It’s 9:30 at night and I am almost done with today’s project: freezing green beans. I picked up 20 pounds of green beans from a local farmer yesterday and, unlike tomatoes, green beans don’t wait. I didn’t like waiting a day even, but that was the timing. I will soon be done blanching the second batch, dropping them into cold water, drying them, and packing them into plastic bags for the freezer and then finally going to bed.
Although my husband is gone, he will be back and I am trying to do what little bit I can to move forward with our dream of eating local food and starting a small farm by getting some things canned and frozen for winter. The green beans aren’t ours, but they are local, and next year we will have time to get the garden going and then yes, the green beans will be home-grown. For now, at least it keeps us eating a little local during the winter months and reminds us of what we’re working towards. When he gets home, I don’t want it to feel like we had to take a year off from our dream…just the six months. 🙂
My kids were raised entirely on homegrown,frozen green peas and green beans, also pressure canned green beans, my own combination of mixed vegetables. I never had a store bought can of green beans in my home. One of the first gifts my parents bought me, as a young mother, was a 22 quart Mirro pressure canner. It’s the same canner I use today.
No garden for me this year. We’ll get title to our new home at the end of this month. We’ve already staked out our space for next year’s garden..
There is nothing so satisfying as feeding your family food you’ve grown and preserved yourself. Keep up the great work!
Good for you, Joyce, for raising your kids that way! Many kids only know food comes from the store, ready to eat. 🙁