Things are Coming Together

I've worked very hard for the past couple of months, and now we're really enjoying the benefits!! In addition to being able to throw together dinner in a flash after work, one of my goals was to be able to pick up a few fresh (preferably locally grown) things and put together a nice meal. Today, I picked up a couple of bunches of Swiss chard at the farmer's market, as well as some overripe strawberries (for jam) from a local fruit vendor. I had in mind steaming the greens, and serving them tossed with some bacon. Then I remembered that I had a couple of jars of ham in the fridge, which I put there because they didn't bubble enthusiastically like the others did when I took them out of the canner. Put them into cold storage, just to be on the safe side, and want to use them sooner than later... So, instead of having to thaw bacon, and fry it crisp, and crumble it, I can just steam the greens and add the ham. Add to that the salad that I made last night, along with the leftover garlic mashed potatoes, and dinner's ready. Lovely!!

(We've just put in a garden, and one day, I'll be bringing things in from my own backyard, as well as bringing things home from the local produce vendors and the farmer's market. We're both really looking forward to that!!)

The ladies at the Cooperative Extension today weren't too sure about my raw-packed meat. But they finally agreed that, if I followed correct procedures, any "bad bugs" should pretty much be done in. However, in their opinion, shelf life could be an issue. This is because raw-packed meat doesn't make much juice, so you end up with a lot of headspace (and "naked" meat sticking up into it). I'm planning to continually be using and replacing (as well as adding to) my supply of canned meat (and beans), so I'm not terribly worried about this. I prefer raw-packing because the meat doesn't get cooked into mush. The idea of cooking meat, then cooking it again under pressure, just seems to me a waste of time and energy -- and food value. So, except for what I'm canning for my dogs (if it's anything with bones), I think I'll continue to raw pack. (A lot more meat fits in a jar, if it's cooked & pulled off the bone, and they won't care if it's been cooked twice.) From all the research I've done, raw packing is safe if done correctly. And why did I go to all the trouble to invest in a pressure canner, and learn how to use it, if not to be able to can whatever I want to, in the way I believe will best preserve the quality of the food?! With something like this, you have to learn all you can, go through the process with appropriate care, and then know that you've done your best, so the chances of something untoward happening are pretty small. Not impossible, maybe, but pretty small. (Come to think of it, that applies to pretty much everything in life!)

Still, it would really have been nice to have my grandmother (who pressure canned salmon, among other things) at my elbow while I've been learning to do this, but that wasn't possible. So I did the next best thing -- read everything I could get my hands on, then jumped in, with appropriate caution. You can't let fear hold you back, or you get stuck. (There's another life principle, and one I'm grateful to my husband for helping me learn!!)

And the upshot of all of this is that I now have a pantry full of all kinds of interesting things, which I've created and assembled while trimming our grocery bill by 30%. And we never run out to grab something quick because there's "nothing in the house" -- I can bring home a few things (or grab something out of the fridge), open a jar or two, and have a meal on the table in minutes flat!