Kitchen DIY: Genny’s Berry Butter

52 Unique Techniques for Stocking Food for Prepper
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Genny is making berry butter.  As she says in the video, the recipe is forgiving, you can use almost any amount of fruit or butter to add or subtract from the flavors you desire.

Its pretty simple to make.  It is not as easy as my honey butter recipe, and I don’t use it as much, but for a treat it can’t be beat.

Ingredients

  • One cup of frozen blackberries, but you can use any fruit.  The frozen fruit thawed to about a half cup.
  • One tablespoon of honey
  • 2 Sticks of unsalted butter (softened)

Procedure:

  • Mix ingredients until the butter is light, airy, and well mixed
  • Next place a sheet of alumium foil on a cutting board
  • Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the foil
  • Spoon the berry butter onto the plastic wrap and shape into a log.
  • Roll the butter into a log by wrapping the plastic and foil around it.
  • Twist one end of the log shut
  • Like making sausage tighten the other end in the opposite direction which will compact the butter
  • Set the log in the refrigerator for a couple hours to let it firm up (Not strictly necessary)

This berry butter is GOOD.

How to Make Tool Markings Stand Out

 

How to Make Tool Markings Stand Out
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As I get older and the room gets darker I find it harder and harder to read the sizes on things.  This is worse on things  like wrenches, sockets, drill bits, and taps.  I find that tool marking with paint makes it much easier to see.  I have always wanted to know how to make tool markings stand out.

This post is a quick and simple method to mark stampings

  • Paint your tool with a can of spray paint (black is nice, but white or other bright paint will work better on darker metal)
  • Once the paint dries, you can then rub it off – depending on the finish, a dry rag, a rag with a SMALL amount of acetone, or (if you are not picky about scratches) steel wool can all be used.

Just like scrimshaw (or the AR-15 marking post) you are putting paint in recessed areas.  This allows a level of distinction between the colored areas and the out metal.

There really isn’t much more to say about how to make tool markings stand out with ink.  Once you get the idea on tool marking you can easily adapt the process using different materials – I have even seen people fill the markings in with colored sugru.

Speaking about tools, I found toolsinsider that has a lot of other good tool information. I particularly like their article on sharpening drill bits..

Camping: Map Contour Lines II

Camping: Map Contour Lines II
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Being able to read contour lines is pretty important.  This is the second in a series of land navigation posts.  Like the first article this one also deals with map contour lines.

The method I use to show contour lines is one I learned in the Boy Scouts and it is how I finally grasped the concept.

As I mentioned in the first video I think a good understanding of contour lines and a good topographical map will allow you to find your location in the woods and navigate without any other tools.

I am not suggesting you do not need a compass for land navigation.  However, the ability to visualize map topography will allow you to recognize terrain features in a way that a compass bearing can not do.

Once I learned this skill I never got lost in the woods again.  But if I was honest, I would have to admit I didn’t really get lost in the woods much before I had this skill.  I grew up in a State Park and knew those woods like most kids know their neighborhood.

I used to turn my radio up loud, lock my door and sneak out to go walking in the woods.

What is a Blue Line Glock

What is a Blue Line Glock
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A blue line Glock is a Glock packages to be sold to law enforcement personnel.  A Glock dealer is selected to participate in the program and then stocks a certain amount of these “blue line” guns.

The Glock is not any different from a non blue line gun, but it did used to carry an extra magazine in the package.  Now that all Glocks come with 3 magazines that no longer applies.

Blue line guns are only the popular Law Enforcement duty models, so basically full size and compact 9mm, .40 and .45 calibers.  You won’t find a long slide ported 10mm in the blue line.

To me the biggest seller of the blue line gun is that if you present identification showing employment as a police officer, correction officer, or armed security you can get your gun a little cheaper.

The trade off is that quantities are limited, and so is selection.

I have never purchases a blue label Glock because I like the OD green models and since they are not available in this package I tend to get mine in other ways.

A large dealer in south eastern TN (Craigs firearms) has a deal where if you get a letter from the head of your law enforcement agency stating you have public safety duties you can buy one gun a year at contract pricing.  The gun does need to be a duty type gun so it is limited to things like ARs, Shotguns, and duty handguns.  This is normally how I get mine.

Camping: Map Contour Lines I

Camping: Map Contour Lines I
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Due to my obvious lack of attention to detail I never was very good at orienteering by shooting an azimuth and counting my pace.  Small errors that I normally find acceptable turn in to large errors when you are traveling great distances.

Luckily I grew up on a state park and got to use topographic maps on a daily basis and quickly learned to associate the squiggly map lines with the hills and valleys I saw in real life.  I learned that I could navigate well just by being able to translate map contour lines with the terrain around me.

Translating the lines into elevations became second nature and I can visualize the elevation just by looking at the map.

As a general rule, the lines on a topographic map are tied to elevation above sea level, and somewhere on the map will be a key to tell you how many feet (or meters) the lines are.

The key to remember is the  difference is not in distance, but in elevation.  This means that the closer the lines are to each other the shorter the distance it is between the difference in elevation.  Therefore, on an map that shows 100 meters in distance between contour lines that describe an elevation change of 10 meters will represent a gradually sloping area that rises 1 meter every 10 meters you travel.  If the same map has an area where two (or more) contour lines converge it shows a cliff or steep dropoff.

Watch the video on contour lines for a better explanation.