Garfield | Douglas County
What do you stock your shelves and freezer with before winter and what is your method for doing that? Our freezer is mostly stocked with fish and venison. Deer hunting and fishing are a big part of how we put food on the table, so we try to make good use of what we harvest throughout the year. We freeze walleye and other fish from our fishing trips, and we process our own venison so we have a variety of cuts and ground meat available through the winter. Between bow hunting, gun hunting and muzzleloader, we typically like to harvest at least three or four deer (or more) to provide enough for the year. I’m trying to get more creative with ways to cook it, too.
We also have a small but mighty garden. Most of what we grow gets eaten fresh throughout the summer, but when we have a particularly good crop, especially tomatoes, I will can or freeze some of it so we can enjoy it later. Some years, we freeze sweet corn as well, but we’ve been a little short on freezer space for the last few years.
Foraging is another big part of our food supply and one of our favorite hobbies in the spring. We love gathering things like morel mushrooms and wild ramps when they’re in season. It feels good knowing that some of the food in our freezer and pantry came directly from our land. When we have a large crop of these items, I sometimes like to use our dehydrator and dry them and store them for later.
What are the best and most useful ways you grow, gather, amd preserve food for your family? For us, the most useful approach is simply to grow and gather foods we actually eat. Our garden isn’t huge, but we make the most of the space we have and eat a lot of it fresh. When we have more than we can use, I preserve it.
Fishing and deer hunting are probably our biggest sources of food that we preserve. We freeze fish and venison so we have quality protein available all winter. Plus, it really helps the grocery budget for us.
I also think one of the most important parts of preserving food is learning to use everything you can. That mindset probably came from my parents. They were both very thrifty, and we were always encouraged to make the most of what we harvested and keep a humble appreciation for the animals, too.
How did you learn to do this? A lot of it came from growing up this way. I grew up hunting, fishing, camping and spending a lot of time outdoors, so being comfortable finding and preparing food from the outdoors has always been a part of my life. My parents taught me to be resourceful and not waste what we had. My mom grew up on a farm, so I think gardening and preserving were just part of everyday life for her.
My husband, Nate, grew up in Redwood Falls and spent a lot of his free time fishing the Minnesota River. His grandpa, Leonard, was a big influence on him and took him hunting and fishing when he was a kid, so we both came into our marriage with a strong connection to the outdoors.
From there, we’ve continued learning as we go. Some things are passed down, some things come from experience, and some things you have to research and figure out for yourself. I think that’s part of the fun of it. A lot of the foraging has come from curiosity and just walking through the woods and wondering what things were edible and learning how we might be able to use them.
What is the most valuable food you preserve? I would probably say venison and fish. They’re valuable because they’re something we can provide for ourselves, and they supply a large portion of the meat we eat throughout the year. There’s also something special about eating food you harvested yourself. When we pull fish or venison out of the freezer in the middle of winter, we remember where it came from and the time we spent outdoors to get it. It’s more than just having food stored away. It’s a connection to the work, the outdoors and the experiences that went into it. Sometimes, we label the freezer bags by the name of who harvested it and where it came from. It’s kind of fun to see that when you go to cook it later on.
How does it feel knowing that you have self-prepared food on the shelves or in the freezer heading into winter? It gives me a really good sense of security and satisfaction. There’s something comforting about opening the freezer and seeing fish and venison we harvested ourselves or looking at a jar or bag of something that came from our garden.
It also makes me appreciate the seasons. We put in the work during the warmer months, whether that’s gardening, fishing, hunting or foraging, and then we get to enjoy the results when we’re spending more time indoors during the winter.
Please share a recipe or method of preserving that you find valuable. I’ve been trying to branch out and prepare some of our meat in different ways, and this has become a family favorite. Blackened walleye rice bowls are a simple meal, but it’s a great way to turn walleye from the freezer into something that feels a little different. I don’t have an exact recipe because I tend to cook with my heart, and nothing ever turns out quite the same when I make it, but this is the general method.
BLACKENED WALLEYE RICE BOWLS
Start with walleye fillets and season them generously with your favorite blackening seasoning. Melt butter in a skillet and cook the walleye until it’s nicely blackened on the outside and cooked through. For the sauce, saute diced onion, red pepper, fresh sweet corn (or frozen) and garlic in a little butter until they’re tender. Add heavy cream and more blackening seasoning; then, let it simmer and reduce until it thickens into a flavorful sauce. Serve the blackened walleye and cream sauce over cooked rice. It’s an easy, filling meal and one of our favorite ways to enjoy the fish we’ve caught ourselves.
Nelson | Douglas County
What do you stock your shelves and freezer with before winter, and what is your method for doing that? We stock our freezer with chickens we free range and then butcher. We usually raise about 30 chickens a year. We have raised pigs in the past, but that has not become an every year thing. If we can get a deer, we also have venison that we harvested. Beyond meat, we have many random fruits from our trees and other sources, as well as vegetables from the gardens such as beans and okra. We make and freeze broth we process from our chicken or ham bones and other things like celery and carrot tops. As far as canning, we do both pressure canning and water bath canning, depending on what it is we are doing. We have only canned our venison for meats but hope to can more in the future when we have more time and freezer space. We can tomatoes, salsa, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, corn, carrots, potatoes, squash and beets. We pickle okra, beets, cucumbers, zucchini, green beans and cherry tomatoes. We also grow cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, kohlrabi, ground cherries, watermelon, cantaloupe, leeks and fennel. We also can blueberries, pears, apples and peaches along with sweet jalapeno pepper jam, grape jelly, plum jelly and apple butter. We hope to pickle farm-fresh eggs soon from our laying chickens.
What are the best and most useful ways you grow, gather and preserve food for your family? We have had a seasonal high tunnel in which we can grow food about eight months a year. We get the chance to start early and grow late due to having a covered garden to protect produce from the elements and also hold in heat from the sun in the early and later months. We do rotational growing and add compost to ensure the soil is not depleted. We have an outdoor garden as well that is full of raspberries, Haskap berries, potatoes and other random herbs that help us complete our needs for canning. Everything is very old-fashioned as it’s handpicked and gathered; even our chicken we butcher.
How did you learn to do this? My husband and I learned the canning process from our mothers as we both grew up with canning. In recent years, we have done a lot of research, such as when we ventured into having a seasonal high tunnel, which meant that we could grow things that were out of our zone. So we have tried a bit of everything.
What is the most valuable food you preserve? It is hard to pick a most valuable food as there are so many, but some of the most valuable foods we preserve are fresh chickens. Once we consume the meat, we can make bone broth from their bones, which is one of the most healing liquids one can take. Another valuable food we preserve is honey. However, really everything we do has a reason, whether it is just because we enjoy the food or because of the health benefits it brings to both our physical and mental wellness.
How does it feel knowing that you have self-prepared food on the shelves or in the freezer heading into winter? It brings me great joy to know where my food is coming from and know it hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides or had to be shipped from another country. I love to see my shelves stocked for the winter and to know the health benefits that it provides my family.
Please share a recipe or method of preserving that you find valuable. I have several recipes handed down to me from my grandmas, moms and aunts, as well as others that have been passed along through classes I have attended, friends and family. And one cannot forget good old Pinterest. There are so many things to share, and I’d be happy to help someone. My next chapter in life, which I have been doing for the last couple of years, is being a traditional naturopath. My hope in the next couple of years is to open a wellness center and start offering classes to help people learn to grow and preserve their own food.
Belgrade | Stearns County
What do you stock your shelves and freezer with before winter, and what is your method for doing that? I currently stock my freezer with sliced rhubarb, peaches, blueberries and a variety of apples, using glass containers and freezer bags for storage. My property includes plum trees, pear trees and four different types of apple trees.
What are the best and most useful ways you grow, gather and preserve food for your family?Additionally, I grow red, orange, yellow and purple tomatoes to prepare homemade tomato soup, which maintains its quality when frozen for two to three months. I also prepare squash soup, sourcing butternut and other varieties from local farmers markets.
How did you learn to do this? Years back, I purchased white oak garden boxes to grow produce and herbs, maintaining a manageable garden size for ease of care. Having grown up with a family garden that produced staples such as tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers and squash, I thoroughly researched appropriate linings and soil before purchasing my current garden boxes.
What is the most valuable food you preserve? My most valuable crop is apples. Throughout the winter, I enjoy pairing homemade applesauce with pork dishes and desserts. The effort required to harvest, peel and process the apples is well worth it.
How does it feel knowing that you have self-prepared food on the shelves or in the freezer heading into winter? Ultimately, consuming home-grown produce provides great satisfaction knowing what you’re eating.
Please share a recipe or method of preserving that you find valuable. My process is to just to slow roast my apples; very basic, but it adds a wonderful aroma to the house.
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