Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Life Moves On

Sometimes we think the world has stopped turning for us, but it hasn't. We may ignore it for a time, but when we resurface, we find that the lunatics are still in charge, the price of groceries continue to climb and the need to be prepared hasn't gone away.

I can't remember if I told you about my latest canning supply score. If I am repeating myself, just chalk it up to the ramblings of a memory deficient granny.

The same guy has been doing my grocery service deliveries for several years now. Being raised on a farm, he understands all about food preservation and he knows that I have been seeking canning supplies for a long time.

A few weeks ago I got a call. My delivery guy was in the store, standing in front of a shelf that had been empty but now held all sorts of canning jars. He wanted to know what size jars I wanted and how many cases. I said I would like pint jars and as many cases as he wanted to lug up my stairs. He brought me six cases. The man is a hero!!

My chest freezer is full to the brim. Between the beef I got last fall and the chicken I have been buying when on sale, I would need a shoe horn to get anything else in. Not complaining, mind you, but there are things I would like to use now that are buried. And I have a stack of new jars. Let the canning begin.

Tonight the plan is to set out enough frozen meat to thaw and fill one canner load of 18 pints. About 1 lb. of meat will fit in one pint jar. Meat is the easiest food to can. Just cut into pieces to fit in the jars and run it through the canner. And when you are basically a lazy cook like I am, being able to crack open a jar of meat to either heat and eat as is or to use in any number of recipes, is a pure joy.

I haven't a clue where I will store the meat, but that doesn't matter. The meat I am canning was purchased at prices far lower than we are seeing in the stores now. I don't expect to see prices go down any time soon. And meat in jars doesn't get freezer burned. Win – win.

Keep stacking it high, my friends. The inmates are in charge of the asylum at present and as long as this goes on unchecked, I expect we will eventually need every single crumb.

21 comments:

  1. God bless you and yours, Vicki. Thank you for this post.
    God bless your delivery man also. :-)

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    1. Thanks, LindaG...I told my delivery guy he is a Prince among men. Last week he brought me 6 boxes of canning lids. :)

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  2. Ain't it the truth; we resurface, and it's STILL hard to breathe! 'Glad to hear from you again! Your son's in good hands, Vicki, a-a-a-nd so are we!

    I have the same problem with one of my freezers, Vicki. It's an upright freezer, and we bought the biggest one big-box store had. The upside; we were able to stuff that thing with A LOT of food. The downside; we could only see what was in front! we went through that box a few weeks back, and found, among other unfortunate MIA's, TWO 12-pound hams... DATED 2016!!! Of course, they were freezer burned to hell, so we had to get rid of them. WHAT A WASTE! If I had it to do over again, knowing what I do now, I would have gone for two smaller upright freezers. I picked one of these up at a yard sale and it resides in the barn. It can be completely full, and I can still see what's in the back. Another advantage; as the freezers get depleted between shopping trips, one of them can be shut off, which saves money.

    Yeah; look for prices to go up again, thanks to that fuel pipeline company "getting hacked." ...They don't even have to stage a "fire" or hope for a hurricane now...

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    1. Thanks, Pete...Knowing my son has gone home is what keeps me going.

      I have a mid-sized chest freezer. Because it is full, I am having trouble locating things like several packages of deli ham or a pumpkin pie that I know are down there - somewhere. And should a miracle occur and I find a sale on chicken, I have no place to put it. First world problems, I know, but there it is.

      I think if I found two freezer burned hams, I might just cry like a baby!! I still have quite a bit of beef left from the quarter beef my son and I bought last fall, and I don't want to risk leaving it in the freezer much longer. I suppose I could vacuum seal it, but those bags don't come cheap. If I can it, I know it will be good for a long time.

      Seems to me those with the power are getting more creative in the ways they manufacture a crisis. I have always been a bit suspicious about the fires in your Wild, Wild West. Here I am surrounded by farmland that doesn't burn well, so the powers that be made good use of the virus. I see where that little Dr. Troll says I can maybe hug my grands come July. I've been hugging for months now. So there!!

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  3. I never heard of canning meat.
    Glad God was looking out for you!

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    1. Ed...God's grace and mercy is why I am still here.

      I can meat for two reasons. It stays good in jars for a very long time and when pressure canned, it is fully cooked and tender - ready to use in as many ways as one can imagine. I can beef, pork, chicken, ham, hamburger, sausage, bacon, venison, etc. Some are a bit fussy as they need to be cooked before canning (hamburger, sausage, bacon bits) but for me to be able to have more meat in jars than I could have if I just froze it, it is well worth the effort.

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  4. Canned food doesn't thaw when the juice goes out either. I was just remembering the old saying, "A pint's a pound the world around."

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    1. Gorges...We can have some wicked summer storms and winter blizzards, both of which can knock out the power. In winter, my propane heater will keep jars of food from freezing, but in summer, I could lose the freezer food as I can not have a generator in an apartment. Better to have food in jars. And that old saying is pretty close to accurate. :)

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  5. I'm so glad you found jars and that he was happy to lug them up for you.

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    1. Kristina...It has been a long, dry spell as far as canning supplies go here in my area, so I was thrilled when my delivery guy called telling me about the jars. He is one of the good guys!

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  6. Vicki, your "prince" of a delivery guy came through for you and now you are able to "can" again. You are spot on about prices going up and up and up! Also...I would expect power outages in our near future...another way to control the populous.😩 You take care and we will hope to hear from you again when you are able to come out of the kitchen...CW

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    1. CW...18 jars of meat are now bubbling away in the canner. I think I will do another deep dive into the freezer to see what else I can come up with to can. Summer storms have been known to knock out power here and I would rather can at my own pace than have to rush to save the food in an emergency situation. I hope to come up for air in a day or two. :)

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  7. I think it's just about impossible to have too much meat on hand. And with skyrocketing prices, preserving as much as possible at home is a wise move indeed. Canning lids last week and canning jars this week? As the Koreans say, you must have saved your country in a previous life.

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    1. Jennifer...Seems like if a person has meat on hand, the possibilities for meals are endless. I kind of doubt any countries were saved. More like the luck of the draw in getting a great delivery guy. :)

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  8. I know what a shoe horn is and I know what it's used for.
    I cannot remember the last time I used one, and I positive I couldn't lay my hands on one.

    But the large chunk of my brain that has self selected to be in charge of childish humor has decide that a shoe horn should really be a diesel truck air horn, but mounted on your shoes.
    I'm thinking that is really a good idea!

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    1. OK, John. I'm with you on this one. But I will see your diesel truck air horn and raise you one Oogah horn. Remember those? My Dad had one on his Studebaker work car and I borrowed the car as often as possible, just because of the horn. :)

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    2. Hmm. I'm thinking two shoes, two different horns!
      And perhaps a shoe with a horn made to warn ships of bad weather navigation hazards, and you could cover that horn with a large chicken costume.
      Yep, a shoe horn, Foghorn Leghorn, of cartoon fame.

      The world has more than enough room for multiple ice cream flavors.

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    3. You know what scares the bloody hell out of me, John...It is that I completely get what you are saying! Shoe horn, Foghorn Leghorn indeed!

      A working, creative sense of humor is a wonderous thing. I can think of no better way to start my day than with a hardy laugh. Thank you, my friend, for providing that.

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    4. I know that we really need to smile more than we have been. :)

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  9. As Frank always says, "Humor is the essence of survival."

    Happy canning and blessings, Vicki.

    Fern

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    1. Fern...Everyone needs a bit of silly once in a while. One canning project down - one more in the planning stages. You and Frank - take good care!

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