For you end-of-the-world economy buffs, there’s a new video documentary circulating out on the net called Meltup, put out by Inflation.us. This movie outlines the growing possibility for a hyper-inflationary situation occurring here in the U.S.

Even though I felt the movie was a bit simplistic and over the top, it was entertaining and thought provoking. As far as I’m concerned, I feel hyperinflation is a definite possibility, although we’re not completely there yet.

It all depends on how long the dollar can remain as the world-reserve currency. That and the fact that since credit is decreasing, it will have a deflationary effect on the economy — but again only for so long.

So check it out and let me know what you think:

Disclaimer: Eating certain wild plants can be deadly!!

Be certain to consult a professional (or a really good field guide) in order to positively identify this plant before trying this for yourself. The owners of this site will not be held responsible for any lapses in judgment or stupidity when handling or consuming wild plants.

The daylily (hemerocallis fulva) is a very common ornamental plant that has found a home in many yards and gardens throughout the United States. Despite its common occurrence, few realize the year-round food potential of this plant.

In this article I’ll go into detail about how to identify, process and eat these delicious plants.

How to Identify Daylilies

Before you attempt to eat any wild edible you need to be absolutely certain you can identify it with 100% certainty. Luckily, daylilies, when in flower, have no poisonous look-a-likes. But to those that only see a “wall of green” out there, everything looks alike. In that case here are the 4 key things to look out for when properly identifying daylilies:

	6-petaled flower that faces upwards. These are typically orange but some have been bred to be different colors. In all daylilies the flower only lasts a single day (hence the name )
	Leafless flower stalk that is about 3 feet tall. The stalk that supports the flower head will have no leaves on it. This is a good comparison to the Blue Flag Iris which is poisonous and has leaves on its flower stalk.
	Light-green basal leaves that are long and sword-like with pointed tips.
	Root is a tangle of small tubers. The tubers are around pea size to about the size of a large almond.

If you can positively identify each of these 4 attributes above, it’s pretty certain that your looking at a daylily.

How to Eat a Daylily

Eating in the Different Seasons

The great thing about daylilies is that there is always something to eat from this plant all year round. In the late Fall and Winter (as well as all year round) you can eat the tubers (root nodules), in the Spring the young shoots are edible and delicious as a stir fry, and in the Summer you can eat the flower buds and the flowers.

I would recommend waiting until Summer to eat these as it will have all of the attributes available to make for an accurate identification. Since it’s a perennial plant (lives longer than two years) you can then come back to the stand during the following springtime to get the young shoots.

If you do decide to gather them in the Spring, care must be taken not to mistake them with some of the poisonous irises and lilies that emerge around the same time. One of the best ways to identify them is to unearth the young shoot, roots and all. You’re looking to find small potato-like tubers with tiny hair-like roots attached to them (see the picture I took in the section above). If you unearth one long, thick rhizome without tubers or a single bulb, then you’ve got the wrong plant.

What Parts to Eat

The edible portions of the plant (tubers, young shoots, flower buds and flowers) can all be eaten raw. However, there have been reports that some people react with nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea — especially if they eat a bunch of it). Cooking it is supposed to help reduce these effects. Just try out a small amount and see if you have any symptoms. All my friends and family who try this plant have never experienced this.

	Tubers: You’ll want to remove the hair-like roots and thick rhizomes. Wash and clean them and boil them in water for about 15 minutes for best taste (you can eat them raw). Some people like to peel them like potatoes, however I find the skin is just fine to eat along with the starchy centers — without the hassle. In this picture I’ve peeled some and left others with the skin.
	Flowers: The flower have a pleasant sweet taste when eaten raw and also can be dipped in batter and fried. Day-old Flowers: The wilted flowers (above-left in the picture) can be reconstituted in soups. Flowers Buds: Both the flower buds about to bloom (bottom left) and those that still have a while (bottom right) are excellent in your favorite stir fry recipe.
	Young Shoots: The young shoots are excellent raw, in salads or with dip. They are also great in stir fry.
	The benefit of learning wild edibles is that it can greatly improve and extend your long-term food storage. Here’s an example of using some of my stored rice with some fresh daylily flowers, stir-fried buds, and boiled daylily tubers. Yumm!

Daylily Nutrition Information

Daylily flowers and tubers are high in protein and oils. The flower buds are good sources of beta carotene and vitamin C.

Other Notes

Although daylilies are an excellent food source, you should be aware that research done in Chinese laboratories have reported that there are potentially toxic substances in the roots which may be cumulative. Keep in mind that people have been eating these plants for centuries without being poisoned so use them with respect and in moderation.

For those of you who are into the survival type shows like Man Vs. Wild (my least favorite btw) or Survivorman, Discovery has put out an all-new 10-part series called Dual Survival. Dual Survival follows two survival experts, military-trained Dave Canterbury and minimalist and naturalist Cody Lundin. The show airs every Friday night at 10pm EST.

The premise of the show is to take these two experts, who have very different philosophies on how to survive in the wild, and throw them into some of the planet’s most unforgiving terrain to demonstrate how the right skills and some creative thinking can keep you alive. It’s pretty entertaining to see how they have to work together — despite the differences in philosophy — in order to reach the common goal of getting out alive.

I’ve been following (and learning from) both Dave and Cody for a few years now. They are both excellent teachers and very skilled at what they do. It’s comforting to finally see some top-rate wilderness survival experts being depicted on these survival shows (although entertaining, I don’t find Bear Grilles show very accurate or educational).

If you’re interested in learning from David or Cody (which I would highly recommend either of their schools), here’s their info:

	David Canterbury owns and operates the Pathfinder School out of southern Ohio. He’s got a great collection of YouTube videos that you can find on the wildernessoutfitters channel. He’s also got some great online classes/certification programs that you can find on his website.
	Cody Lundin is the founder of the Aboriginal Living Skills School. With more than 22 years of southwestern experience, ALSS is one of the premier survival schools to attend if you want to know how to survive in desert and arid environments.

What is Happening

Although this should come as no surprise to most of my readers, we are seeing more and more evidence that California is hemorrhaging and on the verge of complete collapse. To put it in perspective, they are so far in the hole that it would take freeing 168,000 prison inmates and permanently closing 240 university and community college campuses just to balance its budget in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

California, once the third-largest economy in the world, is becoming the next Greece. The California government has spent so far beyond its means that mass layoffs, a failing infrastructure, and welfare reductions that leave a million children and the poor and elderly without the services they need are now the norm.

Unemployment in some areas of California is at Great Depression levels. In fact, the total number of people unemployed in the state of California is equal to the populations of Nevada, Vermont, and New Hampshire combined.

On top of that, California’s health care system is also on the verge of system failure.  Over the past ten years, dozens of California hospitals and emergency rooms have shut down. Why? They weren’t able to keep up with the endless influx of illegal immigrants, unemployed Californians and homeless people who could not pay for the services that they were receiving.

As a result, the rest of the health care system in California is now completely overloaded and long waits, and even unnecessary patient deaths are becoming commonplace.

To resolve this issue, California policy makers are begging the Federal Government for bailout funds proclaiming that they too are “too big to fail”.

What This Means

As California goes, so goes the nation.

Even if you don’t live in California, this should give you reason to be concerned. California’s economy is very much intertwined with the rest of the nation. If California fails, be prepared to see the rest of the country to soon follow suit.

Besides that point, California is not the only state on the verge of bankruptcy (Florida, New York etc). The whole nation is infected.

We have become entitlement slaves

This once strongly independent and fiercely self-reliant country has turned into a population of entitlement slaves. Too many are dependent upon and expect to continue to be supported by government dole-outs. But this is completely unsustainable as we are seeing.

The system throughout the U.S. (and world) is collapsing and unless we revert back to the principles that founded this country (self-reliance, frugality, industry, faith) we all — not just California — are doomed to follow Greece.

As a side note, I find it ironic that the government of California — an overspending, overpromising, in-debt-up-to-its-eyeballs behemoth — is petitioning to an overspending, over promising, in-debt-up-to-its-eyeballs behemoth for a bailout. There’s something just not right about that.

How Does this Affect You?

If the saying “as California goes, so goes the nation” is true, we are in a world of hurt. For this purpose, if you haven’t yet, you’ll need to get yourselves prepared.

For you newbies who might be overwhelmed and not know where to begin, I’ve written some articles that lay out the process and begin with the basics:

Food & Water Storage and Beyond

Food & water storage should be the first thing you prepare your family with. It’s not just for end-of-the-world emergencies —  it’s pure common sense (ie you lose your job, food prices go through the roof with the devaluation of the currencies etc).

Here is a list of articles that details where to begin and where to go from there:

• Getting Started with Food Storage
• Food Storage Basics: Step 1 – Water
• Food Storage Basics: Step 2 – Building a Three Month Supply
• Food Storage Basics: Step 3 – Long Term Storage
• Food Storage Basics: Step 4 – Non-Food Items
• The Basics and Beyond

For many of you new to the preparedness/survivalist/prepper scene, you may be quite daunted with the sheer amount of “stuff” you need to buy in order to feel fully prepared. Everything from communication gear, to hunting equipment, to camping gear can put you back several thousands of dollars.

Although there are always cheaper options with regards to gear, unfortunately as the saying goes, “you get what you pay for” — and you don’t want to have to depend on poorly-made cheap gear for the welfare and safety of your loved ones.

Buying Top Quality Gear for Dirt Cheap Prices

So how can you still get quality, dependable gear without breaking the bank? Well, there is a place where you can buy barely used, and in some cases brand spanking new, quality gear for often more than half off the price you would pay in a store. I’m sure you’ve all heard of it by now: Craigslist.

I know what you’re thinking, “Come on Erich, when I check I rarely find anything good, and when I do it’s usually been already taken.” Well for most people that’s true. But not for me. I’ve been able to purchase top quality sleeping bags, camping hammocks (Hennessy Hammocks), camping stoves, compound bows, radios, a 4-season tent and other gear for more than half off the list price. What’s my secret? It’s setting up Craigslist notifications.

How to Set Up Craigslist Notifications

The benefit of setting up notifications with Craigslist listings is that you can have them sent to your email, IM, or phone. This way you get an instant alert when a specific item you’re looking for becomes available, giving you a much greater chance of getting that long sought after piece of gear.

My favorite tool for getting instant notifications to my phone via sms (text message), my email, and instant messenger is a free utility called Notify.me. It’s very simple to use and best of all it costs nothing. Here’s a demo on how it can be used (substitute his search for Toyota Prius with your needed survival gear  ):

There are many other similar tools (most aren’t free) available online that provide similar services. However, this is the best tool I’ve found available. Happy hunting! And be sure to let me know if you’ve made out on some killer deals as a result of this.

If you’ve already read my article on How to Put Together a Survival Kit then you know that I stress the importance of making your kit modular and multi-tiered. In this article I will be reviewing the 5.11 Tactical Push Pack which is a perfect solution for a modular, second-tiered every-day carry (EDC) kit.

First off, from the other products I’ve experienced, I highly recommend 5.11 Tactical as a company. They have a great selection of quality made clothing and tactical gear and this bag is no exception.

The PUSH Pack, short for Practical Utility Shoulder Hold, is a multi-compartmental, modern-day concealed carry bag. Fashioned after the messenger-style concept, you wear this over your shoulder and the bag sits to your side allowing for easy access to your EDC gear and firearm.

5.11 Push Pack Selling Points

Despite the many features of the bag, two main components stood out to me: The easily accessible concealed carry compartment and a restraining loop that sits on the outer part of the bag that lies flush with your body.

The benefit of the concealed carry pocket is that it allows for storage of a full-size pistol. When I’m out and about, I’d much rather be carrying my full-size Glock than my little Walther PPK. However, due to clothing restricitions (especially now that the weather is getting warmer) lugging along the Glock is just not practical.

Since this bag is now a common companion in my travels, carrying the full size is no longer a problem. The dedicated pocket has the additional benefit of being lined with the loop part of the velcro which allows for attaching a velcro-lined holster pouch (also made by 5.11) — keeping your firearm secure.

The other component that I mentioned was the outside restraining loop. One of the biggest headaches with backpacks and many other bags is the issue of them bouncing around when you need to be mobile. This loop — albeit simple in design — is brilliant. It allows for easy attachment to your belt which keeps the bag snug to your hips — a great benefit when you need to hot-tail it out of an area an not want your bag flopping all over the place.

5.11 Push Pack as an EDC Bag

If the 5.11 PUSH Pack had just those two features it would have been enough to sell me on it. But given that it has so many pockets and compartments, it’s also perfect for storing essential gear that you want to have with you at all times — like diapers, wipes and bottles (I’ve got a new baby after all ) Besides, the diapers here’s what I’ve been recently storing in mine (this list is always subject to change):

• Water Bottle
• Compass
• GPS/Phone
• Wallet
• Firestarters (lighter and ferrocerium rods)
• Emergency Blanket and Poncho
• 3600 Calorie Emergency Bar
• 50 ft. Paracord
• Fixed Blade Survival Knife (Bark River Bravo 1)
• Leatherman Wave Multi-tool
• Surefire Flashlight
• Full-size Pistol
• Lockpick Set
• Polar Pure Water Purifier
• Collapsible Water Jug
• Quick Clot Trauma Dressing
• Boo Boo Kit (iodine, butterfly closures, gauze etc)
• Writing Implements
• Rite in the Rain Notebook

As a final note, the PUSH Pack is also equipped with MOLLE/PALS webbing which allows for even more mods and attachments. This bag is awesome.

Video Review

I wanted to do my own video review showing not only the features of the bag but also how I tricked it out, but due to the fact that I’m barely able to keep up with my writing for this blog at the present time (it’s been crazy at the homefront with the 3 year old, the new baby, a wife that’s recovering from surgery, and me playing mr. mom as well as mr. dad) I’m going to leave the video review to the boys over at 5.11, so enjoy (email subscribers will need to click the link from the site):

At 2:13PM today, my sight got compromised by a malware-injection hack. Luckily, a friend of mine was able to contact me letting me know something was going on so I was able to fix the site very quickly.

Basically it took over each of my blog’s pages and would redirect users who visited my site to a malware site (which could potentially infect your computer if you inadvertently downloaded the program that the malware page feeds).

If you had visited my site between 2:13PM and 11PM EST today, then you may have seen some erratic behavior caused by the malicious code. Please accept my apologies for any issues this may have caused. I’m still trying to find the source of who may have done this.

For those of you who are interested, a couple weeks back I was interviewed by a reporter from the AFP (Agence France-Presse) — a French news agency along the lines of Associated Press and Reuters. She had contacted me through this blog to do a piece on the growing interest in everyday people “prepping” for disaster — economic, natural, or otherwise.

It’s amazing that after many hours of doing the interview and taking video it gets cut down to under 2 minutes! Although I’m not quite sure how I feel about the title, I thought it came across well and didn’t make me out to look like some wacko (although I admit I am a bit strange  ).

For you homeowners that think you don’t have enough land to live off the grid, think again…

Ten years ago, Jules Dervaes along with his three adult children, set out with the goal of becoming completely self-sufficient. Today, these residents of the Pasadena California suburbs have taken their small 1/5th of an acre lot and converted it into a (almost) completely self-sufficient paradise.

They make their own biodiesel and electricity (through solar means) and their 1/10th of an acre garden produces over 6,000 pounds of fruit and vegetables annually! This is more than enough food for four adults. They also sell the surplus to nearby restaurants making about $20,000 a year on the food alone.

Here are a couple of videos featuring the Dervaes family and their home (for my email subscribers you’ll have to view it on the site since the video doesn’t embed in most email servers):

Resources

Be sure to check out the Dervaes website, Path to Freedom: Urban Homestead for details into how they accomplished this as well as tips in creating your own homestead.

This is a follow-up article to the Dandelion Greens – The Perfect Spring Survival Food article I recently wrote.

If you’ve already tried preparing the dandelion greens from the prior article than you know how delicious this wild plant can be.

In this article I wanted to quickly present you with another pair of delicious recipes using a different part of this common every-day plant: the flowers.

Pickled Dandelion Flower Buds

I’d like to thank Rosalee de la Foret for this recipe!

For this recipe, you’ll want to harvest the flower buds when they are still tightly closed — before they ever opened.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup onions
• 3 tablespoons fresh minced ginger
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 1 cup dandelion flower buds
• apple cider vinegar
• tamari sauce

The Process:

Rinse the flower buds well and place into a pint jar with the onions, garlic, and ginger. Fill halfway with the apple-cider vinegar and then fill halfway with the tamari. Cover with a plastic lid or a metal lid with a buffer (vinegar will corrode the metal lid). Let sit for three weeks and then enjoy on salads, as a snack, or on tuna fish sandwiches.

Dandelion Fritters

Ingredients for the Batter:

• 1/2 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of milk
• one teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of honey

The Process:

There are different ways of making this recipe.

One is to combine all of the above ingredients, dip the flower heads in the batter and then fry on a greased pan as I demonstrate in the following picture:
The other is to combine all of the above ingredients, mix the flower heads in the batter and then fry on a greased pan like a pancake as I demonstrate in this picture:
You’ll end up with them looking like this (very tasty!):
While the above recipe is good, my favorite recipe however, is to take a 1/4 cup cornmeal and 1/2 cup flour and put that in a bowl. Then put an egg with a dash of salt in another bowl and finally heat up some olive oil in a small pot or wok:
Then just take a flower head, dip it first in the egg then the flour mixture and then just drop it into the oil:
When it’s done you should have the best tasting flower fritters that are super light and fluffy (sort of like tempura), that look something like this (unfortunately the picture doesn’t do it much justice):

As I mention throughout this site, the more you can practice these skills — whether it be learning to identify and prepare wild edibles to learning different off-the-grid medical treatments — during tranquil times, the better off you’ll be if you are faced with serious hardships during times of trial.

How’s that saying go? “The more we sweat in times of peace the less we bleed in times of war.” There’s a lot of wisdom to that quote. Now get out there and practice!