time to start thinking about purging your larder

[journey11]

I was organizing my canned stuff yesterday. My question is- what in the world can I do with cucumber relish???? Are there any recipes I can use it in? Lets just say, I have a little too much! Next year I will stick to mostly pickles. I can eat them at every meal!

I like to load up my deviled eggs, macaroni salad and potato salad with sweet relish. I even use some of the juice!

the beets ..yum I can not imagine in my life I have ever had too many beets!

Me neither! I LOVE them!!

I am very careful to date and rotate my frozen and canned goods. What I can't use up, I give away. I keep notes each year on how much I canned/froze and when we ran out or had too much. Very particular, I know... But it really does help me fine tune it.

This year I put up too many chickens, although I tried to guess how much we'd use. I overestimated my toddler's good appetite--then she went all picky on me! Ha. I've got a lot of pickles to use up too. And some cherries that I froze because I didn't have a pitter and didn't know what else to do with them at the time. (Now I really don't know what to do with them! Cook and strain maybe?? Make some jelly?) I've still got a mountain of butternut squash left. Going to send a couple of them down to my sister for making baby food, but a baby can only eat so much squash! LOL

 

[HiDelight]

Journey you got it down girl!!! no kidding if I cataloged and kept track I swear I would not have to purge!!!! I think that if people are more organized than I am it is a good thing!

I see a lot of Calde Verde (Portuguese Kale soup) in the next few weeks I am going to make a huge pot of it htis weekend with a few bags of kale ..some chourice onions and the chicken stock I have frozen ..that should make a dent

I have a few containers of marinara

and found a huge amt of beef liver .. not a vegetable I know...and I dont think I like it ... I eat anything but it has the texture of bubble wrap to me ... so either it become dehydrated into dog treats or I will make liverwurst out of it ..it is very healthy stuff from the animal we bought last year ..the flavor is fine if you like liver ..but the texture is just hard for me to deal with ..how can a meat pop in your mouth like bubble wrap????

anyway we had the meat done and my husband grabbed all the bits and pieces for either us or to feed our dogs ..I never realized how big livers were in person! and my friends (3 of them) also gave me theirs! so I have a mound in there I forgot about!!!

I could make liver dumplings I hear those are good

I dont know liver ...it is good for you ..this is grassfed ..just what the heck is with the texture of it ..oh wait it is a LIVER AND DOES LIVER THINGS!!!!

the dogs will love it anyway


soup for sure over the next few weeks lots and lots of soup!

 

[curly_kate]

I actually did a nice job cleaning out the freezer at Christmas. I had a TON of squash, so I made zillions of loaves of zucchini bread.

 

[HiDelight]

I dug deep into the freezer and came up with some tomato sauce with roasted eggplant ..made kind of a parmesan casserole with tons of olive oil fresh grated parm and provolone
last bit of the garden garlic ....mmmmmmmm

my house smells like a pizzaria back east now

what else you eating now that you grew last summer ..especially you freezing folks back east ..this will help you remember why you make it through those long winters

Hugs and warmth sent your way ..enough is enough!!!!

 

[ducks4you]

We're eating ham cassarole for tonight's dinner. The ham is leftovers from the church Christmas feed. The cassarole is from another church function. It's defrosting right now in my microwave--safe from cats and dogs!!--and I'll heat it up in the oven tonight with 2 cans of pineapple.

 

[wifezilla]

I am going to roast a turkey this weekend. I bought 12 around thanksgiving. I told hubby we could eat one a month As for veggies, I found some greens I didn't label in the back of the freezer. The ducks got those

 

[Rosalind]

Too early for that here. I won't be purging the larder until, hmm, next month. I did an inventory and found an absurd amount of maple syrup, so I think I will tap only one or two trees this year.

We finally ate enough veggies that I can cut up our Boston Marrow squash. That thing is huge, I am going to be ill from pumpkin bars, pumpkin soup, pumpkin brown betty, pumpkin bread before April rolls around.

Today am making venison chili with canned tomatoes and beans and serving it over spaghetti squash. Found a bushel basket packed with spaghetti squash in the root cellar that I forgot I had.

 

[simple life]

I did this last month. I used up everything that was left and bought all new ingredients for the upcoming meals.
I stocked up on new spices and dry goods, processed a bunch of chickens yesterday and have a side of beef.
It feels good to start fresh and not have that old bag of green beans haunting you.

 

[sandyullom]

I did an inventory and found an absurd amount of maple syrup, so I think I will tap only one or two trees this year.

That sure makes me jealous. Can't imagine having too much maple syrup. Takes me back to my childhood...maybe one day I'll try tapping trees myself. Haven't ventured into that arena yet!

I sliced a bunch of zucchini and summer squash and froze it last fall hoping it would work to thaw and fry it. Unfortunately it ended up soggy and I'm left to wait until summer to enjoy that side dish. So, any ideas what to do with bags of frozen zucchini/squash slices?

 

[simple life]

I thought the exact same thing! I would love to have all that pure maple syrup.
I can't stand that fake garbage they sell in the supermarket called pancake syrup which is really flavored corn syrup so I only buy the pure kind but its expensive and goes fast in my house because I make maple cheesecake, granola, top my oatmeal with it etc..