The Hard Times Cafe
Recapping the Pantry
It takes much fore thought to have a successful pantry stockpile. Time and resources are certainly involved. We've discussed a few different ways to had to your stock pile without breaking the bank so to say. We've talked about how important it is to buy what you eat.
The golden rule of pantry keeping
1. Store what you eat.
2. Eat what you store.
3. Use it or lose it.
We've discussed how each family is different so everyone's menus will vary but now is the time if your going to change your eating habits, to do it.
I'm a list maker by nature so to make list to me is part of life. And with a large pantry is almost a must. I do a list of items I'd like with their quantity and a list of how close I am to my goal with each addition to the pantry I make. I also have a chart showing me where everything is stored with the expiration dates thus allowing me to use that which will expire soonest first.
Your list are also good to help you realize what you might need focus on most. Obviously if your just starting your going to want to make essentials priority. Having 5 jars of miracle whip and no tuna to use it with really would be unproductive. On the other hand having 5 cases of tuna and no miracle whip, well you could still do something with the tuna. Now the idea thing would be to have 3 cases of tuna and a jar of miracle whip so you have the best of both worlds. List will help you to even things out.
I cannot emphasize enough to please rotate, use what you buy and replace it. Time goes by quickly and our minds are poor memo keepers. You may think that case of soup you bought was just last summer but with as quick as time passes you could find out it 3 summers ago and expired last summer without a properly kept list, without rotation and without use of your storage goods.
The goal is to have a grocery store in your home to shop from regularly. When you go to the neighborhood warehouse (grocery store) restock your own shelves from the back to the front.
One thing I believe I've neglected to say on home storage is do not store your plastic containers containing dried goods on a concrete floor. It can seep moisture into the container from the bottom up. Always put a piece of wood between the floor and the containers.
Also as in previous post, it is so important what you store your food in. Keeping food in their original containers can be detrimental to your pantry. New plastic food grade buckets and lids are worth the investment.
Until next time at The Hard Times Cafe
The Intentional Peasant
Preparing For Your Pantry Stockpile: Part 5
Some things that need to be thought about when preparing your stockpile aren't always associated with a pantry. Many limit the thought of a pantry to "food". I guess one way to extend the thought of your pantry is to think of it as your own personal grocery store. That can help the mind to open the thought process to the needs of the entire house and homestead not just the kitchen cupboards.
Once your food portion of your pantry is well underway you might want to take into consideration such things as the following. Does your pantry have a way of sustaining the family pet(s) in hard times? Do you have adequate canning lids, extra seeds for your garden ? Do you have , personal care needs? Cleaning supplies and toilet paper? I know it can be hard enough worrying about putting up food less alone extra non food items. But some of this stuff is essential and there are ways to cut the cost, or at least spread it out over a period of time so you don't have to absorb it all at once.
Example, I try to use vinegar for 95% of my household cleaning. It is very cheap in comparison to store bought cleaners and much healthier. A gallon of white vinegar runs around $2.50. If you commit to picking up one gallon extra a month, in a 12 month period you'll have a years supply in your pantry. Borax and Washing Soda are great too. Also baking soday.
Knowing your personal care items you can plan ahead and take advantages of sales. These too in our household we try to go non conventional but many people have specific items and name brands they like. There is a blogger on here that does the "grocery game" and list the deals you can get at CVS and Walgreens (I believe that's the name of the stores). Her blog is Mama to 6~The Large Family Logistics http://www.homesteadblogger.com/mamato6/99168
Also along the same lines is a web site that has is about the "grocery game" and they have several testimonials and how too's. I came across it some time ago looking for other people wanting to share "pantry" photos. Though its not stuff I stock up on, many do and it can be an enormous savings!!! It is just kind of fun to read about. http://www.terismessageboard.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12 If you search the web site you can find the photos, they help put a fire under you.
Don't forget medications, synthetic or herbal. Now is the time to learn new skills, for many like myself it includes more of a holistic approach.
Also don't forget how to books. Great reference for new skills.
Until next time at The Hard Times Cafe
The Intentional Peasant
PANTRY AIDS
I forgot to list this book in "recommended books" I posted yesterday. Its called ROOT CELLARING.
Its a fascinating book with some really great ideas from cold storage. I pasted the publishers description of the book below and a link to amazon. Again, by pasting a link I am not endorsing a particular seller, just wanting to make it convenient for anyone who wants to read more about the book
Product Description
Anyone can learn to store fruits and vegetables safely and naturally with a cool, dark space (even a closet!) and the step-by-step advice in this book.
From the Back Cover
Root cellaring, as many people remember but only a few people still practice, is a way of using the earth's naturally cool, stable temperature to store perishable fruits and vegetables. Root cellaring, as Mike and Nancy Bubel explain here, is a no-cost, simple, low-technology, energy-saving way to keep the harvest fresh all year long.
In Root Cellaring, the Bubels tell how to successfully use this natural storage approach. It's the first book devoted entirely to the subject, and it covers the subject with a thoroughness that makes it the only book you'll ever need on root cellaring.
Root Cellaring will tell you:
* How to choose vegetable and fruit varieties that will store best
* Specific individual storage requirements for nearly 100 home garden crops
* How to use root cellars in the country, in the city, and in any environment
* How to build root cellars, indoors and out, big and small, plain and fancy
* Case histories -- reports on the root cellaring techniques and experiences of many households all over North America
Root cellaring need not be strictly a country concept. Though it's often thought of as an adjunct to a large garden, a root cellar can in fact considerably stretch the resources of a small garden, making it easy to grow late succession crops for storage instead of many rows for canning and freezing. Best of all, root cellars can easily fit anywhere. Not everyone can live in the country, but everyone can benefit from natural cold storage.
http://www.amazon.com/Root-Cellaring-Natural-Storage-Vegetables/dp/0882667033/ref=sr_1_42?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211830450&sr=8-42
RECOMMENDED READING FOR YOUR PANTRY AND HOMESTEAD
A few recommended books for your pantry and homestead. Some of these are older books but priceless resources for doing much and often doing much on little.
Please note: by placing a link I AM NOT endorsing any seller. I just wanted to make it as simple as possible for anyone interested in seeing what these books are about.
The Have More Plan: Ed and Carolyn Robinson
Back to Basics: Readers Digest
Living More With Less
More with Less Cook Book
Country Side Magazine
(A note on Country Side Mag) CountrySide is a reader written mag. People doing the same thing as you and I write in and share their knowledge with others. Country Side use to be full of stories of people who made it to the other side of the side walk without having much of a "grub stake". We have been a subscriber to CountrySide sense the late 1990's. At that time we ordered all of the past issues they had available. A few years later Countryside changed editors and their magazine changed with it. Though it is still reader written and holds some valuable information it resembles more Mother Earth News (no offense intended to any Mother Earth Subscribers). So is there value in the current issues? Yes. But if you can obtain any older issues, especially from the 90's I would highly recommend it. They actually do have some availible in their past issue section from 1998-2002 that I would recommend. Any with JD Belanger as the editor our worth the purchase.
There are many other good resources out there but these are a few of our favorites and give the most bang for the buck.
The Intentional Peasant
HOW MUCH FOOD TO STORE
What and how much of it to store is not a one size fits all. However there are some genetic guidelines to follow in helping prepare for your storage. First, again:
1. Store what you eat.
2. Eat what you store.
3 Use it or lose it.
Second I just want to encourage every lady that doesn't already cook from scratch to please contemplate the benefits of it especially when it comes to in home storage. Boxed or premade convenience items are very limited in their nutritional value, they store poorly for long periods of time, they take large amounts of room and huge amounts of money. One of the first things back in the 90's that made me interested in cooking from scratch was economics. It didn't take me long to see the many other benefits, but economics was a big thing in the beginning.
If you did some price comparisons between a store bought pancake mix and a homemade one, box scalloped potatoes verses homemade, homemade pizza, pretzels, biscuits, bread, pies, cakes, casseroles, homemade cereals, granola even buying an oatmeal you have to cook for a minute verses one you have to pour hot water over, you would be amazed the amount of money you saved, the taste improvement and the nutritional improvement. Most people that use box items have a hard time transferring because of ease and basically lack of confidence in their own ability. Confidence builds with trial and error.
We live in a society that has made us accustom to everything NOW! But if you are a box cook, I encourage you to try some cooking from scratch. We still have our " convenience foods". There are days when I don't plan ahead or I am without an idea for a meal. Our convenience foods consist of having flour tortilla shells on hand and a can of refried beans to make a burrito. Or one of my son's favorite meals is what we call potato tacos. I boil potatoes and onions. Drain them and smash by hand. Then I put them in a warm flour shell with cheese and taco sauce (must be ortego taco sauce). I also will through together breakfast burritos for a fast meal. I keep cheddar cheese on hand for homemade pizzas or grilled cheese. Baked potatoes are a good low maintenance quick food. I'll cook up a bird one day and use it for lunch meat for a however long it will last. Egg salad sandwiches. Canned chili beans for a quick pot of chili. Of course, don't forget the easiest conveniience food, lefts overs. Those are some things that we consider convenience food yet have few ingredients, no additives or preservatives or coloring, (except for maybe the can beans and condiments). They all have long shelf lives (except left overs) and are storage friendly.
Lets start with a few quantities and yes, it will seem overwhelming if you have never seen a figure for the recommended one year storage plan. This is per person (adult male) and of course is only a recommendation taken from the U.S. Department of agriculture, U.S. Required Daily Allowance and other U.S. government publications which establish average yearly consumption levels of most foods for the average adult male. This is a simplified formula. Keep in mind, if your looking at this raw food list and lbs and you typically buy boxed or frozen ready to cook items, or eat out a lot, you'd never believe the quantity recommended however, if you are cooking all the time from scratch and as an example, have developed a personal knowledge of how much wheat/flour it takes to make a loaf of bread, well then it becomes much more believable.
This is an over all view. I will put a later post in on breaking it down more specifically per item.
But at this point general item, quantity (either lbs or servings) for 1 male adults
GRAIN : WHEAT, FLOURS, BEANS OTHER WHOLE GRAINS 700 LB
POWDERED MILK, DAIRY PRODUCTS, EGGS 200 LB
(of course they give powder on this sense fresh is hard to store)
SWEETENERS~HONEY, SURGAR, SYRUP 100 LBS
CANNED AND DRIED FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND SOUPS 2,750 SERVINGS
MEAT AND SEAFOODS 700 SERVINGS
PLEASURE FOODS: SNACKS, BEVERAGES, SWEETS AND TREATS 2000 SERVINGS
FATS/OILS 75 LBS
Obviously take your adult number in you home and multiply it by total amount in each group. If you have younger children you can decrease somewhat but be warned if you have teens in your home you need to increase the adult portion somewhat, yes even for girl teens.
Serving size of items are on the back of most canned goods and most serving size of things are 1/4-1/2 cup.
This is really a good thing to see as it can help you establish how you are doing on your pantry storage. It helps you determine where you are at and how far you have to go.
Until next time at The Hard Times Cafe
The Intentional Peasant
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