Yesterday afternoon, I canned the sauerkraut that's been, um, sauering in the Pit of Despair for several weeks now. Last night, I made and canned green tomato chutney* from the very last usable tomatoes. With the successful completion of these two tasks**, I am officially announcing the close of Canning Season 2010.
WHEEEE!!!
Since I neglected to keep a running tally as I went, I will have to go down in the Pit of Despair this weekend and count everything for the official total. Although it may not be entirely accurate, as I've already been using things like salsa and tomato juice. And I'll take the requisite photos of the full shelves. (Do you love the sight of shelves full of canned food as much as I do? Say yes.)
The question I am now faced with is what in the world I will do with my time now that I'm not constantly harvesting, prepping, canning, and cleaning up the huge messes I make. Solitaire? Video games? Knitting? (HAAAAA--no knitting for this craft-challenged person.)
Or maybe I'll just sit around eating all this food I've worked all season to produce. I think I'm up to that.
* Recipe courtesy of the MiL's friend Jane, who is a native of Yorkshire and therefore, by virtue of her Englishness, Knows Her Chutney.
** I haven't had any trouble with lids not sealing since those first few batches. So the Ball company is officially off notice. I'm sure that's a great relief to them.
6 comments:
Yes.
Word verification: ingnose -- Yoda butting in.
You teach me how to can, I'll teach you how to knit.
Actually, you can just pay me in salsa.
You'll be making yogurt! :-)
Oh, and "yes."
YES! I can't wait to see your sexy canned shelves of delight.
I love to open the cabinet (because all my canned goods still fit into one cabinet for the moment) at the end of the garden season to look at all the good stuff set aside for the Harsh Winters of Northern California ;)
Still though, it's pretty.
And congrats on finishing up with the sauerkraut. Wow.
Take up jigsaw puzzles, I have. Then again I'm a few decades older, while requiring a soon to be retirement hobby. You may find it tedious. And Cubby may find the pieces tasty. LA&A Railroad
I'm still thinking about how much I could can if I didn't have to start teaching right smack in the middle of canning season. Sometimes I think I should quit teaching and live off the land. But we don't live on the land; we live in a small city. Hmmmm -- maybe I'd better keep my day job.
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