Good morning everyone! Welcome to the “Coverin’ the Bases” section of Ridin’ Out the Recession, and thank you so much for droppin’ by! We appreciate it!
Let me start off our initial feature this morning by reemphasizin’ Deb and I are in a construction oriented business and we really felt the effects of the housing market collapse firsthand. We went from a pretty much steady workflow to absolutely none, in just a matter of 3-4 months, and this in fact lasted for almost two years. We literally lived on what we had put up, and the very little income derived from the business.
We always have been pretty tight-fisted in regards to our income, but even with that being the case, Deb and I both knew immediately we needed some lifestyle changes…quick!
Simply put, if we don’t work, we don’t eat, and when you have that type of situation facing you, your priorities shift a bit. Ours did, and we began to plan and give thought to projects and their importance to us, so that we could use them in helping us while, “Ridin’ Out the Recession,” and we would basically be “coverin’ the bases!”
Starting now, I’m going to be sharing some things Deb and I have done in regards to the topic of this column. We’re no “experts,” by any means, only sharing things we’ve found that work for us, and quite frankly, our ways in many cases might not work for you, sorry.
What works for Deb and I here in Fla., obviously won’t work in many case for someone in N. Dakota, for example...though some indeed will. Using just this as an example, is but one of the reasons we’d like for this to become a spot for us to come and share ideas.
All that said, let’s get started!
In the introductory column I showed a checklist of things Deb and I considered important. Let’s take a look at the first of those this morning.
Food & Storage of Food:
You remember my earlier statement of, “If we don’t work…we don’t eat.” This remark weighed heavily on us when the economy went south, and became an area of vital importance to us.
Our youngest son, Mark, works for us, as well as a gentleman in his early sixties, Gary… and you might as well say that he’s become a part of the family as well. Without our business, they too have no income.
Our other children and their families are only a layoff away in their own careers from being unemployed as well. We took these facts very seriously, and began to take action to try and put whatever extra away we possibly could, and by doing this became halfway proficient in food storage.
Two areas we dabble pretty frequently in, are home canning, and the use of the Foodsaver Vacuum Sealer. If you guys would like to learn how to can your food, I can at least cover the basics with you and will, and in no time you’ll be pretty efficient in this process.
The Pluses of Canning:
No Refrigeration Needed:
If you have had any type of storm and lose power for several days, not a problem, food is readily available to you.
If stored in a climate controlled environment of around 68-70 degrees, in a dark area, (you need to keep it out of light), I believe it will last 4-5 years, and in all probability longer. I know for a fact we’re eating soups, stews, and peas canned in 2008…3 years ago, and they taste as if you’d canned them yesterday. That’s no joke!
This method has been used at the very least for over a hundred years, and at one point in our history was THE WAY to store food. If someone would like to research this and let us know the history of canning, I’d appreciate it! I might take a look at that myself also...kind of curious to know.
Convenience:
Here at home, Deb has come to absolutely love the convenience factor in regards to meal prep times, meal quality, and cleanup. Canning is very, very beneficial in all three of these steps.
For example we’ve been outside working all day, and time gets away from us. All of a sudden its 4:30-5:00 and we’ve just remembered we’ve not “laid out” anything for supper. No sweat, it’s covered.
Deb simply comes in, puts a pot of rice on to boil, adds a pint jar of chicken that we’ve canned to it, and opens a quart jar of canned peas. She then pops a couple pieces of cornbread we’d foodsavered out of the freezer, wraps it in a napkin and microwaves it until warm.
Tops, 20 minutes later, we’re eating chicken and rice, fresh peas and cornbread, and drinking tea! Life is good!
Very little prep time needed, as all but the rice was already cooked. The quality of the meal was great, and the cleanup was minimal. Pretty convenient in my book!
In our business as well, Mark and Gary travel from time to time, and may be gone up to a couple of weeks, and when they do they always take a few jars with them, chili, soup, stew, etc. The days that they’re really tired, and don’t want to go out to eat, they just heat it up in their room, and have a good home-cooked meal.
Stores simply as well. Can be stacked in cases, or placed on shelves. It boils down to…what works for you?
Variety of Products You May Can:
This is but one more area where canning to me stands out. I feel the variety of products that can be preserved in this fashion are virtually endless.
Using Deb and I as an example, we can peas, beans, peppers, onions, and fruits. We can preserves, and jellies.
We can straight beef, pork and chicken, and use these over, or in several dishes. Some examples are, chicken salad, chicken and dumplings, or chicken and rice (1 pint jar).
We use beef and pork the same way, how about pork and rice? We serve the beef the same as using beef tips, over rice, noodles or mashed potatoes…just add gravy! Again, for just Deb and I… 1 pint jar, it’s plenty.
Take a jar (1 pint once again) of either the beef, chicken, or pork and put in a small pot, heat with barbeque sauce, and in just a few minutes you’ll be eating some barbeque sandwiches so good, they’ll make you wanna “slap yur Momma!”
Something else we do is to heat a jar of soup, stew or chili, and serve piping hot over a cup of rice. Quick, simple, it’s very good and not a budget buster by any means!
Economical:
After you’ve weathered the initial investment, the jars, lids, rings, and the pressure cooker itself, the savings and convenience far outweigh the initial cost.
Just one example…we buy the cheapest, toughest cuts of beef or pork roasts, to can. Once you’ve pressure cooked (canned) these cuts, they’ll literally fall apart, and to us, are as good as just about any cut you’d like to “throw up against ‘em!”
I’m not sure you couldn’t take shoe leather and can it into an eatable state? I gotta’ admit though, times ain’t got that tough here at our place…yet.
We’ve sure come to love the benefits canning provides for us, and we wouldn’t have it any other way now, that’s for sure!
Minuses:
Well, I guess that bout covers the minuses…let’s move on to somethin’ else!!
Actually, when you weigh the pro’s versus the con’s, it’s almost that simple of a decision, though not quite.
Initial Cost, and Time Involved:
In my opinion I feel those two things are bout the only detriment involved in canning!
Let’s say a pressure cooker costs you today $100, and I think that’s on the high side. Then if you buy 4 cases of jars ( 9-12 bucks a case), and a couple packs of extra lids (8 bucks tops), then you’ll have another $60 bucks spent.
I’m thinking that’s about it, and if so, your initial investment is around $150-160 bucks, which isn’t that bad in my opinion. Plus the jars can be used again and again, as long as there’s no cracks in the jar, and I don’t believe we’ve experienced that yet? You just have to replace the lids after one use.
The only other drawback is your time, and in that regard, you can spend one Saturday or Sunday, and can a considerable amount. This department, time, is something you’ll have to decide for yourself!
Well, that’s about going to wrap it up for today, but I’d like to quickly say thanks to all of you for stopping by!
To all you “expert canners” out there, please feel free to comment and give points and info as often as you’d like! We need your response and knowledge to share with our readers who’d like to learn the canning techniques, in their quest to help their own family, “Ridin’ Out the Recession!”
Have a great weekend, thank you again, and God Bless you all!
Dub and Deb
