This post is just to remind myself what time of year canning really picks up. I was on my feet canning for well over 15 hours, on Sunday alone and there is still so much to do.
Grocery bag full of green beans:
A box of peaches and nectarines (still looking good from 3 weeks ago!):
And more nectarines (this isn’t even all of them, just the most ripe ones):
2 bags of grocery tomatoes:
1/2 a bag of peppers:
A bag full of onions:
And an entire box of pickling cucumbers, well over 20lbs of cukes:
A peak into the canning process. We’ve got bowls, bins and boxes everywhere. I did manage to keep up on dishes through out the day though so we’ve got some decent open counterpace 
This really saves my sanity by midday.
Some results:
I ended the day with 14 quarts of dill pickles, 10 pints of corn salsa, 7 quarts of crushed tomatoes, 15 1/2 jelly jars of nectarine jam. I’ve still got all the greenbeans, a big bowl of cukes, a 1/2 bag of tomatoes and pretty much all of the nectarines left.
Oh and don’t forget about this project:
2 BUSHELS of potatoes waiting to be canned. Slowly but surely this will all make it’s way to our cabinets, but I sure hope nothing goes bag in the time being! Oh and the garden is in need of picking again.
It’s such a love-hate relationship. I love canning and I love eating the food but each time I burned myself yesterday (there were multiple occasions) I asked myself why I don’t just go to the grocery store like “normal” people do. Then I remember the pride I have for the food we grow and put up and how much better it is for us. I think about the connection I feel when I talk about canning with my great-grandmother. The work is hard, but it’s enjoyable (although exhausting) and I know it’s worthwhile especially come January and that’s what pushes me to wake up at 5 in the morning on my days off to get a jump start on the heat. It’s so worth it, even when you burn yourself with the jam… 
Sorry for the mini rant/ pep talk!
How was your weekend?
