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Volume 10 Number 4

April 21, 2008

INSIDE BHM

New Issue

Several articles from BHM's Special Preparedness Issue have just been posted at the BHM website. The issue is also being delivered to newsstands as you read this. If you are accustomed to buying your issue of BHM from the newsstand, I suggest you hurry on down there and get a copy because they won't last more than a few days. This may become the best selling issue in our history. It is very good.

New Blog

We also have a new blogger at the BHM website -- Massad Ayoob. Mas has written several highly regarded books on guns and self-defense, but this is his first venture into the blogosphere. When I got my first "concealed carry" permit 20 or so years ago, Mas's book, In the Gravest Extreme, was required reading. It's quite the honor to have him write a column for BHM for the past 10 years.

Please take advantage of our four free excellent online blogs. Besides Mas, there are blogs by me, Jackie Clay, and Annie Tuttle. All are unique, informative, and well written. They help set BHM apart from any other magazine that has a web presence.

—Dave Duffy

SELF-RELIANCE TIPS

Saving Fuel on the Farm

There's just one word to describe what's been happening to fuel prices: OUCH! And the pain isn't likely to go away any time soon.

While soaring fuel costs affect everyone in the civilized world, both at the pump and in commodity prices, backwoods folk may be especially hard hit. If we operate tractors or other heavy equipment, we pay. Even if don't run backhoes or balers or Bobcats, we may simply have to drive longer distances than our urban cousins, burning more gas. City Cousin may be able to trade his SUV in on a hybrid Toyota and save money; but we still need our gas-guzzling pick-up trucks for hard, solid work. Then there are those gasoline or diesel generators that back up our off-grid power systems.

It all gets expensive. Worse, for those who are trying to earn a living out here in the country, the pain hits hard on the bottom line.

So this month, we've gleaned rural fuel-saving tips from extension offices, farm bureaus, our own experience, and the experiences of our neighbors. Finally, we've linked to more rural and agricultural fuel-tip sites in the "Links" section below. Without further ado, let's get started:

First off all, avoid unnecessary driving -- not only to town, but around the homestead. If you run into a problem in the field, could you solve it with a cellphone call instead of a gas-powered trek? Or, if you regularly trek back and forth from homestead to field by tractor, could you add a carrier to the tractor that would allow you to make many of those back-and-forth trips via motorscooter or ATV?
Whether on the road on in the field: Slow down. Drive deliberately. Fast acceleration and braking reduces a vehicle's gas efficiency.
When hauling on your land, choose the right vehicle. An ATV, a motorcycle, or even a bicycle with an attached cart might be able to handle smaller chores while the truck or tractor stays in the barn.
But by the same token, pulling a heavy load with an underpowered vehicle is also inefficient. It's a case of using the right tool for the right job.
Ride-share wherever possible. And be creative about it. Ride-sharing need not only apply to commutes from the backwoods to your city job. What if you and your neighbors sell at the same farmer's markets or flea markets? Could you pool your truck or van to get there? How about pooling for weekly trips to town or monthly runs to Costco?
Pay extra attention to maintenance -- both of your road vehicles and your farm equipment. Watch especially for smoke, leaks, or other signs that fuel may not be combusting efficiently. Check air filters and fuel filters regularly. Check and clean fuel injectors.
Something as simple as tire pressure can make an enormous difference in fuel efficiency. A University of California study on farm practices revealed that correct tire pressure on a tractor could save as much as 20 percent in diesel fuel.
Avoid idling your engine, particularly with heavy farm equipment. Idling can burn up to a gallon an hour of diesel fuel. It's more efficient in general to shut your engine down and start it up again.
If feasible, consider switching to no-till or low-till farming practices.
Mulch with bark chips in high-traffic areas. This will reduce the time you spend mowing, and as a bonus will prevent soil compaction.
As summer comes, make sure you're not using winter-grade fuels in your equipment. The lightness and viscosity of those fuels may be needed in the cold months, but they produce less energy per gallon. The difference is small -- only about 3 percent. But these days, every bit counts.
Gear up and throttle down. When you're not hauling weight, you'll use less fuel by running at a lower RPM but a higher gear.
If you maintain an above-ground fuel tank, did you know you can reduce losses through evaporation by painting it a light color?
Use vehicle air conditioning sparingly.
Fuel saving doesn't merely apply to vehicles. Another University of California study showed that, when using a diesel powered irrigation pump, matching the designed RPM of the pump and then engine results in the highest efficiency (gallons of water pumped per gallon of fuel burned).

RECIPES

Creative Cuisine for Cheap Cooking

Many of us would like to dine like kings, but our food budgets are more suited to peasants. And with many food prices rising as quickly as fuel prices, we may need to get creative merely to maintain the status quo. Here then are a selection of cheap but creative recipes adapted from helpful sources like Better Budgeting and CheapCooking.com -- not to mention the handed-down cookbooks and recipe files of our Depression-era grandmothers.

Grandma's Lemonade

4 lemons
1 cup sugar
6 cups water

Cut the lemons in half and squeeze out all of the juice you can, removing seeds. Pour juice into a large pitcher. Add sugar and half of the water, stirring to dissolve sugar completely. Add the remaining water and pour into glasses filled with ice. Garnish with a slice of lemon.

Variations: Substitute a lime or a tangerine for one of the lemons for a slightly more unusual taste.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

8 slices bread
4 slices ham
4 slices Swiss or cheddar cheese or a mix
3 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons butter

Assemble sandwiches with ham and cheese. In a pie pan or other shallow dish, beat together eggs and milk (variation: add a pinch of oregano). Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.

Lay the sandwiches one at a time in the egg mix, giving them time to soak up the mix but not long enough to get soggy. Carefully turn them over so both sides get coated with egg. Place on your griddle and cook until lightly browned on both sides and the cheese is melted.

Apple Peanut-Butter Dip

3 firm, semi-sweet apples (Fuji, Braeburn, Cameo, etc.) cored, and sliced
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup peanut butter

Mix yogurt and peanut butter until very well blended. Serve with apple slices on an attractive plate.

Leftover Fried Rice

The beauty of this recipe is that it can be made with whatever kind of leftover meat you may have around -- ham, chicken, turkey, beef, or whatever's handy. You can even skip the meat if you want to and/or add vegetables you may have around the house or garden.

3 cups cooked rice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter
1 carrot, shredded or thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 pound meat, cut in small pieces (optional)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk

Cook rice according to directions on package (you'll start with about 1.5 cups of raw rice to get 3 cups cooked).

Heat oil or butter in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add carrots, celery, and onion (you may also add other vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, snow peas, corn, green beans, bamboo shoots, or even small bits of radish). Cook on medium until vegetables are barely softened, stirring frequently. Add honey, soy sauce, salt and pepper and stir. Add the raw or cooked meat and cook or heat through. (If the meat is raw, you may have to cook longer.)

Mix up eggs and milk. In a smaller skillet, heat more oil or butter. Pour in egg mixture and cook without stirring. When one side is done, flip it to cook the other side. Remove from skillet, move to cutting board, and slice into strips.

Add the cooked rice to the vegetables and meat and fry for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Top with the egg strips and serve.

Tuna-Stuffed Potatoes

4 potatoes, baked
2 cans tuna, drained and flaked
1 can sweet corn
2-3 pickled gherkins, chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
mayonnaise (enough to achieve desired consistency)

Combine tuna, corn, pickles, and eggs. Add enough mayonnaise to achieve a tuna-salad consistency. Cut open baked potatoes and top with tuna mixture.

Variation: Instead of the potatoes, serve atop cooked and cooled pasta shells for a summer salad.

Cheap Veggie Meatloaf

This variation on Mom's old standby is super-cheap to make, contains healthful fresh veggies, and can be veggie-customized to suit whatever fresh ingredients you may have on hand.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, minced
2 eggs
1/2 cup tomato juice or V8
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup oatmeal
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh parsley or 1/4 cup dried
1 carrot, grated or finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Mix all ingredients together. Spread mixture into a loaf pan coated with vegetable oil or non-stick cooking spray. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes, then let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Variations: Top with a brown sugar-mustard mixture, or a mixture of mustard, vinegar and pickles to taste.

Shepherd's Pie

English folks on a budget have been making shepherd's pie just about forever. This recipe is not only inexpensive, hardy food, but like many other dishes here, it can be customized to use different meats and vegetables you have on hand. We'll start with the most basic-basic recipe, then give some variations.

1 pound lean ground beef, cooked, drained, and seasoned to taste with salt and pepper
1/4 medium onion, chopped
6 medium potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed (add milk, butter, garlic or whatever else you would normally use when making mashed potatoes)
Paprika

Preheat oven to 350 F. Brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet, season to taste, and drain. Spread the meat-onion mixture in the bottom of a medium-sized casserole dish. Spread the potatoes over that and top with paprika. Bake about 45 minutes.

That's the most Plain-Jane version of shepherd's pie. More typically you would add a vegetable layer between the meat and potatoes. Try one of these:

2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 can of French-cut green beans
1 can of cream corn
1 cup of fresh corn
1 cup of cooked cabbage
1 cup sliced mushrooms

Other variations:

Use ground turkey instead of beef
Use shredded leftover beef roast instead of ground beef
Sprinkle French onion soup mix over the meat instead of using fresh onion
Add 1 cup of cheddar cheese
Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup
Use sliced homefried potatoes instead of mashed
Sprinkle with Italian-seasoned bread crumbs

Quick Chicken Noodle or Rice Soup

2 cans chicken broth
1 cup water
4 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1 large can chicken white meat (or two boned, skinned, cooked breasts)
Egg noodles or rice (if using rice, it should be cooked al dente before adding)

Boil all ingredients together until carrots are half-tender. Add noodles or partially cooked rice. Heat 10 more minutes and serve.

Honey Bars

We owe this recipe to the late, great Carla Emery

2 cups powdered milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey
Chopped nuts of your choice

Mix together powdered milk, peanut butter, and honey. Roll into balls. Roll the balls into chopped nuts and chill.

HUMOR

A hip young man goes out and buys the best car available: a brand new Ferrari. It's also the most expensive car in the world. He takes it out for a spin.

While he's stopped at a red light, an old man putting down the road on a moped pulls up next to him. The codger looks over at the sleek, shiny vehicle and asks, "What kind of car ya got there, sonny?"

"A Ferrari 550. It cost half a million dollars!

"That's a lot of money," says the old man. "Why so much?

"Because this car can do up to 320 miles an hour!" states the young dude proudly.

Impressed, the moped driver asks, "Mind if I take a look inside?"

"No problem."

So the old man pokes his head in the window and looks around. Then sitting back on his moped, he says, "That's a nice car, all right...but I'll stick with my moped! She's a good goer, too."

The young man rolls his eyes at the oldster's misplaced boast. Just then the light changes and he decides to show the old man what his car can do. He floors it. Within seconds the speedometer reads 160 mph.

Suddenly, he notices a dot in his rear view mirror. It seems to be getting closer! He slows down to see what it could be and suddenly, whhhoooossshhh! Something whips by him, going much faster than he.

"What on earth could be going faster than my Ferrari?!" the young man asks himself. He floors the accelerator and takes the Ferrari to 250 mph. Then, up ahead of him, he sees that it's the old man on the moped.

"No way!" he exclaims. Stunned that the moped could pass his Ferrari he gives it more gas and passes the moped at 275 mph. Whoooooosh!

He's feeling pretty good until he looks in his mirror and sees the old man gaining on him again. Astounded by the speed of this old guy he floors the gas pedal and takes the Ferrari all the way up to 320 mph. Not ten seconds later he sees the moped bearing down on him again. The Ferrari is flat out and there's nothing he can do.

Then -- WHAM! -- the moped plows into the back of his Ferrari, demolishing the rear. The young man jumps out, and unbelievably, the old man is still alive!!! He runs up to the mangled elder and says, "Oh my God! Is there anything I can do for you?"

The old man whispers with his dying breath, " Yea Unhook...my suspenders from your side-view mirror.

Farmer Joe decided his injuries from an accident were serious enough to take the trucking company responsible to court. In court the trucking company's fancy lawyer questioned Farmer Joe skeptically.

"Didn't you say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine,'?" the lawyer demanded.

Farmer Joe responded, "Well, I'll tell you what happened. I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie into the..."

"I didn't ask for details," the lawyer interrupted. "Just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'?"

"But you see, I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road..."

The lawyer interrupted again, this time turning to the judge. He said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman that he was fine. Now he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please direct him simply to answer the question."

But by this time the Judge was curious. "I'd like to hear what he has to say," he told the lawyer.

Joe thanked the Judge and proceeded. "Now, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi-truck and trailer ran the stop sign and smacked my truck right in the side. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other. I was hurting real bad and didn't want to move. However, I could hear ol' Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape just by her groans. Shortly after the accident, that Patrolman came on the scene. He could hear Bessie carrying on, so he went over to her. After he looked at her, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes.

"Then the Patrolman came across the road with his gun in his hand and looked at me. He said, 'Your mule was in such bad shape I had to shoot her.'

"Then he says, 'How are YOU feeling?'"

It was the first day of school and a new student, the son of a Japanese auto executive, entered the fourth grade. The teacher greeted the class and said, "Let's begin by reviewing some American history. Who said, 'Give me Liberty, or give me death'?"

She saw only a sea of blank faces, except for that of Toshiro, who had his hand up, waving eagerly. "Patrick Henry, 1775," said the boy.

"Now," said the teacher, "Who said 'Government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth?

Again, no response except from Toshiro: "Abraham Lincoln, 1863."

The teacher snapped at the class, "You should be ashamed. Toshiro, who is new to our country, knows more about it than you do."

As she turned to write something on the blackboard, she heard a loud whisper: "Damned Japanese."

She whirled and demanded, "Who said that?"

Toshiro's hand shot eagerly into the air once more. "Lee Iacocca, 1982," he said.

OTHER STUFF

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Contact Info:

Editor/Letters - Dave Duffy, editor@backwoodshome.com
Web Site - Oliver Del Signore, webmaster@backwoodshome.com