Okla - what in the world will you do with 73? Really! I'd love to know!
Obviously I'm still a newbie as the thought of that many dependents scares the you-know-what out of me!
Now to fermenting!
100 yrs ago our grannies didn't can stuff like we do today. Yet they were able to preserve their summer gardens to last thru the winters, when fresh foods were unavailable. Also, if you study epidemiology you'll note that the death rate, for those who survived infancy (since doctors didn't wash their hands) and epidemics (since germs were unknown) was in the high 80's to low 90's! Folks not only lived LONGER, but they were often healthier than we are in our 60's now!
Course, they didn't have tons of pharmacuetical drugs (good) and were way more active (good), but also they fermented foods which is REALLY good! There are good and bad bacteria in our bodies. When you deplete the good (lactic acid is one) then it lets the bad grow unchecked, which is bad.
Fermenting veggies not only preserves them easily, but it does it thru the use of the good bacteria, which then help our body to work like God intended in the first place! It's way more simple then canning, and extremely tasty. I bought the book, Making Sauerkraut (
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Sauerk...1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301013289&sr=1-1-fkmr1) and tried some of those recipes, as well as some from other books. The one on page 22 was the winner! I preserved cucumbers, onions, yellow squash, garlic, beets, and they were so tasty!
Way better than pickles in vinegar! Good for you, too! There are some sites with info on doing this that I used and loved
http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/426207/how-about-a-fermented-veggies-thread
http://www.wildfermentation.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=5
I swear I would sometimes wake up thinking about drinking the juice from my jars cuz it was like my body was telling me what I needed. I volunteer with the Cannon Cty Senior Center and help 2 little ladies - one bout freaked out when I took her a jar, saying it was like what her momma had made and she had drained the quart jar in a couple days. Said she'd not felt "perkier" in many years. She's already on me to make more and I haven't even started the seeds yet!
I love the concept of less work, more nutrition! The girls loved the leftovers and fermented pickles I gave them. So I guess I'll be fixing for a bunch this year!