~ canning and preserving ~

Hello ladies! Thank you so much for your Birthday wishes for Melanie, that meant so much to her and me too! It's completely repetitive to say this has been a busy summer, I feel like that's all I say, lol....But it has :) I took some time out over the weekend to kick back and relax though, for me that always involves cooking , especially when it's 90 degrees out and I want to escape the heat and enjoy some AC. So I did a few Jars this weekend and wanted to share the experience with you...I have to say , at first, canning was completely intimidating to me, but after I did it the first time, I thought, Hmmm, not so hard if you follow directions. And it's so rewarding when you open the jars during the off season only to have fresh tasting sauce or Jam!! So if you've never done it, hopefully you will soon! I think you'll find it a neat process and you'll be so proud when you stick that first label on stating: Home Made :)!!

There's no shortage of inspiration out there either, the pics below and above are from Sur la table , they did many more Jars then I did, but aren't they so pretty?!

This one below is from the Ball Blue canning recipe book , circa 1939....Love the organization it features!

I just did Tomato Sauce this weekend, but hopefully I'll get to do Jams too one of these weekends! Here's my recipe for Home Made Tomato Sauce, I hope you give it a try, even if you don't can it, it's still yummy!
( click the card to make it easier to read )

I gathered up all my stuff and got ready..... these are all available at the click of a Google , under" Canning" :)

Then I re-read my Canning Method instructions, it's important for preserving to get all the details down and not skip a step. Again, you can click the instructions to make them much bigger to read...

Then it's off to make the sauce and fill the jars! I love the smell of Homemade sauce!

After following the methods and letting the Jars cool, you get to decorate them :) My second favorite part :) My First favorite is to wipe off all the Jars and get the satisfaction of knowing I made something that will be enjoyed for months down the road and still taste fresh from the garden!

I always love the look of a well stocked pantry! This one is an inspiration to me! Mine is much smaller, but a girl can dream :) Hmmm, maybe I can use one of my hutches like this below? lol

I just got this great new recipe keeper from Amazon, I adore the cover and a place to keep all my recipes too!

Well , it's time to clean up now and go enjoy the sauce poured over some delicious pasta! First, I want to share one tip on cleaning up after a big mess, lol.... "Do it in style!" I saw this over at Cath Kidston and knew I had to get it, now I'll be happy to scrub! lol, I sound like an advertisement for cleaning products, but seriously, isn't this the cutest?!

I wish you all were sitting down to a nice meal with me, I am so thankful to have such wonderful readers and friends! You are simply the best, Thank you so much for visiting!

I have one more link to share, the photo above is from Country Door, what a neat site, My friend Benita introduced it to me and I just adore their country items! I hope you do too!

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Lots of love,

~ Cynthia ~