Summer's Bounty

As most of you know, if you know me at all, I enjoy gardening, canning, food preservation of any sort (drying, freezing etc). The kids help me as much as they can (ha! no pun intended!) at this age, but I do hope that they enjoy it and continue to help me as they get older. Luckily, they're all developing a love for picking/harvesting. Alan loves to snap green beans; Savannah's learning to help me pack the jars before putting them into the canner; Katie Mae, well, she just is into it all, hindering more than helping, but SOMETIMES helping.

These organic green beans came from my garden and a friend's garden too. I planted a small patch, so I don't have a ton to can this year, but hopefully between my mother's and my own, plus what Sue gave me, I'll have enough to can several dozen cans for this winter. Green beans is one of our staples!


I was extremely pleased earlier this summer to find someone who was offering an upright, full size GE freezer on Freecycle and for once, the donor was only about 12 miles from me! Aaron picked it up for me one night, and it's amazing me how fast it's filling up! I'm supposed to purchase an entire beef cow this fall, and at this rate, my freezer will be too full to "house" the meat by the time the end of September comes! I've got 2 refrigerator/freezers, one chest freezer, and now the upright freezer. Lord help us if we have an extended power outage! On our (long) wish list of purchases is a generator for use in power outages as well as use for the business possibly.


I just have NOT done a good job of harvesting on a timely basis this year. NONE of my (small) garden has been properly cared for, though it HAS been a blessing with its' (small) bounty. Zucchinis only grow in one size in our garden. H.U.G.E. I was coming up the driveway today and saw two more massive zukes that need to be harvested right now! No telling how many more too once I actually walk over there and get dirty and start diggin' (in the gigantic leaves)!

There's nothing that makes me feel better than to see shelves lined with food that I know will help us get through the winter or hard times if we should be faced with some unforeseen disaster. I also like to know what is in our food. Unfortunately, I don't have access to all organic food, so about half of what I process is NOT organic. If I grow it, or it comes from friend's garden, it's organic, but food like peaches, applesauce, and the corn I got earlier this week come from commercial farmers that allow me to glean from their fields or buy from their orchard; those have a typical amount of pesticides and fertilizers used on them. But my solace is that anything you buy at the store will (because I can't afford to buy organic!), so at least it's fresh and local and chemical ridden rather than coming from who knows where.

The peaches have been SO good this year and quite abundant. I didn't have to can much this year because I had so much left over from last year, but my sister, Amanda and I had a canning day together to put up what we each wanted to have for the winter.


Another reason why I enjoy the process of food preservation is that, silly as it may sound, it helps me feel like I am providing for my family and carrying out some of the descriptions of a Proverbs 31 woman that I wish I were more like! I think a woman could make it her career to be like the description of a Proverbs 31 woman and never get there. WOW! Some of the passages that speak to me this morning most are 31:11-12 "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life." ALL the days of her life. Not just when she's in a good mood; not when he's been sweet to her by doing dishes. That means to me that she is always has a positive affect on her husband no matter what. Ok. Well. I could spend the rest of my life trying to achieve that alone!
More passages--31:15-17 "She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks." Boy if that doesn't make you want to get up early, nothing will! Laziness is not a virtue!
Proverbs 31:25-28 "She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. Well, I think I'm pretty much condemned for life! :) You know, seriously, what's more important? That you watch over the affairs of your household (i.e. cleaning, cooking, mothering etc.), or that you blog and facebook? This is something I have thought about A LOT in the past year. Obviously, I'm not to the point of completely cutting out either activity, but deep down, I don't know if it fits into a Proverbs 31 woman's life. These words of the Bible are in no way archaic or antiquated. The Lord (and his Word) are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. All of it. I don't think that you have to work yourself to the bone all day, every day with no breaks or fun, but at the same time, I certainly don't think we will be judged on Judgment Day for trying to the best of our ablility to carry out his instruction and abide by his Word. .....ahem, we were talking about canning weren't we? : )


These organic blueberries look somewhat white because of the flash on the camera AND the fact that they have a film on them that easily rubs off that gives it a frost kissed look. It's natural; you can't feel it or taste it, so it's not a problem in the slightest, but I think it makes them look pretty!

Whether it's REALLY cheaper in the long run to preserve your own food or not, the actual money out of my pocket IS less than if I were to go to the store and buy the same amount of food that I can/freeze. Yes, I have an investment in my jars and canners and equiment, but all the food I preserve I get for free or next to nothing. I may have spent many man hours (considering all the help I got) in putting up corn last week, but the only $$ it cost was the gas to get it, the electricity to run the stove, and the freezer bags to put the corn in. The rest was "free."

Thanks to a friend, Rose, we were able to harvest all the corn we could want from a farmer's field who was unable to sell his harvest. The corn has been delicious and it helped fill up my freezer for this winter! We also gave away a lot to friends and neighbors, so none of it has gone to waste. We picked about 300-350 ears of corn I'd estimate.

Canning and food preservation is a dying art. I have learned a lot in the 12+ years I've been canning, but I also have a lot to learn. I want to teach my children the value of growing, harvesting, and preserving what we eat. Grocery stores may not always be available and stocked in an emergency. I have also been able to help other ladies who are interested in learning to can the basics of canning. It's so much fun to have a few people get together and work together! Canning is something that is so rewarding. Cleaning a toilet is nice, but in no time, it needs to be cleaned again. Vacuuming is wonderful, but you can hardly tell once you're finished. Paying bills is a wonderful, yet EXTREMELY short lived good feeling. Canning is much more tangible and long lasting, therefore, it give me a great sense of accomplishment.

This is just a drop in the bucket from what we picked and shucked! It was fun. I had lots of help from my friend, Kallie, and her boys and my kids. Many hands make light work.