Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Deep freeze

It's only -2F this morning.  It's so cold the floor boards on the deck outside are making that low booming noise they make as they contract in the frigid temps.  Back in 1994 we had a spell of -20 to -25F nights and the little house I lived in contracted so much it was nearly impossible to get any sleep for a couple of days.  Now THAT was BRRRRR.

Thankfully this house is much more substantial so all the noise is limited to the deck and though I had to pile on the blankets against the chill, I got a decent 6 hours of sleep last night.  For me (especially lately) that is good.

Chicken stock under squirrel guard
During the day yesterday the clipper slipped by with temps in the low teens, so I decided it was a good day to make soup.  I simmered up a whole chicken, removed the meat, then put the bones back into the broth along with some veg and simmered the stock for another 3 hours. 

When it was done, I bagged up the stock (1 quart for immediate use, 3 for the freezer).   But instead of putting those 3 into the basement freezer, I used the really big freezer - outside - instead.  This time of year I cool a lot of refrigerator/freezer-bound food in the breezeway or, like yesterday, right outside.  Pre-cooling food makes it so the appliances don't have to work so hard, will last longer and I save $ on energy.

The unheated breezeway also makes a good storage place for canned/dry goods this time of year.  Apples do pretty well there too, if they don't get much below 40F.  Besides, using the breezeway (or like yesterday, using the deck)  makes me feel I'm getting some benefit out of this frigid weather. 

Do you find ways to use the weather to your advantage this time of year?

8 comments:

  1. Clever girl :)

    Yup - with our weather I use the sun to cook our meals in the solar oven.

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    1. Dani - I use the heat from the blacktop in summer to dry fruit and veg. Been reading how much you're liking the new solar oven. Last summer I made an oven out of cardboard, black cloth, window glass & foil. Actually cooked a pot of beans in it. :-D

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  2. I use the heat from our radiators for raising bread dough. I used to close off my back porch and use it as an extra refrigerator, but now I put all my house plants out there and use it as my "winter" retreat.

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    1. I used to make yogurt on top of my old TV (vacuum-tube old) that gave off a lot of heat. Nowadays I use heating pad on low. I wish I could heat my breezeway or sunroom in winter, but there's no insulation and they weren't constructed for frigid temps. Glad you can enjoy yours as a retreat. Bet the plants like it too.

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  3. I remember the winter after I had added a nice front porch entry to the old house. The newer lumber would boom while contracting and adjusting to the old roof area. Yes the cold is unbelievable here and I guess we are just having a normal winter.

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    1. I, for one, am glad we are getting a 'normal' winter. The warm ones do more harm in the long run than the normal cold, snowy ones. Besides, what good is hot soup and a nice fire if it's in the 50s outside? Stay warm, Larry.

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  4. Clever idea to freeze outdooors.

    The only thing this cold is good for is killing slug eggs in the soil :} I wouldn't mind our current weather if it was DRY cold but here there is so much moisture that we just get ice, and I hate that. Took Daisy for a quick walk around the block at 5.00, just as the sun was setting, and the roads and pavements were trecherous :{

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    1. Except for drought, drier conditions are always preferable to wet, I'd think. Ice is the worst. Hope you wore your crampons when venturing out. Wouldn't want you and Her Ladyship suffer any falls while out and about. Temps reached a high of 7F today and now falling back down tonight. Stay warm - and dry.

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