Quote of the Day: Pantry
“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)
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!
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?
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Bring Them Inside
It’s starting to get cold in the evenings here in Maine, the lower areas were said to be 32 the other morning. The benefit of living on a south facing slope is that it was 45 up here on the hill. That’s a considerable difference! Event though it’s not getting that cold here, it’s still time to bring in all the tropicals. Usually I take this time to repot and prune them all, cleaning them up a bit to make them look nicer indoors. For more on where I got these plants and what varieties they are see this blog post.
I have a lot of edible tropical plants: avocados, bananas, guava, mango, papaya, citrus, etc. They all live outside in the hottest part of the garden in the summer and they live in the warmest spot in the house during the winter. Most of them are only a year old, but they’re all dwarf varieties that should start producing fruit next year or the year after. I have a few citrus trees that are older and are currently loaded with fruit.
The banana plant had a few pups that needed to be cut off and repotted. I gave one to a friend, I haven’t decided if I want to keep the rest or find them new homes. I’m pretty excited about this plant, I think it might produce bananas soon. We had a banana plant in our front yard when I was young (we lived in Colombia, S.A.) and watching it produce bananas was such an amazing thing. I can’t wait to see it happen again!
Do you have any edible houseplants?
For more info on growing edible houseplants I highly recommend the book: Growing Tasty Tropical Plants in Any Home, Anywhere
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So Long
I’m constantly trying to get rid of things and not acquire more. With moving we definitely trimmed down, but then with chickens and other farm things we acquired a few things. As my lifestyle changes I try to get rid of things I used to use and no longer do. I’m constantly downsizing and trimming down. Thankfully, I really notice that I have very few things I don’t use on a regular basis. As I was cleaning out the root cellar this week I came across tons of old canning jars.
I have some of my own, that came from my grandma and the previous owners left a bunch that they didn’t want. The result is that I probably have 75 or 100 old canning jars. I used to use them for canning, but I don’t do much canning any more. There are a few I’ll keep, mainly the ones form my grandma, but I’m going to get rid of them.
I’ve been trying to decide what to do with them, I could probably sell them for a few dollars a piece. The Goodwill probably isn’t the best spot for them, I’d love them to go to places that they’ll be loved and appreciated. There are so many old, interesting things in the garage I was thinking about setting up at Etsy store to list them all. I have a few really neat vintage lanterns and other really neat things. Now I’m just trying to decide if I want to deal with the responsibility of an Etsy store or if I can find a local place to sell everything to.
How often do you go through things to reduce the level of stuff you have in your home & garage?
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Savoring Rhubarb
It’s rhubarb season here in Maine and probably in other parts of the country as well. Rhubarb is one of those vegetables that people seem to love or hate. I happen to love it, the tart/sweet taste, the pink color, the interesting flavor, the plants; I love everything about it.
I have a few rhubarb plants in the garden, two different varieties. I’d love to get a few more as well to compare the plants and the flavors.
Since it’s rhubarb season I’ve been making all things rhubarb to make the most of this lovely vegetable. I’ve made: rhubarb ketchup (which is fantastic on meatloaf), rhubarb BBQ sauce, rhubarb/apple jam, shrub, syrup, and I’m going to make pickled rhubarb and a few more this week.
The rhubarb shrub I made is so pretty and it’s really refreshing. I’ve been mixing it with sparkling water for a refreshing afternoon drink. You can find the recipe over on Serious Eats. I’ll definitely be making a few more batches of this!
Last Wednesday I loaded up a big batch of rhubarb, a few cooking ingredients, and headed over to a friend’s house. We spent the morning making all sorts of delicious things featuring rhubarb. It’s always fun to spend your time preserving with a friend. Not only do you get to chat while you work, you don’t end up with mass quantities of everything. I love only having one or two jars of each thing in the pantry, there are only two of us after all.
The rhubarb BBQ is FANTASTIC. I love that it doesn’t have any ketchup in it, which is perfect for any of you that can’t tolerate nightshade plants. The flavor is amazing and I can only imagine it will get better and better as it ages. I’m definitely making another batch of this delicious goodness!
This year I also started some seed for perpetual rhubarb, which allows for harvesting all summer long. The plants are just tiny seedlings right now, I’ll keep you posted on how they do throughout the summer and next year. I would love to have a little bit of rhubarb all summer long instead of just one big glut in the spring.
Rhubarb, do you love it or hate it? What’s your favorite way to enjoy it?
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Finally
I mentioned a few months ago that we purchased new living room furniture. Our old pieces are old, and falling apart. After searching and waiting for a sale, we ordered furniture back at the beginning of January. We waited, and waited, and they finally called to schedule a delivery.
Unfortunately the snowbanks were so high there was no way a big truck was going to make it up our driveway, let alone be able to turn around at the top. So I delayed the delivery for a month hoping the snow would be gone and mud season would be over.
The snow melted just in time, but the driveway was super muddy. Thankfully, the truck made it up without much trouble and our furniture was delivered. The cats are already camped out on it, so I guess it’s cat approved.
Anything exciting happening in your household this week?
