Be Prepared Challenge - Restock & Rotate #1

So you have your emergency kit, grab bag, and stockpile all sorted, or at least are planning to I dare say.

This week Bec and I will be doing a few posts about Restock and Rotating your booty, I mean stockpile.   Things like first aid kits don't need too much maintenance, just a six monthly check for items that you may have used, but food definitely needs fairly close attention to avoid spoiling.

Food in tins have a long shelf life, as does UHT Milk and do not need too much attention.  When we restock, we simply put the old stuff to the front and new stuff to the back.  Just basic stock rotation, just like any store owner would practice.  We do the same with fresh food as well.  In the fridge we have two crisper compartments and rotate between them.  For example one week we put garden harvest in the top one, and the next week rotate to the bottom draw and keep using the top until empty.  Then rotate.  We find this works wonderfully, and we rarely have any spoiled fruit and vegetables. One of the great things about having a food forest around your house is that most of the storage is in the garden itself.  You just pick when you need it!

Dried goods need a little more attention, with flour susceptible to weevils, and dried beans sensitive to high humidity.  We use airtight plastic storage containers to keep anything out of opened or damaged packets, and I know from experience that in the sub tropics it is best to store your flour in the freezer to kill off any weevil eggs before they hatch.  We don't have too many problems with our flour, but keep it airtight anyway.

The method Kim and I use each week, is to write down items on a list as we use them.  I have a small whyteboard that Ben gave us, and I am going to mount that on the back of the pantry door.  This way, it will make it a lot easier each month to restock, as we will have a better idea of what we have used.

However, all this talk about restocking brings me to one big problem we are now facing.  Increasing global food shortages.  A very scary subject indeed.  Today in The Age there was this article titled "Fruit and vegetables set to rise more than 70 per cent", which talks about the recent floods and it effect on food prices.  Then I found this one in the Irish Independent titled "Never mind banks in crisis, food prices are our real worry" which talks about commodity prices.  The icing on the cake for me was this article by Associated Press titled "Egyptians stock up on food, water as protests rage" which talks about the political unrest over the weekend. As I have written before, there are troubled times ahead, it pays to be prepared.

So what can we do about it, and keep our own families fed at a reasonable price?  Well, I have said this many times, and you are probably getting sick of me harping on about it, but grow and preserve your own food.  You will probably never become self sufficient on a suburban block, but I have managed to supplement at least 50% of our fresh food bill with home grown produce.  Even the odd chook or seven will come in handy if you can keep them fed for a decent price.  In January alone, my seven chickens produced 108 eggs, or 9 dozen, for the cost of $30 in feed.  At approx $6.50 a doz for free range eggs in the store which would have cost me $58.50, that is a saving of $28.50 per month.  It is even more of a saving when all the hens are laying, due to the fact that 3 of mine are moulting and are off the lay this month.  Growing your own food is a satisfying feeling, knowing that you are providing for your own families well being.  If you do choose to grow your own food, make sure you have an ample seed supply as well.

Another way to save is to buy in bulk.  We buy most items in the biggest size we can get, because it is substantially cheaper than smaller quantities.  If you don't believe me, try checking this out.  The next time you go to a supermarket, check out the price per 100gm.  Most Aussie supermarkets list this calculation with their item price.  You will find bulk items up to $1.00 or more cheaper per kilogram!  We buy bulk sugar, flour, dried beans, rice, salt, milk, vegetables, etc.  You get the basic gist of it.  Even better, if you can source a local food co-op and join up, you will find even better bulk food prices, without all that packaging. 

During this week, I will do a bit of research for bulk food stores in each Aussie capital city, and list as many as I can.

So where is the task for today, I here you ask.  Well I feel that I have only scratched the surface, and I dare say there are lots of other ways to keep your regular restocking costs to a minimum whilst still maintaining an adequate supply for whatever crisis you are planning for! 

The task is for anyone that has any other restocking on the cheap suggestions, please leave them via a comment for all readers to enjoy and digest.  Also, if readers would like to share any food co-ops they know of and use frequently, please leave a comment as well.  It doesn't matter where you live in the world, share the wealth and list your favourite co-op.


Happy restocking!

Be Prepared Challenge - Acquire #2 - Stockpile

Ready for the next part of the challenge.  Bec has been running wild over at her blog this week with the Aquire part of the challenge.  Check out her posts for the week.


Acquire - Step One (Task 1 - Consider what you will need)
Acquire - Step Two (Task 2 - Set up your Storage area, Task 3 - Gather & Make an Inventory of What you Have)
Acquire - Step Three (Task 4 - Gather Items for Stay at Home supplies)
Acquire - Step Four (Task 5 - Put together Emergency Kits for Evacuation)

and my post for the week Acquire #1 (Task 1 - Inventory).

So far, so good I hope.  The next task is to begin to stockpile.  Bec has already covered off the basics non-food items to collect in step 3, so I won't repeat it.  However, what sort of food would you need for a short crisis?  Will you have enough for a month, preferably at least 10 weeks?  Where do I start I hear you asking?  Well, there are many lists out there and here are a few good references that I have referred to in the past.

• Julie at Towards Sustainability wrote "What's in my Stockpile" (a great list)
• Australia's Emergency Pantry List has an Interactive Pantry List that you can fill in.
• Rhonda at Down to Earth wrote "Saving money with a stockpile", which was the first time I encountered the concept. 
• University of Sydney's site called "Food Lifeboat", has a very good list that details how much food is required each day, and a shopping list to help you prepare for 10 weeks.

All very informative lists and all of them should give you some ideas.

Start off with a few items you don't have, especially if you are strapped for cash.  Each week buy a little extra once you have figured out what you need.  You will soon find that you will have a substantial stockpile ready for use and any crisis that I hope does not eventuate.  It doesn't have to be expensive when you stockpile because good bought in bulk are often discounted.  Just do your own sums when you go shopping.  If you have a bulk food co-op close by, then that is the ideal place to start.

So what do I stockpile?  Well the list is long, so how about I just show you via photos instead!  Just remember to click to enlarge.

This is our main stockpile cupboard.  Shelf two has cleaning and personal hygiene products.  Shelf 3 has cereals,  tinned food like tuna, potatoes, beans, corn, baked beans, spaghetti, coconut milk, chickpeas and a few other.  Shelf four has flour, sugar, sauces, pastes, UHT milk.  The floor has rices, toilet rolls, and non-stockpile items.  Have a closer look below.

Turn a full 180 degrees on the spot and you see the pantry cupboard, which also hold lots of stockpiled goods.

Home brew beer, cordials and vinegar

Onion, oils and a kite (never know when you are going to need to fly a kite to release some stress)

Pasta and potatoes,

Preserved fruit and vegetables, and dried lentils.

Jams and honey,

Cooking needs,

 

Don't forget the wine.  I always have a few on hand.

Nice and neat, so you can see at a glance what you have.

All the stuff in cans are ready to eat if you cannot heat them.   Don't forget to keep a couple of can openers at hand!

And finally, don't forget some protein.  If you eat meat, then get some canned as it last longer and you are not reliant on the fridge/freezer if the power goes out.  If you are a veggie, then you will have lots of beans, and dried pulses on hand.

Now one thing I haven't shown you is the stock feed for the chickens.  If you have animals don't forget them in the scheme of things.  I have two spare 20kg bags of feed the shed for the chooks, so we are kept in fresh eggs in-case of emergency.  If worst comes to worst, I would let them forage around to find lots of bugs and weeds.  Don't forget your dogs and cats food as well.

As stockpiling is a personal choice, I am not going to give you a list to follow.  Everybody's diet is different, so the great thing is that you get to choose what you want.  Go for it, and remember that Rome was not built in a day.  Our stockpile took about a year to collect, but simple to maintain once you have all your needs.  Maintenance or Restock & Rotate is a post for next week.

I hope you have fun.

Earth Hour 2011

Earth Hour, 8.30pm, Saturday 26th March 2011.  This year, lets go beyond the one off event of 60 minutes of abstinence.  So to that end, I have decided to help out WWF to ensure the message goes beyond the one single hour that people turn off their lights or power.





This year WWF are holding the Earth Hour Awards that I have offered to help promote and be a preliminary judge.  Here is the blurb from their site, and please note that the apply and nominate pop-ups work from the links, but not a well as on their main site.

"In 2011 we want to unearth inspiring stories of Australian’s who are “Going Beyond the Hour”, who are leading by example and inspiring others to do the same.  In 2011 we want to share these stories with the world."

Here are all the categories that you can nominate people in. 

Young Panda Award

This one’s for the under 15’s and is all about young people embodying the Earth Hour spirit. We’re looking for someone who has been proactive in reducing their environmental footprint and has inspired their friends or family to take action too. Little actions can make a big difference!

Apply Nominate

The Workplace Champions Award

Every action adds up. This award is for an individual or team with big ideas, taking exceptional initiative within their workplace to positively impact the environment.

Apply Nominate

The Future Makers Award

Open to one and all, young and old, this award is for those individuals who always go beyond the Hour. For those among us who are taking innovative action to protect and preserve our planet into the future, and who are inspiring others to do the same.

Apply Nominate

The Lifetime Achievement Award

This award is to recognise the leaders in our community, who, in demonstrating an ongoing dedication to the environment, are leading by example and guiding younger generations to make a difference too.

Apply Nominate

The Education Award

How can the everyday person make a difference if they don’t know how? This Award is to recognise those who are making a significant contribution to educating others on how to live more sustainable lives. It might be your teacher, school, or scout group!

Apply Nominate

The People’s Choice Award

On March 4, the top 20 finalists will be announced. This will be your chance to cast your vote for your favourite, most inspiring story. Voting will run throughout March with the winner being announced on Earth Hour. More information to come soon! 

So stay tuned as I receive more information from the promoters.  It is going to be a great event!

Climate Irony

A 5 billion dollar package to repair climate change damage?  Current events here in Australia seem a little ironic to me. Here is why.

13 long years of drought in Australia kinda clinched the existence of climate change for many people, as has the flooding rains the followed.  The heating of the oceans are causing so many different effects on the climactic system that Gaia has thrown everything into a spin.  2010 was, on average, the 3rd hottest year globally since records existed.  Australia had one of its coldest years on record, and in the eastern part and some of the west, one of its wettest.  The extreme weather events that the climatologist predicted would happen are now happening with regular occurrence not only our country, but globally.  To put the icing on the cake, two tropical cyclones are heading towards Queensland as I write, probably making landfall within a week of each other.

Sounds like a strong response is required to cut our carbon emissions are in order, just like our learned scientists have been screaming at us to do quickly.  Will we ever see this happen?  I don't believe so.

So what has been our Government's response to this climate devastation?  Well, a simple one really.  Lets cut funding to climate projects, like large scale renewable energy, clean car fund, and even Carbon capture and storage (yes, even clean coal gets the cut).  WTF??? Are they on some kind of hallucinogenic drug?  Are they missing the forest for the trees (albeit, the cut down ones that they give the logging industry permission to cut down in swathes).  Climatologist have a majority consensus regarding Climate Change. Sure not all of them, but the vast majority and that we should have acted at the turn of the century to prevent what is now occurring.  So why should we pay for a levy, when the Hon. Julia Gillard PM, decides to cut Climate Change programs, to pay for Climate Change effects? So is a tax in disguise the answer to Climate Change? How stupid, short sighted and very, very ironic.

A levy (tax) for 12 months to pay for the damage caused by the flooding in three states of the country?  Personally I am all for a levy to help pay my part, but without the cuts to climate change mitigation projects.  However, it seems that it may not even be legal as I found this tit bit posted as a comment under a news article;

"Has anyone looked at the legality of such a tax? Under section 51(2) and 99 of the constitution, the commonwealth would be unable to impose income tax at different rates in different states. Under section 51(2) the parliament has power to tax but so as not to discriminate between states or parts of states. Under section 99 the commonwealth shall not, by any law or regulation of trade, commerce or revenue, give preference to one state or any part there of over another state or any part thereof.  All for supporting the flood victims but lets not disregard the constitution in the process!! - boulder"

It doesn't sound legal to me either but I am not a constitutional QC, so maybe that is why they are calling it a levy and not a temporary tax.  A tax on the few with exemptions for certain parts of the population.  It doesn't seem fair.

Perhaps I could write a movie about a man who lost his wife and children due to Climate Change, and takes the law into his own hands to revenge Climate Change deniers in Parliament. The movie could be called "The Greater Good".  Mind you, the man would have to take out most of the Parliament for the effect to be any good.  Not that I am advocating a Guy Faulks like event.  Far from it.  It just irritates me that either our politicians have not connected the dots, or have and are just ignoring the evidence.  What happens when the next climate disaster occurs?  Do we just get a continuous levy imposed aka tax.  Why aren't the industries that pollute pay more?  That's right, they have the ample funds to lobby the government for a cut in company tax, and to delay an inevitable carbon tax on the worst of them.  Yet again the people pay for companies outright greed.

I believe that We will need to be in a Climate Change Disaster movie before Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott believe or act upon Climate Change decisively.  What will it take?

Bloody ostriches!

Be Prepared Challenge - Acquire #1

Now to the fun part of the challenge (mind you, last week was fun).  You would have put aside a space somewhere by now if you have been following the challenge, however before you rush off to the food co-op to stock up on goodies, lets start at the very beginning. 

What do you already have on hand?  What do you really need to get you through a short interruption or an extended one for that matter?  Do you honestly need 24 cans of Spam in your pantry?

Task #1 - Inventory.

So, these questions need to be tacked before we start to acquire anything at all.  The very first thing I suggest you do as task number one for this week, is to perform an inventory!  Sounds boring, but believe you me, it is essential if you want to do this as effectively and efficiently as you can. As Bec will be covering the budgeting aspect of being prepared, I will not repeat it here, but it you have a tight budget this will be an essential task.

Get out a pad and pencil, and go through your existing pantry/storage area and write down exactly what you have at hand.  How else will you know if you already have items stocked up already for a rainy day?  Don't include stuff you have in the fridge, because in an emergency, consider that the electricity supply in your area to be either unreliable or non-existent. 

It doesn't matter what the food item is, write it down.  If it is out of date, this will be a good time to throw it away.  As you work through this process, think of things that you could make with it if cooking facilities are turn out to be primitive.  You may have to resort to an open fire, barbecue, or solar oven to cook your food. However, don't be tempted to jump ahead and start writing down a whole bunch of recipes.  Just keep it in the back of your mind for now. 

Then sort it out into "meals ready to eat" and "needs preparation".  Have a think about how you would need to prepare it to make a nutritious meal out of the item.  Do you have other items currently in stock that you need to achieve this?  Add notes to that effect.

This task could take from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on how prepared you may already be.  Once you have an inventory of your food, move on to essential items like personal hygiene, water, and fuel.  Think about all the things you use in your day currently, and see if you have these things on hand.  Now, they may not help you in an emergency, but just add it to your list for now.

I too will be participating in this part of the challenge, because even though I have already done all this before, it is good to know what you currently have at hand.  We have been stockpiling food and essentials for about 3 years now, however sometimes these things get out of hand, and you buy too much of one item and not enough of another essential.  We already have our budget each week for our groceries, so I can personally skip that part of the overall challenge.

Anyway, what are you waiting for?  There is no time like the present!  I bet you find all sorts of goodies that you didn't realise you had.

Later on in the week, both Bec and I will discuss what essentials may be required, covering food, water and your emergency kit.  Until then, have fun.

Be Prepared Challenge - Organise #3

How are the tasks in your challenge going?  Well I hope.  To add to the ever growing list of tasks that Bec and I have been throwing at you this week, here is one final and simple task for finish off the Organise week.  It has to do with insurance.

The concept of insurance has been around for a long time, some people think it is necessary, others do not.  This is a brief extract from FIDO about how insurance works.

"Insurance policies involve the transfer of risk. The insurer agrees to compensate you for a loss rather than you having to pay for that loss yourself. Usually the insurer assesses whether to accept the risk (and if so, on what terms) through information they get from you. You decide whether the terms the insurer offers meet your needs. Read the product disclosure statement to help you with this."

I personally believe that a little bit of insurance is a good thing in these troubled times, and I have only ever had to claim once in my lifetime.  I was living in a flat in Sydney a long time ago and was burgled.  The claim on insurance was a pretty straight forward procedure, however there was one thing that I was not ready for, and that was the provision of evidence to the insurer.  Things like serial numbers, photos, warranty documents, that sort of stuff.  I didn't have much, just a couple of photos of the stolen items, but that was enough to help.  I was glad that I took the time to take out insurance in the first place.


So, on to the challenge.  This task is two fold and is one that is often missed and is definitely not on most peoples list before a crisis hits. 

Firstly, if you have some sort of insurance already for your home, home contents, self, car, etc., then actually take the time to understand what you are covered for.  Policies always list inclusions and exclusions and this is where many good people get tripped up when they go to claim after a crisis.  If you live near a flood plain are you covered for flood damage?  If you are living in a forest or bushland, are you covered for bush fires, or damage to your home from trees falling through them?  Are you covered for storm damage?  What is the excess you have to pay before making a claim?  Know the facts.  Just because your neighbour has insurance and is not covered for a certain item, it doesn't mean that you are not covered.  Check with your own insurer and your policy.  What have you got to loose?  With 1 in 100 year events occurring more frequently, it pays to have some sort of insurance.  Shop around though and make sure you are covered for the most likely events in your geography.  Don't forget to factor the insurance payments into you family budget.

Just my take on it.  Your don't have to if you don't want to.


The second part of the task is to record items that you absolutely want replaced like for like.  The easiest way to record items is to take photos of them.  Take a couple of shots of each item, showing the layout, and if it is an electrical item take a shot of the serial number and model.  Easy as pie.  Then copy the photos to a USB memory stick or print copies and and a copy of your insurance policies and keep it in a folder in your emergency bag or fire safe.  Anywhere safe that will remain intact.  That way, when you do come to claim, you have evidence of your goods, and it will make the claim process run a lot smoother.  Also don't forget to update you collection of photos every year or so. 

I also found some advice in FIDO website that is titled "A guide to insurance, protecting your assets".  It is independent of the insurance industry and is sage advice indeed. 

So if you have chosen to have a go at this task, you will have piece of mind that whatever happens in the near future, you will not be financially bankrupt after a crisis and have to start from scratch.  I wouldn't wish that on anyone. 

Tomorrow, I will be posting the first task for the Acquire week.  I hope you keep working on the "Be Prepared Challenge".  I know I will!

Climate Change Risk Management 101

Greg Craven is a science teacher in the US, who back in June 2007 put out a rational argument about climate change on YouTube.  After over 7 million hits, he has written a book called "What is the worst that can happen".  It only had a limited run, but I believe it was well received and sold out.

Being an IT Risk Manager, I understand how to perform risk assessments, whether they be on IT stuff or normal everyday decisions that need to be made, which is why I believe that action on lowing humans carbon footprint is so essential.  In his video series, Greg has made a complex argument quite simple, and judging by this amount of hits on his YouTube series, he has made some impact.  But what gets me is this.  His initial video discussed the pro's and con's of action and inaction based upon whether anthropogenic climate change is actually occurring or not back in 2007, and we still have not done a hell of a lot about it.  I could rant on all night, however the results of his risk assessment is quite compelling, and I totally agree with his assumptions.

Now if you what to know what this guy is on about, well let me show you.  It is a bit nerdy, but please stick it out for the entire 10 minutes as I believe you will find this quite interesting.

Be Prepared Challenge - Organise #2

If you have been joining in on the challenge, you would have read Bec's post at eat at dixiebelles titled ":: Be Prepared Challenge :: Organise - Step Two :".  She listed places, areas and ways to store the items you need to be prepared.  I think she covered off everything, so I shall not repeat all of that wonderful information.  Thanks Bec for the great tips.

What I will cover today are skills.  As my son Adam puts it, 'Skills to pay the bills', or in this case save your family's bacon in a dire situation.  By understanding the skills we possess or don't have, we can better prepare in case TSHTF.  

One big caveat.  I am by no means an expert in this field.  I have however had the benefit of 20 years of military training and service and have gained many life skills during my time in the Royal Australian Navy.  I also served in Darwin, when I experience and survived three cyclones by learning to be prepared.  Also in the few years I have been on my green journey, I have learnt many skills that will benefit in a crisis.  If you want to participate in this task, then great.  If you think I am talking out of my bottom, then skip it, but please at least read what I have to say.

So for this task we will need the following;

• Thinking Caps,
• Pencil
• Large pad
• Other members of the family
• A quiet place without the TV blaring in the background

Sit down with afore mentioned family and on your piece of paper draw four columns down the page and title them as follows;  It would look something like this;

Skills	Competent	Basic	No competency
First Aid	tick
Music			tick
Preparing food	tick
Carpentry		tick
Mechanical			tick
Driving	tick
Preserving food	tick

Write down everyones skills that you already have or think you need work on that would be useful during a crisis.  For example, I have pre-populated some of mine.  Anyway, you get the general idea.  Do this for every person in the family that is willing to participate.  That way, you will get a rounded view of all the important skills you think you will need during a Natural disasters, political unrest, resource scarcity.  Stick to those three main situations as your scope so to speak.  With the natural disasters, think about those ones that may be possible in your area at least ones that have occurred in the last 50 years.  That should give you a fairly good sample to work from.

So, if you are stuck for skills, here are a few more;
Plan, Organise, Entertain & perform, Plant & cultivate, Treat/Nurse, First Aid, Transport, Compose music, Tend animals, Counsel, Negotiate, Sell, Buy, Teach, Prepare food, Make decisions, Write, Draw, Count, Carpentry abilities, Mechanical abilities, Basic Fire fighting, Navigate, Bush craft, Mend/Sew, Deal with Feelings, Light a fire, Cleaning. 

These are some of the important ones I would consider, but there are probably a few more you can and will think of.  Some may seem a little bit out there like compose music, however if the power is out and everyone is bored, and someone can play a musical instrument, then morale gets instantly lifted!  Just an example, but you know what I mean.  Just try your best, and be honest.  For any skills that you feel you are lacking in, check if another family member has that skill, but remember one skill that you cannot skimp on is First Aid.  If push comes to shove, ensure that everyone knows CPR.  I admit that I still have to take Ben to a course, but I believe that everyone else knows the basics.

So once you find the gaps in your family skill set, or find ones that you believe you absolutely need yourself, seek a way of gaining that skill, either by attending a course i.e CPR/First aid, reading a book about the subject and practising i.e Cooking, or marrying someone who has that skill (the last one is a joke).  It is no use during a crisis discovering that you have a house full of food that you have carefully stockpiled, and no-one knows how to light a fire to cook it.  Further more, there is no use having a few fire extinguishers around the house when no-one knows how to use them.  This is one good skill that I have taught to Ben and Kim.  I bought a cheap fire extinguisher and let them practice against one of our fences, with a cardboard box as a pretend fire.  There is nothing quite like pulling the trigger to give you a bit of experience. 

Same goes for practice.  Once you have learnt a skill, practice it regularly if you think it is important enough.  Skills like cooking food, negotiating, planning and organising take time to develop.  Don't leave it to the last minute when your kids are screaming for food, or critical decisions need to be made that instant.  Practice, practice, practice.  I sound like a music teacher! 

Anyway, at the end of this task, I would expect that you and your family would have a list of skills, you fully understand your competencies, and where you need to seek further information or training.  A good start, but please do follow up and practice or learn those skills you think you need.

To finish off, can I please ask that if you think I have missed any essential skills or have any burning ones you want to add, leave a comment with details.  The more information we all have, the better off we will be at the end of the challenge.  That include websites with list of skills.  Don't include what to start hoarding i.e food & essentials, as that task is coming up in week 2.

Thanks for participating so far. 

As Happy As Silicon Basking in Photons

Today I received our electricity bill for the quarter.  I was pleasantly shocked to read that we were in CREDIT by A$27.  And that was with an extremely cloudy three months.

Stats:
Grid use = 1153 kWh.  Average 12.1 kWh per day (not bad seeing the pool is about 5 kWh of the total)
Solar generation = 616 kwh. Average 6.2 kWh

Total cost of grid power incl service to property, metering charges and Green 100% Wind premium;
= 344.96 debit
Total credit from Net Feed-in Tariff (66c per kWh)
= 406.56 credit
Minus GST (tax) of $34.51 gives a grand total of;
= $27.09 credit


How is that for the hard benefits of Solar PV?  I am hoping that this quarter will be even better.  Not a cent to pay, and some to carry over into the next bill.  Also by using Green 100% Wind from the grid, I avoided 1.579 tonnes of CO2e.  One happy greening of gavin!

Finally some solar justice.

Aztec Gold

Tonight I was busy with one of my favourite hobbies, namely beer making.  Now how could beer making be green, I here you ask?  Well glad you asked.  Have a read of this post titled "Gav's Eco Beer" to get a good understanding of the environmental benefits of making your own beer. 

Anyway, I made up a simple recipe that I found on a the back of a Coopers leaflet called Aztec Gold.  I put 500g of Dry light malt and 1 can of Coopers Cerveza brew mixture into the fermenter, added 2 litres of boiling water and mix.  Once mixed, I added rain water to make up 23 litres, take an original specific gravity reading (mine was 1036) and then pitch the yeast when the temperature goes below 25C.  To see how the process works, have a look at my Home Brewing video tutorial. 

I made it up on Sunday 9th, before I came down sick, and it has been bubbling away merrily for 6 days.  Kim let me put the fermenter in the laundry, because the temperature variation in the shed has been ridiculous and she likes Cerveza!

The beer stopped fermenting on Friday so I could have bottled it after work, however from experience, I always leave the beer in the fermenter for an extra two days, so that the beer settles and clears without the use of finings. The final specific gravity was 1008.

After washing and sterilising all 66 bottles, I added just under a teaspoon of white sugar to each bottle, then filled them all up as you can see below.

Then I went about putting the crown seals on each bottle with my hand capping machine.  

My darling daughter Megan (who took the photos) always catches my best angle.  Here is a sealed bottle.  Once sealed, I invert the bottle a few times to dissolve the sugar to start secondary fermentation.  This produces the beer bubbles.

Here is an action shot.  It is a pretty simple process, and from start to finish bottling usually takes me about 90 minutes.

In about three weeks time, I will sample the Aztec Gold and see if it is a winner!  It smelt very nice, and was crystal clear as I siphoned it from the fermenter to the bottles.  I will let you know how it turns out when it is ready.  Beer making is a great hobby, and I suppose that if I draw a really long bow, it is a great skill to have if the breweries every shut down or go broke, and besides that, the satisfaction of sharing your own home made beer with mates is second to none.  Especially when it tastes great as well.

Be Prepared Challenge - Organise #1

So, here we all are, waiting with baited breath for the first challenge for Organise.

Here is the event that happened to me.  A work accident occurred resulting in a nasty back injury, and I was fully incapacitated for two months.  This meant limited movement, flat on my back most of the time, I could not drive or ride, and my wife did not drive (unless there were a gaggle of zombies chasing her).  So we were kind of stuck up the creek without a paddle.  Sure we could have logged onto home shopping and ordered our groceries and the like, but those services come with a premium attached, and as my pay was cut by 66%, we struggled just to pay the mortgage.  So what did we do?  We used our stockpile and emergency supplies to tide us over through this difficult period and came through it well fed and happy in the knowledge that we survived intact.  This scenario was not the only time we have utilised our 'be prepared' skills which will become evident during the course of the challenge.

So I hope this simple experience will help throughout this challenge having used the skills I built up in anger so to speak.  Now this type of scenario is not the only one that requires forethought and planning.  Natural disasters, political unrest, and resource scarcity could occur anywhere and any time to anyone. 

So on with the challenge.  As I said in the intro post for the challenge, these tasks are not going to be difficult, and will be step by step actions that everyone can take without too much fuss.

What I would like you all to do over the next couple of days is to set aside a place in your home that will become your designated place for your stockpile and emergency supplies.  It can be a cupboard that is currently cluttered with stuff that you may no longer need, and if that is the case either reuse or hand it in to your local charity shop or Freecycle it.  You may have to reorganise your entire kitchen, which is what we first did to make enough space that we thought was necessary.

What ever you choose to do, just make some space.  It needs to be relatively cool in summer so food stuffs do not prematurely age, like preserves and the like and it needs to be readily accessible, and not in some out of the way part of the house unless that is all you have.   We get to put stuff in your stockpile space in week two, so really you have all of week one to complete this task.

Just for reference, my stockpile cupboard is directly as you come in the front door, a) so it is easy to unload bulk items from the shops, and b) it is directly across from our pantry which makes it easy to restock it from stockpile.  The stockpile is in your face so to speak and easily accessible by all family members.

Once you have your space assigned, let me know via a comment or if you already have a space already allocated, share your story with everyone.  I dare say we will all learn a lot from each other during the 4 weeks of the challenge.

Enjoy task number 1!

Be Prepared Challenge

 
Today I awoke to find that my own state Victoria is in flood crisis.   So in light of current environmental events throughout Australia and the world at large, Bec from eat at dixiebelles, and I thought it would be very timely to set a challenge for ourselves and our readers.  We are going to run this challenge over 4 weeks using O.A.R.S as our guiding principle.  The acronym was chosen carefully, because when you think about it, you really need oars to propel your lifeboat along, and if at sea, you would have a lifeboat wouldn't you?  Think of it as a way to determine the skills and actions required to be prepared for an environmental disaster or man-made one for that matter.  Certainly no offence is meant if you are already suffering from a crisis.

So each week, we will post mini tasks on our own blogs, based on the word of the week and if anyone would like to join in along the way, please feel free to do so.  If you are a blogger then feel free to use the logo, and post about the task and how you went about it.  If you don't have a blog, just leave a comment on what you did and how you did it, and be proud about it!

These tasks will not be difficult, in fact I would say that we really want to make it easy for people to succeed, because ultimately it will help not only you but others around you when we get to the last week.

Tomorrow I will start the week off with our first Organise task, which will require a bit of planning and action on your behalf if you choose to accept the mission challenge.  Think of it as a big game of show and tell.  Like I said above, simple tasks yet firm steps towards being prepared.

I hope you will join Bec and I as we start the 'Be Prepared Challenge'.

Gavin

Home Made Fettuccine

After I had completed my outside jobs around the house, I thought it would be good to prepare a stockpile of pasta given one of my goals is to make our own pasta for a year.

A few weeks ago, I made spaghetti, which turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag, some parts good, some bad.  Since that time, I have made ravioli which I will post about soon, and today I made fettuccine.

The recipe was very simple.  250gm of plain flour, 250gm continental flour or semolina, 5 eggs and mix initially with a fork and then your hands until it forms a firm dough.  Then roll through the machine 5 times on number 1 then roll once on every setting until you finally roll out at number 6.  The sheet will be very thin, but easily manageable.

Then cut into about 40cm lengths and run it through your wide cutter to make fettuccine (little slices).

Then dry the pasta out for about an hour.  

As you can see, all I have made a drying rack out of two old broom handles, that I sanded and prepared with olive oil and rested them on two dinning chairs.  Nothing special, just practical.  I also put a towel underneath in case some dropped down during drying.

 A word of advice whilst making pasta.  Ensure that your machine is firmly fastened to the bench or table you are using.  You use quite a bit of force getting the dough through the initial setting.

When the pasta was dry, Kim and I divided the pasta up into quarters and bagged them up and put them in the freezer.  That way will have fettuccine ready for quick meals like Fettuccine Alfredo! 

Here are the bags in the freezer.

I also had a little bit of dough to experiment with, and managed to run a very small sheet through to number 9 on the machine.  I then whizzed it through the smallest cutter I had to see what turned out.  Well, low and behold I made Taglierini (little cut ones) which is a thin form of Tagliatelle.  I let this little nest dry out, then cooked it in a little salted water, drained well and served it in a small bowl with butter and pepper.  It was delicious, and separated well in the pot when cooked.  Kim, Ben and I scoffed down what little there was, so I dare say I know what I am doing tomorrow!