During times like this, it is handy to have certain skills, we’ve covered breadmaking and now this post will have some links on how to can/preserve food. Many of us will have grandparents who lived through the Depression and knowing how to be creative with food staples was part of what helped them survive. One thing that helped was stretching out fresh produce, by canning them. It’s a skill we need to bring back. That way, when food hoarding begins, we will already have our own stockpile of foods we prepared ourselves.
Below are some links that will show you how easy it is to preserve your own food.
When this all began, there was a wave of panic shopping that cleared the shelves of toilet paper, disinfectant everything and bread. We didn’t participate in any of the chaos. In fact I stood back, shaking my head in confusion, wondering why the fuck are you hoarding toilet paper? Shouldn’t you be buying non-perishable or shelf-stable foods? Our cupboards are always full of staples and canned goods. I have lots of flours and dried beans. I also grew up with a mother and grandmothers who practiced buying 2 of something when it’s on sale. They also knew how to preserve food and bake bread. Thankfully, I paid attention. Over the next few posts I am going to have helpful information on how to bake bread, cook dried beans and preserve. A series of homesteading posts if you will.
Currently, one of my favourite channels on YouTube is Glen & Friends. This channel focuses on easy to follow recipes and on Sunday’s post Depression Era recipes. Currently Glen is posting Pandemic focuses recipes, where the content focuses on using what you have in your cupboards and fridge. Glen also has several videos on how to make bread, including no knead bread. This type of recipe is for those who are new to bread making. Below is a link to that video.
If you are a little more adventurous and want to learn how to make your own sour dough starter I have written a blog post about that and the process of making sour dough bread. Click here.
Sour dough can be a time consuming process. If you want the shorter version, Glen & Friends also have a video for that.
If you want to get extra fancy, this channel has a play list you will like.
I go back and forth between using a bread machine and making sourdough from scratch. I gotta tell you, two of the things, I am really grateful that I own right now are three appliances, my breadmaker, Instant Pot and the pasta maker. Once people clued in that they couldn’t eat toilet paper, they started hoarding dried pasta as well. Below are a few breadmaker recipes, for those who have or who are going to buy a bread maker.
You can also do sour dough in the breadmaker.
Heck you can even make dessert breads in a breadmaker.
Thanks to all of the people who did panic shopping when this all went down a little over a week ago, many of us are struggling to find staples on the grocery shelves and are resorting to making meals with what ever is in our cupboard, fridge and freezer. This isn’t completely a bad thing, you finally get to use that can of heart of palm you bought a year ago. Why did I buy that again?
I’ve always had to be resourceful when it comes to cooking. I’ve been on my own since I was 18 and money has been hard to come by on many occasions, so I’ve had to be creative with food. I always managed and never went hungry thankfully. There have been a few times in our history where we were going through wars or The Great Depression and putting food in your cupboards was beyond desperate times. During those times, homemakers had to make due with what they could get their hands on. I’ve been researching some of these recipes and below is some of what I found.
If you have kids, this might be a fun thing to do with them!
We’re just inviting you to take a timeout into the rhythmic ambiance of our breakfast, brunch and/or coffee selections. We are happy whenever you stop by.
Lizzie Violet 