Episode Details

Today we will walk through a day in a country kitchen that is filled with preserving, cooking, harvesting and other "from scratch" undertakings. Summer time is the high point for so many projects that it can get a little overwhelming -- and sometimes just knowing that everyone else who lives this way faces the same problems can go a long way in how your approach summer inn a farm, homestead or urbanstead kitchen.

This week's webinar: https://calendly.com/sparkcomm/canning1?month=2020-07

Introduction to canning - Thursday, July 16, 12pm Central

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

• Dilly beans being put up this week (why)
• Saving Tomatoes when you have too few to can
• Salsa canning season is here
• Still need to do the freezer defrost and audit

Feature Forage - (defer)

Operation Independence

• Arranged to finish hooking up the solar hot water heater - fingers crossed because the less propane I use, the less I buy
• Exciting new project at Holler Roast - more as things develop

Main topic of the Show: Kitchen Logistics for Summer Processing

What motivated this show

From Christie and Victoria: How can a person make the process simpler instead of having a bunch of things going on all over the kitchen. How can it be made more like a factory assembly line?

Here is my issue. My usual canning day Wake up early to beat the heat picking the garden. Wash up whatever I picked - say green beans but it could be anything cucumbers, whatever. Snap a 5 gallon bucket. Get out all the canning stuff. Can the green beans. Let's say 2 canners full. Now it's 5:00 or later and this old lady is exhausted! Hard, hard work, but! Well worth it in January. Any tips or tricks are welcome.

My weekend: tomatoes, pig kidney, beans, eggs, beets, chard, cucumbers, pecans, dill, coriander - actual food for the humans. Planting the fall garden.

Tip 1: Choose your timing carefully

• Bean example
• Cheese making

Tip 2: Plan your meals carefully

• Premade salads
• Crockpot
• BBQ outside
• Eat at a neighbors

Tip 3: The canning/processing pantry or kitchen

• Outdoor set up
• Pantry set up
• Livingroom set up
• My set up

Tip 4: Ask for help

• Shelling pecans
• Osso Buco
• Janna and the corn

Tip 5: Finish

• Beet greens and chard
• Bean harvest and cleaning

What really happened

Day 1

1. Came home with stuff from the market - kitchen counters were already filled with "in-process" projects: Coriander and teas
2. Started sun tea
3. Made breakfast and planned dinner, then harvested salad and tomatoes
4. Jennifer stopped by and started hulling pecans (kurt story) while I cleaned the kitchen as best I could and processed dill into manageable pieces
5. Started the oven to bake eggs at 150 for 2 hours (will end up crushing them and using them in soil)
6. Helped hull the pecans
7. Brought in Sun Tea

8. Listen Now