Continuous Links in the "Food Chain"

There is something bone-deep, soul-satisfying about "putting up" one's own food. (And this is especially true when that food is locally grown, by folks one has actually had the opportunity to meet.) At the counter stemming strawberries, out on the back porch cracking walnuts, at the stove stirring jam, I feel a deep connection with my unseen female forebears, who spent a good bit of their time in this way. Although I never canned with her, I can almost hear my grandmother's voice talking about the quality of the peach crop this year. Tasting a batch of apricot jam (though jelly was her specialty), I'm sure it's my mother's voice gently suggesting that it could maybe be a little sweeter... In my grandmother's day, putting up food was a matter of survival. Less so in my mother's. Ironically, things may be swinging back -- I put my time and energy into this because, among other things, I want to make sure the people I love will have something to eat in case of unforeseen disaster. I insist that it be the best quality possible. And I need to do it as economically as feasible.

So I scout around for the freshest produce, the best deals on meat... I spend quiet, contemplative hours peeling, blanching, slicing, stirring, canning... And I open up my pantry and see, with no small sense of satisfaction, jars and jars of meat, pickles, jam, fruit, soup... Other cupboards hold dried fruits, veggies, nuts, cheese. I've even learned to bake bread in quantity in jars, putting sterilized lids on when I take them out of the oven, so they can be stored long-term on the pantry shelf. I am buying things in bulk and packing them into smaller quantities, so, though I've always tried to be pretty careful, we are wasting even less than we ever did before. And what we are eating is of even higher quality, and at a significantly lower cost, than ever before. Extremely satisfying!

And I am enjoying the continuity -- no doubt my great-grandmother canned, as my grandmother did, and so, to a lesser degree, did my mother. So taking direct responsibility for the food that will sustain my family is just the next link in the chain.

So I am at the point now where I am looking to "fill in the holes". The sense of urgency to accumulate food for our survival is waning, giving way to a determination to "round out" our food storage with whatever we luck into. So I'm cultivating relationships with farmers and produce vendors. And, this being the beginning of the season, I'm looking forward to lots of new adventures!!