Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Makes sense.
Shoe bombs? LOL
RE: [californiadisasters] Quakes: Victims rescue victims
Thursday, November 13, 2008 10:05 PM
[Interesting opinions, of folks interested in survival, some of these posters are Firemen, Rescue, and Police people.
It is the comments on the training that most of California has had for survival training in the past few days.
The messages are open for non-members to read.
You will need to go back a few pages, as there is a bad fire at Santa Barbara and for now, that is the current event for posting. Several homes have burned, 20 or more, all within about 5 hours.
I don’t subscribe to the discussion group, as I get the bare details from the disaster group.
Check out http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/links
Please join our Discussion Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters_discussion/ for topical but extended discussions started here
LOL, I never thought of connecting it to shoe bombs, but the one I found, was for the big ones and very detailed.
So detailed that it has never shown up again.
Sorry, but some things don’t really need to be on the internet.
LOL, some recipes, really should not be tried by the average person, without training.
I am reminded of how many people will use old dynamite, even after the nitro crystals form on the outside.
Out here, you will find cases of it, in caves and mines, left when the mine closed, some sealed in bunkers and the doors were long ago pried open, to see what was hidden in them.
Bill would leave the area, when he or I found a box of them, but then he, like many of our men, had been trained by the
U.S. Army and knew what it could do.
Yes, it does make good sense, and shows how amazing the google search engine can be, when one knows how to use it.
Wish I really knew how to use it, to its full power.
Ping me please
I have forgotten what I know about the different old varieties of the tomatoes, check out Sandhill Preservation link that I sent, they should have it.
Sweet potatoes do not grow here, but they did in San Diego.
As a kid, we had them, a giant plant, it was watered by the water from the kitchen sink, where it ran out on the ground and when we wanted a mess of them for dinner, we [I] went out and lifted the vine, dug up the potatoes, tramped the ground in tight and laid the vine back over the spot.
Next time, I dug over a little bit, as I recall, maybe 2 foot and simply kept going around the outside edges of the patch.
Since this was our families first home with a real water faucet in the house [kitchen], we were not at all worried about using kitchen water on growing food.
LOL, Even here, all these years later, my bathtub drains on a huge Male Mulberry tree in the front yard and the kitchen waters a cluster of desert trees, with a pretty bloom.
When I could still use a washer, it watered a bed of bamboo.
All that is needed, is a hose connected to the drain, where it is cut and a hose connection patched in.
I don’t think that I would want to use it for food growing.
Welcome, I have added you to the ping list, which goes out, LOL, when I get the notion in my mind to send it, as this list is on going.
Please do join in and share your knowledge, posts or ideas, we are a wide variety of Freepers.
Said with a smile.
These are the recipes that we made for our church fundraiser....
Almost all of these will keep for 6-8 months in a dry cool place.
Herb Flavored Salt
1/4 c. Dried Parsley
2 TBSP Dried Basil Leaves
1 TBSP Dried Oregano Leaves
1 TBSP Paprika
1/2 TSP Dried Tyme Leaves
1 c. Salt
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend just enough to combine. Store in a air tight plastic container or Jar.
Mexican Hot Chocolate
1/3 c. Brown Sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 c. Cocoa
2 1/2 c. Powdered milk
Combine and blend ingredients in a small bowl. Store in a air tight container or Jar (I put a tag with these directions: mix 3 tbsp of hot chocolate mix, with 8 oz boiling hot water) and stir until smooth).
Banana Bread Mix
Layer in a qt jar:
1 c. Flour
1/3-1/2 c. Chopped nuts
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 c flour
1 c. dehydrated banana chips
1 c sugar
Layer the above in a qt jar. put these directions with jar: Mix the top layer of sugar with 1/3 c. butter or margarine. Add 2 eggs amd mix. Add 2 c. water to the rest of mix, mix well. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake 350 degrees 60 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Let set 5 min, remove from pan. Cool completely before slicing.
Crazy Cake Mix:
Layer in a qt jar:
2 c. Flour
2/3 c. cocoa powder
1-1/2 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 c sugar
This is called a crazy cake because you mix the cake together in a pan! Pour contants of jar into a9x13 in pan, then adding the following: 3/4 c. veg oil, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 c water. Stir together using a wire wisk, Making sure all ingredients are completely mixed together. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.
[This is a file from here]
To visit group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/home_canning/
Canning with meat
I can meat often. I have canned chili, beef and noodle, plain pork, plain
beef, chicken, and hamburger. My canner (don’t be afraid of them exploding,
the new models have been safeguarded against that!) came with instructions
on how to do meats and I follow those. If you go to this website:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/components/DJ0516section5.ht\
ml
there are instructions for how to can all kinds of meats. They seem to be
almost exactly what is in my book. When I can beef or pork I use the raw
pack. Chicken and hamburger needs to be precooked before canning. There are
recipes for chili at this website. I did the chili and beef and noodle so
long ago that I don’t remember exactly how I did it.
Canning the meat makes it extremely tender. Also it means that when you
loose your power for a week (what happened to me a year and a half ago) that
your meat won’t spoil because it thawed in the freezer. It is also great for
camping because it doesn’t need to be in the fridge! I make pulled pork
sandwiches with the pork and my husband really loves it. I make my own sauce
and use splenda to sweeten it.
Oh, when I can my meat, I take all of the extra fat and really fatty,
gristly meat and put in in separate jars and use it as dog food.
Hope this helps.
Debra
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/home_canning/message/35390
GREAT links!
Thanks Granny!
Ground or Chopped Meat
Bear, Beef, Lamb, Pork, Sausage, Veal, Venison
Procedure: Choose fresh, chilled meat. With venison, add one part
high-quality pork fat to three or four parts venison before grinding.
Use freshly made sausage, seasoned with salt and cayenne pepper
(sage may cause a bitter off-flavor).
Shape chopped meat into patties or balls or cut cased sausage into
3- to 4-inch links. Cook until lightly browned.
Ground meat may be sauteed without shaping. Remove excess fat. Fill
jars with pieces. Add boiling meat broth, tomato juice, or water,
leaving 1-inch headspace. Add 2 teaspoons of salt per quart to the
jars, if desired.
Adjust lids and process following the recommendations in Table 1
and Table 2 according to the canning method used.
Table 2. Recommended process time for Ground or Chopped Meat in
a weighted-gauge pressure canner.
Style of Pack Hot
Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Jar Size Process Time 0 - 1,000 ft Above 1,000 ft
Pints 75 min 10 lb 15 lb
Quarts 90 min 10 lb 15 lb
http://www.cruisingworld.com/article.jsp?ID=200463&typeID=394&catID=564
Canning Hamburgar Patties
PRESSURE CANNING (RAW PACK)
EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
Pressure cooker/canner with gauge or weights
Wide-mouth pint canning jars with two-piece lids
1 pound meat, fish, or shellfish meat per pint jar
MEATS:
Beef, veal, goat, pork, ham, lamb, corned beef,
hamburger, chicken, or game.
Tough, lean cuts are preferable.
METHOD:
Trim off fat and gristle. Cut meat into 1-inch chunks.
Remove skin from chicken; leave bone in. Shape
hamburger into 1/2-inch thick patties. Pack raw meat
into hot, sterilized jars, leaving one-inch headspace.
Add 1/2 tsp. Salt or 1 bouillon cube (optional). Add
no liquid. Screw on sterilized lids hand tight. Fill
canner with 3 inches fresh water. Place jars on rack
in canner. Secure cover, but leave petcock open. Heat,
letting steam escape for 10 minutes to evacuate air
from jars. Then close petcock and process for 1 hour,
15 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure. Remover cooker from
heat and allow pressure to release naturally. Cool
jars 10 minutes in cooker. Place jars on cloth away
from drafts until cool. After 24 hours, test seals by
checking that lids are concave and do not pop up and
down when pushed with finger. Remove screw bands,
label lids with contents and date, and store
indefinitely. Before using, check seal, smell
contents, and if in doubt, throw it out!
All-Purpose Ground Meat Mix
One of the easiest ways to save money on your family’s grocery
bill is by purchasing foods in bulk when they go on sale. When
ground meat goes on sale, rather than just stocking up to store
in the freezer “as is,” many cooks find it helpful to prepare meat
mixes for using later in their favorite family recipes.
By preparing this recipe for All-Purpose Ground Meat Mix, you’ll
be ready to fix any number of tasty ground meat recipes without
needing to brown the meat, onions and spices each time you
cook. Not only will this technique save you money, it saves time
too.
The following recipe is from the book Frozen Assets: How to
Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month by Deborah Taylor-Hough
(ISBN: 1891400614).
All-Purpose Ground Meat Mix (makes about 12 cups)
This is a basic ground meat mix that can be used in many
casseroles and recipes.
* 5 pounds ground meat (beef or turkey)
* 2 cups celery, chopped
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 2 cups onion, chopped
* 1 cup green pepper, diced
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
Brown meat in a large pot. Drain. Stir in celery, garlic, onion,
green pepper, salt and pepper; cover and simmer about
10 minutes until vegetables are tender but not soft. You can
use this mixture immediately during your cooking session or
freeze in two-cup portions for later use.
Suggested Uses (be creative)
Tacos: Add one package taco seasoning to two cups
All-Purpose Ground Meat Mix (follow package directions
for amount of water). Freeze. To serve: thaw and heat taco
mixture; prepare tacos as you would normally.
Taco Potatoes: Follow instructions for taco mixture (above),
but serve the mixture over baked potatoes instead of tortillas
or taco shells. Top with grated cheese, diced tomatoes, sour
cream, sliced green onions, sliced black olives and salsa.
Easy Taco Salads: Follow instructions for taco mixture; place
a layer of corn chips or tortilla chips on plate; spoon taco
mixture over chips; add layer of shredded lettuce; add diced
tomatoes, sliced green onions, sliced black olives, sour
cream and salsa.
Sloppy Joes: In a large skillet, place two cups Ground Meat
Mix, one (10 3/4 ounce) can tomato soup, two tablespoons
brown sugar, and one teaspoon prepared mustard. Stir.
Cover and simmer ten minutes. Serve ladled onto hamburger
buns.
Can also be used for: Stuffed Peppers, Chili, Spaghetti, and
Baked Ziti (further recipes can be found in the Frozen Assets
book).
Adjust lids and process following the recommendations in Table 1
and Table 2 according to the canning method used.
Table 2. Recommended process time for Ground or Chopped Meat in
a weighted-gauge pressure canner.
Style of Pack Hot
Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Jar Size Process Time 0 - 1,000 ft Above 1,000 ft
Pints 75 min 10 lb 15 lb
Quarts 90 min 10 lb 15 lb
You are welcome, felt you needed other foods than fudge.
Hope your family is doing well and are happy.
Festive Mincemeat Pie Filling
* 2 cups finely chopped suet
* 4 lbs ground beef or (4 lbs ground venison and 1 lb sausage)
* 5 qts chopped apples
* 2 lbs dark seedless raisins
* 1 lb white raisins
* 2 qts apple cider
* 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
* 2 tsp ground nutmeg
* 5 cups sugar
* 2 tbsp salt
Yield: About 7 quarts
Procedure: Cook suet and meat in water to avoid browning. Peel, core, and quarter apples.
Put meat, suet, and apples through food grinder using a medium blade. Combine all ingredients in a
large saucepan, and simmer 1 hour or until slightly thickened. Stir often. Fill jars with mixture without delay,
leaving 1-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process according to the recommendations in Table 1 or Table 2.
Table 2. Recommended process time for Festive Mincemeat Pie Filling in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.
Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack Hot
Jar Size Process Time 0 - 1,000 ft Above 1,000 ft
Quarts 90 min 10 lb 15 lb
Selecting, Preparing and Canning Meat
Strips, Cubes or Chunks of Meat
Bear, Beef, Lamb, Pork, Sausage, Veal, Venison
Procedure: Choose quality chilled meat. Remove excess fat. Soak strong-flavored
wild meats for 1 hour in brine water containing 1 tablespoon of salt per quart.
Rinse. Remove large bones.
Hot pack – Precook meat until rare by roasting, stewing, or browning in a small
amount of fat. Add 1 teaspoons of salt per quart to the jar, if desired. Fill
jars with pieces and add boiling broth, meat drippings, water, or tomato juice,
especially with wild game), leaving 1-inch headspace.
Raw pack – Add 2 teaspoons of salt per quart to the jar, if desired. Fill jars
with raw meat pieces, leaving 1-inch headspace. Do not add liquid.
Adjust lids and process following the recommendations in Table 1 or Table 2
according to the canning method used.
Table 2. Recommended process time for Strips, Cubes, or Chunks of Meat in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.
Style of Pack Hot Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Jar Size Process Time 0 - 1,000 ft Above 1,000 ft
Pints 75 min 10 lb 15 lb
Quarts 90 min 10 lb 15 lb
Goulash(Canning) Recipe #138027
Adapted from the Ball Blue Book, this is a good recipe. You may reduce it to make it for a single dinner.
4 lbs boned beef chuck roast
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/3 cup oil
6 stalks celery, cut in half
1 cup water
1/3 cup vinegar
3 bay leaves
20 peppercorns
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
3 medium onions, cut in half
4 large carrots, cut in half
2 quarts Change size or US/metric
Change to: quarts US Metric
3 hours 10 minutes 10 mins prep
Cut the beef chuck roast into 1” cubes. Combine salt, paprika and dry mustard.
Roll meat in spice mixture. Brown slowly in hot oil. Sprinkle excess spice mixture over meat.
Tie whole spices in a spice bag(cheesecloth). Add spice bag and remaining ingredients to
beef mixture. Cover; simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until almost tender. Remove spice bag and vegetables.
Pack hot meat and sauce into hot jars, leaving 1” headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two piece
caps. Process pints 1 hour, quarats 1 hour and 15 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a pressure canner.
Yield: about 4 pints or 2 quarts.
what to do with soup bones???
How meaty are they? I buy bones that have been really cleaned of the meat whenever I can.
I roast them in large high sided, uncovered pan, in a 400* oven until they are well browned.
I remove them from the oven, place in a “dutch oven” or large soup pot and cover with water
(I also deglaze the oven baking pan and add to the water that covers the bones).
I simmer them for an hour or 3 [g], Then I remove the bones, cool the broth, and refrigerate overnight.
This makes it easy to skim most all the fat the next morning, After skimming the fat,
I reheat and can it using my pressure canner following the directions in the Ball Blue Book.
Sometimes I add lots of vegetables to the broth during the simmer phase depending on
what’s available and my mood. I try to always have bottled beef broth on the shelf, it’s
nice and rich and mine is sodium free, I can season it anyway I like, I can add it to “red gravy”,
use it as a soup base, add it to stew, make extra gravy for a pot roast, etc. It adds great flavor!
If the bones are meaty, you will need to trim them, or try and pan fry a bit to brown a little or,
roast them in a slower oven, about 300* for about 45 mins. but, check on them you don’t want
to cook the meat clinging to the bone until it’s really dark and hard.
Hope that’s what you were looking for. If you were closer, I’d offer to buy some of those bones from you!
Joey
Thu, 26 Jul 2007
Note all of these canning recipes are from the files of the canning group and its sister group the Melting Pot:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/home_canning/
Crock Pot Apricot Preserves
1 pound dried apricots
1-3/4 cups sugar
3-1/2 cups water
Makes about 4 1/2 cups
In a food processor, chop the apricots finely.
Place in a 3-1/2 quart crockpot with the sugar and water and stir.
Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 hours, stirring twice, if possible.
Uncover and cook on high, stirring occasionally,
2 hours more, or until it has thickened.
Ladle into clean, hot jam jars and seal according
to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Process in a boiling water bath for 10 to 15 minutes.
Or keep refrigerated up to 3 weeks.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.