Question for the Preppers or anyone really

[GWS]

Most curious notion that someone who has reached adulthood would not know how to cook for themselves. However, perhaps I am too optimistic, at times.

I know more than a few adults whose best effort is a burnt hot dog over a charcoal grill. They also seem to be the least adventurous about food, refusing to try new stuff. The kind of people who think Olive Garden is gourmet food.

 

[sobo]

The kind of people who think Olive Garden is gourmet food.

 

[sobo]

You don't seem to realize how many people think meat comes from a grocery store.

You mean like this person...?

 

[Soli]

Most curious notion that someone who has reached adulthood would not know how to cook for themselves.

IMO someone cooking is a very reliable hint as to how they were raised. Not in a good or bad sense, just if you don't live with a cook or two growing up you won't cook yourself. In the past few decades it's been very easy to eat without cooking. (Not counting heating things up as "cooking.")

I didn't actually learn to cook until 15-20 years ago. And that was just a lark, really, that's turned into a skill over time. Now that our resident troll has gone back to his cave I'll respond to his stupidity of "30 seconds to learn to cook;" cooking is a skill that takes time, effort, and repetition. Without all of those you may not kill anyone with your food, but you won't be a cook worth the title.

 

[American123]

I get the be ready idea but my question is how many actually know how to cook a meal from scratch? What's going to happen when restaurants, grub-hub and microwaves don't work anymore?
And on a more advanced level, how many have Hunter/Gather skills or even grow a garden?

I live where there is more pavement than grass. People are in abundant supply though. I'd just have to change my meat source and I'd have food abounds.

A little more seriously… (but that wasn't necessarily a 100% joke) People who subsist off food delivery services and fast food are likely exclusively not prepping anything except for a heart attack from that plaque build up.

 

[Knobgoblin]

IMO someone cooking is a very reliable hint as to how they were raised. Not in a good or bad sense, just if you don't live with a cook or two growing up you won't cook yourself. In the past few decades it's been very easy to eat without cooking. (Not counting heating things up as "cooking.")

I didn't actually learn to cook until 15-20 years ago. And that was just a lark, really, that's turned into a skill over time. Now that our resident troll has gone back to his cave I'll respond to his stupidity of "30 seconds to learn to cook;" cooking is a skill that takes time, effort, and repetition. Without all of those you may not kill anyone with your food, but you won't be a cook worth the title.

In reference to the trollish "soup is the easiest thing to cook " well, no . It's definitely not the hardest, but a stand alone soup is something you need at least 3 different major skills to put together.

 

[GWS]

In reference to the trollish "soup is the easiest thing to cook " well, no . It's definitely not the hardest, but a stand alone soup is something you need at least 3 different major skills to put together.

Whaddya mean? Soup is water, salt and whatever else food is handy.

 

[sobo]

It's definitely not the hardest, but a stand alone soup is something you need at least 3 different major skills to put together.

Whaddya mean? Soup is water, salt and whatever else food is handy.

Welp, there's the 3 different major skilz right there!
1. boil water in pot
2. add salt to pot
3. go kill sump'n/pull sump'n up outta the ground and throw in pot

 

[GWS]

Welp, there's the 3 different major skilz right there!
1. boil water in pot
2. add salt to pot
3. go kill sump'n/pull sump'n up outta the ground and throw in pot

You boil water IN the pot??? I think I see where my problems may be…

 

[American123]

I know more than a few adults whose best effort is a burnt hot dog over a charcoal grill. They also seem to be the least adventurous about food, refusing to try new stuff. The kind of people who think Olive Garden is gourmet food.

It may not be gourmet, but as a young man, the never ending soup salad and breadsticks was major value for the dollar. I'm confident it was people like me that led to that being discontinued. The waiters would act like there was something wrong with me for wanting more, the hell, I wasn't the retard who didn't understand "never ending" literally meant I could eat as much as I want - and then I'll take some more to go!

 

[RX-79G]

You don't seem to realize how many people think meat comes from a grocery store. They have no clue how food is grown processed or distributed. If it can't be cooked in 5 minutes in a microwave, they are screwed.

Which has nothing to do with the process of simmering salted water with food in it until cooked through.

Cooking isnt hunting, butchering or farming. If you aren't actually talking about making soup, then don't call it making soup. You wouldn't tell people they don't know how to shoot because they don't know how to reload.

 

[GWS]

Which has nothing to do with the process of simmering salted water with food in it until cooked through.

Cooking isnt hunting, butchering or farming. If you aren't actually talking about making soup, then don't call it making soup. You wouldn't tell people they don't know how to shoot because they don't know how to reload.

You don't get it. It has everything to do with it.
They don't understand/know that soup is made with the right ingredients in the right proportions. To these folks soup is something you pour out of a can into your microwave safe container and heat on high for 3 1/2 minutes. That's how they "make" soup. They live on stuff that's pre-made, just heat and eat. They have no clue how its made or how to make it and for the most part, they don't want to know.

 

[308]

Cook? All the time.

Here's a simple recipe for Fall given the apple harvest. The spices add a wonderful scent to the kitchen.



Curried Apple Chicken Sauté

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even 1/2" thickness
• 2 baking apples (Granny Smith, McIntosh, or similar), peeled, cored, and finely chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup water
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation

1. Season the chicken on both sides with with salt and pepper.
2. In a small glass bowl mix together the water and flour. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat melt the butter. Add the chicken and cook 3 minutes per side, then transfer to a plate and cover with foil.
4. Add the onion to the skillet. Sauté for 4 minutes. Add the cinnamon, curry, and paprika. Sauté for 30 seconds. Add the apples. Toss well to coat the apples. Cover the skillet and cook for 5 minutes, or until the apples are tender but not mushy.
5. Uncover the skillet and stir in the cider vinegar. Add the water and flour mixture. Stir. Reduce heat to simmer. Return chicken to skillet, cover chicken with the sauce, cover the skillet, and cook for 6-8 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.

I was drooling while reading that delicious recipe

 

[powersbj]

Anyone can cook, not everyone can make it taste good... my kids won't eat fast food they think it tastes gross, thats a huge win that will pay dividens their entire life.

 

[Labradorian]

Donner! Party of 2! No, sorry, party of 1!

Why do you think I regularly feed the neighborhood cats?....I am all set.
On a serious note, my mouth is watering looking at all the fat Americans walking around....Imagine the endless supply of juicy steaks.

Now really....food is pretty much everywhere, if you learn how to look beyond groceries stores.

Did you know that during the German siege of Stalingrad in WW2, after they ran out of live stock, pets, mice, rats, bugs (and by some accounts...even dead relatives), some Russians survived by boiling their hide/leather shoes and drinking that "soup" for the organic/nutritive matter/value contained in it?.

My point is that when you're really hungry, you become very creative....

However, it will always help if you educate/prepare yourself on the matter when you have a full belly.

 

[RX-79G]

You don't get it. It has everything to do with it.
They don't understand/know that soup is made with the right ingredients in the right proportions. To these folks soup is something you pour out of a can into your microwave safe container and heat on high for 3 1/2 minutes. That's how they "make" soup. They live on stuff that's pre-made, just heat and eat. They have no clue how its made or how to make it and for the most part, they don't want to know.

Your ideas about people really revolve around an "us and them" paradigm that causes some of you to hold some very silly beliefs.

 

[Angie]

I can garden, know how to amend soil, rotate, practice permaculture, and fight the bugs as much as we can. I have numerous heirloom seeds stored, and know how to can and have a lot of canning jars and lids, including the resealable kind. Probably not enough of the last two items, but I can't buy any more until we get settled somewhere. Also have a lot of cast iron for over the fire cooking, including a dutch oven and a 4 quart iron pot (yard sale score). I also know how to dehydrate in the sun without power.

As for foraging . . . I'm always paying attention to area plants, but this is one area that I'm really lacking in. I do have several foraging books for the Rockies and PNW, but haven't put the information in them to practice. I know about eating camas and cattail tubers, wild onions, berries, of course. But that is the extent of my knowledge.

 

[oremike]

Your ideas about people really revolve around an "us and them" paradigm that causes some of you to hold some very silly beliefs.

As do you Bucky, as do you.

 

[ATCclears]

Another simple recipe. Substitute canned tomatoes with fresh tomatoes.






Nordstrom Tomato Basil Soup

Total Time: 2 hours
Makes: 12 cups

Ingredients

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 pound onions, peeled and diced
• Kosher Salt
• 3 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• Cayenne Pepper
• Salt and Black Pepper
• 1 cup basil leaves

Preparation

1. In a 6- to 8-quart pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots and onions with kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 10-12 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, crushed roughly by hand, and cover with chicken stock. Add dried basil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soup thickens, about 1½ hours more, monitoring heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
3. Turn off heat. Taking care with the hot liquid, use an immersion blender or transfer soup to a blender, working in batches if necessary, to blend until smooth.
4. Return soup to saucepan. Stir in cream, then season with a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt and black pepper to taste. Cut basil leaves into chiffonade.
5. To serve, ladle warm soup into bowls and top with cut basil. Soup will keep up to 1 week in an airtight container in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

 

[The Heretic]

Up the road a way from me there was another family of those about 12-15 years ago. First thing they did was fell all their timber, left most of the stumps. Cutting trees down is much easier than stump removal. Anyway, they cleared this land, tilled a bunch of growing beds, got a mini greenhouse, built a chicken coop with hens for eggs, bought a wood splitter, etc., etc. The usual "live off the land" scenario. It all went down the drain after a few years, the amount of work vs. reward was enountered. Now it all looks like a pretty good crop of Scotch Broom. House got very run down.

Kind of similar things going on here on the mountain.

One family had a large plot, father sold off most of it, but left some for daughter and some for son (IIRC). Daughter has an autistic son who is upset (according to her) about their new neighbors making noise with a hemp/pot grow processing building, and she tried everything to get everyone around here to petition against the county allowing the operation. I told her "good luck"; the land is zoned AF (Ag/Forestry) and you can't do much about a legal ag operation with regards to smell or noise.

Another family bought a run down house where almost all of the trees had been recently logged. Raising goats, sheep and milk cows (Jerseys), among other things. Put up one of those "we respect rights" signs (which is fine, but basically virtue signaling) and a two layers of fencing around their house to discourage anybody from knocking on their door, including a special place for UPS/FedEx/etc. to drop packages - they really do not want anybody coming up to their house - meh. Introduced myself to them since their property shares a border with mine and I needed permission to drive on their property to get to my back acreage - typical "hippy" types. Fine, at least they did improve the house which was almost falling down. I probably won't be around to see whether they last - they are actually an improvement over the previous occupants.