Our General Store…Fruit
Yes, fruit again. It is the season! If you are fortunate enough to have friends with trees or gardens now is the time to ask if your can gleen. Many fruits can easily be cut or pureed and frozen. They are then perfest for smoothies, jellies and syrups.
I have been telling you for some time now that unless things change dramatically, there is a real crisis about to happen in the food industry. This Thursday Sean Hannity will be doing his show from Fresno CA to highlight a big part of the problem. Lack of water in the Central Valley of California. The government has raised the price of water to farmers from $10.00 an acre foot to, in some places, $240 dollars and more per acre foot. This has meant some farmers have failed to plant crops this year. Others have shaken the blossoms off of their fruit and nut trees so the tree woulds not have to use water to create the fruit. The hope is that these trees can survive on less water and produce again next year should the price for water go back to a reasonable level. For this year the crop is lost. The government is quick to point out that households pay much more that the $10.00 for their water. However, this is a weak argument, as any rational person knows. The water to grow our food cannot be compared with the amount of water needed to wash our clothes. If farmers continue to lose money and plow under fields where will our food come from? South America? Hmmm, and do you remember the salmonella outbreak because to fruit from south of the border? What about the cost? If we are no longer raising food others can charge whatever they want and we will have to pay the price.
There is also the human element. Right now unemployment is above 15% in Fresno County. In some small communities it is much larger. As the crop becomes smaller fewer and fewer people will be employed at canneries, can manufacturing plants, even trucking companies. All this will increase prices at the same time it increases the number of families living below the poverty level.
How did all of this begin? We had a drought in CAlifornia. As the drought continued the water levels in dleta system began to fall and smelt were sucked into turbines. Environmentalists went to court and the pumps were shut down. Now we are not only dealing with a drought but also a court ruling which limits the use of the water we have. And, now the federal government has raised the price of the water they control.
You may think this won’t have a great impact on you, and for the near future it won’t. Every time you eat anything with a nut or fruit in it make a mental note. The price of all thoise items will rise as the supplies become limited.
This week store five cans of fruit per member in your family. If you can get free fruit can or freeze some this week.
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I just wanted to say “Thank you!” for all of your information and dedication to this cause. I have felt much more prepared and less helpless simply from being informed, reminded, and encouraged by your blog. Although we are enjoying personal prosperity at the moment at our house, I know that nothing is ever permanent and that I am preparing not only for my family, but my friends and neighbors. thank you to all of those other readers who comment and lend ideas and experiences, as well. My most sincere gratitude for your work.
Something it might be good to keep in mind in addition to the typical apples, peaches, pears and berries are things like pumpkin and the other winter squashes such as butternut, acorn, etc. Check your local farmers’ markets to see if there are things that a particular vendor has in abundance.
One farmer at our market has had a bumper crop of butternut squash this year and is selling them at a good price. Each time I go, I buy a few more as they last several months if you have a cool, dry place to store them. I’m storing mine under the sideboard in our dining room until it gets cool enough to store them in our garage. Butternut squash can replace pumpkin in pies and other baking but can also be served as a side dish during meals.
Simply cut in half, scoop out the seeds, bake cut side down on a lightly greased baking sheet at 350 until soft. Scoop out the flesh and puree. Allow to cool and use to replace pumpkin puree in any recipe.
For a side dish, serve hot. I usually stir in a bit of butter and a dash of nutmeg just before serving.
Supermom, I like your idea about the squash. We have a garden and raise squash some years. We did this year. Personally, I like the microwave for cooking squash. It is cleaner, faster, and there is not so much to clean up. For a small acorn squash, wash it, stab it 8 to 10 times with a sharp knife and microwave on high, turning it over after 4 or 5 minutes. If I remember correctly, it usually takes no more than 11 minutes in my microwave at the most. Some microwaves cook much faster and others less. Then I cut the acorn squash open, remove the seeds, cut into serving portions and serve. If you want to save the seeds, obviously you would not microwave it with the seeds inside but would have to cut it, remove the seeds, oil the exposed surface and then microwave until it is to your liking.
My family does not like watery squash that has been baked in a little water. The microwave method is fast and caters to meal planners like me who decide at the last minute to have squash.
Thank you for sharing about the situtation in CA. I recently bought fruit grown in Fresno at our local grocery store and canned it. I canned more than I ususally do; now I can see why that is a good thing! (Besides the fact that our growing family means that our needs have increased).
I know the government like to say that the recession is over, but effects of things like this are going to start affecting a lot of people next year.
I am trying to grow as much as I can here in the desert in Las Vegas. At least some of my water bill comes back to me in the form of fruits and vegetables from my garden.