamins).

my fridge these days is mostly filled with nuts and oats to help them last longer and to make room in the pantry for cans and powders etc. as for things requiring refrigeration, i scored a bit of fresh eggs and milk the other day but just a couple of weeks’ worth... but that’s it.

sorry about your troubles, and best wishes.

—

eta: any chance to make jerky?

[chenda]

I've been toying with the idea of expanding my dry food
I am also purchasing EU citizenship, thank you great great grandpa for being a resident alien and never naturalizing.

Welcome , good to have options. I'm curious which country gives you citizenship after so many generations.

[Sclass]

I've been toying with the idea of expanding my dry food supply to 3 years lately. I'd do it in the cheapest way possible, which means a few hundred pounds of rice and beans. Water is a more critical issue than food, I've been working on that as well.

Not too sure about how long rice lasts. My folks used to store whole wheat. They said it lasted longer than polished rice because it had the whole seed. Maybe people here know more about this stuff?

Water is a trick out here in SoCal. I live near some creeks. In an emergency situation it may not be safe wandering down there to fill a bucket. Like a gazelle trying to get a drink at the muddy watering hole...,

Back in college I had a classmate who showed us how to drill a well. She was a hydrogeology Major. The tool was really simple. It looked like an auger with a T shaped bar that two people pushed around like the wheel of pain and it drilled down. In the home she stayed at the table was close to the surface. I think she only went down thirty feet. The landlord was tickled pink that he got free water for the garden.

I later found out this was illegal after Larry Ellison did it in Woodside to save on his water bill. But, it would be neat to have a well just for emergencies.

I also worked with a guy who didn’t have water rights to a patch of land he bought in the Santa Cruz mountains. He had this setup where he buried plastic tarp in a low spot on his land that turned into a little stream during the rain. There was an existing gully but it was dry most of the year. He built a little dam on one side and put in an automated valving system that would fill a bunch of those 275 gallon caged tote boxes down the hill via a hose manifold he made. He’d get enough water to carry him through the summer. Basic washing, gardening and drinking for weekend visits to the property. Also illegal btw.

[7Wannabe5]

Any seed or nut is going to last longer in dry storage intact. However, once simply ground, or otherwise semi-processed, the germ fat is more likely to go rancid or attract varmints than thoroughly processed-until-white mostly just starch product. This rule of thumb even applies to egg whites vs. egg yolks.