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| LOC: Home Canned Goods, Vermont, 1939. |
There has been a great change in the way homemakers manage their kitchens. It used to be that they would grow much of their own food in the garden. They would preserve this food and store it in a pantry or root cellar. As time has passed, many have forgotten these necessary skills. The supermarkets carry ready-made meals, frozen and canned goods and all kinds of treats and snacks. Many rely on the local store for their daily food instead of looking to the pantry or what has been stored away for the family's nourishment.
There have even been homes where there is nothing in the refrigerator and very little in the cabinets because the family is in the habit of eating out at restaurants and convenience stores for every meal. It became a way of life for them. Yet there are some homemakers who are looking to the past and trying to regain these old skills of managing a household and working hard in the kitchen.
The way things have been, in the world around us, these last few years, has made many of us realize that those carefree days of eating out and living in the moment are no longer sustainable. We have to be prepared. We need to keep a good supply of nourishing food in the house. We need to stock up the pantry.
One way to do this, if one is not in the habit of gardening or canning one's own produce, is to buy a supply of canned fruits and vegetables when they are on sale at the market. In my house I also want to keep canisters of oats, bags of brown sugar (for baking), and other baking supplies.
Many of us realized the importance of stocking up during the pandemic. The lesson of that event, when there were shortages in the stores and difficulty in going out, should not be forgotten. This is the time of year when we need to prepare for the coming winter and the possibility of hard times.
We need to have a good supply of a variety of nourishing food to last several months. This takes money and a great deal of planning and effort. If we do not have very much money to spare, try to at least get a few extra things each week. We need basic items, basic ingredients, so we can easily make healthy meals for little cost. Now is not the time to try out recipes with expensive ingredients. We need to spend our money wisely and make it last.
This is what I am working on over the coming weeks. Even though it is still summer, I know a cold and harsh winter will be here soon. I need to get busy making lists of all the things I need to fill up the pantry. Supplies have gotten very low around here. I need to find good prices and start getting ready for the months ahead. We must not only think of today or this month. A homemaker needs a long-term plan to see that her family has food on the table in good times and bad. This is a necessary work. We do our part, combined with prayers for our daily bread. When we work together with the Lord, we feel so very blessed and content with His provision.
Blessings
Mrs. White
From the Archives -
Old Fashioned Thrift in Hard Times - A New England Winter on a Small Income.
A Restful Retreat - The Privacy of Home Life.
Old Fashioned Home life - Summer Days with Small Children.
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For happiness and cheer in the kitchen:
Mrs. White's old fashioned cookbook focuses on serving meals and setting the table in a humble home.
"Serving in the Kitchen: Cookbook with Recipes, Advice, and Encouragement for the Christian Home"
152 pages, paperback
10 comments:
This is such a timely and wise post, Mrs. White.
I have been led,through prayer, to inventory our food preps and fill in any low areas. In addition, the household items we use and medical supplies are to be assessed, also. I have calculated usage per month of each item and am shooting for nine months of every item we use. We have a plentiful food supply and plan on sharing, should times become hard or there is a shortage, with family and neighbors.
Winter will arrive before we know it. The birds are behaving rather oddly here and are indicating a hard winter in our area.
Thank you, so much, for all of your wonderful posts.
Wonderful encouragement!
Last week I learned how to pressure can, and I have a schedule to fill up the pantry with shelf-stable meals (I already have 3 months of frozen food).
We have planned ahead ever since the pandemic. Thanks for reminding all your readers how important this is, Mrs. White.
Blessings!
Your post gives good advice. I have been canning for about 40 years or more. Fortunately I am lucky to have plenty of garden space, but if I didn't, there are usually farmer's markets in most towns to get fresh produce at reasonable costs. Buying items on sale that are always liked by the family is also good advice. When there's a sale on items I always use I will stock up as my budget allows - things like pasta, canned soups for casseroles, paper products, baking supplies, tuna, flour, sugar etc.
When peaches and pears are available I try to can up lots of jars of these fruits for winter use. Besides canning, one could also freeze many fruits and veggies. I sometimes get fresh fruits from friends who have plenty to share, like apples or cherries, and I will trade something I can give or do for them for the fruit. Old time homemaking skills are still needed. Those of us who are older need to teach the younger girls some of these skills!
I am a big proponent of stocking up for a rainy day! My retired husband has created a food forest on our property over the last 10 years and we are now reaping the benefits of fruit /berries/ grapes and a large garden. Most of my days are spent canning and preserving.I continue to stock up on canned goods and freeze and dehydrate. Like you Mrs. White it is a blessing to have things on hand and to share with others.
My regular Saturday visits to Amish country have encouraged me to start canning my own vegetables.. Talking with one of the ladies last we, she told me her husband had given her a small pressure canner from Walmart and that I might consider getting one of those to start out my canning journey. I love canned green beans and can't wait to get started!
Good advice. I keep my cupboards supplied with non perishable food. I don't can anymore - used to live where fresh fruit and vegetables were available. But I do keep canned goods, and other necessities. Also I like to bake and freeze for convience and having someting ready if company comes unexpected or I just want a muffin with a cup of coffee with a book.
So much momey is wasted on Fast Food or eating out. We don't do it often. However for our 63 Anniversary we had a delicious dinner out!
My Grandmother always had a well stocked 'pantry', shelves of bottled fruit and pickles. It is important to have standbys.
Yes, it's so important to be wise on this. The Lord has been dealing with me too to make sure and have those basics, just even in the now, processed foods have so much salt and such in them. It's good to have things like steel cut oats that will last a long, long time and we could eat that if things got really hard. I read of one single mother, she could not afford much. So she just purchased oatmeal little by little and stashed it all under her bed for food. I collect canned goods too, dried beans and lentils as well. White rice is a good forever food too. Don't forget seasonings, you can get dried onions and garlic powder too. It's also important to freeze grains and legumes first to kill any strange little things in it. Then let it dry well before storing. Bay leaves are good to keep with things to keep little critters away.
I loved this, it's so good to read this reminder here. I would love to learn to can produce, I have a dehydrator, the most basic, more inexpensive model from Walmart and it serves me well, but it's just taking the time to do that little thing! *big smile* I would like to do canning too, maybe one day soon I will learn.
I appreciate the blog here, it's so nice to read here.
Blessings! ~Amelia, My Forest Cathedral blog
I am so thrilled to read this post about preserving and preparing for the future. It has spurred me to get myself back in gear again. I used to preserve a lot of my own food before I got sick a few years ago. Now that I am well on the mend again and starting to feel almost normal, I find myself wanting to do the things I used to do. I have been finding it very hard to keep up with the housework because of lower energy levels. I am struggling finding a new routine that allows me to get things done and not be so worn out I spend the next day in bed. I still have some physical limitations with a recent bout of broken ribs from an outdoor excursion that didn’t go as planned on the 4th of July. LOL. Movement and breathing this week have been so much better than the last 2 weeks but I find myself a bit stir crazy with resting in bed, heating pads several times a day, ice packs a few other times and just generally not being able to do what I want to do.
I am trying to spend my “bed” time doing productive things, like planning meals, making a list of staples I already have on hand, what I need to can for the winter, new things I want to try. I did my grocery delivery today and ordered some extra milk and a yogurt with live cultures just to try my hand at making homemade yogurt in my instant pot. We will see how it goes. I’ve never made yogurt before. Today I cooked a huge pot of navy beans and the left over ham bone (still quite a bit of meat on the bone) that I pulled out of the freezer from Christmas dinner. Half of the ham and beans will go home with my daughter this afternoon… I have a couple of servings for my husband and put 4 small servings for me in the freezer for quick easy lunches in the future.
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