Anyone who visits here regularly knows that I use a grocery delivery service due to physical limitations. Here is how it works:
The company issues a catalog once a year, listing all the groceries I can order.
Every other Monday a volunteer calls me and takes my order that is delivered, for a small fee, to my kitchen table on the following Thursday.
Most times the groceries I order on Monday are the same as the ones I receive on Thursday. This time, however, I ordered 4 bags of frozen cut green beans - and received 4 bags of frozen collard greens. Surprise!
What does a woman born and raised in the tundra of Minnesota know about collard greens. I have never even tasted collard greens. Spinach - yes. Collard greens - no.
I suppose I could have called the delivery guy and he would have come back and picked up the bags of collard greens and given me credit on my bill, but I thought, "What the hey. Live dangerously."
So I put them on dehydrator trays along with 2 bags of frozen spinach and 4 bags of frozen hash browns. All of the veggies are now dry, packaged, labeled and added to the shelf of dehydrated food.
I had also ordered 2 bags of frozen sweet potatoes to dehydrate. I thought they were sweet potatoes cut into chunks or slices. What I got was 2 bags of sweet potato fries. Surprise! Because the fries are cut fairly thin, I am not sure how well they would rehydrate, so into the freezer they went and I will have an occasional meal that includes sweet potato fries.
A week or so ago I experimented with dehydrating raisins. The reasoning behind this was that raisins we buy at the store still have moisture in them and likely would not be a good item for long term storage. But dehydrated, they could last a very long time without going bad. Dried, they resembled small wrinkly pebbles. I put some of the raisins in water and let them sit on the counter overnight. In the morning I had nice, plump raisins that can be used however I wish. I will dehydrate more raisins. Variety is good.
I had another experiment that was a dismal failure. I have several quart bags of shredded zucchini in the freezer. I thawed out two of them, drained off the water and dried them. When I soaked them in water, they rehydrated alright, but somewhere in the process, two quarts became about a pint total of shredded zucchini. I don't know if that was because they were frozen before dehydrating. Freshly shredded zucchini might work better, but for now, I will keep the remaining bags in the freezer, and if I get my hands on more zucchini, I will slice and dry rather than shred.
Life seems to be full of little surprises. I wasn't happy about the collard greens, but if nothing else, they can always be used as a filler in soup. They won't go to waste. Now when we can afford an occasional failure is the time to experiment, rather than further down the road when every ounce of food will be needed. Learning to roll with the surprises and learning to make do with what we have will make the hard times just a bit easier.
Keep on prepping.
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If I remember, collars greens taste somewhat like cabbage.
ReplyDeleteGorges...I guess I will find out the next time I make soup. :)
DeleteCollard greens are delicious. They have a bitter taste that I love. They are great with sweet potatoes and great northern beans and ham. Of course, I eat them with other foods.
ReplyDeleteI can eat raw spinach but not cooked. When I try to eat it, spinach will remain in my stomach about thirty seconds and spontaneously come right back up, It must be an allergy.
Collard greens can be mixed with other greens. Kale, collard and mustard greens are great together. Put a piece of ham in them. Do not add sugar!
I eat collards with no seasoning.
Linda...Thanks for the information about collard greens. It is nice to know how others enjoy them. I guess eventually I will find out if I like them or not. :)
DeleteI dehydrate fresh shredded zucchini and it works well. I rehydrate it when I want to make zucchini bread. Some fresh zucchini I slice in rounds and dehydrate to throw in soups and stews. Never tried freezing then dehydrating, though. I've dehydrated spinach, kale, collards, what ever greens are a good price, then ground them up for "green powder" to add to stuff.
ReplyDeleteAmish Heart...I suspect it would be better not to freeze shredded zucchini before dehydrating. I tried it in a frenzy of freezer cleaning. Good idea to grind up greens into powder. I do that with celery, bell peppers and tomatoes. Works well for adding flavor.
DeleteI had collards once and never again.The greens were, shall we say hostile. More carrots into the dehydrator tomorrow along with a new batch of grapes for raisins. I noticed the prices of dried bean, peas and lentils are up. $9.99 for 5 pounds of red beans and $10.99 for 5 pound of pintos in my area. My local Sam's did not have them in stock. I did find a local bulk store selling their bulk items for 25% off. Ended up with almost 6 pounds of pintos for 98 cents a pound. On a happier note, I came home to my home smelling wonderful. My Husband had made fruit cake with my dried cherries, cranberries, blueberries, candied ginger, lemon and orange peel. Which he had soaked in rum overnight. Yum! Red
ReplyDeleteRed...I suppose the chopped collards won't be too bad used sparingly in soups. I would love to dry grapes for raisins, but the price of grapes here has gotten too high. I paid as much for a small bag of grapes as I did for a package of pork chops. Prices across the board are going up fairly quickly here. Sam's has pintos here for $7.58 for 12 lbs. All dry beans are more expensive in the regular grocery stores. Six months ago frozen veggies were 99 cents per 1 lb. bag - now $1.39. I am ordering as much as I can now before prices go even higher.
DeleteThe fruit cake sounds wonderful. My aunt made a white fruitcake that was the best I ever had. I might have to dig out her recipe again.
One thing I learned when your hungry, you will eat anything within reason. Example..black eyed peas, never had it until I had to eat. Spinach, cooked, something to this day I can't eat, OK wont eat herring. Wife will from time to time. Me ish..
ReplyDeleteMaybe the next time you order, do this, tell them green beans,frozen cut, Sweet potatoes, sliced, not fries.
Older women piss me off, again, I will get down to your office and beat you silly with my hand bag aka Ruth Buzzy, Laugh-in TV
Rob...There are some foods I would have to be near starvation to eat. Herring is on that list along with sardines. And liver.
ReplyDeleteWhen I order I tell them exactly the description in the catalog. We are all human and therefore make mistakes. No big deal. I thought it was funny the way frozen cut green beans turned into frozen collard greens. :)
I would love to see the warehouse they use.
DeleteRob...It isn't a warehouse. The volunteers shop at Cub Foods.
DeleteSo that means a southern family got your items by mistake. The only time I saw collared greens was at Disney World. They would cook that stuff up by the case...once a week, i think unless it was a garnish..IDK.
DeleteRob...Nope. It just means someone made an honest mistake. Stuff happens. No big deal.
DeleteVicki, you are making great 'food storage' progress even though you had a few surprises along the way. Me, not so much. My husband picked up Influenza A and he shared it with me. It shut me down completely for the week. Still have things to do for Christmas and no strength. I guess we may rearrange our plans...and life goes on. Stay healthy and I will be back when I feel like a human again...CW
ReplyDeleteCW...So sorry to hear that the flu bug invaded your home. No fun - no fun at all! Praying you and yours are feeling better soon.
DeleteWe seem to be all about adapting, aren't we. About the time we make plans, Old Murphy shows up to discombobulate everything. We are alive - we have homes - we have people we love and who love us. The rest is just window dressing. Wishing you a peaceful and healthy Christmas.
Do not sub collard greens for cabbage and expect the same results. I doubt a Southerner got your groceries. We do know the difference between green beans and collard greens. I imagine the person grabbed something green. Don't add sugar!
ReplyDeleteLinda...It was just an honest mistake. Has nothing to do with Northern or Southern. I think I will rehydrate some of the greens, cook them up to see what they taste like and then I will better know how to use them. Thanks for the suggestions.
DeleteDon't season them until you have tasted them. That way, you know what they really taste like. A smidgen of salt might be used while cooking, though. I do hope you like them.
Deletecook collards with a ham hock
ReplyDelete