How Long Will My Alaskan Harvest Feed Us?

For anyone who lives far from a supermarket (whether that is several hours by car or weeks by ferry, plane, or snowmobile/snowmachine), surely there are few things more comforting than a full larder.  The satisfaction is increased, for me, by seeing rows and rows of glass mason jars full of food that I have grown or foraged, and then dried or pressure canned to enjoy for months or even years in the future.

Potatoes in cold hole

Tucked in the food shed and the Arctic entry are 40 jars (quarts and pints) of brassica leaves (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower) and turnips, plus the broth resulting from blanching (a quick plunge in boiling water, followed by cold water, for better preservation).  I will open about a quart per week for side dishes or additions to soups, rice, and stews.  The tightest heads, about 15, are stored in the refrigerator for crisp salads.  I have concluded that I enjoy this texture better than (sorry) wimpy lettuce. With this bounteous harvest of reliable veggies, I am learning lots of new recipes from Indian and Korean sources, as well as other renditions closer to home.  British Bubble and Squeak is a new favorite, in both name and flavor/texture.

Other shelves are loaded with 60 jars of rhubarb, raspberries and cranberry and currant juice.  We drink the juice throughout the year, and mix them and the berries into sweet and savory sauces, like BBQ sauce, vinagrettes, fruit salads, chutneys, and desserts.  These plants yield enough for more than a year’s consumption, plus extras for gifts.

Of herbs, cilantro and nasturtiums always do well.  We consume the seeds as well as the leaves. Dill, fennel, chives, rosehips, and garlic all produced less than last year and will not last through the winter.  But I dried quarts of fireweed, sweet gale, yarrow, and berry leaves, as well as a year’s worth of mint, for teas, remedies and cooking.    

One section of the food shed

In the freezer, I squeezed in several gallon bags of blanched veggies, predominantly cauliflower, carrots (mostly for winter carrot cake) and celery, as well as wild lamb`s quarter, mint, and chives.

            Indoors, I have glassed about 150 eggs (about 4.5 gallons) in a pickling lime solution, which will store at room temperature for upwards of 9 months, as I have discovered from several years of doing so.  I rely on glassed eggs in late autumn through winter, when the hens molt (shed their feathers), and, in response to low light levels and temperature, lay fewer eggs.  If/when we run low, toward the end of winter, we do have powdered eggs, which I relegate to baked goods.  I also have 3 gallons of tomatoes plucked from the greenhouse, ripening in covered bowls with a banana for extra ethylene (for ripening).

In the cold hole are 50 potatoes – half of last year`s harvest.  Still, if I cook 2-3 potatoes per week,  this number will last us through March, when we get resupplied by snowmachine haulers.

In the oddly hot spring and rainy late summer, some fruits and veggies produced enough to enjoy fresh during the summer, but not enough to store long term.  This includes several squash varieties, including cucumber.  I have never yet nurtured a decent pepper harvest, though they are my favorite vegetable.  The weather was particularly ill-suited to spinach, peas, and beans.  Haskap bushes flowered very early in the sun (while standing in snow), resulting in few berries.  Not even the birds were interested.  Only 3 apples from one young tree.   Still no cherries.

Kitchen shelves. Spruce log walls.

We feared a low honey harvest (since the insects do not like to fly in rain), but they produced a very respectable 15 gallons of golden nectar from 4 hives.  Thankfully, none of them swarmed or absconded during the heat wave of 80+ degree temps in early June (because their population was still low at that date).  I am not averse to sugar, but as beekeepers, we have bought none for years and use honey in all recipes that require sweetening, including baked goods and a quart per 6 gallons of homemade beer (so that libation is technically a braggot). This year`s harvest will last more than a year.

Sadly, we took no bear or moose this year, so our meat expenses are the same as anyone else`s. With inflation - Yikes!  However, with the bones and fat of every ham or chicken I buy, I make tasty broth for flavoring rice, beans, soups, and other dishes, and snacks for the carnivorous hens.  The pike in our lake have cannibalized each other so we caught none of edible size this summer.   We took a break from raising meat rabbits for two years and consumed our last quart as rabbit mole over pasta last month.  

Today is October 11.  Snow fell on the  4,600 ft mountains near us last week, and this morning we see Termination Dust on the  closest mountain of 2600 ft .  The temperature dipped to 35, leaving frost on the brown, crispy ferns and green grass.  Ten noisy flocks of geese winged their way south throughout the day.  So yesterday was likely the last salad I could gather directly from the gardens, as many leaves wilt in the cold, although  celery, cabbage, and the leaves of root vegetables (radish, carrots) are sturdy enough to linger after a few frosts. 

The hardy, late season greens that fed us included mustard, nasturtium, and lettuce leaves, topped with blue borage flowers (taste like cucumber) and orange nasturtium flowers (taste like horseradish).  I added the sole cucumber that grew, plus several of the smallest tomatoes.  I served it with a honey mustard dressing with currant juice, topped with croutons from a bread I made earlier in the week and little hard boiled eggs from our smallest hen.  A pretty and tasty dish.  

Hardy mint remains harvestable… for a few days.  I gathered a huge pile and will blanch it this afternoon so that we can enjoy a favorite condiment – a hot Indian chutney – through some of the winter months.

I will miss many of these fresh flavors during the winter, but our seasonal distinctions encourage me to savor every last bite in autumn.  Then, I look forward to cozy soups and stews for winter, such as vegetarian African peanut soup (with sweet potatoes or winter squash), split pea soup with ham (secret ingredient: dried orange rind), potato soup with all the ingredients one associates with loaded baked potatoes, and whatever creative concoctions bubble up on future chilly days.  

 

 

Podcast - Houston Investor Works Off-Grid in Alaska

 

Capitalism, Environmental, and Social Governance don’t always quite fit well together.  Bryan Emerson has found a way to do both.  He and his wife Laura gave up the hustle and bustle of city life to go off the grid deep in the forests of Alaska, an area so remote it can only be accessed by seaplane.

 

As an angel investor and investment banker since 2000 and serial entrepreneur since the 1970s, Bryan Emerson has developed a network of over 46,000 investors, entrepreneurs, and business professionals.  Most are fellow finance professionals who run venture funds, private equity funds, investment banks, and family offices and who, as individuals, enjoy investing personal money in angel rounds of promising companies too small for their corporate funding. 

 

Bryan’s investor network can be accessed at www.starlightcapital.co  

Podcast and original posting: https://missionmatters.com/emersons-go-off-the-grid/

Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/emersons-go-off-the-grid/id1631183772?i=1000582392119

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/episode/5lXukvD59mPf52YQASOa9N

How to: Homemade Dog Treats, Toys, and Shampoo

When we adopted a one year old chocolate lab in early summer, both animal shelters that we visited told us that they were so full that they could not accept another animal until adoptions clear space.  I read that this is true across the country.  Part of the reason is that so many people adopted pets when they were isolated by municipal Covid measures.  Later, some people had to go back to work, leaving an anxious dog alone to tear up the house or yard.  Another reason may be that the rapid rise of inflation has increased the costs of both human and pet supplies. So Fido is returned.

One amelioration of the latter issue is that many foods, hygiene supplies, and toys can be made, cheaply, quickly, and easily, from scratch.  Below are a few that I make for our dog, Buddy.

DOG TREATS

Dogs go through packages of dog treats fast, and they can be pricey.  But they are SO EASY to whip up at home from common ingredients and MANY websites offer great recipes. Just search for home made dog treats.  I have made several dog treats.  The simplest is:

2 cups flour (any kind)

½ cup peanut butter

Enough hot water to make a firm dough

Knead, flatten, and cut into preferred shapes and sizes. 

Cook at 350 degrees.  The duration depends on the thickness of your biscuits and how hard and shelf stable you want them to be.  For example, ones that are ½ inch thick and cooked for 20 minutes will have a brownie-like texture.  Thinner and 45 minutes yields a harder product.

I vary the recipe by adding salmon oil, oatmeal, pumpkin puree,  chopped dates, toasted barley.  The latter three provide fiber/roughage.

One great idea (again, for roughage) is to slowly dry (in an oven or dehydrator) a sweet potato or yam that has been cut into thin rings.  When the tuber is leathery hard, string it on a leather strand, like a necklace, for the dog to chew.

DOG SHAMPOO

The dog shampoo I make is very similar to the people shampoo that I also make, with castile soap, water, a bit of vinegar and a drop or two of essential oil.  I do not use nearly as much of the last ingredient for the dog as I do for us, since his nose is so much more sensitive.  After I brush him, I dip a cloth into the shampoo and rub it into his hair, with special attention to the insides of his back legs, that can have been splashed with urine.  I have read that once a month is about the right frequency.

 

DOG TOOTHPASTE

My son kindly sent me some purchased dog toothpaste and several plastic finger “brushes.”  My dog enjoys the almost daily ritual when I rub the nubby finger over his teeth and gums.  When I finish this tube, I will make my own.  Of the internet sources I have read, I have found that some ingredients used by people (including us) like baking powder and hydrogen peroxide are NOT appropriate for dogs since they do not spit out the residue as we do.  Coconut oil (which we use for oil pulling) IS OK for dogs, as are aloe vera and olive oil as bases.  Look up homemade dog toothpaste.

 

DOG TOYS

Our 5 acre woodsy property on a lake offer a variety of outdoor entertainments for a dog who likes to

run, grab sticks, and play in the water.  But how will be entertain him during our long Alaska winters, particularly during snow and rain storms and deep cold when we are not too enthusiastic about spending much time outside?

All dog owners know how fast their pets can tear through purchased toys.  Even Kong toys, which cost $15 + and are marketed as tough and long lasting, remained intact for less than a day with Buddy, although the sad remnants remained play worthy, longer. 

The internet offers lots of creative ideas for homemade toys. I have tried several to good effect and concocted some others:

·         I save food grade plastic containers, like peanut butter and popcorn jars.  First he rolls and sniffs, licks, plays with them.  Once he crunches the side of the container into an hourglass shape, I shove a dog treat into the lower portion.  He enjoys the mental stimulation of figuring out how to get to the treat. 

·         I tie string, rope, or paracord from the spiral staircase, looped through a dead tennis ball, rubber toys, or a pierced plastic jar.  The thinner strings he breaks and then plays with that.  The paracord lasts longest before he bites through it to release the toy. 

·         Cardboard toilet paper rolls or small cardboard containers taped shut with a treat inside.  At first he played very gently with these, but now they last about a minute.  Still, sometimes that is all the distraction one needs to redirect behavior.

·         Three rags or old socks wrapped around dog treats or peanuts and then tied, one inside another, entertain him for about 20 minutes.  

·         We bought bags of golf balls, tennis balls, and what look like croquet balls at thrift shops for very little money. Buddy strips the shell off the golf ball in an hour, shreds the tennis ball in two hours, and peels the skin off a baseball in about two hours, after which he unravels the tightly wrapped yarn over several days.   

·         Of course he loves sticks and slim logs and we have lots of those.   

 

I think I derive as much enjoyment from creating these supplies as he does from utilizing them. 

How to Pressure Can Foods for Long Term Storage

HISTORY

(The historical information is adapted from www.thecharmedkitchen.com)

The first known pressure cooker was invented in 1679, believe it or not, by Denis Papin, a French physicist and mathematician. His invention was a large cast iron pot with a lockable lid that raised the boiling point of water.  At this higher temperature, bones softened and meat cooked in quick time. It was promoted as a “digester” because it cooked food so quickly. Sadly, it was difficult to control the pressure and explosions were common. Eventually he added a valve to release extra pressure.

In 1795, Napoleon Bonaparte offered a reward for whomever could develop a safe, reliable food preservation method for his constantly traveling army. Nicholas Appert took on the challenge, and about 15 years later introduced a method that involved heat-processing food in glass jars reinforced with wire and sealed with wax.

The next breakthrough with tin cans occurred in or around 1810.  Englishman Peter Durand sealed food in “unbreakable” tin cans… but the can opener was not invented until 48 years later! Before that cans were opened with hammer and chisels! The first commercial canning establishment in the U.S. was started in 1912 by Thomas Kensett.

It wasn’t until Louis Pasteur was able to demonstrate how the growth of microorganisms causes food to spoil that people understood WHY canning methods preserved edible food.

At the time of the U.S. Civil War glass food preservation jars with metal clamps and replaceable rubber rings had been invented. These jars are still available today, although they are no longer recommended for canning, just for storing dry goods.

In 1858, John Mason invented a glass jar with a screw-on thread molded into its top, and a lid with a rubber seal. Most canning jars are still referred to as Mason jars.

Meanwhile in the late 1800’s, William Charles Ball and his brothers got into the food preservation jar business and began buying up smaller companies. They quickly became leaders in the industry. Ball jars are today one of the most widely used jars for canning (and their cookbooks are wonderful – LE).

HOW TO

I regard pressure canning as an essential skill for anyone wanting to increase self-sufficiency and resilience.  Power outage from a tornado, hurricane, flood?  A huge harvest from the garden, hunting, or fishing?  Can’t get to a supermarket during a week-long blizzard or after surgery?  Enjoy the convenience of meat, cheese, vegetables and fruits you pressure canned in advance!

If someone has never seen the equipment, it may be hard to imagine how this works, especially since the process requires some specialized equipment.   For one thing, as conveyed above, you do not use cans!  ???  The containers are tempered glass mason jars with metal, two part lids – a flat disk and a round lipped sleeve that fits over the disk and screws around the top of the jar.  The pressure canner is a specialty kitchen item, not a normal pot. It is super heavy duty steel, designed with a unique lid. The top locks in place with six screwable locks and three L shaped brackets and has a steam valve like a mini chimney that you top with a round, metal regulator.  Covering the steam vent with the regulator enables the temperature within to rise and remain above the boiling point (usually 240 degrees for my canning), thus killing most bacteria over the designated duration of cooking.  We bought the All American brand for about $275 in a size that fits 7 quart jars at a time. 

After processing, the cook lets the hot water and steam pressure cool before lifting the lid to pull the jars out of the hot water bath and set them on an appropriate surface to cool.  The temperature difference between the interior and exterior of the jars causes pressure by which the disk tops suck inward (concave), thus creating an air tight seal to protect the food within.  When you want to consume the food, months or years later, you break the seal with a gentle twisting movement on the edge of the disk, with a fork or other utensil.

EXAMPLE of METHOD and TIMING

This week, I canned 21 jars of brassica (cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower) leaves.   

1.   1.  First I assemble the equipment in the kitchen.  I fill the pressure canner with water high enough to fill and barely top 7 quart jars (they are about 8 inches tall).  I lay the disk lids on top of the jars.  As the water heats, it cleans the containers and tempers the glass for the boiling temperatures ahead.  On another burner, I heat water in a large pot to blanch the leaves.  (Blanching is quickly boiling the vegetables to turn bright green, then plunging them in a nearby large bowl of cold water to stop the cooking.)  On the counter, I place a big bowl full of cold water, a smaller empty bowl, a sharp knife, long tongs, a soup ladle, a sieve, and a special canning tool that looks like short tongs but with a circular clamp, to lift the round jars in and out of the hot water.

2.   2.  Then I go out to the gardens to harvest enough leaves to fill 7 + quarts (about 15 leaves per jar or about 100 leaves total).  This pleasant task takes me about 30 minutes.    

3.   3.  Upon returning, my prep works takes about an hour.  I fill one sink full of cool water, rinse the leaves in the other and then lay them in the bath.  I gather 8 leaves, roll them up like a green log, cut crosswise into sushi sized pieces, and then long wise, resulting in rectangular confetti of leaves.  Any long or thick stems or spines, I snap off and drop in the empty bowl. Every time I amass 24 or 32 leaves, I blanch them for maybe 10 – 20 seconds.  Then I fish the leaves out with the sieve and dump them into the pot of cool water to stop the cooking. 

4.   4.  During the next set of 24 – 32 leaves I chop, I blanch the stems and spines, which, being thicker, take more time – often a minute.

5.   5.  Some people flavor the vegetables with herbs, onions, etc at this point, but I prefer to store mine plain, so I can be more spontaneous when I eventually prepare meals.   I pull out a hot jar from the pot, empty the water, and with the long tongs, fill the jar with the blanched and cooled leaves or stems, pressing down occasionally to fit more.  Then I ladle hot blanch water over the leaves, poking with the tongs to open up any air pockets.  Every canned food recipe has a suggested airspace at the top, such as half an inch.  When I have left overfilled jars in an unheated outbuilding in winter, the liquid expanded and cracked the jars.  So I carefully assess the space at the top.  I wipe the top edge of the jar with a clean towel and then place the lid and ring on, finger tight, not tighter, for reasons that relate to the cooking process and subsequent self-sealing. 

6.       The science and safety of canning, as well as recipes, are well explained in Bell’s Book of Canning, which is sort of the “Bible” of canning. 

7.   6.  When all 7 jars are immersed in the simmering water bath, with about 1 inch of water covering the lids, I lock on the lid, crank up the heat, and watch until steam vents out of the top for several minutes.  Then I place the regulator on top and set the timer.

8.     Acidic foods, like berries, tomatoes, and citrus are processed very quickly (15 -20 minutes for quart jars).  Non-acidic foods, like meats, tubers, and other fruits and vegetables take MUCH longer, such as 90 minutes for quart jars of leafy greens. 

9.  7. It also takes another 60 – 90 minutes for the water and steam in the pot to cool down enough to remove the regulator and then the lid. So when I can vegetables or bear meat, I can only process two batches in a day.  During berry harvesting season, I can process more sets… if I want to spend all day at it.  Otherwise, I pop the berries in gallon bags in the freezer to deal with during inclement weather. 

108.  I place the hot jars on the stone surface that surrounds our wood stove.  I can see the liquid still bubbling/boiling through the glass. I leave them there overnight, hearing “pings” when internal pressure seals the jars when the lids go concave.

119.  The next morning, I test each jar’s seal by poking the lids gently with a finger.  Those that sealed are firm and do not lift free of the jar.  Those that did not seal for some reason (like a bit of food on the lip of the jar, or a dented lid) wiggle and lift easily.  The sealed ones go on the pantry shelf, labelled with contents and date.  The unsealed ones go in the freezer or refrigerator to consume sooner or to can again with a different lid.

During the summer, of course, we gather fresh vegetables for salads and side dishes each day.  But since brassicas grow so easily here, our winter rice, stews, stir fries, and other dishes often feature a hefty portion of brassica leaves for color, nutrients, and roughage.   We generally open one quart per week.  By the end of summer, I will have canned more than 100 jars of summer fruits and vegetables (and hopefully, bear meat) to enjoy through the winter and into next year. 

Yes, this takes a long time, especially if a reader is able to order foods on line, delivered to the door.  On the other hand, I enjoy a sense of pride in each mouthful.  I not only grew this food from tiny seeds, I also preserved it for my family’s consumption in a tasty dish.