Thanks for the quote Dad!

You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

Adrian Rogers, 1931



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Cooking Economically Off Grid...and many other things

My previous post explored the economy of a grain based diet, but neglected my favorite cooking process. Rather than write up the entire cooking process, I'll direct you to a link that does a pretty good job without any labor on my part.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2275972_cook-thermos-save-energy-money.html

Thermos cooking. I do things slightly different from the article. I do not pre-heat the thermos and I fill the thermos to the top with boiling water. I let the wheat cook overnight and it comes out ready to eat by morning. I like cooking wheat in the thermos because it is difficult to over cook. Pasta and rice also cook very well in a thermos, but they are easier to over cook.

I also use the Aladdin Stanley thermos as viewed in the following link:

http://www.stanley-pmi.com/shop/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=10-00311-001

This thermos can be found at Wal-mart, but you must go to the sporting goods department.

The beauty of this system is derived from ease of production, clean up, and energy conservation.

Production: pour one cup (or less) of raw wheat in thermos, fill thermos with boiling water, seal, and lay the thermos on its side until morning.

Clean up: rinse out thermos

Energy Conservation: the energy usage is halted after the water comes to a boil. No additional energy is expended.

Does this really work? YES. In fact, I'll caution you to keep all fingers clear of the water stream when pouring out the extra water in the morning. It is still scalding HOT after 10 hours! I've heard of some people drinking the excess liquid as wheat tea! It's not my favorite, but I'm guessing there are plenty of vitamins in the tea.

Here is a link to the website where I originally learned of this cooking method. I do not agree with many of the authors ideas, but I do enjoy his perspective on preparedness and economy. Thanks Kurt!

http://www.kurtsaxon.com/foods005.htm

Hopefully this cooking method will save the installation of a solar panel or help keep your propane bill to a minimum. Also, the Aladdin Stanley Thermos is nearly indestructible. My father in law works in a steel mill and has abused his thermos extensively, including a three story fall onto concrete. It is the same thermos he bought in the 70's and uses today. It's also the same thermos I used to test the wheat cooking idea, as I was skeptical to run out and invest $25 if it wasn't going to work. Enjoy the savings!

Food Economy - 3.1 cent per meal

Tri-Tip Roast, slow smoked, heavily salted. Heaven in a mouthful and I'll never pass it up, especially when prepared by my friend Lynn.

I've been on an efficiency adventure for the past few years. I've switched to compact fluorescents, I ride my bike and walk more, I dabble in composting food and yard waste, and I continually seek out new ways to make my life easier and less tied to the labor of earning currency. Please don't misunderstand me, I love the luxury that money provides, I'm just not always willing to pay the price to have it. With these ideas as the backdrop, I turn my thoughts to protein. This spring our family purchased four chickens to serve as productive pets. My kids enjoy the daily treasure hunt of egg gathering and I enjoy having animals that do something other than rack up $400 vet bills and require $35 a bag food. I particularly love the chickens appetite for cold, dried out rice that has been in the refrigerator for days. These little animals turn all of my waste into perfectly packaged bundles of protein!

In addition to feeding the chickens table scraps, I supplement their diet with wheat, barley, and corn. I appreciate the chickens contribution to our recycling effort, but I started thinking today about their role as a middle man. Where wheat, barley, and corn are concerned, I question why I am using the chickens to convert these raw foods into another form of food? My body is plenty capable of transforming wheat, barley, and corn into energy without first converting it into an egg. If I include rice and beans in my diet, then my protein needs are met, on the cheap. Thus, why the chicken?

I won't get rid of the chickens and I'll likely always have chickens, because I perceive the minimal amount of diet supplementing I provide is more than compensated for by egg production. However, this example does raise interesting efficiency dilemas. Vegetarians claim it requires sixteen pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef. Beef advocates balk at these numbers and stand behind one pound of beef requiring 2.6 pounds of grain. I regularly eat wheat for breakfast and enjoy Tri-Tip Roasts (beef) for dinner. If I wake up tomorrow and let efficiency, rather than tradition, dictate my meal plan, then wheat (or other grains) become the choice of reason. Wheat requires zero refrigeration and boasts a shelf life of 15 to 20 years. Before cooking and puffing up the wheat, I consume half a cup of raw wheat at each meal. The current price of a 50 pound bag of wheat is $10. This calculates to 3.1 cents per meal or $11.40 per year for breakfast. The 2.5 pound Tri-Tip Roast I enjoyed last night was 5.99 per pound. I spent more on one roast than one years worth of wheat consumption and supplied 360 less meals. The wheat cost savings alone allows for a huge rice and bean budget to replace the protein loss from my cherished Tri-Tip.

I'm no vegetarian, but I am frugal. The annual cost to fill my stomach on Tri-Tip beef is $1,093. If you're frugal and enjoy beef that costs $0.99 per pound, then your annual cost weighs in around $180. My thoughts on economy dictate a grain based diet supplemented by homegrown eggs and all the beef I can eat on Lynn's dime! Now, lets see if I can walk the talk!

At the very least, no kid in America should go hungry.

A future post will describe how I easily and efficiently cook wheat in an off-grid setting. This is the perfect cooking process for budget and energy conscious off-griders!

BULLSHIT!

To be fair, I suppose it could be heifer or cow shit. Either way it's conclusive...even in Montello you have to put up with some kind of shit.

Does it bother me when they laugh?

A few days ago my wife asked if it bothered me when others laugh about my Montello land purchase or other sustainable off grid living ideas? I think anyone laughing at something you care deeply about is cause for bother, but I'm able to step outside myself, and of them, and realize that each of us have our own unique dreams and motivations. I could speculate as to why others laugh, but I feel speculation would only be another form of laughter from me to them.

It doesn't matter what my dream is or if anyone else is interested in dreaming it with me. If my dreams require validation from others then I'll likely never realize any of my dreams. I've always found someone interested in laughing and someone eager to validate. The greatest compliment a person can pay themselves is in listening to their inner voice and taking their own advice....laughter or not!

The desert of Montello, Nevada is one of many places where the path is easy to walk and the advice is freely offered and quickly taken from self.

I think Don McLean amply sums up my feelings of the country, the city, our society, and my dream with his song “castles in the air”. Take a listen at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTqi7iEZEWA&feature=related

Why Montello?

Annual Property Taxes on 10 acres in Montello: $13.30

Annual property taxes on 0.17 acres in Utah: $1,030.00

And this scenery never hurts!!!!

Excavation

The property is relatively flat, excepting a four foot high hill near the rear property line running nearly perfect east to west. This south facing hill is one of the few factors that made it stand out above all of the other parcels of land I considered.

This morning I woke up to the early sun warming my tent. I am by definition, nurture and nature, a night owl. Most mornings in the mountains, when faced with a similar scene, I give pause, roll over, and catch another couple hours of sleep. This morning was different. Having a full bladder may have contributed, but I honestly couldn't wait to get on that hill to begin the excavation. The digging was slow, but rewarding. I frequently leaned on the shovels handle to take in the early morning landscape. In the middle of nowhere, before 8 a.m., dust in the air, sweating well, and I could only smile. I used to work paying jobs equally remote in location, start time, and air quality, but they never managed to bring a smile to my face like this mornings smile.

The last trip out with my brother helped todays preparedness level immensely. Brother and I took on the task of staking out the property corners with three foot long posts. The digging was moderate for the first foot and shovel resistant thereafter, resulting is permanent, but shallow markers. This mornings excavation project was made easier by comingling the shovel with a pick. The properties soil is most like unto road base with the occasional larger rock and a slight bit more dirt. My intro to geology course in college (more than a few years ago) didn't help me recall how the soil could become so compacted and hard. College clarity or not, the pick made short work of any resistance and the shovel removed much debris. I'm planning to dig down four to five feet, insert the shipping container, and then use the excavated dirt to backfill the exposed container and cover it over.

Shipping Container

I have decided to utilize a shipping container as the shell for my home in Montello. My first preference would be an earthship, but I currently live too far away from Montello to make a remote build feasible. I'll have the shipping container delivered to my home in the city where I'll be able to quickly and more easily outfit the container to my liking. After construction is complete, the home in a pod will be delivered to Montello and placed in a hole. Yup, in a hole. The first container will be 8x20. The eight foot end with the doors will face south and will be the only exposed side of the container. The sides, rear, and roof will be backfilled. After walking through a few containers and doing much research, I've decided to reinforce the walls and ceiling with a steel framework to support the exterior forces of the earth pushing in and down. I'm hoping to take advantage of solar gain for winter heating, but I'm guessing the minimal southern exposure (eight feet) will be insufficient to supply all of the structures heat needs. Phase two, the second shipping container, will address this heat deficiency. Until then and after, I will use a small wood burning stove to supplement what mother nature or my design skills fail to supply.

Families 1st Visit

This weekend the family (wife and kids) made their first trip to Montello. We arrived in town late in the afternoon and made our first stop at the city park to fill the water container. Five gallons later, we were off to the property.

A couple miles down a well maintained dirt road out of town and another 3/4 of a mile down a dirt trail with sage brush growing between the tire tracks, we were on scene. I was surprised to see new sage brush growing on the road and the tent pad my brother and I cleared a few months prior. Montello has received an unusually high amount of rainfall in the last couple months, greening the valley more so than the spring showers were able to back in early May.

After getting the tent setup, sleeping bags laid out, and firewood off loaded, we headed over to G's property for a picnic dinner...Montello style. G is a new friend I met in Montello on my first trip out and has been an invaluable resource and motivation. G is building an earth bag house and is making excellent progress. After checking out his rubble trench foundation and getting a feel for the construction process of an earthbag home, we filled our stomachs with a fresh fruits, raw veggies, bread, and a mesquite smoked tri tip roast.

G and his wife E then exposed us to our first game of bocce ball. Bocce ball is simple, fun, and entertaining...especially with G around. The ladies were also quick to discover a shared interest in soccer, which resulted in a quick game of two on two on the sand lot!

Shortly before sunset we crossed the valley back to our property and enjoyed smores by the fireside while getting better acquainted with our new Montello friends. Summer nights in Montello are amazing. The extreme quiet overwhelms and the air is easy to breathe. The occasional train passing through the middle of the valley was the only forced listening. I found the occasional train horn in the distance to be a solid and welcomed reminder of what I left in the city only a few hours before.