Canuary

In my homestead oriented circle of friends (some physical, many others virtual via the interwebs) the month of January is referred to as Canuary. The dead of winter is the right time of year to give the pantry a deep clean and take stock of what is and isn’t on hand. It’s also time to eat what’s oldest and ramp up production of what’s running low. I drag everything out of my storage spots in the garage and go over every singe item.

I keep at least a full year supply of food and other everyday essentials as a buffer. It’s a hedge against unemployment, natural disasters, unexpected spikes of inflation, and the kinds of supply chain disruptions that we’ve all experienced this past year as part of the Covid pandemic. While I’m 100% certain that I would have managed to eat even if I hadn’t had this stash in place, it gives me great comfort to know it’s there.

Tonight my neighbors and I enjoyed a simple meal of pasta tossed with olives, herbs, and salmon. The pasta has an extremely long shelf life. This salmon was frozen, but there’s a generous supply of tinned salmon on hand as well. And the olives were grown and cured by a friend who keeps us well supplied from his country garden.

The idea is to be certain that what we eat in good times isn’t radically different from what we might have to eat if things get funky. This is exactly the kind of nutritious tasty meal that could be pulled together on the little propane grill outdoors using water from the emergency earthquake tanks. We hope it will never come to that, but we’re ready if need be.

This type of preparedness has been a regular part of my life for many years. And I do it in a one bedroom apartment in the city. I don’t pretend these arrangements will solve all the potential problems that could arise. But I sleep well at night knowing that I’m as ready as possible for whatever life throws at us.