van canning and other easy meal solutions

[Homeless in Canada]

I like canning. It can be a bit of work but isn't so hard once you get used to it and develop a routine. Usually I'll just boil out a couple jars and sterilize all my utensils while I'm making the soup or stew. The canning water can be used to wash up afterwards. Technically the food can keep for up to a year but I prefer to do just a few jars at a time and not keep anything longer than a couple weeks. It's a simple solution to not having a freezer to keep home cooked meals on hand. Ideal storage is a cool, dark place but a fridge works just as well. You can reheat the jars in the microwave but I always reheat my food in a saucepan and boil for at least ten minutes just to be on the safe side. Used canners and jars can often be found at garage sales and craigslist ads. Or you can order a starter kit from Walmart or Amazon.

You can also can fruit which doesn't require a pressure cooker just a pot of boiling water large enough to completely submerge your jars. You just have to be careful the fruits are acidic enough to preserve so it's best to follow a proven recipe and follow the directions carefully. Pickling beets and other vegetables in vinegar is also really easy. And having a few jars handy is a good way to save food before it goes bad. Cherry tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and other fresh veggies can be cold pickled and will keep in the fridge for several days. I always have a jar for making pitas and it's a nice substitute when you're too far off the grid to make a fresh salad.

A dozen canning jars are not that expensive and they can be used to store dry goods. I prefer the pint size because they're big enough for one person, don't require a huge canner and are easier to handle with the tongs. They also fit neatly in a drawer so you can label the lids and easily find what you're looking for.


Buying bulk. I often buy soup mixes and other dry foods from the bulk food store. Much cheaper and simpler than buying those single serving size packets of soup mix. Bulk Barn in Canada will even let you fill a container from home you just have to let them check that it isn't dirty or broken. You can bring a measuring cup and fill a bunch of individual bags with however much you need for a recipe

Since I need one cup of rice for one bottle of water I just premeasure that amount and add a bit of seasoning to each baggie. When it's time to cook I don't have to get out all my spices of use a clean measuring cup.  I might fry an onion and a couple of eggs and make it really fancy.

Usually I buy a few chicken breasts or pork and cut it all in pieces and make a simple marinade. Then I measure out individual portions in ziploc baggies and freeze them. The small packages thaw quickly and I can cook an easy meal without making a huge pile of dishes.

Another great meal that can be made from scratch in your pantry is hummus. I use chickpeas or dried beans both are good and it's a tasty healthy alternative to veggie dip or mayo on a sandwich. Fresh carrots will keep for weeks if stored properly and I can keep broccoli and cauliflower well over a week by washing and drying them thoroughly and keeping them in a tupperware with some paper towel to absorb the moisture. Adding a few sprigs of broccoli to a fried rice or an instant noodle mix is a super easy way to get your daily veg intake.

 

[frater secessus]

Pressure canning is awesome. When I was stocking my microGalley I brought along a smaller pressure canner which I also use as my large pot for pasta, steamer, etc. . When I moved into the can I gave my daughter the 12qt and sold the 22qt for $20.

:The shorter cooking times really help save propane, too. And reduces water vapor production to help limit humidity rise.

 

[XERTYX]

I saw a video recently where a man used his Biolite Basecamp stove to pressure can. The stove is fairly large when folded (about the size of a 3 gallon bucket) but here's the kicker. The stove runs on scrap wood AND produces electricity while doing so. It has thermoelectric technology that captures heat from the fire to charge around a 2600mah battery and has a USB port for charging phones/tablets/run lights. It also has a built in fan to keep the flames nice and hot and limits the smoke. The manufacturer claims it reduces smoke by I think 90%.

I'd like to have one because A: Its neat and it helps me to use less fuel and power devices using twigs and branches you can find around a camp. B: The company uses profits to supply these cookers/chargers to poverty stricken third world countries where indoor smoke pollution from cooking endangers peoples lives and access to electricity is almost non existent. 

Sorry I got off topic. I like canning but I'm uncomfortable with with pressure cookers. I've always heard they are dangerous as forked lightning. So I've only done immersion canning with acidic veggies or pickling then refrigerating the pickles.

 

[frater secessus]

Pressure canning is quite safe. Most injuries occur when folks attempt to open a steam-pressurizeed vessel (durrrr).

Actual explosions are very rare but dramatic. It requires two separate points of failure and these are associated with cooking and not canning. The emergency blowoff valve and pressure regulator orifices have to be compromised. For example: radically overfill the cooker with dry beans. The beans expand as they cook and get into the valves, blocking normal pressure release.

The biolite stoves are clever. They are outside of my price range and my use patterns. Trivia: One of the Baldwin brothers (of all people) has tweaked a biogas configuration stove (for fuel efficiency and reduced smoke) for developing nations, too. He gets less press than the others. What a world