Pantries and Preparedness. Free food continued...

Last week I was talking about building up your pantry with free food. If we are open to using what comes our way we can hugely increase our pantry!

Do you remember Rosanne and how she found so many apples in a car park? She sent me this picture of the results for her pantry and her two Grand Children who helped her achive this by helping her all day in the kitchen. This is Kyle and Trinity with the apples...

Rosanne said how hard these two worked! I thought this was just wonderful. Thank you for letting me share this Rosanne and well done to you Kyle and Trinity! Look at that quantity of apples! There is so much you can do with them. What a good addition to your pantry. Many people passed those apples by.

For the last weeks Teri has been busy. She said to me she had no time to write as she was up to her eyeballs in free produce. My reply was that we have to get busy on it when it comes in! There is time for other stuff later and the priortity is using the produce while it is fresh and good. And thats what she was doing!
Teri does everything she can to build up her pantry. She said to me that she hoped she was prudent with the food that came to them through God's grace. I really love that and yes she was! Free produce really helped her this summer. I will let her tell you...

WAYS TO USE SUMMER HARVEST

From Teri.

This summer, we have been blessed with an abundance of free and

nearly free food! We plant a garden each year and do pretty well.

This year, even though we struggled to get it growing (weather kept

things interesting), we prayed that our little garden would provide

us and our family with lots of fresh veggies. Seeds were replanted

several times but our prayers were answered! We have been eating

fresh; and processing yellow summer squash, beets, green beans,

onions, cucumbers and Swiss chard. We usually grow several

kinds of herbs from seeds but this year they didn’t grow. The sage

we have from year to year is doing well and our peppermint and

spearmint also have done very well.

One of the things to remember about receiving a small or large

amount of food is it needs to be processed quickly. So knowing

different ways to preserve food helps. When someone asks me if I

would like ______, I always say yes. Even if I don’t know just what

to do with it or how I can deal with a large quantity at one time, I

gratefully accept it. Then, start working!  First, we always try to

share with our family and neighbors. Then, I look over my recipes

to decide how to process the food and then get started!

This year, and for many, many years, I was never sure how all my

jars would be filled. But every year, God provides! And, this year,

we received boxes and boxes of green beans, tomatoes, peaches and

corn all at once! Oh my! Yet, at the end of each day, I always say a

prayer of thanks! After sharing, this is what I did with our free

food. I hope it gives you some ideas.

1. Tomatoes- I decided to quarter and can lots of them. I also

made tomato sauce. I decided to can all of them plain (just

adding the lemon juice and a bit of salt and sugar). This way,

I can use them for many different dishes and add seasonings

and herbs when I open a bottle. (We use our tomatoes/sauce

to make spaghetti sauce, macaroni and tomatoes, soups,

stews, chili, etc.) I also dehydrated lots of sliced tomatoes and

dried the tomato peelings from the sauce, to grind into

powder. (tomatoes can also be frozen, but I didn’t do that this

time). Our grape tomatoes are also being dried. And I still need

to make salsa!

2. Green beans- cleaning and cutting beans takes some time but

is so worth it! We froze lots, dehydrated some, canned 22

pints and made dilly beans.

3. Cauliflower- This was from our garden. I pickled most and we

ate some fresh.

4. Corn- We blanched and froze our corn this year. Other years,

I’ve canned and dehydrated it. We shared most of it with

others.

5. Yellow summer squash- This is from our garden, also. We

have enjoyed a great deal fresh, shared with family, made

yellow/zucchini relish and dehydrated a bunch. We will

continue this until it freezes.

6. Zucchini- Our seeds didn’t come up this year, so when my

friend asked if we would like a few from her garden, I said

YES!! Lol (And, yes, they were huge but I didn’t mind)! I

peeled and grated 12-2 cup bags for the freezer and blanched

chunks for the freezer. I used 3 medium sized ones to stuff

with ground beef mix and then used some in my relish. This

was a wonderful blessing!

7. Peaches- Even though I still had some peaches still canned, I

didn’t want to say no. We had used all our jam and pie filling,

so I made lots of both of those. I still put up 21 quarts of

peach slices after making pie filling and jam! I also canned 7

quarts of peach nectar. Plus, a lot were eaten fresh!! 

8. Beets- These are from our garden. We picked close to 50 lbs.

Again, we ate some fresh but canned most of the lot. I still

have a few jars of pickled beets from last year, so I just

decided to do plain this year. I did put 1 container of

sweet/sour beets in the freezer. I still have a few in the garden

(we planted seeds several times about 2 weeks apart) but most

likely they will be eaten fresh.

9. Cucumbers- These are being enjoyed fresh. Our temps.

dipped last night and the vines got nipped. So, hopefully it

will warm up a little and we can enjoy a few more. (I won’t eat

the cucumbers from the store, ever)!!

10. Carrots- They are still growing but we have pulled a few

and they are yummy!

11. Plums- My friend shared her plums. I was all out of

plum sauce, so this was a real blessing! I cleaned and cooked

two huge pots of plums to make the sauce with. I also canned

14 quarts of juice from the simmering plums! This was a

bonus and it’s delicious. (I don’t have a juicer, so I just let the

juice run through my hand food mill into a separate pan and

then push the fruit through the mill into another bowl). These

plums were extra ripe and made a deep purple juice and some

very tasty sauce! Again, I left the sauce plain and will season

it when we use it. That way, we can eat it like a fruit, season

it for chicken or pork, or I can put some in the slow cooker

with apples and make butter.

12. Acorn squash- This was a volunteer plant from the

compost pile which I am very happy about! We will gather

them all and put them in our cold storage room to use all

winter!

We also received several boxes of cantaloupe and some

watermelons! Whenever someone gives you free food, please find a

way to use/preserve/share it! Annabel has told us lots of different

ways to receive food. She wrote how she has asked neighbors with

fruit falling to the ground, her grandmother asked strangers and

ended up with fruit/flowers and friends! Letting others know you

would love to have any “extras”. U-pick and farmers markets are

also ways to increase your pantries, though a bit more expensive.

Local fruit stands can be a way to get fresh fruit and veggies; and

growing a garden (big or small) is one more way. Our garden is a

few grow boxes placed in the front/side yard instead of lawn.

Planting veggies/herbs in-between flowers or in pots is another way

to have some fresh food. I pray for guidance, I let family and friends

know I will take any extras and I pray for my garden to grow and

give us fresh food! Ask and you shall receive! God blesses us and

I’m so grateful for each thing that comes my way!

This year, my husband helped clean and cut beans, and cooked all

our meals. It sure helps to have the extra set of hands, so if you

have a family member or friend helping, it goes much faster. Also,

if you have children old enough, let them help! Our kids still talk

about the tons of peas THEY shelled several years in a row! LOL

This is just one more way we can fill our pantries! As some of us

are going into spring/summer, others are headed into

autumn/winter! It’s so important to get our pantries full! One of

the most important things about having food storage is having the

foods your family eats! Store what you eat and eat what you store

is such sound advice! Rotation is key to keeping a stocked pantry.

You will have less waste and be able to fill your pantry with yummy

and, sometimes, free food!

Have a lovely week! Teri

Thank you so much Teri. What a lot of work and how beautiful to have all those full jars and such abundance!

Next I want to mention Cath is writing a series How to build your Stockpile. I am thrilled about this and will be following.
Brandy from The Prudent Homemaker has had some very interesting things to say in recent posts about her panty and preparedness. I am following along there also.

My Aunt held a garden party and the idea was to come along with produce, plants and cuttings to exchange. I was unable to attend due to my dash to the farm. I had planned to take bunches of Bay Leaves, Parsley and succulents as these are things I have to swap. At the right time of year this could be a friends, neighbours or church group way to swap your excess and share produce. What a good idea! It could be extended to include pantry items too. I just think what a way to have an afternoon cup of tea  and share. This is my Aunt with some of the plants and cuttings and then some of the produce.

What a good idea and another way to build up our pantries through free produce!

If you have pictures of what you have been cooking, canning etc please show me! Isn't it just beautiful to see! There is encouragement just in looking at them!

Have a wonderful week. Be prudent and diligent! xxx