Wednesday, May 16, 2012

A Day of Canning

Canning day begins as berries burst and beans snap. Steam hisses from the stove kettle while jars are washed and made ready. Rings are counted and lids are warmed; with coffee in hand plans are made on canning day.
The sweet scent of berries bubbling on the stove is met with the savory tang of tomatoes and garlic. Earthy fragrance of beans release with every snap. 
Teens come and go, stirring a pot or filling a jar as their busy schedule allows; conversation ebbs and flows as does their presence. A chat over work schedule is replaced by one of a local shooting competition that becomes a discussion of literature classics and new summer classes. 
As the kitchen empties. their lively chatter is replaced by bubbling and hissing; sauces and steam echoed by the call of birds outside the kitchen window.
The day comes to a close with the beauty of a sunset. Lids pop and click as jars cool on the shelf; the canner is finally silent. A satisfied smile rests on my face while warm tea touches my lips. It has been a wonderful canning day.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

do you have a canning recipe for tomato sauce or to make spaghetti sauce?

Michelle said...

My garden is just coming up. I can't wait to have my shelves full of homegrown goodness.

Becky said...

I'm with Michelle. We've got awhile yet before things are ready to harvest, but I can't wait.

Farmgirl Heidi said...

I am so jealous. My plants are still small yet. I look forward to canning days though. Thanks for the inspiration.

Unknown said...

@ RJ, I do can tomato sauce and plan to post the recipe tomorrow.

Ladies, glad you all have gardens up and going. When you are harvesting, mine will be getting crispy from the excessive heat!

Leigh said...

You paint a delightful word picture. I can't believe you're canning already. We're mostly eating fresh right now, which I'm thankful for. Canning will start next month for me.

Leigh said...

Comments don't seem to be enabled on your fresh tomato sauce post, so I'm commenting here. This looks like a really intriguing recipe! I always make my tomato sauce in my crock pot. Takes a bit of time, but that's okay too. Actually, most of mine ends up on pizza. :)

Unknown said...

Thank you for bringing it to my attention..I think I fixed the problem on the comment issue.
By the way, most of my sauce ends up on a pizza too!! And the crock pot is an excellent method!!