preserving food

This is the fouth post in our Co-op on a Budget series, which explores the different ways that we can shop co-op effectively and affordably. Also check out the first post, on shopping bulk, the second post, on the Wedge Co-op vs. Cub Foods, and the third post, on Eastside Food Co-op vs. Rainbow.

The weekend farmers markets are upon us again and I am already thinking about what I am going to be buying. I imagine bartering for the huge, unpriced box of pickling cucumbers sitting under someone's market table. Will 30 heads of garlic really be enough. How much kale is too much? If I buy 10 boxes of beans, will I get a deal or just a funny look.

No, I'm not planning a party, but almost as soon as the summer begins, I start to squirrel food away. This year, it started with strawberries. Both from my own plants and from the local market, I managed to slice and freeze about 3 gallons of strawberries. I totally missed out on peas, but I intend not to let bean season pass without doing some late night blanching, freezing and pickling. 

The airport security worker eyed my three-once bottles with suspicion. I feigned indifference and fought off the urge to speak. A jar of home-made nut butter had been confiscated from me after I had explained what it was. So I thought it best not to expound upon fermentation and the revitalization of local food traditions. Instead I simply prayed that the sourdough starter might pass for shampoo. What the blood-red beverage of fermented beets might be taken for I dared not imagine.