Liberation Through Food

In one summer I have gone from someone who was afraid to try canning (hello botulism?), to someone who feels comfortable doing it and enjoys it--though it is a lot of work! I attribute this success to my friend who showed me how to do it by first canning dilly beans together, and then peaches and peach jam. It took off from there, and I can now say I have made: 5 jars or peach jam, 5 pints of peach slices, 4 pints of tomato sauce (plus more than 20 quarts of frozen tomato sauce), 6 pints of salsa, and 6 quarts and 1 pint of pear slices. I still want to can some apple sauce and pear sauce before the season is over.

L to R: canned peach jam and slices, tomato sauce, salsa, pear slices

Though my canned (and frozen) stores, are no where near what we would need to get through a winter, it is a strong start. Now I'm thinking about how many tomato plants I will need in my garden next summer to yield enough bushels of tomatoes to make all the spaghetti sauce and salsa we would want over the following year. It is so liberating to go to the grocery store and think I don't have to buy that or that or that. My list of items not to buy includes all the items I canned this summer, plus potatoes, eggs and maple syrup. I have the peace of mind of knowing exactly what went into producing and growing all those foods too.

Both my mom and my husband's grandfather grew up in families that gardened and canned, and/or raised chickens for meat and eggs. They have both told me on different occasions "We were poor, but we always had plenty of food." To me, in an age of excessive consumption and when stuff piles up in our houses without even thinking about it, it seems funny to say that. It seems funny only because if you have plenty of food (and a place to grow it) how can you be poor? Of course, there are lots of things we need paper currency in order to procure, but I think having plentiful food is a great wealth. Growing it myself, and the sense of self-reliance I get from the process is empowering and liberating.

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