While duct-taped to her chair… a memo from the Chief, Juliette Terzieff
Okay… you know how much I love the Oracle, but I have to be honest … it scares the bejeebus out of me when LK says the words, I’ve been thinking…. I mean seriously, the entire command center shudders with the utterance of those words. So imagine my terror when I heard she was giving an entire interview … UNSUPERVISED??
If you haven’t read it yet, Green-Fly Media put out an ALL zombie magazine this month. The Oracle’s interview starts on page 47. She didn’t do half bad … even if I DO say so.
As part of our collective efforts to prepare for the z-poc ZSC command is continuing its mission to bring you a series of recipes to keep the body strong and the spirit lifted during dark times.
The last time Blue Brigade was in the frying pan to provide a recipe, they went with one of Commander Reedus’ personal favorite dishes, macaroni and cheese. This time Blue Brigade is going true ‘squirrel-slinging redneck style’ –and if anyone can come up with a nifty little tune to accompany this there could be a prize involved.
All jokes aside this is a handy, easy recipe for a hearty meal on the go that can be tailored to reflect individual tastes and the environment you’re in when the time comes to make this stew.
Ingredients:
1 squirrel, butchered, skinned and cut up
flour salt and pepper, to taste
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
7 cups water 1 teaspoon thyme
1 cup corn
3 potatoes, cubed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3 medium onions, sliced
2 cups canned tomatoes with juice (or a bushel of fresh tomatoes, cut up)
Directions:
1 – Roll the squirrel pieces in flour, salt, and pepper.
2 – Brown in butter. Remove from pot.
3 – Add water to pot and bring to a boil.
4 – Add squirrel and all other ingredients (with the exception of the tomatoes) to the boiling water, cover, and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
4 – Add the tomatoes and continue to simmer another hour.
In the last few months we’ve brought you recipes for z-poc ready dishes including blackberry jam, dried meat and squash soup. Which recipes you’ll be able to use will depend in a large part of where you find yourself in the midst of the infection and how easily you can get to fresh ingredients.
And if you find yourself near a lake, stream, ocean or river, fish should be in plentiful supply. So here’s a quick, easy, and ever-alterable, recipe from the Red Brigade that will work with virtually any fish you can catch and can be tailored to fit your immediate environment, available ingredients and personal tastes.
You’ll need an 12″ square piece of tinfoil (heavy duty if you have it) and butter or some oil. Add enough butter or oil to keep the fish from sticking to the foil. Take your fish fillet or whole, cleaned fish and put in the middle of the foil. (In case you missed it, Lt. Blue Brigade provided a quickie lesson in cleaning fish)
Add choice of sliced vegetables, garlic, lemon juice, spices or other items for flavor. Whatever you can find in you Go Bag or surrounding environment, it’s hard to go wrong here.
Fold the tinfoil to contain the heat and juices…this is important. A loosely folded or crumbled tinfoil ball will take longer to cook and a lot of flavoring and moisture will escape through the cracks and holes.
Place the foil in the hot campfire coals. For small fillets bake on each side for approximately 3 minutes. Larger fillets can take as long as 10 minutes per side.
Allow to cool a few minutes before eating. Open the packet carefully, there will be hot steam.
Brimstone literally means burning stone. And it is an apropos name for our newest Special Forces command member.
Our Brimstone is a former wrestler with a heart of gold and a personality that bubbles. He’s got technical and practical know-how that will add to ZSC Special Forces’ mission to help us all prepare to meet the Z-poc head on!
Like ZSC Special Forces Commander Michael Rooker and our other Special Forces command members Jonathan Maberry, Paul Phillips, Billy Tackett and Britt Griffith, Brimstone brings a special set of skills to ZSC Command. If you’re looking for hand-to-hand combat training, strategies to manage a mob, or identifying ways to make efficient multi-tasking look easy, then Brimstone is your man.
ZSC brigaders, please raise your weapons and welcome BRIMSTONE to ZSC Command!
From the earliest days of the Zombie Survival Crew, command has managed to successfully fend off numerous assaults by the Unnamed Government Agency (UGA),around our collective Z-poc and disaster preparation efforts. After several attempts in 2011, 2012 and early 2103, the UGA went fairly quiet…but we knew it was only a matter of time before they struck out again.
Recent events around ZSC commanders’ participation in a Kentucky event clearly demonstrate that the UGA remains active and interested in ZSC activities. Until ZSC Command is able to fully ascertain the UGA’s interest and intentions, we recommend the utmost caution by all ZSC members.
Consider the evidence from the recent appearance of ZSC Command members in Kentucky:
Red Brigade Sergeant at Arms Amy Sundberg was tailed by a white van, which she had previously spotted outside her residence, on the way to the airport for her journey to Kentucky. Sergeant at Arms Sundberg snapped a photo, and when the van’s occupants realized their cover was blown they passed her and got off the highway.
Both Sergeant at Arms Sundberg and Zombie Survival Crew commander-in-chief, yours truly, had close calls during our arrivals at the event location. Sundberg was faced with a non-English-speaking cab driver who took her through the same intersection three times, sparking concerns the ride might be a UGA kidnap attempt. Sundberg let the driver know she understood he was going in the wrong direction, and insisted she be taken immediately to her destination, prompting him to abort the obvious mission to detain.
As for me, my arrival at the host hotel involved a blatant attempt at destruction of ZSC commander gear by a UGA agent posing as a doorman. The person in question opened the trunk of our vehicle and proceeded to dump gear all over the street.
And that was before the weekend really began…
UGA operatives made their presence felt in the photo op lines, managing to cause significant confusion and frustration. Special Forces Commander Michael Rooker embarked on an impulse undercover mission during the photo ops assault and was ambushed while attempting to move stealthily through a side door. The ever-capable Rooker managed to escape capture and took temporary cover inside a neighborhood bistro.
In addition to blending lines and causing logistical chaos, one UGA operative managed to infiltrate the photo op booth. The agent posed as a hysterical female fan assaulted Sergeant at Arms Sundberg by “accidentally” tipping over Special Forces Commander Rooker’s full cup of hot coffee onto her feet and into the bag of valuable supplies she was guarding. The operative eluded capture in the ensuing chaos and could not be identified. No injury to Sundberg’s feet, significant damage to the contents of the bag.
The attacks didn’t stop ZSC Commanders from having a great time, with some timely assists from friendlies Jason Momoa, Joey Lauren Adams and Brian O’Halloran. Rooker, IronE Singleton, Lew Temple and Vincent Ward engaged in an impromptu football game to entertain waiting fans, and Rooker’s fighting edge was in full display when a fan asked him to “kick his butt.”
In a desperate attempt to thwart our operations, UGA agents managed to successfully shut down both Starbucks in the immediate area around noon on Sunday. Anyone who has spent time around me knows that a lack of coffee is truly cataclysmic. After a brief moment of confusion, ZSC cadres changed tactics and turned to Panera for our caffeine needs.
It is likely that UGA attempts will continue in the coming weeks and months….stay vigilant loyal ZSC members!!!
The Zombie Survival Crew is proud to announce yet another new addition to the Command Center, the one and only Mr. Vincent Ward!
This multi-talented actor, filmmaker and artist has been out and about since 2000, appearing in various television roles, films and live stage performances. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, Vincent’s very impressive body of work includes roles far too numerous to list in one place. We’ve spotted him in Ocean’s Eleven, caught him in several episodes of Everybody Hates Chris and The Starter Wife, House of Payne, True Blood, and of course most recently in AMC’s The Walking Dead as Oscar.
Vincent is no stranger to hard work, and having already stood alongside him at several conventions we’re ecstatic to officially announce him s part of our crew! And if we ask very nicely, he might even read us a story.
Please join us in welcoming Vincent Ward to the Zombie Survival Crew!
The Zombie Survival Crew is proud to announce the newest addition to the Command Center, the man with the ‘stache himself, Mr. Lew Temple! Having already had the honor and privilege of working with Mr. Temple at several conventions, we’re thrilled to have him on board.
Well known for his work on Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects, Lew’s very impressive body of work includes television, film and theater roles far too numerous to count here. We’ve seen him in Walker: Texas Ranger, caught him in an episode of Justified, heard his distinctive tones in Rango, and most recently saw him as Axl on AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Before testing his acting skills on the stage, Lew played minor league baseball with the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros. Often described as a chameleon for his ability to successfully tackle and claim almost any role, this Louisiana Bayou native not only comes to us with a plethora of experience, he also has a “killer” sense of style and humor that sets him apart from the rest as one of the best.
Please join us in welcoming Lew Temple into our ranks!
As part of the ongoing effort to keep our loyal members well fed during the Z-Pocalypse, we’re taking a look at a very important aspect of daily nutrition – comfort food. Whether standing alone or as a side dish with your favorite post-apocalyptic meal, macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. As long as fresh milk, cheese, butter and eggs are still available, this long-time favorite of Blue Brigade Commander Norman Reedus can be easily prepared almost anywhere.
If you’re fortunate enough to have found safe haven in a place with a working kitchen, this one is a snap. But even with a simple wood stove or an outdoor campfire, this recipe can also be prepared in a deep skillet or in a Dutch oven.
Melt the butter in the bottom of the Dutch oven, then stir in the flour to make a light roux. Add the salt. Mix milk with beaten egg and blend in until thick and bubbly then add in 5 cups of cheese, stirring until melted. Stir in cooked macaroni noodles then top off with balance of cheese. Set dutch oven over campfire until heated through and slightly browned on top.
It certainly goes without saying that as daily survival gets tougher, items such as fresh milk and cheese may no longer be easily available. In preparation for this stage, you might want to stock up on dry goods. Boxed macaroni and cheese dinners can be made with powdered or evaporated canned milk. You can also use macaroni and cheese sauce mixes. If available, canned tuna or chicken and canned vegetables can be added for extra fuel and nutrition.
As part of our collective efforts to prepare for the z-poc ZSC command has undertaken a mission to bring you a series of recipes to keep the body strong and the spirit lifted during dark times. Now, don’t go thinking you’ll be cooking these up in the early days of the infection. You’ll be too busy slaying walkers on the move for this kind of fare. But once the initial dust settles and you’re in the fight for the long haul, you’re going to want something other than the beef jerky, energy bars and chocolate you’ve got stashed in your Go Bag.
Red Brigade is first out of the gate for our new Tasty Survival Skill series of recipes ZSC brigaders can use to prepare for and survive cataclysmic events up to, and including, a full blown zombie infestation.
Blackberry preserves may not seem like the most intuitive survival recipe, but when the world falls apart having something sweet on hand is never a bad plan.
Preserves can be made in advance, stored for long periods of times, and best of all, the United States is one of the largest producers of blackberries in the world. Blackberry varieties can be found in almost every State. If you don’t prepare preserves in advance of a cataclysmic events, once the dust settles, it won’t be hard to find them in farming country close to almost all of the ZSC’s designated meet up points, or anywhere you decide to hold up for the medium- or long-term.
Directions:
1. Rinse the berries in cold water and drain
2. Put berries into a stock pot and mash to extract juices.
3. Add sugar and mix. Add cinnamon and/or nutmeg, as desired.
4. Bring to a boil over a high heat, while stirring constantly.
5. Add pectin and return mixtures to a full boil for one minute.
6. Skim off all the foam.
7. Ladle or pour the preserves into sterile Mason jars. Leave at least ½ inch empty at the top. Make sure to wipe clean the rims before you cap and seal.
8. Place filled Mason jars in a stock pot with enough water to cover the jars by 1-2 inches. Cover and bring to a boil. When water is boiling, set your watch for five minutes.
9. Remove jars and place off to the side. Allow to sit for at least 12 hours, preferably 24. Check the seals and remove bands.
10. Consume at will!
Zombie Survival Crew Commanders are busy not only championing Z-Poc preparedness but efforts to address current real world issues that impact our collective well-being, and Special Forces Commander Michael Rooker is no exception. Next month he is taking action on a cause close to his heart – literacy.
On April 5, in Los Angeles, Flights of Fantasy Story Theatre is hosting a very special event featuring Michael Rooker at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre. It will be a one-of-a-kind intimate experience with an actor who has played some of the quirkiest characters known to pop-culture and horror fans.