canning season ramble

I won't bore you with all the details again, but suffice it to say, canning season is here (to stay for awhile). 

We've canned Elderberry Jelly, Plum/Elderberry jelly (the best!), peaches and tomatoes this year so far. 

 We have friends with an orchard that just gave us a ton of apples.  Yes, I'm quite sure that there are one ton of apples in our house...

I'm tired just thinking about it...

What are your canning projects?  What's your favorite item to bottle?  I think my favorites are tomatoes and peaches.  Bottled tomatoes are so versatile.  Peaches are just the absolute best.  Oh, who am I kidding, I love them the most because they are the easiest to bottle.

Glass quart and pint jars have become very trendy.  I think it's because they are the ultimate container.  Jars are in constant rotation at our home and they inevitably end up in our cupboard.  They are the best ice water container.  Wide mouth jars of course...

can you bottle ice water?

 Jars at our house are used as flower vases, pen and pencil holders, silverware holders, loose change banks, you name it and a Mason, Ball, or Kerr jar can do it.

They're not just for food anymore.

That being said, we have a few things on deck still for canning.

We are going to try a few new things.   We are going to try chili and stews and soups for ready meals.  I'm loving this idea.   I'm loving the idea of opening a jar and having a homemade meal ready.  (Yes, I know that we'd have to open like four jars.)

Here's some of the tools I have that I use for canning that I simply couldn't do without.


Let me know what you are up to, since I know I'm not the only one who bottles food around here.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go bottle some more tomatoes and heaven help me with all those apples...