ParallelSociety

**Hardtack**
 
4 -5 cups flour
 
2 cups water
 
3 teaspoons salt
 
ix the flour, water and salt together, and make sure the mixture is fairly dry.
 
Then roll it out to about 1/2 inch thickness, and shape it into a rectangle. Cut it into 3×3 inch squares, and poke holes in both sides.
Place on an un-greased cookie or baking sheet, and cook for 30 minutes per side at 375? (or 350? if you have a convection oven).
 
When it’s done, you’ll want to let it dry and harden for a few days, just out in the open. When it has the consistency of a brick, it’s fully cured. Then simply store it in an airtight container or bucket. To prepare for eating, soak it in water or milk for about 15 minutes, and then fry in a buttered skillet. You can eat it with cheese, soup or just plain with a little salt added.

**Goulash**
  
  
  
Tomatoes were an easy crop for people to grow and preserve. This easy recipe puts those tomatoes to good use. Feel free to substitute other meat for the hamburger.
  
Ingredients:
  
- ½ pound hamburger
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cups uncooked macaroni
- Lots of fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced
- Salt and pepper
  
Brown hamburger and onion. Add tomatoes and let the juice run out into the pan. You want enough juice to cover the macaroni, add more tomatoes if necessary.
  
Stir in macaroni. Continue cooking on medium high until the macaroni is tender. Season with salt and pepper.

**THE SIMPLEST PEMMICAN RECIPE OF ALL TIME**
  
  
  
Since many consider the ideal ratio of meat to fat is 1:1, I'm going to base this recipe on that formula.
Ideally meat, when dried to breaking when bent, should produce a little less than one pound of DRIED meat for every 3 pounds of raw.
  
Rendered fat is much higher, in that one pound of beef/pork/chicken fat usually produces about 12 ounces of pure fat.
  
You should trim off and save ALL of the fat from your meats and keep them in the freezer until you have enough to make pemmican.
  
Another option would be to go to a local butcher and purchase trimmed fat from him. (Usually $2 - $3 per lb)
  
STEP 1: Dry the thinly sliced LIGHTLY SALTED (with Himalayan pink salt) lean meat to thin strips at 145° to kill all bacteria and enzymes so that it doesn't spoil. It should break when bent.
After it cools, put it in a food processor and grind to a powder. Put aside.
  
STEP 2: Chop up the fat (about 1 and 1/2 pounds) and put it into a pot on a low heat. Boil it down until the cracklings are a medium brown color and strain them out. Let cool and strain so that the liquid fat is as clear as possible (strainer and cloth).
  
STEP 3: Mix equal amounts (weight) together in a bowl so that there is no liquid fat on the bottom.
  
STEP 4: Form into bars and place in AIR TIGHT vacuum bags or containers.

**Poor Man's Burrito Bowls**
  
  
This is a great survival food recipe. Burrito bowls are often filled with fancy ingredients and dressings. Of course, during emergencies, these fancy ingredients turn into basic ingredients which is why it is called poor man’s burrito bowls.
  
Although this version of burrito bowls is simple and basic, it will still make you full!
  
Ingredients: uncooked long grain white rice, salt, black beans, ground cumin, garlic powder, jar salsa, shredded cheese, green onions, and jalapeno.
  
Procedure:
  
1. In a medium sauce pot, add 2 cups of uncooked long grain white rice, ½ teaspoon salt, and 3 cups of water. Cover in high heat and let boil. Let it simmer over low heat once it fully boils and turn the heat off after 15 minutes. Let sit.
  
2. For the beans, add 2 15 oz. can of undrained black beans, ½ teaspoon of ground cumin, and ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder in a small sauce pot. Stir over medium heat.
  
3. Slice a bunch of green onions and jalapeno.
  
4. In a bowl, add one cup of cooked rice and ½ cup of black beans, 1/3 cup of salsa, and ¼ cup of shredded cheese. Put the green onions and jalapenos on top and serve.

**Potato Pancakes**
  
 
 
Potatoes stored well and were inexpensive, making them a staple. These potato pancakes use leftover mashed potatoes, helping families avoid waste.
  
Ingredients:
  
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1 egg
¼ cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 TBS bacon grease or oil for frying
Mix all ingredients except the oil in a bowl. Heat the grease in a skillet until hot. Carefully add heaping tablespoons of potato mixture to the hot oil.
  
Push batter down with a spatula. Cook for a few minutes, until browned, and flip. Brown the other side and remove from heat.
  
Serve with syrup, applesauce, or leftover gravy.

**Stretched Scrambled Eggs**
 
 
 
Here’s a simple way to stretch eggs without sacrificing flavor.
 
Ingredients:
 
- 6 eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup flour
- 1/3 cup water
- Salt and pepper
 
Whisk together flour and water until smooth. Add eggs and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
 
Scramble like normal, until done.
 
Serve with a slice of bread, or with fried potatoes.
 
 

**Sausage Gravy**
 
 
 
This recipe can be modified to use bacon, hamburger, or just about any other meat, but you will need a fat source. That means that venison is likely out unless you have some bacon grease or other flavored grease because that’s where the flavor comes from.
 
Though this recipe calls for milk, I’ve made gravy with only water. It’s not nearly as good, but it’s edible. It’s better to carry some dried milk than to skip the milk altogether. You can also use all milk, but when it’s in short supply, the amount listed will do just fine.
 
Ingredients:
 
1 pound sausage
 
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
 
1 tsp salt
 
1 tsp black pepper
 
1 cup milk
 
1 1/2 cups water
 
Directions:
 
Fry the sausage, crumbling it up with the spatula as you cook it.
 
Sprinkle flour, salt, and pepper over the sausage and allow to brown, stirring as you go. Smash it with the back of the spatula to keep it from clumping.
 
Add the water a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring and smashing with the spatula well to prevent lumps. Once you have it smooth and it’s turning from a thick paste into a thin paste, pour the milk in, stirring vigorously as you do.
 
Gravy is easy. You don’t have to use exact amounts. Just add enough flour to make the grease a thick paste, then add enough milk and water to bring it to a gravy consistency. If it starts to get thin, stop adding liquid. If it’s too thick, add more. Remember that it will thicken slightly as it cools.

**Simple Homemade Bread**
 
 
An inexpensive filler item, you could find homemade bread on the table for nearly every meal during the depression. By baking a large batch like this each week, you’ll always have bread ready to slice.
 
Note: This is a basic recipe, using minimal ingredients. If butter and eggs are available, add in 1 egg and ½ cup butter with the water for more flavor.
 
Ingredients:
 
- 16 2/3 cup flour (5 pounds)
- 5 TBS yeast
- 6 tsp salt
- 5 cups warm water
 
Combine 10 cups flour, yeast, and salt. Add water and stir well with a wooden spoon.
 
Continue adding flour, a cup at a time, until dough is thick. When you can no longer stir, begin kneading. Knead the bread until smooth and no longer sticky.
 
Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk (about an hour).
 
Punch down dough and let rest for ten minutes.
 
Shape dough into seven loaves. Place into greased loaf pans, or onto greased cookie sheets. Let rise one hour.
 
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until browned.

**Pasta and Peas**
 
 
INGREDIANTS
- Frozen or fresh peas
- Short cut pasta
- Cheese (Parmesan or Grana Padano)
- Onion
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper
 
HOW TO MAKE IT
- Flavor base: saute’ diced onion in olive oil for about 5 minutes
- Stir in peas
- Add vegetable broth (or water) and bring to a boil
- stir in pasta, salt, and cook gently
Pasta will gradually absorb the water and release starch
- Stir often, adding a little water when needed
When ready,
- add grated parmesan cheese and give a good stir
 
- Serve with freshly ground black pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and extra parmesan cheese if you like.
 
 

**Baked Apples**
  
  
INGREDIANTS
 
4 large baking apples, such as Honeycrisp
 
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened
 
1/2 cup brown sugar
 
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
 
1/4 cup chopped pecans
 
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Wash and core apples, leaving enough of the core at the base of the apple to contain the filling.
3. Combine the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped pecans in a small bowl. Roll log shapes of the mixture and press enough into each apple to fill the core.
4. Fill a 2-quart baking dish with about 3/4 cup water, or enough to cover the bottom. Place the apples upright in the dish. Bake until the apples are soft and the filling is browned, 1 hour.

**Trail Biscuits**
  
  
You can make biscuits in your oven or in your Dutch oven or a skillet on the trail. Though ingredients such as buttermilk make them fluffier and more delicious, you can make biscuits with much simpler ingredients. These are heavier, but still soft and go great with gravy.
  
  
This is a stick-to-your-ribs food that will help stretch rations or fill bellies. The egg and lard is optional, but if you’re not using lard, substitute the baking powder for a couple of teaspoons of baking soda.
  
INGREDIANTS:
  
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp. baking powder
- 1 egg (optional if available)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter or lard
- 1 – 11/2 cups milk
  
Preheat oven to 370 degrees F. or stoke your coals so that they’re hot enough to cook in.
 
Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl, then cut the cold butter or lard (bacon grease actually makes them delicious, but heavy) into the flour mixture until you have pea-sized pieces. Add milk until dough is barely sticky. Don’t overmix or your biscuits will be tough.
 
Drop about 1/4 cup at a time into a greased pan or Dutch oven.
 
Cook for 20 minutes or so until biscuits are brown. If using a Dutch oven, put the biscuits in, then put the lid on the oven and bury in the coals for 15-20 minutes.

**Beans and Rice**
  
  
Beans and rice is easy to make and it offers your family a complete meal in a survival situation. If you have bacon, you can add it for flavor and more protein.
  
Ingredients
Equal parts dry beans (such as Pintos, Great Northern or black beans) and rice (not quick-cook or instant varieties). pintos, great northern, or black beans)
Salt and pepper (about a teaspoon per cup or to taste)
Water (three times as much as you have of beans and rice)
  
Directions
  
1. Rinse the beans and let them sit overnight.
  
2. The next day, bring beans to a simmer and let them cook for about two hours until they are starting to get tender.
  
3. Add rice and cook for about another 30 minutes.
  
4. If available, add spices or garlic to taste.

**Bannock**
 
 
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
 
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
 
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
 
- 1 cup blueberries or whatever you'd like - raisins, cranberries, dried fruits
 
- Water
 
- Oil, for frying or grilling
 
Mix the dry ingredients and berries, then slowly mix in enough water to make a stiff dough. Roll it out (unrugged) or form it with your hands (rugged) and then either fry it in a bit of oil, bake it or you can even "GRILL IT!". Brush the grill with oil. Grill it over medium heat, lid down for about 5 minutes per side, tops.