In the fresh produce drawer of the fridges (kitchen and garage) we are down to half a head of cabbage, 3 pounds of carrots, 3 medium onions, a bunch of heads of garlic from the garden, 1 Roma tomato, 2 avocados, 1 orange, and 3 green apples, plus 3 bananas in the fruit bowl. If you're a small household, that may sound like a lot of fresh produce. For my family of 4 adults eating absolutely all of our meals from home these days, this won't last long.
In the dairy department, I have fresh, frozen, and dried milk, lots of butter, about 18 eggs, a dwindling block of cheddar cheese, and enough mozzarella cheese to make several pizzas. We also have 2 whole chickens and perhaps as much as 12-13 lbs of beef.
I last did a big shopping 2 1/2 weeks ago at WinCo. I stuffed our two fridges with produce and dairy. A week and a half ago I made a quick (and small) shopping trip to Walmart to get some bananas, a gallon of milk, coffee, and frozen spinach.
So, yes, it does sound like we have plenty of foods to build meals from, p.l.e.n.t.y. However, I'm often driven to grocery shop by the amount of fresh produce we have at home. Apples, oranges, tangerines, and stalks of celery make great and quick grabs for lunches and snacks. However, here's where all of the dried and frozen foods from last summer will lend a hand.
In late summer to early fall I made 120 dried fruit rolls, several gallon bags of prunes, a bag each of dried apples and dried pears, and chopped rhubarb, plums, apples, pears, and Asian pears for the freezer. I also made batch after batch of preserved green figs, froze several pies worth of cherries, lots of berries, and made several batches of applesauce and crabapple sauce. I froze all of the carrot tops, beet greens, and garden celery, chopped. I cooked, pureed, and froze 3 large pumpkins. Plus I've been stocking up on various canned and frozen vegetables as I find them green-tagged (month-long sale) at WinCo.
Now is the time to use this preserved produce bounty.
This week I've been bagging up individual servings of prunes and dried apples. I also pulled a bunch of fruit rolls out of the freezer. And I thawed more crabapple sauce, apple sauce, and pumpkin puree. I bought a can of frozen orange juice concentrate the last time I shopped at WinCo, and just this morning I made up half the can for some of our vitamin C needs. The prunes, dried apples, sauces, and juice are providing individual servings of fruit for my family until I get to the store. And even with an ever-shrinking supply of fresh vegetables, we have plenty of frozen and canned ones to keep us awash in green and orange to get through many days. A final addition, I'm making lentil sprouts to add a crisp freshness to meals.
At this point I'm thinking, "you know, I really don't need to go grocery shopping." Meanwhile, my family would probably appreciate if I restocked everything soon. So, we'll see. Will I go grocery shopping on Thursday or Friday or Saturday, or will I wait until Monday? At least I know no matter when I shop again, we've still got lots of fruits and vegetables to satisfy our needs in the meantime. Using what we have.
You must find it satisfying to have so many things that you preserved ready to eat during winter. You reminded me that I have cherries in the freezer. Maybe it's time for a pie. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd did you make a cherry pie, Live and Learn? Or is that for another day?
DeleteI'll probably do a cherry pie for Valentine's Day.
L&L, it's always time for pie! :)
ReplyDeleteFresh produce is somewhat of a driver for me to go to the store, but milk is the top driver for me. I wonder what motivates others to go to the store?
Hi Kris,
DeleteI know. I'm always just a teensy bit disappointed when we have lots of preserved fruits and vegetables, but nothing fresh. I'm fine without milk, but the rest of my household likes to have some on hand. For them, it's nice for oatmeal or in tea or cream of wheat cereal in winter. I imagine with your son living with you for the time being, the milk goes quickly once again.
I agree with Kris. It's fresh produce and or milk that gets me into a grocery store. I can stretch the other foods more easily but fresh produce goes quickly with 5 kids and me and my husband. I also eat a vegan diet so MUCH of my foods are produce. I am really challenged by your ability to prepare dried and frozen for the winter. I'm trying that in the future. I really appreciate all you share as I learn so much from you.
ReplyDeleteIt's just me and my husband these days, but being as that we're both Plant Based, we find we can often really plow through the produce as well. Fresh, canned, frozen, dried -- I can usually find ways to put any of it to use. Sadly, due to excessive heat, drought and bug pressure in '25, we didn't have nearly as great a garden nor orchard harvest as in past seasons, so I barely was able to put up much of anything last fall (and missed it!). Here's hoping this coming growing season turns out much better...! (fingers and toes crossed).
DeleteHi Amanda,
DeleteI can imagine with 5 kids plus you two, that the produce does practically disappear. Plus with being vegan, you probably use fruits and vegetables a lot to round out your meals. I know for our household, my daughters and I use a lot of produce every day. Wishing you success in putting away more produce for next winter. Are you able to grow very much on your property? Is there anything you can forage in your area? In my area we have wild blackberries everywhere. The local elementary school has a stand of blackberry canes that are always loaded with berries in mid to late summer. Plus we have a couple of older neighbors who no longer harvest their fruit trees. One of our neighbors gifted us so much fresh fruit last summer. I turned a lot of it into jams, butters, and sauce to return to her. I also bake breads and coffeecakes to bring to her from time to time, using her fruit that I froze. I think she's glad her fruit doesn't go to waste and appreciates when I make foods for her, and we're so glad to receive her excess. Anyway, that reminds me I really need to bake her something again soon. best wishes to you in your food preservation journey!
Hi friend,
ReplyDeleteI can understand the frustrations of a garden/orchard that doesn't produce as much as hoped. I sincerely hope that this next garden/orchard season is a boom for you.
I don't know what growing zone you're in, but years ago I read about ways to plan a vegetable garden for very hot and dry locations. One of the techniques was planting in trenches, kind of the reverse of a raised bed. There's more ground moisture a few inches below the usual soil surface level, plus the sides of the trenches serve as a small windbreak, keeping the plants from drying out as quickly. Anyway, you can read more about this type of gardening by searching "trench gardening." Best of luck to you and this next year's garden and orchard!