Ginger pears (vegan)

For this I used mostly d'anjou and some red scarlet pears.

 As promised I am going to let you know what I choose to put up and when so you can see what goes into my pantry/larder.

I think that ginger is one of those things that rings freshness through the nose.  You FEEL it's flavor.  Like hot peppers, it is a bit of a physically undeniable experience that extends the tasting to a perfume.
I feel Ginger harkens excitement, awakening and makes things happier.  I once hated it and now am confused at how I could have possibly.

I am a big pear fan.  I feel like if I had a friend I'd want them to be an apple - a little more durable and robust, but a pear is a lover.  It takes a little more finesse and you must treat them nicer.  So isn't it lovely that pears have a very long season (variety to variety).  This means that they can get nabbed locally (for me) for a lot of months.  This makes me feel contented until their prices go up... then less so.  So preserving them is a good thing while they are cheap.  Cheap, FRESH, seasonal and local.

I looked through the giant catalog styled books of canning and found not a jot interesting enough to try out on the pears (other than pear butters, which require a lot more pears than I was willing to sacrifice).  So feeling a bit like Imelda Marcos needing a pair of sturdy hiking boots I went all internet on it and still came up short.  In which case the result is *&@% it, add cardamom and ginger - bang. Done.

I use Jelly jars for this recipe because it is potent and I can't imagine eating a lot in one sitting.  If you have a big family then Quarts may be the way to go.

You will need approximately 1 pear for every half pint (the little jelly jars) you use.  The yield depends on how packed you can get the jars with pear pieces.  It averages 10 half pints per this recipe of liquid it you jam them babies up well (making sure to leave just enough room to have the lids seat properly).  I got 20 jars from 18 pears and did the recipe below twice for that same amount.

5 - 6 Cups water
2 1/2 Cups vegan sugar - this is considered a "light syrup" I feel "light" is by old standards and seems really sweet to me.
8-10 cardamom pods
2 -3 twigs of cinnamon (I used real cinnamon not cassia bark... Ceylon/real cinnamon is lovely, delicate and smooth,  cassia is potent so you can use a lot less of it for this.  1 twig or 1 heaping tsp of cassia cinnamon.  If you don't know if your powder is cassia and you are in the US, chances are it is, if it says Ceylon then you know it isn't.  If it doesn't state this implicitly then it is cassia.)
3/4 inch knuckle of ginger root grated (This is plenty to bring the feeling and taste of ginger without a lot of nose heat, if you'd like more do it up.)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 lemon's zest

Bring water to a simmer - light boil, add sugar and whisk gently to blend into dissolving. Once dissolved add spices, zest and ginger. While liquid simmers and steeps peel and core fruit and slice into chunks and coat with a touch of lemon juice to keep them from browning.
In your clean jars add a 1 tsp lemon juice this will insure your fruit has enough acidity to preserve.
pack well with pear pieces.
Strain your very hot liquid through a sieve and fill jars with syrup leaving 1/4-1/2 inch room.
Lid and finger tighten then place into water bath's boil water.

I pre-warm my oven to 150-200
I have the jars rumble boil in the bath for at least 12 minutes then move the hot jars to a lightly warm oven 150-200 for 5 minutes... then move the jars to room temp until they cool.  This will help them cool down SLOWLY.  You'll hear the jars doing "things" and making sounds for the next hour and that is the jars sealing themselves into that vacuum to keep things tasty and pure for you.

Process your water bath as you normally do.  If you don't normally do this then I recommend you grab a book on the subject to fully understand it as food preservation is pretty crucial to get correct.  The rule is that you hear a "voop" sound when you open the jar to eat.  It not... that jar of stuff can make you dead sick, or just dead.

Pack your jars well so when the jar is sealed and the fruit floats there isn't a lot of room that is just syrup.

Serve these as a dessert alone or over ice cream, whipped cream, vanilla breads of a variety of sorts or a rich deep almost bitter chocolate thing.

I'm blowing your mind, I know.
...crickets...

Stocking up wisely -- eating where you are

 
 

Some industrious women who kept their progeny healthy.

Planning for disruptions in the food supply chain is something earlier generations were all too familiar with.  Our modern day shipment system has lulled us into a false and dangerous sense of complacency since we're not actually more insulated from shortages than earlier generations -- we're less.  This is due to two major factors.  First and foremost, food stores and stores in general operate on a "Just In Time" delivery system.  This means there's not some secret warehouse out back with supplies when the shelves run out.  When a product is sold out, more must be on its way already.  This system breaks down catastrophically during periods of unexpected turmoil -- when healthy supplies are needed most.  The second reason why we're not better of is due to the fact that most people do not have a real pantry to speak of.  Here at Potlicker HQ, we wrote about this early on.  But that entry was not inclusive, and since that time, I have organized my thoughts on how best to organize your efforts.

A WWII leaflet that helped people make do and thrive on less.

Before starting into what we should stock up on, it's important to know why we should stock up on it in the first place.  A pantry filled with bottles of jam may be tasty, but if you had to live our of your pantry for say, 2 months, you'd literally starve.   So, what DO we need to have to be healthy?   Well, we need to mind two different factors: energy balance and nutrient balance:

Nutrients:

• Proteins - essential to growth and repair of muscle and other body tissues
• Fats - one source of energy and important in relation to fat soluble vitamins
• Carbohydrates - our main source of energy
• Minerals - those inorganic elements occurring in the body and which are critical to its normal functions
• Vitamins - water and fat soluble vitamins play important roles in many chemical processes in the body
• Water - essential to normal body function - as a vehicle for carrying other nutrients and because 60% of the human body is water
• Roughage - the fibrous indigestible portion of our diet essential to health of the digestive system

And then the energy part, which is different for every person depending on things like age, size, activity levels and so on.  We all have a base metabolic rate, which is our baseline for minimum energy.  If we fall below intake of this, our body has to take it from our reserves or slow metabolism down, and that is not a good thing.

To do it right, we need a reliable balance or blend of energy forms in our diet that "burn" the right way -- just like any machine the fuel has to be right for the engine to function optimally.

Ideally that blend looks something like this:

• 57% Carbohydrates (sugar, sweets, bread, cakes)
• 30% Fats (dairy products, oil)
• 13% Protein (eggs, milk, meat, poultry, fish)

So, this handy chart helps you know what to stock up and in what ratios.  But let's not stop there.  Fat is something that has a very bad rap in our society -- and undeservedly so.  Our brains require it to function, and it helps us store energy reserves for leaner times.  When we don't get enough of it, we lose our minds and starve to death.  No kidding.   In nature it can be one of the hardest things to obtain because it is such a complex structure.  And, to make matters more difficult, there are different kinds of fat as well.

All fats contain both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids but are usually described as 'saturated' or 'unsaturated' according to the proportion of fatty acids present. Saturated fats are generally solid at room temperature and tend to be animal fats. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and are usually vegetable fats - there are exceptions e.g. palm oil, a vegetable oil that contains a high percentage of saturated fatty acids.

And, carbohydrates have different forms as well;  starchy (aka complex) carbohydrates and simple sugars.    Honey is a great example of a simple sugar source, where potatoes are a classic starchy carb.  Both of these provide essential energy to muscles in the form of glycogen.  The starchy carbohydrates are the ones that have all the vitamins and minerals in them as well as protein. They are also low in fat.  The downside of them is their bulkiness may inhibit your ability to get enough energy from them.   Simple sugars on the other hand are fast-burning, high energy fuel.

Your digestive system converts the carbohydrates in food into glucose, a form of sugar carried in the blood and transported to cells for energy. The glucose, in turn, is broken down into carbon dioxide and water. Any glucose not used by the cells is converted into glycogen - another form of carbohydrate that is stored in the muscles and liver. However, the body's glycogen capacity is limited to about 350 grams; once this maximum has been reached, any excess glucose is quickly converted into fat. Ok, so this is all pretty technical, but here's where it translates into your pantry.

First, there are a few different what I call "vectors" to keep track of:

• cost
• locality (i.e. distance from your home base)
• availability & seasonality
• substitutes (your first choice should be natural/healthy, affordable, storable, and ideally local with a long shelf life)
• importance and composition of the ratio above

 These variables will make up your own personal equation for stocking up.

First, let's talk about locality (distance).  In a short term crisis, this is not as essential because you're expecting the supply chain to be restored after some expected period.  In a long-term crisis, however, this variable is king.   I'll get into that more in a moment.  This will help you gauge your radius.

Availability and seasonality has to do with time of year and your particular location.  In some places you can't grow certain things.  This seems pretty obvious to some, but you'd be amazed how many people think a tomato in Winter is perfectly natural.  Thankfully, there are lot of different charts available about what is in season and when.

Substitutes are a way of determining first, second and third choice for your stock up goods.  For example, in the fats area it might go:  olive oil, pork fat, sunflower oil  in starchy carbs it might be: sweet potato, sunchoke, russet potato

Selecting your primary choices for stocking up is it's own entry, but use the vectors to help you decide.  So, healthy, natural, low cost, local, easily storable, long shelf life is best.

Victorian larder full of pickled sauces, preserves and spices.

Victorian cold storage with potted meats.

So, we need to create a chart that allows us to examine the various vectors in order of importance:

CARBS
FATS
PROTEINS

Then columns for each vector:
DISTANCE
AVAILABILITY
COST

In the availability column, we want to have a Y/N answer, meaning:  "could I or someone with land within 100 miles grow this here?"   Distance is simply how far away the thing is, regardless if you can grow it locally or not.  Cost is your own scheme, but I use High, Medium, and Low.  Also, be mindful of what would cost significantly more during a time of disruption.  Water is a great example of this.  It's cheap and plentiful until it's not, and then it is impossible to get and super expensive.

Next we plug in our favored sources of nutrition and energy into the fields like so:

CARBS

NAME	DISTANCE	AVAIL	COST	CHOICE
sweet potato	local	Y	low	1
sunchoke	local	Y	medium	2

And so on...

Next, you look at the storage space you have and stock up in order that it appears in your list!  And, don't forget the all important salt, water and spices.  It's virtually impossible to have too much of that.  And, having a few luxury items around like coffee and chocolate might not be a bad thing either.

Lastly, you need to determine what type of disruption you are planning for.  Is it 2 weeks?  2 months?  a year?  forever?  In the last case, your pantry could tide you over until you can get food crops growing and animals raised.  And, when planning for self sufficiency, all of these ratios still apply!  Plan your own operations so you have multiple sources of each staple with the highest number of the most important thing.  It's how people have survived on potatoes and lard for generations.

We will keep you posted on what we choose to stock, why and how.
Things that I have on hand in a fairly large number at any time is :

• Organic flours
• Olive Oil
• Home Canned Tomatoes
• Sea Salt
• Vinegar (easy to make after you acquire the mother)
• Honey
• Spices
• Herbs
• Dry beans (lentils of a variety as well)
• Rice
• Dried meat (yes, I'm serious)
• Preserves (a variety)

Freezers are a luxury that should not be relied upon.  When the power goes out, so does your food.
If you want to really save freezer food I recommend the chest freezers as they keep colder longer by not letting all the cold air escape when you open them.  This is a big plus when the power is out and you need to get something out.

Lemons and Limes for keeps

I've salted and sugared some limes and tossed them into a jar along with the juice of 4 other limes.  I have also salted some lemons and put those into a jar along with the juice of 3 other lemons. 

The salt will draw out the juice and create a citrus brine for preserving the fruits in.  The only maintenance it needs is to shake the brine a little to coat the lemons and limes respectively every other day (most important during its initial curing of 3 weeks) while visiting your fridge.  Once the brine covers the majority of the citrus, it will keep refrigerated for a year.  This leaves plenty of time to do it all over again the next year.  After about 3 weeks the citrus will be soft and supple and at that point, the rind is soft and edible too.  These are excellent for salads and other Summer refreshment.  When the lemons and limes are this way they qualify as a full-fledged  condiment and can be used just as you would any other.  And, best of all, a little goes a long way and is always an impressive addition.

Instructions on cutting, salting, canning these citrus:

- Meyer are the preferred choice, but really any will do.

- The amount of salt and additional juice depends on the jar size. 1 quart Mason or Kerr jar needs 2 TBSP salt (then add the juice as mentioned below)

- The double quart size needs 4 TBSP of salt

- For the additional juice, you want enough to help give the citrus a boost.  This again depends on the size of jar and how many fruit you choose to do.  1/3 or better of juice/brine is best to start off.   It will continue to make its own brine as the salt does its magic.

- With the limes, I chose a smaller jar as the slices of limes are so much smaller than the lemons that the same amount of wedges fill a much smaller jar.  For limes I also add 2 TBSP vegan sugar along with 2 TBSP sea salt.

• Cut one end off -- enough to reveal some fruit and not just the pith, cut the other end just enough to stand your fruit upright
• Cut downwards from the most cut end toward the stand end along the wedges direction but not severing the citrus entirely through. Repeat in as many wedges as you'd like - I do 6 for each.
• Pour salt into each wedge cut making certain each side of each wedge is well salted.
• Cut and juice the amount of citrus you'd like for the jar you've selected
• Pour 2-4 TBSP salt into the jar (2 for 1 pint-1 quart 4 for a double quart).
• Pour a lesser amount of sugar into the jar if you'd like it to be a touch less tangy in the end (it's rather minimal and I do it for limes
• You can add spices like cloves, cinnamon sticks and allspice to lemons if they are too edgy.  I like it without because they have more uses without the spices added.  Maybe try two little batches?

Now this is really a very general recipe and hasn't many rules.  The basic rules are:

• You want enough salt to keep the citrus and enough to make brine
• You want enough starter brine so the citrus is eventually covered
• You want it to taste like a million dollars and for people to think you're incredible.

You can leave the citrus out overnight to let it stand at room temperature and after that move it to the refrigerator with a shake to coat and tend to it as you think of it.  A good shake should move the salt from the base of the jar and redistribute it.

Dry Goods

 All-purpose flour (Unbleached and NOT enriched)

Whole wheat flour (NOT enriched)

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (NOT enriched)

YOU DO NOT NEED Cake flour you can skip the cornstarch and SIFT your finer flour like grandma used to!

Cornmeal {{ when in desperate corn need I use Bob's Red Mill corn flours, It has treated me well IN MODERATION and I cut it like in the Killer Corn Muffins with other flours}} (I think by now most folks know the deal with corn is that it is heavily modified, it resembles corn as we knew it, it is nearly impossible to even grow any that has not been modified- the best you can do is either grow it or not have it)

VEGAN sugar (this is not because animals are cute or are our friends, and they are, it is because refined sugars often use bones to bleach and process the sugar. Natural MSG. It does other things too.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_char )

This Confectioner's sugar (NO! This form of sugar is derived from granulated sugar made from sugar beets -which are very high in naturally occurring glutamate- or sugar cane. It can have an additional ingredient -this was in the definition I do not know to what additional ingredient they are speaking, cornstarch, which helps to keep the sugar from clumping - yeah right, because we have never used cornstarch pour out some in half powder and half in clumps? Oh, or was that just me?. Essentially, granulated sugar is ground into a finer sugar to make the powdered form. It often does not have ingredients, or has INCOMPLETE ingredients)

Brown sugar (this is a tough one. I use it sparingly when used... never more than a half cup because the origins get muddy as with refined/granulated sugar which is its first ingredient)

Baking soda

Baking powder (Cornstarch with Baking soda, stick with the baking soda it will get you there without the problems!)

Yeast (Freeze for longer shelf life)

Cornstarch (NO NO NO! Nasty)

Unsweetened cocoa

Unsweetened chocolate

Semi or bitter sweet chocolate

Oatmeal

Cereal - GRANOLA!

Pasta, white and/or whole grain (Never enriched!)

Rice

Brown rice

Wild rice

Arborio rice

Barley

Couscous (never enriched)

Quinoa (high in protein so when it is cooked, it contains the natural break down of protein but not nearly as bad as the stuff ADDED to foods.)

Kidney beans

Great Northern beans

Lentils

Chick peas

Split peas

(ALL legumes, and beans will have the natural break down of protein but not nearly as bad as the stuff ADDED to foods.)

The Pantry

 Not ours, but awesome!

(most of these things need to be canned by you to be totally safe otherwise they are noted as name brand or will have helpful instructions on HOW to preserve them.)

Whole tomatoes

Tomato sauce/Crushed tomatoes (you can seive this or process it through mechanism for extra smooth sauces)

Ketchup (you make it!!!  recipe)

Canned fruits

Pie fillings (fruits, berries which have been canned by YOU)

Salsa

Eden mustard

Canned Tuna (Some of these are safe. For the most part they are not. I can list brands that are currently on my OKAY FOR NOW list, because you never know when a company will go to the dark side)

Green beans

Asparagus

Corn (I think by now most folks know the deal with corn is that it is heavily modified, it resembles corn as we knew it, it is nearly impossible to even grow any that hasn't been modified- the best you can do is either grow it or not have it)

Peanut butter (mold and issues with nut butters)

Assorted pickles (this can be a LOT of different veggies along with the common pickle)

Pure maple syrup

Honey

Vanilla extract

Almond extract

any mint oils or citrus oils you like (noting that vinegars, citrus, and marinades of any kind break down protein when SITTING for long periods of time or cooked with high temperatures)

Hot sauce

A pantry from the old days!