Garden Huckleberry Time

The black raspberries are almost done and now the garden huckleberries are starting to ripen. The early ones I threw in the berry mixes I use for bumbleberry spread. Today I got about a cup and a half and put them into the solar dehydrator. I'll use them like raisins or currents over the winter.

Some seed catalogs call these ground huckleberries. They are of the tomato plant family. I got my first seeds from Baker Seeds, a Missouri company. They didn't do well for me. I didn't plant any last spring. But late last summer I noticed a volunteer garden huckleberry in my lettuce patch, seeded there from the compost I fertilized it with. In September I picked the handful of berries it produced because they were larger than the berries I had gotten in my first planting.

In the spring I crumbled the dried berries and got out enough seeds to start about twenty-four plants. I've got them in three different locations. The ones in my front garden have turned out the smallest, but I'm still getting some berries. The others have done very well and I'll have berries for several weeks.

Preserving Food Without Heating the House

Well, 20 mm of rain in the rain gauge this morning, but no real break in the heat -- and it's supposed to be hot all through the week (with possibly more rain on Thursday). The rain barrels are full again -- it's how I've been keeping my kitchen garden (lettuce, tomatoes, basil, cukes, celery leaf, broccoli) going.

I've be religiously watering the main garden on the odd dates of the week (we can water only every other day) with city water. So with the heat I've been getting harvests: green beans, snap peas, black raspberries, greens, herbs. How to keep up with preserving it without superheating the house?

I had a couple of cool mornings with a good cross breeze so I did do some canning early in the morning (all done by 8 am!). Two batches each morning with 10 or 15 minute boil times; and I could use the preheated water to heat the jars for the second batch. One morning I canned pineapple and fruit salad; the second morning I canned black raspberry syrup and black raspberry butter.

The clear, hot days are a boon for the solar dehydrator: basil, oregano, garlic chives, yarrow, lavender, soup greens, celery leaves. I've been converting all my leftover fruit spreads (chiefly bumbleberry: mixed berries with rhubarb pulp) to fruit leather.

I froze some snap peas for stir fries while my second planting gets going and refrigerator pickled a quart of them. The excess green beans went into a fermentation pickle jar this morning. I froze some excess black raspberries (along with other berries just starting to come along: yellow strawberries, ground huckleberries, and red raspberries) for future bumbleberry spread (and possibly future fruit leather). One jar of black raspberry vinegar is steeping now and I just started a jar of blackberry liquor.

Fruit Leather Weather

The days are long, the sun is warm -- and we've been have several sunny days in a row! It's fruit leather weather!

But what fruit is harvestable now -- other than rhubarb and strawberries -- in southern Ontario? Well, I'm using fruit that I harvested last year, put into fruit spreads -- and didn't use this winter. Now it's time to use up the odds and ends of the preserving shelves...

If the spread is chunky, I whirl it in the blender. Otherwise it goes straight on the silicon baking sheets (you can use parchment paper too) in the solar dryer trays. After a day or day and a half, I carefully lift the 70 percent or more dry leathery sheet off the silicon and flip it over to finish drying (the underside is the dampest part at this point).

In two days, maybe three, of sunny weather, I have fruit leather. I cut it in 3-4 inch strips and roll it up in wax paper, then stuff it cans or jars.

Solar Food Dehydrating in a Humid Climate

[This post will also be published in the next issue of Greenzine, the official magazine of Transition Town Peterborough.]

Peterborough, Ontario does not have a desert climate; we're not likely to get one even with extreme climate change. So how does one dry food for storage using only the energy of the sun? With a keen eye on the weather forecast and a solar food dehydrator designed to function even if the humidity is 70 or 80 percent!

Sue Robishaw in Minnesota designed such a dehydrator – four feet by twelve feet! I didn't have room for such an installation so I adapted its principles for a humid climate solar dehydrator using the two glass panels from a storm door that I also use for my cold frame. I used cedar fence boards in the construction and made two units. I can easily move them from winter storage to any of several good drying locations in my yard.

The dehydrator works by forcing air to continuously move over the items to be dried. Outer glass captures the sunlight which warms the heat sink (black metal) resting on the drying trays; a shiny metal bottom reflects the heat up into the drying trays as well. The unit is roughly square and the drying trays are long rectangles; these are easier to handle than a large square tray. There is an inlet for air to enter the bottom front of the unit and an outlet for the air to exit the back top. There must also be a gap between the main body of the drying tray and the metal bottom. Using corrugated roofing tin provides such a gap, as do side bars on the bottom of the trays that rest on a flat metal surface such as aluminum flashing. I put detailed construction directions in an Instructable.

Any edible green can be dried in this dehydrator: I've successfully dried dandelion, garlic chives, herb leaves, lamb's quarters, spinach, and chard. Tender leaves work best; remove any ribs (such as in chard) to compost, use in a stir-fry, or preserve separately. Layer the leaves one leaf deep; feel free to combine different leaves on the tray (for a soup mix). If you start the drying early in the morning and there is a slight breeze with humidity less than 70%, you could have dried greens by sunset. I've gotten crumbly dry greens in as little as six hours. The leaves should be dry enough to crackle before putting them away in air-tight jars and storing in a cool, dark place. If you pulverize the leaves into a powder, it will take a lot to fill a jar. Use in any soup or stew during the winter for a hefty dose of vitamin A and minerals.

Herbs will dry to a nice dark green (not a brownish-green) because the heat sink keeps out the direct sunlight. For parsley, remove the heavier stalks and place the leaf bunches on the screen close together.
You can leave mint leaves on stems for ease of handling, but strip the leaves off to pack away. Sage is a “dry” leaf and will dry quickly. Garlic chives preserve their flavour as they dry; regular chives do not. Generally leave herb leaves on their stalks and strip them off the dried stems to pack away. It is best to fill a tray with one herb only (unless you're doing a “herbal blend”), as drying times will vary and it can be tedious to separate them for storage.

I've had success with fruit leathers and tomatoes, but they can take two or three days to dry. Be sure you're entering a fair weather spell if you want to solar dry these! Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook by Mary T. Bell has good notes on what things you should pretreat (usually by blanching) before drying. Dry It--You'll Like It! by Gen MacManiman is another good source book for recipes and food ideas.

February Review for "Anyway" Project

Domestic Infrastructure - these are the realities of home life, including making your home work better with less, getting organized, dealing with domestic life, etc...

• start planning the garden (ordering seeds, etc): inventoried seeds, some old beans went into the soup pot, and I ordered some new varieties to try
  
• convert toilet to low-flush mechanism: not done yet
  

Household Economy: Financial goals, making ends meet, saving, barter etc...

• selling off a Les Paul guitar that hubby doesn't use much (ad posted): still here!
  
• eating down the stores through February to reduce outside purchases (challenge): a few more things off the priority use-up list; spent less than $100 on purchased food!

Resource Consumption : in which we use less of stuff, and strive to live in a way that has an actual future.

• thermal pot cooking: all soups, stews, yogurt making, and rice cooking done in this
  
• walking for shopping and volunteer work (use car as little as possible): lots of walking!
• I kept the art room closed up with the floor vent covered when I wasn't using it

Cottage Industry and Subsistence:: The things we do that prevent us from needing to buy things, and the things we produce that go out into the world and provide for others. Not everyone will do both, but it is worth encouraging.

• "put up" granola for the summer: used up squash likely to go bad before the butternuts do and a half dozen pints are on my preserve shelf
  
• make hot sauce from canned and stored food on hand: did this with some friends and it was a lot of fun
  
• start making custom-sized socks: first pair done and "my pattern" written up
  
• starting next year's Christmas presents by using up my re-discovered yarn stash with a new knitting book I got: no projects started
  

Family and Community: Pretty much what it sounds like. How do we enable those to take the place of collapsing infrastructure?

• co-learning with a celiac neighbor how to make polenta (an economical gluten-free "fast food"!): between weather and health issues for both of us, never got to it
  
• began planning to build an outdoor oven with neighbors: never got to it
  

Outside Work: Finding a balance, doing good work, serving the larger community as much as we can, within our need to make a living.

• volunteer work with Peterborough Greenup's Urban Forest project (GIS mapping and data analysis): did a set of maps and reports for them
  

Time and Happiness: Those things without which there's really no point.

• Nordic walking to enjoy whatever sunshine we have this month and get fresh air: also did some Nordic skiing and snowshoeing with a friend
  
• fiction reading (second-hand or borrowed books): more time devoted to art than to reading!
  
• continue with art journal: also joined the Milliande Art Community for Women while putting together a few journals; have participated in one art swap
  

Week Eight: Eating Down the Pantry

Food eaten:
• leftover lentil soup
• leftover curried veg soup
• beef stew with local grass-fed beef, local veg, home-canned stocks (beef, tomato, and vegetable)
• beef with broccoli with more of the grass-fed beef and rice from last week's stir fry session
• stir-fried veg with shrimp and more rice

I really only cooked three things this whole week for us! We ate everything up with no waste.

I did spend some money on groceries: stock up on milk, sugar, bread, and shrimp and I got lots of remaindered produce: broccoli, tangerines, kiwi, celery as well as some root basics at the farmers market: organic mushrooms, parsnip, carrots, rutabaga, green pepper. Total spent: $25.29.

Now we'll heading into the two week stretch before we go away for nearly a month, so eating down the refrigerator becomes important!

My First Pair of Knitted Socks

This is my first pair of hand-knit socks. I loved the colour way, even though the yarn is acrylic. The right one fits better than the left -- but that's to be expected for a first pair!

I adapted a pattern for toe-up-socks, using the Magic Cast-on by Judy Decker for the toe and a Plain Heel from The Sock Knitter's Workshop by Ewa Jostes and Stephanie van der Linden. I like the Magic Cast-on because I can make a less pointed toe (which fits my squarish toes better!). I like the Plain Heel because it is for a high instep and a wide heel, which I have. It also looks stronger than the more usual short-heels (which fit low insteps fine, but would be tight on me.

The cuff is K2P2 rib, with larger needles in the upper cuff to give a "larger" fit. I still have problems with the cast-off being too tight. But on the next pair I'll be adding a quarter more stitches in the last rib row to give the elasticity I need.

After the socks were done, I spent the time to transcribe the techniques and stitch counts I used into a 3 page pattern for myself -- better than carrying around a book and two print-outs! Now my sock knitting can truly travel.

I'm already on the first cuff of the next pair of socks!

Week Seven: Eating Down the Pantry

Food eaten:
• pulled pork with frozen roast and sauce compounded of preserved odds'n'ends on home-made rolls
• restaurant leftovers extended with pulled pork, shrimp, and lots of veg
• lentil soup (from mix) with tomato stock, stored carrots, dried tomatoes and red peppers
• curried veg soup with squash, broccoli stems, zucchini, tomato stock, garlic sauce, quinoa, dried red peppers

I bought some flax seed and remaindered produce, spending a total of $4.27 for the week!

Week Six: Eating Down the Pantry

Food eaten:
• remainder of adobe chicken in tostados and a soup using a number of home-preserved items: corn, veg and tomato stocks, squash, carrots.
• last of the fall apples and some canned fruit preserves in a fruit crisp
• last of the fall carrots in carrot salad and soups.
• pasta with home-canned sauce, frozen turkey sausage, fresh veg

This week was stock-up on a few items: makings for yogurt, brown rice, alfalfa seeds for sprouting; and I used a half-price voucher at a local butcher for some meat. Total spent: $37.82.
I really expect to spend a lot less next week.

The Kenmore is Dead - Long Live the Whirlpool

Back in January our front-loading washing machine stopped spinning out all the water it should from our laundry loads. Hubby took apart things and found some stuff in drain but its removal didn't improve things.

We finally got a repairman in this week. His verdict: the tub casing was broken (and pieces of it had been showing up in our laundry!) and it would cost $400 - $450 to fix. The Kenmore had more or less begun a course of self-destruction in January. After hearing that the machine was eight to nine years old, he recommended we get a new machine. I asked what kind, he said "Whirlpool."

Hubby looked through the papers and flyers we had and searched on the Internet. A store about twenty minutes away was having a scratch-and-dent sale with no sales tax. We decided to check it out. We remembered the trouble we had getting the Kenmore down into the basement and took measurements of the doorway -- we had 26 inches of clearance if we took the door off at the top of the stairs.

We got to the store and all the machines we saw we 26 1/4 inches or more in their narrowest dimension. We didn't see the scratch-and-dent model on the floor; probably sold out. We told the salesman about our size constraints and he took us into the warehouse where there was a row of scratch-and-dent washers, all Whirlpools! Even better, they measured 24 inches at their narrowest. They were smaller than the machine we had, but we were doing maybe two loads a week. Another astounding thing was that the machine used less than 160 Kw a year, figuring that you are doing eight loads a week!

Needless to say we got the machine. It even fit in the back of our CRV. Back home, hubby finished dismantling the old machine. We'll reuse what parts we can and take the rest to the municipal recycling depot for such things.

Getting it down into the cellar was another issue, but the next morning I called my son at work and he agreed to come by after work to help get it down into the basement. He showed up at 5:30 and had even borrowed a hand-truck with his boss's blessing. We had it down and sitting on its pallet (to keep it off the floor -- high enough that even the flood we had in 2004 didn't touch the first machine) in twenty minutes.

The new machine has maybe two-thirds the capacity of the old one. I'm back to separating darks from lights...

Week Five: Eating Down the Pantry

We thrived so well on this last month that we're continuing it this month!

Food eaten:
• adobe chicken with stored potatoes, adobe sauce to be used up, frozen local chicken
• rest of the chili in quesidillas one night and over rice another night
• beef curry (grass-fed beef, canned tomato-curry sauce, various fresh veg on hand) with flat bread from artisan dough
• fruit bars with preserves, stored flour and oatmeal
• pasta with mixed veg, canned tomato sauce, stored pasta, frozen sausage

Stocking up on coffee accounted for most of the $16.11 we spent this week.

Making Winter Magic Hot Sauce

The snow was like magic as it graced the trees and road banks. It was magic I was able to get out of the driveway without shovelling it. Vroom, front-wheel drive and new tires does it again. I had a bag of ingredients and some jars and I was going to Greg and Mary's to have lunch and make hot sauce. My street, at least, was plowed. They thought theirs was, but it wasn't, but I got to their house all right and parked on a side street.

Homemade soup, homemade bread, homemade fruit crisp, and then we started throwing things in a pot to make winter magic: hot sauce. I had a pint of tropical fruit cocktail (mangoes, pineapple, and lime slices in a ultra-light syrup), Greg cut up a fresh pineapple, Mary and I chopped up a couple of carrots. I had them taste-test a high-heat skinny red pepper and a fat fire-roasted chipolote. One of each went into the sauce. Then a couple of cloves of garlic, two-thirds of a cup of homemade tomato paste, about 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger, and a dollop of date syrup. We had to have a little more sour, so a tablespoon or so of white balsamic vinegar went in too.

We let it simmer for a half hour or so, until the carrot coins were soft. The smell that wafted into the kitchen as we lifted the lid to stir was full of warmth. Taste tests affirmed we had the right amount of heat. Then we set it outside to cool enough to whirl in the blender. We figured we had enough for 4 half-pint jars and 1 quarter pint. Actually it turned out we had enough for 5 half-pints and the quarter pint. We added two more tablespoons of the white balsamic vinegar to assure the mixture was acidic enough to preserve with a boiling-water bath. But the taste was not sour at all.

I should have brought my jar lifter, but we were able to improvise with tongs. We pasteurized the jars while the pureed sauce was heating again to a boil. Into the jars and thence into the boiling water bath for 15 minutes. The tongs worked to take the jars out and we listened in delight as the lids all sealed with satisfying pops.

The plow had come while we cooking, but the magic hadn't left: no car in front of me and the CRV just drove through the plow-line and kept going down the snowy street and air full of fluffy snowflakes .

February List for "Anyway" Project

Domestic Infrastructure - these are the realities of home life, including making your home work better with less, getting organized, dealing with domestic life, etc...

• start planning the garden (ordering seeds, etc)
• convert toilet to low-flush mechanism
  

Household Economy: Financial goals, making ends meet, saving, barter etc...

• selling off a Les Paul guitar that hubby doesn't use much (ad posted)
  
• eating down the stores through February to reduce outside purchases (challenge)

Resource Consumption : in which we use less of stuff, and strive to live in a way that has an actual future.

• thermal pot cooking
  
• walking for shopping and volunteer work (use car as little as possible)
  

Cottage Industry and Subsistence:: The things we do that prevent us from needing to buy things, and the things we produce that go out into the world and provide for others. Not everyone will do both, but it is worth encouraging.

• "put up" granola for the summer
• make hot sauce from canned and stored food on hand
  
• start making custom-sized socks
• starting next year's Christmas presents by using up my re-discovered yarn stash with a new knitting book I got
  

Family and Community: Pretty much what it sounds like. How do we enable those to take the place of collapsing infrastructure?

• co-learning with a celiac neighbor how to make polenta (an economical gluten-free "fast food"!)
• began planning to build an outdoor oven with neighbors
  

Outside Work: Finding a balance, doing good work, serving the larger community as much as we can, within our need to make a living.

• volunteer work with Peterborough Greenup's Urban Forest project (GIS mapping and data analysis)
  

Time and Happiness: Those things without which there's really no point.

• Nordic walking to enjoy whatever sunshine we have this month and get fresh air
  
• fiction reading (second-hand or borrowed books)
• continue with art journal

How I Did "Anyway" in January

Domestic Infrastructure - these are the realities of home life, including making your home work better with less, getting organized, dealing with domestic life, etc...

• finishing the plastic on the crawl space insulation - I'm not doing it, hubby is -- and it's dependent on weather at this point Cold weather overtook us and we didn't really get a thaw this month.
  
• sealing up the cellar foundation Only a small amount of work done on this.
  
• sealing up windows in the two storage areas off the kitchen Nothing done
  
• de-clutter and organize art and craft storage Completed and a much more workable space now because of of it.
  
• curtains on the windows of one room for sound-proofing and heat retention Done.
  

Household Economy: Financial goals, making ends meet, saving, barter etc...

• selling off a Les Paul guitar that hubby doesn't use much (ad posted) Still not sold.
  
• eating down the stores through January to reduce outside purchases (challenge) Reduced our outside spending to under $100 -- and that included some stock-up! Also decluttered the pantry and organized "oldest first" use.
  
• set up budget for our next travel vacation The budget is set and the money is being saved so we'll have all funds available before we go so we won't be "spending ahead" via credit card. We'll still use the card, but funds will be in the chequing account to cover it.
  

Resource Consumption : in which we use less of stuff, and strive to live in a way that has an actual future.

• thermal pot cooking Have been using it for soups, curry, stew, rice -- sometimes twice a day!
  
• walking for shopping and volunteer work (use car as little as possible) I've been dressing for the weather and walking is no problem. I also got a lighter, more erogonomic one strap pack which is great to use.
  

Cottage Industry and Subsistence:: The things we do that prevent us from needing to buy things, and the things we produce that go out into the world and provide for others. Not everyone will do both, but it is worth encouraging.

• designing reusable Christmas tags from photos I took of Williamsburg wreaths Done
  
• learning to make custom-sized socks Did the reading and measuring, but have yet to start a pair.
  
• starting next year's Christmas presents by using up my re-discovered yarn stash with a new knitting book I got I've knit a couple of things for myself, but other things are planned.
  

Family and Community: Pretty much what it sounds like. How do we enable those to take the place of collapsing infrastructure?

• co-learning with a celiac neighbor how to make polenta (an economical gluten-free "fast food"!) Nothing done
  
• begin planning to build an outdoor oven with neighbors Nothing done
  

Outside Work: Finding a balance, doing good work, serving the larger community as much as we can, within our need to make a living.

• volunteer work with Peterborough Greenup's Urban Forest project (GIS mapping and data analysis) --> explore using iTree software for them It looks like we'll be able to do a lot with iTree.
  

Time and Happiness: Those things without which there's really no point.

• Nordic walking to enjoy whatever sunshine we have this month and get fresh air Lots of walking and we've had enough good snow that I could also do Nordic skiing this year.
  
• fiction reading (second-hand or borrowed books) Delightful to read to a book of short stories a friend wrote and gave me for Christmas.
  
• making digital photo collages of our year's travels for our scrapbook Got caught up from past trips
  
• start an art journal Began it!
  

Week Four: Eating Down the Pantry

We had a last kick at a great dollar sale at one of our local grocers, so some money went for stock-up of Astro yogurt, frozen fish, oatmeal, soy milk, and bread. We also got some fresh stuff: regular milk, produce, ginger root, discounted wheat tortillas, and tea. I spent $34.30 for the week. Our total spent for the month was $99.87. So $100 to our travel savings for our next trip in March!

I finally got to the falafel and I'm glad I did: they were very tasty with some chutney and yogurt on tortillas.

Food eaten:
• chili with stored beans, salsas, stock, and home-canned chili meat
• oatmeal-fruit bars with canned fruit spread
• chili pie with made chili, pepper jack cheese, and cornbread topping from stored mix
• fruit crisp with canned fruit sauce and stored apples
• pasta with mixed veg, frozen turkey sausage, home-canned sauce
• frozen shepherd's pie
• pizza with home-canned sauce, artisan dough, mixed veg
• falafel from stored mix with stored chutney

The Siren Song of Seed Sites

So I visited one located in Manitoba because it is almost February and I thought I'd check out a few heritage varieties...

Heritage Harvest Seed has a plethora of heritage bean varieties: bush and pole, green and dried. It's wonderful reading the historical descriptions. I decided to get a long season pole bean for green beans and old variety of pinto beans. They also have a variety of leaf celery that is supposed to dry well and seems to be more practical for me to grow.

Now I've really got to do a thorough inventory of what I have on hand before I get any more!

Week Three: Eating Down the Pantry

We had a good food week -- sufficient variety and used a few more things that had to go.

Food eaten:
• remainder of lentil soup
• one frozen portion of lasagna
• canned pumpkin in pumpkin custard and pumpkin waffles
• vegetable soup with stored squash, dried red pepper, dried greens, frozen leek greens, dried zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, canned tomato stock
• mixed-bean soup with ham stock, sausage from fridge, stored potatoes, carrots, and sweet potato, roasted red pepper spread, left-over rice, home-made hot sauce, fresh parsley growing on the window sill
• Algerian flat bread with hummus
• beef and broccoli in black bean sauce over rice: local grass-fed beef, local green pepper, broccoli, on-hand black bean sauce, stored rice
• sweet-and-sour pork over rice: frozen pork, cooked rice, fresh pineapple, vegetable odds-and-ends

The $1 sale was still on at a local grocery store, so a few more things got stocked up: soy milk, crackers for travel. I also used a half-price voucher at Almost Perfect for some hummus mix (great for travel!) and frozen asparagus and sweet potato fries. All told we spent $18.59 for groceries.

Week Two: Eating Down the Pantry

We finished sorting out the pantry: consolidated food items from the metal shelves to the wooden shelves (which, of course, had more space because of the clean-out last week), got rid of a few things, and stored like with like so things are easier to find. The double row of plastic storage has been reduced to one; a container of cloth went to its more appropriate place in the sewing/art room.

Food eaten:

• remainder of lentil soup
• began eating venison summer sausage
• one frozen portion of lasagna
• pizza with homemade sauce (tomato & roasted red pepper) and crust, venison sausage, mushrooms, peppers, cheese
• shepherd's pie: grass-fed beef burger, stored potatoes and carrots, frozen peas, canned cream corn
• homemade artisan bread
• vegetable soup with stored squash, home-canned tomato stock and veg stock, dried greens, dried zucchini, dried red peppers, quinoa, home-made hot sauce
  
• home-canned stew with frozen peas

There was a great $1 sale at one of our local food stores, so a few items that we like to keep a stock of were bought: canned tuna and salmon, canned corn, macaroni, bread and wieners for the freezer. Another store had my favorite yogurt on special, so I bought 3 containers of that. I can make my own, but it's not as yummy. We also got more frozen fish to last us through the winter. Of course the new stuff has been stored "behind" the older stuff. With the other usual dairy and fresh produce, total spent: $35.91

Week One: Eating Down the Pantry

My husband and I went through the bank of shelves in the pantry that is four feet high and eight feet wide. He moved stuff out to the kitchen table one shelf at a time and cleaned the shelf while I sorted. It took us a couple of hours but such satisfaction when it was done!

I was surprised how little there was that had to go: a couple of items past their expiry dates and a couple of pest-infested containers. I moved all of the pasta out of bags and boxes to sturdier glass, heavy-duty plastic, and metal containers. We've not seen any mice in the pantry this year (though a couple died in our trap under the kitchen sink), but this should protect some stuff that was pretty vulnerable otherwise. I consolidated a few packages of things. I also wrote on the kitchen white board things that are a priority to use up.

Food this week that used up some things:

• lasagna: I had the cook-before-use lasagna noodles so I made a big lasagna with tofu, cheese, grass-fed beef, dried veg, and -- of course-- three pints of homemade tomato sauce. We had two meals of it this week and one lunch for me; two containers for two more meals went in the freezer.
• corn-tomato soup: I had two lunches out of this using a corn chowder mix I had on hand with some left-over stewed tomatoes
• lentil soup: I had some mix I bagged up a couple of Christmases ago as well as some dry sausage and more dried veg. With this years tomato stock we got a very hearty and nourishing soup out of it. We have one more evening meal and couple of lunches left.

Groceries actually purchased this week: milk, half-and-half (I use it in making yogurt), organic mushrooms, red and green peppers, zucchini. Total spent: $11.53 The milk and mushrooms should last us two weeks.

Eating Down the Pantry in January Challenge

I've decided to join Angela Barton's January pantry challenge. I have the impetus of it being a good excuse to clear out usefully overstocked aspects of my pantry (three cans of cocoa??) and the need to free up some cash for car maintenace on my fixed income.

Also, in my case, my pantry extends into my cellar where I have nearly 300 jars (most a pint or less) of preserves from this year's harvest season. A lot of it came from my garden or in-season and/or local sources.

The only things I should need to buy this month:

• pre-made sandwich bread for my husband (I prefer homemade for myself)
• milk (mostly for my husband; I did stock up on soy and I have almonds to make my own almond milk)
  
• yogurt -- unless I can figure out how to make it as cheap or cheaper than a brand that I found I can digest
  
• coffee (for my husband; I'll use more sparingly the decaf I have and drink more herbal and green tea)
• onions (I'm running low on the 10 lb bag I bought in the early fall plus what I got from my garden)
• frozen peas (we'll be doing more stews with grass-fed beef from the freezer)
• lunch meat for my husband

I'll be blogging about interesting discoveries in pantry contents and what I did with them, new recipes and/or uses for things, and actual week-by-week food purchases.