Preserving the Harvest

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I save a bundle on my food budget by preserving garden or low-cost purchased produce.  Proper preservation prevents vitamin loss and spoilage.  The three basic types of food preservation are drying, canning, and freezing.  Some foods (like apples, onions, potatoes, and winter squash) can also be preserved for a few months in their fresh state in a dark, dry, cool environment (like a basement or cellar.)

Many foods can be preserved in more than one way. I keep Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving
on hand to help me decide what to do and for the best instructions available.  This is what I try to do each year:

Can green beans, apple sauce, pears, and jam.

Freeze okra, beets, corn, peaches, blueberries, pumpkin puree, shredded zucchini (for baking), and lamb’s quarter.

Dry strawberries, apples, onions, peppers, and herbs. (I don’t dry every year–it’s more of a treat for us and is hard to do in our humid Missouri climate.)

This sounds like a lot, but I only tackle one at a time, which makes it more doable.  Each produce item harvests at a slightly different time which keeps the tasks spread out.

Here are some links to past Grocery Shrink articles about preserving:

Freezing Corn

Pumpkin Puree

Lamb’s Quarter

Freezing Peaches

Applesauce

Final Thought:  Most people think of home gardening when it comes to canning and freezing food.  But there are other ways to get quantities of food to preserve.  A friend of mine volunteers at a local food pantry.  At the end of the day, they send with her what the visitors don’t take.  She takes it home and cans and preserves it.  A dear family from church has pear and apple trees in their yard and they can’t use all the fruit.  They call me every fall after they have picked to take what they can’t use.  My mother in law has also purchased large boxes of produce from Amish food auctions for preserving.  I like to buy my pumpkins from local grocery stores and farmer’s markets after Halloween.  They have lots of life left and are great for making into puree.  You also might advertise to care for gardens during the summer as people vacation.  Ask in pay for the ripe produce you harvest during the vacation.  It keeps the plants producing and reduces pests for the owner and you get fresh food for the labor.

Really, final thought:  You can also preserve fresh produce by freezing it already prepared.  We like to freeze zucchini muffins and pumpkin bread for a quick thaw and eat breakfast or for unexpected company.  You can also freeze vegetable lasagna, veggie pancakes, marinara sauce, and veggie rich meatballs.

Saving Seeds

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Quality seeds can get expensive, but if you purchase heirloom seeds you can save seeds from year to year and never buy that variety again.  Imagine how much money this saves for just a little effort!  If you’d like to save seeds from your garden vegetables, look for seed varieties that say open-pollinated or heirloom.  Avoid seeds labeled as hybrid as the seeds from these plants won’t be true to the parent plant.  When in doubt, ask before buying.

Some types of plants, squash for example,  require another plant for fertilization.   If you have more than one type of plant (say zucchinni and yellow squash), they will cross pollinate to create an unknown seed.  You can prevent this by only growing one type of these plants (there are 4 different families of squash that generally don’t cross-pollinate), building a fine net shelter for them to prevent insects from cross-pollinating, or by hand pollinating them to reduce the chance that the wrong plant will pollinate it.  If neither of these options sounds appealing, you can plan to just buy the seeds for these types of plants and save the seeds from the easier savers.

Here’s a list of seeds that are self-pollinating for easy seed saving: beans, peas, lettuce, most tomatoes, eggplant, some peppers

Seeds that might cross-contaminate if another variety is nearby:  corn, squash

You can also prevent crossing by checking out the scientific names of the plants.  Plants with the same name will cross.

You should select your most beautiful, healthiest, tastiest plant to save seeds from.  Tie a little ribbon around it, or the piece of fruit that you want to save seeds from.  Allow that fruit to become fully ripe (or a little past) before picking to make sure the seeds are mature.  There are 3 methods to saving seeds: 

1.  Allowing seeds to dry on the plant

2.  Removing seeds to dry in the air

3.  Fermentation

Want to know more?

http://www.virtualseeds.com/seedsaving.html

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/clay56.html

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/clay51.html

http://www.northerngardening.com/LSseedsavg.htm

http://www.kidsgardening.com/growingideas/projects/aug04/pg1.html

Planning a Garden

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As with anything, planning a garden is key to the success of the project.  If you know me well, you know this is backwards thinking for me.  I’m a doer, not a planner.    Details tend to slow me down.  But if planning helps me get the most from my grocery dollars then it will help me save gardening money too.

I’ve been at the kitchen table today trying to figure out many snap together garden kits I should purchase, and been making a list of seeds to buy.  This little panicky feeling came over me at the same time, wondering if all those expensive seeds would fit into the number of garden squares I could afford.  As I was doing a little research, I realized there was a mathematical way to know if it would all work out.  Make a plan!

There were so many things to think about that I soon got overwhelmed.  Then I put the steps in this order.

1.  Divide your paper into 3 columns

2. In the first column, write down the vegetables that your family enjoys most (or will use).  Cross out the ones that won’t grow in your area.

3.  On the left, star the vegetables that you would like to can, freeze, or dry for use all year.

4.  In the second column write down how much a week of that vegetable you use.  For example, we eat about 2 quarts of green beans a week. 

5.  In the third column multiply by 44 to find out how much you need to preserve for the year.  (I subtracted 8 weeks of fresh produce use from the 52 weeks of the year.)

6.  Use this chart  from the KSU extension center to know how many seeds to buy/ plants to plant.

7.  Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to design a home for all those plants.

*****************************************************************************

I found this beautiful garden plan from Heart of Wisdom.  It’s worth the click over to her blog for more planning tips.  She used a 30 day free trial of the GroVeg software to make this beautiful plan.  I just signed up for my free trial and it is a lot of fun.

Another good source for learning to plan a garden is from My Squarefoot Garden.  She uses Excel to build a visual plan and also has examples adn tips on her site for making a winning plan.

If you aren’t convinced squarefoot gardening is for you, Better Homes and Gardens has an article to help you plan any style of vegetable garden.

More Seed Starting Ideas

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I had convinced myself it was okay not to garden this year with a wee babe due on planting day, but after I found the snap together square foot garden boxes at Sam’s Club, I’m thinking again. 

I had also told myself not to bother trying to start seeds indoors again, since all previous attempts had flopped because of insufficient light.  Then I got my Family Fun Magazine in the mail.  They showed a child starting garden seeds in a plastic baseball card organizer. (If a child can do it…right?)  He filled the pockets with seed starting mix and pushed a seed in the top of each one, then used suction cups to attach it to the sunniest window.  Here’s a photo of one unfilled to help illustrate.  Since they are pressed up right against the glass, low light isn’t much of a problem anymore.

I can see two possible problems here:  1.  There are no drain holes to help prevent overwatering (but then I wouldn’t want them to drip down my window! and 2. What if the suction cups decide to let go?  Ooh, that could get messy.  I’m headed to Hobby Lobby with my coupon for card sleeves anyway.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

This blogger uses ziploc bags to start her seeds and a commenter said she attaches her clear baggies to the window with suction cups too.

I hesitate to even show you these since they are so awesome, yet I can’t find them for sale anywhere.  These containers are called, Windowherbs by Zodesign, and were designed so you could grow an entire herb garden indoors.  I wonder how lettuce would do in them during the winter?

Square Foot Gardening

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Crazy busy is all I can say!  I’m on my way to my midwife appointment which are everyother week right now and chiropractor in between.  Pretty soon I’ll be over there every week and it’s feeling like a little much.  But I have many friends who are in much worse shape than I am and I’m so blessed with a DH that can work from home on the days I go to the doctor, so childcare isn’t  a problem.  But that’s not why I popped in today.  It’s to give you my favorite links on Sqarefoot gardening!

I’ve had many lovely tips pointing me to square foot gardening for small spaces, and it is one of my favorite gardening theories.  I really recommend the new revised edition of Mel Bartholomew’s book Square Food Gardening.   It has tips in it that make the idea more doable for those of us not physically able to double dig a garden by hand.  I also found out that Sam’s Club now carries snap together square foot gardening kits at the best prices around.  I don’t have a membership, but I’ll be calling my friends that do for a tag-along trip!  Without further rambling, here are my favorite links to help inspire, plan, and execute an effective garden:

Sample Gardens with a sprinkling of how to:

http://www.homeschooling.net/blog/square-foot-gardening/carrots-really/

http://www.homeschooling.net/blog/gardening/square-foot-gardening/

http://www.homeschooling.net/blog/gardening/a-new-way-to-garden/

Building your own

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-build-your-own-square-foot-garden-in-10-easy-steps/

Buying ready made:

http://www.orcaboard.com/page/DPDL/CTGY/RB

http://www.easygardenbox.com/garden_box.asp

http://www.kareelanegardens.com/shop/page/1?shop_param

*** (best price includes shipping!) http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1170390&iid=Category|TOPSELLER|Gardening|Greenland%20Gardener%20Raised%20Bed%20Garden%20Kit

Gardens for Small Spaces

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If you have a porch, balcony, deck or patio, it’s possible to have a vegetable garden–even if you don’t have any yard space.  Our yard is so small that I grow my vegetables in flower beds.  I don’t even want to take up enough space for a square foot garden, because I want to leave as much as possible for the children to play.  Here’s a photo of my garden space:

I know many of you have even less space than I do, and it’s amazing what can be grown in containers!  Here’s are a couple if inspirational youtube videos.  The one change I would make is to use Mel Barthalowmew’s mix of 1/3 compost, 1/3 coarse vermiculite, and 1/3 peat moss instead of soil.


Another interesting small space idea is growing potatoes in a container garden!  This is something I’d really like to try.  Diane from Lovetolearn.net has great instructions here.

It’s time to start seeds indoors

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As you can imagine, a great way to save on food costs is to keep a small garden.  The Grocery Shrink Ebook has charts in it to tell you how much of each type of plant to grow to be completely self sufficient for the year.  But even just a salad garden will help.   If you are short on space, stay tuned.  We’ll talk about your options another day.

My favorite place to shop for seeds is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  All their seeds are heirloom which means you can save them from this year’s plants to grow again next year.  The company is run by a young homeschooled family, and they’ve grown the company from a small Missouri based company to stores in California and on the East Coast.  I also like to buy from our local bulk seed store,  Antoines.  They have a great selection (most are heirloom), good prices, and they weigh everything on antique balance scales.  I love it!  They are also a great resource for herbs and spices.  They have an online order form, but the best experience is to visit their store in Independence, MO.

I’m not a seed starting genious, but I have friends who are!  They all use a method similar to the step by step tutorial here.  My cousin, Rachael, has a black metal shop shelf with aquarium lights strapped to the underside of the shelves.  She makes gorgeous plants in that.   If you can start your own seeds, you’ll save a bundle, but even if you’re like me and have decided to buy plants from those more capable, you’ll still save.

I realize that I have readers from several different countries and planting zones, but if your growing season is roughly April through mid-October, then start your seeds now!

15 Minute Meals

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Note:  This post is full of links to more information.  Try right clicking on the link and selecting “open in new tab” so you can come back to the original article easily when you are ready.

Everyone has days that are packed so full you don’t have time to cook a decent meal.  The normal solution is to grab some fast food.  I’ve done it when we could afford it, but it wasn’t the healthiest alternative.  We’ve already talked about some mixes to have on hand for viable alternatives to eating out.  And there are some easy recipes that come together in about 15 minutes if you keep the right pantry ingredients on hand. 

When I’m stressed, I can usually get a main dish on the table, but sides dishes are another story.  I found some coping strategies that help me fill our table in no time. 

It helps to have a lettuce salad always prepared and ready to put on the table.  Check out this post for how to make it last:

Other fast side dishes I keep on hand are:  frozen veggies (just warm to serve), cottage cheese, home canned unsweetened applesauce, pineapple in juice, and whole wheat day old buns kept in the freezer (butter, sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesean or mozzarella and broil for 2 minutes for fast garlic bread.)

Here are some main dish pantry meals I always have on hand for a fast meal:

Spaghetti (just whole wheat pasta and jarred sauce.  Warm and serve.)

Tacos (I keep homemade taco seasoning ready to go, shredded cheese, lettuce, tortillas (in the freezer), and salsa.)  It’s just brown and season the meat, warm the tortillas throw everything on the table and eat!.)

Grilled Burritos:  When my freezer is filled with sale priced or homemade tortillas, there are lots of options!  I also keep canned refried beans on hand for emergencies, though like to make my own.  Here’s a post about how to make these yummy burritos fast.

Mackerel Patties:  Inexpensive but super healthy canned fish star in this fast dish!  There’s even a how to video at the post here.

While dinner is often the eating out monster, breakfast can be tough too.  Click here to read about how to make perpetual breakfast batters to always be ready to cook and eat on the run.

And if you are partial to Egg McMuffin Sandwiches, you’ll love the 90 second breakfast recipe here.

What to do with….

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…a  whole chicken.

When working with mom’s one of the first easy changes to make is to buy a whole chicken for things like chicken soup, casseroles, and salads instead of boneless skinless chicken breasts.  Chicken breasts average $5.99 a lb but can be found at Costco in 10 lb bags for $2 each.  And occasionally go on sale for less than that at the regular store.  I buy chicken breasts at these low prices, but cook them like a steak since they are one of our more expensive meats.

Whole chickens on the other hand can be found at Aldi every day for $.79 a lb and go on sale for $.59 a lb!  When I’m going to cut up a chicken for enchiladas, casseroles, or cold chicken salad anyway, I use the most affordable meat on the market.  A whole chicken is easy to deal with, and there are 3 different ways to cook it.  The first, boiling it, is one of my favorites because it also yields 4 quarts of yummy chicken broth to use in recipes.  If you prefer you can roast it in the oven or the slow cooker, and when adding root vegetables to the pot, you end up with a one dish meal.  In the picture above, I roasted 3 chickens at once so I could freeze the meat for fast meal solutions later.

Whole chicken with Broth

16 cups of water

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons garlic salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 onion, chopped fine (Or 1 Tablespoon onion powder)

2 ribs of celery, chopped fine (Or one teaspon celery seed)

1 whole chicken (Thawed and the gible bag removed from the inside.)

Combine all in a large stock pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 3 hours.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken to a platter to cool.  Strain the broth and set in the fridge when cool.  Usually by this point quite a bit of water has cooked out of the broth, so I add more to get back to 16 cups.  Once the broth has chilled, the fat will harden on the top and you can remove it easil if you prefer to cook with fat free broth.  Then ladle the broth into freezer jars and freeze in recipe size portions for future use.

When the chicken has cooled, gather two large bowls.  Use your fingers to separate the meat from the bones.  I put the bones, skin, and other unwanted parts in one bowl, and the meat in the other.  Then coarsely chop the meat and place 2 cup portions into freezer bags and freeze.

Roast Chicken

There are lots of different herb variations for roasting a chicken. I previously shared one of my favorites here.  (There’s also a lovely lemon rub recipe in the Slow and Savory cookbook.)  In the link above, I showed how to cook 3 chickens at once, but if you prefer to do one and make it a meal.  Also add 2 peeled whole carrots, 1.5 peeled potatoes, 2 ribs of celery cut into 1 inch pieces, and a sliced onion to the roasting pan.  Follow the same cooking instructions as in the link.

Slow Cooker Chicken

Follow the preparation instructions above, then cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. 

Update:  I boiled a chicken today that was 5.06 lbs.  I got a gallon of broth and 6 cups of cubed meat.  The meat weighed 1 lb 15 oz and the bones and skin weighed 1 lb 5 oz  which means 1 lb 12 oz of the chicken was moisture that went into the broth.  I haven’t cooked and weighed chicken breasts yet, but let’s pretend they would have the same amount of moisture loss:

5 lbs of chicken breasts at $2 a lb would cost $10 with a net result of 3 lbs 4 oz of meat and a final price of $3.08 a lb

5lb of whole chicken at $.79 a lb cost $3.95 with a net result of 1 lb 15 oz of meat and a final price of $2.03 a lb.  At $.59 a lb for the whole chicken it’s $1.52 a lb

It’s worth it to pay for the extra bones and skin (it makes a healthier broth) because the net result is still less expensive meat.  The least expensive I have seen boneless skinless chicken breasts was $1 a lb.  The price of the actual meat becomes $1.65 a lb.  It is still less expensive to buy a whole chicken at $.59 a lb, but barely so at that point.

Emergecy Meal Mixes

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Life happens. There are times when just thinking about cooking a meal is stressful.  Or the non-cooking adult has to cook or resort to fast food.  Having a few of these homemade mixes on hand can help.  When you make these mixes yourself, you can use wholesome herbs, and whole grain ingredients.  You know there’s no msg or other preservatives.  You can control the sodium, fat, and sugar content.  To make it even better, these mixes are inexpensive and fast to throw together for the times when life happens.

Handi Spaghetti

8 oz broken spaghetti noodles (brown rice or whole wheat based pasta works great.)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons parsley

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspon ground fennel (optional)

Mix these ingredients in a quart sized baggie.  To prepare bring 4 cups of tomato sauce and 3 cups of water to a boil.  Add 1 lb of browned and drained hamburger or ground turkey and the contents of the bag.  Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the noodles are tender.  While you wait, warm up some green beans, tear some lettuce into a salad, and set the table.  (Variation:  If you can your own tomatoes, you can puree 2 quarts of tomatoes in a blender until completely smooth and use instead of tomato sauce and water.)

Bread Machine Mix

4 cups of flour (half white and half wheat if desired, or all wheat)

1 teaspon salt

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon of yeast

Combine flour, sugar, and salt.  Cut in butter until very fine.  Stir in yeast. Package in a quart jar or quart sized baggie. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.  To use Place 1 3/4 cups warm water in the bread machine.  Add mix and run dough cycle.  This will make 2: 14-15 inch pizza crusts, 2 loaves of bread, one large loaf of Italian style bread, cinnamon rolls, bagels, or dinner rolls.  I like to plop this in the machine in the morning and delay the dough cycle so that the dough will be ready right at prep time for dinner.

Pizza crust:  Divide dough into 2 balls.  Roll out on prepared pans.  Let rise for 15 minutes.  Top with sauce, toppings, and cheese.  Bake at 415 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is golden on the top.

Bread:  divide dough into 2 balls, place into greased loaf pans.  Let rise Let rise until double 30 minutes-1 hour.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Dinner Rolls:  Divide dough into 24 pieces, shape into rolls.  Let rise until double 30 minutes-1 hour and Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Or divide into 2 balls, roll each ball into a circle 1/4 inch thick.  Cut each circle into 12 wedges and roll up crescent roll style.  Let rise and bake at 350 degrees fro 15-20 minutes. 

Bagels:  Divide dough into 10 pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball and poke your finger through the center to create a large hole.  Set on a floured counter to rest for 1 minutes.  Boil 2 quarts of water and 1 Tablespoon of sugar in a stock pot.  Boil each bagel for 1 minute on each side.  Drain on a dish towel.  Bush with beaten egg (optional) and sprinkle with seeds (poppy or sesame, chopped sunflower seeds, or a combination).  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Cinnamon rolls:  Divide dough into 2 balls.  Roll each ball ina rectangle 8″ x 15″.   Or about 1/4 inch thick.  Spread each with 4 oz cream cheese or butter.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup brown sugar combined with 1 teaspoon cinnamon.  Roll up making it as long as possible.  Use dental floss to cut each log into 12 pieces and place in a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Let rise for 1 hour and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown on the top.  Frost with a powdered sugar and milk drizzle if desired.

(Non-sour) French style bread:  Turn the whole piece of dough onto a well-floured (or use cornmeal) pizza slide.  Without punching it down, gently stretch it into a long loaf, tucking the edges to the underside so that the top is smooth.  Let rest for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.  Place a bakers stone on the top rack of your oven and a broiler pan on the bottom rack.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  When the oven is preheated, brush the top of the loaf with water, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese or seeds if desired.  Use a serrated knife to cut 5 slits across the top of the loaf.  Slide the loaf onto the preheated stone and quickly pour one cup of water into the broiler pan.  Shut the door immediately to trap the steam.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a nice dark crust has formed.  Transfer to a cooling rack and cool before slicing.

Skillet Lasagna

This is the recipe that started the Grocery Shrink Blog!  And you can get it here.

Fettucini Alfredo Mix

8 oz Fettucini, broken into pieces (whole grain pasta works fine)

2 T flour 
2 T powdered instant skim milk
1/2 t basil 
1 t lemon pepper
1/2 t garlic powder 
1 t salt
1/2 C parmesean cheese

Mix all in a quart bag.  To prepare.  Pour mix into a skillet with 2 cups of water and 2 cups of milk.  Stir well until all the powders are blended and noodles are well moistened.  Bring just to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until noodles are tender.  Remove from heat and allow to cool for 3-5 minutes.  Sauce will thicken as it cools.  If you like, stir in sauteed vegtables, cooked chicken cubes, turkey sausage, or shrimp.

Taco Seasoning

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
2 teaspoons garlic salt and pepper (or 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic, 1/4 teastpoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon parsley)
2 teaspoons cumin 
1 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon dried onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano

Mix together 1 pound browned and drained ground beef, 1/4 cup water and mix. Cook and stirr until hot and bubbly.

Leftover Stew Mix

 When we have leftover bits of beef, gravy, or vegetables (with cooking liquid) I put them in a large container in the freezer  and add to it as the leftovers appear.  Our container is a washed 4 lb yogurt container from Costco, but use what you have.  When 2 containers are full, I thaw out the contents put it in the slow cooker with 2 cups of tomato sauce and enough water to make it soupy and cook it all day.  The last 20-25 minutes, I add the contents of this mix for a wholesome barley beef stew.

2 Tablespoons dried mince onion

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 bay leaves

1 cup pearl barley

(Note:  pull out the bay leaves and put them in the slow cooker at the beginning.  Wait to add the rest until the end or the barley will absorb all the liquid and flavor and make a mess of your stew.)