Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
Food. Food. Food.
Years ago I had a situation where I had no money, no job, my rent was only paid up for three months and I had nothing in the fridge except a box of baking soda and some ketchup. I wound up eating every ther day to try and stretch whatever I had or could scrounge. It was ugly. And, like many people who have had an unhappy experience, I swore I’d never be in that position again.
There is a very special calmness/peace/serenity to knowing that you arent going to starve. It must be some sort of lizard-brain primitive instinct. I open the cabinets in the kitchen, see the boxes/cans of food, and I feel secure. This is a good thing.
From a practical standpoint, it really doesnt take much to keep from starving. Drop into any village in Honduras or VietNam and you’d be amazed at 1) what you can eat when youre hungry and 2) how little food you actually need to keep from dying. Sure, I’d love a life of pizza, ice cream, pop, cheeseburgers, bread and potato chips…but I know I can live on alot less.
Some meat, some rice, a few vegetables, some spices and something to drink. Simple enough.
It is not my job to take care of my fellow man…esp. when my fellow man is just as capable as I am of getting his own meal. However, I do find myself feeling bad for the hungry. The homeless? Not really. The jobless? Nah. But the hungry I feel for. And, really, in this country, its almost impossible to believe you can go hungry. Hell man, walk into any CostCo and you can eat free samples till you burst. Its amazing how cheaply you could actually feed someone. Some rice, some beef, a dollar or two worth of vegetables.
I have a buddy who, to me, spends his money in the stupidest manner possible. He’ll head to the supermarket and buy a pre-cooked roast beef and a tub of already-cooked mashed potatoes. This is prepared food, and its priced as such. For the same money, he could get the same meal at probably half the price if he’d be willing to cook it himself. Having been hungry once, I notice these things. And I’ve also gotten wierd about leftovers..remember grandma telling you about how it was a sin to waste food? I’ve seen people throw away food that was more than some meals I’ve had. If I have leftovers, they go in the fridge..1/3 of a plate of chicken and mashed potatoes left? It gets a sheet of saran wrap over it and then a trip to the fridge. Eat it tomorrow.
Hungry people are dangerous people. When someone gets hungry they shed their civility real fast. You can see it in Africa, you can see it Arkansas after a tornado…lines at the supermarkets, people getting beaten for taking more than their share, etc, etc. Its worth the sacrifice of storage space and a few luxuries for me to not have to worry about being in that situation.
Theres also a control angle….face it, when you have to rely on someone with a government ID card to feed you, clothe you, house you or treat you, you’ve become, basically, a pet. Your options have become limited, your future uncertain, your freedom curtailed.
So, tonight, I’ll go home. I’ll re-arrange space in my basement for more shelving. I’ll start listing food to buy. When I buy the food I’ll mark the date on it, stack it away, rotate it as I use it, and be extraordinarily content with myself. Next time you feel the urge to spend $14.99 on a pizza, you might want to think about what $14.99 would mean to you someday down the line when your hungry and the supermarket is unreachable or closed.
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An example. This is what I eat alot of when I dont wanna spend alot of money. This makes a huge amount of food and normally lasts for two or three days. If I have any cheese, I’ll melt it over the top. About five bucks and gets me through two days of lunch and dinner. Three days of just one big meal per day.
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes in sauce [$1.19]
1# regular ground beef [$1.99] (from ‘remaindered’ meat bin)
1 onion, chopped [$0.20]
1-3~ clove garlic [$0.10~]
1 green pepper, julienned [$1.00]
2 cups uncooked white rice [$0.30]
Tobasco, Worcestershire, salt, cumin, to taste [$0.25~]
Brown ground beef and drain. Return to pan with chopped onion, garlic and pepper. Add liquid spices. Fry until onion is translucent. Add crushed tomatoes and sauce. Simmer uncovered. Add dry spices. Simmer until reduced a bit. Mix with cooked rice. Melted cheese, optional.
