Summer In A Jar
I love this canning recipe that came from Better Homes and Gardens! It’s garlicky, crunchy, beautiful in a jar, it makes a fantastic gift, and is a taste of summer in the winter! I canned 38 pints of this last year and gave them as Christmas presents. I did make some adjustments to the recipe after some trial and error.
Ingredients

• 2 ears of corn
• 3 cups cauliflower florets
• 3 medium red sweet peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 12 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 medium onions, cut into small wedges
• 3 cups water
• 3 cups white vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

Directions

1. Remove husks from ears of corn. Scrub with a stiff brush to remove silks; rinse. Add enough water to cover. Bring to boiling. Cook, uncovered, for 3 minutes; drain. Cut the corn off the cob into a large pot. Cut and slice the rest of the vegetables into the pot.
2. In a 4- to 5-quart stainless-steel, enamel, or nonstick heavy pot combine the 3 cups water, vinegar, sugar, garlic, red pepper and salt. Bring mixture to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar.
3. Pack vegetables into six hot, sterilized pint canning jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace.  Pour hot vinegar mixture over vegetables, maintaining the 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and wipe jar rims; adjust lids.
4. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks. Makes 6 pints.

You have Summer In A Jar!

It's Canning Season!!

It’s Canning Season!!
I am so excited it’s canning season!! I don't just stockpile food for a collapse but I rely on it year round. I have to say I got my love of canning from my mother. We were a country family of six and she knew how to stretch a dollar. My Dad would always plant a huge garden because his philosophy was “You plant a garden that will feed your family and your neighbors” and we did! At least 2 acres of sweet corn, pickles, peppers, etc. The summer was 4-H for me but full mode canning for my mom. I never really appreciated this until a about 10 years ago when I was on a fixed budget and was totally done with eating Ramen Noodles, and basically empty carbs and calories. For my birthdays and Christmas’s I asked for storage units and a high pressure canner and a water bath canner. I turned my 2nd bedroom into my pantry/storage room with a chest freezer that my parents also gave me.


That room has been my lifesaver over the last few years. It has provided me with food and Christmas presents (yes Christmas presents). On the lean weeks and sometimes months I just go back to my pantry and I have plenty of food. From Jan 2014 to May 2014 because of financial emergencies I lived out of that storage room, it provided all my food,  toiletries, and grooming products.
This is not something you don’t just kinda do, it takes effort and work. I clip coupons and when things are on sale I stock up when I have the money. Not just food but toilet paper, paper towels, deodorant, shampoo etc. and at one time I had about 500lbs of food and supplies on each of my 2 storage units..that’s 1000lbs of food for a bit of work and planning! My deep freeze I use more for meat and I make casseroles, chili, soups, goulash etc that I freeze in individual containers for my lunches which think about it for a minute…how often do you buy your lunch, how healthy is it, and how much could you save taking your own?


Last year for $58 I made all of my own pasta sauce, salsa, summer in a jar, a few jams, frozen peppers and zucchini, and they were also the Christmas presents that I gave out. How much did you spend on Christmas presents to your family and friends and for your own use on the items I mentioned. And the best thing is what you can is THE healthiest!
So my challenge to you today is add up what you spent on what I mentioned above, your weekly eat out meals, and what you spent on Christmas presents to your friends. So with a bit of effort right now will save you HUGE over the year! Over this summer I will be posting my canning recipes and also I will do the math on how much it costs me vs. how much I would spend to buy it. Not to mention how much fun it is just to do it!!

Running The Numbers On Raising Livestock

I was raised on the farm where we raised cattle, pigs, and chickens. We hunted wild rabbits but did not raise any. Now as an adult I am limited on space and resources. So..

when running the numbers what livestock is the most economical to raise?

Cattle

Depending on the breed of cattle you raise Holsteins we butchered out at 18 months and Hereford or Angus we butchered out at 24 months. In most places they require at least 3 acres to raise livestock but if you only have 3 acres that is enough area to grow the alfalfa and grain to support this animal. To raise a steer to butchered weight requires 2 to 4lbs of grain and 3% of body weight per day in pasture or hay. Gestation is 9 months so you will have 1 calf per year.

Pigs

Dealing with pigs is a whole different thing. They usually reach butcher weight in 6 months and they need between 2 to 4lbs of grain per day but they will forage or root and they will eat a variety of things. They are also to me like a composting machine and can devour most anything. The down falls is the space along with when they get out they can make short work of a garden in no time. Their gestation is 114 days and usually have 8 to 12 (or more) per litter and usually have 2 litters per year. On the farm we put them in farrowing crates to have their babies because some sows will eat their young and they will also lay on them. My personal opinion is I really can't stand raising these animals.

Goats

I never had goats growing up on the farm but I had them as an adult on a previous farm. I cannot say enough good things about raising these as livestock. They are will eat about anything and even when my goats got out they never went anywhere except the front and back yard. I even had 2 does were the best babysitters for my son when he was playing in the yard. If he wandered where they felt he shouldn't be they would gently butt him into going back in the direction they wanted. You get both milk and meat just the same as cattle but with a fraction of space and grain a cow needs. Also the make up of goats milk is about as close as you can get to a humans mothers milk so in a survival situation this can mean life or death for an infant. From a good doe I would get about 3 quarts a day and I had 3 sons living at home so I would mix it 50/50 with instant milk. I fed my goats 1lb of grain and 1 leaf of hay per goat per day. A goats gestation period is around 150 days and they usually have 1 to 2 babies (kids) per birth. When raising for meat some will breed a doe back in about 30 days of giving birth.

Rabbits

I hunted wild rabbits (and still do) as a kid on the farm but I never really considered or ran the numbers on them as livestock in a survival situation until I listened to Nick Klein of the Hostile Hare during the Survival Summit. I had no idea that in a 20x20 space you can raise 3100lbs of meat! I knew rabbits reproduce at a high rate but I never really ran the numbers regarding space and feeding costs. A single doe can have up to 64 babies per year and that is alot of meat in a survival situation. Their gestation is 31 days and butcher weight is 5lbs or more and usually at 10 to 12 weeks of age.. According to Nick his choice of food is barley sprouts/fodder. Feeding alfalfa can produce kidney and reproduction problems so Timothy or Orchard grass is preferred.

Chickens

Most of us know about chickens that produce meat and eggs so I won't go in to this.

My personal opinion is the most economic as far as space and resources is a combination of goats for the dairy and meat, rabbits for meat, and chickens for eggs and meat.

Tell us about your experiences in raising the above livestock

Be prepared, not sorry