Important tools for cooking

Am I the only person who has noticed how difficult it's becoming to find hand or manual kitchen tools? It's not too hard to come across good old manual can openers and honestly, I think I purchase one everytime I see them. But...I wanted to get some hand mixers or egg beaters is maybe the correct word. You know, where you crank them and the mixers rotate? They are pretty much obsolete I guess. I've had to start purchasing them at antique stores. This of course means they're older, which isn't a bad thing, but you have to really turn them before you buy as some work great, but others I find have rusted or are bent, etc. Some just don't work that well. The other downside to having to buy them at antique stores is the cost, yes I guess a certain "decorating or retro" style is built into the price. Since I want these items to actually use, not to decorate with, they really don't fall into the aesthetic "antique" value for me, really more into the used category. Still, I have to usually pay the price as I'm not too good at bartering people down. Usually 10% is my maximum win at antique stores. Keep warm, it's cold outside!!

Internet Grocer

Also after exhausting checking prices back on forth (the same way I did for Honeyville Grain products), I have found that
www.internet-grocer.net
has the best prices for the Red Feather canned butter and cheese and for Yoder's canned bacon. I haven't tried these products. I am just now ordering the canned bacon and immediately stashed my case of butter for down the road. I have read a lot of reviews for the canned bacon and all of the testimonials raved about it.

Another must read site

I've become quite the fan of

thesurvivalmom.com

She has a wide variety of information for preppers. It's also a fun read for us gals.

Freeze Dry Guy

Also have purchased some freeze dried pork chops (from Ebay for me) from this guy. No real clue as to how they will be, we'll see eventually I guess.

Read survivalblog.com

Everyday, one of my first activities of the day is to go to and read this site. I love his books. Also think that One Second After is a must read!

Food prep - long term storage

So actually, I have found that Honeyville Grains has the best prices for de-hydrated, freeze dried veggies and fruits. Also good prices for hard red wheat berries and for tvp (textured vegetable protein) or good old mystery meat as we called it in high school.!!!

Why worry?

Why worry? Well there are many reasons, political, socio-economic, cultural, the list goes on and on...More to come once I learn how to do this blog stuff...