mmm... summer saved for later

I know I've been gone from here for a while. I haven't forgotten about you, it's been busy. Summer is a busy time of bursting gardens, sprinklers, grassy feet, hanging laundry and late dinner. It's also a time of preserving. If only I could preserve the sweet smell of summer mornings or the sound of laughing littles as they squeal with delight at the simplest of garden sprinkler. This is a sweet season we are in.

Late last week I bought a daunting 2 1/2 bushels of peaches as seconds from the local farmers markets. My sister and I had been planning on canning peaches as our first big preservation undertaking. I don't think either of us realized just how many peaches are in those boxes.
Friday afternoon we put up 13 quarts. Lesson learned that day, canning with babes underfoot is no fun. (and not super safe).
 Last night we reconvened after the youngest of littles were all tucked into bed. We cracked open a bottle of wine, donned our sturdy aprons and got to work. My mom even stopped down for a few hours to help out and share the bits of canning wisdom that she remembers. It was very cool to be in my kitchen with 3 generations of ladies getting our canning on.
4 hours and 28 quarts later we, literally, threw in the towel at midnight. (I still have about 1/2 a box left that I will just peel and freeze.)

My kitchen has a thin layer of sticky on just about every surface. I've been cleaning and wiping all day but I keep finding little patches here and there. This is a sweet season we are in friends.
4 hours, 2 sisters, one bottle of wine, loads of laughs (some from exhausted delirium), boxes of peaches, classic rock on the radio..... sweet indeed. I hope that my babes will not remember when they learned to can or even why they love it so much but that it is simply a part of them that brings joy to their souls. I can be sure that the sore back and feet will be worth every bite of summer goodness in the midst of winter cold. More importantly though is the time spent with family and friends soaking up the blessings of one another and this season of sweetness we are in.

Changing our norm

So the hubs and I have been watching loads of documentaries and reading lots of articles about shifting the way we look at our food and all of the things we put in and on our bodies and those of our babes. Most recently we watched "Bag it" a doc about plastic, mostly single use bags and packaging. They also touched on plastic children's toys and even the fragrance in our lotions and deodorant. I had never really given too much thought to those things. I remember the lead paint, Chinese toy scare and I've always wished for more handmade and wooden toys. I just never really saw the harm in picking up cheap plastic toys at yard sales and consignment sales. I won't go into all of it. I really don't want to be preachy, but if you are interested in learning more, check out the movie on Netflix.
 Today is payday in our house. Today is the day I pull out the binder, pay the bills, check the budget and dole out all the money hubs worked so hard to earn. Today is also grocery day. Today is The Day some major changes come to this house of ours.
I thought I'd share my goals and guidelines with you so I have some accountability and because I imagine this space will reflect a lot of them in the weeks, months and years to come. I know many of you have been living this way for a long time (I envy your knowledge and experience). I am in no way claiming to know it all or be better than anyone else. I am simply sharing where our family is headed and our journey along the way.

So yummy! Homemade cookie with local ice cream.

Ok, here we go...
(The goal is to move away from buying at the grocery store, away from buying food that has traveled farther than the farmer who grew it, and reducing the purchase of plastic packaging. To move toward buying local, in season, real food from the person who grew/raised/made it.)

-Continue to grow and raise as much of our food as we possibly can. And to be good stewards of the land and animals in our care.

-No more processed food. This includes crackers, goldfish, ketchup, mayo, sour cream, yogurt, ice cream, salad dressing, all of it. I will buy it from a local farm or producer, make it, or go without.

Homemade poptarts

- Go homemade! Bread, mayo, yogurt, maybe cheese (prob not soon), crackers, cookies, granola
bars, poptarts.

This book makes all of this seem possible. So many amazing recipes. Yogurt and granola bars are on the list for this week.

- Put it up! Can, freeze, dehydrate and otherwise store all the food we will need in the year to come. There are a few exceptions for this year, but I plan to put up as much as I can. Only buying out of season when I have to. The foods I see us running into problems with are broccoli and potatoes. I didn't have any success with my broccoli and my kids eat it 4 times a week and I don't think we'll get enough potatoes to last us through the winter.

small harvest of beets, beans and carrots. not enough to put up, but a yummy dinner. 

- I will buy flours, sugar, rice, and other ingredients in bulk and from a local small business.
- No more commercially made beauty care products. Now, I am NOT throwing away my make up, deodorant and shampoo, but as they run out I will replace them with a homemade or natural alternative.
- No more commercially made cleaning products. Laundry soap, hand soap, surface cleaner, glass cleaner. You get the drift right?
- I will buy used first! That means clothes, shoes, housewares, furniture, tools, everything that we can.
- Recycling should be our last choice. Reduce first, reuse second (re-purposing counts too)

We are in a season of growth, bounty and excess. I hope to perserve some of that to sustain our family through the seasons of cold, barren and sparse. I recently read that most cities and towns only have enough food within their borders to sustain the residents for 3 days. Three days!! I am not interested in being effected by such truth.