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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Canning Efforts



I forgot to give the 2010 blueberry report...these are the baskets that I picked with a friend on one outing. I also went briefly with my daughter, but the mosquitoes were eating her up faster than we could pick the berries, so it was a short visit. (NB...not a single bite on this old girl's tough hide!)
I made a few batches of blueberry jam and one batch of blueberry rhubarb jam that turned out really yummy!
With that success, I tried a peach jam which was very disappointing. The fruit settled on the top and it was too runny and too sweet for my tastebuds.
However, I carried on with my goal of trying new recipes and made some pickled beets. I loved the process of skinning the beets, but I didn't love the taste, so I'll be on the look out for another recipe for my beets next year.
Then I tried a "summer salsa" with jalapeno peppers, red and green peppers, tomatoes, onions, peaches, pears, cilantro, and mint...all of which looked really pretty in the crock pot. It took several hours of washing, slicing and chopping the fruits and veggies to make this concoction.
But after all that work, it only made 3 1/2 jars of salsa, and as you can see, 1 jar has already been eaten! It was a real hit with my family, but I'm still thinking about whether it is worth all that time and effort.
Here is the result of my canning efforts that will be going to storage in the basement this week. I still have to deal with tons of zucchini, a few more tomatoes, and I haven't touched the carrot patch yet.

6 comments:

  1. wow! Just looking at the baskets of blueberries makes me drool-I so love 'em! I have 2 small bushes and I got a lot off them this year but we eat 'em in cereal or I made muffins.
    I would love your blueberry/rhubarb recipe, if you wouldn't mind. I have rhubarb plants too. And they're finally getting big enough to give me a decent crop.

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  2. You are lucky mosquitoes don't bite you! they love me!

    All your canning looks delicious!

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  3. I don't get mosquito bitten either! Dear husband gets just 100s of bites, though...those blueberries look wonderful! We used to go picking each year, but did not make it this year. I bet that salsa is just wonderful!

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  4. It all looks wonderful. :D

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  5. Those jars just look gorgeous all lined up there *s* You've inspired me to look at Farmer's market for some peaches to can. I'm itching to preserve something.

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