Pantries and Preparedness. Gifts and encouragement.

This year most of my gift giving is pantry related. Luckily in the family we all love our kitchens and pantries and that I have friends who do also. And then there is the "encourage others along" factor that I am trying to do.

A while ago Helen gave me a gift of a set of blue Ball jars from America. I was so excited as I have heard of these all my life and never had any. And blue! When they arrived in the post it was really exciting! Now that is a good pantry gift!

This got me thinking about gifts to give that would add to a pantry. Seriously, every time I use those jars I think of Helen. It is a really lasting present that I will keep forever. They make me happy!

This year especially I have given pantry related gifts and am making up many more for Christmas.

There are a lot of possibilities here! I am combining my hand made tea towels (kitchen towels) in this gift as thats still a kitchen related present but also something to do with the pantry.

Firstly Chloe helped me by printing and binding Patsy's E Book  (from A Working Pantry ). This turned out to be so inexpensive to make multiple gifts. This book will get anyone started on building up their pantry and inspired to do it. An alternative to binding is printing it and putting it into a plastic pocket folder. I look at this picture now and think why didn't I tuck a wooden spoon under that bow!

The next thing I added was printed labels which we printed onto label paper. Jes has so many to print for free at Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth with all different kinds of labels for different purposes.

I also use The Graphics Fairy for pretty old fashioned labels.

So then I had labels, Patsy's Book and Tea towels...

Since I have been adding items from the pantry and have jars of jam, my little fruit cakes etc. that can also be part of a pantry gift. These are things that keep well and are so useful to have in your pantry. I also dried and packaged all those Bay Leaves and have a packet to go into each of these gifts.

Labels, jam toppers, tags etc are all so useful. Most of my smaller material scraps are cut into circles for covering jam tops. Gingham is lovely for this. I have made packs of them in cellophane bags and added ribbons to match. This is a really nice little pantry gift or gift for someone you know who loves to make jam.
So are labels. I find it hard to get pretty labels. Printing my own has helped. Otherwise go with the option of tying on a tag. This can also double as a gift tag and label. I write the contents on one side and the message on the other. I have also included the recipe sometimes.
These look really good tied to your food parcels. They add a lot.
Recently I used the photocopier to make up a huge number of Mason Jar tags...

I have used some already as gift tags and they are perfect for pantry gifts! But as food labels, labels around jars etc they look pretty and do the job too.

Packets of these packed in cellophane, in sets of six, are another gift to give.

For a larger gift I have made a little hamper of lovely pantry items that we all need.  I have included beautiful good quality vanilla, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, herbs and spices etc. 

Then I wrap them all up as little treats. I did this for Helen once and said it was a gift of possibilities.

This was all packed into a little box to go in the mail. 

There are so many possibilities! I can think of great lists of them but I want to keep it to inexpensive and lovely. 

A wonderful possibility is finding vintage jars in op shops. Over the years I have found so many including boxes of them. Now these all washed up would be a beautiful gift. Imagine! 

Also a giant jar filled with useful things such as vanilla and sugar or packets of herbs...

A vintage apron and rolling pin (when I say vintage I am still talking op shop bargains!)

A baking tin filled with baking ingredients or a mixing bowl filled with ingredients.

Make up batches of your own Vanilla essence and give in lovely bottles.

A big jar filled with pretty patty pans and sprinkles for cakes.

A cup cake decorating themed gift.

Or Mimi's Sticky Balsamic Vinegar (as mentioned on Monday)

Little pots of herbs to go into the garden or windowsill. This is also adding to the pantry!

I always say use what you have. Leslie was saying that they are making the chopping boards. If you have fruit make jam. If you have lots of baskets make hampers. If you have fabric make covered cook books and jam toppers or pretty aprons. Truly, using what we have is a great place to start.

What are good pantry gifts you have given or have as an idea?

I saw something recently that I thought was lovely. It is a modern take on the old fashioned idea or edging your shelves with lace or trim. Oh my goodness... pretty trim along your shelves! The lovely tapes you can now buy that stick on and come in little florals! Imagine that!

Well, it is never ending. But what lovely and useful ideas that make your heart happy!

Inexpensive Christmas Presents. Part 2. Food gifts.

Last week we started on some easy and inexpensive craft ideas so that we can keep Christmas expenses way down and also be able to give a lot!

This week I am adding food/cooking gifts. These can be beautiful gifts and very inexpensive. And yet if you look in stores they are charging a fortune for some things that are super cheap to make. In fact do look in stores as you will feel more confidant with your baked gifts after you see how popular they are and how expensive as well.

A big help here is making some things well ahead. Realistically we are going to be busy in December. Super busy. So some things made and put away help a lot.
One of my best things to make ahead is Christmas cake. This keeps a year and improves with age so it is ideal.
My friend Ethel saved tuna tins, the larger ones, and made them into mini cake tins. This is how she would cook these up for small gifts.
This time I used some tiny tins I have, plus I did 12 in the larger sized Texas muffin tins. I made a large one for my Dad and a large one for us.

I made up the recipe in a double batch and did this twice over a few days. This gave me 18 cakes all up.

These become gifts for neighbors, Dad, my brother, my Aunt, my Uncle, Cath in the nursing home and a few others.

The recipe is here. Bridge asked me if it matters very much about the dried fruit you buy. I usually buy homebrand mixed dried fruit. That fruit seems dry and not the most fabulous but after it is soaked in sherry (or whatever you use) plus pineapple juice it all plumps up and is beautiful. But the recipe calls for a kilo of dried fruit. You could just buy sultanas and add cherries or anything you like. I add a packet of chopped dried apricot since Andy loves that. It is very flexible! Because I add the apricots I end up with more like 2.2 kilos of fruit. It is fine.  It is absolutlely not necessary to use expensive fruits. Knowing I will be making this I buy the fruits, cherries etc on specials over the months before I make them.  (I hope this helps Bridge.)
(Sorry to the US ladies. I need to convert the recipe for you as well and need to do that but have run out of time today however most of the recipe is in cups).

The other make ahead gift is usually jam. Lots of pretty jams. They keep, look nice and go in well with a foodie gift in a little basket. On Mimi's blog A Tray of Bliss (on my sidebar) she has a heap of make ahead gifts including Limoncello ,  Sticky Balsamic Vinegar and tomato relish. There are so many possibilities.

Nearer to Christmas I usually make Gingerbread biscuits. These are beautiful and easy. this recipe makes a big batch....Gingerbread Biscuits made with honey.

A super easy and fast larger gift is to make a giant shortbread. I get pizza pans from cheap stores so I can use that as the base. You make the recipe and pat it onto the pan. Bake it, cut it through while hot and wrap and present the whole thing. It is beautiful, spectacular and faster than biscuits.
An alternative is to make three or four rounds on a baking tray and do mini versions of this.
This is a non crumbly beautiful shortbread recipe. Here is the recipe.. Shortbread. You can decorate it by using a dusting of icing sugar over a lace cut out, doily or stencil...

Most likely you have your own tried and tested family recipes. Use those. Getting them produced for gifts is easier when you have saved containers to pack you food gifts into. I watch for nice little tins, cellophane bags, pretty trays, nice boxes etc all year. Cellophane is wonderful. Things look crisp and nice in it and it is not expensive. If you need a larger sized cellophane bag than you have use an oven bag, looks the same. If you are in SA Cheap as Chips has the best range of cellophane bags in a range of sizes.
Add ribbon, tags etc and it will look lovely. Often in foodie stores I snoop at both the prices they are charging and the presentation. This gives you lots of ideas!

Making something ahead is a help. Then near Christmas making a couple of things in big batches is far easier than making a lot of different things in small batches. Just less work if time is an issue.

One thing I do every year is  Coconut Ice.. It keeps about two weeks.  This is yum and so pretty. I make it super pale pink and use soft pink ribbons to tie it up. I always times the recipe by four and make a massive amount!

Over the years the girls gave it to teachers, work mates, neighbors... I have cut it into heart shapes for afternoon teas...

This year it will be lots of gifts... for Chloe's elderly neighbors, my neighbors, friends, the ladies at the nursing home and many more.

A regular thing I make that is good for the boys is a snack we call Nuts and Bolts. It can be made a few days ahead. Looks good in jars or packets and is a snack and good for parties, watching sports or movies treats type of thing. It is yum and impossible to stop eating! The recipe is here.

Once I have my cooking done some things are given individually ie the whole tray of shortbread or for small gifts a packet of bisucuits or piece of coconut ice. Others make up a little basket of box with one of everything tucked in. A basket of goodies. This looks lovely! All year I buy nice little baskets from op shops. Usually about 50c each. Sometimes I have spray painted them all white or silver. I line them with tissue paper and tie the whole thing up with cellophane or add a ribbon. I did notice lovely little wire baskets in cheap shops this year but I already have a collection ready. I do need a couple of pizza pans for shortbread though.

With just a few cook ups you will have a lot of lovely gifts to give. An hour making a tray of shortbread is still easier than hitting the shops for a gift. The cost is just a few dollars and the end result would be worth at least $40 in a store.

Just get thinking about your best recipes and if you have helpers even better. Kids can roll apricot balls, decorate biscuits, wrap and package, make cards and so many things and will be proud of how they helped! Collect your ingredients and packaging so that on the day you cook you have everything you need. I hope you have great success and this is one more way you will keep Christmas costs down.


Some ladies are up and running with making their presents and sent me some photos! Jane made powder puffs, powder, soap and lavender sachets...

And Fiona is making tea towels (kitchen towels) Look at these gorgeous prints...

I love seeing what you are making! Thank you so much.


Next week in this series I am adding an easier than ever segment. How to restyle gifts so that something you buy inexpensively can be fancied up to be something stylish. It's cheating, basically.

And on Wednesday in our pantry series we are looking at gifts to give our pantry enthusiast girlfriends and family! Yes... us! Also, by accident, these are gifts to encourage someone in their pantry work and help get others started. All part of our cunning plan to help others have food in their pantry when they might need it!

Have a lovely week! And if you have an easy recipes suitable for Christmas gifts please share. Some of us have many recipes we know and others are just getting started. Tried and tested, no fail recipes that are delicious are so handy. Once we have recipes like these we are set! Thanks in advance! xxx

Feather your Next Friday, 9 October, 2015.

I have to say that the weeks I begin with a list of goals I end up getting more done. Or maybe more things that feel significant? Planning and lists just help me. Even if it's a list of three things to do today then that seems to help them to happen.

On the other hand when sickness strikes or some other spanner in the works you don't even have time to look at the list!

We started off with a hot couple of days but the rest of the week has been lovely. Today is warming up again. Mild weather is a great help in getting things done I think.

This week I saved money by:

I found some bargains. One was a pack of turkish rolls (4 large) for $1. They become pizza bases or focaccia dinners.
Another was beautiful fruit loaf for 52c. This works when I am dying for something sweet, I toast this.
All go into the freezer for when I need them.

I continued on with wrapping soaps and making face washers (cloths).

Did my own hair colour, trim,  painted toenails etc. This saves some ridiculous amount!

Re dyed two black tops black. I do this a couple of times a year when black things no longer look fresh and new, this does the trick.

I earned a $10 gift card in a survey.

I made my first Christmas cakes. I have a really large one and a medium sized. 

Now I have fruit soaking for the next batch will be a medium cake and maybe six small ones, all for gifts.

This is one of those times the house smells fantastic and Andy is snooping around trying to get a taste.

At a cheap shop (Browse n Save for the SA ladies) I found what we call TV dinner plates. You can freeze left overs in them so there's a complete meal ready to go. I love to make up roast dinner meals this way. Anyway I have been wanting some. They were $1 for packs of two and came in two shapes and layouts. 50c each, a base and a lid to seal them. I got six packs! 

Making up meals like this from left overs is a very handy thing. Not wasting food for starters but a delicious home cooked roast ready to go when you're sick, busy or whatever is lovely. No takeaway needed.

I am managing to get about twice as much recycled water onto the garden by doing a few things differently.

I feathered the nest by:

Adding to the cellar and pantry. Each week I add something. This week tinned salmon, instant coffee, batteries and water.

Learning new things. From Wednesday's post and the fantastic comments I found some great things that we could add around here and some that Andy would totally love as a gift! :)

I hope you had a great week! On Monday I will go on with the inexpensive Christmas gifts and this time things we can cook or assemble as food gifts. 

A catalogue arrived in the letterbox with some very worthwhile specials so I am popping out to get those as it is only five minutes away. So this might add to my savings and pantry for the week! xxx

Pantries and Preparedness. Quietly getting others started.

Almost every week someone tells me that they wish their adult children, family or friends were better prepared for emergencies.  It is a source of worry.

Over our long weekend three banks online systems were down and the banks were shut. Interestingly this happened twice before in the last few months.  This time it lasted about two days. People were caught in all sorts of trouble. On the St. George Bank face book page I did a little reading. This was on day one and maybe half a day in. There were so many comments from desperate people. One I will give as an example was a mother of a young baby. She was telling the bank she was furious, she had no nappies and did not know what they would be doing for dinner that night without access to her money. Over the weekend there were hundreds of messages like these. Now she wrote that after six hours of the online system going down. Can you even imagine after a few days? What about a week or several?
They cannot imagine their credit cards not working, ATMs not working, they cannot conceive it is even possible. Complete dependance and cannot get through one day.
Is this a worry? The mind boggles at what would happen in a major computer glitch, power failure or any other event that closed down these systems.

Possibly systems going down for a few hours here or there is a good thing, letting people know it can fail and to have back ups. You would hope these things would be teachers.

Anyway, we cannot make anyone prepare. And with family and perhaps especially our kids saying too much can be counter productive. We can teach and encourage and set an example. A great thing is when they ask how to do something and even better when we see them doing well, being wise and thinking things through. Lately I have heard some good stories of this especially when they reach an age that they are noticing things like job insecurity and are planning for the future.

One thing we can do is think about the gifts and help we give. Kind of helping with preparedness by stealth!

I have a couple on the go at the moment. Firstly candles. Lovely candles are a great gift. Useful and you have just helped someone have light in an emergency.

Rather than buy super expensive ones I am buying inexpensive packs that look like this...

Then making them over to look like this...

A couple of ladies mentioned that many people do not have matches anymore! This is true. Once matches were given out as freebies with business names on them and so on but not anymore. So people may not have matches. Again these are necessary in preparedness.

However matches are pretty ungiftable. (I don't think that's a word!)

I got packets of the really giant long matches... yep they are ugly... but to go along with the candle gifts...

I simply made them over in a Christmas theme...

These have been fun to do. Like card making kind of.

Thinking on this some of my sneaky-by- stealth -adding -to- someone -else's- preparedness -gifts are...

For a family gift a BBQ. Then they have an alternative way to cook, boil water etc. Plus a lot of great outdoor times.

Others for a family could be:

Camping equipment.

First aid kit. 

First aid training.

Picnic blanket, car blankets.

A water purifier.

A hamper of preserves.

For a man a Swiss Army knife. Chloe and I went in together and got one for Kato. He loves it. I know that gives him a handy and helpful thing especially in emergencies.

Some more for men....

Tools.

A chainsaw.

A fishing rod, lures etc.

Car phone charger or solar phone charger.

A good radio that takes batteries.

An excellent torch.

Stainless steel drink bottles.

An esky. (cooler)

A good winter coat.

Protective gloves.

Some for women: 

Lovely candles.

Winter coat, gloves, scarf.

Soaps.

Preserving kit.

Pantry items.

Storage tins and jars.

Some for teens:

A great torch.

Cool drink bottles.

Solar phone charger.

First aid training.

Self defence training.

A good sleeping bag.

This is over to you! What would be good ideas for gifts that have a preparedness and general helpfulness factor? Gifts that are useful and could be very handy.

I have been thinking a lot about this. In my preparedness I try to have things to help the whole family. But there are limits to what we can keep and how much we can store! Getting everyone thinking about taking care of themselves is the best thing we can do. And slip a few handy things into gifts! 

I hope you are having a good week. I have fruit for Christmas cakes soaking and all sorts going on! xxx

Inexpensive Christmas Presents. Part 1.

Lately there have been some discussions about inexpensive Christmas presents. I thought I would write up some ideas and gather in one place some of the things I have posted in the last two years.

The place to start if you want to save a lot of money over Christmas is my e book which I made free for everyone recently. This is basically a guide to making all or most of your Christmas presents very cheaply plus how to get organized and choose things that people are going to love. It is available here.

The crafts are all in the craft section and I will be adding fresh ideas as well.

Being October there is still time to make so many gifts. Apart from having a debt free Christmas I think making things gives you a joy filled Christmas. I know I can give to many more people this way.
And we are trying to get ahead financially, build an emergency fund, build up the pantry and other savings. Why not slash your Christmas budget and re direct the funds to an area that could really use it?

When I talk about inexpensive Christmas presents I am talking about under $2 gifts and under $5 gifts. And for $10 you can give an over the top luxury gift!

I like to have spare presents for people I don't know, unexpected visitors or if I am invited somewhere a small gift I can take.  One of my favourite for these is a supply of pretty soaps. I do these most years. I buy Dove soap in pink for $1 each at our local cheap shop. A boxed soap is easier to wrap neatly.
On the weekend during the football I wrapped twenty I had saved up. I add a ribbon and bow,  a buckle or tie on a small ornament. They end up around $2 each.  Making a large batch of something helps add to your gift cupboard. We still have birthdays and other times we need gifts on hand.
Also  I have been working on wash cloths. Happily they go together well...

Even giving them in sets it is still working out around $5 for a soap and wash cloth.

These are lovely paired up with other things I've made ie a powder puff and powder or a bottle of Hollywood Bubble bath. Also in a parcel these soaps will scent the whole package so it smells beautiful on opening. You can choose a colour scheme if you know someones bathroom colours or just their favourite colours.

During the year I crochet cotton wash cloths. They can be used as face cloths or as dish cloths. Use any stitch you know in knit or crochet and 100% cotton. These also work out a couple of dollars each. I learned this bobble stitch on you tube.

Another $2 or under gift is covering little notebooks. I watch for small books with cardboard covers. (not plastic) and make them into pretty little notebooks. These are helpful as I post a lot of gifts.

In recent posts I have shown all the kitchen towels I make from old linens plus crochet edgings around purchased kitchen towels. An alternative to the crochet edgings is to stitch on a trim or braid. There is a post on adding edgings to glam things up. Easy!

The other day I posted about making packs of cards into gifts and adding a pen or small gift to that. These are a fantastic gift, look lovely and a pack of six is going to still cost less than $5 all up.

Some presents are free like these chopping boards. Andy cut them out for me from wood we found. I used these to sit cooked treats on and wrapped it all up in cellophane...

Other times I find supplies in an op shop. The yard for this blanket cost $2! So this whole gift was $2... it just took my time during winter. It was large knee rug size and so soft! 

Every few years I make powder puffs plus the powder to go with it. They cost less than $1 to make. You can also go wild and make them in any colour ie leopard print! lilac, pink, blue, red or whatever you want! They seem so luxurious. You can scent them as well...

I started making these as I love powder puffs and looked for one. They were either terrible or fabulous and the fabulous ones were up to fifty dollars! I've made batches of them ever since. 

Another year I made pretty cottons into pillowcases. Some fabric I used was from sheets and doona covers, left overs and I bought a little bit. Each one had three or more prints and I did a crochet edging...

These all would have come in under $5 each. An alternative would be to make these up and sew a strip of velvet ribbon around the edge, a fabric frill or soft lace.

Other times I do an edge around towels, hand towels or face washers and a little embroidery...

There are heaps crafts in the crafts section as well. If any of them are useful ideas for you then I am really pleased but I say use your skills and also materials that you have. If you have a cupboard full of fabrics use that supply. If you have supplies but can't think what to make... or have a skill and can't think what to make I will be glad to try and come up with suggestions. Haunting lovely stores for ideas is something I love to do! 

Part two next week will be about cooking as gifts. The recipes are easy and it is all about the packaging! Most of them will be under $2 per gift. 

Part three will be about the trick of repackaging. You do not need to be crafty. This is about taking basic items and restyling them to be fabulous... you will see!

Part four will be inexpensive ways to wrap, cards and tags.

I really hope that it can be the best Christmas ever but without the price tag. I am certain you have other areas that could use with an injection of funds. Sit down and calculate what you normally spend and see if you can save money this year and re direct the money to where it is needed. Christmas should be a wonderful family celebration and sharing with others not a financial or emotional strain. Making lots of presents means we can give to so many others. We visit a nursing home and I am able to give small gifts out. I could never do this if I was buying everything.

See you next Monday with easy gifts for Christmas from the kitchen. xxx

Feather your Nest Friday, 2nd October, 2015.

Welcome to October! This is my month to make Christmas cakes. Already! It is a great month to start doing something every week towards Christmas. I've been getting some dried fruit, coconut. almonds etc as they are on special over the past weeks.  It spreads it out and beats paying full price for any of them.

The week has been beautiful. True spring weather. Over the weekend and today it is warming up and that will be a bit of a shock.

The flowers I am noticing everywhere this week are Hollyhocks. This is an area that seems most people have them and many are five or six feet tall so they are so visible..

This week I saved money by:

I completed a Christmas present. Even down to the wrapping! Next week I am having a post about pantry related gifts...

I made over a gift bag. You know the ones from stores that are in a carry bag? I just cover the logo and re make it to use as a gift carry bag. You can make them for any occasion. It is like card making on a bigger scale! Ask everyone to save these bags for you! Here are some from last time...

Next week I am posting about inexpensive Christmas presents and wrapping. There was a discussion on A Working Pantry face book page that got onto inexpensive gifts to make. I love that page! So I thought I would post some ideas that look great but cost very little. Anyway making over shopping carry bags like these is another thing that is a big saver and looks good.

I have recycled water onto the garden, line dried, made all dinners and lunches etc.

Planted more basil seedlings. Also other herbs are big enough to pick now. I am using fresh oregano, thyme, parsley and chives.

I made a left overs meal and used things up.

I have been adding glitter to cards that I want to use at Christmas...

I feathered the nest by:

Washing the pillow protectors. Some of them are fluffy wool covers. They all washed up so well and dried on the line in the sun. You could feel and smell the freshness afterwards. Lovely!

Added an LED lantern, hand warmers, water and tinned food to the pantry.
Added a hanging storage pockets to the cellar thanks to Vicky's idea.
Also built up the emergency fund a little bit.

How was your week? How did you build up your nest and save money?
This week went a bit too fast for me. But I have today! And tomorrow is Grand Final Day here which is a big sporting day. I am making snacks for the afternoon to make it a bit special and fun. Neither of our teams are in it so the bright side of this is we can watch it stress free!
Have a lovely weekend! xxx

Pantries and Preparedness. Lovely letters and brilliant ideas.

When I first started on building up my pantry I knew it is not an overnight thing. It is week by week, long term and a big learning curve. I would never have guessed I would make friends and get so much support! It has become a way of encouraging each other along which is just so nice.

Firstly, thank you to everyone who comments and contributes. Last week alone the comments were fantastic. We were talking about having back up plans and alternatives to things we really need or couldn't handle being without. 

Some wonderful tips that came in comments were:
Cathy and Cass reminded us to keep matches. These days many people have no matches! They are a basic necessity.
Jes added that a large bucket for washing and a clothes line (if you are allowed to have one..) prepare you for washing and drying.
Nanna Chel suggested a solar phone charger.
Lana got a crank up radio so they can hear news and warnings without batteries or electricity.
Cass said that a fondue pot successfully heats all kinds of things. Oh my goodness I never thought of that! How clever is this? She followed it up with the idea that if you lay a garden hose out in the sun and fill it up ie with a closed off nozzle on the end, it will heat up. Now I KNOW that because of all those times I nearly burned my fingers plus plants with that first minute of really hot water that you get! But I never once thought that I could use this if the power was out to wash, do dishes etc! How brilliant.  (Gold stars to you Cass, thank you!)
Denise suggested bug spray is an item not to be without. If we are cooking outdoors etc and in an area that mozzies etc are a problem bug spray can be a life saver. So true!
Joy suggested hand sanitizer and wet wipes for when both water is precious and hygiene is important.

This is a sampling of the good and helpful comments in ONE week. I am learning so much! Thank you all.

Now sometimes comments are not enough and also they don't allow photos. I love to see what you are doing! (FB allows photos otherwise if you have some please email me)

In the last week or so here are some of the emails I got...

Firstly, from Teri. You remember her free food coming in and it just kept coming! Well, here is an update...

I am still canning.  Tomorrow, I will have a big box of tomatoes from Jacob's garden, so I'm planning to make salsa.  I froze some yellow summer squash, unblanched, in hopes that we will like it better.  I also chopped some to add to sauces, stews, and soups.  I'm still picking a few green beans and those are for our dinner meals.  I will miss them!  lol   And we are covering the cucumbers each night in hopes of getting a few more to eat.  Then, I have chard to pick, beets and winter (acorn) squash to bring in and some green tomatoes to put in the basement to ripen.  And I still have a box of apples to can up.  The harvest is winding down and I'm thankful for all that we have gotten this year!  As soon as I have some jars available, I will be canning some of my dried beans.  We buy them in bulk and because they take a lot of water, I plan to start filling some jars.

Teri keeps working and food keeps coming in!


From Rosanne: (You might remember Rosanne from the free apples and her Grand children helping her preserve them a few weeks ago)

Annabel,

To truly have a well stocked pantry one must think 'outside the box". Thinking of what you use regularly and expanding the thought.

I am a coffee addict, I need my morning cup, or two. I stock regular coffee, not instant, but I do have 2 percolators, 1 French press and this plastic cone thing. I have shelf stable milk, shelf stable 1/2 & 1/2 and powdered milk, just incase I cannot get to the store, due to any reason, weather, finances or other.

I live in Upstate New York, my area gets hit by what they call Nor'Easter storms and storms out of the west, they tend to converge over me. makes for an interesting winter.

We did put a whole house generator in and it has been used more times than I can remember, but what most people do not mention is the cost of a unit ($5,000+ US dollars) And the cost of running one. We were out of power for 5 days one week in winter, it ran us an additional $300 in natural gas to power it. Also, stock some ear plugs, the constant (noise) it makes does wear on you, even though you have the blessing of power to heat the house, cook and keep refrigerator going.

I canned quick meals, soups, sauces, even sweet and sour chicken to have over rice, precooked rice is available in packets. I have canned pork roast, ground hamburger meat, cubed chicken, chicken breasts, easy quick meals to make in a pinch. Before we had the generator we had to cook meals on the outdoor grill when we lost power, so to conserve propane, we wanted to cook something that took less fuel. We do always keep 3 additional tanks of propane for the grill. A just in case.

I have bars of soap saved, I doubt we will ever run out. I even take the little slivers that are to small to use and transform them into liquid soap, we haven't bought liquid soap in many years.

Remember when you are stocking your pantry to always stock what you will eat and quick versions of what you eat. It might not taste exactly the same, but something is better than nothing.

I have been taking my grandchildren out during the summer to forage. They have heard the tall stories of their Father's youth, how his Mother would send him into the mosquito infested woods to pick blackberries and others. As I would sit there and hold back the laughter.

We have a "weed" called Golden Rod, it is a sign that Fall is on its way when it is blooming, It has medicinal uses, but my Grandchildren learned it's historic significance, It was called Liberty Tea, the Bostonians substituted it for tea after the famous, Boston Tea Party.  I also don't worry about them going without food, because they know, it can be found in the most unusual places.

You have met them with their Parking Lot Apples. We canned up 73 lbs, that were free, no one picked them, they just walked by, we picked and helped a lady pick some, giving her a bag to use and found she had never thought of picking them.

We pick Sumac to make lemonade with.

Remember all your food doesn't need to come from a grocery store or your garden. You would be amazed to find what is out there.

I have felt priveleged to have you post about the Grandchildren, they of course were ticked pink. I should add they asked today what we are going to go pick this week.

I stopped in at Aldi's, some of the ladies on A Working Pantry mentioned some good prices. I didn't find anything marked down like they did, but I did come home with a case of mushrooms. They were 8 oz each for 79 cents, my normal grocer has them on sale for $2 for 10 oz. As soon as I got home I was slicing. They were beautiful.

I was able to fit 11 cartons on 9 trays in dehydrator. They were dried in 9 hours. Yes I did put the dehydrator outside, my laundry room where I had first set it up, well it started to smell like an old worn pair of socks. But by 1/2 way through the smell no longer existed, so at 9pm I brought it in to finish them off.

Here are the trays of dehydrated mushrooms. 11 - 8oz cartons filled 2 qts and 1 pint. The one lonely carton left I microwaved for 3 minutes and placed in a freezer carton, it filled a pint container. I am thrilled to have added them to my pantry, whenever I want them in a stew, all I need to do is drop them in, in an omelet, all I need to do is pour some boiling water over them and wait a bit, now my husband has no excuse for not making a mushroom pizza.

Here is a picture of how I vacuum seal them, the foodsaver does have attachment to fit the top of mason jars, I always had a problem with getting them to seal, so all I do is pop any jar that does fit into the canister and seal it that way. So much easier for me to do.

The end result was 2 quarts and 1 pint of dried mushrooms, from 5 1/2 pounds of fresh and 1 pint of frozen from 8 oz of fresh.

Now when it is snowing and cold and we want a yummy stew, no worries about having to go out to pick up ingredients.

Rosanne you are so productive and it is wonderful!

And from  Vicky who has also been building up her pantry and you will remember her beautiful black and white food grade bins and pantry storage...

What I gleaned from my Uncle's garden:

6 small heads of cabbage

15 green peppers

22 banana peppers

a bucket of tomatoes

1/2 bucket of small potatoes

A few people have asked me if I grow a big garden why would I get more produce when I have my own? Well they are obviously not gardeners or canners. Some of the obvious answers are if I am getting produce and it is ripe and ready to be processed mine will be coming on later and later may be a disaster. Too much rain or heat for examples. Or maybe I didn't plant as much as I would have liked too and this will add extra to the larder. Or maybe that big ol' whistlepig decided my garden is great and destroys half my stuff! So just in case I never turn down free produce and if I end up with a bumper crop in my garden I return the favor. It is part of my just in case plan. And having extra is a big help because I never know how many I will be feeding at times or unexpected things come up and I need to send hospitality food. So here is what I have done with the free produce.

Stuffed peppers ready for the sauce and to be frozen for dinner later. I will put half of these in another pan. Plus I had a pan full of diced, but I lost the pic. Part of them went into my tomato juice and the other part in the dehydrator.

The Banana Peppers deseeded and will be stuffed with spicy sausage and go into the freezer then when we have a football party or other party I will put them in the crockpot with onions and tomato sauce. Yum!

And from the 6 small heads of cabbage I got:

A pan of cabbage to fry for cabbage and noodles for dinner later.

A pan of vegetable casserole to put in the freezer. It has some of the green peppers I diced, onions, celery, shredded cabbage, cooked burger, sliced carrot, banana pepper and rice. I will put the tomato sauce on it when I put the sauce on the stuffed peppers.

6 quarts of kraut ready to put in the closet to ferment.

And 12 quarts of tomato juice. One of the things I love about making tomato juice is you can use up some of the vegetables that maybe are not so great to can that you don't want to waste like peppers that are a little soft, but still good or carrots and celery that are in the fridge that are on the limpy side. I used some of these in this juice plus I had onions in the freezer that I froze last year, but will be getting a bunch of fresh ones soon so I put them in too. I cook it all and then juice it and boil down a little and voila tomato/vegetable juice!

And that is what I did with the free food I got this week.

XOXO Vicky

And to top it off this is Vicky's garden...

Thats the capsicum section! To the left is the cabbage section and to the right tomatoes!
I need a rest just looking at this!

And her capsicums as she harvests them...

And tomatoes made into sauce...

And I nearly forgot! Her husband then had a chance to be paid to cut down some trees and was also allowed to keep the wood. So now they have a fresh supply of wood for their fire...

Can you believe Vicky's vegetables!? This woman doesn't stop!
Everyone is busy as a bee!

These kind of letters are a joy to read! And there are more... like Kaye is getting a shelving system set up for her pantry supplies... I am trying to get her to take photos!

All of this is just wonderful. And inspiring. I thought to share it as if it motivates me and makes me happy then I am sure I would not be the only one.

I always say make hay while the sun shines and to make the most of what you have where you are right now. These ladies all have things in common. They take every opportunity to build up their pantries and homes.
Thank you to everyone who reads, shares their ideas and experiences and sends in photos.

This week I added a LED lantern to the cellar and placed it on the top step. Vicky suggested that my wall that has nothing on it (shelves would be in the way of the steps) would be a good place to hang wall pockets ie the ones made for shoes or storing small things. I got one and it fits, is not in the way and will hold all kinds of things. I will label the pockets also. These over the back of a door such as the pantry door will hold things like soup mixes, small packets, plastic bags and so on. Very handy!
I also added hand warmers that you activate and get ten hours heat from.

How did you build up your pantry this week?
Every bit helps and adds up to a lot! xxx