The Canning Marathon
Well, similarly to a couple of weeks ago, I spent most of my time this week in the kitchen processing our summer harvest from the garden before we get freezing temps here in the mountains. Luckily, my mom was able to come out and help with the kiddo and assist me in the canning process (a new tradition we started last year) and I am so grateful she was able to come and help out. I have learned so much from canning with her and sharing a new hobby, and feel more connected to my extended family members who have passed on as she teaches me what she learned from her grandmother growing up. Reconnecting with the past in such an important way has made me feel more connected to not only my mom, but also to her mom and grandparents, who spent hours preserving and canning food every summer for the family. In so many ways I think canning and understanding how to preserve food is a lost tradition in our society, and I feel lucky to have family members that are keeping the tradition alive and teaching me so that I can one day pass on the skills and knowledge to my own children.
The week flew by as we preserved boxes of peaches and cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, and more. I honestly can’t keep track of all the different recipes we tried and the numerous vegetables we preserved, but I do know that our cold storage room is FULL of canned goodness that I can’t wait to begin cracking into over the next several months. I plan to take an inventory of what we have stored so I can begin to track how quickly we go through things and what recipes we liked best for future growing seasons.
Here is a quick peek of some of the food we preserved this past week:
Dill Pickles
Gorgeous pickling cucumbers my mom and I picked up from the local farmers’ market (my cukes did not grow well enough to pickle this year), dill and garlic from my garden, and dried hot chile peppers for a tasty kick!
Bread & Butter Pickles
My favorite pickle for snacking! Crisp, tangy, and sweet, with a slight onion flavor. YUM!
Canned Peaches
No summer canning session would be complete without Palisade peaches. The best peaches I have ever tasted are now canned for the winter and I couldn’t be more excited!
Hot & Sweet Pepper Jelly
Holy DELICIOUS! I was so excited to use my sweet peppers and spicy jalapenos from the hoop house to create this master piece. This little beauty is sweetened with a little sugar and honey and I literally want to eat it on everything. It is spicy, sweet, and a little bit tangy and I can’t believe I have never made this before. This will definitely become a staple in our pantry.
I am overjoyed by the success my mom and I had canning over the past several days and I am so happy to share my canning journey with you. I am no pro, but after having spent several hours in the kitchen canning, I am now more confident in myself and not as afraid or overwhelmed by the work that goes into canning as I was in the beginning. If you are on the fence or not sure where to start, please reach out and I can share with you some of the tools I have used and really like, and my favorite books and recipes that I have tried so far.
As always, thank you for reading, and stay safe out there!
Farmer Kinzie