The Joys of Early Summer Produce

12:20 pm on a beautiful early summer day. As I was rinsing off cherry tomatoes (from the farmers market -- ours have not yet begun to bear), it occurred to me how fortunate I am to live in the Central Valley of California, where spring -- and the fresh produce that comes with it -- comes early. There is a small colander of freshly rinsed early cherries, along with a large bunch of grapes, draining in the sink. The grapes are imported, and the cherries are by no means as nice as the bings that will come later in the season, but still, they are to be enjoyed for the sake of variety, and as harbingers of even lovelier things to come. Fortunate to live in the Central Valley, indeed.

The pressure canner is chattering away, full of pints of pork (tri-tip, purchased for $.99 / pound at a local market). Unlike the tomatoes, cherries and grapes which we will enjoy fresh over the next few days, these are destined for our food storage. Some of the ladies at church think I'm crazy (or maybe overachieving) to actually can meat. But these are uncertain times indeed, and I find great peace of mind in the sight of those bottles of pure protein, put into a stasis of sorts, against a time of need.

We have also been accumulating a variety of other things -- homemade jams (very easy to make), home-canned tomato sauce and pickles, and various other staples, either home-canned or purchased already preserved, or dehydrated (just replaced my old, blocky Excalibur with a sleek new Nesco) . It is very satisfying to see things adding up so quickly. It has been a lot of work, but definitely worth it.

And there are other benefits to all of this. We're eating even better now, and will continue to in the future, than we did before. Because of food sensitivities, I've always prepared most of what we eat myself. But lately I've begun preserving a wider variety of things, which, of course, expands what we're eating (and storing). The icing on the cake is the dramatic impact on our grocery bill -- we're spending at least 30% less than we did before, even while making significant (and rapid) progress on accumulating items for our food storage. Part of this is because I've learned better places to shop (from the food vendors' stalls to discount grocery outlets). But buying in bulk, then preserving a good portion (either by drying or canning) packs the double punch of saving money now and adding to our stock for the future.

Another benefit, the significance of which cannot be overstated, is that we always have something high quality and interesting on hand to eat, at a moment's notice. So we almost never resort to fast food. It's hard to put a dollar value on that, but it's certainly a plus, and is in turn leaving us even more able to accumulate things for our food storage.

Equally positive is the impact on my ability to be creative in the kitchen. The benefits of this are evident from what I store and how I store it (Carrot Cake Jam, anyone?!) through how I put a meal -- or snack -- together. Having a wider variety of things around has freed me up to experiment a little more, combining things I probably wouldn't have otherwise, or making things (like cherry ice cream) for which I might not otherwise have ingredients on hand.

Finally, it's lovely to be able to hand someone a jar of homemade jam or pickles. It's a little thing, but it can count for a lot in the currency of human relationships.

But I realized today I that been guilty of an inadvertent slight, involving a jar of the aforementioned jam. I have lately been frequenting the stall of a local fruit and vegetable seller. (I try to split my produce patronage between his stand, the local strawberry farmer and the farmers market, supplemented with a few things from Costco.) I recently left a jar of "jalea de fresas" (strawberry jam -- frequenting this stand gives me a good chance to improve my Spanish) with the man who works for the owner of the stand, requesting that he pass it along. But I have not shared anything with the man himself, with whom I bargain for produce every week. So, next time I go, I will take a jar of "jalea" for him. That should help repay the debt a bit.

5/11/09

I was able to set this right today. I bought some overripe strawberries from the fruit vendor, and gave him a bottle of jam for him to pass along to his hired hand. I feel better about that -- especially when I learned that the fruit vendor sold me the berries at a loss. But he'd probably end up tossing them otherwise, and I can usually help him find homes for at least a couple of cases -- four, today. (A lot of strawberry jam will be brought into the world in the next couple of days!!) Still, I'll make it a point to pass something along whenever it feels right.