Summer Bounty

 

 

 

 

Our neighbor has an "early" apple tree; and he let us pick all we wanted. We picked about 25 pounds. So I made apple butter. I was thrilled, because he doesn't spray his trees - they're totally natural.
Green beans are coming in thick, and I've already done 10 quarts.... more this week. Last year's 17 quarts lasted us until last week; and that didn't include the 12 or more quarts I gave away.

I've decided that canning is exactly like painting. All the hard work is in the preparation, and not in the actual act of canning, itself.

I meditate a lot while I am preparing food to can and canning. I think about the sense of urgency that people must have had in the days when, if you didn't grow it and can it, you might not eat that following winter.

I spent all day canning those 10 quarts of beans and making apple butter. I didn't finish the apple butter until the next day, in fact. So you could say I get really, really close to my food.

Pop over to my food blog to find out how I made the apple butter and get the low down on canning green beans.