Help Veggies or Help with Husband...Not sure which?

[tamaran2]

I'm married to a man, that we have with affection, nick-named, "Chincy-Quincy"
He is so tight he can't sit down without getting a cramp in his..well you know where! Anyway, he goes to our small town Thur. flea market. Now you have to know I live in this small "Mayberry RFD" type town. He gets fruit every week for the birdy's. He gets liKe this bag of grapes for $1.00. Now 80 to 90% is great but you have to wash them each week to make sure you get any bad ones out and to make sure we don't get invaded by fruit flies! Same with apples, oranges and all other veggies. Like this week 10 mango's for $1.00. But unless I use them within the next couple of days they all are usless! Great deals he get but now I sitting here with confusion. What to do with all this fruit and veggies, to help prolong their life and to use them quick. I know I can freeze some, like the grapes, but what else? I can put it in the freg. to help it last longer, but my freg. is FULL! I know I can Dry some but not all. Does anyone else know what to do with fruit and veggies or any links to help me be able not only to use it but to Keep it longer.

[MandysBlackRoses]

what about canning some? Make kabob treats, birdy breads, Kitchen sink recipes, and of course freezing all that...Hmm, I know the fridge makes some fruuit go quicker. Like bananas.

I would buy a canning set. They have a good one at wal-mart. It's for beginers. Comes with everything you need for $40.00 You could do some salsa, jams, relishes and other goodies too. But most veggies and fruits can be canned, and stored. And my mother says it not that hard. Once you get the hang of it anyway. Im going to try canning myself.

Get a juicer, make juice. Birds love juice too. Orange, apple, carrot, or orange,apple and carrot! Great for summer drink mixes as well.

Just some ideas. It's great to get good deals.

[felisdomesticus]

I have frozen mango before--along with lots of fresh veggies like greens, carrots, banana, blueberries, cranberries, etc.

You also can buy bags of frozen fruits/veggies which tend to be a lot cheaper than fresh.

[PNaG]

what about pressure packing, i think that is the name. you know, vacuum packing. i recently saw an inexpensive one on QVC, or try ebay or your local wal-mart. if u sliced and diced and put them vacuum sealed into the freezer, I would think you would be able to take them out, run them under hot water to defrost and the feathered babies would love them.

OO, with the holiday coming, about making a lovely salad for the family and friends, bringing a pot luck dish to church Sunday morning.

[Kachina]

I have one of those vacuum (sp?) packing machines and LOVE that thing. You know, one of the ones that seals stuff airtight in the bags? All my different mixes go in those and then get tossed into the freezer. They last virtually forever in there, if the birds don't eat them first. I've been known to give the wild birds some as well.

[Cowgirl Chris]

I will can mine, but I have been looking into getting one of those vacuum machiney things. Hmmm maybe I will just snitch Sherry's lol.

[greyburd]

Ya know, these are some really grey't ideas. I tend to have food go bad on me. I try not to buy too much, but that makes me go to the store more often. There's a grey't produce place in my town, and I would love to take advantage of some of their deals. Canning or vacuum packing would make things a lot easier.

[Kachina]

You are most welcome to use my vacuum Chris. We'll just plan a day and I'll bring it on over and we'll get enough stashed away to last us a year.

It works great with bulk seed mixes, too. I can bag up useable portions out of a larger container and they're kept fresh and bug free.