The Fruits of Your Labor

As most of you know, both Husband and I grew up in households with very modest incomes. Our grandparents were either farmers or ranchers. They grew and preserved a lot of their food. Our parents continued this by canning, hunting, and gardening through much of our childhood. We carry on the tradition of growing and preserving food for many reasons: We know our food is healthy, it helps keep our grocery budget affordable, and it allows us to build up a pantry for lean times. 

Tomatoes and jalapenos for hot sauce; calendula, comfrey, and parsley to dry

Health issues have pushed us to branch out and learn to do even more projects ourselves in an effort to further reduce the toxins in our food and environment. Some of these projects can be enjoyed right away, like canned sauces, fruits, vegetables, and meats. We had been canning off and on throughout the summer and now have a nice variety of items in the pantry to enjoy in the months to come. 

Canned Goods

Canned hot sauce and tomatoes for the pantry

Some projects require weeks or months before you can use them. When they are ready, though, it is so nice to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. We are at the point in the fall when some of our earlier projects can now be used. Three of the projects we started earlier this summer that required weeks (or even months) before use were vanilla extract, homemade soap, and candied (or pickled) jalapenos (a.k.a Cowboy Candy).

Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Extract

We started the vanilla extract back in July. It is now October. This project takes three months to complete, but it is worth it to get a nice, strong vanilla flavor. Just a note: We chose these bottles to make our extracts in because I think they are pretty. We didn't actually use these brands as the base for our extracts.

Homemade Soap


Homemade Lemongrass Soap

We made homemade soap for the first time in September. It takes about four weeks for the soap to cure to ensure that saponification process finishes and all the lye is neutralized. We got fourteen nice-sized bars of soap from the recipe we used. The soap has finished curing and we just started using our first bar. It has a great lather and I definitely recommend the recipe we used.

Cowboy Candy

Candied/Pickled Jalapenos (a.k.a. Cowboy Candy)

Cowboy Candy, like most pickled items, is best after it has had a few weeks to soak in the brine. We made our first batch just over four weeks ago and have been enjoying the first few jars. These are so good on burritos, tacos, sandwiches, eggs, and more.

We are so glad we took the time to complete these projects. It has definitely been worth the effort and the wait!

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