TEFR: Out in the Cold

This is our new freezer.

COVID-19 and the ensuing shutdowns and shortages didn't catch us out like it did many people.

We have always tried to maintain back-up supplies of groceries and sundries (when folks were trading their firstborns for toilet paper, we had our usual 40 rolls on hand). We have shelves of home canned goods but were hoping to stock up on local produce and milk, We also planned on layer chickens this year but with the talk of possible meat shortages (and I won't even get into the duplicitousness of the meat packing industry in this regard), I picked up 6 Cornish Cross birds and planned on maybe more later.

We needed a freezer.

We found a place in the kitchen that would accommodate a small freezer and blithely set about pulling out the existing, cruddy cabinets.

That's when we discovered we were not alone in hoping to preserve summer's bounty. Nary a freezer, new or used, was to be found.

With a little rearranging, I did manage to squeeze the processed meat chickens into our fridge-top freezer and even a small amount of u-pick strawberries but soon cherries and blueberries will be ripe, to say nothing of tomatoes and herbs and beans and peas and etc. etc.

So, before we locked down the checking account completely, I bought this freezer-substitute.

As a certified tightwad, I have in the past dried food in the sun and in a closed car. Neither method worked particularly well. This inexpensive little dehydrator does a better job.

Here's some of what I've dried so far:

These will be repackaged in the right size jars with oxygen absorbers added.

Herbs, greens, celery, radishes, lavender, strawberries, apples.

Like many folks stuck at home, I too tried my hand at sourdough. My starter grew fine but the bread wasn't as good as our regular homemade loaf. I scored a pound of yeast that will last me about a year but didn't want to discard the starter.

Therefore, in the spirit of waste not, want not, and in case yeast once again becomes scarcer than hen's teeth, I dehydrated the sourdough starter. It should keep until the next pandemic (or phase 2 of this one!).

Dehydrated food can be used as is or rehydrated. It is a real space saver for those of us without cavernous pantries and the process is uncomplicated. 

I'm still hoping for a freezer but for now I'm glad our prep options didn't just dry up.

Can Do Attitude!

With no garden this year, I didn't plan on doing any canning. But then I got a great deal on some ground beef at the supermarket and decided to add it to the pantry.

Meat needs to be pressure canned. No problem. I knew exactly where the canner was as it has been nestled in a corner of the kitchen since we moved in.

I figured I needed about a dozen jelly jars; I like to do small jars of meat as we use just enough for a bit of flavor in spaghetti sauce or soups. There were some empty jars in the bedroom, but only 3 jelly jars. I knew there were canning jars in a box upstairs, behind the box with the unpacked pictures and under the broken computer monitor. That netted two more.

Think! I have dozens of small jars and I vaguely remembered finding a great place for them. Of course, in the bathroom closet under the yogurt maker.

I now had enough jars and rings, the canner, the jar lifter and tongs, funnel. What else?... Lids!

Easily found my stash of Tattler reusable lids but  I haven't used them much for pressure canning so we went looking for the metal lids. This search took both of us. Not in any kitchen drawer or cupboard, not in the canner or with the jars. Not in the atrium (our fancy name for the utility room) or in the bedroom drawers or in either of the card catalogs (every retired librarian should have a few card catalogs lying around).

A-ha! The lids were in the drawer of my treadle sewing machine.

Got the meat heated, jars washed, lids boiled. Ladeled the hamburger and some broth into the jars, sealed them, and lowered them into the hot water in the canner. Secured the lid...and realized I had no idea where the lid weight jiggler was. No jiggler = no pressure. No pressure = botulism and a painful death.

Now we're on the clock because once the canner starts to release steam, you have ten minutes to vent it before you add the weight. However, we were now getting so good at locating canning supplies that this search only took one or two minutes before we found it in the cabinet where I keep linens and cheesemaking stuff.

We now know where most of the canning items are.
And as an additional reward for all of that scramble, every jar sealed. 

Meals Before Wheels

We're eating mostly from our pantry these days (to save some money and because empty jars are lighter to move than full ones.)

At this point the shelves hold:

Tomato products: stewed, sauce, bbq sauce, catsup
Canned chicken, turkey, a bit of ham, and ground beef.
Rice, pasta in various shapes and forms.
Dried beans.
Potatoes, garlic.
Maple syrup and honey.
A few jars of blueberries.
Applesauce. Lots and lots of applesauce.
Peanut butter and
Jelly. About 43 jars of jelly.
Olive oil.
Flour, baking soda, etc.

I do have a drawer full of herbs and spices and the usual suspects (mustard, butter, popcorn etc.) in the fridge and the garden has lettuce, radishes, and weeds. The freezer contains chicken, bacon, hot dogs, and the last few of our own eggs.

I am not a great cook. I am not an inventive cook. I am an adequate cook, so

Meals will be interesting from now until the move.