Friday 13 September 2013

Our larder is coming along

We have a tray full of green tomatoes,
for eating, chutney, and eventually ripening,
whereupon they will be canned.

We have buckets of figs on the kitchen table,
already twenty one jars of jam has been made,
and eight jars of chutney,
and a big bag of dehydrated slices
for nibbles.
So more going to be dehydrated today.
Figs keep you going,
as they do dogs who eat them.
We know this to be a fact
because of the evidence lying on the floor this morning.

We have a row of aubergines (egg plants),
sitting on the table as well.
Don't know what to do with them,
so, dehydrate them for the moment,
then sort out how to eat them later on.
Same with the little pile of chillies.

We had a few bags of windfall apples donated to us,
and they are sitting underneath the table,
apart from the pot of cooked apples,
waiting to be whizzed in the food processor,
to go into canning jars for apple pies later on.
So, another 'must do' task is to cook the rest
before they rot,
windfall apples mostly being bruised and magotty.

Also underneath the table
we have a bucketful of long red onions,
which are going into the dehydrator,
when time permits.
Kibbled onions is what they are going to be,
I think.

We have a fridge full of milk,
waiting to have the cream lifted off,
waiting for the cheese to be,
and the little piggies,
waiting to gobble the milk down,
which they do at maximum speed,
snortling and squealing fit to bust,
if no milk appears
to sate their appetites.

We have two freezers full of mostly meat,
which needs to go into jars and canned,
because we need more space
for the meat, which is still on the hoof out in the fields.
All this is waiting to be done.

We have potatoes waiting to be dug up,
the ground being soft now it has rained.
We have some already harvested,
and they are going to be canned.
We have beetroot to be harvested, 
and that is to be canned as well.
As for the carrots,
them too.
And the parsley.
And then there is the coriander seeds,
and the fennel seeds,
all waiting for our attention.
Oh, and there are more tomatoes to come in.

So, with all this super duper efficiency going on
in regards to being self sufficient,
my time for actually feeding us has become minimal.
What I mean is,
that we are off to the local supermarket
for coffee and bun,
for breakfast,
because there is nothing readily available to eat,
because I am busy storing it away
for the future!




13 comments:

Rhodesia said...

Our larder has run out of shelves! Our figs, quinces and medlars are not near ready yet soooooooo...
Our aubergines, I have been making Ratatouille and bottling it ready for winter, we have so many courgettes, tomatoes and peppers.
Keep up the good work and have a good weekend. Diane

rusty duck said...

Looking good.
And presumably the time spent now will save you time during the rest of the year.

Ohiofarmgirl said...

looks fantastic! great work! and its nice to get out for breakfast, isnt it?

The Squirrel Family said...

Oh i love this time of year and totally get the 'there's nothing to eat ' moments


Don't envy you the figgy pooch clean up job! lol

Denise said...

You'll be okay if it snows, then! X

Niall & Antoinette said...

That larder's beginning to look very good :-)
We have one immature fig on our tree but the feral tree next to one of the ruined houses in the lieu dit looks promising and we might 'appropriate' some!

Horst in Edmonton said...

Hi Vera, wonderful to see that your larder is filling up. I can't imagine how busy you are right now.

I've been home now from the hospital for 2 weeks now and doing very well. Hopefully I will be going on long walks in a month or 2.

Nice to hear that everything is going well on the small holding, talk with you later.

John Going Gently said...

Well done old gal
Winter is just around the corner

Tommo said...

Wow! Impressive.

Vera said...

Diane, you have inspired me to have a go at ratatouille! Knew you would be deep in harvesting as well!

Jessica, that's the theory - that all this food prepping will let me have time off from the kitchen when I need to be at my computer for hours on end!

Ohiofarmgirl, yes it is nice to have breakfast out, but it is even better to come back home again!

The Squirrel Family, those doggy doings are continuing as the figs keep falling! Glad to know that someone else has a 'nothing to eat' moment in the kitchen!

Denise, it never snows here, but all this food prepping will give me time to write during the winter. That's the theory anyway.

Niall & Antoinette, go 'borrow' those figs! I would!

Horst, I have missed you! Was wondering what had happened to you when I was in the middle of doing things this morning, and so sent blessings out to you just in case you needed them!

John, winter is coming, that's for sure, and it feels nice to see the larder starting to fill up! We might be freezing but our stomachs will be full!

Tommo, bless you, and thanks.

Jean said...

Amazing !!
I had to laugh a the last bit - it reminds me of the number of times we come out of the supermarket and say "what shall we have for lunch?" Then we find we have nothing immediately to hand and go to the pub !!

Vera said...

Jean, we've done that as well!

The Beautiful Music of Words said...

Hi Vera,
Your larders looking gorgeous!
You are truly awesome, and the seeds you have planted bear the riches of your toil and labour.
You are truly blessed by an abundant Universe.
God bless you always