Looking Back
31 Dec 2025 11:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ursulas_alcove2025 started with learning how to pressure can. On my quirky electric stove, this was harder than you'd think. The original goal was one pressure canning session per week. No, I didn't stick with that goal. I had picked up a Presto pressure canner, the smaller size to see if this was even something I would like to do. I'm glad I bought one but no, I am not inclined to upgrade to an American Canner in a bigger size. I am not feeding a family of 8 or more. Do I want to grow more of my own food and preserve it? Yes. We do prefer fresh or frozen food. I think I'd be more inclined to spend the extra money on a power station to keep the freezer going in a power outage.
Things I tried pressure canning in 2025 are beans, Chicken Stew, Mince Meat, Pot Roast, Sloppy Joes, TeriyakiChicken, BBQ Pork, cold pack plain chicken, also beef, Beef Bolognese, and corn. Mostly I continued my normal schedule of preserving fruit with jams and jellies. Some produce came from the farmer's market. I haven't tried the mince meat yet. The chicken turned out dry. The Sloppy Joes were wonderful for days when there was no time to cook. Just heat and eat. Those I will make again. Part of the fun was creating our own Worcestershire sauce. As of late, the store-bought variety is starting to add allergens that affect my family. So we learned how to make our own.
There is a lot of stuff in the freezer right now. I was very thankful I'd frozen asparagus, yellow beans, and spinach. There were power outages at food distribution centers that caused no frozen produce in the stores at all. Later in the year, there was a week that subzero temperatures froze most of the produce coming out of California. You should have seen the oranges and zucchinis. We had to rely on what we grew.
It is an ongoing journey to eat what is in season and save for when nothing is available. In theory, it's a hedge against inflation, but only if you grow it yourself. The snow is 10" deep at this point. The ground is thoroughly frozen. It's 18 degrees. Plans and ideas are percolating. We'll see what 2026 brings.
Things I tried pressure canning in 2025 are beans, Chicken Stew, Mince Meat, Pot Roast, Sloppy Joes, TeriyakiChicken, BBQ Pork, cold pack plain chicken, also beef, Beef Bolognese, and corn. Mostly I continued my normal schedule of preserving fruit with jams and jellies. Some produce came from the farmer's market. I haven't tried the mince meat yet. The chicken turned out dry. The Sloppy Joes were wonderful for days when there was no time to cook. Just heat and eat. Those I will make again. Part of the fun was creating our own Worcestershire sauce. As of late, the store-bought variety is starting to add allergens that affect my family. So we learned how to make our own.
There is a lot of stuff in the freezer right now. I was very thankful I'd frozen asparagus, yellow beans, and spinach. There were power outages at food distribution centers that caused no frozen produce in the stores at all. Later in the year, there was a week that subzero temperatures froze most of the produce coming out of California. You should have seen the oranges and zucchinis. We had to rely on what we grew.
It is an ongoing journey to eat what is in season and save for when nothing is available. In theory, it's a hedge against inflation, but only if you grow it yourself. The snow is 10" deep at this point. The ground is thoroughly frozen. It's 18 degrees. Plans and ideas are percolating. We'll see what 2026 brings.
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Date: 1 Jan 2026 06:31 am (UTC)