As our children have got older we've had to start putting more food away to last us longer.
Luckily they all love helping and the last few weeks there's been quite a few times with us all sat round a table prepping a harvest to preserve it.
I picked a huge bucket full of beans the other day and my wife groaned as I brought them in my wife let out a huge groan as did my eldest daughter. But everyone piled in and within 20 minutes we had them sorted and bagged for the freezer - another 9 meals worth.
Same with a load of plums I got from my friends, To chop up 9 trays worth to go in the dehydrator takes an age on your own but they were happy to help, luckily they didn't eat too much as they did it!
I know they'll grow out of this soon and will be groaning teenagers before long, so I'll happily make the most of it now!
Could you post a photo of the dried plums, please? Do you have them as snacks or as a cooking ingredient? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWill do! I tend to use them on my breakfast instead of rasins, either in musili or heated up in porridge where they come soft again. We will experiment with cooking them as well, they'll rehydrate easily and would be great in cakes.
DeleteHave you tried cooking the plums before drying? My dehydrator has got inserts that allow you to spread paste on the trays to make fruit leathers - you could just use baking paper. I stew fruit (count the plums you throw in, and count the stones you skim off) then blend the mush with over-ripe bananas bought cheap at the supermarket or street market and dry it. Roll up the leather and cut the rolls into slices for kids' lunch boxes, treats etc. It works for lots of fruit eg blackberry & apple (& banana takes the edge off the tartness).
ReplyDeleteWe've done fruit rolls in the last like this but I found the kids became a bit like crack addicts and wouldn't leave them alone or constantly begged for them. Last batch I did disappeared in days so I tend just to do the fruit now to slow them up a bit!
Delete🤣 sorry, kids.
DeleteWhat wonderful helpers you have! Nice to be able to work outdoors like that.
ReplyDeleteYes - good to take advantage of the outside space while we can - soon be too cold or wet!
Deletei would do a lot more preserving if i had helpers like you do. even when they walk away as teenagers, they will come back to it when they are older.
ReplyDeleteI hope they keep at it for some time yet!
DeleteHave you ever counted how much vegetables and fruits you need to feed your family all year round? I mean if you think 5 portions per day per person? I did and my mind is still hurting...
ReplyDeleteIf I couldn't grow and preserve any, I would be financially and mentally ruined.
I do and I often wonder if I could step up to the plate if I needed to. I'd love to do it for a year to see if it was possible or not for us. The kids eat so much though and I know that's going to get so much more.
DeleteDehydrating plums? What a great idea!! Why did I not think of this before. Thank you for the inspiration..
ReplyDeleteBtw... when I lived in North Wales.. I spent a lot of time wandering around the Dudleston area of Shropshire tracing my ancestors. Its a wonderfully pretty part of the world
Shropshire is huge isn't it - the area I grew up was in the south of the county. Let me know how you get on with the plums!
DeleteKev, I did the same when our children were younger. Your right that they may lose interest as they grow older, but our time has manifested itself in unusual ways: one daughter has become an excellent cook and another has become quite willing to try new ways to make old dishes or experiment with recipes, and both are quite interested in growing things (perhaps not a garden per se) and where their food comes from. So maybe my efforts were not a total loss.
ReplyDeleteThat's good to know! I hope mine have a passion for food all their life - it's so important to how we feel and live!
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