Weekend prepping/Prepping squeezed into a busy week - what are you up to at the moment?

[bellinisurge]

Just thought I'd start a thread so that people can share what prepping stuff they are up to. Often hard or not appropriate to discuss in real life. And, often hard to fit in around other obligations.

Here's mine this weekend- made a garlic honey jar. Supposed to be good for the immune system particularly in winter. As I currently have a cold it's a bit ironic but ... looks easy, relatively cheap and can't hurt.

Take a big jar with a lid and sterilise it - I have a pint sized canning jar because I can buy a large vinegar or pickle jar would do, I reckon. Empty a small jar of local honey in it. Peel some garlic cloves - this is the tedious and smelly bit - I used about 5 bulbs worth. Tip into the jar. Close lid. Tip upside down to coat the cloves. Leave in cool dark place. Tip upright again the next day and leave.
Repeat. Make sure you do what is pleasingly called "burping " the jar by loosening the lid and reclosing, to let air out. Obviously don't do this upside down.
Google it for instructions. Doug and Stacey do it but I've seen plenty of others.
Not a big hassle - apart from peeling the cloves. Garlic? Good. Local honey? Good.
What are you up to?

I "can" , that should read. Followed by "but" not "buy".

I eat a lot of garlic, and quite a bit of honey, but not sure I could stomach them together. Funnily enough I rarely get colds, and I put that partly down to my huge garlic and onion consumption.

Tomorrow I’m going to do an enormous stocking up of tinned stuff, and non perishables. Anything I can stack up in the garage which has loads of space.

I froze a lot of blackberries a few weeks ago, so I’m in the slow process of making them into jam and cordial. Would usually be faster but I have a new baby who keeps distracting me.

I am thinking I might make and freezer elderberry cordial too.

We have a lot of apples, so I’m going to chop some to make into apple sauce and also slice some thickly and dehydrate.

In a frenzy of nesting I managed to rearrange my pantry and create some extra space. This month my focus is on stocking cleaning products, toiletries and fruit and veg.

It is my aim by the end of this month to have tried out 4 more bread recipes.

My grandad always seemed to have a jar of garlic in honey on the go. I think he just ate the marinated cloves straight from it, and gradma used to leftover garlicy honey for cooking afterwards.

I haven't been doing anything exciting.

Picked up a few extra bits with my weekly shopping. I've been using a "need one, buy two" habit for shopping on longlife staples - ie. if I need passata for my weekly mealplan, I'll buy two; take a look at the dates (on new ones and those on my shelves), and the one with least date goes on my meal, and the extra on my shelves.

I got the pocket-sized Food For Free in the mail last week (thanks for the tip in another thread), and have given that a browse. I've also been baking rye bread and apple crumble, which I guess I can call skills practice. :)

Next boring thing I need to do is to clear out and organise my freezer. I don't know what all is there at the moment - and it's not even big. It needs a better system of what is where, and I need to start writing a freezing date on what I put in there. (Writing this, I realise it's one more step on my road to becoming my mother )

Excellent stuff. Bit by bit. Learning what works for you and yours. And making use of foraging opportunities is great.
I learned about making hawthorn ketchup over the weekend. Haven't done it but apparently, with hawthorn, it's the seeds you wants to get rid of not the whole berry. Did not know that.
Obviously, check for yourself and do what suits you best.
There's a YouTube channel called Prepsteaders. A bit god bother-y (my term/apologies if you are a person of faith). A comical new intro to appeal to US 2nd amendment loving market. But some cool ideas.

@GoneWishing - I find if I say the "F" word a lot, it stops me from becoming my mother.
Don't forget to wrap up warm, you'll catch a chill
Fuck it.

I have found masses of boletus mushrooms growing nearby. I'm in the process of collecting and drying them and then turning them into 'porchini powder' (even though only some of them are strictly porchini). You have to process them quickly so Ive been collecting the freshest each morning.

They are extremely easy to identify since they look different from every other type of mushroom.

Mission today ( I don't work Friday afternoons) is to stock up on vitamins. I think with yesterdays brexit talks having been a complete failure the chances of crashing out have just skyrocketed.

Great stuff @user187656748 ! I'm currently dehydrating some chillis. Comically, despite my precautions, I've discovered the hard way how hot they are..
Discovered a whole cucumber in the fridge to dehydrate too. Dh bought a replacement without checking what we had. It's still firm and lovely therefore suitable for the dehydrator. Otherwise I'd stick it on the compost pile - ordered a bin off the Council a few months ago and it has really worked. Sad, eh?

I just received my birthday gift from DH, a Kelly Kettle that I'd asked for and am looking forward to trying out At the top of my Christmas wish list is a dehydrator, although not from DH as he's getting me a sleeping bag

I never considered that you could dehydrate cucumber, bellini. What would you use it for?

I did it a few weeks ago as an experiment from my garden experiment (see what I did there ). Tasted delicious after dehydration. The one I'm doing now is a shop bought one. Not as yummy.
I have them in for snacks (for me - luv anything crispy) or to add to yoghurt with a curry.

Kelly kettle is ace. When I was a kid we only had whistling kettles on the hob - love that sound.
Just started getting milk delivered in a bottle- again , that sound of chinking bottles from my childhood.

@bellinisurge yes, general uncouthness helps, too!

I joined the SuttonDaze Friends on FB, so my feed is now full of people canning and dehydrating. It's interesting to see and read, but I'm not a convert yet. No home crops to preserve, and tins are cheap from the shops... Maybe one day!

DH has asked what I want for Christmas. I have too many useful sounding things listed on my secret Amazon wish list already, though, so need to try to prioritise. Kelly Kettle does sound useful...

While importing a pressure canner is a big investment, waterbath canning is definitely an option in the UK. An online store called Lucky Vitamin is the best value (relative term) for screwtop Kilner jars. Or just try jams and chutney the UK way. Delia and Nigella have recipes.
I spent £40 on a dehydrator on Amazon and it's fab. I reuse old jars for storing.
I admit that when my dd was tiny, I would have had no chance but, now she's Y7 it's doable.
While, yes, it is cheaper to buy tins in the shop, a bit of homegrown stuff is gorgeous. Also, fruit and veg is cheaper at the mo because of the time of year.
It's not scary once you try preserving, is what I am trying to say. But it is time consuming.

This weekend I am making hawthorn berry ketchup. I found a few recipes and there are oodles of berries around here. Yes it's easier to buy ketchup in Aldi. But I get a kick out of it.

I've just spent the whole day picking and freezing blackberries. I've now got my eyes on our two pear trees which are weighed down with pears, conference and the 'william' ones I think!
But....I have no idea how to freeze pears, or even if you can. Anybody know how?

I'd be more inclined to jam those bad boys.