[goodwithagun]

I do a lot gardening and canning which my peer group finds odd (I'm 32). I do not buy poultry and vegetable broth. I save all my veg scraps except potatoes in a bowl in the freezer. When my husband starts complaining about carrot peels falling out of the freezer, I throw the scraps in a pot with water and a hand full of herbs from the garden. After a couple of hours on very low heat, I let it cool and strain into either quart yogurt containers for the freezer or quart jars for the pressure canner. For poultry stock I save my chicken and turkey carcasses- my neighbors even save their Thanksgiving carcasses for me. The freeze great in plastic grocery bags. I add them to the veg scraps and simmer for hours. I get bone broth out of this, which is very thick, gelatinous, and super healthy. I also pressure can this. My only cost is energy to run the stove and the water I added to the scraps. Oh, and canning lids.

[bgill]

Yeah, you posted this on the gardening thread the other day. Great idea with the veg scraps. I drain the canned veggie juice for the freezer but hadn’t thought of the scraps. Mine complains about all the little bits of leftovers in the freezer so that he can’t get his treats in there. I’ve heard to add a spoon or so of vinegar to the cooking carcass to leech out more calcium. Don’t know if it’s true but if nothing else the vinegar is good for you. Heck, I grew up at granny’s knee helping her can so 32 is nothing. You’re the one of your peers who’s going to make it through any hard times be it TEOTWAWKI, unemployment or a family illness or whatever comes down the road so pat yourself on the back for knowing how to be frugal and making do.

Save your pickle juice for cleaning out the sink drain subbing it for the vinegar. Also, when cooking a tough beef roast in a crockpot, pour in a cup (or more) of pickle juice, a sliced onion, enough water to cover and lots of pepper (no salt since the pickle juice is probably salty enough). The juice helps to tenderize the meat and gives it just enough of a sumpin’ sumpin’ but it’s really not pickley. Of course, slice a cucumber into some pickle juice to make some quick table pickles. Gotta pinch pennies these days.

If you’re making jelly, save the fruit pulp and make fruit butters. I love cinnamon plum butter. Also, this summer, save your watermelon rinds (the white part) to make sweet pickled watermelon rinds - ooooh, my, good stuff!