Finished up with the strawberries this afternoon. Once they were cleaned and put into zip lock bags, there were 5 gallons of berries. Son had taken some home with him and I ate a couple of bowls full before bagging them to store in the fridge. Out of that 5 gallons I got 20 half pint jars of strawberry jam, 22 half pints of strawberry rhubarb sauce and 11 pints of canned strawberries. I'm thinking they will taste awfully good when the snow is falling and the wind is blowing about February.
So I am done canning and dehydrating for now...unless I find a good sale on something to can or dry. Peak season on cucumbers, bell peppers and tomatoes at the Farmers Market is in August. I think there are some dill pickles in my future as well as a good stash of my favorite bread and butters. Many times we think only about storing the basics - sugar, flour, beans, etc. But I believe it is also necessary to have on hand those things like jam or pickles or even candy to keep from getting totally burned out on food should the time come when our only option is what we have in our food storage. A little treat goes long way to help make life tolerable sometimes.
The Last Gasps...
9 hours ago
The berries would never make it to canning or anything, WHY? we all love strawberries even little Sammy.
ReplyDeleteRob...I'm pretty sure that if I had more family here, they wouldn't have made it into the jars. As it was, I managed to eat some of them fresh. They were delicious! Those from the Farmer's Market are always so much better than from the store.
ReplyDeleteGorges...For me it's chocolate. A handful of M & M's can make a bad day just a little bit better. Or coffee. That works too. I think we all could use something to cheer us up when the going gets rough. And if it isn't in our storage when we need it, we will just be out of luck.
ReplyDeleteHad to start all over on my cukes - dang chipmunks ate all the seedlings!
ReplyDeleteChickenmom...Oh, no! The little buggers! I remember having to deal with gophers in my garden. And the deer would come in looking for a salad. But I didn't know chipmunks would eat the plants.
ReplyDelete