Search This Blog

Sunday, January 31, 2016

MORE PANTRY TALK

Hello dear friends!   Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!   Have to admit the winter doldrums are setting in around here.  It seems that there's not much happening.   Even the deer that visit our orchard are bored.
If you look closely, you'll notice that one doesn't even bother to rise when we are near.
He's just right of center.  Even Georgie's barking doesn't stir him.   By the way,  look at how little snow we have for January! Today when we went for a walk, the walkers in front of us spotted a robin!  All in all, though, winter and routine is good,  everybody needs a rest once in a while.  The garden benefits from it's nap also.  I  have  friends and relatives that live in warmer states that garden all year round, but they never seem to get the yields that we do and I think it is because the constant usage of the land depletes the essential minerals.  It becomes just plain worn out. In Biblical days part of the covenant  was to let your let your land rest every seventh year.  While I do not rest my  plot for an entire year, I do take care to replenish the land with lots of compost and rotate the crops every year.


CANNING

I did manage to can up some mushrooms that I got for 69 cents a package.  For $2.80 , it made ten nice half-pints.  How much does a can of mushrooms cost now days?  Probably more than 28 cents.  That's why I can. 
Actually there was more than ten half-pints but that was all the jars I had.

  To can mushrooms, just clean and slice them.  Then brown in a bit of oil in a large pot.  Add water to cover by an inch and boil for 5 minutes.  Spoon  the mushrooms and broth into sterilized jars leaving a one-inch headspace, add 1/8 teaspoon of salt to each jar,  run a spatula around the edge to remove air bubbles, wipe rims, and place on lids and caps.  Process under 10 pounds of pressure (check for what amount of pressure your area requires) for 45 minutes.

Speaking of canning, people always tell me that they would like to can but are afraid to, and I guess when I started out, I probably was also.  But as my mother always scolded me when I was afraid to try something, "There's no such word as can't".   And "If you say you can't, you're probably right." . So just try it.  If you fail, then you fail, but you'll never know until you try.  I'm a firm believer that if you can read, you can learn how to do almost anything.  And now days we have the advantage of the computer, where there are many how-to videos on line.  So there's really no excuse to not do something, if you are motivated enough.

HOW TO STOCK A PANTRY

Each payday I try to find at least one deal and buy  as many as I can afford of it.  Sometimes it's mushrooms, other times I find dried beans, last month was a great one for meat.  You'd be surprised at how quickly you can stock up on things.  Even if you only buy one thing.  If you are paid biweekly that's 26 times a year or 26 items.  Twenty-six items may not seem like much, but when you are really strapped for money, that's twenty-six things that you won't have to buy. As I always say, a well-stocked pantry is better than insurance.  Some of my favorite places to look for sales are the reduced-for-quick-sale bin at the grocery store,  Big Lots (they always have something interesting), and Aldis.  Look after the holidays for sales items.   For instance, after St. Patrick's Day I always buy corned beef on sale and can it.  During the Thanksgiving holiday you can buy turkeys for cheap. And afterward cranberries go on sale. After Christmas,  Easter and Valentine's Day, I pick up plain chocolates  in holiday shapes that are usually reduced by 50% or more.  Chopped up, they make dandy chocolate chunks for baking.  The day after Easter is also a good time to find lamb  and ham prices reduced. 

A PRACTICAL PANTRY

I see a lot of articles and YouTube videos on stocking pantries, and they are so many variations.  Personally, I like to gather things that can be used for lots of different purposes, instead of say, ramen noodles, cake mixes, hot cocoa mixes, etc.. that have only one use.  I'd start with rice, dry beans and dry milk.   Dry milk is great because you can not only make it into milk, but also yogurt (once you get the first batch made you can use it to make the next as so on)  Once you have some yogurt made you can make your own cream cheese by simply putting the yogurt in a cheese cloth bundle and suspended it  over a bowl for a day to get all the whey out.  Use the whey in baking or feed it to the cat.

Next I'd store some cans of vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes, peas and green beans.  Id' buy some dry onion flakes in  bulk, they add so much flavor to food.  I'd get some flax for using as an egg substitute.   I certainly would include some seasonings, especially salt.  People forget that salt is an important mineral we all need.  In the olden days, people would settle where there was a source of salt, it's that important.  These things, along with the bare bones baking pantry I wrote about last week, would be the basis of my stockpile. 

PANTRY STAPLE: POTATOES

I know that potatoes get a bad rap because they are carbs (sigh) and ever since Oprah (seriously, why is anyone looking to Oprah for diet advice?) declared carbs bad, people avoid them like the plague, but in truth they are one of the cheapest and best things you can buy when your funds are low.  Whether they are fattening or not depends upon how you cook them.  Did you know that an average potato will supply you with 45% of your daily vitamin C?  And when you eat them with the skins on they are a great source of potassium which aids in lowering your blood pressure.  And they are naturally gluten-free.  Oh! and fat-free too. And guess what?  In spite of what some people say, they are a vegetable!  Plus they are cheap, cheap, cheap. Around here you can buy a fifty pound sack for $7, which equals 14 cents  a pound.  Not much you can buy for fourteen cents these days. A baked potato with the skin on is a great way to stave off  hunger, especially when you are dieting. An average sized potato has only 110 calories.  Put just a dab of butter (less than a teaspoon) and salt and pepper and you have a wonderful filling snack, that's a lot better for you than chips. I always have potatoes in my pantry and can't tell you how many times they saved the day for me when I was down to my last pennies and had one more day to go until payday.  One of our family's favorite way to eat potatoes is to make latkes or potato pancakes.

Latkes

Grate a few potatoes, add 1 tablespoon of flour and stir in 1 egg, salt and pepper to taste.  Drop into
hot oil in a frying pan (about 1/4- 1/3 inch).  Fry until golden brown, turn and fry the other side.  Traditionally, these are served with applesauce and sour cream, but my boys always preferred to eat them with cheese melted on top and with ketchup.  They never knew that I was making them because the cupboards were bare, they just thought they were a special treat.  To this day, they still request them.

Potato soup is also an inexpensive way to use potatoes. 

Potato Soup

Dice some potatoes and put them in a pot of water to boil with enough water to cover the potatoes by and inch or two.  Meanwhile, fry up a couple rashers of bacon.  Remove the bacon from the frying pan and add an equal amount of flour to the bacon grease in the pan.  Stir the flour over medium heat until it starts to brown and thickens (this is called making a roue) Add the roue to the boiling potatoes once the potatoes have cooked to fork tender.   Stir the roue in the potatoes and water to remove any lumps. Cook until the soup thickens.  Remove from heat, stir in the bacon (crumbled) and about 1/2 C. milk.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Celery salt is good sprinkled on this too, if you have some.

We grow our own potatoes and root cellar them.  I also can all the small ones and those that have been sliced by the fork when digging them.   We eat the canned ones in the spring  after the stored  ones have grown eyes.  Those we keep for planting in the late spring, thus we don't have to buy seed potatoes.  We grow an heirloom variety called German Butterball and it's a  wonderful flavorful variety.  You hardly need butter.  We also grow a French fingerling variety. We grow a couple hundred pounds a year on our small  1/2 acre plot.  Which just proves, you don't need acres and acres of land to produce a lot of food.

FOUND MONEY, LITERALLY

Yesterday we were coming  back  home from test driving our truck (it had been at the mechanics)  when we noticed something glinting in the snowpile.  Lo and behold it was a roll of scratch-off lottery tickets!   We live about a block and a half from the gas station/convenience store and debris from there often blows into our yard.  Someone there must have dropped the tickets and they blew into our yard.  So we brought them inside and dried them off.  We won $25!  

Whenever you receive found money, apply it to paying off any debt you have.  Found money includes tax refunds, birthday and holiday gift money, the dollar found on the street, rebates, etc.  Once you have  all your debts paid off, create a nest egg for future purchases that put you into debt in the first place, like car loans , for example.  You'd be surprised at how those little amounts add up quickly.  The point being, be thoughtful about how you use even those nominal amounts and soon  you will discover that money is one less thing you have to stress about.

BARE BONES PANTRY RECIPE

This is the most basic of cake recipes.  It takes little more time than it does to make one from a box mix.  And it tastes so much better!  Once you get the basics down, you can dress it up with different flavors of frosting, or add fruits or mini chocolate chips  to the batter.  Change the flavor by using a different extract than vanilla.   I make this recipe every spring with with chopped up strawberries from the garden and I use crushed berries to make the frosting.   Today I frosted it with a plain white buttercream and topped it with coconut.

Plain White Cake

1 3/4 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C. sugar
1 C. milk  (I use buttermilk)
1/3 C. shortening
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
In a med. bowl, beat together the shortening and sugar until light.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Alternately beat in the flour mixture and the milk until the batter is light and smooth.
Pour into a well-greased 8-inch baking pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

As I said, I always use buttermilk for baking.  It makes a more tender crumb plus I just like the old-fashionedness of it.  We don't drink milk anyway, so it's just as easy for us to pick up a carton of buttermilk as it is to buy plain milk.  I know that you can substitute buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to each  cup of milk, but to me, they lack that true flavor you get from  the real thing.  In our house, buttermilk is a pantry staple. We buy ours from a local dairy and it has beautiful flecks of butter in it.  It's a joy to behold.
THRIFTY THINGS WE DID THIS WEEK

Well, I'm trying not to be so long-winded this week. Ha!  It was a slow week for projects.  Besides canning mushrooms we made some beer.  My husband likes to do that about once a year.  He likes to drink a bottle of it about once a month, just to honor his German heritage.  I'm a teetotaler  on the other hand.  Can't see wasting my precious calories on  something that tastes so bad!

Well, that's about it for this week.  I hope that your February gets off to a rosy start!

Hugs
Jane










34 comments:

  1. Hi Jane!
    Great post, as always. I had to laugh at the deer there being bored, lol. They think it's spring here, as I type it's 64°F. Ah well, at least there's no need for heat.

    Your mushrooms look great. I'm probably nutty, but I love looking at home-canned goods on my shelves. Love that you won $25 with those tickets you found.

    I'm droolin' over the coconut topped cake and what a lovely plate. What is the pattern? I'm a dish connoisseur, of sorts. In heaven I hope to have many, many sets. ;) Here I only have room for 4 sets. :(

    Hope your week is wonderfully thrifty!
    Toni

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Toni! It's warm here today too. About 45.

      Oh I understand about the home canned goods! Not only is it nice knowing that you have it all stored away for whatever may come, but there's something so Little House On The Prairie-ish about it. I swear, I was born in the wrong era. Today I'm wearing my hair in a Gibson tuck and have on a long skirt.

      The dish pattern is Friendly Village by Johnson Brothers. It's my everyday china. It has pretty scenes from village life, my favorite being the maple tapping scene. I used to have about four sets of china too. Let's see, there was Spode Blue Tower, my husband's grandfather's set of Cameo Rose by Hall, Wicker Lane by Spode, Lady Margaret Rose by Johnson Brothers and Friendly Village. Ha! I guess that's five. I now have it whittled down to just Blue Tower and Friendly Village. And I'm slowly getting rid of the Spode. Sold several of the larger pieces on Ebay last month.

      Since the tickets were found by the stray kittens, the money from the winnings will go towards keeping them in Grillers. We have a nice little family of stray cats that have adopted us.

      Well, have a nice week!
      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
    2. Ah, I thought it was Friendly Village. One of my daughters wants a set of those. I use Butterfly Meadow (Lenox) for everyday because they are sooo sturdy. I've only ever broken one cup in all the years I've had them. Old British Castles in red (Johnson Bros.) is in the China cabinet along with Liberty Blue (Staffordshire). And I have a set of clear, pressed glass dishes shaped like fish for when we have our favorite Swai, yum... but that's another story, lol.

      Delete
    3. Old British Castles is so pretty! I started to collect them, and found around five plates, then thought "no" I had enough. Wouldn't it be nice to have one of those butler's pantries with the glass cabinets for you china collection? I've seen several old Victorians with them. Do you ever read the Aiken's House blog. She has quite a collection of china.http://warrengrovegarden.blogspot.com/

      Too bad your daughter doesn't live nearby. I'm selling some of my duplicates of Friendly Village at my garage sale this spring. Trying to keep it down to eight servings. Had the good fortune of finding lots of dishes this summer at estate sales. I bought one big boxful for $30 just because I wanted the teapot. Must have been a dozen or more plates in it and some unusual pieces.

      Delete
    4. Oh Jane, what a wonderful deal you got on those dishes! I wish I could get them for her as her birthday is coming up soon. *sigh*

      Delete
  2. Hi Jane! So nice to see your grass! And all that sun! I think that deer was sunbathing a bit. I agree about beer...blah!

    I enjoyed all the recipes and we love potato pancakes with sour cream.
    Very interesting to hear about yogurt. (And true about following Oprah..ha)
    Your cake looks so moist and light! I like your listing of prices...my mom used to write me letters and do the same...brings back memories! Congrats on your winning!(and finding). Andrea

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Andrea! Those deer are so spoiled! They just lay there and pick at the apples that are still lying about. We had so many this year. They don't even care if they are spotted. They know there's no hunting in the village limits. Last summer people were stopping and taking pictures at our neighbor's house. A deer was lying under her cedar trees in the middle of the day, just like it was a pet or something. He didn't even bat an eye when people got up close to him.

      Oh Oprah! Don't get me started on her! Can you believe that she made something like 12 million dollars just by tweeting about her diet? They do know that Oprah has a weight problem don't they? She's the last person I'd take advice from. But maybe I'm biased because she's always pushing her New Age philosophy.

      Well, I sure do love to gab! Have a happy week!
      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
    2. It is silly how so many believe in new age mumbo jumbo! Sadly some mix it in with Catholicism.
      Deer also carry ticks with Lyme Disease...I got it from a tick on the beach...the deer go to the Delaware beaches too and leave the ticks! My doctor had a house near by the beach I go to and said she's seen the deer there. But they are beautiful animals! Hugs back, Andrea

      Delete
    3. I'm afraid it has infiltrated all of Christianity, Andrea.

      I asked the vet if Georgie needed tick medicine along with is flea medications and he said there had been no ticks in Port Austin, but there was in the next village over. I wonder if the ticks know not to pass the village limits? Ha! And whose keeping track of the ticks?

      Delete
    4. I use Frontline plus for my dog and it kills fleas and ticks (and lice). We like to hike in the woods and I have had a tick once in a while. I've also seen some dog ticks (larger ticks, and they don't carry Lyme disease) in my backyard.

      Delete
    5. I'll probably buy the one with the tick medicine too, Andrea, just in case a couple of those ticks are illiterate and can't read the road signs!

      Delete
  3. Hi again Jane, Can you believe it's the end of January. Love it just love it!Potatoes are good to round out a meal or even to make a meal like your potato soup. So filling and good.

    To tell the truth I never knew about canning mushrooms-if I ever find a sale I'll do it.

    Have a great day!

    Vickie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Vickie! I think when the boys were young, potatoes were served almost every day. They sure a filling! Did you make a trip to Bay City to buy yours this year?

      Have you ever ventured over to the Mennonites Bulk Food store in Snover? It's worth the trip if you're doing a big stock-up.

      You can can just about anything. Even cheese and butter. If butter prices ever go down again, I'm thinking about doing that.

      Enjoy the weather!
      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
  4. How fascinating about the mushrooms! Never thought of canning those! Brilliant!

    Sounds like a great week of nesting and playing at the house. Perfect world in my mind!

    We have friends who can butter. They buy the close out butter and do it. She says it is wonderful for baking. I haven't tried it yet, but I hope I can.

    Have a marvelous week, Jane!

    hugs.. m

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Matty! I just finished shooting you an e-mail. I think butter usually goes on sale at Easter time as a lost leader for holiday baking. If it dips below $2.30/lb. I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes.

      Be careful out there! Here's hoping this week!
      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
  5. Hi Jane,
    I also think it is shame potatoes have been vilified. My parents were dirt poor as newlyweds, my mom says she is glad my dad liked to eat potatoes at every meal as they were so cheap. Growing up, I remember eating potatoes at most every meal and we were all healthy.
    Yippee on on the found winning lottery tickets, that must of been to discover.
    January was a long busy month and I am hoping to get back my preferred regular routine in February- I'm guessing you've known the same feeling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rhonda! We ate potatoes at almost every meal too, growing up and none had a weight problem back then.

      Getting back to a regular routine is nice, but a little ho-hum after all the fun and excitement of the holidays. Too bad the holidays aren't spread out more throughout the year. Well, I guess we have Valentine's Day to look forward to. Which isn't as much fun as an adult as it was as a kid when you never knew who you'd get a Valentine from. Have a thrifty week!

      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
  6. I have no snow in SW Missouri. I want snow!
    I pinned this for the cake recipe. Looks delish!
    Blessings from Harvest Lane Cottage where I do and write about thrifty things!
    Laura

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Laura! I think I've seen your blog before! I'll have to check into it. I love learning other thrifty ideas. You can't go wrong with that cake. It's going fast here! Happy a nice week!

      Jane

      Delete
  7. We also used to buy 200 pounds of potatoes in the fall from a farmer and ate, ate, ate them when we had many children at home. This year, we bought 50 lbs of reds and just recently finished them. That bag was from Cash and Carry and cost $10--so 20c/lb. We have had bad luck with potatoes here at this property and have given up growing them--we had scab and wireworms or some other critter, and they were inedible (several times). So, I put my efforts elsewhere.

    The last time I canned mushrooms was when a friend gave me 2 cases she had received for free somewhere. I also dried a bunch, which reminds me I need to get to using them. They are in a cupboard and I need to get them out into sight where I will be reminded that they are there.

    It sounds like you had a nice, calm week! I hope this one is too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Becky! I guess we are fortunate that we can grow just about anything here, except corn, our cobs are always small. At least potatoes are inexpensive to buy!

      We used to live by a mushroom farm and we could get bags of mixed mushrooms very cheap. We dried a lot too. Looks like barley mushroom soup is in your future!

      Have a wonderful start to February!

      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
  8. Love the pictures! The deer are so pretty, and I like to watch them (except when they are eating my garden ;)
    I never thought about canning mushrooms, great deal! I inherited my Mom's canners...she used to can quarts and quarts of beans and tomatoes, and I loved looking at her pantry. I wonder if the extension office still checks canners...I'm sure that these need new seals and such, but you have inspired me to try canning if I have a decent harvest. Canning meats and broths are great ideas. I do have a freezer and small generator, so could keep it cold for a while if the power goes out.
    Funny about Oprah...I think I have seen her advertising weight watchers now. I agree about potatoes; you can fix them so many ways, and I'm going to try your latkes recipe.
    Congratulations on your found money! your cake looks delicious! Thanks for the pantry ideas. I need to get some more dry milk; I have some that I use for a bread recipe, but think it is out of date now. I have seen some dry buttermilk too, so I think I will pick up a container to have on hand.
    I agree with you about the beer, such nasty stuff to drink...although beer bread and beer can chicken is pretty good. :D
    Hope you have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kathy! I love watching the deer in the winter, but when the garden is planted, not so much. I had some sorrel that I left open for them to eat, hoping they'd eat that instead of my herbs. No such luck! Guess that dislike it as much as we do!

      It would be worthwhile to see if the extension office still checks canners. Pressure canning is easy. I actually prefer it to water bath canning. It takes less time for the water to heat up and I never have any jars that don't seal.

      Never understood the attraction to beer. But growing up in a primarily German community, everyone drank it. We even had a biergarten where all the men would gather in the evening and talk over the day and politics. And no one had a drinking problem back then. It was just a part of everyday life.

      Have a nice week!
      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
  9. dear jane,
    another wonderful post and lovely pictures.the mushrooms are a great deal.i love potatoes.....i cooked last week a potatoe-leek soup and makes Kartoffelpuffer with applesauce,potatoe with carrots. we eat each week several
    meal with potatoe. i made potatoe dumplings(kartoffelklöße)or potatoe with grated cheese and salad...it gives so many recipes with potatoes.
    jane your cake look delicious. love the english dishes, i have a few in red and blue.
    have a nice week,
    hugs regina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello dear Regina! My mother used to make potato dumplings all the time. I forgot about them. Thanks for reminding me! It's good to see you posting again!

      Hugs back!
      Jane

      Delete
  10. It's Monday and Jane has something for me to enjoy reading :) I am not a mushroom fan so I seldom buy any and if I do I get them at Aldi, but I don't think I could beat your price. We too grow potatoes every year and I know I need to plant more this year. I ran out of homegrown already before Christmas. Either we're eating them more or I had a poor harvest. But not next year! I have seen Oprah advertising for WW lately and I ask myself how long she'll keep the weight off this time. I feel sorry for her about that. Love your pantry ideas. I make yogurt all the time, a gallon at a time, and use my oven with the oven light left on. I use whole milk that I buy at Aldi, and it's usually $2 or less a gallon. Pretty cheap yogurt and I have a Donvier yocheese strainer I use because I like greek yogurt. We are forecast 8-12" of snow tonight into tomorrow so I went to town to stock up on sale stuff at the farm store before the ad runs out this week because you know I'm not going to be out and about driving in snow. Saved $16. on the things I bought because of the great sale they had. Pretty happy about that. I bought cat food, chicken feed, bird seed and batteries. I cooked up a whole chicken for soup and the meat is cooling now so I can pick the bones and finish up the soup. Since I am gluten free I make a chicken and rice soup. It will taste good in the middle of a blizzard tomorrow and is easy to reheat on the campstove if we lose power. I also swept out the outhouse in case of power outage but that will be a cold trek. We are a spoiled people :) Enough from me for this week. Nannie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Nannie! Hope the blizzard skips you! But it sure sounds like your ready for it, if it does come. Make sure you keep a shovel nearby or the outhouse clean out will be in vain! Ha! The one advantage to city water I guess is that we don't have to worry about the pump.

      We took advantage of TSC's sale to stock up on dog food. Seems Georgie is going through it pretty quickly these days. Our strays get a cheap variety, but they love it. All the animals love it, even the bluejays dare to eat out of the cats bowl!

      You're a better woman than me, Nannie, to feel sorry for Oprah. I know it's not Christian, but I wouldn't complain too much if she decided to retire and we never heard of her again.

      Well, stay safe!
      Hugs
      Jane



      \\

      Delete
    2. We got the blizzard all right but the power did not go out. Hubby is out clearing the lane right now and with the drifts it is taking him a long time plus he's keeping the neighbors drive clear as well as they do not have a tractor yet. This is their first winter on their homestead. And I do keep my shovel on the back porch all winter. Have to shovel a path to the cave where I store my canned goods and potatoes and squash, onions, garlic etc. and also shovel to the chicken house. Someone said to fill the bathtub with water to use for flushing the toilet. I thought that was a good idea. Nicer than plowing to the outhouse and that cold seat. Thanking the Lord we never needed it. All is well and the sun is out today. Nannie

      Delete
    3. Glad you are safe Nannie! I guess you could always have melted the snow to flush the toilets. Hope your snow melts soon! I guess the groundhog didn't saw his shadow at your place!

      Jane

      Delete
  11. Thanks for encouraging your readers to can. Once you get past the learning curve, a whole world is opened up. My daughter found chanterelle mushrooms this Fall. We enjoyed some breaded and fried. Yum! The rest were dried and I've been sneaking them in soups.

    Amen to your potato comments! With a family of ten, potatoes have become invaluable! We bought a bushel of late season apples at a good price. Lots of applesauce was consumed and only a little canned. ;)

    Blessings,
    Leslie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Leslie! I think that if people would give canning a try, they might discover that it is fun. Well, most of the time, anyway. Not so much when the harvests are coming in fast and quick and it's ninety degrees out. But even then, there's nothing as satisfying as seeing the pantry shelves fill up.

      I attended a talk on wild mushrooms and I think it scared me out of mushroom picking. Used to pick grocery bags of morels when I was a kid, now were lucky to get a few to fry in some butter over toast for a snack!

      We had so many apples this year. We're still working on them and we have some sort of apple treat every week. Apple harvest go in cycles, so probably next year we won't have any.

      My son tells his wife that I used to make potatoes in a big soup pot when he was growing up. They sure a good boy-fillers.

      Have a fun-filled week!
      Hugs
      Jane

      Delete
  12. Hello again Jane, I just stopped by again to read all the comments and your replies. I enjoy them just like I do your regular posts.
    All the potato comments made me smile. It it hard to keep a family fed in a tiny budget without them and they taste so good :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HI Rhonda! I have a wonderful circle of blogging friends and I think their comments are the very best part of this blog.

      Forget the pyramids!Potatoes are one of the wonders of the world!

      Have fun the rest of the week!
      Jane

      Delete
  13. I too love potatoes, I think they are chocked full of nutrients like potassium and the vitamin c you mentioned, and I love using them in all sorts of recipes. I'm also a huge fan of mushrooms, I never even thought about canning them myself, even though I always have cans of mushrooms in my pantry. I love seeing all the things you can, what a great skill!

    ReplyDelete