June 2008 Archives

I WANT TO CAN EVERYTHING!

I finally did it! I canned my first foods today. (Not like the sauerkraut thing I wrote about back in September.) In 95 degree weather! How's that for planning? I've been wanting to learn how to can for 2 years now. Last year I happened upon a garage sale and picked up a pressure canner and a steam canner, and have been buying canning jars ever since. I downloaded canning information from the internet, I bought the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, I found a hard cover version of the classic "Stocking Up", and dreamed up all kinds of great things to can.

I dreamed of having a big kitchen to do it in, and I'd be moving into that big kitchen really soon. (My kitchen is tiny, and making counter space requires that I'm not doing anything else, and there's room to put the things I take off the counter somewhere else.) Oh well, it's still the same kitchen.  With lots of jars and tons of information I hadn't canned a thing. But now that my son's away for a few weeks, the kitchen seems bigger and I decided to just do it! In fact, I couldn't put it off anymore because I had purchased 18 servings of the most outrageously delicious homemade chicken soup. If I didn't can it, it would go to waste.

So in the early morning of a hot, hot day, I got underway. I had already washed the jars and lids the night before. So all I had to do was heat the soup and the jars and fill them up. I put a fan in the window of the kitchen to pull out any hot air that the stove would be creating, and a couple of hours later, I had 8 jars of pressure canned soup, and two left over to eat NOW. The temperature didn't increase one degree. I was done by 9:00 a.m.

I have to say I'm really excited about this. For those of you that have never canned, there's a really satisfying feeling about it- I've done something important to prepare and preserve good food. People have been doing this for years. I've just begun and want to can everything. What's on sale? I saw asparagus for $1.98 a pound this week at our local Yelm store, and peaches are going for the absurd price of 88 cents a pound!

By the way. There's a great canning website loaded with videos, for those who are just learning, or those who'd like more interesting recipes. The videos are very simple and clear, although a bit dry for my taste. But you'll learn it all. A great resource. Here's the link: www.canningusa.com 

 

WATER IN A PINCH

Your hot water heater holds between 30-50 gallons of water which can be used for drinking. In emergency situations, this is a valuable resource.

Check out this short video clip (1 ½ minutes) showing you how to do it. Thanks to the Washington State Emergency Management Division for this information.

How to obtain water from your hot water heater: Link here.

 PARK YOURSELF HERE FOR A LOT OF LEARNING

 

The Simply Living Smart website is by far the best resource for food storage, preparedness, and self-reliance that I have come across. In an explosion of sites that have cropped up over the past year or so, and even with some of the older rock solid ones that have been around through thick and thin, this one stands out. An ambitious effort for sure, these folks have created (or I should say evolving) a website that includes short, on-line how-to videos and articles on preparedness, food storage and food preparation, storage checklists and spreadsheets, a community forum, a blog, a newsletter, and even a children's corner. All of this is free. You just need to register. I have yet to get through it all because it continues to grow. While the links within the site sometimes don't go where they say they will, with some understanding for a work in progress, you'll be able to navigate through it quite well.

Check it out: http://simplylivingsmart.com/