Today was a real stormy day. You name it; we had lots of rain, 50 mph winds with higher gusts, thunder and lightening. Needless to say I didn’t get anything much accomplished outside, other than daily must-do chores. But sometimes we need a rainy day. Yep, we’ve had a spell of severe drought, so the rain was needed. Last week we got 5″ in two hours, with another 2″ today. It’s good to see our creek running happily bank-full again. This time last year it was dry. As in cracked mud dry! And our beaver ponds were 3′ low. The poor beavers.

But this fall they’re happy. No predators can access their underwater home entrances. And I’m happy because this rain should save our fruit trees and is already bringing out new green grass in the horse pasture. Last night there were 7 deer happily grazing out there with our horses.

However, after a tremendously stormy day, I decided to drive out to the mailbox and see if there were any trees down on the trail. Usually after such a storm we have a few small dead popple trees across it. David was supposed to have a football game (which was cancelled because of lightening) and was not home. I went to get the chainsaw out of the generator shed and discovered that half of the drywall ceiling had fallen to the floor! Oh neat! And it was also on my chainsaw, about 6 feet in from the door.

I’d felt sick all day and didn’t feel up to wrestling with that heavy sheetrock, so I just left it and drove out the drive. I got about half a mile and saw one huge fir tree that had blown down, fortunately falling away from the drive. Then a little farther on, there was another one. And it was laying right across the trail.

I went home and gave our friend Jim Bonnette a call to see if he could bring his saw and give me a hand. He cheerfully said he’d be right there. And he was. We made short work of the tree and he left with my profuse thanks.

It’s times like this when I’m glad to have great friends and neighbors. True, they live three miles away, but when I really need help, I have it. Like when I was weak and feeling sick after a chemo treatment two and a half years ago, and Paul and Marcia came over and helped David and a carpenter lay sheeting on the new house sub-floor in the rain so the logs could be set on it the next day.

I’ve heard so many people say they want to move way out in the backwoods and have nothing to do with anyone. Such a mistake. For in doing so you miss out on so much common, old-fashioned neighborliness. I’m too busy for ladies luncheons, church functions, clubs, etc. But I’m never too busy to give a friend a hand when they need it, visit on the phone for a few minutes or stop in the store and chat with a neighbor. You get what you give.

I’ve posted readers’ questions with my answers below:

Canning “cooked” meals

I am subscriber to BHM and regularly read your articles especially with regard to Home Canning. Earlier this year on a trip to Chicago I bought an American pressure canner (and accessories).So
far I have canned one jar of green beans (It’s a start I guess). As the beans were raw I understand the importance of the timings, etc. However I was wondering whether I could simply can any “Cooked” meal without having to worry about the recipes - for example can we simply make surplus casserole or pasta for dinner one night without worrying about using a canning recipe and then Can using the timings for the longest timed ingredient? if so will the food be overcooked as it will have already been fully cooked.

I guess I’m hoping the answer will be you can can any cooked meal by simply pressure canning for 10 mins - although I suspect this is wishful thinking!!! We live in Hong Kong and my wife and I and our two boys are experimenting with various backwoods Home Skills so that when we return to England in a few years we can downshift.

So far we have managed to grow a whole range of organic vegetables using square foot gardening techniques (yard is all concrete), make sausages plus build a still to produce ethanol and we are about to make our first batch of soap from beef fat (luckily we can get Lye out here).

Simon Paine
Hong Kong
Email - simon@paine.org

To answer your canning question; yes and no. Yes you can certainly home can any meal you’ve made in large quantity. But NO, you can’t shortchange the processing time because the food is already pre-cooked. And Yes, some foods will be overcooked, namely pasta dishes and potato casseroles. They’ll get mushy on you. Such things as stews, chili, soup and bean dishes are fine canned up after you are done with the meal. Other candidates are turkey, chicken, beef and other meats.

The key to canning up any recipe is to process it for the longest time required for any one ingredient. This cannot be shortchanged. — Jackie

How long does canned food last?

How long does canned food last? Does the place of storage matter? I live in Florida where the humidity is high. Does this shorten the shelf life of canned foods?

Roger Lee
Sarasota, Florida

Canned foods last nearly indefinitely; at least 20 years in most cases. Home canned foods will retain an attractive color and texture if they are stored out of the direct sunlight in a relatively dry and cool place. Dampness can affect the length of storage if it causes the lids to rust. Removing the rings after processing will help this as it keeps moisture from being trapped between the ring and lid.

The only time I’ve had problems with moisture/dampness was in a damp basement storage area and this was corrected by using a dehumidifier in the summer and a wood stove down there in the winter. — Jackie