Adventures in Canning

A few summers back  a friend gave me a jar of her strawberry freezer jam. We ( OK maybe I ) quickly gobbled it up and requested that if she could spare and extra jar we would love it! She did us the honor of giving us two more jars , which we again devoured. So the next year she invited me over to show me how to make it. It is the quickest and easiest recipe.  If you don't end up giving all  your jars to friends and family one flat of fresh yummy strawberries you might be able to keep  your fridge full for the year. Here is a recipe for freezer jam, I just use the one on the box of pectin which is pretty much that same as this.

So this year after making my freezer jam, I thought to myself.."self, how hard it is to make other canned goodies" I love jardiniere ( spicy pickled cauliflower) of course we are always out of pickles and apricot jam runs out as often as the strawberry. I ventured over to amazon to look at books and found two I thought would work

1. Canning for a new Generation

2. Put 'em up

Both of these books offer great recipes. The canning for the new generation goes by seasons so you know what to look for at the market and what will be truly fresh. And I think the Put 'em up book has very straight forward easy classic recipes.

The adventure begins...Off to the farmers market with the kids..

also got a few must haves... kettle corn, pistachios , strawberries, cherries

I see jardiniere, dilly beans and pickles !

Note to readers, The books mention a few supplies for canning you might need. I was being defiant and decided I could make due with what I have... NOT a good choice when dealing with boiling hotness.. I do recommend going out and buying

1. the canning kit that comes with the special tongs for lifting said hotness out the the boiling hotness!

2. canning pot.. so much easier I promise!!

After a few hours here Is what I ended up with

Jardiniere.. The books did not mention when you could start eating your yummies, I waited a few days to let the flavors set in. This batch is a little sweeter than I like , so I have decided I will be adding some spicyness to it next time. But it is way yummy!

1. Dilly Beans.. I don't think I have had the pleasure of eating these, but they sounded so good so I had to try.

2. Pickled Asparagus.. also never have tried but looking forward to it.

3. Spicy Carrots..had to try this for my friend Sarah who eats these like candy!

Any my lovely's..I am going to wait at least a week to try these. There are so many spices in there that I know need time to blend.. I and crossing my fingers that these are going to be as good as I think they are!

 Apricot vanilla Preserves...This was the only one of the recipes that I could taste while I was cooking it. Love at first taste. I only made three jars and have already used one and am half way through two!

Here is a little sample of what you can do with apricot jam

 Crispy Apricot pork chops, I got the recipe for Martha's Great food fast,

but I found a similar recipe Here.

I  would  love to know if any of you experienced canners or even beginning canners have any recipes you think I should try. I think I am in this for the long run as they say. I really love the idea of being able to do this myself. I only wish I had enough garden space to grow all these fruits and veggies myself!

thanks for stoppin By..

~ Bianca