The Northwoods White Trash Princess

One of the homesteading skills I really enjoy is canning. It is a lot of work; it takes time and energy, but when all is done, you have food. I am lucky enough to have a large basement and a husband who can build shelves. This is not one season's worth of work.  This is years of work and learning. 

When we bought our home in 2008, we had a small "pantry" in the basement. It consisted of 6 or 7 shelves about 3.5 feet wide and about 2 feet deep.  I thought, "If I could fill these shelves with home canned food, I would be happy." Seven years later and those shelves have been replaced by second-hand and homemade shelves that take up about a quarter of our basement. 

Well what's in all those jars you ask? I can many things: stocks (ham, chicken, pork, beef, fish, vegetable, venison, duck, goose, and rabbit), meat (all the things listed previously), peaches, applesauce, pears,  peppers, ginger tea, greens, salsa, tomatoes,  beets, beans, pickles,  lard, bacon grease, duck fat, goose fat, jam, (oddly enough no jelly), marinades, croutons, spaghetti sauce, and soup. I probably forgot a few things. 

As it is winter, canning has slowed down a bit, but I will post when I can some thing. I will try to take pics during the process so you can see how messy things can be.

I generally do not enjoy homesteading blogs that only include pics of things that go right. Their "messes" still seem pretty and quaint. Not mine. They are real, and I hope to share them with you.