One of the problems with bunkerfood is that it either tastes lousy or requires reconstituion using perishables (milk, butter, etc). In a perfect world you’d have a food that tastes great and requires nothing except water.

Behold!

Now, Idahoan potatoes are pretty much a staple of any well-stocked bunker. Big drawback is that they require milk and butter to reconstitute. Sure, you can use instant milk and dehydrated butter but it aint gonna taste the same. Well, as it turns out they have several products that do NOT require butter or milk. Simply pour a pouch of potato granules into a bowl, add two cups of boiling water, stir, wait one minute and *presto*.

How good could this be?

Damn good. I mean, really good. Like, eat it every day even if theres no apocalypse good. Thats right – bunkerfood you’ll wanna eat every day.

kitiara mentioned this product to me and I found some in my local Albertsons. $1.20 for a four ounce sealed package that makes 4 servings. (Really, two servings…after a day of rebuilding society and manning a security point you get hungry.) So I tried the ‘Buttery homestyle’ flavor last night. Literally, it was as simple as the directions said – two cups boiling water to a bowl of this stuff, wait one minute and eat. And it was delicious! A little creamier and smoother than I prefer but thats easily taken care of with using a bit less water. Great buttery taste and no need for additional salt.

I was extremely impressed. I mean, really impressed. So impressed that these suckers are going into the bunker as soon as I locate a #10 can of them. I called Idahoan to ask about this product. My questions:

Q: How di I read the product date code? (In this case: 3246YDM4) Seemed it would be Year/Date/Month [YDM, get it?])
A: Julian code – year first, then date, then month.

Q: Whats the shelf life of the product?
A: We recommend using it within one year of that date.
Q: Okay, I understand thats the official line..between you and me, what? Two years? Four years? Im trying to stock a bunker here.
A: Well, I’ve had some a year and a half old and they tasted fine. It depends on the ingredients..the flavored ones use ingredients for flavoring that may not last as long. On the regular unflavored mashed potatoes its [indefinite].

Q: The normal Idahoan requires milk and butter. These flavored ones dont. Do you have the regular Idahoan that doesnt require milk or butter?
A: Yes, thats product #00142, ‘Real Premium Mashed’

Q: Outstanding. Is that available in the #10 cans?
A: You’d have to contact our food service division at Nestle.

Seriously, kids…this is some good stuff. I tried the Buttery homestyle and loved em. Gonna try the herbed ones tonight and try frying them as potato patties/latkes. Current packaging is a cardboard box with wax paper bag (like breakfast cereal) or a 4 oz. paper package. Neither one lends itself to the rough-n-tumble lifestyle of your average LMI but Im going to see if I cant hunt down some #10 cans (I love #10 cans!!!!). Worst case, I could simply store/transport them in 5-gal buckets.

Man, that was yummy. And can be made using an alcohol burner and a canteen cup. Perfect!!!

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

I really need to sit down with Excel and whip out some solid spreadsheets listing things to buy, prices, costs per use, etc. and start making my purchases much more organized and regimented.

It also occurred to me that for $10 for 550 rounds of .22LR ammo I really should have a bit more of it than the lousy 5,000 rounds I have on hand at the moment.

Speaking of .22 , I really do need to look into picking up a Ruger MkII and a nice bolt action rifle.

I really need to sit down with Excel and whip out some solid spreadsheets listing things to buy, prices, costs per use, etc. and start making my purchases much more organized and regimented.

It also occurred to me that for $10 for 550 rounds of .22LR ammo I really should have a bit more of it than the lousy 5,000 rounds I have on hand at the moment.

Speaking of .22 , I really do need to look into picking up a Ruger MkII and a nice bolt action rifle.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Hmm…California is set on ‘broil’ and solar flare activity is causing concern.

There was a solar flare-related event a few years ago..wound up shutting down a wireless phone network. Not too big a deal except that it also managed to disable the phone service that allows gas pumps and ATMs to operate with credit cards. Does any of this matter to the Commander? Not really. Im pretty low-tech for most things… obviously, inability to use ATMs or to have debit/ATM cards suddenly not function is a headache, but not as critical as it would be to some urban professional who hasnt used cash in ten years.

Getting nippy here..supposed to be in the low teens for Halloween. Time to bring out the heavier clothing. Also probably time to start making the usual ‘just in case’ plans for what to do when pipes freeze, power goes out, etc, etc. One nice thing about power outages in the winter is that I dont have to worry about the meat in the freezer thawing…just stick it in a cooler in the yard and youre good to go.

Interesting link of the day: Bucket caches

In other matters, I need to spend some time in the kitchen as the Guerrilla Gourmet. The recipes I have for cooking with stored foods are either terribly bland or require additional ingredients that are definitely not long term. The Commander Zero Cookbook? Entirely possible.

I was reminded the other day that I still need to pick up a good shortwave radio for listening to various programs and news. Need to pick a good one and find it on eBay…

Hmm…California is set on ‘broil’ and solar flare activity is causing concern.

There was a solar flare-related event a few years ago..wound up shutting down a wireless phone network. Not too big a deal except that it also managed to disable the phone service that allows gas pumps and ATMs to operate with credit cards. Does any of this matter to the Commander? Not really. Im pretty low-tech for most things… obviously, in ability to use ATMs or to have debit/ATM cards suddenly not function is a headache, but not as critical as it would be to some urban professional who hasnt used cash in ten years.

Getting nippy here..supposed to be in the low teens for Halloween. Time to bring out the heavier clothing. Also probably time to start making the usual ‘just in case’ plans for what to do when pipes freeze, power goes out, etc, etc. One nice thing about power outages in the winter is that I dont have to worry about the meat in the freezer thawing…just stick it in a cooler in the yard and youre good to go.

Interesting link of the day: Bucket caches

In other matters, I need to spend some time in the kitchen as the Guerrilla Gourmet. The recipes I have for cooking with stored foods are either terribly bland or require additional ingredients that are definitely not long term. The Commander Zero Cookbook? Entirely possible.

I was reminded the other day that I still need to pick up a good shortwave radio for listening to various programs and news. Need to pick a good one and find it on eBay…

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Project time…

One of the things Ive been wanting for a while is a dedicated lighting system for when the power goes out. Ideally, it is to be utterly and completely ‘normal’ looking. I’ve got a cabinet-type nightstand that would house a battery, charger and, if necessary, an inverter, quite nicely. What I was thinking of doing was picking up a 12v trouble light and swapping it out with the innards of a normal table lamp. Then I’d simply run the wires to the battery inside the nightstand and , ideally, run it off of the battery. Now, the problem is, I’m very fuzzy on battery/electronics. As I understand it, since I’d be charging this battery indoors I would want a sealed UPS-type battery so that no hazardous fumes/gases would be given off during the charging process? Is this correct? The other question is can I leave the battery hooked up to a charging device constantly so that it charges to the proper voltage and then maintains it? Ive seen several chargers that charge batteries and then ‘float’ them, keeping them topped off as necessary. This seems to be what Id be looking for..something I could plug into the wall and know the battery is always at its peak…and then when the power goes out I can operate the light off of this completely charged battery.

Or would doing such shorten battery life or short the battery itself?

Project time…

One of the things Ive been wanting for a while is a dedicated lighting system for when the power goes out. Ideally, it is to be utterly and completely ‘normal’ looking. I’ve got a cabinet-type nightstand that would house a battery, charger and, if necessary, an inverter, quite nicely. What I was thinking of doing was picking up a 12v trouble light and swapping it out with the innards of a normal table lamp. Then I’d simply run the wires to the battery inside the nightstand and , ideally, run it off of the battery. Now, the problem is, I’m very fuzzy on battery/electronics. As I understand it, since I’d be charging this battery indoors I would want a sealed UPS-type battery so that no hazardous fumes/gases would be given off during the charging process? Is this correct? The other question is can I leave the battery hooked up to a charging device constantly so that it charges to the proper voltage and then maintains it? Ive seen several chargers that charge batteries and then ‘float’ them, keeping them topped off as necessary. This seems to be what Id be looking for..something I could plug into the wall and know the battery is always at its peak…and then when the power goes out I can operate the light off of this completely charged battery.

Or would doing such shorten battery life or short the battery itself?

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

The life of the Zero is , as always, unpredictable…

Winter is approaching so its time to start focussing on getting ready for it. It also means that in another three months it’ll be perfect weather for testing cold weather gear. Lotsa stuff either doesnt work or works differently in cold weather.. plus, some items are simply harder to operate if you have ice-cold hands or gloves on. So, winter gives me a chance to test out various goodies to see how they’ll work in ‘real world’ scenarios. Nothing worse than finding out that the ‘-10 degree’ rated sleeping bag you bought only keeps you warm to about +20.

Since winter approaches, now is a good time to make sure the kerosene heater is up to the task. Kerosene is a wonderful fuel…stores forever and throws a goodly anount of heat. I’ve stove, heater and lights that burn it so if power does go out this winter I’ll have hot food, light and heat. Let the sheeple huddle in their darm icy houses listening to their pipes burst….I’ll be warm, well lit and drinking hot chocolate.

Went to NorCo the other day. They sell welding and OSHA-rewuired supplies. They sell industrial first aid kits, which is nice, but more importantly they sell replacement components for those kits. Me and one of the LMI headed up there to see what could be had that would be of use. Neat little 1oz bottles of eyewash. Handy. Vaseline gauze (something you dont find in your average supermarket first aid aisle). Packets of aspirin, acedominphin, and ibuprofin..2 tablets per pack, 100 packs per box. Ideal for stocking first aid kits. They had a buncha other goodies I couldnt afford at the moment..burn gel, compress bandages, CPR shields, etc, etc. I’ll be heading back up there at the next opportunity. Always nice to find a local source for some of the harder-to-find items. And the packaging is exactly what im looking for – ’single serving’ packages that fit nicely into smaller kits.

The website continues apace. I have most of the pages done but mostly with dead links. I’m trying to add to it at the rate of a page a day. However, theres enough there to entertain mildly. If youre reasonably intelligent it should be obvious what the URL is.

The life of the Zero is , as always, unpredictable…

Winter is approaching so its time to start focussing on getting ready for it. It also means that in another three months it’ll be perfect weather for testing cold weather gear. Lotsa stuff either doesnt work or works differently in cold weather.. plus, some items are simply harder to operate if you have ice-cold hands or gloves on. So, winter gives me a chance to test out various goodies to see how they’ll work in ‘real world’ scenarios. Nothing worse than finding out that the ‘-10 degree’ rated sleeping bag you bought only keeps you warm to about +20.

Since winter approaches, now is a good time to make sure the kerosene heater is up to the task. Kerosene is a wonderful fuel…stores forever and throws a goodly anount of heat. I’ve stove, heater and lights that burn it so if power does go out this winter I’ll have hot food, light and heat. Let the sheeple huddle in their darm icy houses listening to their pipes burst….I’ll be warm, well lit and drinking hot chocolate.

Went to NorCo the other day. They sell welding and OSHA-rewuired supplies. They sell industrial first aid kits, which is nice, but more importantly they sell replacement components for those kits. Me and one of the LMI headed up there to see what could be had that would be of use. Neat little 1oz bottles of eyewash. Handy. Vaseline gauze (something you dont find in your average supermarket first aid aisle). Packets of aspirin, acedominphin, and ibuprofin..2 tablets per pack, 100 packs per box. Ideal for stocking first aid kits. They had a buncha other goodies I couldnt afford at the moment..burn gel, compress bandages, CPR shields, etc, etc. I’ll be heading back up there at the next opportunity. Always nice to find a local source for some of the harder-to-find items. And the packaging is exactly what im looking for – ‘single serving’ packages that fit nicely into smaller kits.

The website continues apace. I have most of the pages done but mostly with dead links. I’m trying to add to it at the rate of a page a day. However, theres enough there to entertain mildly. If youre reasonably intelligent it should be obvious what the URL is.

Hmmmm….German flectar parka and liners are on sale at Cheaper Than Dirt for $18. And, these are good pieces of gear. I bought mine from Major Surplus last year and its quite nice…longer in length than the US jacket, and the liner has a zip-up turtleneck that comes up to your nose. Very nice. And, heck, for twenty bucks who wouldnt want one? And its in that funky flectar pattern of camo.

As an aside, ‘Commander Zero’ is a noun, not a verb. “Yeah, the power went out but I CommanderZero’ed my way through it” or “I went to CostCo and bought a CommanderZeros worth of canned good” is not proper usage.

In other matters, Im still tinkering with website content. Will let you know how it goes.