Trustdaily

I started keeping a grocery diary to track how my shopping has changed since I began raising and canning much of our own food, and since I resumed stocking up as a part of preparedness. I don't have to shop as often, and spend far less when I do go to the store. It also takes less time to shop now that I only have to walk around the perimeter instead of up and down every aisle! :-)

Morel mushrooms are a rare delicacy.  Like truffles, they have their own unique flavor that is nothing like the usual mushrooms that can be grown in cave-like "farms". They only grow in nature, and have peculiar habits.   I've never lived where they grew naturally, but I've heard tales about people passing knowledge of their secret morel gathering place down through the family.  They are expensive, and I have only tasted them once, when a restaurant used a small dried one to flavor a sauce for pork chops. Who knew? Someone has a strain of Morel mushroom spoor that can be semi cultivated, and now we can each try our hand at developing a morel plot of our own. Here is my video showing how I dug my habitat for them. The link to the company that I bought them from is on the video comment. :-)

Woohoo! I've reached a great milestone and want to say thanks to all of you for an awesome beginning!   To celebrate, I am having a little give away. :-)     To Enter: Subscribe to my "Pecan Corner" You Tube channel, then comment on You Tube on this video (click through to watch it on You Tube, then you can see the comment box) answering this question: "What are the best kind of gifts for celebration give-a-ways from individual channels?" Must comment on You Tube before Midnight Saturday night, January 24th 2015. Winners will be announced on Monday Jan 26th 2015. Winners must message me within 48 hours (by mid-day Wed the 28th) with their mailing address and their choice of prize.  Thanks a bunch!!!

I've decided to track my spending on groceries this year, as I am growing and preserving more and more of our own food.  I will note when we eat out in these as well, but that is very seldom. We are starting also with a freezer full of various meats, a good stock of flour & sugar, and a pantry from my canning over the past 6 months.  This is the second video I've made on this. I can already see a strong drop in how much I spend each week for food, as well as a reduction in the amount of garbage we have! I'd love to hear your tips or your reflections on the difference food storage or preservation has made for your family.  If you enjoy the video, please give it a "thumbs up" on You Tube & please subscribe to my channel there. :-)

In which I talk about the things I learned last year: what worked (Deer Netting!!!!) and what didn't (Oddly colored Heirloom Tomatoes!!!), and what I am looking for when I start going through the seed catalogs this year. Also, some tips on buying onion plants for Southern gardens.  If you like the video, please give a "thumbs up" and subscribe on You Tube. Thank you so much :-)

What do you think?  Do you like my blog and my You Tube channel as good sources of preparedness info?   Please vote for me! Your vote will also take you to a list of other great sites. Thanks and please don't forget to subscribe to my You Tube channel! :-)

This is the season when Texas citrus are ripe. It is surprisingly easy to can fresh grapefruit  (or oranges) - and it tastes so fresh when we open it in the summer, when the refreshing sweet flavor is welcome for breakfast on a bright summer morning! These videos show how I do it!

My video on working while waiting for frozen pipes to thaw. :-) I hope this will be helpful to you in keeping "real life" going while conserving water in the kitchen when the water is off or the well is dry!  I am going to use these techniques while camping too! :-)