Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Your corn dodger sounds good, if fried, you would have ‘hush puppies’.
Your pork roast will work too, thanks, I had not had good luck with beef roasts in the crock pot, but then I was adding liquids, beer or coffee.
My sister cooked Corned Beef for St. Patricks day, she threw it in the pot , applied the seasoning packet and put the lid on.
I asked about liquids and she said, no, don’t use them, they will make their own........and it did.
Was very tasty.
I have used the mushroom gravy for years in cooking, but not everyone knows about how good it is.
When I am puny, I like it like gravy on bread and stuck in the microwave.
Cabbage, I like anyway it is fixed.
In the past, I fried potatoes, cabbage and onions as one dish, Bill liked it and so do I.
Men make good cooks, Bill was a good cook, but did not do it often enough..........but he always cooked my eggs for me and for years, he did the campfire cooking, then I made the mistake of doing it once and he quit.
A couple went prospecting with us on a few trips and Myrt brought the makings for cornbread, no oven of course, so she taught me to fry the batter like pancakes.......served with butter for dinner, it tastes like cornbread.
I like to add a small can of green peppers, a can of cream style corn and lots of cheese to a big pan of cornbread mixture and bake.........good. Freezes well too.
If I smell raw eggs, I can’t eat them.
Share your thoughts, it is good to come at survival from all angles.
” You know what else is good and can last forever(just about) beef and chicken bullion(spel?) cubes. I wouldn’t use them now for anything but if TSHTF, those cubes will come in handy over rice and be mighty tasty. “
Ya might also look at the pre-packaged, just add water, gravy mixes — WM house brand is about 3/$1, and they’re easily stored..... Good over rice, and a package in a pot of beans is a decent change of pace..... ;~)
Ate it with a spoon.
Who said we could afford bread?
Just kiddin...
Soy sauce also stores well, as does Worcestershire sauce.
Bring it on over, I am ready.
Think I missed a meal tonight.
Smiling right back at you.
You just waking up? I pinged y'all 2 hours ago :)
In the event that we have no electricity for weeks/months, it’s important to have cookware that can be used over a campfire, grill, fireplace, etc. Cast iron is good. I also have a stovetop coffe maker. Can’t do without my coffee, don’t you know.
” it’s important to have cookware that can be used over a campfire, grill, fireplace, etc. Cast iron is good. “
For those of us on limited budgets and some patience, thrift stores and flea markets can be a good source for “camp-ware” items — even at Walmart, the stuff is prohibitively expensive.....
Our neighbor plowed my field last week so I’m planning on getting peas and beans in this week. I’m also going to be getting a lot of seeds started indoors.<<<
Wonderful, I am so glad for you and a little jealous.
It is good that you are teaching the 9 year olds how to garden and plant seeds.
When I tell my kids how we used to eat bacon grease sandwiches or butter, sprinkled with sugar ones they get a disgusting look on their faces.
Soy sauce also stores well, as does Worcestershire sauce.
Yes it does. We bought food and spices that we like to eat. It would be a waste to buy something we haven't tried or don't like.
” I also have a stovetop coffe maker. Can’t do without my coffee, don’t you know. “
In a pinch, I can make boiled coffee (aka ‘cowboy coffee) in a saucepan.....
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add 3 scoops of coffee, let boil for 3-5 minutes, remove from heat and add 3 cups of cold water — the cold water drops the grounds to the bottom of the pan, and pour the clear coffee off the top...
We have so many of those stored. We particularly like the red bean seasoning mix, fantastic.
One good thing about lard you can say - as far as foods go, the only thing on the planet that has more Vit D is cod liver oil.
Not sure if the Vit D survives the heat when you cook bacon, though.
We only drink goat milk.<<<
How lucky you are.
Yes, enjoy every minute that you can, as life on this earth is far shorter than we expect it to be.
I did not get half of the things I wanted to do, done and then age took its toll.
When I was on goat milk, I did not have the allergies and stomach problems that I do now.
And I cannot drink what they call milk in the stores today, it tastes, to me, like fake vitamins.
Did you know that as early as the 1920’s they were doing tests, by the gov, to see if switching babies to goat milk would stop the crib deaths?
It seems they thought, that an allergy to cow milk, caused a flem and that flem would then clog the babies windpipe.
England was also doing tests.
I forgot to take off the italics.
ping
” I forgot to take off the italics. “
;~)
That’s okay — I don’t even do italics... (Quotation marks were good enough for my Daddy, and they’re good enough for me!) ;~)
Two is a good idea.
I thought the wind up radio, was needed, after we were without electric for a day and I did not know what the rest of the world was doing..........LOL
I haven’t tried the Nitro Pak company, will take a look.
Thanks for the link.
My Grandmother’s recipe for
Tomato Pie
4 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 (9-inch) prebaked deep dish pie shell
1 cup grated mozzarella
1 cup grated cheddar
1 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the tomatoes in a colander in the sink in 1 layer. Sprinkle with salt and allow to drain for 10 minutes.
Layer the tomato slices, basil, and onion in pie shell. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the grated cheeses and mayonnaise together. Spread mixture on top of the tomatoes and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
To serve, cut into slices and serve warm.
Yes they are. We bought them a piece at a time. The last piece we bought was a cast iron kettle that I put in storage. Flea markets are a great place to find them. They have already been seasoned. Just keep them well oiled between uses.
I have one skillet that I have been using for over twenty years. Many a meal has been cooked in it.
She's been learning since day 1 :) I was weeding my tomato and pepper plants with her in a snuggli the week after she was born!!! We still lived in town at the time but I did have a 10'x20' garden in the yard.
Her friend down the road also helps out and the friend's 3yo sister is also going to help this year. Their great-grandparents still farm and so they (sort of) know what they're doing.
I grew up in NYC and gals I went to HS with (30th reunion is this year) still tell me they can't imagine me being a "farmer."
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