Thursday, March 5, 2015

Back At It

Not much blog worthy going on here lately.  Just the normal cleaning, laundry, etc.  You know - exciting stuff!  However, yesterday was grocery delivery day and I am back to working on my food storage.

I know that the way I do things is a bit unconventional.  Most of the folks whose blogs I read regularly have gardens, or raise their own meat chickens or goats or other meat animals.  But as an apartment dweller, I don't have those options.  I have the best landlord in the universe, but I'm pretty sure he would be unhappy if he found a goat or two living with me.  And there are no community gardens in my neighborhood, so I have to rely on other resources for some of my food storage.

I prefer home canned foods to commercially canned.  Mostly because I was raised on home canned food and because I have, over the years, continued preserving food this way, first for my family and now for myself.  I buy frozen vegetables when they are on sale.  This week it was 32 oz. packages of green beans and mixed vegetables.  I bought 6 bags of each.  Yesterday afternoon I canned up the green beans and got 24 pints.  Later today I'll run the mixed vegetables through my pressure canner.

There wasn't much for meat on sale this week, but there were apples for 99 cents a pound, which is good for my area.  I bought 12 pounds.  This morning I peeled and sliced the apples and they are cooking down for applesauce.  I prefer chunks of apple in my applesauce and by making it myself I can have it just the way I like it.  I can also control the amount of sugar by adding just enough brown sugar to taste good.  I'll water bath can the applesauce as soon as it has cooked down enough.

I like to have fruit juice on hand.  But if I buy the frozen concentrate, chances are good that I won't drink a whole can before it goes bad.  Same with the half gallon jugs.  Juice is sugary so those of us with blood sugar issues need to drink it sparingly.  I get around the problem this way.  Half gallon jugs of cranberry juice and cranberry-apple juice were on sale for $1 each.  I bought 6 bottles of each flavor.  When I finish with the applesauce and vegetables, I will pour the juice into a large pot, heat it to near boiling, fill hot pint jars with the juice and water bath can it for 15 minutes.  By canning it in pint jars I can still have a glass of juice from time to time without messing up my blood sugar, as I can drink half a pint one day and the rest another.  And it is a good thing to have on hand should my blood sugar get low.  And I won't have to throw any away because it has sat in the fridge too long, as has happened before I started canning it in smaller containers.

I guess I write about the way I do things so that maybe somebody else in my position will be encouraged to at least give it a try.  I hear excuses from some of my vintage for not having any food storage at all.  They say that they can't have a garden.  They tell me that they have no room to store anything.  They say they just want to buy what they need each week.  This last excuse I just don't understand.  People get sick - particularly within my age group.  I am the perfect example of that.  If I didn't have food put back and if I lived in an area that didn't have a grocery delivery service, I would have been screwed.  I am lucky to have adult children living close by, but many of my peers don't.  The point is not that a person has to do things the way I do.  The point is that no matter if you like to can your own food or whether you buy it already canned or packaged at the grocery store, there are ways to have enough food on hand for emergencies.

It is all about taking care of yourself.  In the end, nobody is going to come knocking at your door to deliver food and water during a crisis.  Think Katrina and Sandy.  And then get busy.

8 comments:

  1. Thank you for giving your view point on being prepared. Currently my husband and I try to grow and raise what we can for our family, but we realize that we are aging and there will be a time that we won't be able to do as much as we do now. We are both in our 50s and realize things are already a bit more difficult.
    Your blog is so educational and has caused me to rethink my shopping and food storage. I never thought about canning frozen vegetables and smaller portions before. Please, don't ever think you blog and information isn't as important as some of the bigger blogs. I learn as much from you as I do from any of them, if not more. Sage wisdom can never be beat by youth in my opinion.
    Thank you

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  2. Anon...Thanks so much for your kind words. When I was much younger, I too raised much of what my family ate. But now that I am an apartment dweller, like so many of retirement age, I find I need to adjust the way I do things. Much to my chagrin, I find that the things I did with ease even 10 years ago have become a chore at my 68 years of age. I'm not so sure that I could handle livestock or a garden any more, even if I were in a position to do so. Farmer's markets are wonderful, but I lack transportation. So making use of grocery store produce and meat are necessary for me to prep as I need to. I guess a person just does the best they can with what they have to work with. My goal is not to have a big, popular blog. If I can help just one person, I'm happy.

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  3. As I've said before, you're a wise lady.

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  4. Gorges...I don't know as wisdom has anything to do with it. It's mostly just doing what a person needs to do to get through hard times.

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  5. Hi Sis...snickering. Your last comment made me laugh. KY had 20+ inches of snow and I-65 was at a stand still. (We have family down in the Ft. Knox area) A lady commented on how they sat on the road for over 13 to 16 hrs with no one bringing food and water. She had to melt snow for water.

    My oldest daughter said what does she expect Starbucks by snowmobile.??

    Just remember slow and steady wins the race.

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  6. Never underestimate the need for your blog my dear. Your information is just as important as the next....I,too have learned a lot from your blog.
    Great ideas you have brought to the table. Never thought to can frozen vegies. I would suppose one could do berries and such.
    Keep pouring it out my dear!!

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  7. Rob...Starbucks by snowmobile - that's good! I was talking with someone not too long ago who firmly believes that in an emergency situation, they don't have to do anything - the government will bring them food and water. That person got mad at me when I said they would be a long time dead before that happened. I think that's a good share of the problem. People actually believe the government will take care of them, cradle to grave.

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  8. Thanks, Mary. I have found that there are many folks who think that preparedness is only for those who homestead and raise gardens and fruit trees and animals. Or for those Doomsday Prepper types with bunkers full of MRE's. Most of us don't fall in either category but there are ways to prepare anyway. If I can inspire just one person to put away a few extra cans of spaghetti sauce, it is worth it!!

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