I have always admired people who canned food and made their own jellies and jams. There was something about those sparkly jars and shiny lids all lined up in a row that I really liked.   This Summer we had so much food in our harvest, that I was force to preserve or toss. We couldn’t even give any more of it away.  After making 20 lbs of coleslaw, I still had 13 heads of cabbage left.  That was where it all started.  My husband and I worked on the project of learning to can together.  We made 12 jars of sauerkraut. Now I have probably not used 4 cans of Kraut in 5 years, but I am Kraut rich now.  I see many Pork Roasts and Ruebens in my future.

I learned that the process is relaxing and even easy.  From there I branched into preserving other vegetables, like green beans and corn.  Then I wanted more variety, so I opted for tomatoes sauce, grilled peppers  and salsa.  Well if I went that far, I thought I should try to make jams.  They turned out to be the easiest of all.

I blew up my Mother’s beef stew one night when I was 8 and have never looked at pressure cooker twice since that moment.   I was terrified of them.  But as I researched the new ones they have now,  I learned that they have locks to keep them from exploding and the weight system they have instead of the pressure gauge is a lot more accurate.  They are harmless now and they cook things fast.   I am glad I over came that fear.  For now, I will be taking a little bit of Summer with me into those long Winter months.