Summer Garden

The heat has arrived for the summer here. That means the last of the tomatoes are coming in from Mom and Dad's garden. If Mom had her way that would have stopped a week ago. Dad however can't stand to let one little bit of one go to waste. I think their opinions are swayed by the division of labor in the canning process. I ended up with one little squash on a plant I grew and that was donated to a neighbor for the kind act of mowing my grass while I was on vacation. So this summers tomatoes will have to be savored in hot sauce,tomato sauce, tomato relish,and just regular old canned tomatoes. Summer saved up in a Ball jar. Ever ready to lend that home grown wonderfulness with the pop of a seal.



Don't look now Mom...Dad's picking figs!

Preservation

Did you grow up with canning jars? The ones I grew up with weren't blue or closed with a metal bail. They had a metal ring to screw on and weren't complete until you heard that pop from the cooling jars. Every summer for as long as I can remember Mom has put up all kinds of vegetables. Beans,tomatoes,pickles and peppers found their way into the sterilized jars, spent time in hot water or that scary pressure cooker and then graced the pantry shelf waiting for a future dinner table. Sent home to share with family and friends and returned when empty for next years crop. Recycling before it was fashionable. Keeping the carbon footprint small before we realized what big feet we had. I hope you get a chance to eat some home canned food this summer. Savor it if you do.