Pantry progress this last week included storing more water, pasta, tomato paste, gar bags and dry soup mix.
Today I am going to share some wonderful blogs that will help you. As you know I am a strong believer in the buddy system. In whatever way you like to do it, having someone come along side you and help you with knowledge, inspiration and general encouragement, just helps in so many ways.
My main stay for pantry knowledge and help is Patsy at A Working Pantry. I know I could ask Patsy anything and she would help me. Week by week we go along and make progress! Treating it as a challenge makes it into a fun game instead of a chore. Actually it is so much fun it's a bit addictive! And that is how to get stuff done, make it fun! Love what you are doing. Appreciate the importance of it!
I have found so much information and so many ideas lately that I could burst from excitement. Firstly Ball Canning has an Australian Website. It is wonderful! Really you can learn to can from scratch plus recipes, inspiration and tutorials to watch. This makes everything really easy. The great advantage with canning is you are not using up all your precious freezer space. This is a really educational site.
Next I found Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth. Jes loves jars. She counts jars as one of her favourite things! I knew I am going to LOVE her. Giving you this link I may never see you again. The whole website is wonderful but since we are talking about pantries her Food Preservation and Pantry Storage section is extensive. It includes free printables for your pantry too. And Tutorials. You name it, every aspect you can think of. All with joy with a capital J. At the moment when I have time and a cup of tea I read a little bit more there.
You cannot go past The Prudent Homemaker. She is also "real" in that she has a large family and they have ad to live from the contents of the pantry and the garden for extended periods of time. This article is a good start. A Well Stocked Pantry.
All of these have you thinking "why am I just sitting here?" and get you moving!
Have you made some progress in your pantry and preparedness since last week? If you know of any helpful websites, books or blogs please let me know. I am currently exploring You Tube on this and have found some amazing pantry tours, tutorials etc. When I decide the best ones I will share those as well.
I hope you are having a wonderful, productive week and that you find some amazing opportunities to build up your pantry! xxx
Ha Ha, Annabel...I just had a look at Jes's website....see you next year! LOL! What a lot of information there. I hope my daughter has a look. She should be checking out your blog post when she has a moment to herself...maybe in the wee hours of the morning :-) I need to email you about something so I must go and find your email address.
ReplyDeleteI knew it! lol
DeleteMy daughter only has five weeks to her baby is due! Then she will join the ranks of the reading in the small hours club too!
My email is brinkzi21@hotmail.com incase you have trouble... but you did have it at one point... anyway thanks in advance! xxx
yep, I'm gone too, was lovely knowing you Annabel!
ReplyDeleteHaha you lot are hilarious. lol
DeleteBut seriously Fiona, I know you will love Jes' info and it will fire you up back to your former highly prepared self! It really is wonderful.xxx
Hi Annabel
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely posting you have today and thank you for sharing all the wonderful websites you are using.
You talk about the cooling weather and soups and this gave me a laugh as it is still very much summer here and only the other day in 38 degree heat DD4 said to me
"Mum when can you make pumpkin soup, cause I really want some" well when I was at the supermarket the other day pumpkin was on special for $1 a kilo....needless to say I snaffled some up just to make her favourite soup.
I of late have been on the thermomix recipe community website, they have some great recipes for making your own sauces, gravy mixes and soup mixes. No I don't own a thermomix but I do have another brand of similar, but I am sure these could also be done in the blender. Whilst looking at these I was surprised to see how many of the items I have in the cupboard already.
I will take note of these websites you have mentioned and go exploring in the coming nights when DD4 is peacefully sleeping.
Back to watching Lala Loopsy now for me
Aly xxx
Aly I cant believe it is still 38 there! I should believe it as I know it stays so warm...
DeletePumpkin soup is so yummy. When the girls were little I used to add cheese and use left over pumpkin soup as a pasta sauce. They loved this.
Also I remember how I got so many things done when the girls were safely tucked up in bed! That was my creative time. Except Im still a night owl!
I totally agree you can make all those good things without a thermomix and the recipes are really handy!
I hope it cools down for you! xxx
Oh Annabel that is a wonderful idea with the pumpkin soup as a pasta sauce and I am sure DD4 will loves this also as she is mad about cheese.
DeleteOh down to 34 tomorrow....yay
Aly
Dearest Annabel, you made me laugh with saying we would be gone. I haven't looked at any of the links yet, but I am so excited about the Ball preserving being an Aussie site. I know nothing about preserving, but I have a DVD from Homestead Blessings, and it's not difficult.
ReplyDeleteThis is such good news!
I am week by week increasing my stores just like you are. This month, I'm on beans, and also cleaners and toiletries. When you start the pantry journey, you sort of having this strange assortment of tons of a few things and hardly any of your regular things. Month by month however, it starts to even out. Already there have been several weeks, where shopping day has come around, and it wasn't convenient to go to town shopping. Thanks to the Pantry, I didn't have to. It's such a blessing in every way. Thank you for the wonderful blogs. I'm sure that you will get links to some others. At the moment I'm immersed in a little English Cottage Blog called Posy Typepad.com
Love to you all, Helen
Helen you will love the Ball canning site. It is so practical and lovely.
DeleteNot having to go out when you dont feel like it or there is bad weather or something is just a relief!
I am going to go look at Posy as you have mentioned it before. Thank you! xxx
I'm baaaack, couldn't really stay away lol. I do love the quilted jars, they are sublime. Is it possible to be gooey over glass jars? Well if that is acceptable, then I'm all gooey over them. They are gorgeous. Better check out the posy site as well.
ReplyDeleteWe are certainly not warm here, it's about 13 degrees and the wood fire has gone all day today. I have three dogs on three separate beds all stretched out in various poses in front of the fire. At various times they have come to me and said "toilet pitt stop please" and all three have traipsed out and traipsed back in very smartly.
I have tried to feather my nest today by gathering recipes and plans. My plan is to always as a matter of rule try very hard to cook extra each time and then freeze some. I've stashed away in jars and or freezer approximately 20kg of tomatoes in various forms. The jars that didn't seal, I froze and the ones that did are on the shelf, I get a little frisson of pleasure as I pass them.
Found a live yabby in the kitchen tonight, the man said that it was probably bought in by one of the dogs. We have lots of holes in the bush that are yabby holes. He said as he put it out the front door "it's eatable that size". I just cringed. Anyway it's back in the bush now.
catch you later. Fiona xx
Helen gave me my blue ball jars as a gift... This is how we are about jars!
DeleteAndy would have wanted to eat the Yabby too, Yabbies are a delicacy apparently...
I love all your tomatoes ready for meals. And I understand exactly how the sight of jars full of produce lined up on shelves makes you happy. I feel most virtuous when I look at my rows of jams!
To be guaranteed a good life it would be a good idea to be one of your dogs I think. They have it good!
I'm glad you returned!xxx
Good morning! Thank you for the kind comment left on our blog and this wonderful article! You are too sweet!!! I love all pantry posts and so this encouragement is always appreciated :) I already follow the blogs you mentioned so we must be kindred spirits! My family loves to tease me... some people enjoy playing tennis, others like to shop, but my hobby is my pantry! Have a lovely week!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Jes! To me you are like a celebrity. I cannot believe the amount of information on your blog, it is just incredible.
DeleteA pantry is a wonderful hobby to have. I have been bitten by the same bug :) Thank you very much.xx
Hi Annabel, I've been reading your blog since finding it from Patsy at a Working pantry! I love each post and am learning so much.
ReplyDeleteI've been keeping a pantry for over 40 years and saw my mom, grandma and mother in law can food every summer! I've even gotten into the habit of canning all year long as I make my own broth, can beef, ham, chicken and turkey plus dry beans of all varieties. I also "glean" information from Jes and others and am learning from you and the comments on each of your posts.
One blog that has helped me a great deal is everydayfoodstorage.net. Crystal has amazing substitutes for many ingredients. She is currently talking about homemade cleaners and last month had posts on life "hacks" (never heard that term before this series lol) which taught that taking a few minutes to make your own cream soups, cooking with dehydrated foods, using powdered milk in many ways, etc.
Buying in bulk helps so much in filling my pantry and I am a great fan of JARS!! So glad I'm not alone. When my kids were young, they learned early on about food storage, pantries, canning, making do and cooking from scratch. By adding a few items (on sale) each week and finding sources for bulk buys, it doesn't take long to fill your shelves. Using, rotating and re-stocking is a way of life and I love it! :)
Also, Brandy's blog is a wealth of information. I'm amazed how she feeds her family, and how much food she grows in the desert!
Thank you, again, Annabel for making all of us welcome into your "home"!!
Teri :)
Thank you Terri for such a wonderful comment. I am going over to check out everydayfoodstorage as that sounds wonderful especially the soup mixes etc. And I love finding a new good blog.
DeleteYou are so right about how quickly we can build a pantry up by buying a few extra when things are at a great price. It sounds like you have been wise about this for many years.
There is a lot of encouragement from reading Brandys blog and Patsys blog as between us it is a very supportive community. Everyone is so helpful. I am feeling very blessed as there is a friendship group now even though we are spread all over the world. Thank you so much for being part of this group and so helpful. Xxx
We purchased a personal water filter straw for each of us. It has a lanyard to hang around the neck so that we were to ever need to have it on our person to drink from any water source we could find we will be ready. We have a creek that runs near the back of our property and could always get buckets of water from there to drink through these straws.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great investment Lana. Also how wonderful to have a nearby creek! A natural source of water is an incredible back up!
DeleteThis straw sounds like a good invention... What is the name of it? These are some things that technology is very handy and useful! Many thanks xx
Life Straw. We purchased them through Amazon. They were $20 each.
DeleteThank you Lana I had not heard of them and they look great!
DeleteI would love to hear about your dry soup mixes. I love Stanger and Pilgrims on Earth. I'm excited to check out some of the others you suggested!
ReplyDeleteChrissy in an upcoming post I am going to do a dry mixes recipe links and some of my own. They are really handy, cheap and fast!
DeleteSo many good things to do.. not enough hours in the day! xxx
Still reading and being inspired even though I rarely comment. At the moment we are covered in dust due to some renovations. I will think about my pantry in a few weeks time. We are heading to tassie soon and my plan is to cook our own meals most days.We eat mostly fresh foods but I'm sure there are a few things in my pantry that I can pack. Love those blue jars!
ReplyDeleteTassie will be beautiful and a break from renovating. Barb we have only done a little bit of renovating and I think its really stressful!
DeleteHelen gave me the jars as a present. I love them! Thank you for commenting and letting me know you still read and find something to inspire you. These things keep me going.xxx
Annabel I love jars too! My dear father-in-law picked up an very old Fowlers Vacola stovetop preserving pan on hard rubbish oh so many years ago and I've used it regularly ever since! It never gets a chance to be put away properly.
ReplyDeleteI have some lovely green Ball jars the kids bought me last year, I save them for "special" preserves, they look so pretty I've even used them on the table :)
I like to freeze things too, and the freezer is always chock-a-block full, but I prefer bottling to freezing for long term storage. If the power goes out for any length of time the freezer full of food is lost, when it's in jars power or no power, it's not affected.
I'm saving for a pressure canner so I can safely and properly preserve meats, stews, soups and so on. The kids will need to draw straws to see who's bedroom I'll be claiming as my pantry then :)
Cath what a wonderful Father in Law! And what a find! I knew you would love jars. Like Wendy! It is a good sing in a person I think! lol
DeleteIt is true too that apart from not taking up freezer room as you say if power is lost canned goods are ok. And now the cost of power is a factor. Not needing refrigeration or freezing is a huge bonus.
I will want to see photos when you take over another room with canned goods! I could look at pantries all day. There is great satisfaction in a row of filled jars!
Thanks Cath.xxx
I love those blue jars. I see they have green ones also. Big W had a starter kit with the massive pot it was $129!! I'm saving jars all the time and people keep them for me. Fresh lids to fit standard dolmio or other jars can be purchased from green living australia. They have lots of other items and interesting information on their website. http://www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au/homepreserving-lids.html
DeleteAnnabel, I love this post! Thank you for mentioning A Working Pantry! You are such a good example in all that you do and share! I love reading your posts!
ReplyDeleteThank you Patsy. I really do love that I could ask you any pantry question and you would help! What a blessing! xxx
DeleteI have read and also heartily endorse the pantry blogs you listed.
ReplyDeleteOur weather is warming up and things are turning green, we may be kindred spirits but we live on opposite sides of this earth 😄
You must be happy for the warmth as it sounded like you had the most intense winter! I really enjoy the change of seasons.. the different activities, food, cooking etc. The change seems to do us good! Spring and autumn are my happiest seasons. xxx
Delete