Thursday, October 13, 2011

I CAN!

(Pronounced with the same surprise, shock, and amazement as Bob Wiley when he said “I SAIL!” on What About Bob.)

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Canning is something I’ve always been intimidated by. I knew it was a little investment, and always thought there was a lot of preparation and learning involved. I’ve done my fair share of freezer jam, but never felt like that was truly canning. It seemed a bit too crafty for someone (me) who claims to be the least crafty of them all, so I leaned away from it. But I became curious this year, and got the itch to give it a try. I shopped around for the gear, made some calls to my canning-expert sister Amber, and gave it a go. And guess what? I’m hooked! Maybe it’s because I’m looking for more productive things I can do from home, or maybe it’s because I needed a small challenge, I’m not sure. But I do know that my list of things to can keeps getting longer. The babies have been so kind to play so nicely while I hang out in the kitchen during the day, but a lot of times, I wait until the evening, so I can fully immerse myself (no pun intended) in the process, and even listen to a good book while chopping and pealing dozens of apples at a time. I can’t wait until I have a garden so I can really put all my new equipment and newly acquired know-how to use. Although, gardening is another one of those things I’m scared of, so it will have to wait until I’m in the mood for another challenge. Who knows when that will be.IMG_2614IMG_2629IMG_2605

I find myself filling with pride as I look at the small stock of food I’ve added to our storage. The process is an art to me. It’s so fun to play with new toys. . .um, I mean tools, and dusting off old ones. I love that it gets me in the kitchen, elbow deep in colorful, delicious food. Much better on the waistline than baking breads and pastries everyday like I would otherwise want to do to fill this need for creating, and just enjoying myself in my true element. The past few days, the smell of my kitchen has been in a constant state of spiced apple, and those fresh apples from the farm have quite the fragrance, let me tell you!

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I hope to keep it up throughout the year as things come in season. Here is what I’ve accomplished so far:

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I even enjoyed this on top of my pumpkin ice cream last night. IMG_2645

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The Lemon Curd is frozen rather than processed. I wanted to use fresh lemon juice, and freezing is the safest way to preserve it. It just sounded like a fun addition.IMG_2544

Made with the apple peelings and cores!IMG_2676

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I know my stock isn’t very well rounded, but time will bring more colors and flavors to my food storage, I’m sure. It’s been so fun ringing in the fall with this festive new hobby of mine.

8 comments:

Taylor Gardner said...

Hi Emily! You don't know me, but I'm a friend of Melody and Jonny and I've been following your blog since just before your sweet babes were born. (love your bog by the way) Anyway, this post made me feel so happy, I just had to say good job! I love to can, too, and I'm so impressed by all you've done. Hats off, Super Mom!

Susan said...

You rock! I'm so jealous of your courage to do this :) I never have tackled it by myself (we did it at RS once.) Looks awesome!

SassyMama said...

Congrats!
I caught the canning bug last year and found it intensely satisfying to fill shelves with the results of my labor. I think it is addicting:)

Jules said...

I was expecting the results of your canning to be a few jars of something (which would still have impressed me plenty), not a lot of jars of a lot of things! I will add "raiding Emily's canned goods" to my to-do list.

Sarah said...

wow! I am super impressed. The apple pie filling looks delicious.

Lili and Jeff said...

Your pictures are so beautiful! They look cookbook worthy. I think my favorite might be the apple butter! Delish!

Janice said...

I think you are ready for the Mustard Relish recipe by Jennie Carlson. Sending you that soon...
You are a quick learner!

Nikki said...

You are amazing! I clicked over to see what you guys have been up to and look what I found. I love your documentation of canning and food storage. I'm feeling inspired to try something again (we made pickles at a Relief Society meeting this summer). You are so sweet for your comments on our blog. The babies are adorable and I'm glad to see you are all doing so well. Next time you make it up Columbia way we would love to meet up and play.