Usefull Survival Know-how
Homemade Soap
Equipment:
Stainless steel stock pot
half gallon glass jar
rubber spatula or long handled wooden spoon
scale that will weigh up to 38 ounces
thermometer, meat or candy is fine
mold with cover, I recommend a heavy plastic mold the size of a large shoe box if you intend to make
soap only occasionally. I use industrial plastic sheet of freezer paper two large towels or a blanket
***safety glasses
***rubber gloves
Ingredients:
12 oz lye (Red Devil, found beside Draino, do not use Draino)
32 oz water (My well water is hard so I buy it)
24 oz coconut oil (health food store)
24 oz olive oil (do not use virgin, the less pure the better)
38 oz vegetable oil (Crisco solid, not liquid oil)
4 oz fragrance/essential oil if desired botanicals if desired ie: 8 oz pulverized oatmeal or 4 oz cornmeal
or 2 oz dried herbs/flowers
Dissolve lye in water. This is best done under an exhaust fan or outdoor. Stand back and avoid fumes.
Set aside to cool. In the stainless steel stock pot melt the Crisco and coconut oil. Add the olive oil and
allow to cool.
Grease your soap mold now. Some soap makers prefer silicone spray but my purpose in making my
own soap is to avoid using things like that. I use Crisco. Fit the freezer paper into the bottom and two
sides of the mold to make removing the soap easier. Grease the paper.
When both the oils and lye mixtures have cooled to 90* you are ready to blend. You can speed cooling
by using a sink of cool water and setting the mixtures in to cool. If one cools too much you can warm it
in a sink of warm water.
You need to have 10-40 minutes of uninterrupted time now. Slowly pour the water/lye mixture into the
oils. You'll quickly see a reaction. Stir in a consistent manner. Don't beat as you would eggs but stir
quickly enough to keep the mixture in constant motion. If you're creating bubbles in the mixture you are
going too fast. Continue to stir until the soap "traces." You'll feel a slight difference in consistency as the soap begins to saponify. When tracing has occurred you'll be able to drizzle a small amount of soap
back onto the top of the soap in the pan and it will leave a trace before sinking back into the rest of the
mixture. After a batch or two you'll recognize when tracing has occurred by the feel of the soap while
stirring.
If you want to add botanicals/grains to your soap now is the time to do it. Remove one cup of soap
(doesn't need to be exactly a cup, whatever it takes to mix with the botanical/grains) and stir in with
whatever you're adding in a separate bowl. Oatmeal makes a nice complexion soap, corn meal adds
texture to scrub dirty hands. As soon as it's mixed pour it back into the pan and stir. If you're going to
add essential or fragrance oil pour it in slowly now. Continue to stir until well mixed then pour into
prepared mold. Cover mold, wrap it in towels or blanket to keep warm and leave it undisturbed for 18
hours. No peaking! The soap will rise to approximately 160* and then cool down. Don't uncover until
it's cooled.
Allow soap to sit in the uncovered mold for 12 hours. Loosen sides and turn over onto a clean
sideboard. You should cut your bars from the large mold within three days. You can cut it at any time
but three days seems to be a good window. The soap doesn't become difficult to cut and
smaller bars cure faster. Allow to cure 3-6 weeks before using.
Blowgun
The possestion of the blow gun IS a felony. So be carefull where you use it, i reccomend only making one in a bad situation
Needed:
1. Several strands of yarn (About 2 inches a piece)
2. A regular pencil
3. A 2 1/4 inch long needle, hopefully with a beaded head. If not obtainable, wrap tape around end of needle.
4. 2-3 1/4 foot pipe. (PVC or Aluminum) Half a inch in diameter
Constructing the dart.
1st- Carefully twist and pull the metal part (Along with eraser) of the pencil till it comes off.
2nd- Take Pin and start putting about 5-7 Strands of yarn on the pin. Then push them up to the top of the pin. But not over the head of the pin (or the tape).
3rd- Push pin through the hollow part of the head where the pencil was before.
4th- That should for a nice looking dart. (see illustration)
####\
#####>>>>>-----
####/
# is the yarn
> is the head of the pencil
- is the pin it-self
Using the Darts
1st- Now take the finished dart and insert it in the tube (if it is too small put on more yarn.)
2nd- Aim the tube at a door, wall, sister, ect.
3rd- blow on the end of the pipe.
4th- Sometimes the end of the pipe may be sharp. When this happens I suggest you wrap it with some black electrician tape.It should feel a lot better.
Baking Powder
1 part baking soda
2 parts cream of tartar
Blend well.
Too much leavening can make a heavy dough. One tablespoon of baking powder is more than enough to raise a standard dough made with two cups flour.
You can make your own baking powder. It gives better lift than the commercial product, which sometimes adds a slightly bitter flavor to baked goods.
Master baking mix(bisquik)
This recipe is for homemade bisquik type baking mix,I mix this up and package in gallon sized plastic bags ,and when we go off camping ,I just grab a few bags and toss in the food supplies,all you have to do for pancakes or biscuits is add water to the bag mix well by shaking or rolling the bag and its ready to use.
Master Baking Mix
9 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/3 cup baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk solids
2 cups shortening (which does not require refrigeration)
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cream of tartar and sugar three times. Add dry milk. Mix well. Cut in shortening with pastry blender or two knives until mixture looks like cornmeal. Store in covered container at room temperature.
NOTE: To measure the Master Baking Mix, pile it lightly into cup and level off with a table knife
