One of the biggest reasons for me to want land zoned AG and larger than the average suburban plot is because self-sustainability and self-sufficiency have become increasingly important goals for me to achieve for our family.

I want to know where my food came from and since we can’t afford the luxury of paying a local farmer for produce and local butchers for meat, the investment of raising, growing, and processing our own becomes the goal. Also, it’s one less dependency on ‘the system.’

But I didn’t grow up learning how to preserve food, seed, or meat. We, like average America, relied on what I call “the churn” – the nearly unstoppable trade that occurs on a daily basis in the US. Our world was rocked by Covid and trade came to a momentary halt, but the inevitability of people going to work, producing an item or a service, and people purchasing forces the economic wheel back to life.

Like many, however, the inability to purchase certain goods (for me it was eggs) either informed or reaffirmed the decision to homestead and become as food independent as possible. We were hobby micro farmers before. Now we have a whole new orientation on the necessity of homesteading, and that necessity has only been confirmed more with each passing week.

The garden we started has been expanded to include a large plot of sorghum and winter squash. Between that and canning produce from this season, we hope to have a small amount of fresh food redundancy in place should shtf.

From a co-OP we are part of we received a huge box of okra. I like okra breaded and fried, but this was beyond our capabilities to eat within a reasonable time, which means learning how to actually use the pressure canner I bought more than a year ago.

I’ve been so intimidated by the idea of pressure canning, mainly because the one time I tried to water bath can a batch of green beans, it was terrible, and what killed me most was the loss on garden produce – so demoralizing. Ignorance was *not* bliss.

But this much okra forces my hand and I’m glad because it brings me one step closer to my self-sufficiency goals.

Because there was so much of it, we were able to use some for fried, breaded okra (I had no idea making breaded okra was so easy), and the rest of it was used for pickles and canned okra/tomato/corn medley. I am very much looking forward to how this recipe from Cultures for Health works out.

We also canned 7 quarts of collards with black eye peas and hock bits. Normally I wouldn’t try canning it- we’d just harvest and use for the day of because down south collards can be nearly perennial, but again, in the interest of self-sufficiency, I figure preserving them in one of my favorite dishes was a great way to forward that ball. 7 quarts equals about 3.5 meals (including corn bread) for us.

All in all, this was a great self-sufficient weekend for us. I’ve yet to see the results of my canned collards as they are processing as I type, but I certainly hope it works because they turned out delicious. Recipe as follows:

Collards with Black Eye Peas and Hock Bits

• 1 lb black eye peas
• 1 large bag collards prepared (you can decide what constitutes large – I like collards so I don’t skimp
• 2 smoked ham hocks
• 1 lb dried chorizo
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1/2 TBs Garlic powder
• Salt to taste

If you don’t have time to soak your peas overnight, just remember to start your dish early in the afternoon if it’s for dinner and baby sit it (Instant pot works amazing for this recipe – scroll down to see how).

Add your peas in a large pot with enough water so that it’s 4x the height of the beans (words of wisdom from my grandma Narci). Add your hocks and sausage and onions and bring to a boil. Drop the temp to a simmer and continue cooking until the peas are cooked. Watch your pot diligently because the peas will stick and burn in no time once they are cooked and soft.

Remove the hocks and peas to a large bowl. Add a few cups of water to the pot you were using and bring to a boil. Add your collards and cook/saute until they are the texture you prefer. While they are cooking, debone the hocks and sausage, chop the meat into bits and add to the peas.

Once the collards are done to your satisfaction, add the pea and meat mix back into the pot and adjust the water and salt levels to your desired consistency and flavor. I like mine like a stoup with just a bit more salt than what the ham hocks produce. Serve with corn bread on the side.

Instant Pot version

Add everything except the water and the salt, fill to the max fill line with water just before you add the lid, and then process for 60 min. Pull the hocks out, remove the meat and skin, chop and return to the pot, adding salt and water as needed. Serve.