Well, as for ours, it's a bit of a slow go, but today we had:
--Some corn on the cob, which was the same kind of anemic as the stalks that it grew on, but what there was of it was tasty. Just little ears this year. Some of the stalks grew but forgot/refused to produce ears, so a little disappointing. Ah, well, hoping for better results next year...
--Some green beans straight from the garden patch. They were pretty tasty, and there are still some left, so no complaints here.
The potatoes are not yet ready, but they are easily the most-anticipated crop this year, at least for me. One of the children mentioned the pumpkins--I rarely pay attention to them because they do pretty well all by themselves every year--but I will have to go check out how they are doing. Raspberry season is basically over, which is always sad, but the bushes did a great job of producing this year.
Lamenting the fact that the cord to the computer is having a problem, and thus we are unable to put pictures up currently, but hopefully we will have that figured out soon. My posting numbers have been anemic lately, but hopefully I will get back in the habit of doing new (to me) food storage/emergency preparedness things sometime soon so there will be something to post about... hope all is well with everyone, and that all of your gardens are putting out a huge harvest!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Corn on the cob would have been nice...
But if you want corn on the cob, you have to get to the farmer's market in our community earlier than we did today. We did manage to get some blueberries and peaches, though. There was also flavored honey available, and we were given a bottle of the raspberry variety. So it was a good day to buy locally--but then again, isn't it always? :)
In other food storage news, I got a call from my best source (Mom) earlier this week, and apparently there is a great sale on meat at Macey's this week. Unfortunately, we don't have a Macey's grocery store in our vicinity, so she made me an offer I didn't want to refuse--she offered to can some for me. If you live in Utah, (I don't know how widespread Macey's grocery stores are) you might want to give your local store a call and ask about their meat prices. If memory serves, beef (of some roast variety) was $1.79/lb at that point, and chicken was $1.49/lb. It is my understanding that the beef sale is over, but the chicken sale continues....
So, she's going to do/has done all the work, and we are going to pay for the meat and canning supplies. This is absolutely a great deal for us, and will increase our meat storage (at this point mostly consisting of canned chicken, and Spam) in a wonderful way. (I just realized that we do have some tuna, but that is not my favorite canned meat...) I have been using my food storage supplies in my current meal rotations, so more storage is even more appreciated.
So, a huge thanks goes out to my best source. We were talking about the meat prices, and a question came up: Why is the meat so inexpensive? This was not the frozen variety, but the fresh, boneless, skinless variety of chicken. The idea was brought up that maybe they are killing the chickens in large numbers because they can't afford to feed them. You gotta love low prices, but sometimes the reasons behind them could be worse than paying a little more...
In non-food storage news, I've been stocking up on extra school supplies at the really inexpensive prices that come along this time of year. I'm thinking if/when there is a quarantine due to a flu pandemic, a new box of crayons may raise morale a little bit when no one is allowed to go anywhere--and pens, pencils, papers, etc. are always helpful, quarantine or not.
Personally, I'm planning to use my Fred Meyer coupon from last Sunday's paper (expires today) that has canned vegetables at 3/$1.00. Limit 6, but 6 beats none. :) Just hope there are 6 cans there---procrastination is really not a pretty thing....
In other food storage news, I got a call from my best source (Mom) earlier this week, and apparently there is a great sale on meat at Macey's this week. Unfortunately, we don't have a Macey's grocery store in our vicinity, so she made me an offer I didn't want to refuse--she offered to can some for me. If you live in Utah, (I don't know how widespread Macey's grocery stores are) you might want to give your local store a call and ask about their meat prices. If memory serves, beef (of some roast variety) was $1.79/lb at that point, and chicken was $1.49/lb. It is my understanding that the beef sale is over, but the chicken sale continues....
So, she's going to do/has done all the work, and we are going to pay for the meat and canning supplies. This is absolutely a great deal for us, and will increase our meat storage (at this point mostly consisting of canned chicken, and Spam) in a wonderful way. (I just realized that we do have some tuna, but that is not my favorite canned meat...) I have been using my food storage supplies in my current meal rotations, so more storage is even more appreciated.
So, a huge thanks goes out to my best source. We were talking about the meat prices, and a question came up: Why is the meat so inexpensive? This was not the frozen variety, but the fresh, boneless, skinless variety of chicken. The idea was brought up that maybe they are killing the chickens in large numbers because they can't afford to feed them. You gotta love low prices, but sometimes the reasons behind them could be worse than paying a little more...
In non-food storage news, I've been stocking up on extra school supplies at the really inexpensive prices that come along this time of year. I'm thinking if/when there is a quarantine due to a flu pandemic, a new box of crayons may raise morale a little bit when no one is allowed to go anywhere--and pens, pencils, papers, etc. are always helpful, quarantine or not.
Personally, I'm planning to use my Fred Meyer coupon from last Sunday's paper (expires today) that has canned vegetables at 3/$1.00. Limit 6, but 6 beats none. :) Just hope there are 6 cans there---procrastination is really not a pretty thing....
Friday, August 7, 2009
A challenge, and fuel preparedness
Already mentioned this on my other blog, but there is a Food Challenge over at Preparedness Pro. Started on the 1st of this month, and runs all month long, and is basically a challenge to stop shopping for necessities for a 2 week period. Just in case you are interested, the clock's a-tickin....
We went out recently into the wilderness (alright, it was a campground, with a firepit, but it was aways away from home, and wilderness sounds so much better when you're telling a story :) and cooked an outdoor meal. It was prompted by a requirement for an organization that one of my children is participating in, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Since it was sort of short notice, I ended up going to the local national chainstore for supplies. Some of the things I learned from this experience:
--Buying campout supplies on short notice, when everyone else is out buying similar items for campouts/reunions/ insert weekend activity of your choice here is not my idea of a good time. Would definitely not want to be out trying to gather supplies in an actual emergency situation. Already knew that, but having a real-life reminder can be a really good thing...
---My husband and child planned the meal (the child was involved in the planning as part of the requirement being fulfilled) and I took the list. One of the items on the list was charcoal briquets. I spent time wandering around the store looking for charcoal in places I thought it was likely to be, or for an employee to supply me with such information, before I found someone who informed me it was in the home and garden section. If you have to wait until the last minute to purchase items, (it would be wonderful to purchase all of your emergency items in one shopping trip, but one's expenses don't always permit such a shopping trip) you would do well to know where the items are located and at least take care of that portion of the mad rush....
---Know ahead of time which kind of fuel you will be needing for heat, cooking, etc. When we got to the campout location, my husband took out some wood (left over from our last winter's wood storage) and left the charcoal in the car. I asked him why charcoal had been on the list, and he said that it was in case the cooking facilities at the campground required charcoal, and not wood. Since it was just basically a firepit, we used the wood. So know ahead of time what you will be using for your purposes, or just plan for every and anything....
*Bug spray would have been handy. The mosquitos only really seemed to be interested in me, however...
**Glad we carried in water to put the fire out.
So now we have charcoal, which we really should have had before. Need to get some more in, just for variety and options if/when it's needed. Cooking out can be fun if it's planned, so I guess it can be fun to cook out even in an emergency if we do the planning now, and not so much on short notice....
We went out recently into the wilderness (alright, it was a campground, with a firepit, but it was aways away from home, and wilderness sounds so much better when you're telling a story :) and cooked an outdoor meal. It was prompted by a requirement for an organization that one of my children is participating in, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Since it was sort of short notice, I ended up going to the local national chainstore for supplies. Some of the things I learned from this experience:
--Buying campout supplies on short notice, when everyone else is out buying similar items for campouts/reunions/ insert weekend activity of your choice here is not my idea of a good time. Would definitely not want to be out trying to gather supplies in an actual emergency situation. Already knew that, but having a real-life reminder can be a really good thing...
---My husband and child planned the meal (the child was involved in the planning as part of the requirement being fulfilled) and I took the list. One of the items on the list was charcoal briquets. I spent time wandering around the store looking for charcoal in places I thought it was likely to be, or for an employee to supply me with such information, before I found someone who informed me it was in the home and garden section. If you have to wait until the last minute to purchase items, (it would be wonderful to purchase all of your emergency items in one shopping trip, but one's expenses don't always permit such a shopping trip) you would do well to know where the items are located and at least take care of that portion of the mad rush....
---Know ahead of time which kind of fuel you will be needing for heat, cooking, etc. When we got to the campout location, my husband took out some wood (left over from our last winter's wood storage) and left the charcoal in the car. I asked him why charcoal had been on the list, and he said that it was in case the cooking facilities at the campground required charcoal, and not wood. Since it was just basically a firepit, we used the wood. So know ahead of time what you will be using for your purposes, or just plan for every and anything....
*Bug spray would have been handy. The mosquitos only really seemed to be interested in me, however...
**Glad we carried in water to put the fire out.
So now we have charcoal, which we really should have had before. Need to get some more in, just for variety and options if/when it's needed. Cooking out can be fun if it's planned, so I guess it can be fun to cook out even in an emergency if we do the planning now, and not so much on short notice....
Monday, August 3, 2009
Procrastination does not pay, or the importance of using an emergency notebook
Well, I could post about the paprika/cream of chicken soup/canned chicken recipe that I made last Tuesday, I think it was. Or I could talk about the importance of printing out /and or writing down recipes/info/tips that you find on the internet when you find them.
Oh, right. My procrastination doesn't leave me much choice, because the recipe that I made last Tuesday, I think it was, was on a blog that when I went to go find it this morning had been removed. And I don't think I ever printed it out because that recipe was posted in like June, and it was going to be there forever, right?
The blog was The Emergency Preparedness Bug, (sorry I can't link to it because it is no longer there) and the recipe was easy to make. It was more appreciated by the adults than the kids in the family. They liked it well enough, however, that we would try it a couple more times to see if it would be more appreciated with further exposure--those who have read my earlier posts may remember that rice and beans were not wildly appreciated when we first introduced them, and we eat them regularly now...
The good news is that the recipe was adapted from a Campbell's recipe that the author had linked to, so if I look hard enough I may be able to salvage something from it--I just loved the adaptation on the blog. Pictures and everything. I didn't use peppers, but I would have put the recipe in my notebook as it was posted, if I had written it down....
Ah, Preparedness Bug, I miss you. Please avoid the mistake I have made, and write and/or place printed copies of pertinent information in a notebook. If you haven't started one, I highly recommend it. You may need a written copy of whatever information you are seeking because of power outage, evacuation, or hey, someone just might close down their blog...
What a difference a week makes....
Oh, right. My procrastination doesn't leave me much choice, because the recipe that I made last Tuesday, I think it was, was on a blog that when I went to go find it this morning had been removed. And I don't think I ever printed it out because that recipe was posted in like June, and it was going to be there forever, right?
The blog was The Emergency Preparedness Bug, (sorry I can't link to it because it is no longer there) and the recipe was easy to make. It was more appreciated by the adults than the kids in the family. They liked it well enough, however, that we would try it a couple more times to see if it would be more appreciated with further exposure--those who have read my earlier posts may remember that rice and beans were not wildly appreciated when we first introduced them, and we eat them regularly now...
The good news is that the recipe was adapted from a Campbell's recipe that the author had linked to, so if I look hard enough I may be able to salvage something from it--I just loved the adaptation on the blog. Pictures and everything. I didn't use peppers, but I would have put the recipe in my notebook as it was posted, if I had written it down....
Ah, Preparedness Bug, I miss you. Please avoid the mistake I have made, and write and/or place printed copies of pertinent information in a notebook. If you haven't started one, I highly recommend it. You may need a written copy of whatever information you are seeking because of power outage, evacuation, or hey, someone just might close down their blog...
What a difference a week makes....
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