Putting food by is one of the most important aspects of country living. In season there is usually such an abundance of cheap and free food that one needs to purchase little. The important thing is to insure that you take advantage of this abundance to supply your needs when there is little or none.
Many types of food are very easy to put by as all they require is some planning to supply food for winter.
During apple season I can inexpensively buy or forage apples and store them for the winter. All they require is a cold location that does not freeze. I am still working on my supply of apples from last fall and it is now March.
Each year I put by vegetables and fruit for the winter. I tell people that I am still eating last years apples and they don't believe me. Well here is proof this is the last of my apple supply for this year. Friend George brought me a bushel of Northern Spies last October and it is March and I am just finishing the last of them.
Although the peels are somewhat shriveled this time of year you can see the flesh is just as fresh as it was in October. One of my favorite breakfasts is candied apples with bacon and pancake.
Three apples peeled and sliced.
A thickened sugar syrup. 1 Tblsp sugar, 2tblsp water, 1tblsp butter, dash of cinnamon. Boiled until thick syrup.
Yeah I have to have bacon!
Cook apples in the syrup until carmelized.
Pancake - 1 Cup Whole Wheat flour, 1/4 teas baking powder, dash of salt, 1 egg, and milk to make batter pourable.
MMMMM Good!
Each year I grow Butternut Winter Squash because I find that this variety stores very well in a cool dry location. I usually have to concentrate on using the last of them because I still have some left from the previous year when the new crop is ripening. Living near the Schoharie Valley where many vegetable crops are grown allows me to get many vegetables at low cost or free. Carrots are free for the asking after farmers are done harvesting. Potatoes, Beets, Rutabaga, and Onions are all available at reasonable prices in season and they are easy to put by as all they require is a cool dry storage location with rodent protection. I store root crops in feed bags hung from the ceiling in my cellar which is colder than most. Black Walnuts and Hickory nuts are free for anyone that takes the time to pick them up and they keep for years without any special handling other than keeping them dry.
I dry many things because dried food keeps for years. Dried food is very important consideration in rural survival because even if the power goes off or if there is some kind of natural disaster your dried food does not spoil. During the summer season when I have more money I buy extra rice, macaroni, flour, sugar, etc. I have many 1 gal glass jars that I have local restaurants save for me and by fall every year I try to have all my jars full. I like to store these on open shelves in the kitchen because they look so nice. I buy dried peas, beans, because my small garden does not yield enough for my yearly use. I store these also in the glass jugs and I find that I have a preference for some just because they look so nice sitting on the shelf. Cranberry beans, Roma beans, Scarlet Runner Beans, and Split Peas are not only delicious and nutritious but pretty sitting on the shelf.
I dry my own wild mushrooms and store them also in jugs but for those that are not so adventurous go to your Oriental food supplier and you will find many varieties of dried mushrooms at reasonable prices.
From late June until September "Chantrells" ar available for picking. They are gormet and one of my favorite foods.
I am horrified when I look at the prices of herbs in the supermarket and since most herbs are literally pernicious weeds I would not think of buying them. They are very easy to dry and I always feel good when I save a pretty container and fill it with dried herbs. An instant coffee jar when emptied and filled with herbs is worth more than the price you paid for the coffee. In fact I buy my brand of instant coffee based upon who has the nicest jar. I like to dry apples, tomatoes, onions, garlic, broccoli, leeks, carrots, and many other vegetables which is good survival food as well as excellent as additions to soups and stews. Again these are really pretty sitting on the shelf.
The freezer is also an important rural survival tool but unfortunately in order to preserve your food supply you must also own a generator to guarantee your food supply. There are many foods that are very convenient to freeze. Harvest season is a very busy time of year for me so the freezer provides temporary storage for many crops that I would prefer to "can" when I have more time. As tomatoes ripen I place them in the freezer so that I can make sauce in winter when I have more time. This is surely the easiest way to peel tomatoes as you can literally wash the peel off in warm water when they come out of the freezer. Corn is very reasonably priced in season and I usually buy a bag (52 ears) just for the freezer. I trim the ends and peel off some of the outer husk, place the ears in zip lock bags, and put them in the freezer. No blanching is necessary and in fact I used to blanch and did not like the final product as much. I have eaten corn stored like this for two years in the freezer and it was still excellent. Peppers are another crop that can be frozen easily and no blanching is necessary. Just cut them and remove the seeds place them in sealed plastic bags and freeze. Spinach freezes without blanching I just stuff as much as I can in plastic bags seal and freeze. Broccoli and string beans require blanching by thrusting them in boiling water for a couple of minutes before bagging and freezing. Of course meat is the primary thing stored in the freezer as meat that is dried just does not compare to frozen and canning meat is a difficult process as it requires pressure canning. All meat should be wrapped in both plastic and paper for long term storage. If I have bought meat at the market that I am going to freeze I place an over wrap of newspaper over the markets plastic wrap for long term storage otherwise the meat will become freezer burned. For meat that I have butchered I use ZIP lock bags with an over wrap of newspaper. Be sure you label all meat so you know whats in the package as it is not visible.
One final note on freezing for survival in case of disaster where it will be impossible to keep your freezer running you will have to cook everything in the freezer within days to preserve your food. For this reason you must have a non-electric cooking method available for survival in case of power outage. An electric stove is useless in this event. Many gas stoves have an electrically powered thermo-coupling that prevents the gas flow when there is no electricity. Some gas stoves the burners will work with no electricity but the oven has an electric igniter and thermo-coupling so it cannot be used. I have a small four burner camper stove and an outdoor wood fired barbecue which I could use in the event of a long term disaster. Some thought should be devoted to this problem if one is to be a survivor.
Canning is another major method of putting food by. In order to "can" one has to understand the acidity of foods. Tomatoes for example are relatively acidic therefore they are easy to can because the acidity inhibits the growth of bacteria. While beets, beans, carrots, cucumbers, and many others have low acidity and require pressure canning to ensure preservation. The main danger in canning is botulism which is an anaerobic bacteria that can grow inside a sealed canning jar. In years past the housewife in a home would die of botulism while the rest of the family would be unharmed. This is explained by the fact the the homemaker in a desire to safeguard her family would taste the contents of a canning jar before cooking and serving the food to the family. In the case of botulism the toxin created by the bacteria is driven off by the cooking process therefore Mom was the only one that died. There are other types of food poisonings that could result from poor canning procedures but botulism is the only one that I know of that is usually fatal. The botuloid bacteria does not flourish in an acid environment therefore much canning is accompanied by the "pickling" process in which vinegar, citrus, or ascorbic acid is added to increase the acidity of the food and suppress the growth of bacteria. All meats and low acid vegetables must be pressure canned. In pressure canning the temperature of the food is taken higher than the boiling point of water by the 15lbs of pressure inside pressure canner and this high temperature guarantees that all bacteria are killed.
About Meat:
I have raised and slaughtered many types of animals for food in my life. I have also hunted and eaten many wild animals and fish. I get really aggravated when people become sanctimonious about killing animals while feeling guilt free because they get their meat in poly wrapped packages in the super market. In truth wild animals are cleaner, healthier, and not polluted with antibiotics and hormones. Yes, I eat Bambi but I do not eat veal because of the animal cruelty that is involved in the commercial raising of veal calves. I have raised animals and slaughtered them for food. I have always become emotionally attached to the animals I have raised and there is an element of reverence in the slaughtering and eating of your own animals that most people have never experienced. If the animal rights activists really want to stop cruelty to animals I would suggest they take their activities to the kill floor of the slaughter houses.
Some of the best beef I ever ate.
It is interesting to note that I seldom have to hunt for deer as road kills are so frequent that I can keep the freezer full without having to hunt. I have never enjoyed hunting as a sport but I do hunt to supply food. I have raised chickens, rabbits, turkeys, ducks, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, geese, horses and I have slaughtered and eaten all from time to time. On the farm a non productive dairy cow is a liability, meat in the freezer is an asset. A horse that broke its leg was some of the most delicious meat I have ever eaten. We had guests to the house for dinner and they loved it never guessing it was horse and my mother never said a word.
I used to like snapping turtle soup, wild geese, and wild ducks but I have not eaten any of these in the past 20 years. Since these animals are all migratory you can not be sure of where they have been. I do not want to eat anything that has been in the Hudson River or Chesapeake Bay for example. I still like woodchuck as I feel that they are very clean animals and herbivores. I have eaten coon and possum but I do not consider them choice as they are omnivores. Wild squirrel and rabbits are low fat, nutritious, and delicious.
I love fish and since I live near the Gilboa reservoir ( New York City's Water Supply ) I am often given many types of fish. I don't have the patience to fish myself. Walleye Pike I consider to be the finest food fish that I have ever eaten. I love both Rainbow, and Brown trout as long as they were not raised on a fish farm. Fish from a fish farm do not have the delicate flavor and pink color of trout from their natural environment. Brook Trout whichare not really a trout, but a Char, is gourmet. Last year we had a 6.5 lbs Brown trout that we cooked on the Barbecue with wine, chives, fresh tarragon, and Chantrell mushrooms. I get hungry just thinking about it. Perch and Bass are also good food since they have no lateral bones and can be filleted which is the way I like most fish other than trout.
Foraging for food:
I love to forage for food and many times each year I put the pack basket on my back and head out never knowing what I will return with. I can assure you that I seldom return empty handed. I usually have some idea of what I am hunting for depending on season but often what I come back with is a surprise. Since I am not foraging for survival there are many plants that I know I could eat but my primary interest is in those things that I consider to be gourmet.
In the spring I have several wild asparagus patches that I tell no one about. Ostrich fern "Matteuccia struthiopteris" is another favorite vegetable. In pursuit of these I might find some morels "Morchella Esculanta" or collect some young dandelion greens for a salad. If I was really hard up I could pick some knot weed shoots "Polyganum Cuspidatum" but I don't really like them. Elm trees sometimes have spring fruitings of winter mushrooms "Flammulina Velutipes" which I consider gourmet. Sometimes spring rains bring on fruitings of meadow mushrooms "Agaricus compestris" on lawns and pastures. Day Lilly
"Hemericalis" shoots are excellent and can be eaten raw or lightly steamed. The roots of these are also edible. In summer strawberries, blackberries, rasberrries, elderberries, chantrels, are all available for free. Fall is harvest season and there is an abundance of free food. Fruit trees are laden with food. Some years black walnut and hickory trees produce anabundant quantity of nuts. When this happens I usually make sure I collect enough to last several years.
The meat was removed from this nut by an expert
Making Whole Wheat Bread
I make whole wheat bread weekly as I do not eat store bought bread. I am asked for my recipe but I do not actually use a recipe I just throw it together but here is how I do it. Each week I make 2 loaves and the only thing I measure is the water.
Place 1 qt of warm water in large mixing bowl.
Add 2 tablespoons sugar.
Stir in 1 package of yeast
Let sit for 20 minutes during this period you will see the yeast come alive and make bubbles. If the yeast does not become active do not continue. This is known as “proofing” the yeast and saves you from wasting ingredients if the yeast is not good.
Add 2 teaspoons salt.
Add Whole Wheat flower gradually while stirring until the mixture becomes the consistency of a thick pancake batter.
Now add “King Arthur Bread Flour” use anything else at your own risk. Start by adding a couple of cups and stir with a strong spoon in the center of the bowl. Keep stirring and adding more flower until the mix pulls away from the sides of the bowl and becomes elastic.
Turn out ingredients onto a well floured counter top and knead. I like to keep folding the edges into the center while incorporating more flour. During this step you are developing the gluten strands in the flour and after doing it a lot you develop a feel for the process. The final product will be elastic and consistent. This is a learning process and the more you do it the better you get. Bread is alive and you develop a rapport with this process, which you have to experience.
Place the dough ball bottom side up in the mixing bowl. That is with the folds from kneading down. It is not necessary to wash the bowl as the remaining flour in the bowl makes no difference. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place until the dough doubles in size. This can also be done by cold rising in the refrigerator over night.
Turn out dough on floured counter again and knead again edges into center until CO2 bubbles are broken. Now cut the dough ball into two equal pieces. Knead each one of these pieces, edges into center, while making them long and narrow. All folds will be on the bottom.
Place the dough in a greased loaf pan with the folds facing down.
Place a towel over the loaves and place in a warm place until the dough doubles in size.
Beat an egg with 2 tablespoons of water and brush tops of loaves with this “Wash”. Try not to let wash run down sides of loaves, as this will cause the loaves to stick.
Garnish the “wash” with sesame, poppy seed, onions, garlic, as you desire.
Place in preheated oven set at 350 degrees. Cooking time approximately 1 hour.
Remove from oven and turn loaves out of pans to cool.
George's 33rd Annual Party Barbecue Sauce
Through the years I have been asked what was in my barbeque sauce and I had to answer I didn’t know as I didn’t keep track just added until it tasted right. This year for the first time I measured and wrote it down.
In 2006 I did a whole pork loin I guess it was good because I didn't get to taste it
In a blender combine and liquefy
1 Large Onion
A Hand full of fresh Sage
4 dried Habanerro Peppers
2 cups water
Place in 8qt sauce pan and add
72 oz Ketchup
16 oz Lemon juice concentrate
16 oz Fresh Orange juice
Cup Sugar
Mix 2 tablespoons corn Starch
4 oz cold water
Add to sauce pan
Heat till boiling and simmer for 20 min.
Place in jars and refrigerate until use