Stacie, I am so JEALOUS! I wish I had a quater of the stuff that you do to can! I haven't put as much up the summer as I was wanting to because our garden kicked the bucket from the 100 degree heat with no rain and the farmer's market prices have been outrageous this year and money's been a little tight.

I hope you have a good time with all that produce! Oh can you post the recipe for the cinnamon apple rings? They sound delish.

Jessie

Jessay,

I will post when I get them done. I plan on tweeking the BBB recipe some.

Stacie

Stacy,

Hi, I'm Cheryl, and I'm a canning addict, too. What's worse is that I now have my husband addicted (tee, hee). However, I do believe that you should seek professional help (or a few dozen neighbors at least!)

I have a solution for all you canning addicts. You see, I am an eating addict. For a very reasonable fee, I will allow you to ship your finest products to my doorstep. I guarantee complete consumption of said comestibles in a timely fashion. 8^D

Wow, thanks tcstoehr, what a generous offer. LOL

Overwhelmed? Heck no. I take vacation days to can. I can stuff that I don't even like and give it to other people. I can for my Dad, my Mom, my daughter. I freeze stuff now so I have something to can in February! LOL I've been canning for over 40 years and I still keep finding new recipes, I can't help myself.

A friend is stopping tomorrow and we are canning peach jam with Frangelico while we "snack" our way through lunch. It's a social opportunity!

And, of course, when the beef is butchered there's always KatieC's Beef Burgundy to can, and French Onion soup with the soup bones, and the salmon will be running soon, and...

Yup, you're addicted. Come sit right here by me. :-)

Annie

Stop me before I can again!

LOL! This is funny! Annie, I can relate. I am planning to take a week off work to can also. I already took a week off to work in the garden. And, like you, I have started to can things I don't like so I can give them away. I've even starting planting things in my garden that I don't like (radishes - what was I thinking? I don't like radishes AT ALL), just so I can either give them away fresh or can them and give them away.

This forum makes the addiction much worse. Every recipe posted looks so wonderful that I must try it. And of course, you can't just make one jar, so first thing you know you have six of this and eight of that and extras get eaten for dinner.

The biggest problem I am having is making enough of the best things (peach salsa, Annie's salsa, jalapeno jelly) to give to everyone I know and still have for ourselves.

I can't wait for my week off.

Ann

. . . can't . . . stop . . . canning . . .

Just did the peaches two days ago, apples yesterday, beans, and cukes, in pickles, and picked 75 ears of corn for the freezer. Yes, I am overwhelmed, and gave some away. Next comes the beets. The nectarine tree fruits all split and cracked, so they are gone, and none survived. I think the young nectarine is history and will be chopped down unless I can find the answer to its severly splitting skins, don't know why... Planted another batch of peas for a fall crop (hope it cools off a bit more here soon!). Then, I have to deal with the peppers again as they are ready to pick for another bushel, but they will also be given away as I have 60 jars canned already. Have to put togther two more shelf systems to hold another 16 -20 cases each of canned products.

From left to right:
Chow chow, "green/confetti" salsa (it's more yellow since I used yellow peppers and the hot peppers were red), sweet green tomato pickles (I only had dark brown sugar and I only used it for a third of the sugar), dilled green tomato pickles, and green tomato and onion slice pickles. Of the 22 jars sitting there, the only thing I like is green salsa. So I am a member of the canning for others club, too!

Melly, beautiful.

Annie and Ann'

I think you are both more than a little wacky. Growing, canning and giving away goods neither of you like surely is an addiction. I give most of my canned good away but, at least I like them.
As far a being overwhelmed, I got up at 5 am today to work the Farmer's Market for my nephew and brought home a half bushel of green beans and 4 bushels of tomatoes. I have a double batch of salsa on the stove at this moment. I may also do a canner load of green beans before I fall into bed at about midnight.

Well I can't stop myself we need to get 80 pounds of tomatoes done along with the 50 pounds I preped yesterday.... and the 5 gallons of concord grapes to juice...... and 5 gallons of apples....... oh and gotta try making some chow chow.....Oh and anything else I can find standing still enough to can.

Stacie

Maybe you're right, Shirley, but I make catsup because my younger daughter likes it, and spiced pears because my oldest daughter likes them and dill pickles because my Dad likes them. At least I do like the pickled beets. LOL

Today I go to the farm. I'll be canning corn relish soon, my stepmother likes it. (grin)

Overwhelmed? I wasn't until this week. I spent 5 days in Three Rivers with a group of Cooking Forum members and "lost" those five productive days a week ago. Dad has a list of things to do a mile long and I've reached my limits in time and energy. Right now, I'm overwhelmed.

Annie

Annie,
I enjoyed all the pictures taken at Canny Camp. I'm sure you all had a great time. It must have been fun with all helping in the kitchen. Right now I have a batch of Salsa in the pressure canner and Tomato juice cocktail waiting for the dishwasher to stop. All the quart jars are in it. Juice is on a low burner waiting. Wish I had some help. I washed the same kettles and bowls and strainer 3 times already today and it isn't noon yet. Green beans are next after the salsa. The juice is going into a HWB for 45 minutes.

Sure do.. More corn to pick this afternoon while I make a 20 quart batch of B&B pickles.

I can tell you this, Shirley, it was sure good to have someone else to do all that chopping. Of course, one of the members noted that the group divided itself into "choppers" and "shoppers". (grin) That Amish grocery will never be the same.

Annie

whew. Sure glad I found this place, lol. My friends think I'm insane. Now I know I'm not. ;-)

I don't have much of a garden to speak of since it's only containers and I just didn't have the time this past spring to plant much up. We do have a wonderful Farmer's Market that is very reasonably priced so I've done my part in keeping them in business in year's past. This year I haven't canned as much as I normally do (work full-time, school part-time, etc), but someone just gave me heaps and heaps of Italian plums, I've perfected a plum sauce recipe to use those up. Tonight/tomorrow is spaghetti sauce now that tomatoes are finally coming in.

And I give a lot away too, just so's my boyfriend doesn't kill me with all the space I could take up. lol

motochick, don't you go teasing us --- post that perfect plum sauce recipe, please!

Zabby

Zabby,

lol! I had thought it would be great to post it here, of all places, since it would be "appreciated" amongst fellow-canning addicts. I'd like to make it once or twice more to make sure my notes are correct and I promise to post it right after that. Some might like it, some might not, but I am biased and absolutely in love with it. It'll be good for duck, chicken, pork, egg rolls, chicken drummettes, you name it. :)

motochick,

I can't wait! I have made a plum sauce or two from books but haven't found one yet that I really liked with Asian foods. Don't wait too long before posting, or my plum season will run out!

Zabby ;-)

Zabby, you're right!

I just posted it as I've got it now, I'm sure it's fine. It has some ingredients that aren't *completely* authentic, but I liked the flavour combo. Initially, I'd found a recipe that included sesame oil and added that to the first batch I made, but it didn't shine through in the amount I put in (2 T) and I didn't feel like fooling with adding more, so I just omitted it for further batches. It's posted over on the recipe exchange now.

Motochick, tell your boyfriend that storing food is your superpower and make the pantry area look pretty. Then surprise him often by pulling out fantastic things. I got my boyfriend interested in yogurt for health reasons so he's been eating all my jam with it. He's been converted & supports my habit now!

Melissa

Melissa, my boyfriend's a tough sell, he's one of the pickiest eaters I've ever met. We've been together 8 years, but every year I find out about yet another food rule. He loves yoghurt and I tried to get him on mixing my jams with plain yoghurt (cheaper, better, etc), but he wasn't too interested. He hates pickled anything and there are a few jams he doesn't care for. I have got him past the initial fear he had of canned foods ("are you trying to kill me?" or when I gave some things to his mother "are you trying to kill my mom?"), so that's something. I hope he likes the plum sauce because I LOVE it. I'll make something with it this weekend so he can give me the thumbs up or thumbs down and I'll know if it leaves more for me or not.

motochick, I hope he doesn't like it. More for you!!! LOL

Annie

Thanks, motochick!

I'll try it this weekend.

My BF surprised me by coming around slowly to being a big fan of my canning. He was always supportive of it as a project of mine, 'cos he's a sweetie, but it was clear he thought it was a weird hobby of mine and not really connected to his life. He doesn't like pickled anything either, wasn't a huge jam fan, would never eat fruit (or produce of any kind other than french fries) if he was still a bachelor, and isn't very fussy about his pasta sauce, etc. --- never saw the point in not just getting Kraft on sale.

But over the three years or so after I first started canning, he was slowly becomign more and more of a fan: LOVED Annie's salsa, of course, with tortillas or on tacos; would eat the canned fruit as dessert or in a breakfast smoothie at first grudgingly if it came with a baked good, but increasingly with some enthusiasm; asks for certain jams now (but won't bother with commercial ones, only mine); and last year, when I made so many cans of goodies for wedding favours for my friend that I didn't put up very many tomato things for us, he became downright indignant! That's how I knew he was converted....

I still do dilly beans only for myself (so half-pint jars).

BTW, as for the orignal query in this thread, I can strictly for fun --- it is what I do when I am overwhelmed with OTHER things in life and want to do something enjoyable and satisfying and guaranteed to be useful! Same with my garden.

It took me a couple of years to get to the stage where I almost always remember that the garden is to comfort ME, not the other way around! But in my old age I am pretty down with the concept. ;-)

Zabby

Motochick,
Ya gotta try Annie's Salsa on your BF.
I haven't read a post yet from someone who didn't like it!!
If he eats salsa, that ought to do it!!

Deanna

Zabby wrote: "It took me a couple of years to get to the stage where I almost always remember that the garden is to comfort ME, not the other way around! "

Excellent philosophy. I'd do well to remember it! This year has been good practice--we built a house and had a baby last year, moved into the not-quite-finished new house in January and have another baby on the way due Christmas. My garden is looking pretty wild, but still doing it's job, and I've learned it will survive (or not) without my doting care.

Gotta write that down. "The garden is to comfort ME, not the other way around!"

Leigh

Oh yeah Zabby, you are ancient! Funny, yes.

LOL, Zabby, you aren't as old as I am either, but maybe wiser. My garden hasn't comforted me much this year, I've allowed it to be more burden than anything.

Time to change my attitude...

Annie

Annie, you have had more than your fair share of burden this year, that's for sure! And, Leigh, what a busy time you're having....

Many of you are much more self-sufficient than I am, that's for sure, so if your gardens/canning wanes, you really do lose some of that. (I bet if the apocalypse came tomorrow a person could live at Annie's house for months and barely notice.) I'm just having a lot of fun.

OTOH, it sure would be painful to go back to eating commercially canned tomatoes and salsa. Yeck. I think if I ever stop gardening/canning I will be buying a lot more stuff canned by small local vendors!

Zabby

Motochick, make sure you share your stuff with at least one person who will tell you how delicious it is!

I have known quite an assortment of picky eaters, including one guy who wouldn't eat any vegetables except peas and mashed potatoes. He went to his girlfriend's grandmother's house for southern Sunday dinner and all he ate was fried chicken (the mashed potatoes had onions in them). The grandmother tried to gently encourage him to eat the meal she had made for him, and he snapped "I ate the main course, isn't that enough?!" He was not very nice to the girlfriend, generally, but after we heard the grandmother story two friends & I invited the couple for a potluck & it just happened that we three hosts each wanted to try a vegetarian recipe, and we knew the guy wouldn't bring any food to the potluck, would just tag along with the girlfriend. Someone even proposed asking her to bring dessert. :-) Anyway, one of my friends did make biscuits so this guy had a plate with just one biscuit on it. It wasn't entirely on purpose, just something that came together that way, but it sure was satisfying after this guy acted like a jerk to someone's grandmother.

Melissa

Melissa...hope the gf saw the Big RED Flag!! (They usually don't tho unfortunately.)

Ok, last night I was very overwhelmed, lol. I started my spaghetti sauce project and it was the first time I can ever remember wishing I had a helper or another pair of hands. I only got through peeling and coring them all up, but that's the hard part so I'm over the hump and tonight's the easy part.

Now I've got 5 or 6 very full ziplocks in the fridge. I told the BF to be very careful opening the fridge and just getting in there. He's a clean freak, I can imagine the fallout from even one fat ziplock hitting the floor. Our cabinets and appliances are all white. yikes.

And does anybody else buy canning stuff just because it's on sale? I bought a pot that is way bigger than I need, but the price was too good to pass up! I went in looking for just a regular size enamel water canner because I'm in need of a second one (gave an extra one away a while back and probably shouldn't have, lol), but they had a 33 quart one on sale. Originally $35, marked down to $25, I also had $7 in coupons, so it was basically $18. The size I went in for was $20, no sale and with coupons would have been $13. I've no idea where I'm going to keep it, it's absolutely huge, but I'm sure I'll be glad to have it at some critical point. Am I alone in this? lol

motochick,

The new canner can come in handy if BF gives you a hard time you can cook his goose, so to speak. ;-)

I did get a bit crazy buying jars two years ago --- every time I saw a good price. And the Bernarding-label ones (standard in Canada, though it's all owned by Alltrista now, same as Ball) would come with a coupon for $2 off if you bought two MORE cases, so I would think, better do that while the coupon is still good, so then each of the NEW cases would have a coupon --- you can see how THAT goes!

But when many of the pint jars spent last year empty in the pantry (cf boyfriend's grumble that I spent too much time last summer/fall canning goodies to give away at my friend's wedding), I got more of a grip. ;-)

I, too, have a second canner I don't really need but I cannot bring myself to give it away somehow. The thing about having a pantry now is I have room to be a bit silly!

Zabby

Maureen, sad to say, they just got married this summer and are currently living in Ireland where she works. If he ever lays a hand on her I will call social services myself.

I wish I could have a second canner, but I only have one "big" burner on the stove & it's only 7" (bf has two at 7.5" though).

Melissa

I went crazy a couple of years ago on jars too, 'cept I was hoarding all the free and cheap used ones I could find (I'm on a list called "freecycle" where folks give away what they don't want/can't use and there are always canning jars posted), then stumbled on a few huge lots at the thrift store, instead of the onsie-twosies, then received some from a friend who was clearing out an attic, etc. I still am going through all those, thankfully, but had to break down and get a zillion lids for all those zillion jars. I just scored a couple of good auctions off eBay earlier this week, one sale of 200 regular size caps and rings and another sale of wide mouth caps only. Done for a while! lol

One "aha" moment I had, I thought in that big freaking canner, I could simmer a double batch of spaghetti sauce, if I was so inclined. ;-)

Good idea, stir often though. Those enamel pots are thin enough that thick stuff will burn onto the bottom easily. I've scraped a whole lot of blackened chili out of my first BWB canner.

Try peeling a bushel of potatoes, slicing, then dipping in sulfur and drying.. When I dry peppers, I also started off with a bushel, and once cut, dried, and ground into a small pepper flake, the quantity goes from a bushel to less than a quart jar.