With a Recession at hand which may become a Depression, I've decided I need to work very hard at using all our resources better. Since there are very few areas over which I have control, feeding and clothing my family are the things I'm tackling.
I'm trying to utilize everything possible. On Friday afternoons, the local food bank gets rid of all their perishables before the weekend. There is an organized distribution of sorts. Outside a local food pantry, a truck arrives, a couple of volunteers set up tables and unload boxes full of food. People gather around, looking over the produce, dairy, etc. Announcements are made, a prayer is said, then the starting gun fires (metaphorically) and people begin grabbing and gouging to get the pastries and the best items. There is a contribution box for anyone who can afford a few dollars.
For several years, I attended regularly. It was a great source for Romano and Feta cheese, salad, bread, sometimes milk or juice, fresh pineapple, or strawberries. Occasionally, there would be unusual items, such as large bags of brownie mix from Gloria Jean's or 5 lb. blocks of baking chocolate. After returning from England, I never got back into the routine of going.
I tried once or twice to get back into the swing of it, but some young man stole my filled box out from underneath my nose one Friday afternoon, and it upset me so much I didn't go back.
But with the economic situation, I decided I should take advantage of relatively free food. I've begun going again. One of the problems I had in the past was that I would always end up coming home with things that would go bad before we ate them. I was determined this wouldn't happen again, so I've been slow to fill up my box. I usually arrive with at least a sketchy mental list of items I need - fruit, sandwich bread, rolls, a bag of salad, a bell pepper . . . It has helped tremendously. However, some things always manage to creep into my box.
Several weeks ago, my father (who has helped run the "Friday Food Giveaway" for several years now) snagged 3 large containers of whole mushrooms for me. I absolutely LOVE mushrooms and these were huge, crisp, and plentiful.
How would I ever use all of them up before they went bad, I asked myself. Finally, the solution hit me. I cut them up, laid them out on a pan, popped them in the oven at 170 for several hours, and dried them. Then I put them in a baggy and tossed them in the freezer. Next time I need mushrooms for a crockpot meal, I throw in a handful. The liquid should reconstitute them and I think they'll work great. They sure taste good.
This whole drying concept has opened up a whole new world to me. The pineapple that we didn't finish eating quick enough, along with some tomatoes, were sliced and dried. I've used the tomatoes on pizza, in quiche, and several other ways, and saved the expense of buying sundried tomatoes. The fruit also dries well.
Then I branched out to beef jerky. My children love jerky and Slim Jim's, but they're expensive. So, I made my own chewy treat by marinading thin strips of steak, then drying them. Next, I tried croutons. My children were crazy about them. The next week, I picked up an extra loaf of Italian bread at the Giveaway and made a large batch of croutons and tossed them in the freezer.
My herbs are getting dried, rather than buying herbs at the store, and just about anything that I fear will spoil can be used up somehow. Right now, I have tomatoes, pineapple and orange peel drying in a low oven. The fruit gets real chewy, about the consistency of gummy fruits, but far more nutritious and much tastier. I have two jars of sundried tomatoes in olive oil and now put the ones I make in baggies dry.
This summer, a family friend has agreed to teach me to can. In the meantime, I'll dry what I can and store up for the winter (crisis). If none comes, we'll eat well in the future.
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