Happy Indigenous Peoples Day.
Yesterday we had unexpected company for brunch. Our neighbor (27) is going elk hunting and wanted some large jars in which to freeze the stew he wants to take. I offered to can the stew for him, but he declined. He brought his delightful 3-year-old along, just in time for our traditional Sunday morning pancakes and sausage. She gladly ate my sausage, and even a pancake. She does not come up enough and it is a bit shy here in our place. She will have a baby brother about Christmas time so that will be fun.
I blanched then froze my rutabagas yesterday. I tried to cut them into one-inch squares, and ended up with 8 meals, 2 servings in each, 3.5 ounces is one serving. I used to just fill a pint bag for freezing, but I am trying to be a bit more accurate. I am looking forward to trying a root soup during the winter.
24-OZ Jars: I like to made canned dinners – beef stew, chicken corn chowder, Tuscan Bean Stew, etc., full meals in one jar. But a regular quart jar is just too much for our slowing metabolism. Menards frequently has 11% Rebate Sales. Since we went frequently to purchase the bricks for the walk, each time I also purchased some 24-ounce canning jars. I want to move to more of that size for our future use.
I think I said that I found some “fake cheese” in our grocery. It does taste very vegetable-y, it is made with pea protein, but it works. I was able to have some French Onion Soup with the “Daiya Monterey Jack Cheese”. While it does not melt very well, it still allows me to enjoy some dishes. There is no substitute for Pizza, though.
This year I am going to get a large bag of onions from CostCo and make up some more onion soup, and just regular canned onions. Canning them in ½ pints will make it easier to use for dinners.
SQUASH: I washed the dirt and junk from our squash then wiped each with a bleach/water soaked rag. Hopefully, this will allow the squash to last longer in our basement. I grew an orange cushaw and was not impressed with the flavor. It seemed a bit flat. It was very large and I must do something with the leftovers. Yesterday we had one spaghetti squash, and I covered it with spaghetti sauce and canned meatballs. The squash tasted good with the oil, s & p, but when I covered it with the sauce the squash made the dish too sweet. Hmmm. I have 6. I will need to find some other way of using the spaghetti squash. The butternuts were quite small, but we had 8 large acorns. I was able to give some to our neighbor.
LIDS: Little Sister, is there a trick to using the Tattler Lids? I’d hate to think how many lids I would need in order to have a year’s worth of food put up. I usually buy two boxes of lids every time we go to the grocery. That way I don’t run out. I store all of my empty jars with a fresh lid and ring, and have cardboard boxes with new lids on a shelf.
SPICES: I figure of all of the items I can afford to do without in a survival mode that Spices are NOT one of them. We need the spices, seasonings, etc., to keep our palate fresh.
I have two deep plastic “sweater-type” boxes with lids that I store my spices in. They are organized by first and last half of the alphabetical, with the letter of the spice on the lid so I can find them quickly. So many are in plastic jars that I don’t want to risk the plastic breaking down or letting the spice essence out. I try to purchase the glass jars whenever I can figuring they will last longer. I always buy a new one or two when I start a new bottle.
CUCUMBERS: Today I am going to try dehydrating my super-sized cucumbers and the one extreme zucchini we found. Peel, deseed, and then grate. I made some potato soup and put fresh cucumber, and lemon juice, in it and really enjoyed it. (Plus a few cannellini beans to make it thicker without dairy.) I figured that I could add the dried cucumbers to a variety of dishes for a brighter flavor in the winter. At least, I hope so.
I understand the shoes, bit. I used to be in retail sales, and wore suits and high-heeled shoes. I got rid of most of the heels and just kept a couple pair for special occasions. At my age, comfort and safety are far more important.
We fought with the wind a few days ago to cover our tomatoes. I was very frustrated! Since I put them in late I will lose hundreds of tomatoes to the cold weather. Time to see what happened to our tomatoes that we covered with plastic. Next year I will get them in much earlier and plan on protecting the small plants instead of the 5-foot tall ones. There were a lot of garden mistakes this year.
Take care and enjoy your Autumn.