New Canning Adventure

Because we live in the great Northwest we have wonderful access to fresh fish. This year we took on a new challenge of canning fresh caught tuna. My friends Geri, Denise, Me and my Mom got together and canned around 170 1/2 pints of tuna. We canned 7 tuna between us. Geri was nice enough to come over and teach us how while her own tuna sat at home waiting for her.

Sorry for the blurry picture, my camera is not great indoors and we were all fighting for the back.
The tuna was so easy to can. You wash your jars, cut the tuna in chunks(we had them fillet), add some sea salt and put the lids on. The long part is waiting for them to cook in the pressure cooker for 90 minutes, each batch.

We had a pretty great set up too. Denise brought over her propane stove and we cooked it outside so my house did not get stinky. It would have taken weeks to get the smell out.

Here is the finished product. It does not look all that appetizing in the jar, but trust me, it is so yummy and fresh tasting. It is so much tastier than the stuff at the store. It does cost about the same as buying it in the store, but it is worth the work for the taste.

Earth's Bounty

It's canning season again! I have been busy doing applesauce, pears, green beans and soon tuna.

It is a lot of work, but it is so rewarding to put those jars lovingly on your self and know that you did it all. The best reward is knowing where it came from and how it was processed. Nothing feels better in the world.

A big thanks to my Mom and my friend Denise for helping me work on these yummies. Canning is so much more fun with someone else. You get to chat and solve the worlds problems at the same time. Maybe world summits should be held in a farm kitchen over peaches.

Applesauce Tradition

It is getting to that time of year when the fruit and veggies are plentiful and we need to start storing up for the winter. So, my Mom, Sister, and I got together and canned 6 boxes of gravenstein apples into applesauce. They turned into 58 quarts of golden yumminess.

We slice and heat the apples until tender and soft to make it through the strainer. Addison was our helper this time. The kids all love running the strainer. My sister and I have memories of doing the same job when we were her age. Can you believe that thing is still working?

Don't you just want to slather some of that on a biscuit? I think I know what we are having for breakfast tomorrow morning.
Just the beginning of our collection! We don't use a specific recipe, our recipe is add enough sugar until it tastes good, but we do like to add flavorings like vanilla, almond, or cinnamon. I tried maple flavoring one year, but my family didn't like is as well.

The strainer decided to not cooperate while Logan was having his turn turning the handle and this is what happened. We were so lucky that those piping hot apples didn't land on anyone. The only bad thing was that the floor was sticky for the rest of the day.

Canning our Fall Harvest

I had so much fun a couple weeks ago canning with my friend Denise and her foreign exchange student Miriam, who is from Spain. We first went up the road and picked apples from my neighbors, which was hilarious because Denise got up in the tree, barefoot and in her yoga pants, and shook that tree loose of all its red deliciousness. I do have picture of it, but I still want to remain friends, so I did not show it.

We worked so hard and had so much fun. We canned beans, applesause, and a little tomato sauce. I don't think Miriam know what she was getting herself into, needless to say she did not come back the next week when we did more. Poor girl probably thinks we are nuts! She was so sweet and lots of fun!

Harvest Time is Here!

Well, all the produce seems to be coming on all at once, and I have been busy canning this past week. My mom was nice enough to come up and help me can peaches, beets, dry beans and shell peas. We worked so hard, and had lots of fun. Don't these peaches look so delicious?

Logan even got into a little of the action. He was fascinated by the whole process, learning from the master. He is helping pour the pectin into the jam.

These are the great northern beans that we put up. I can't wait to make White Chicken Chili on a cool fall day! These beauties will make it so easy!

This is the yummiest Peach Pie Filling. I got the recipe from a good friend of mine and let me tell you it is so good you can eat it right out of the jar! I can't wait til this weekend to make a cobbler while we are staying at the fair! Here is the recipe

Peach Pie Filling

6 qts. (12 c.) peaches, sliced

7c. sugar

1 1/2 c. Clear Jell

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. almond extract

6 c. apple juice

1 3/4 c. lemon juice

Combing sugar and clear gel powder in large stock pot. Whisk together. Add apple juice and almond extract and cinnamon, and bring to a full boil. Boil for 1 minute and then add lemon juice. Boil for another minute. Fold in fruit and cook for 1 minute. Pour fruit into hot jars up to neck. Cover with lid and ring. Place in water bath and process for 20 minutes. Cool and remove jars to cool completely. Store on your shelf and get to baking! Enjoy!

These peaches are ready to go into the jar!

This is what they look like coming out of the water bath!

This is all my hard work in all it's peachy glory. I can't wait for a spare minute to make some homemade bread to put this on!