I remember as a kid my grandparents had this long white, deep chest freezer that was in their basement with a single naked light bulb hanging above it. I imagined it would have been a good place to hide anything you never wanted someone to find. Inside the freezer were bags, and bags of tin foiled covered food that was older than I was. Layers and layers of freezer burned meats that had been on sale and vegetables from seasons ago. My grandparents grew up during the depression, so saving every last scrap of food was imperative to their survival even though they now were going grocery shopping every week. There was a an old metal coffee can next to the stove top for them to scrape their bacon fat into. And when it was full, it was placed carefully into that chest freezer in case the end of the world was tomorrow.
In their 'root cellar' were countless Bell jars full of preserves. I'm talking countless. Many shelves high and stacked to the back wall like a grocery aisle. I can vividly remember my grandparents working together like a machine to seal up jars and jars of pickles, beans, tomatoes, corn, everything from their huge garden every summer at their Winnipesaukee lake house. I don't know when they were planning on eating all that food, but it was there "just in case." It must of been done out of habit. I remember thinking that I was never going to waste my time preserving food, or freezing it. It seemed to silly when I could just go to the store and get a fresh rotisserie chicken, and a bag of pre-made salad.
I grew up on a dairy farm but was very uninterested in the business and concepts as a teenager. My mom spent hours in her gardens. She has the greenest thumb. She knows how to sew anything, cook everything and has a mean creative edge. I was never interested in what she was doing but certainly retained most of the information through what must of been osmosis.
I've come drastically far since I used to think those silly thoughts and now am more interested in all the things I didn't like as a younger woman. I don't know if it's part of my dna, or if all that work my family did in their gardens and craft rooms was imprinted onto me.
Because, I am in love with the idea of freezing food for later, canning for gifts, sewing, glue gunning, and stretching myself creatively.

I created this blog for my future and because of my past.

Friday, September 2, 2011

September already?



This picture of Lulu could sum up how I felt all day!  Happy, with a bunch of asses going in the other direction. 
The day started off with neighbor dogs barking at 5am, no biggie - I just half sleep through it.  And later this weekend, I am going to stage an intervention on those dogs and remind them that they do not need to be the neighborhood alarm system. 
Then the dogs for camp started rolling in.  I like seeing my clients in the morning.  I feel like I am starting their day with some peace of mind.  Then the electrician came and found a whole bunch of stuff that's wrong with this "money pit"  house.  Luckily we just rent this place.  If we owned this place, proper maintenance would be a priority.  But our slumlord, I mean, landlord doesn't quite grasp the concept of budgeting, priorities, or respect.  I'm pretty sure legally we've done all the right things to with hold rent, it's just a little scary to do something like that.  It might be easier to continue paying her under protest.  After the dogs were watered, had some running, and loved I walked the property to check on my produce.

Butternut squash in the making
Green peppers (finally) with swiss chard in the back
The sunflowers that survived Irene
 









Extreme close-up!!
Red beauty

I've also grown some crazy big zucchini.  I feel like I check on them, they grow to the size of my thigh overnight.  So far with that produce I've made four loaves of bread (with chocolate chips and walnuts), 24 muffins, two servings of oven baked sticks, and have FOUR quart bags of frozen slices.  The frozen slices are so big, someone might confuse them for pizza.




I also started bread today!  I'll have an update of that soon since I have to wait 24 hours for the starter to...well....start.
I plan on using the abundant amount of tomatoes I am about to get and turn them into a sauce starter.  And I'll toss some of those delicious peppers in there with it.    I'll be sure to share how to do that later this month.
Currently there is a chicken vegetable medley that I made in that mass production last week for dinner tonight.  It's so easy.  Defrost.  Cook.  Serve.  I am going to try and get into a routine of meal planning for the week.  It really goes a long way on the wallet.  And while trying to save money for a wedding and honeymoon, saving money helps!
Those asses going in the other direction?  They might not know who they are.  But, I do.  And as long as I keep a smile on my face and walk in the other direction - I'll be able to keep on keepin' on.
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