The Reality of Our Food Crisis

[Abigayle]

Boy, you can tell that Surveyor 1 is home nursing his knee....too bad Benny can't come over and give it a kick!

[Surveyor1]

Boy, you can tell that Surveyor 1 is home nursing his knee....too bad Benny can't come over and give it a kick!

I wouldn’t give him a hard time publicly if I didn’t Love him like a brother!  But what I’ve said, we both share the same luck!  We buy it and a week later it goes on sale!

[Abigayle]

We tend to buy high, sell low...It's a life-time habit., ha!

[Surveyor1]

The other shoe is dropping!  I’m guessing global food shortages will be the norm for the foreseeable future.  Oh well, this is why we do what we do…. It will be quite interesting to watch this one play out!?

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/russia-may-ban-wheat-rye-barley-and-corn-exports-until-june-30

[nj_m715]

best pasta deal I can find
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Spaghetti-Pasta-1-Lb-4Ct/17179231

in store only, comes back in stock from time to time so F5 once a day
you can order online, but have to pick up in store

you can fit about 35 lbs in a 5gal bucket
toss in a hand warmer and call it good

the straight sticks fit better in buckets than any other shaped pasta, more dense, less air space

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Classico-Tomato-Basil-Spaghetti-Sauce-2-ct-Pack-24-oz-Jars/751179252
these cost more, but come jars that can be reused for canning

[Surveyor1]

Thanks NJ, good deal on the pasta!  Word of caution on any tomato based sauces.  They do not store well because of the acid.  I’ve learned this the hard way.  The same can be said for many types of canned fruit, I’ve had a number blow within 1 years of expiration date.  You might want to consider tomato powder if storing a lot of pasta.  I researched the powder and in a #10 can it is the equivalent of 28 lbs of tomatoes.  I think most of us also grow fresh tomatoes every year.  For newbies to growing tomatoes for sauce I would recommend a good Roma variety as they are “meatier”…

[Abigayle]

Surveyer 1, I am jumping up and down at the opportunity to correct you!!!!  Yah!!!
San Marzano tomatoes are the very best for sauce, bar none.  They cook down thicker for spaghetti sauce, soup, pasta sauce, etc.  Since canning season also happens during growing season, I often can them whole, then make the sauce later, using my submersible hand held blender, right in the pot.  If you check out the most expensive sauces on the shelf, San Marzano is listed as the main ingredient.  Any Italian cook worth her salt, will fight for these tomatoes at the market.
Where Amish Paste come in as number one, I.M.H.O., is for drying.  Throw on some garlic salt and cheese and it makes a great healthy treat.
Back on subject, our Kroger was looking poor today.  They are using the old trick of pushing everything forward and lining them up in a long line. My son was looking for a couple steaks to put on the grill today.  There were none to be had, with the exception on on package of T-bone sliced like a fourth inch thick.  There was plenty of chicken if you like dummies, stir frier and thighs.  I could not get an egg plant or tofu for a dish I wanted to make with the red peppers that were on sale....don't laugh, it's a great dish!  Wine selection gets stranger by the day.  Crackers are very spotty..

[Starlady]

WELL!!!    This 1/2 Sicilian prefers Roma.   In her experience, they are more productive in the garden, although smaller than the Amish Paste, which are 2nd best because they are a bit larger.  San Marzano is great for canning whole & making stewed (with some Okra & onion) but for homegrown sauces, I prefer the other two.   Grandma always mixed in whatever other tomatoes she had, too, as long as you cook them down ENOUGH, most people can't tell.

Surveyor1, it has been known for 20+ years that most homegrown tomatoes are not reliable acid-wise for WATER BATH canning, and that includes our paste tomatoes.   It's due to soil, rain etc.   Most canning books recommend adding 1tsp lemon juice to pints and 1 TBS to quarts.   Since lemon juice doesn't have a very long shelf life, stock up on Ball's Citric Acid - cut the dose in half.    I've had jars last as long as 5-6 years with no issues.  It's most important if you are adding bits of slicers, beefsteaks, etc.  Otherwise, you can pressure can them.

For newbs who don't know - my other 1/2 is Irish (County Cork) so......
HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!!!
 

[Surveyor1]

Starlady - I was referring to store bought tomato based products in my post that will blow (probably should have clarified!).  When we canned our first tomatoes 10 years ago someone on GPN had told us to use the citric acid😎!  I wish I could remember who that was, I’m thinking it was Dholmes as she helped my wife learn the ropes on canning!   We still have a couple jars from then that have not blown! 

[Abigayle]

Star Lady, May the hinges of our friendship never rust.  May the wind always be at your back....Also half Irish and have my brisket, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes ready in the slow cooker.  My Irish soda bread is next.
I also use some lemon in my tomatoes.  Guess everyone needs to try some of each and form their own opinion.  I like all three, but for a rich sauce, I turn to San Mars....  I have a recipe from a famous Italian restaurant in Italy that actually adds anchovy.  You can not tell it is there and people love her sauce.
I am guessing that people use what has been handed down.  My God parents are 100% Italian and had the best Italian joint in a Milwaukee suburb.
One thing we all have to consider is soil.  Roma's were my favorite in Iowa, before I discovered San Marzano.  I also liked Amish paste.  Roma's are great for drying also, as they are meaty.  San Mar's are more hollow, but man the flavor!!!!
I also mix a few others for some things due to the combination of flavors.

[Abigayle]

All three of these sauce tomatoes are open pollenated, which is the direction in which all of us want to head.  Upon Googling all three, I found one site that said the San Marzano are smaller.  They didn't use the San Marzano II, for sure.  Mine were much larger than my Amish and Roma...All planted the same year, some in big pots, some in raised beds and some in Ga. garden soil.  All were good.  All were prolific.  The San Marzano was very late, but I liked that, since I had so much to put up in the garden.

[RWS]

The executive director of the UN’s World Food Program is saying that we are now facing “a catastrophe on top of a catastrophe”. Unfortunately, he is not exaggerating. The global price of food was skyrocketing even before the war on the other side of the globe erupted, and now many of the countries that are extremely dependent on agricultural exports from Ukraine and Russia are going to have to turn elsewhere for answers. Meanwhile, severe drought is threatening production in the other major “breadbasket” of the world. We are being warned that the winter wheat harvest in the U.S. could be “disastrous” this year, and that is very unwelcome news. Because if some sort of a miracle does not happen, we will soon see hunger and famine on a scale that once would have been unimaginable to many people.

https://dcdirtylaundry.com/the-un-is-warning-that-we-are-heading-into-the-worst-global-food-crisis-since-world-war-2/

[Abigayle]

We are very lucky to live in the U.S. where we can grow a very good selection of our food in country.  We are not dealing with scorched earth.. Our weather is changing and farming is a much bigger challenge, thus, the home garden.
I have followed different gardening sites, where folks live in areas where they are pretty limiting in what they can grow year round.  Again, we are lucky.  We can always have something in the ground to eat, even if that means more greens then we would like for a month or two.
When I was a little girl, I remember my grandmother selling rags, to the "rag man" that would push a cart down the street.  She would put the money in a little coin purse and we would walk to the store to get a little something to "put back".  She had raised a family during the depression, in the city.  My dad lived on a farm and always had food on the table in Iowa. Nine kids...one pair of shoes when school started.  We are very lucky, even though things are not looking good....just be prepared.

[Surveyor1]

Wow Abigayle that’s amazing!  I am the youngest of six and I thought we were poor until I read your post!!!  Each one of us had a pair of shoes for school!  I simply cannot imagine having to share 1 pair with my other 5 siblings much less nine sharing 1 pair! 

Ok all joking aside, you are correct that we are lucky!  We are also lucky that we have a group that we can hit up for advice and guidance!  Tough times are coming and I’m thankful to be as prepared as we are but still terrified of what the future holds!

[Abigayle]

Surveyor 1,  Sometimes, you just have to spell things out for some people....Each of the nine got a single pair of shoes.  The girls used to carry theirs home from school to keep them nicer all year.  They would go to the well and pump a bucket of cold water to rinse their feet when they got home, then if last years shoes fit they would wear those on the farm.  It not, each one wore the shoes of another child.  My dad was the oldest, so one pair only.  Dad did not know there was a depression, since they were always poor, but never hungry.  All nine grew up to be fine people.  Family reunions were full of laughter!   Sometimes less is more.  They were blessed, since all four boys came home after fighting wars.  Surveyor, tell your wife thank you for me....I think she is right about you (private joke:)