Survival In Today's World -
Reader Submissions
Foraging in November
Written by: Convergence Life Field Oriented Vegetation Enhancement Robot 616 - Engineering Subclass.
Foraging has long been common practice for the citizens of Convergence, and the local forest has many fine foods to offer. Once the Winter months begin to bite, it can be difficult to find the extra nutrition so many need. However, with a little fortitude and a lot of patience, the forest can continue to provide during the winter months. Here are some of the plants you can still gather in November and December.
Oyster Mushroom
This fungus looks like clusters of oysters and can be found growing on trees, usually hardwoods or conifers. The cap is always visible and should be large, smooth, moist and cream or even light brown. There is usually no stem present, but if you do see one it should be white and dry with white hairs on the base. This mushroom has a mild, pleasant taste and a fragrant, fruity scent. You should always cook oyster mushrooms before you eat them, but they make a fine, nutritious addition to all sorts of Winter meals.
Never eat mushrooms you find growing wild on dead logs or tree stumps. These mushrooms can look very similar to oyster mushrooms, but are usually it's poisonous cousin, the angel wings mushroom. Always pick your oyster mushrooms from living trees.
Miner's Lettuce
This hardy little plant is a good Winter source of Vitamin C and can usually be found growing in moist, shaded woods and fields. It is recognizable by its long, tall stems that end in a leafy rosette. This plant usually grows in clusters, and earlier in the year you may find bed-straw growing near or in these miner's lettuce clusters. Look for shady areas with plenty of shelter to find this plant in early winter.
Every part of miner's lettuce is edible raw, from the roots to the flowers, making it an exceptionally useful plant for sandwiches, salads and as a quick addition to any meal. It can also be boiled, and will taste rather like spinach when cooked.
Wild Onion
Also known as swamp onion, Pacific onion and Pacific mountain onion, this plant can usually be found in wet meadows on the higher slopes of the island. The bulbs of this plant can be boiled, baked or fried and make a delicious flavoring for Winter soups and stews. The leaves of this plant can also be eaten raw, making it a useful garnish to finish off your meal. If possible, try planting a bulb or two of this plant in your garden or window box. It makes a good moth repellent, and has a reputation for repelling insects, which can be useful in the Summer.
Always remember that there are many fine books on wild plants available both at the Library and your local bookshop. If you would like to know any more about the plants I have mentioned here, or any other plants you find, please don't hesitate to leave a note for me at the City Works office.
~C.L.O.V.E.R.
Preserving Food 101
Written and submitted by: Convergence Citizen 'Seth.'
We all know that times are tough. There are many things you can't go down to the store and buy indiscriminately anymore and there are things that six years ago you never would of thought you be eating.
As the current rains suggest, this winter is going to be hard. With most animals going into hibernation now is the final days to hunt, gather and save the meat and vegetables for the bitter cold frozen days to come.
But how can you make your food last?
You could deep freeze it of course, but what if the power goes out? After all, even before D-13 heavy snows could take the power out. So what are some of the other ways?
Well, that's what I'm going to tell you as detailed as I can.
There's smoking, drying or dehydrating, canning and pressure canning. I'm not going to cover all of them in this issue. Today we're going to focus on the first listed and the one that, admittedly, I know the most about from previous experience.
Smoking.
So what exactly is the process of smoking food?
The dictionary definition I read is;
'Smoking is the process of flavoring, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Meats and fish are the most common smoked foods, though cheeses, vegetables, and ingredients used to make beverages such as beer, smoked beer, and lapsing souchong tea are also smoked.'
However the best description I personally can give is that it's a way to turn raw food into yummy safe food that can last all winter.
Now before you start smoking there's a few things you need to do to keep the food safe to eat during this whole process.
1. Field dress your meat on site. This means removing the guts. Why do this? Because the guts contain a large amount of bacteria which, if leaked into the meat, can contaminate it and cause food born illness. Not to mention the fact that we're talking about literal shit here. You can save these guts just get them out of the carcass and transport them separately!
2. Keep it clean. Wash down every surface that you will have the raw meat on before and after! Again the reason behind this is bacteria and staying healthy. This includes your hands!
3. A good stock pile of wood is something you should have on hand and not pine. I'm not fully sure why, something about toxic chemicals released from pine wood and I could look it up but I'll leave something for you to do if you want.
4. Spices are your friend so you can use less salt.
5. Have some air tight jars or bags ready to store your smoked foods.
Alright now that that's over lets get down to it.
You are going to need a smoker.
Native Americans used the open air and sunlight but that didn't add the delightful smoke flavor. An easy method that I know of would be to dig a pit in the ground for the fire. Use a pipe to direct the smoke into a wooden box that has thin wooden slats to drape the food over. There are several other types you could make, simply go to the library and look those up yourself.
So you have your smoker and your food to be smoked. Now slice your food thinly. Meat should be cut against the grain after cutting off any fat. Vegetables and fruits it doesn't really matter in my experience, just thinly. Smoked apples or pears are a treat I rather enjoy.
At this point you should take and press your meats (fish included) or vegetable into the dry marinade mixture. Press hard or with meat use a mallet to pound it so it really sticks.
But what to use for a marinade?
Spices!
And Salt and paper but some consider those spices as well. Here's what one of the books in the library has to say about spices with smoking. "The Survivalist Spices have been highly prized over the centuries, with certain spices at times being worth more than their weight in gold. You might recall, from your American history class, that when Christopher Columbus discovered the New World he was actually looking for a shorter trade with India, primarily for spices. We enjoy spices because they impart interesting flavors to our foods. But before the days of refrigeration they were also highly valued for their ability to preserve food. By using certain spices that have strong antimicrobial actions, we can reduce the amount of salt needed to preserve our meat, making it more palatable and healthier at the same time.
Spices with antimicrobial action include garlic, ginger, black pepper, clove, oregano, thyme, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaves, mustard, rosemary, bishop's weed, chili (also called cayenne or red pepper), horseradish, cumin, black cumin, pomegranate seeds, onion, celery, geranium and many others.
Some spices by themselves have weak antimicrobial effects that become much stronger when combined with other spices. (These combinations are said to be synergistic, because the combination is greater than the sum of the individual parts.) Chili powder is a synergistic combination typically consisting of red pepper (cayenne), onion, paprika, garlic, cumin and oregano. Five-spice powder is a synergistic combination of pepper, cinnamon, anise, fennel and cloves.
Most people think that the combination of spices known as curry powder originated in India. But curry is actually a Western blend devised during colonial times combining the best spices from India. Curry powder recipes vary slightly, but turmeric is always a key ingredient in the blend. The usual recipe for curry powder in the West consists of turmeric, cardamom, cumin, fenugreek and chilles. Other herbs that are commonly included in curry blends include ginger, garlic, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, mustard, black pepper, fennel, and others."
Next you would drape your foods over the slats (or metal grates scavenged from discarded grills but never metal screens as they can release a dangerous chemical when heated). Build up a fire and toss a piece of steel sheeting over it to direct the smoke into the pipe.
Check your fire regularly to keep it built up and plenty of smoke production. Depending on how hot your smoke is and how much you've packed in there, it will take about 5-10 hours.
But how do I know when it's done you ask?
Finished foods will snap when bent but not necessarily break into two pieces, and when stored in airtight container there will be no moisture film on the inside.
Now go out there and start getting ready for winter!
~Seth
No comments:
Post a Comment