Taking Stock

Each year, about this time of year, we take stock of what remains of the harvest and various collections of other edible things. 

We took stock of some frozen peppers.

This is a fine opportunity for me to divert from the main topic to comment on laziness. Mr. Big Food has a day-job. In fact, for the past 1.5 years, Mr. Big Food has had 1.5 day-jobs. And he still manages to manage our dining experiences quite nicely. And keep the paths cut. And keep up with Big Food. And do his own laundry. And stay abreast of SEC and BCSwhatever. And bring in firewood. And Bar-B-Que 260 pieces of chicken. And entertain me. The reason he's able to do all of these things is because he's organized. As any student of biology can tell you, it takes energy to stay organized. 

6CO2 + 6H2O [in the presence of radiant energy, i.e., sunlight] -->

C6H12O6 + 6O2

So when I hear people say they don't have time to cook at home or have a garden or put up pickles, I just point to Mr. Big Food and say, "Get your lazy butt out of your chair, get organized, and get 'er done." (I say this to myself quite frequently.)

The equation above describes photosynthesis, the process by which green plants convert the radiant energy of sunlight into a form of energy that can be used to maintain the organization we call "life."  When we take stock, we quantify how much energy-- and other good stuff like vitamins & minerals-- we have stored to maintain our lives over the winter.

Taking stock is fun, although it does take a while. No matter how well we try to keep track of what we're putting up while we're putting it up, some things inevitably slip through the record-keeping cracks. For example, we discovered that we have enough frozen whole tomatillos stored away to last a lifetime.

From Nutrientfacts.com; Who knew tomatillos were such a good source of vitamin D?

As I mentioned, taking stock does take some time. ...


After we've finished sorting, counting, recording by hand, and being surprised just how much frozen watermelon we have, Mr. Big Food enters the counts into a spreadsheet. Each item-- each and every pint of frozen stewed tomatoes, pint of turkey stock, quart of Dill Pickles IV, and quart jar of dried basil-- has a separate line which will eventually be deleted as we eat our way through the inventory.* This sometimes takes a while. We discovered two quarts of dried cayenne peppers from 2008. Mr. Big Food was at once thrilled and disappointed; had he known of their existence, he'd have put some in his award winning chili.

So let it snow! We've taken stock, gotten organized, and are ready to hunker down and eat our way through the winter.  

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*Couldn't quite figure out how to work this tidbit in so here it is. When Mr. Big Food plans the weekly menu, he shops his spreadsheets-- he has one for meat, too-- first. It's all very organized!