Resources for Food Preservation and Storage

Here is a list of books, websites, and YouTube channels that I have found helpful in food preservation and storage.

Books
Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving - basic all-around book for canning
Putting Food By - This book includes information on canning, freezing, drying, pickling and more. It also includes information on health and safety issues. It is a very interesting read. Highly recommend!
The Home Preserving Bible -  includes information on canning, freezing, drying, pickling and more.
The Meals in a Jar Handbook - recipes for making meals using dehydrated/freeze-dried foods

Websites
Emergency Essentials/Be Prepared - recipes using dehydrated/freeze-dried food

YouTube channels
Michigansnowpony
Linda's Pantry
imstillworkin
BexarPrepper
Obsessiveprepperaz
perbain
katzcradul

Tortoises

Yesterday was the first time this year that Tagalong and Torty were together. So here is a video of their first encounter. Poor Torty. He just wants to be friends but Tagalong will have none of it.

Pot Roast Dinner

I've been experimenting with canning different foods and making meals with these canned foods. Last week I canned potatoes and carrots. These were not grown in my garden; I just bought them from the store.

Today, I tried to make a meal with the canned potatoes and carrots and a previously canned roast. It was very tasty and super easy to throw together. The canned roast had broth so I was able to make gravy. Adding some green beans and a salad would have made this perfect.

I learned some valuable lessons from this experiment. The potatoes need to be parboiled a couple more minutes before canning, and I need to cut the carrots into much larger pieces. 

All in all, though, I can foresee using this on busy days when I don't have time to cook. 

Torty

Torty woke up yesterday. He hibernates in our bedroom closet and usually gets up in May. I didn't hear him walking around but saw him at the back door trying to get out. He went outside and searched the yard for something to eat. He especially likes dandelion flowers.

He remembered where his water dish is and got a nice long drink.

After a couple of hours he decided that it was indeed too early to wake up and came back inside. Here he is sleeping under Paul's shoes.

Classic Quote

Paul needed to get a new social security card, so he had to go in person to the Social Security office to handle this. For whatever reason, the Social Security office in Cochise County is in Douglas, over an hour away.

We discussed briefly whether or not it would be open Wednesday afternoon. I couldn't think of any national holiday or any reason it should be closed, so we went on ahead without calling. Of course, when we got there, the office was closed!!! Only on Wednesday afternoons. Why???

So Paul in typical fashion said, "I'm not surprised it's closed, but it doesn't diminish my disgust!" That sounds so much like him. I need to make a meme.