Life Archives - Page 84 of 96

Stocking a pioneer pantry

February 10, 2014 by Jana 8 Comments

If you’ve ever read a Little House on the Prairie book, then you know how much (especially in the earlier books) of them are devoted to describing food. Everything from recipes to what they gardened to how they used animal organs as toys is covered. And one of the most descriptive parts is when Laura discusses how they stocked their pantry for the winter.

This is not my actual pantry closet. Mine is too disorganized to put on display.

It’s pretty amazing how much food they were able to stuff into that small house. I mean, I suppose they had to if they didn’t want to starve to death, but given the fact that Laura’s description of her home implies that her family’s entire house could fit in my living room, the volume is impressive. Pretty widely varied, too, with their meat and fruit and vegetables and grains. (Although the variety puzzles me because it didn’t really seem like they cared much about mixing it up back then. Survival was important. Eating something different every day was not.)

So, like all good books do, the discussion of creating their stores for the winter got me thinking. Specifically about what my own pantry looks like. As in, what are the staples I need so that I could feed my family for a substantial time without having to go to the grocery store (this also prompted me to start thinking about what we’re going to plant in our garden but we’ll cover that another day) in the event that we are stuck or short on money or we decide to do a pantry challenge.

In other words, I asked myself this question–what do I need do have on hand in my pantry to make us more self-sufficient both in the long run and to prepare for any short term problems?

I started to assemble my list. I based my staples list not only price but on shelf life and stability (in case we lose power), usefulness in numerous recipes, likelihood of being eaten, nutrition content, and taste. I’m not stocking my pantry with vile tasting foods and spices just because they’re inexpensive, last a long time, and can be used in several recipes (yes, oregano, I’m looking at you. I don’t care what you say. You’re disgusting and you ruin food). I also used a number of my family’s favorite recipes as a guide because I want to stock my pantry in a way that will not only provide my family with food, but food that they enjoy (as much as possible).

Having said all of that, here’s the list:

Flour–whole wheat and all purpose white
Baking soda and baking power
Yeast
Peanut butter
Oatmeal
Pasta and rice
Canned tomatoes
Beans–dried and canned
Potatoes
Honey
White and brown sugar
Tea bags
Spices–salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, crushed red pepper, Old Bay, cinnamon sugar, Italian seasoning
Raisins
Olive oil and vegetable oil
Chicken and vegetable broth
Chocolate chips
Vinegar–white and apple cider
Canned fruits and vegetables

Added to that list is fresh fruits and vegetables that do not require refrigeration (apples, tomatoes, bananas, etc). I wish I could add milk, butter, and eggs but I’m sure that there are shelf-stable substitutions for the refrigerated stuff that I can investigate.

I’m pretty sure with those ingredients in my pantry, my family could eat for at least an entire week without having to set foot in a grocery store or farmer’s market. And, lucky for us, in the event we lose power, we have a wood burning fireplace and a barbecue that we can use to cook. That’s nice and reassuring. (We’ll discuss methods to make your home more pioneer friendly/energy efficient without major construction or spending a fortune in an upcoming post)

Let me also add this. I am lucky that I have a home with a pantry large enough to accommodate this kind of stockpile and I can plan my list accordingly. If you live in a small home, or a large home with small storage, you might not be able to have as large of a stockpile. That is totally fine. To create yours, look at the space you have, assess what will fit, and make the necessary adjustments. Maybe instead of canned beans, you buy bags of dried beans and stack them on top of each other (they take up less room). Maybe you pour your sugar (note: it’s okay to sing Def Leppard along with that phrase. I did) into gallon sized plastic bags and then stack those on top of each other. You can do that with flour, too. Or perhaps you buy a large storage bin and put everything in there and then put the whole bin in a closet or under your bed, saving your pantry for your every day, non-emergency stuff. Or maybe you cover the bin with an old sheet you turned into a tablecloth and use it as a coffee table.

That last one might be stretching things a bit too far but it sounds like something a pioneer family would do.

Anyway.

It’s really up to you how creative you want to be based on space, time, and money as well as your family’s needs and dietary preferences. But this is one small task that anyone, no matter the size of your home, can complete to take one step closer towards feeling like a pioneer.

What does your pioneer pantry look like?

The Pioneer Kitchen Diaries: Tomato Vegetable Soup

February 7, 2014 by Jana 5 Comments

To me, one of the basic tenets of pioneer living is making do with what you have. After all, in those days, if you ran out of meat or potatoes, you couldn’t just hop on your horse and swiftly ride into town to get more. The nearest town was usually several miles away and shooting and eating your horse was not at all an option because there goes your transportation to said far away town.

That would make everything even more difficult.

This was especially true in the winter. In the book The Long Winter, the Ingalls family is basically trapped in their house due to weather and, even if they could get outside, there wouldn’t be anything to buy because trains couldn’t get into town (at this point, they had a house in town) to deliver supplies. So they had to use what they had if they wanted to eat.

I’ve experienced something similar lately.

I don’t know what the weather is like in your part of the world, but here on the East Coast, it’s horrible. Snow, ice, freezing rain, wind chills making it feel below zero…it’s the opposite of pleasant. It makes you not want to leave the house. And, if you live in my neighborhood that’s sort of in the middle of nowhere and that neighborhood is the land that snow plows forgot, you kind of get stuck. Especially if you don’t have an SUV or 4 wheel drive car.

You know, the modern equivalent of a horse.

So even if you wanted to go somewhere, you couldn’t. And after a few days, cabin fever sets in and food starts to run low. But getting to the supermarket isn’t easy (and they’re probably out of bread and milk anyway) so, like the pioneers, you have to make due with what you have.

That’s where my tomato vegetable soup comes in. I normally have a recipe for tomato soup and a separate one for vegetable soup but I was out of broth and decided to combine the two for something a little different. That also might have come from a place of boredom but we’ll just pretend it came from a place of experimentation.

To make the soup, I looked in my pantry and freezer where I found a can of crushed tomatoes, a bag of mixed frozen vegetables, a can of diced tomatoes, some garlic, vegetable oil, and salt. And water but that came from the faucet. I also had some crushed red pepper on hand for a little kick ( water and red pepper not pictured).

Then I sort of sautéed the vegetables and garlic in some vegetable oil.

After a few minutes, I dumped in a can of undrained, unseasoned tomatoes

I mixed that up, and added in a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and 2 1/2 cups water along with roughly 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

When it was all done and cooked, I ladled it into a large bowl and topped it off with Cheez Its (because I am gourmet and classy like that)

This made enough for roughly 4-6 lunches, depending on how much you eat at a time. My husband added some leftover brown rice and didn’t complain (at least not to my face).

The soup left me feeling full and resourceful. Just like a pioneer on the cold winter prairie.

Townhouse Pioneer What’s Left in the House Tomato Vegetable Soup

Makes approximately 4-6 servings

Ingredients

28 oz can crushed tomatoes
16 oz bag frozen mixed vegetables
14 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 1/2 cups water
Minced garlic, roughly 1 tbsp
Crushed red pepper, salt, pepper (to taste)
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions

Heat vegetable oil in pan
Add in garlic and mixed vegetables. Sautée for a few minutes, until vegetables start to thaw and soften.
Add in undrained tomatoes.
Stir in crushed tomatoes and water.
Heat through. While soup is heating, add in optional spices (note: add at least a bit of salt. Trust me on this one).

Serve with crackers, cheese, sandwiches, or whatever else you feel like.

Pioneer living with a weekly schedule

February 4, 2014 by Jana 6 Comments

Little House on the Prairie. Great books, greater TV show (particularly when I was sick and home from school as a kid. Between that, The Price is Right, and Press Your Luck, I was set). And despite the obvious romanticizing of parts of her childhood, Laura Ingalls Wilder does a great job describing what life was like as a pioneer in the mid to late 1800s.

I know what she's thinking. It's "what the hell was I supposed to do next?" I know this look well. — I know what she’s thinking. It’s “what the hell was I supposed to do next?” I know this look well.

We’ll talk about that throughout this project. For today, though, we’re going to focus on having a weekly chore schedule. In Little House in the Big Woods, Laura describes her mother’s (Ma) schedule as this:

Wash on Monday,
Iron on Tuesday,
Mend on Wednesday,
Churn on Thursday,
Clean on Friday,
Bake on Saturday,
Rest on Sunday.

The concept of this schedule is wonderful. It’s thorough, specific, and covers all the areas of housekeeping that a person would need to attend to throughout the week (including building in time for rest. Alleviates guilt that way, and makes room for whatever faith you observe). And for someone like me who loathes housework and often has a difficult time forcing myself to do it, it’s a great way to break up the chores into manageable pieces. It makes the task of attending to chores less daunting since, you know, I’m not having to cram them all into one day.

The schedule is also flexible enough that it can be altered to accommodate each individual’s life. For instance, I can assure you I’m not churning butter on Thursday or any day (although I will be spending one afternoon making butter in my stand up mixer). As for ironing, if something that needs to be ironed makes its way into my house, I’m going on a rampage to find out who did it. And mending? That’ll happen whenever a button falls off of something. I’m not saving it up for one day.

But maybe instead of spending a whole day mending, I’ll spend the day sewing cloth napkins or some other sewing project. Instead of churning butter, I’ll designate a day for grocery shopping, menu planning, and assorted other errands. There’s no need to stick to Ma’s schedule as written; I’m not Ma and neither are you. There’s nothing wrong with taking her framework and making it your own!

I’ll get the schedule party started. I think, for now, my schedule will look like this:

Laundry on Monday,
Clean on Tuesday,
Dust and vacuum on Wednesday,
Catch up on missed chores on Thursday,
Errands on Friday,
Food prep on Saturday,
Rest on Sunday.

It’s worth noting that in this, I need to make time for work, taking my child to her activities, going to the gym, and volunteering at my child’s school. I realize this is way busier than a normal pioneer lady’s schedule but I’m a modern pioneer. My life comes with different demands than that of 150 years ago. Which is fine. This experiment isn’t necessarily about replicating exactly what they did back then. It’s about incorporating parts of their way of life into mine.

Also, I’m not entirely sure how this is a step towards self-sufficiency. I do think it’s a step towards organization which leads to buying less so maybe there’s something self-sufficiency related tucked in there. Regardless, it’s still using a pioneer living model (even if it’s probably fictitious) and therefore applicable.

Right?

Do you have a household chores schedule? Will you create one? What does it look like?

The Pioneer Kitchen Diaries: Conquering applesauce

February 2, 2014 by Jana 7 Comments

When I started outlining this project, where to start, and what it would encompass, I knew a huge part of it would be about food. Growing it, cooking it, eating it, canning it, composting it, and thinking about it. From my research (and by research, I mean playing The Oregon Trail and reading the Little House books), it seems as if pioneers spent an exorbitant amount of time on their food. I suppose this has to do with the fact that a good portion of their day was consumed with it. Mainly because of how long it took to cook and prepare everything.

So that intimidated me. Also intimidating was what they ate. Honestly, I’m repulsed by the concept of everything cooked in pork fat and let’s not even discuss some of the meat that they ate. This is perhaps part of why I’d starve if thrust into that situation now. But if this project were to progress, I knew I had to start somewhere (and maybe work myself up into cooking something in bacon fat. I doubt it but we’ll check in on that in a few months). So I decided to start with something simple–applesauce.

I’m not sure if applesauce is even a traditional pioneer food but I think they must’ve eaten canned apples and applesauce is kind of the same thing. At least, I’m deciding that it is. It’s also fairly uncomplicated to make which fits my criteria for “official first Towhouse Pioneer project”.

I had tried one recipe and it turned out…well, not so great. Thankfully, Pinterest exists and I took to it immediately. I searched for applesauce recipes and the results were, well, plentiful. Amidst the results, I saw Ree Drummond’s (aka The Pioneer Woman) recipe and I figured that a recipe by The Pioneer Woman would be a) delicious because most of her recipes are and b) fitting for my first project of this nature. So I pulled up the recipe and off I went.

To say I was pleased with the results is an understatement. This shit turned out fantastic! That Pioneer Woman seriously knows what she’s talking about. I don’t even like applesauce and I couldn’t stop eating it. It tasted like apple pie filling rather than the grocery store jarred stuff. I did make some modifications, like using cinnamon sugar, Golden Delicious apples rather than a mix, and I didn’t puree it. I left it with some chunks (side note, I hate this word. It reminds me of puke and also the fat kid from the Goonies. I like him and all but the Truffle Shuffle is not exactly conducive to garnering an appetite) since my husband and daughter prefer chunky applesauce.

The final product lasted 48 hours. Half of it was gone before it even made it into the mason jars. It was that good.

In case you want to make it yourself, here’s what you do:

Peel, core, and slice 3 pounds of Golden Delicious apples

Add water, brown sugar, cinnamon sugar, and lemon juice

Boil apples, sugar, water, cinnamon, and lemon juice for 20-25 minutes, until apples are soft

Spoon apples and some liquid into a bowl and mash until apples are broken into pieces

Pour finished product into mason jars and store in fridge until ready to use

Pioneer Project applesauce (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

Makes approximately 6 servings.

Ingredients

3 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup Brown Sugar, Packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar, More Or Less To Taste

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes.
When apples are soft, spoon into bowl with some liquid and mash with potato masher until slices are broken up into pieces. You can also put in a blender and puree if you want a smoother consistency.
Store in the fridge in mason jars or other storage containers. I’m not sure how long it lasts because in my house, it disappears within hours.

4 ways to use your smartphone for your fitness goals

January 30, 2014 by Jana 2 Comments

It's for more than Candy Crush and Instagram. Seriously! — It’s for more than Candy Crush and Instagram. Seriously!

Now that January is winding down, so are many people’s motivation to keep up with their resolutions or goals. Particularly the ones to lose weight. I know this because I’ve seen the crowds at the gym already start to dwindle (though, the beast of a winter we’re having might be at fault as well) and I see some of my friends in my weight loss/getting healthy support group beginning to have a hard time, too.

It’s not difficult to figure out why. It’s fucking freezing out. Who wants to leave their house to go get sweaty? A huge bowl of mac and cheese definitely tastes better than a big salad when the thermometer is barely registering 0. We’re spending so much time trying to stay warm that it’s almost impossible to think about anything else.

But what if I told you there was something you could use every day to keep yourself motivated and on track, despite the cold weather? You’d tell me I was lying but then maybe you’d want to know what it is. Since I hate suspense and I don’t want to make anyone angry, I’ll just tell you.

It’s your smartphone. And you don’t have to spend any extra money to use it to keep track of your fitness goals, either.

Seriously. I wouldn’t recommend something you’d need to spend money on (because, if you’re like me, you need all your extra money to pay for your enormous heating bill). In fact, for most of these, you won’t need to download apps (although I will give you a few, just in case); you can just use the features that come standard on your phone:

Notes–I am someone who needs to write down what I eat in order to be successful in changing my habits. I prefer a notebook, but, in a pinch, I will use the Notes feature on my phone. Not only is it good for that, but you can chart your weight and measurements, keep a grocery list of healthy foods to buy, write down recipes, and, if you’re feeling really ambitious, you can make daily notes of your thoughts and feelings. If you don’t want to use your phone’s standard notes feature to track your food, my app recommendation is My Fitness Pal. It’s extremely comprehensive and, if you’re into using your social network for support, you can add friends and work together.
Music–I have an iPhone and I love the fact that my phone syncs with my iTunes. I can use the songs I already have and create playlists for different types of workouts (when I’m not taking a class). There’s also iTunes radio for the days I want to mix it up. I also have downloaded Spotify and Pandora, and use those as well. The only problem with the radio and the apps is that I refuse to pay for the premium versions and the commercials interrupt my flow. But honestly, some of the Pandora fitness stations are fantastic. You can just use the commercials as your rest. These are especially great for at-home workouts and drowning out the horrible tunes that is usually pumped through the gym speakers. Music makes working out so much more pleasant.
Reminders–I don’t know where I’d be without the reminders feature on my phone. I haven’t downloaded any sort of fancy one; I just use the one that came standard on my phone. I love that I can create different lists in pretty colors. If you’re using your reminders for your weight loss or getting healthy journey, you can set reminders for weigh-ins, taking measurements, time to go to the gym, create countdowns to milestones or events (like a 5K or Zumbathon), or even set a reminder for a daily inspirational quote to pop up on your phone. Those extra motivational words are sometimes what you need to get through a particularly rough day.
Pictures–I got this idea from a new friend of mine (who’s lost almost 200 pounds! On her own! With no surgery or medication, just diet and exercise. She is an inspiration). From the beginning of her process, she’s taken monthly selfies to see how she’s progressed. Then, when she’s feeling particularly bad or meets someone who doesn’t believe how she used to look, she can pull out her phone and look at the photographic evidence. If you’re like me, you hate taking pictures but there really is no other way to truly see how far you’ve come. And remember, you don’t have to Instagram (the fact that I just used that as a verb makes me a little sad) or put them on Facebook. You can keep them for yourself.

If you need some additional ways you can use your smartphone for getting healthy, you might need to download some apps. For that, I recommend Pinterest (for workouts, recipes, quotes, and other inspirational ideas), Facebook (and start a support group with some friends. You can check in with them through your phone throughout the day, which is really helpful if you’re at work where there is temptation everywhere), and if you’re a member of a YMCA, ask if they have MobileFit. You need to sign up at the branch but there’s an app you can download that gives you daily workouts you can do at pretty much any gym. It’s helpful if you travel or switch between gyms or if you’re just not sure what a good workout looks like.

Getting healthy is pretty difficult and the industry will have you believe it has to be expensive. Using your smartphone and good old fashioned willpower, you can prove them wrong.

What’s your favorite app or smartphone tool to help you with your health goals?