Sourdough Bread – By Bread Alone…
One of my goals is to reduce the amount of processed and mass produced foods my family eats. I’ve been setting things up on our little homestead with that in mind. And to a lesser degree, we’re producing the ingredients at home as well. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make much of the things we use every day; from food to cleaners to hygiene and beauty products. In this article, I’m going to focus on bread, specifically, sourdough bread. I’m an amateur baker and enjoy learning different baking techniques. As a wife and mother, the financial [...]
Ruger 10/22 Takedown Lite
For over 50 years, the Ruger 10/22 has been America's favorite .22 rifle. In 2012 Ruger first introduced the takedown version of this rifle, allowing the user to easily remove the barrel from the action of the rifle. Now Ruger has introduced the Ruger 10/22 Takedown Lite -- a slightly shorter rifle with an aluminum alloy barrel sleeve and a 1/2"-28 threaded muzzle, which is perfect for a suppressor. I guess it shouldn't surprise us that Ruger is now also selling a .22 suppressor, the Silent-SR suppressor, that will reduce the sound of a .22 LR by up to 40 [...]
Cast Iron Skillet – A Guide to Everything You Need to Know
I love to cook on a cast iron skillet. My daily cooking skillets are all vintage cast iron -- some as much as 100 years old -- and will last forever if properly maintained. I prefer the older skillets (those made before 1950) because modern skillets are heavy and inferior in comparison. This article will teach you everything you need to know about buying, cleaning, cooking and maintaining old skillets. My wife and I are not cast iron collectors (honest, really..), we only buy what we plan to cook with. Plus we want to have enough on hand so that [...]
10 Tips To Improve Home Security
When it comes to home security, there's really no such thing as "enough." Most houses aren't built with security in mind. Builders put physical appearance and inexpensive construction at the top of their priority list. But you can do more. It's up to the homeowner to enhance security on their own. With only a few simple changes you can dramatically improve your home security. And who wouldn't want to do that? Because when an intruder breaks into your house -- to harm or steal from your family -- you will do anything to protect what is important to you. 1. [...]
Bugging Out: Transportation
Ideally we will find our place and have our homestead set up before the SHTF. If we do, we'll just bug in. That's a much simpler, more doable situation. But if we don't get moved to our new place in time, we'll need to have a bug-out plan for how to get there. Chances are good that an emergency that requires bug-out will happen while I'm at work in downtown Houston. I hope not, but if that's what happens then I'll need reliable bug-out transportation to get to back to my family. SHTF Transportation / My Bug Out Vehicle After [...]
The Ultimate Sniper Rifle Link List
When it comes to firearms, the sniper rifle is the ultimate game changer. Being able to reach out at long distances to take out important targets can change the morale of soldiers and the outcome of individual battles. The psychological impact of a really good sniper, can make aggressors too afraid to move around in the open. During Vietnam war, Carlos Hathcock was a force that scared the enemy. Many snipers lost their lives hunting Hathcock. One kill that has been reproduced in many Hollywood movies is where Hathcock shot a sniper through his own rifle scope to kill him. [...]
Bugging Out: Homestead Location
My family and I live in a suburb of Houston -- one of the largest, most congested cities in the United States -- and it's the last place we want to be if the SHTF. We'd like to have a homestead in a close-knit community of friends and family set up before anything goes horribly wrong, but that reality is still in the dream stage. If the grid goes down tomorrow, we'll be in really bad shape. We don't have a place to go, a way to get there, or any tools or supplies to help us along the way. [...]
Foraging: Harvesting Wild Edibles
Knowing where and how to forage is a skill that I feel all Homesteaders need. It’s also something that varies from location to location. There is some risk to foraging, especially for novices, as many safe and nutritious plants have toxic look-alikes. Since I’m a novice, I’m going to concentrate on resources you can use for more expert information as far as plant identification, and I will share tips I was given during foraging workshops that I’ve taken. I’ll also include links and information for some common plants that are plentiful across the US. Why should I forage? My motivation [...]