Eating or a Having a Roof Over Your Head

It's day 2 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge (UBC). Woo-hoo, this is my 3rd time participating in this challenge over the course of the last 13 months. 

I'm going to take up where I left on day 1. Do you remember what the content was? If not, that's okay...I'll remind you. The title of my post was, "Cast Iron Skillets/Dutch Oven Cooking". Many of you commented that you too, enjoy cooking with your cast irons. Thank you. I always enjoy reading your comments. 

When I posted these random statements and questions on my Facebook wall - the conversations were rich. They were meant to create thinking out loud moments, conversational dialogues, and solutions. I don't know about you, but I don't always know a solution to a problem until I'm faced with the issue. Just like the comments left on my Cast Iron Skillet post, the responses were rich and full of knowledge. In many instances, I had people say...I hadn't thought about that, thank you! 

I started out with the Cast Iron Skillet statement, once I received several comments - I posted another random statement/question. Here was the second statement I posted. "If you had to choose eating or having a roof over your head, which would you choose and why? You can ONLY choose one".  Once I typed that, I hit enter and waited for the dialog to begin...it didn't take long before I started receiving comments. Follow along to see where the dialog went. 

Much of the consensus was, they would prefer a roof over their head because one can/could always hunt for food. Do you know how to hunt, fish, or eat off the land? Our family hunts and we fish, so I could concur with the majority. But realistically - is hunting abundant in our area? With more and more concrete construction in and around our metroplex, timber and wildlife are being threatened each day. The wildlife is being forced from their habitats and pushed further away. This makes me sad on many levels...not because I want to hunt them, but because we are invading the livelihood of these creatures and destroying their landscape environments. 

Fishing on the other hand is abundant. There is a pond, a lake, or rivers all around where we live. If one owns a boat (which we do not) ...fishing comes easy. If one is fishing from the bank like we do most of the time, we must contend with others who are also trying to snag a fish or two. 

One of the comments was directed towards eating wild hog. This wildlife is one I refuse to allow my husband to bring home. I have had it many years ago and did not care for it...not then, not today. Wild hogs are abundant here in Texas. They cause a great deal of damage to landscapes and property. We had a friend several years ago who was tracking one, set out a trap, and thought it was dead. When he walked up closer to it, he quickly realized that it was still very much alive. I will leave it there...but will say, after many stitches and a lengthy hospital stay, he is lucky to be alive today. I don't do wild hogs in any way, shape, or form. I've heard that wild hog is an acquired taste. Have you eaten wild hog before? Did you like it? If so, how do you cook it? 

Another comment I received was, "they prefer a roof because they could hunt for food. But at times, survival might be difficult because of extreme weather". I pondered this statement for a little bit...' extreme weather'...I just received another statement for another time. 

If one has a roof over their head, but no food in the pantry - how would they survive? Have you ever been in a position like this? I have and I didn't like it. A memory that comes to mind many times is something my mom always said when she lived with us. She would tell me, "Nan - the refrigerator is looking a bit sparse, when will you be grocery shopping?" or she would say, "Nan- the pantry is bare, I don't want to starve, will you be buying groceries soon"? Never once did my mom ever starve while living with us...we always had food, but maybe we didn't have the specific thing she wanted to eat, and she began to stress over it.

When I asked her why seeing the refrigerator or the pantry a little bit empty bothered her so much, she told me that when she was a little girl, many times they would not have food in their house, and she would be very hungry. She was always afraid she would starve to death. My heart broke when I heard mom's memory of her childhood and I assured her she would not starve on my watch. 

How many times have you walked into the kitchen looking for something to eat, but couldn't find anything even though the refrigerator and the pantry were full? My daughter tells me that all the time even still today...' mom, you don't have anything to eat in your kitchen', yet my fridge AND pantry both ARE  full. The problem is, I don't have anything she WANTS to eat. Kids are so funny...young and old alike! 

One of the comments I received to my statement "eating or a roof over your head"  indicated a roof would be easier to maintain and they went on to say, that in winter - it is harder to survive without secure shelter. It would be easier to cook or griddle outside. Hunting is an option, but so is food pantries or asking friends for scratch cook ingredients. That is more time-intensive but simple meals with a roof over their head. In her comment, she dropped something that I hadn't thought about before...scratch cook ingredients. How many of you know what this is? 

Scratch Cooking - means to cook a meal without using readymade ingredients. I remember my granny and my mom cooking from scratch. In fact, I have cooked from scratch a few times. Have any of you ever made biscuits, loaves of bread, a spice mixture, or soup from scratch? If so, you could say you have scratched cooked!  

Let's go a step further, what would scratch food ingredients be? What do you think they are? The first thing that comes to mind would be a mixture of fresh herbs or even fresh vegetables. I can't wait to see what your thoughts on this subject are. What do you have in your kitchens today that could be considered "scratch cooking ingredients"? 

Do you see how my random statements and questions created a dialog that got people thinking about everyday things we take for granted? For instance, another one of the comments left was, 'this is a catch 20/20. If you expend energy building and maintaining a shelter, you must replace it with food. But then you must expend further energy hunting/scavenging and if you don't come up with much, you end up worse off. In the best-case scenario, you have a partner who can split the energy cost with you'. 

The comments to my posted statements were interesting. It gave me an insight of how different people view choices, solutions, and the opportunity of coming up with a plan of action in the event one was needed. 

One of my friends posted "always find shelter first. Then build a fire and find a water source. Now, you can find food. One should know good berries from the bad, protein sources like snails and learn how to set traps. Maybe fish, too". Okay...this is a great comment. How many of you know how to build a fire without a firepit or a grill outside? What would you use? Do you know what the good berries are from the bad ones? Protein source? What does that look like? In her original comment, she left the word, 'YUCK' behind the snail comment. I think I would have to agree with her. I'm sure many have eaten Escargot though...that's snails, right?  I can't see myself eating snails, cockroaches, or anything else along these lines. But in many cultures, these are considered delicacies. I suppose though, if push came to shove, I would do what I had to do to survive. 

This brings me to a memory I have of my dad many years ago. He and his mother got this bright idea they were going to get rich from raising 'earthworms/nightcrawlers'. We had a three-car garage and only had a small path we could walk through to get back to the washer and dryer. This garage was detached from the house. Our dad was a hoarder...you know that show that plays on tv? Yea, that was my dad through and through...The things he had in that garage and in his other sheds made my skin crawl, literally. 

Okay, back to the earthworms. Dad built these wooden boxes, filled them with compost (using many different things), and then buried the earthworms/nightcrawlers deep into the mixture. Some of these worms were 12-15" long. I remember one time, he had cookies made with the worms. I did not try any of them. It grossed me out thinking about it then and it still grosses me out thinking about it now. The worm boxes as he called them, were in the smallest stall of the garage. Back in the day, the people who owned the property before mom and dad bought it, had a mechanic shop out there. It even had a bathroom in it. (that garage creeped me out on so many levels...and I don't have many good memories of it at all). I HATED going out to the garage to retrieve the laundry or jars of vegetables mom had canned from the garden. But none the less, we had these worm boxes. Not much came from the earthworms because they ended up freezing during a hard winter. Money down the drain...not to mention the mess left behind. So much for dad's dreams of becoming wealthy. We MUST have dreams, right!? 

The closest I get to an earthworm or nightcrawler today is if I'm putting a piece of one on my fishing pole. Even then, they still gross me out and my husband will more than likely be the one to thread my hook. Memories...they are so powerful. Whether good or bad. How many of you have ever eaten one of these worms? Do they gross you out? Have you ever held one? 

A roof or eating...that is the topic at hand today. One of the comments left made me laugh. They chose a roof, but then added, "why do I feel like you are testing me to see if I have watched the movie Castaway"? I laughed so hard when I read her comment. I immediately thought to myself, she is right. 

I have watched that movie. Have you? I suppose this is what Tom Hanks was having to do being a castaway on that island after a tragic and horrific ordeal. He had to learn how to survive from the land and even figure out shelter. It made me think about our current day in America. Could I survive if the things I take for granted daily were stripped away? Would I be able to survive? Would I be able to keep shelter and food in place if it all was to vanish for whatever reason? Could you? What does that look like in your mind? Would you be able to feed your family? 

These statements and questions I pose are not to bring fear, but to get you to think about the 'what if's'. Because honestly, these could become a reality very easily. I mean think about it. How many people have lost their homes to fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, or other natural disasters? They have even lost their means of food. It all must be replaced, but how? Shelters, friends, families, food pantries, or other forms of handouts? 

I'm reminded of a time I went to the grocery store after the COVID Pandemic hit. I needed to purchase something specific. No, it wasn't toilet paper...when I walked down the aisle where the item was normally shelved, it was empty. There was a sign that said, 'this product will no longer be available'. I thought to myself, why is that, because of the Pandemic? Now, what am I going to do. I need that item for what I'm cooking...I had to come up with another plan of action. I had to completely rethink what it was I wanted to do with the food preparation I was going to cook that night. I had to think on my feet and come up with a different solution. 

How many of you have ever had to come up with a different solution to a problem where the obvious answer was quite easy, but then suddenly became quite difficult? This reminds me of the times we are living in today. Everyone everywhere has had to adjust. We have had to change the way our normal is. What if this came down to choosing a roof over your head or putting food in your stomach. What would you choose? How would you bring it to fruition? Do you have a game plan that your family is aware of just in case? We do. I have frozen water in the freezer, and we have ice chests in the shed (in the event we needed to move food around). I also have bottled water set aside, along with batteries and flashlights. We have several means of cooking methods outside, a grill and a fire pit where we can easily use our cast irons. We have a pantry full of items that include staples such as flour, spices, beans, rice, canned vegetables, cold brew tea just to name a few. We even own a tent and a portable commode. We are eventually going to invest in a generator. I've also thought about investing in a portable shower in the event we needed to figure out a way to stay clean. We have fishing poles and other means to hunt off the land IF push came to shove. 

These are realistic times and these random statements of mine created amazing dialog and engaged conversation. In fact, they made some people think about what they would do and how they would achieve the task at hand. Have you thought about any of this recently? Let me hear from you. Drop me a comment below. 

Until tomorrow...Have a GREAT day! 

Heart to Heart Soul Creations
H2hsc2020

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