My 100 days of prepping is well underway and I have the sore muscles to prove it. I spent yesterday at my Servsafe class and was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed it. I also learned a lot. Now what I really want to do is get to a restaurant supply store and completely revamp the way I have my kitchen organized. I’m going to wait a day or two before buying anything. Crazies like this come and go. Most of the changes I want to make don’t actually require my to buy anything. They just need me to be a lot more mindful of how I do things. I do have a lot of cutting boards that should be replaced. I also wat to look closely at how refrigerator is arranged. It’s always so cluttered and now I can see how it could also be a bit more sanitary.
Our pig was ready to be picked up this morning. Unfortunately, Bruce was helping Maggie mind poor Henry as he can’t go to preschool with his leg in the cast and Maggie can’t lift him for the bathroom. That left me to empty and defrost the freezer, pick up the pork, get it home and in the basement and refill the freezer. I followed up with a canner full of applesauce and getting my ironing done. (I do the ironing about twice a year, I hate it.) My back hurts, my shoulders hurt and my mood could be a tad more chipper. I did have a good dinner. I had some corn and leftover chicken to use up. I tossed in a couple of cups of home canned black beans and diced tomatoes with a lot of southwestern spices and called it dinner. Of course I added some taco chips and sour cream. I could serve shoelaces with sour cream and my kids would eat it.
I have to go to work tomorrow but when I get home I’ll be getting in a fourth day of prepping with canning more beans. I use a lot of garbanzos so that will be on the agenda. The one bean I don’t use much is Lima. But on Sunday night we went to a Polish pot luck and I had the most fabulous Polish dish. It was a pretty simple mixture of keilbasa, lima beans and tomato sauce with some onions and green peppers.
I still have new readers popping over from the Coldantler blog (Jenna Wogonrich). Welcome. A friend of Jenna’s is a friend of mine. She’s young enough to be my daughter. If I could have had just one more girl I would have wanted her to be Jenna.
October 25, 2011 at 11:06 pm
Love your 100 days of prepping, thanks for letting us follow along to see what your up to next!
October 26, 2011 at 5:34 am
What did you discover that you can’t live without at the restaurant supply store? I just found a store near here but haven’t ventured in before I have a plan. Could you pass on the link to Coldantler? I’m trying to work on a 100 day plan also.
October 26, 2011 at 5:54 am
You can try this. http://www.coldantlerfarm.wordpress.com, It probably won’t work. (she says this with a great sigh as she contemplates taking a basic computer class). I want new, color-coded cutting boards, commercial grade glasseware as I break glasses ALL the time and a color-coded set of cleaning cloths and buckets.
October 26, 2011 at 6:32 am
Here is the address for CAF- http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com I am looking forward to reading about your 100 days, decided to wait until the new year to start mine. Clean slate and all!
October 26, 2011 at 6:40 am
Googled coldantler and came up with the blog site. I get the color coded cutting boards but cleaning cloths and buckets?
October 26, 2011 at 6:47 am
Let us know when you find a restraunt supply store! I have friends who go to one near Hartford, but you have to be a “member”. They got me pasta @ 70 cents a pound, but the last trip they brought me back those deep bus boy trays, for $2.50 each. I have SO many uses for them with canning and gardening, but I’m fighting with hubby overthem as he finds them useful for his tools and projects. lol
Can I use your 100 Days of Prepping idea on my show? I think it would encourage and challenge my listeners!
October 26, 2011 at 7:11 am
You may use anything you like Emily. I could use cloths for specific tasks when I want to be sure I don’t have cross-contamination. One bucet and cloth for floors, one for refrigerator, on for counters and work areas. There is a store in Pittsfield on Eagle Street.
October 26, 2011 at 7:26 am
Restaurant supply store in Altoona, PA too.
October 26, 2011 at 9:04 am
I shop at a restaurant supply store when I need kitchen tools — big spatulas, mesh strainers, heavy half-sheets, non-stick skillets. Now that I’m a vegetarian, your idea of color-coded cutting boards appeals to me. I would kill or die for an industrial, free-standing stainless counter with an attached rack above to hold utensils and cookware. But what I’d really love to have in my kitchen is a drain in the middle of the floor, so I can hose down the room and walk away. Best wishes!
October 26, 2011 at 9:06 am
We’ve purchased lots of stout cookware for our church kitchen from this company:
http://www.atlantafixture.com/Category.aspx?CategoryGuid=0241be34-70cb-442f-8d04-3851a206dd89&ManufacturerGuid=
October 26, 2011 at 9:05 pm
I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your blog. I found you a few weeks ago thanks to cold antler farm and have been “catching up”. I think it is wonderful that we have this online community to share ideas and information that we may not get elsewhere. Thank you for all your hard work and encouragement.
Lisa H.
October 26, 2011 at 9:10 pm
ddu, thanks for the link! I stumbled across a kitchen tool I’ve been looking for for *months*!
October 26, 2011 at 9:41 pm
I am so touched…
October 27, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Hey Kathy,
Are you going to the ASPO conference in D.C.? We live in Portland, OR and don’t get over to your neck of the woods too often because of transportation costs. You’re a great writer, so I’d love to hear you speak.
October 27, 2011 at 9:24 pm
I really wanted to be there but it wasn’t meant to be this time. A lot of great people will be there and I expect we’ll be getting some youtube video of the talks.