Pearadise

This time it involved pears, gallons of sugary syrup, lots of hot water, a few phone calls to my mom, frustration and triumph.

I bought 25 pounds of Bartlett Pears from Central Market, peeled them, sliced them, made a light simple syrup to fill the jars, then carefully positioned the pears in hot jars, covered them with syrup, put the lids and rings on, then boiled them in my lovely water bath canner. I had a few jars that did this very weird tenting thing on the edges (essentially the lid bulged up and the edge would have a little peak); the first 3 jars that did this I re-boiled and sealed with no issue, but the last one I decided to leave alone and see what it would do. Lo and behold, the thing sealed down like a vault - the loudest "ping" I've ever heard; but, that jar is definitely sealed!! I ended up with 18 quarts (6 more than I planned for) and the look quite pretty if I do say so myself. Despite the frustrations, I feel very accomplished. Thanks Mama and Nick for all your help!!

Nick and I spent last weekend closing down the garden. We pulled out all the corn plants, squash, tomatoes and some of the flowers. We left the herb box, Cosmos and Romanesco alone. I'm hoping to grow herbs through the winter and am going to try my hand at an indoor planter box of lettuce. We also trimmed our rose bushes back and the shrubs in the front of the yard. Due to the lateness of summer the spiders were ridiculous!! I must admit to doing some mild screaming and the "icky" dance while pruning the roses back. Blech!!! I was able to put up a pint of tomato puree' from the tomatoes we rescued off the pulled vines and also over a pound of summer squash and about a 1/2 pound of zucchini. Pretty impressive for end of garden harvest!

In a few weeks we'll buy our apples and get ready to head for Walla Walla for applesauce making. I must admit that I'm looking forward to some girl company and socializing while canning (no offense babe!). This project has given me a new appreciation for all the hard work my mama put in every year, when us kids were growing up, to put up healthy, home canned goods. It has also opened my eyes to how important this art of canning is to maintain and preserve (no pun intended!). I have no idea how pioneer women did this kind of work without the conveniences we have now!!