~ from my home to yours, living the Working Pantry lifestyle ~ surviving today's economy ~ a can-do spirit and attitude ~

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Making Lemon Extract and Lemon Zest

I recently received the following question after a reader read this post ... 

You mentioned making lemon extract from lemon zest or peels. Could you share how you do this?
First I wash my lemons in the fruit/vegetable wash found in this post.
If you have a zester, zest your lemons.  If you don't have a zester, remove the juice from the lemons and thinly slice them.

 Be sure to remove the white portion underneath the skin.  This has the tendency to make your extract and zest bitter.


After the 'white' has been removed if I'm making lemon zest (or if you used a zester and zested your lemons) I dry the lemon peels/zest in a warm oven, let the sunshine dry it  outside if it's warm enough or in a dehydrator.  Once the lemon peel/zest is completely dry, if I zested the lemons, I let it cool completely and store it in a container,  It is ready for use.  If I did not use a zester, I chop the dried lemon peel using a food chopper and stored it in a container.  It is ready for use.

If I'm making lemon extract, I do not dry the lemon peel/zest but add it to a half-pint jar.  I fill the jar almost full and cover the contents with vodka.  I fill the jar almost full because I want a real lemony flavor.  I let it sit for 6 weeks shaking a couple times a week.  When the 6 weeks are up I strain out the lemon peel/zest and start using out of it as needed but I also continue to add fresh lemon peel/zest to it as I have it, straining out the old used up lemon about every 6 weeks.  Like I said I like a really strong lemon taste in my extract, if you don't then the continuous replenishing of lemon peel/zest is not necessary.  When my jar gets half used I start another half-pint.

I hope this is helpful!

patsi

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

My pantry is intentional, purposeful, simple, practical, frugal and what works for my family.  It’s the food items and household supplies that keep my household running smoothly ready and available when they are needed.  It’s my contribution to our family’s economy and my work-from-home ‘job.'

You can follow A Working Pantry on Facebook and Instagram. 

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

This is Why! part 3


Parts 1 and 2 can be found here.


Beginning with this entry and for the remainder of the series I’m going to be sharing with you some practical ways that I build and maintain my well-stocked pantry all the while eating from it daily.  These are all things I have done or am doing.

In this entry we’re going to concentrate on leftovers and how I use them to add to my pantry.  What! You didn’t know you could add to your pantry using leftovers … oh.my.yes!

Let’s get started, shall we?

1.      I save the bones from fried, baked or from deboned chicken … both cooked and raw.  I add them to a freezer bag I keep in the freezer.  I even add the bones leftover from a meal we've eaten after the chicken has been eaten off the bones.  Don’t go ‘eeewwww’ … they’re going to be frozen, cooked, and pressure canned.  Nothing’s going to live through that!  When the bag of bones is full, I dump it out into a pot of water, add a little vinegar, raw garlic and onions and bring it to a gentle boil.  I let it boil gently for 2 – 3 hours then let it cool, strain out the bones and vegetables and pressure can it in quarts or pints.  I have also frozen it if there wasn’t enough for a canner full. By doing this I add nutrient rich chicken broth to my pantry. 

2.      I do the same thing with beef bones … both cooked and raw.   By doing this I add nutrient rich beef broth to my pantry.

3.      Before we leave broth, let me add that I also do this with raw vegetable peelings … I don’t add the vinegar though.   I make sure that I wash the vegetables really well with a vegetable wash.  This is the one that I make and use.  By doing this I add nutrient rich vegetable broth to my pantry.

4.     I make freezer convenience meals by filling up freezer/microwave trays with leftovers and adding them to the freezer part of my pantry.   I’ve even been known to cook extra so I could add a few freezer/convenience meals to my pantry.  I let them thaw in the refrigerator then pop them in the microwave to heat and then eat. 

5.     I keep an ongoing soup bag in my freezer.  Every morsel of food is precious when building up my pantry.  Not enough leftovers for another meal … only a tablespoon full left … no problem … I put it in a freezer container/bag and continue to add to it until the container is full, then use it to make a pot of soup or pot pie, or add to a casserole, etc.

6.     I use leftover raw vegetables from the garden … you know the ones that get too big such as cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, etc or that are left over from a big canning day … maybe I have a cup of raw green beans left. It’s not enough for another canning, not enough for a meal so I stick them in the dehydrator, dry them and then grind them up using a coffee/spice grinder or a food processor/chopper.   The end results are that I add the powdered green beans to my ongoing vegetable powder jar.  I do the same thing with tomato peelings.  I add all kinds of raw/dehydrated/ground up vegetables to my vegetable powder jar on an ongoing basis.  What do I use vegetable powder for?  I sneak small amounts into meatloaf, meatballs, casseroles, hamburger patties, soup, vegetable patties, etc.  Great nutrition from something that usually goes to waste.

7.     I use leftover peelings from lemons.  I wash lemons in the vegetable wash mentioned above.  I zest the lemons then either make lemon extract out of the zest or dehydrate the zest to add to my pantry as dried lemon zest.  I add two things, lemon extract and lemon zest to my pantry from the lemon peels.

8.     I use leftover orange peelings to make dried orange peel for use in recipes using the same method I use for lemons.  I add dried orange peel to my pantry from leftover orange peelings.

9.     I use leftover pieces of fruit to make fruit powder just like the vegetable powder in #6.  I use fruit powder in smoothies and fruit-based deserts.

10.  I make apple cider vinegar using leftover apple peelings.

11.   I make apple jelly from leftover apple peelings.

12.  I make peach jelly from leftover peach peelings.

13.  I make pear jelly from leftover pear peelings.

14.  When I fry bacon, I strain the leftover grease and put it in a freezer container to use for seasoning purposes.

15.   When I have just a little bit of buttermilk leftover from a cooking project, I pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it.  When it is completely frozen, I pop it out and add it to a freezer container for later use.  When I get ready to use it, I let it thaw in the refrigerator, stir it up and use as if it were fresh.

To sum it all up, from leftovers I add chicken broth, beef broth, vegetable broth, freezer/convenience meals, lemon extract, lemon zest, orange peel, vegetable powder, fruit powder, apple cider vinegar, seasoning grease, buttermilk, jelly and bags of ingredients for making soup or casseroles.  Pretty good for leftovers, don’t you think?  
Okay it’s your turn, how do you use leftovers to add to your pantry?  Your comments are what will make this series more helpful so please share your wisdom.
Patsi 

Sharing 42 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

A Working Pantry

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine 

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

You can view my privacy policy HERE

Monday, January 26, 2015

Canning Pinto Beans

I recently received the following request from a reader …

Request:  I wish you would share your recipe for canning beans.

Answer:  Here’s what I do:


1.        Wash beans and drain.

2.      Add washed beans to a big pot and put 3 times as much water as you have beans.  For 7 quarts of beans I use between 6 – 7 cups of dried beans.

3.      Bring pot of water and beans to a boil and let boil for 3 minutes.

4.      Turn heat off, put a lid on the pot and let sit overnight.

5.      Wash and sterilize jars and get lids and rings ready for use.

6.      Fill each jar ¾ full of beans.

7.      Add 1 teaspoon salt to each quart (1/2 teaspoon salt for pints).  Here’s where I add any optional things like cayenne pepper and/or seasoning meat.

8.     Fill each jar to within 1 inch of top of jar with liquid from pot … finish with water if not enough liquid from pot.  (I always have to add additional water.)

9.      Remove air bubbles, clean rim of jars, add lid and ring.

10.  Place in pressure canner and process at 10 lbs of pressure for 90 minutes.  (For pints process at 10 lbs pressure for 75 minutes.)  (Consult a reputable canning book for pressure poundage for canning in your altitude as it may be different than mine.)

11.   Remove from canner and let sit for 24 hours.

12.  Remove ring, wash outside of jar, label and sit on pantry shelf.

patsi

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

My pantry is intentional, purposeful, simple, practical, frugal and what works for my family.  It’s the food items and household supplies that keep my household running smoothly ready and available when they are needed.  It’s my contribution to our family’s economy and my work-from-home ‘job.'

You can follow A Working Pantry on Facebook and Instagram. 

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.


Thursday, January 22, 2015

This Is Why! ... part 2

Part 2


Before I start sharing specifics of how I keep a well-stocked pantry in this series, I want to share where what grocery money we currently have is coming from.
Remember from the last post this is our situation …
Recently my husband and I received the news that one of our monthly expenses … health insurance, was going to increase substantially.  In the same month we also received news that our income was being reduced substantially as well.  Double whammy!  Our first reaction was dismay, our second reaction was to pray and then we set down with our budget and started making changes to accommodate our new financial situation.  When all was said and done, we had some good news and some bad news … the good news was that we could still pay our bills each month … the bad news was that there was nothing left in the budget for groceries.

Where is our grocery money coming from since we don’t have anything left in the budget for groceries?  Here's what we're currently doing ...
We have a set amount budgeted for auto gasoline and for utilities.  Whatever … if … anything is left from these categories, we use for groceries.  Sometimes its $5, sometimes it might be $10, other times it might be a bit more and then sometimes there’s nothing left.
Also, as we make the last payment on a debt, instead of snow balling that amount into the next smallest debt, we are using it instead for groceries.  By doing this we are slowing down the pace at which we can pay off our debt, but it does allow us to have something each month we can count on to work with.  For instance, we have several medical bills and are making monthly payments on them.  This month we made the final payment on one which will give us $20/month that we can actually depend on/call our grocery budget.  It’s not much, but it’s a start and we are praising God and asking Him to bless us and give us wisdom in spending it.
In addition, we are selling things to supplement what we have to spend whenever possible.
Right now, these are the ways we’re getting the money we spend on groceries.  These methods supplemented with our well-stocked pantry, is how we are able to provide food for ourselves during this lean time … and we are doing good.  So many have expressed concern over our situation and have offered help to us in various forms.  My heart is full and overflowing with love and appreciation for your offers, but we are okay.  Sure, there are things that we would like to have but can’t during this season due to this situation, but that is okay too.  We are taking our needs and wants to God and laying them at His feet in prayer.  So please understand, we are doing good, we are okay … please don’t worry about us.  The only thing I would ask that you do is lift us, and any others who you know that may be going through something similar, in prayer to our Heavenly Father. 
So, how did I get a pantry stocked well enough to be able to weather our current financial storm?  I’ll start sharing specifics on that in part 3.  The goal is to post a new entry every Wednesday ... but don't be upset if it's a day early or late ... I'll do my best to stay on track, but I lead a very busy life ... which is helpful in dealing with this situation ... get busy and stay busy!

Patsi 

Sharing 42 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

A Working Pantry

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine 

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

You can view my privacy policy HERE

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

A Special Series...

This is Why … having a well-stocked pantry is important and 100 ways that will help you have one too!

by patsi norwood (c) 2015  All Rights Reserved!

Recently my husband and I received the news that one of our monthly expenses … health insurance, was going to increase substantially.  In the same month we also received news that our income was being reduced substantially as well.  Double whammy!  Our first reaction was dismay, our second reaction was to pray and then we set down with our budget and started making changes to accommodate our new financial situation.  When all was said and done, we had some good news and some bad news … the good news was that we could still pay our bills each month … the bad news was that there was nothing left in the budget for groceries.
For a lot of people not having money for a grocery budget would be catastrophic, but for us it was a bump in the road.  Why?  Because of our well-stocked pantry!
I grew up watching my mama keep a well-stocked pantry.   When I married and we started our own family I mimicked what I had seen my mama do, year after year, day in and day, I watched her keep her pantry well-stocked all the while providing food for her family from it every day.  My pantry today looks different from hers then, but the principle is still the same … stock the things your family will eat when you can so that you don’t have to worry about how to feed them when you can’t.

Our well stocked pantry has given us time to prayerfully think through and come up with a course of action to balance out our incoming income with our outgoing expenses.  It has allowed us to not have to panic.

This is why keeping a well-stocked pantry is a priority for me; in fact, if you read my blog, A Working Pantry, you will know that I consider it my full time job and my contribution to our family’s economy.

So how do I keep a well-stocked pantry?  How did I get my pantry to the point that I don’t have to worry about how to keep my family feed during life’s unexpected?  That’s what this special series is all about.

When I started this project, it was with the intention of turning it into an e-book to sell, but the more I think and pray about it, I think that I would rather make it a special series and give it away free … in case there are others out there who find themselves in a similar situation … whose finances just can’t be stretched any further but yet you still have to feed your family.  It is to those whom this series is dedicated.  May it be a blessing to you as you walk this path.

Please feel free to share about this special series … it’ll be starting next week.
Patsi 

Sharing 42 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

A Working Pantry

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine 

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

You can view my privacy policy HERE