After the second live episode of the Happy Herbivore Cooking Show, Kim wrote in about one of the recipes and we subsequently got to talking.
Turns out Kim is a canning sensation!!! (Canning is something I get emails about pretty often!) As soon as Kim mentioned she started canning because lives in a small space, I knew I had to bring her on the blog for a Minimalist Monday guest post!
We’ve canned dozens of things over the past year and a half! I have found the most success canning simple single ingredients like kale, beets, corn, carrots, asparagus, green beans, blueberries, kiwis, mushrooms, tomatoes, home roasted red bell peppers, and pressure cooked dried beans like chickpeas, pintos, black beans, kidney beans, etc. I do have a pressure cooked pinto bean and veggies recipe I’ve cooked for years that cans great!
The reason we embarked on this path is that we want to consume as much organic produce as possible while avoiding additives, too much salt, BPA, etc. We buy organic produce in bulk when it’s in season and can it so we don’t have to freeze our veggies.
We live in a fifth wheel and we traveled across the US and Mexico for 6 years, then settled in Morro Bay, California 3 years ago. We don’t have much space to store things, therefore we don’t own many possessions. We also don’t have much money so paying for electricity to freeze foods for months at a time is not practical for us.
Here’s a photo of me taken last June standing next to one of our sets of shelves full of canned foods. We have a small storage shed out back with about that much more food canned and ready. We also buy whole grains, nuts and dried beans in bulk for cooking later. We are strict low fat vegans and eat organic whenever possible.
You're an inspiration Kim!
