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Apparently, bugs have this routine built into their brains that basically has them jump around a given area, looking for suitable food or whatever. When you interplant, the chance that the bug will land on its ideal host is smaller. And the chance of landing on the ideal host multiple times is...

Pie is my favorite way to consume... anything. So when I found this, I was interested in how to make my own pies-in-a-jar: http://www.permies.com/t/4565/cooking/jar-pie-years But, is it safe? I don't know. Here's my thoughts: You can preserve pie filling but only with certain...

I've never heard any object to these boy-scout values. Not ever. Some people object to the organization but the values themselves are not controversial. All this PC talk makes me feel like I'm surrounded by old people :) The sky isn't always falling. My favorite character trait is GRIT...

One thing that I've realized in the last year is that hunting and fishing are time-consuming activities. They take time AND timing. It's hard for me to work those kinds of things into my life at this point. In a survival situation, I'm sure everyone's time will be too short of the activities...

After the applesauce discussion last week, I'll be doing a lot more water-bath canning in the coming week. So I'll use the regular jars first and save the canning jars for the pressure cooker.

Once you have a board or two up, a reciprocating saw might be helpful. You can also use a hacksaw---the kind you find in the plumping section with the blade unsupported at the far end.

So I was looking for jars. We're coming up short this year, what with the garden and all. Such a blessing. I started canning with 6 doz pt jars thinking that it was a crazy number and that I'd never use that many. [Many, many jars later, I'm still searching for dozens more.] Well, I found...

Cooks illustrated reviewed vanilla a while back. For baking, the artificial stuff was preferred by their panel or whatever. But there's two types. The cheap one uses methyl-vanillin (it's the CH3 in the Wikipedia picture, below). You want the ethyl-vanillin for baking. But for non-baked...

All of my canning and other food preservation adventures started here. I had been gardening but the inspiration to grow a year's worth of supplies came from this forum. Eventually we moved to the country where I can have livestock and a huge garden. I probably had an inclination toward all of...

Last night I put up 9 pt of applesauce using the water bath method. I filled the jars with HOT apple bits to the first rib, which is about 1" headspace. No problems. None at all. It's terribly convenient to not have sticky bits of apple everywhere. Cleanup was easy. However, I noticed that...

I guess I'm just in the habit. Sometimes I'm canning broth or green beans at the same time. I have an electric stove for now and the water bath takes a while to heat up compared to the pressure canner. And I never know how much water I need to cover the jars by 2". I guess those aren't good...

No, gd, I'm not properly hot packing. I usually quarter the apples, cook them with a little water, run them through the food mill, add liquid and other ingredients, then pack warm. So I guess I should do that correctly... Maybe in combination with better pressure regulation and more head...

I'm canning applesauce and I noticed that one of my jars (that I opened) had some apple pulp that straddled the seal. Is that an issue? Seems like it could be. I'm using Tattler lids but I don't expect that it'd matter which type you are using. I guess this comes back to a much more basic...

Apparently Lister-type diesel engines are a popular choice for co-gen/chp applications. Low speed, long lasting, etc. Perfect for the SS crowd. Downside is that they're heavy and expensive. Like, 3,500-5,000 $. Of course, if you buy a real generator with a Honda engine (the cat's meow, from...

Ask and ye shall receive. Here's an article about using a 350 (slightly larger brother of my boat's engine) as a combined-heat-and-power type setup. http://www.microcogen.info/index.php?topic=1182.0 For more on co-generation, see the article below. That's where I learned about this...

The generator was my first thought, too. The 305 is about 200 HP, which seems like a lot for the application. I'm not sure what I would do for the generation side. Permanent-magnet motors are one way to go but they're 100 $/HP or something. I guess I don't have to be running the motor at...

Velencia oranges aren't the best for eating. They're a bit bland and the flesh is not dense like blood oranges and other sweet oranges. GD, I wish I had juiced them. I did save the zest and used that in a so-so mead. But now I want my jars and lids back, so I've got to do something with...

How to re-purpose a GM 305 engine and boat trailer? I have a Larson boat with an inboard-outboard motor. These things go on craigslist for 800-1200. Crying shame. The trailer itself costs more than that, new. If I wanted to replace the engine or lower unit, it would cost lots. But put it...

I just asked people with loaded apple trees. I offered to pay but no one took me up on it. I usually pick up the windfalls, as a token of appreciation.

Got 9 5-gal buckets of apples over the weekend. So I'll be putting up applesauce for the next week!