It's that time of year... time for canning! Now, you may wonder why this post isn't in the gardening section. It just so happens that everything we've canned has been given to us. We've only gotten carrots so far. :) Either children, a small dog, or Hurricane Irene's wind have "done in" the rest of our plants. Thankfully, we were using this year as a learning year and not expecting too much. We've certainly learned a lot!!
Back to canning...
Last year was my first experience at canning and I loved it! When we arrived in Maine, a member of the church gave us at least 20 pounds of cucumbers!! Not being huge fans of cucumbers we had to do something to keep them from spoiling. When life gives you cucumbers... make pickles! It was SO rewarding and satisfying to take something that God created and preserve it for future use (hmmm... spiritual application there!).
This year, I was praying that we'd be able to do it again and trying not to get my hopes up. Then one day last week, an older gentleman from the church called up and asked if we could use some cucumbers! My emphatic "YES" took him by surprise! He gave us enough cucumbers for a whole batch of pickles. :)
Behind our house is a HUGE patch of blackberry bushes. Last year we froze a few, but most of them spoiled before we picked them. This year I was determined to put them to good use. Chad eats 2 PB&J sandwiches for lunch everyday at work so we go through a LOT of jam. So I've been picking and picking and picking blackberries! Last night I even dreamed about blackberries! We've made one batch of jam so far... it called for 8 cups of berries, but I only had 4 since most of the berries are still green. So I used 4 cups blackberries and 4 cups frozen blueberries (also given to us!). It turned out pretty good!! Chad loves it and that's all that matters to me. :)
This week the blackberries have been ripening so quickly that I can barely keep up! We go out picking everyday, but I still find some that have already gone by. :( Just in the last 2 days I've picked more than enough for a batch of blackberry jam... so that's on the agenda for today!
Bright and early this morning, the same gentleman that brought the cucumbers came by with a bucket of apples! So applesauce is also on today's agenda.
Pro 6:6-8 "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."
1 comment:
What a blessing, Amanda! I grew up (in Pennsylvania) freezing all of our vegetables for the year. I miss it terribly! This year we planted our first garden. It was a learning experience for us, too! We got a few tomatoes, carrots, red beets, and lima beans, but not enough of any to put away. We're hoping our fall crops do better. =)
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