a can and a plan

this past week in church we had a lesson on emergency preparedness. it is something we have been thinking about a lot in our house lately. we are even the proud owners of a wheat mill! the lesson was given by a middle aged single man who was neither eloquent nor personable in his delivery, but completely inspiring to me. he spoke about having enough of what we need in case of emergencies. he talked about his massive garden and how he cans everything from it. when he mentioned the large quantities of toilet paper he has on hand and the fact that he cans corn from his garden two hours after picking it, i thought, "i am heading to your house if there's an emergency." he then mentioned that if there is an emergency he will not be sharing with anyone in the congregation. we have been warned, he said, and he won't have pity on us if we are not prepared.

this lesson combined with our first little garden in our yard has given me a strong desire to be a home canner. i've got canned jam down- and haven't had to purchase it for two years now, but that's all. i want to learn to can other things. i want to open my food storage cupboards and see the beautiful colors of canned foods. i want to feel the success of knowing i can make something myself that will help my family in many ways. i want to really know what is in our food. i want to be able to make it healthier and tastier than what we can buy. and i want to have things on hand that we will be happy to eat and enjoy- especially in times of need.

so i made a list of what i would can today if i could: salsa, corn, green beans, peaches, pickles, stocks, soups, apple pie filling, hot fudge sauce, chili, marinara sauce, squash, and pears. i've also found a few good websites for information. like here and here. while i continue to dream of canning, i can keep researching until the day when i dive in and actually do it.