adventures in canning.
this past winter, i was inspired by {this} photo. i have been into canning & preserving for almost two years, but i knew that among getting married & moving into a new home, a well-stocked pantry was too high of a goal. so, i decided to set my goal at:
a. making jam as wedding favors
b. making apple sauce or apple butter
c. canning with the use of tomatoes
well, i’ve done all of those things & more! for our wedding, i made 40 jars of strawberry jam. two weeks ago, i made apple butter from sandy’s apples at the farmer’s market & last week i made salsa using tomatillos & tomatoes from the community garden next door. this past weekend, luke’s mom had a surplus of strawberries that she gave us before leaving so yesterday, i made seven jars of strawberry jam. i hope to make some apple sauce before autumn is over, but right now- i’m feeling very proud of myself.
have you canned or preserved anything this year? & if so- what’s your favorite recipe?
love,
natalie
Mollie D | 10th Sep 09
I WILL learn to can! We just moved into a house, I'm putting a garden in and hope to can next fall. Do you use a pressure cooker? Any recommendations for buying one? (I know you asked us for recipes, but I was just talking about how I don't even know where to start)
Elizabeth | 10th Sep 09
Hi Natalie! I really adore your blog.
I heard about some of your preserve-making adventures from Kelsey and they sound delightful. Last year I made a bunch of plum-ginger jam, which I am still eating. Clearly I need to get back into canning because I forgot about how fun it is.
I am especially curious about your methods for making salsa (!) It's tough to find it here so I want to try making my own.
Natalie Freeman | 11th Sep 09
My canning wife! I love the first photo.
nath | 11th Sep 09
lovely. apple butter sounds amazing. and bravo for not just eating the strawberries!
yes, i have just made a 10 jar batch of beetroot chutney, some dill pickled cucumbers, a few jars of plum jam and some wildberry cordials, using blackberries, damsons and elderberries, i'm going to add brandy to some of my cordial batch to make liqueur, perfect for fireside supping this winter.
Jess | 11th Sep 09
you should feel proud of yourself! and DANG at that picture you linked. no wonder you were inspired. that is incredible.
I am so sad that I didn't can anything this year. I feel like it just passed me by. I did make wonderful use of tons o tomatoes that just ripened – and made my own pizza sauce. But I didn't can it, really.
By the way, that apple butter you made is kickin'. And it's almost completely gone. : )
fawn & fern | 11th Sep 09
yay i can't wait to get some jaaaam!
i've gotta start canning!