Those of us who for whatever reason can not raise a garden, look for alternate methods to acquire vegetables. Farmer's Markets are a good option. But if that venue is not available, we watch the sale ads for our local grocery stores.
The store that my delivery service uses ran an ad for fresh veggies. And I took advantage of it. Yesterday 6 cabbage, 8 lbs. of carrots, 2 bunches of celery, 5 lbs. of onions and 6 very large green bell peppers were delivered. And I had no real idea what I was going to do with them, but they are food. They will feed my family.
I also ordered 4 lbs. each of frozen corn, broccoli, peas and mixed vegetables.
After thinking about my options, I decided to dehydrate everything. I have lots of home canned vegetables on the shelves and those are good for meals. Many dehydrated vegetables will rehydrate well for meals as well, but they are also good for soups, stews and casseroles.
Onions and peppers don't need to be blanched before drying. Those I will dice and dry. They can be used as is or turned into powder for adding flavor to various dishes.
After doing a bit of online research I found that the other vegetables that need to be blanched can be done so in the microwave. That appeals to me because I have a smoke alarm in my apartment that will go off when I just boil water. Cabbage, carrots and celery are shredded or diced, placed in a 2 quart casserole dish, adding a few tablespoons of water, cover and microwave at one or two minute increments until their color turns bright. Then they are plunged into ice water to stop the cooking and patted dry before going on the dehydrator trays.
The frozen corn and mixed vegetables are drying. I am off to shred and dice the fresh vegetables and get them ready to dry.
Food shortages are on the horizon due to weather events, civil unrest and widespread pandemic panic. Every bit of food we can put back now will insure our families are fed no matter what happens next.
Pray and prepare, more now than ever.
Awesome, Vicki! I am so glad you were able to acquire the veggies and will be able to preserve them. I love the idea of using the microwave method for blanching and will give that a try. Take care, CW
ReplyDeleteCW...I got lucky. The store was running a promotion for buying local produce so I was able to get a decent price. And using the microwave for blanching is easier for me plus it won't set off the stupid smoke alarm. :)
DeleteThey say that microwaves destroy the food value of food, but radar ranges don't. If you can afford it, you should make the switch.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the suggestion, Gorges...but right now I am at a place where 'make do with what I have' is what works best.
DeleteI read seveal community Facebook pages and all the smart folks are canning, and putting up stores like they do every winter. Pork must be in over supply as I have seen our store and Walmsrt having pork on sale for around $1.50 a lb..Stay Safe
ReplyDeleteRob...That might be one reason I can't get canning supplies locally, but I am glad to see people working to put food back and thinking ahead. Pork has been on sale here lately, too. Get it while you can!!
DeleteHere on the Western side of the country we are getting many reports of farms being shut down. A relative in So. Cal said that produce is scarce in her area and that many farms are shut down when a corona case is discovered among the farm workers. Inslee has ordered the same thing in Washington state. So it seems like a good time to stock up like you are doing.
ReplyDeletejannie...I had heard about the farm shut downs in your area. Here in the Midwest, they have been doing the same thing with the meat processing plants. Personally, I think it is an attempt to control the population through the food supply. The time to stock up is now!
DeleteTotally agree. We've had some meat packing plants shut down here too. I'm hoping that the next "crisis" before the election is not food shortages. We're trying to support our small local market and local growers as much as possible.
Deletejannie...Have you heard anything about some states stockpiling food? I have a friend who keeps me informed about such things and he sent me a report about government warehouses full of food - either WA or OR. Seems to me that food rationing might be one of the next horrors visited upon those of us who refuse to drink the Kool-Aid. We, too, support locally grown as much as possible.
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