A Fall Harvest Update

                                             Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey.



Search thine own heart. 
What paineth thee
In others, in thyself may be;
All dust is frail, all flesh is weak;
Be thou the true man thou dost seek.
J. G. WHITTIER.


Usually around that time, I start making a list of items I need to replenish the pantry for the Winter. I like to have a fully stocked pantry so I will not have to brace the snow or cold going shopping. Winter time is the time to burrow. Or at least, a time I like to burrow. All I plan on doing is crocheting and writing. I keep saying that, but somehow it never quite works out that way.

When I stocked my pantry, I never knew how well it would turn out. The whole point was to save money on food by buying it in bulk, on sale and by dehydrating items. I also stocked up on over the counter medicines, vitamins, paper supplies and cleaning materials. It has saved me so much time.

I barely have been going shopping and when I do it's for small items that we use everyday like eggs, milk and salad. I have begun buying vegan plant based meats and I was pleasantly surprised on how inexpensive they were. I was afraid that the amount we were saving from the pantry usage, would counteract with the cost of the vegan meats. Maybe the small cost involved here had more to do with the fact that there is only the two of us. Majority of the vegan meats were two serving sizes or had 4 piece counts per package.

Either way, I feel like the pantry and the dehydrator has been a real success. All the jars filled with veggies will last a long time, far longer than what I believed. The dehydrated tomatoes, I plan on grinding into a powder in my food processor to use as tomato paste. Another tip I learned from a fellow YouTuber.

Now the only question I have is whether I should dehydrate again in the Summer or perhaps do a small amount of canning? Maybe even canning some fish?  I am not sure if I should expand my pantry with these things or not. That is my next project to see how much more I should delve into food preservation or just stick with what I have been doing.

No matter what I decide to do, I am enjoying this process tremendously and sharing it with my children. I could see that my son was eyeing that dehydrator. Perhaps it was the dehydrated diced apples that he loved so much? Hmm, now if I could find a place with a small yard or balcony where I could grow some veggies, too?

Have a blessed day everyone