Canning

I've been keeping busy. I have not forgotten to update, I just have been busy. I've practiced my canning and hope I am getting better. I've canned strawberry jam, peach jam, peaches, green beans, and tomatoes. Of course, I am almost out of cans now and I did not have many to begin with nor could I afford many. I have also frozen some items as well as dehydrated some things. My next project is to do apples.



These peaches I canned with my friend but I did have a bushel before that I froze almost the entire thing and suffice it to say my freezer is now full, but I will have peaches to can later.

Because of the lack of time and the lateness of the hour I put the peaches in regular ziplock bags. I wanted to wait until the neighbor above was gone before using the foodsaver.





On the left you can see what happens to peaches in a regular ziplock and to the right is what they look like in the foodsaver bag. They will last much longer and hold up much better in the freezer this way.

Shelves

I've decided there isn't enough room on our one shelf to accommodate all the things I keep adding to the storage are, or rather it now is referred to as the 'safety' room by my daughter. I do not have shelves though and for the time being I have had to makeshift some extra shelves with some sturdy boxes. Those will shortly be replaced by real shelves, or at least something more sturdy. In the mean time, I have been using more of my stuff. Those 25 pound bags are coming in handy and I am even trying to make some baked beans today, although I am doing it on the stove not in the oven.

I read an article today about people trying to do things the way their grandparents did to get food to last longer. They mentioned that many people simply will not want to make the effort to switch to food from scratch over convenience foods. I don't blame them, it does take more time to make food from scratch but boy it sure tastes so much better and isn't full of other things. You don't have to add corn or soy to every thing you make. The article also mentioned how many people don't even know how to make food from scratch, and you know what, it's true. Many don't. It's a knowledge that has been all but thrown out for many people as all they need is to add water. I have had to learn a lot about making food from scratch and have a long way to go, but it sure is helping on the food budget and will hopefully help us healthwise as well.

My mother makes everything from scratch. She always has. She is one of 6 girls in her family and her father, my grandfather, would mention how out of all 6 she was the only one who could make anything from scratch. That included cooking pumpkin. Did you know, you can do more with a pumpkin than carve a face in it? It is possible and several years back I wanted to learn that same thing, so I asked and have been cooking real pumpkin ever since. But, it takes time. Some things I will buy convenience as it isn't going to save me much money making from scratch because I don't eat it that often or the ingredients are just as cheap or expensive as the product itself. I will buy pasta and ketchup, mustard, and things of the like, but I will make my pies, crackers, bread, rice dishes and maybe baked beans.

25 pound bags

I am taking on somewhat of an experiment. I bought (pictures to come at a later date when I can find the USB cord) a 25lb bag of white beans, a 25 lb bag of powdered milk, two 25lb bags of wheat and flour. I plan on using these extensively for the next two months. It will hopefully give me an idea of how much I really need to store compared to what all the food storage calculators say.

Since I have already been making several of my own things from scratch using these products should not be too difficult. The only new product is the wheat and beans. I have a grinder now and I have used wheat flour before so that shouldn't be a problem. (As a note to all those who haven't used wheat flour or other wheat products and are storing the wheat. Please use your wheat now. Begin learning how to use it and getting you body used to it. )

The beans are the new thing. I bought the beans to make some Boston Baked Beans. We go through an extremely large amount of Busch's baked beans and frankly, we can't afford to buy them that often or buy the amount we use. So, this will be the only new item I have to learn about. As far as the milk goes....well, we stopped buying milk a few weeks or so ago so we don't have a problem with using it. I just think I should get a bigger picture.

Paper

I do not focus entirely on food storage. I do take the time to store non-food items, especially things that I may need in an emergency. However, some things are just OK to have because there is a good sale. Of course, good sale is a bit over the top. I saw my 'bargain' for half the price after I bought my stuff. Oh well. I guess you can't win them all, but with school sales and all it I decided to stock up on some paper and other items I may use throughout the year and that are usually overpriced. So, I now have a bunch of paper in my daughter's closet.

Surviving

Well, my husband noticed how much our food storage has grown. That made me happy. It is growing, but things are tight so it is not growing as nearly as fast as I would like. That is OK though, any growth is good. So, I say we are surviving, day by day. I keep trying to learn more things and buy more to have stored, but at this moment it looks like we might be using the food storage quicker than we expected to.

'Pantry' Space

Our 'pantry' is different than before. It isn't really a pantry, but it will be for now. I'm just happy there is a shelf. I have a place to put thing, however, since it is also serving as a sort of storage room right now for things I haven't unpacked from the move, I have to squish everything together. That doesn't matter though, I have a food storage room, or as my daughter calls it, "the 72-hour room." Each time I take something in there I feel I am doing good for my family. I feel I am actually building my food storage. Maybe soon I will even be able to add more shelves for all the extra space I will need.

Depressing!

If you have been reading this blog and noticed I haven't been quick on the updates, I do apologize. I have been in a rut. I still enjoy doing this, no problem, but it sure is hard when food prices have been so depressing as prices of everything have skyrocketed. I try to keep that from getting in the way of my building up the food storage and learning to become self-reliant, but sometimes it just doesn't give me anything positive to say. Oh well, I suppose there is always something to say, so I will get back into the swing of things and post more often. If I don't give me a nudge and get me going.

With food prices being depressing and probably leading many to do illegal things or at least contemplate them there are still ways to build a food storage. One is that you just have to get pickier on what you eat and what you buy. Cut back on the meat eating. If you like meat with every meal, chop it up and put it in a casserole, or make something else with it. Use meat as a filler not the main course, this will extend your meat budget and your meat.

Shop sales. I know I know, everyone says that, but it is true. However, do more than shop sales, be picky about the sales you are choosing. Just because it is on sale doesn't mean you have to buy it.

Create a budget that allows you to buy one or two extra items. So what if it takes 6 months to go through one thing of ketchup (not in my house though), buy the second one and put it in storage.

Consider what kind of quality you want your food to be in. I am in the process of switching many of the brands I buy and eat. I used to always buy the cheapest brand, but have found myself being thoroughly disgusted with the ingredients of the cheaper products. It seems I am only shelling out money for some sort of corn by-product and very little for the actual product itself. In one area I have done this is with baked beans. I love pork and beans, always have, but recently switched to a higher priced brand because, well, they have better ingredients and I am actually getting what I pay for. It even tastes superior. With that switch I have to give my self a budget of how much I am willing to pay, max, for this brand. Is $1 worth it on sale or should I go lower? Some things are worth switching, some things not.

Decide what you can make yourself and make it! To give myself the extra money to buy the higher priced brand with better ingredients I save money by making other items. The last time I went to the store my daughter kept begging for items off the shelf. With everything I said, "we can make that at home." One customer nearby even commented, "it tastes a lot better home made too." So, learn how to make cookies, you might as well since you are planning on storing all that extra food and I doubt packaged cookies will taste even remotely as good as home made in case of using food storage. How about crackers, or rice and pasta meals you see in boxes. There are many ways to save, but the food manufacturers have you believe that you can't, that it is impossible. How about crackers. I make my own, and boy do they taste much better.

Be creative. Did you know if you bought smaller plates the chances of eating less food is much higher? I got rid of the huge plates we were eating off of and even though I cover most of my plate like I always have, I am actually getting less food because the surface to cover is far less.

There are so many ways to do things and save money to help with the rise of food costs. Perhaps you don't want to cut back on your food budget, well, find another area to cut back on. You can do it! Don't get depressed and don't do anything illegal either.