Lost Arts and Childhood Memories

Sticky floors, steaming hot jars, boiling water, hot summer nights, cool breezes from open windows, the smell of peaches or berries...

These are some of the memories from my childhood during canning/harvesting season.

There's starting to be a bit of bite in the air in the evenings, with beautiful sunny days. Corn is tasseling, squash is slowing down, tomatoes are reddening, Cosmos are blooming and carrots, potatoes and onions are ready to be dug. It amazes me how quickly things start to come on and how quickly things slow down as well. This year has been a true experiment for Nick and I in how we eat, what we eat and how to do that in a smarter, better, healthier way. I've been reading books, watching movies and trying new things this year. At the same time it reminds me of all those summer nights with my mom - canning, freezing, preserving and learning. The art of canning, preserving and freezing is becoming a lost art. The sections for canning supplies are usually an end-cap at Target or a very tiny section at some random store or you must order things online. My mom learned when she was a kid, I learned from my mom when I was a kid and today I'm working on establishing my own routines and decisions on what to put up. Nick and I have had so much fun remeniscing on our childhoods and experiences and making our own memories of putting up our own produce from our own garden.

The freezer is fast filling up with numerous items of produce and Nick and I are going to get a bid for pantry shelving as I do not have any room for the many quarts of produce I'm putting up.

I've been freezing things like crazy, but this week begins the voyage into the canning arena. I've got everything to put up our own tomato sauce. Next week will be tomato puree' and ketchup; then when pears come on those will be canned as well as putting up applesauce when those are in season. Right now I have tomatoes drying in the oven (I don't have a fan deydrator) and have dried a mass quantity of herbs. I'm hoping to try my hand at drying apples as well.

I was telling Nick that part of this experiment is to realize that you don't need anything fancy, lots of space or great amounts of knowledge - just a willingness to learn, some creativity and the desire to eat your own food in a healthier manner. So for those who would like, here are some resources I've been using for canning:
1. My mom!!
2. Sure-Jell Pectin low/no sugar recipe for jam
3. Food saver for all my freezing bags and sealing
4. Ball or Mason canning jars (I prefer narrow mouth)
5. Ziplock freezer containers; Ball freezer containers
6. Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving
7. This is a great resource website: http://www.freshpreserving.com/

Happy harvesting, canning, freezing and preserving season!!



**I also uploaded some pictures of our weekend at the market to our Picasa photo album site.