Time for a break

  Ok, so it is time to take a break from all of this canning.  The pantry shelves are stocked and three deep freezers are jammed packed.  Tomatoes have been sauced, plums have been jammed, blueberries canned and some made into syrup and figs have been candied.  Butter beans, field peas, corn, okra and shrimp have been added to the freezers to top off what was already there.  Now is time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor...at least, until fall when pears will need to be preserved.

  A lot of people have been asking just why I do all of this. "It is easier to just go to the grocery store and buy beans (tomato sauce, peas..whatever)."  That is true for folks who like to shop.  I do not.  I will zip in to buy milk or eggs but it is not my nature to spend an hour in a store...any store.  Plus, it is nice to be able to pull together a meal without worrying what I have on hand.  Son said we could eat well for about a year with what we have stocked.  Now, add in the promise of knowing just what is in those jars and in that freezer, makes it worthwhile.  Too many "foods" lately have been recalled for whatever reason.  I do not have to fret over that situation.

  Then, there is another reason for the stockpiling of home-canned goods.  Duh!  We live where hurricanes and tropical storms visit occasionally and knock out power.  With a ready supply of foodstuffs, it is easy to fire up the grill and whip out a meal. So, I will continue to do what I grew up doing.  We always "set aside" foodstuffs back on the farm.  When times were lean (money wise), we still ate good!  Same here...nuff said.