Last Year's Food

My homepage is set to Yahoo! Sometimes it kills me what they think is news, but the site does offer some interesting blurbs, periodically. So recently, I opened a link to a Yahoo! Money news article that said, "Americans' lower standard of living may be permanent." Like that's a bad thing or something. We all need to live more within our means, myself included.

Here's the crux of what they were saying... Retailers are having fits. People just aren't buying things like they used to. When they go to the mall, they aren't going home with three $100 pairs of shoes. Nor are they buying the $150 torn and faded blue jeans (I never understood that to begin with). No, rather, consumers are basically concerned now with just covering themselves (barely, sometimes). You can wear last year's clothes. Consumers are spending their money not on clothes, but on food, especially as prices continue to rise. The comment was, "You can't eat last year's food." WHHAAATT?

Ok, well, hmm. I'll concede that I understand what they were 'trying' to say. But just barely. Really, it's not a true statement at all. Obviously Mr. Money-Analyst person who made this comment is one of the millions of Americans that couldn't feed themselves for a year if the grocery store closed for good tomorrow. Fact is, you CAN eat last year's food.

This is what I'm saying, people. We Americans are so stinking spoiled that we have become soft and have forgotten many of the basic skills our parents and grandparents took for granted. Why'd they take them for granted? Because they were such a common part of their existence.

Wanna eat last year's food? Plant a garden, go to a farmer's market, join a CSA, whatever, but learn to can and 'put up', or 'put by' your food. Yes, it takes time, equipment, and some know how. But you can acquire all three pretty easily if you put your mind to it and make it a priority.

I don't have a pressure canner. It's something I want and will probably get in the next few years. But I still preserve food. I have a dehydrator and a water bath canner. Water-bath canning is so easy it's almost unfair. Why more people don't do it can only be attributed to the ease with which we can go to the store and buy food already canned or preserved. Or laziness. But the idea is to save money and not pay so much for what you eat. You can use water-bath canning for pretty much any type of fruit jam or jelly, applesauce, tomato products (as long as you don't add so many other ingredients that it lowers the acid level), pickles of all kinds (carrots are good, and I've heard green beans are too). There's a lot you can do.

I have a hard time not being down and gloomy as it is, without making dire predictions about our country's economic future. But I truly believe it'll get worse. A lot worse. Don't be caught feeling the crunch between paying bills and buying food. Think about what you can do, make phone calls, ask around, read books... find out where the good food is or how to grow it, then learn to preserve it. The "Ball Blue Book" is probably one of the best places to start. Go to your local library and search for food preservation. There's likely more there than you care to look at. Search yard sales this spring and look for jars, canners, supplies. You may get a real deal. Ask older relatives or neighbors for advice or instruction on canning. Truly, the most valuable people in our nation in coming days may be those of us with this kind of knowledge. We'll be surviving and have to help everyone else out.

A final note about dehydrating. there are many different ways to dry foods. My wife bought me my Nesco dehydrator as an anniversary present last year. Nothing says "I love ya, honey" like homemade beef jerky. But something very worth trying: Dried Watermelon. Seriously. Cut it up into thin strips or chunks, take the seed out and dry it. It comes out like chewy fruit leather, and wow is it sweet! You'd think it had soaked in sugar. My kids loved it. No additives or preservatives. Just watermelon. Amazing!

A Little Contradiction?

I recently ordered two books on Amazon. One I'd read about on a Homesteading site or in a magazine somewhere. The other, I saw at a Barnes & Noble recently. They both came to the house within days of each other, and both ended up on our coffee table side-by-side.

The result was somewhat humorous.......



HA HA HA HA! Ok, what gives? Well, the first book, "The 'Have More' Plan" is a book that was written back in the 50's (I believe) by Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, a couple that left the noise and pollution of New York City for a life in the country. It was their effort to educate others and help people see what kind of life there was to be had in living in the country. If you can get past the dated pictures and weed through the bad advice (like using DDT laced pesticides on your garden, or battery raising chickens), it's not a bad book at all. The Robinsons were actually recommending a life of country living, aka homesteading, as being a life where you could 'have more'. Not more in terms of cars, house, clothes... wealth as defined by culture. But rather, a wealth defined by hard work, good food, clean air, family, and self-reliance.

The second book, by Peter Walsh of TLC Channel fame, is his take on regaining control of your 'stuff'. This isn't another "how-to-organize-you-closet-in-fourteen-easy steps" book. His whole premise is that our culture has become one of 'stuff acquisition' to the point that our stuff now owns us rather than the other way around. People's lives are falling apart due, in large part according to Peter, to their homes being out of control. The one place they should be able to go to recuperate, recharge, and regain some sense of themselves is so full of junk, they can't think straight. He doesn't talk about how to store things. He talks about getting rid of things. Cleaning up, clearing out, mastering the stuff. He looks at the reasons behind why we keep all the things we don't think we can part with, and challenges us to make hard choices.

Well, even before I got the book, something in me snapped. I started cleaning out. (Which did help my mood a bit- see the previous post). I went through all kinds of stuff and took tubs of papers, catalogs, magazines, household stuff, nonsense... all to the recycle center or Goodwill. Our computer desk is actually cleared off and doesn't look a wreck. Melora has room for her school books on the shelves, my sock drawer isn't so full I can barely shut it, and our kitchen is a lot more empty of plastic containers.

Well, the two books do look rather contradictory sitting next to each other. But when you know what they're both talking about, they're not too far off from each other. In their own ways, they both seem to say, "Less is More"!

Slouching Away From Prosperity: Dan's Perspective, Part 2

I suppose it's probably a good idea to define what I mean by prosperity, since it can mean several different things. Prosperity isn't all bad. But what I mean in this context is the more general understanding of the word in American culture. The gaining of material wealth and symbols of our financial prowess (does anyone have any of that right now?). Truly, prosperity can mean other things. A person can certainly consider themselves prosperous as they view the shelves full of canned food from the harvest. They may feel prosperous as they see the new lambs in the pasture each Spring.... but alas, these notions aren't typically shared by most of our culture. No, the prosperity I'm pointing to is the mindset that traps people into thinking they need more, must have more, should work longer to afford more, can't go without more, have to keep up so someone else doesn't get more. In a word, materialism - the pursuit and acquisition of 'stuff'.

Christmas, since it's almost upon us, can be a time when materialism can really run rampant. For example, a Wal-Mart employee was literally trampled to death in a mad stampede of people rushing the store on Black Friday, all trying to get a deal. Sad. No pun intended in this paragraph, by the way.

My wife and I have a Christmas Club at the bank. Each paycheck, a certain amount is set aside and we get a check along about October to spend on Christmas. Really, it's just a built in safeguard against going broke at Christmas, since we're not disciplined enough to set the money aside ourselves. The bank does it for us. Ehh, nobody's perfect. Anyway, our Christmas Club isn't huge, and we buy presents for everyone on our list with that amount (ok, plus a little more). But it's still less than some people we've spoken to spend on just one of their kids!

So here are some ways we're slouching away from prosperity this year.

We're doing something different with Christmas this year. To avoid the 'glut' of presents on Christmas day, we decided to help our children appreciate the season a little more and mix things up. Each Sunday of Advent, I gather the family around, talk about one aspect of the Christmas story (last week the Angel and his messages, this week Mary and Joseph's obedience), light an Advent candle, say a prayer, and then the kids get to open one present. On Christmas day, they'll have stockings to open, and two or so nicer gifts we're saving. But they'll enjoy the season more as we go along. PLUS we're taking the focus off of 'stuff' and putting it back on the true reason for the holiday.

Another step, and a big one, I think, that we're taking this year is as follows. My family (Mom, sisters, etc.) have gotten to the point where buying for everyone is really more of a chore, than a joy. We don't need anything, and our 'wants' are pretty expensive sometimes. We've decided that we're going to spend the money on a needy family this year. For whatever reason, the rest of the family thinks they still need to buy for my kids "because they're little". We've bought mom a little something too. Otherwise, we're buying presents for a mom and her two daughters who live with the mom's mom. That's more like it. Something real, substantial, helpful.

Those are just a few ways we're working on removing the materialism from life this holiday. No, we're not perfect. The wife and I spent more than we intended on the kids, but we're not broke, either. We're working on it. I challenge you to try it too.

More to come....

Popcorn - the old fashioned way

I remember Friday nights at home as a kid. Dinner, clean up, wait.... Then.... "Dukes of Hazzard", then "Dallas" (ooooh, that JR), then "Falcon Crest". All of this craziness was usually accompanied by bowls full of popcorn.

My wife and I were doing some shopping yesterday while my mom had the kids. We were picking up a few odds and ends that we needed in the pantry and around the house. As we went down the snack aisle of the store, my wife asked me if we had microwave popcorn. I said I didn't know, because I usually don't eat the stuff much. She thought we were out, so she began looking at boxes in order to see if she could find a brand that didn't' have partially hydrogenated vegetable oil in it....

As an aside, I challenge you to do your grocery shopping without buying anything that contains either partially hydrogenated veggie oil, or high-fructose corn syrup. It can't be done! You'll come home with one, maybe two items! And neither of those ingredients are good for you - at all! But they're in absolutely everything!

Anyway, she could only find one kind of Orville Redenbocker's that didn't have it. It was packaged as organic or some such and cost more. Pshaw.

Now here's the thing about microwave popcorn... Until I was in High School back in the late 80's, such a thing was pretty well unheard of. But by the time I got into college, the smell of prepackaged/prebuttered popcorn could be smelled wafting from the snack room microwave nearly every night of the week. It's all about convenience, I guess.

Now, later on last night, I got to thinking about all the bags of microwave popcorn ever made in the world and I'm sure the number would be staggering. But at what cost? I burn more than I successfully make. And the partially hydro... oh sheesh, that's a lot to spell out.... the PHVO's are killing us. Then I thought, "Well here's something interesting to note..." People my age and older still refer to it as "Microwave Popcorn", contrasted to just 'popcorn'. See, to me, there is a vaaaast difference between the stuff in the bag, and real popcorn. So the fact that a lot of us still make a differentiation, in my opinion, is significant.

I still remember the black handled, silver metal pot that we used when I was a kid. Pour in the oil. Heat it up. Add the corn. Shake it a bit. Put the lid on and let it pop away. Once it's done, pour it out and then melt your butter in the still-hot pot.

So there we were, standing there there looking at the popcorn. In my effort to become more self-sufficient, I made a decision. We bought a bag of loose popcorn. It was about a buck-fifty and will make several servings of popcorn. Compare that with the boxes of 'the other stuff', which was more costly, not as good for you, and less exciting to make. I think I made a better choice.

Now here's the real biggie. My kids have never, NEVER seen popcorn made the 'old fashioned way' at home. This will blow their minds. They'll be amazed. So, I'm increasing their life experiences and doing something better for myself and my family too. How's that?