Saturday, August 24, 2013

To Cook or Not to Cook...

I prefer Not to Cook.  It's not that I can't cook.  I can.  Very well, as a matter of fact.  I just do not enjoy the process.

There are some YouTube channels hosted by some very good cooks.  I enjoy watching them from time to time.  And now and then I see a dish that I might try making for myself.  But not often.  I keep a pretty basic pantry.  A fixed income doesn't include specialty items.  And cooking for just one person isn't much fun, so I try to make it as simple as possible.

I am a back to basics kind of cook as opposed to one of the gourmet variety.  I live in pork and beef and poultry country.  I have never seen leg of lamb in the meat department of my local grocery store.  I grew up on basic, good tasting simple and filling meals of meat, potatoes, vegetables and probably homemade pickles.  The closest thing to a gourmet dish that I remember from my childhood was when Dad's pancake batter got a little bit runny, resulting in very thin pancakes.  He plopped some strawberries on them, added whipped cream, rolled them up and convinced his children that they were eating "high-classed crepes."

I home can much of my own food.  I don't have a garden.  My apartment is surrounded by asphalt and concrete.  There are no community gardens in my area.  I thought about growing tomatoes and herbs in pots on the communal deck of my building, but others have tried this in the past and the pots were stolen within a couple of weeks of planting.

What I do have is a son who is willing to go to the huge Farmer's Market in Minneapolis and bring me boxes of tomatoes, huge heads of cabbage, bags of carrots and boxes of potatoes, all grown locally.  What is even better, he is willing to huff all of that produce up the stairs to my apartment, along with the jars that I need to can it all.  God bless him.  I hope his back holds out!

I can the usual suspects - corn, green beans, carrots, peas, potatoes, etc.  I also buy meat on sale and can that as well.  I am able to open a jar of mixed vegetables and another of canned turkey and dump them into a casserole dish.  Top it off with homemade biscuits, pop it in the oven, and - easy, peasy - dinner is served.  Or I take a jar of beef roast chunks and a jar of potato and carrot cubes, plop them in a pan, season and bake for a half hour and I have a meal.

I have started canning a variety of soups as the basis for quick and easy lunches.  So far I have canned vegetable, chicken vegetable, ham and bean, split pea and ham, and chili.  A pint jar is just right to fill a soup bowl.

I didn't start canning as part of the prepper movement.  I have done this most of my life.  In my family, the rule was, "If you don't work, you don't eat."  And that included working hard summer and fall, preserving the garden produce and seasonal fruits.  Dad worked a job and Mom and I worked canning and preserving.  I grew up on home canned foods and I still like them far and away better than anything I buy in the store.  The added benefit is that I know what is in them, as opposed to the ingredient list on a can that includes items that I cannot pronounce.

Some of my grown children think that I have gone off the deep end when it comes to the preservation of food.  They also believe that my tin foil hat is on a bit too tight.  That opinion notwithstanding, I continue to add home canned food to my shelves as often as is possible.  My goal is to have a one year supply of food put away.  I am nearly there.  Winters here in Minnesota can be very cold, very snowy, very icy and totally miserable.  Last winter I only had to venture out in the bitter weather three times for a grocery store run.  I hope to avoid trips to the store altogether this coming winter.  I do love winter, but only when viewed from the comfort of my rocking chair in front of my window, with a cup of steaming coffee or hot chocolate in hand and one of my crocheted afghans over my shoulders.  Add a cat in my lap and my dogs at my feet and I am one content lady.

9 comments:

  1. Mom,you are very welcome. I will be hauling plenty this fall I believe. Duane

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  2. Son, I wonder if you realize how much I appreciate your Farmer's Market excursions. My shelves would be pretty empty without them!

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  3. Mom,I like doing it. Plus I reap the benefits.

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  4. I was raised by parents, and grandparents, that suffered the Great Depression. They didn't question taking advantage of any food, whatever the source. They watched many that suffered the pains of hunger daily and never wanted to endure the same pain.

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  5. Jess, I am amazed at how many folks turn up their noses at home canned food. They seem to think that if it comes in a can off a store shelf, it is better. I can remember a time when my Dad picked some field corn and my Mom boiled it up with a bit of sugar so that we would have a meal. I don't ever want to be in that position again. And I never, ever want to hear one of my grandchildren cry because they are truly hungry, as many children did in years past.

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  6. We had a garden, so we had fresh vegetables.

    My grandparents had a garden and an assortment of fruit trees, with domestic and wild grape vines.

    The peaches were always full of worms, so there was never enough to can. The grapes were about the same.

    The pears yielded enough to can, so there were canned preserves, including those we at raw.

    Figs were the bumper crop. My grandmother and mother would can figs, add jello for different flavors and we had plenty for the entire year.

    We never went without food, although there were many meals of beans, with rice. We were thankful and developed a taste for food that I've found some people turn their nose up when discussed.

    I've been blessed and I'm thankful for the lessons life taught.

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  7. Jess, I sometimes think that if my family, and later myself, hadn't gone through hard times, I wouldn't have the skills to make sure my family is fed nor have the appreciation for the simple things in life. I get as much pleasure from looking at the jars of home canned peaches, chicken and carrots on my shelves as others get from their big screen TVs or fancy cars, because I know that these jars will keep my family from starvation, should it ever come to that.

    I think that those who have never had to struggle in life may have a hard time should things get bad. Those of us who have lived with adversity will just carry on.

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  8. Mom, you will be happy to know that I have been canning pickles, tomatoes and pasta sauce about every third night for the past couple of weeks. That's just about as fast as my garden produces lately.
    David.

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  9. Glad to hear it, son. You make me proud. I know from past experience how good your pickles are, so if you happen to have a jar of them in your truck when you are in my neighborhood, I just might be able to trade you a couple of jars of peaches.
    Love, Mom

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