Fruit Harvest!
Apples and pears! Dave and I spent a good chunk of Sunday afternoon canning apple slices. Usually I do all of it by myself, so it was really helpful to have Dave with me. He was basically in charge of rinsing, slicing, cutting off any bad spots. I was in charge of the syrup, prepping and packing the jars, canning and processing. Worked great that way! And I love my new steam canner!
It uses so much less water, more efficient than the old one, much nicer experience. My old steam canner used to have a lot more water added after every batch. It took longer to heat it back up. This used a lot less water so the heat up time was much shorter, and great seals on everything! Will be working on processing some of raw apples that are left over by freezing those in vacuum bags. Sadly someone started stealing some of our pears so we went ahead and picked them, and will be canning them also. Fresh and raw is the best though, uber juicy! Out tomatoes are finally turning red and Basil is HUGE, almost time for pesto!
Preparedness 7.0/ What I Bought This Week-
We went to Target to buy something. Their ENTIRE seasonal section was empty, nothing there but empty racks. More to come I expect. I bought my grandson some gifts for birthday/holidays early, who knows what will be available later? Sshhh- I got books and art stuff. Got Cadbury chocolate bars for $1.50, everywhere else are $2.50! I bought four, for when the zombies come! Found some Wallyworld Keystone beef, chicken and ground beef, $6.00 a can, just cooked meat and sea salt, simple ingredients. This other store now also has zero cashiers. Not fun on my back with the bad ergonomics of the bagging stands. Bought some Jasmine rice, a 10# can Augason Farms dehydrated potato slices for $8.00. Fresh taters never seem to last too long. I might dry some of my own soon. Got some mixed canned veggies and frozen peas (almost all gone). Got 1/2 gallon apple juice, salt, more plastic canning jar lids. Got some new (free) jeans from Eddie Bauer with a free $10.00 coupon. What a deal, marked $10.00, zero outlay! I bought a nice big bag of Jasmine rice, great flavor, and fast to cook. When I poured it into a 1/2 gallon mason jar some of the rice was floating in the jar. Like on cobwebs, ew. Time to freeze!
Planting Amaranth? -
I remember seeing this growing a long time ago. This might be perfect in Idaho high desert, will look to finding some seeds. Lots of great info here on how WOMEN saved this species. Ancient Grain Amaranth It's amazing how some people don't grow this, think of the water savings and protein!
Definitely time to stock up on what we can, products we know we will use as shortages are happening more and more. You do a good job, as we all should, of following the old proverb: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Even if finances are stressed a bit, you can't eat money!
ReplyDeleteYes Mama I started looking at where my gaps were in my generic Pantry several months ago. Other than being so I didn't have much protein so I focused on that for a while. Luckily we have lots of our own fruit, with more to be processed.
DeleteAll those jars of fruit are glorious to behold! Well done, you two.
ReplyDeleteCheck Baker Creek for amaranth seeds. They have multiple varieties to choose from. I'm guessing it would grow well for you! The young leaves make a great cooked green, rich in calcium. (Chickens love the grain too).
Thanks and I did check their website last night but it look like it was down for maintenance. I will check on those and see what kind of variety they have
DeleteInteresting idea growing amaranth. Will have to look into it. Yes, stocking up couldn't be more important right now.
ReplyDeleteYes looks interesting as a grain! I think a lot of people aren't paying attention. All it would take is the govt saying there'll be a food shortage and the stores would be wiped out
ReplyDeleteI just love the jars of summer goodness! My husband was on vacation last week and he helped me can peaches and blanch and freeze corn. It was so nice to have the help. Like you, I usually do it by myself. :)
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