Tonight I am joined by my guest “Survivor Jane”  and we’ll discuss prepping from a woman’s viewpoint.

Women think differently than men and its always a good idea to have at least two viewpoints on any one situation.  Listen in as we talk about the unique and important ideas that women bring to the prepping table.

The 21st Century Homekeeper – May 17 – 7 pm central

Fermenting Cabbage… aka kraut

Its so important today more than ever in the past 50 years to know how to do things for yourself, to know how to cook, clean and make things for your family.

Not because it makes you a super-mom or super-wife, not because it makes you better than others. But simply because it can give you a head start if/when the US economy gets really, really bad or if you or your husband loses a job, an illness hits or other personal emergency.

No one likes to talk about bad things happening. But the Bible tells us over and over again to be ready for life’s eventualities. Its not “if” something difficult will happen, its “when”. So I don’t want to harp on bad things happening, but I do think its important to acknowledge that they will in all our lives.

Are you ready to cook over a fire or grill 100% of the time? Are you gardening? Putting up food instead of relying on the ‘just-in-time’ grocery store? Do you know how to mend clothing instead of pitching it and buying new? Do you know how to to keep your home clean without chemicals? Do you and your family know how to ‘make do’ and be content?

My desire is to offer you anything I know that could help you and has been for the past 15 years online. If I can help you in some way I haven’t addressed, just ask. If I don’t know, I’ll try to help you find out!

Will the economy get really, really bad?  I don’t have any way of knowing that, neither do you. However,  leading economists and people who have a good track record predicting turn-downs and recessions seem to think it is likely that it will.

Bad economic times aren’t new to this country, but they are new to most of us alive today and under the age of 75 years so it can be intimidating to think about it or read about it.  But I think we have to come on out of our hiding places and face the possibilities of economic hardships whether caused by a job loss, poor health or other more global factors.

Don’t worry, don’t panic, don’t stress. Do your best to prepare your family for hard economic times, be obedient and a good servant to the LORD, rely on Him. Help others, be a light and a beacon, be of good cheer! Consider any economic hardship that comes to be a challenge to your know-how and a challenge to grow in your spiritual walk.

*…fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10*

Are you preparing? What are you doing to prepare?  What are your thoughts about economic hardships?

The second half of the hour I will be talking about community, why its important to your preparedness activities, how it works, why some communities don’t work and why some do.

Listen live at 7 pm central time and join me in the chat room. Get your questions in by emailing me:
sylvia (at) christianhomekeeper (dot) org. Or ask your questions in the chat room. You can ask anything about homesteading, homemaking, old fashioned skills or our topic of essential preparedness items!

Here is the link to the show:

May 10, 2012 – The 21st Century Homekeeper

     The 21st Century Homekeeper radio program for May 3rd 

May 3 – This week on The 21st Century Homekeeper, Sylvia welcomes radio host and prepper, John Wesley Smith. John is the host of Destiny Survival where he explores a variety of preparedness and survival topics. He is an expert in teaching others that they can prepare for survival in a rapidly changing world. . He and Sylvia will be discussing a list of Most Essential Survival and Prepping Needs.

Stop in and listen live or download the program after it airs and listen anytime.

UPDATE: I canned the olives today! I used pint jars, put 1/4 teaspoon coriander, 1 big piece of lemon peel, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a bay leaf in each jar. I processed the jars at 10 pounds pressure for 40 minutes. Here is what they look like in the jars. Home-curing olives is pretty labor intensive but the result is pure heaven in a jar!

If you remember, back in November I bought some organic olives from Chaffin Family Orchards.  The process for home curing olives is long and you have to stay on top of it if you’re naturally fermenting them.

Here’s how I cured the olives and then the marinade I soaked some of them in.

First, I cracked the olives. Actually I just cut a slice into the olive, avoiding the pit.

Next, I soaked the cracked olives in water.

The soaking process takes about 1 month. I soaked them about 6 weeks. Each week after the third week, I opened up an olive and tasted the flesh. If it was still very bitter, I left the remaining olives in the soak. I changed the water twice a day. In all it took 6 weeks to get the olives to an acceptable level of bitterness. You don’t want to soak out all the bitterness, that’s part of what makes olives so tasty.

Once the olives were ready I put them in a brine to soak some more, but I used two different methods of brining. Always use sea salt that is not iodized. Iodized salt or salt with other ingredients can cause the olives to be too soft and the water to be murky and foggy.

Method 1

• filtered or purified water
• 1/4 cup unrefined sea salt per quart of water

Mix the water and salt until the salt is completely dissolved. Place olives in a glass jar or crock, cover with the salt water. Allow to sit in the frig for at least 2 weeks before eating. These are simple and good.

Method 2

• filtered or purified water
• 1/4 cup sea salt per quart of water
• a large strip of lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon coriander per quart of water
• 1 bay leaf per quart of water
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic per quart of water
• any other seasonings you like! Try chili peppers, I did and they are great in this.

Place olives in glass jars or a crock and cover with the salt water and spices.   I allowed some olives to sit at room temperature and naturally ferment for 1 week before putting them in the frig.  the rest of them were put immediately in the frig. The naturally fermented ones are the best, they have a pleasant tang along with the mellowness of the spices.

Before serving I fish the olives out of the brine (I save the brine and add some of the plain olives to it sometimes) and add a very high quality olive oil and let them come to room temperature. They are a hit with everyone and a delicious addition to an appetizer tray.

The end product is amazing. They are the best flavored olives I’ve ever had.

Been reading and watching those Doomsday Preppers?  Find out what it really means to “Prep”.

Donna Miller owns Miller’s Grain House and Your Preparation Station. Donna and Sylvia will discuss how to choose, store and cook with grains, the best grains to store. Find out what it means to “Prep” and how to prepare without fear.

The Classical Christian Education Support Loop’s 1000 Classical Books List by grade.

I have been a home educating parent since 1991 and have managed to graduate three so far who have all gone on to college and careers.  Hopefully, I can help you where ever you are in your home educating journey.

Join me and John Wesley Smith as we discuss Home Education and its importance for the modern prepper.  We’re on this afternoon at 1 pm central time on Destiny Survival.