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MAKING A TINDER NEST
greatly increases the incidence of successful fire building. When a flame is caught, a tinder nest is used to ignite a bigger fire.
When crushed or bent, dry tinder will easily break. Sometimes, the surface area will feel dry, but when it bends without breaking, the material isn't really dried out on the inside. If the ground is damp, search out materials which can be found resting on top of bushes or branches. Because they have been exposed to the sun and air flow, these materials are going to be drier than ground litter.
If the driest tinder you can find is damp, place it inside your jacket leaving a clothing layer between it and your bare skin. When you find yourself ready to prepare a fire later in the day, the heat from your body will have served to dry the tinder.
Shredding the tinder creates extra surface area that will more readily catch fire. Fluffy materials are ideal for nursing a spark into a flame. Use a bandana or other cloth to gather your tinder. Select a long piece of tinder and hold it in your hands as you move them in a bike pedaling movement. Repeat this process across the full span your tinder. The tinder will soften and grow more flexible. Bits and fine dust will fall down from your hands and fall onto the bandana.
Take a few of the rough pieces of shredded tinder and create a loose over hand knot with a diameter of around four inches.
HERBS USED FOR INCENSE
Historically, sick rooms were once cleansed using the smoke from burning sage and rosemary. A fragrant wood, Cedar is known to have expectorant, antifungal, antiviral and lymphatic cleansing properties. The needles from Pine, Spruce and Fir trees contain the main ingredient in Tamiflu (a medicine used to treat the bird flu) called shikimic acid. Respiratory ailments have been helped with the application of incense made with Frankincense. Other similarly beneficial herbs are Eucalyptus leaves and Mullein.
I know of one instance of a woman that was left struggling for air, choking and vomiting from a strong cytokine response during the flu. The man of the house closed the damper on the wood stove and placed cedar in the fire box, which produced a cleansing smoke. The cytokine storm stopped right away. Twenty minutes later, she had no more mucus and was relieved of her flu symptoms. Since that time, they have used this same remedy on other family members to good effect (of course, they air the house out afterwards).
Native Americans often used the smoke of Cedar to cleanse their homes. Smoke can be used in rustic conditions as a cleanser to rid a person, bedding, clothing or shelter of vermin, viruses and harmful bacteria. The last part of Leviticus 14 records that priests were instructed to cleanse a house of the plague using Cedar.
HOW TO USE HERBS FOR INCENSE
Carefully place a hot ember or coal from a hardwood fire (use tongs) onto a heat resistant surface. Assemble the herbs around and onto the ember and watch for smoke. Allow the smoke to waft over you and inhale. Be careful that the plant material does not burst into flames but only smokes. The smoldering is accomplished by using hot coals rather than an open fire; you can also tie your herbs or wood into tight bundles.
Herbs tightly bundled for incense are called smudge sticks. In some cases, leaves and stems can be tightly braided. If you only have dry leaves, these can be tightly wrapped in unbleached paper and tied with cotton thread. To use smudge sticks, light one of the ends. Extinguish the flame by gently blowing on it, leaving the smudge stick to smoking. These smudge sticks make it easier to direct the smoke and they tend to smoke longer than loose plant material.
WARNING
Never inhale or come near the smoke of a plant to which you are allergic. The purpose of this article is for information only. Persons utilizing these methods assume all liability and are encouraged to use safety guidelines. This article is not a substitute for the care of a trained health professional.
SODA CAN FIRE STARTER
The value of a can of soda might be more in the packaging than the contents in a survival scenario. The empty can is useful as a fire starter. Should you find yourself in need of a camp fire, a carelessly tossed soda can could be a lifesaver.
Use materials you have on hand to polish the can to a glossy finish. The finest grade steel wool is 0000 and can be used to achieve the finish with a few minutes of polishing. Other products that could work include a paste made out of baking soda or scouring powder or even toothpaste.
The polishing can takes about an hour. The tinder will likely ignite in less time if you have good materials.
This article is offered for information purposes. It is the responsibility of the reader to use sound judgment and common sense when utilizing this information, assuming all risks and liability.
COOKING WITH A DUTCH OVEN
STIR WITH A WOODEN SPOON
HOW TO PREHEAT
Use a clean cloth or paper towel to coat the inside of your pot and lid with olive oil. Set the lid onto the pot and set it near the fire to warm while you prepare your ingredients. This is pre-heating your Dutch oven just as you would a modern standard oven. The oil penetrates the iron as the pot is warmed, making the vessel ready to cook. Securing the lid will keep ash out of the interior of the pot. If onions or peppers are part of the recipe, add them to the oven while it warms so that they may simmer and create a barrier between the rest of the food when it is added and the bottom of the pot.
PLACING FOOD INTO YOUR OVEN
Assemble the ingredients for your recipe. Remember the seasonings. The pre-heated oven should be moved away from the heat of the fire. A curved metal rod is useful as a tool to carefully remove the hot lid.
The remaining ingredients should be layered into your oven at this point. If rice is part of your recipe, add it and the water or broth at this point. Vegetables are next to be added. The meat rests on top of any vegetables, rice or potatoes so that it may flavor them as it cooks. Take care that the pot is not overfilled so that the food touches the underside of the lid. If cooking a bread or desert, layer the ingredients in the same way you would if using a conventional oven. Place the lid back onto the pot.
PLACING THE OVEN TO THE COALS
Your cooking time should be similar to the time used in a modern kitchen oven or a little longer if your coals are cool. When finished, remove the live coals from the lid of your pot using a shovel. Use a fire-resistant brush to remove any remaining debris. Remove the pot from the hot coals and move it back from the fire. Raise the lid and set it aside using a heavy piece of curved metal. Examine your food for doneness. Serve with a wooden spoon if the food has finished cooking. If more time is needed, recover the pot with the lid and replace it onto the small bed of coals scooping more coals back onto the top. After a few minutes, check the food.
CLEANING AND STORING
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The following video is a demonstration of bread-making using a Dutch oven. While the footage shows use in a conventional oven, the technique is the same -- except for the fact that you'd be using fire as your heat source as described above:
