The comment that I get most often is “wow you are busy!” Often this comment comes with a tinge of pity, like why would you have so many children? Why would you farm? Why would you raise animals? Why would you cook from scratch, sew, knit, preserve your own food, etc, etc. But I am finding there is a satisfaction that comes from living a full, blessed life and it is nourishing in a way I never would have thought.
This week started a week ago when we defrosted our freezer. Then there was a trip to Ferndale Market to stock up on ground turkey for the winter. Then I picked up my 1/4 beef from a local meat processor. Then our annual large order of blueberries was in, so add that to the freezer. And yes I am still farming, and raising children but I also want to make sure we have good food. In addition to all the other things I do I think good food is one of the most important. It is literally a building block to health and hence life.
So I do try to cook and preserve as much as possible. But working that in a full life can be really hard. Over the years I have found some things that make it easier, for example don’t preserve the stuff your family won’t eat and focus on the things they really like. So here’s my wish list.
36 pints blueberries frozen–done
20 quarts strawberries–not quite but season is over.
50 pints salsa–I don’t can tomatoes because it is easy to find good quality canned tomatoes but a good salsa-pricelss!
50 quarts freezer tomato sauce–ditto on the above comment but we’ll see if I have room in the freezer
10 quarts sauerkraut
20 quarts nectarines frozen for smoothies
So yah it is pretty pared down. Each year I like to try some new things I am thinking I might make some dilly beans or try freezing some zucchini, we’ll see.
If you need help planning your pantry here is a post I found really helpful. Happy living.