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Quote of the Day: Pantry

October 5th, 2015

“Winter was nearly here; the foraging was over, the garden harvested, the preserving done. The pantry shelves bulged with sacks of nuts, heaps of squash, rows of potatoes, jars of dried tomatoes, peaches, and apricot, bowls of dried mushrooms, wheels of cheese, and baskets of apples. Braids of onions and garlic and strings of dried fish hung from the ceiling; bags of flour and beans, barrels of salt cured beef and salt fish, ands tone jars of sauerkraut stood on the floor. I counted over my hoard like a squirrel reckoning nuts, and felt soothed by our abundance. No matter what else happened, we would neither starve nor go hungry.”

Diana Gabaldon in Drums of Autumn (Outlander)

Picking apples
Canned applesauce
I’ve been reading the ‘Outlander’ series. This weekend I happened to be reading while canning applesauce and I read this passage. I had to smile to myself, because it’s so true!
onions in the pantry
My root cellar is filled with onions and potatoes, there’s garlic in the basement, the freezer is filled with fruit, vegetables and meat, the pantry is filled with onion braids, dried apples, maple syrup, and all manner of food tucked into jars. It’s a wonderful feeling being soothed by abundance because of the hard work you put in over the summer.

Do you manage to grow enough to preserve or just enough to eat fresh in season?

4 Comments to “Quote of the Day: Pantry”
  1. Nebraska Dave on October 5, 2015 at 10:43 am

    Susy, this year has been mostly fresh but I have preserved some tomatoes and will be harvesting potatoes and onions this week. Hopefully, next year it will be preserving more and eating garden fresh more. I would like to get on a garden fresh greens rotation through out the year and not just in the spring. It’s shaping up to be a great season next year. All the garden techniques I’ve been working on over the last four years are starting to be perfected. Now perhaps a little expansion is in order.

    Have a great preserving day.

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  2. Jill on October 5, 2015 at 2:37 pm

    Every year we manage to grow/forage more food than the year before but we are nowhere near the goal of being self sufficient. My garden was a disappointment this year–a very hot dry spring meant some things didn’t germinate. I replanted but still nothing–but with generous neighbours and family I still made the usual amount of pickles and had plenty of fresh carrots and cucumbers although my own were a failure. I will be roasting more tomatoes to freeze rather than so much salsa (didn’t eat it all last year) and we are being given some goose meat by hunters so I plan to make jerky with my mom.

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  3. Marcia on October 6, 2015 at 12:26 am

    I grow enough to put up a few things. I’ve canned 13 jars of applesauce, 12 jars of crabapple juice, frozen corn, beets and carrots.I just finished canning 10 jars of tomato sauce. I have a beautiful braid of onions in the garage and some herbs hanging there as well. I kept the garden smaller this year because we were getting married in July and were leaving for a few weeks on the honeymoon. Next yeat, I will maximize my container growing possibilities in the front yard so I’ll be able to put away more.

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  4. Kristen on October 7, 2015 at 6:28 pm

    I have tomatoes in the freezer as well as some canned. I froze applesauce and peaches, cherries and berries for crisps and smoothies.
    There are potatoes in the garage and a few shallots (my onions never do very well but I try each year). I even grew a few sweet potatoes this year as an experiment. We have a few dinner’s worth, but not enough to live on. The pantry is full of jams, pickles and corn relish. We raised our own pigs this year for the very first time so soon there will be pork in the freezer. We buy beef from my parents. It feels good to have a full freezer and pantry as cold weather approaches!

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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