Tuesday, August 11, 2009

~ 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 ~

37 comments:

Happy@Home said...

This is such a beautiful and inspiring post for late summer. I haven't done any canning in many years, but I keep running across posts like yours and am getting the itch to try it again. You sure do a nice job of decorating your jars. I can imagine it is a very satisfying feeling to see them all lined up in your pantry. Great pictures!!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I always enjoyed canning. It gives you such a sense of accomplishment! My sister just told me she made piccalily today! Sounds good to me!

Elyse said...

hello dear cynthia!

a few summers ago i made strawberry preserves. i chickened-out on the canning part so i just made enough to eat 'n use within a week or so. it really was simple and so delish on ... everything!

how fun to do tomato sauce. thank you for sharing all of the tips and info!

xo
elyse

Cheryl @ a pretty cool life. said...

Oh, how I adore Cath Kidston!

I always wimp out before I actually can anything--good for you!

Winchester Manor said...

Fabulous post, we have tomatoes galore...our plants went nuts this year! I've never canned anything before, but I'm going to give it a whirl! Thanks for sharing.

Stacey said...

Hi Cynthia! I won't be canning any time soon but it sure is fun to look at your pictures. :) You always do the prettiest posts! I'm off to visit Country Door.

Caroline said...

I've always been intimidated by canning. My MIL does peaches(our favorite), some kind of relish and beets. You sure can't compare homemade and store bought. I would really like to try pickled carrots, my friend gave me some once and they were delicious.

fitty's pinky rose cottage said...

Hello Cynthia..

thanks for the recipe. I think I wanna try do make some sauce but I am not so sure about the canning the sauce by myself.. hehehe..

have a great day!

Mimi Sue said...

Your tomato sauce recipe sounds delish. When I was little we had a little Italian grandma living next door who made "gravy" almost everyday. Their house always smelled so good. My favorite thing to make is jam. Mimi

Anonymous said...

Your post brings back memories of many years of huge gardens and canning freezing, dehydrating everything that I could get my hands on! My friends thought I was crazy that I loved to do this!!

With just Hubby and I I don't put up much anymore and didn't even get a garden in this year but I am planning already for next year!!

blessings
mary

Reneé DeLano said...

love to view all your photos and posts! you are amazing! xo

Kathleen Grace said...

My tomatoes will be ripening soon and I hope to have enough to try your recipe, it looks great! Love that Cath Kidson brush and the link to Country Door. Beautiful post:>)

Just a little something from Judy said...

For years, as a young girl I would help my grandma and my mother can fruits and vegtables. My grandma had a cold cellar and that is where we would store all of the jars. My mother also had a room similar to that. Peaches, pears, and tomato sauce are the produce that I remember most clearly doing. But, can I tell you, neither of their canning jars looked as pretty as yours. And, I might add, neither did their scrubbing brushes. I bet they wished for a company like Cath Kidson. Your table looks so attractive and inviting. Seems to me that you can take any ordinary item and add beauty to it. Which makes your blog an enjoyable place to visit.

Rebecca @ Belle Blog said...

Good morning! I love canning. Haven't done it in years. Think I'll give it a whirl this year. I'm thinking apple butter and lots of jammy goodness. Want to give your tomato sauce a try as well.
♥ Rebecca

Benita said...

Hi Cyn ~
You really inspire me to try canning ~ you make everything look so easy and pretty : )
I'm glad you found some pretties at CountryDoor ~ thanks for mentioning me !!
LUVS~N~HUGS
Benita

Rue said...

Hi Cynthia :)

It seems everyone is canning this year. I'm glad for it because it's so old-fashioned and seems like fun. I'll have to try it myself :)

Thank you for the yummy recipe!

xoxo,
rue

Brenda Eason said...

So beautiful. There is nothing as wonderful as jar of something you made when you pop that top.
I was so blessed to have a mom that when I was growing up canned.
OHHH the jellies were great. I was so upset I had no fresh juice or fruit to can.
I really enjoyed your post,

The Pleasures of Homemaking said...

I like the look of a well stocked pantry as well! I've gotten as far as doing freezer jam this summer. But I have plans for canning - I have tons of tomatoes.

The recipe binder is so cute as are the labels you used!

Manuela

Cindy said...

Hi Cynthia, so nice to see a new post today. I love to cook, but not to can, it is so nice to see that somebody still does, though. Hugs~cindy s~

Tracy said...

Hi Cynthia, I love to make preserves and jam, although I haven't in several years. I especially love plum preserves.
I hope things slow down a little for you.
Tracy

Lisa said...

Aren't you handy! I just don't have it in me to can. I wish I could get into things like that but I'm just no good at it. Thanks for sharing.
Hugs, Lisa

MyThoughtsMyVoice said...

I've never that preserving. And yes, when I'm thinking of it, it is quite intimidating. hhhmm maybe I can try growing tomatoes first so there will be abundancy of it :-)

You really decorated it so beautifully. Oh if a friend would recieve such a gift, it would greatly be appreciated. Just thinking that it is home made and the packaging it perfectly - it is pure bliss :-)

Li

aimee said...

good for you for trying something new! i made for the first time peach jam. it was fun and so yummy! i love it and will try different fruits and veggies :)
blessings,
aimee

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the canning. I freeze my veggies, but I want to learn to can. I am scared because when I was little my Mom canned and one time things exploded. That didn't make her stop though. I was too young to know what happened, but ever since I was just too scared to learn.

Willow

A Southern Rose said...

Hi Cynthia,
This brought back memories of my childhood. I remember my great-grandma canning fruit and jellies in her little kitchen. My favorite was her blackberries and also her fig preserves. I haven't had those in years. I have never canned before but my 26 year old daughter does! I can't believe that she does something that I've never tried before! LOL She cans homemade pickles and chow chow. Have you ever heard of that? Her grandma taught her that one. Your post is so pretty today. I want a pantry like that one day too. I also love your recipe cards.

Hugs,
Lee Laurie

Stephanie said...

I have so many tomatoes and didnt know what to do with all of them. Im going to make sauce!! Thanks for the great idea!
Also, I have that great recipe book. I started adding our family recipes in it for my daughter for when she gets married, but now I dont want to part with it!!
Onto making tomato sauce !!
Thanks :)

Amelia said...

I think you may have just inspired me to try a little canning and preserving! I hope you have a great day! Smiles:0)!

cottage farm villa said...

Another gorgeous post! Always a special treat when I stop by Cynthia! :)

Mahek said...

hi
Cynthia,
Its always such a pleasure to read your blog...
i read it almost regularly and wait for a great now post to be written,
Its so nice to see homemade canned sauces Here in India we do pickling but almost never do sauces (as they are not eaten too much). Your sauce looks yummy , here we do not get cans for tomatoes so i will have to make it only with fresh tomatoes it do so.
Thanks for your lovely photos of the vintage things made and collected by you . lots of love to you and your family....

Anonymous said...

Morning Cynthia! It never even occured to me to jar up my own spag sauce!!!Duhh I always think jams and veggies for canning! I too love the look of pantry shelves with jars lined up so I'll dream about a large open pantry too!!! I always love checking out the links you give us and this new one looks like a goodie! So I'm off to check it out! Have a great weekend dear - Sincerely, Jeannette

Anonymous said...

Just found your blog today and I have to say it is very charming.. as for canning, well, IF I had a garden it would my hubby doing the canning... He's my Mr. Science and Chemistry so loves mixing things.

Di
Snappy

Elyse said...

hi cyn!

come by for my 1st blogthday giveaway!

xo

Heartfelt living said...

Hi Cyn,
Wow, what a great post. I love all your pictures. I thnk alot of us girls have been thinking the same things lately!
I just started to organized my pantry. I love to line the shelves with crisp white liner paper or lay a doilie or two down to dress it up!
Recently I was reading Country Women magazine, when I came across an article about canning. I was so excited to try it. I have never canned anything before but when Ball was offering a kit with all the tools needed included ... I just had to give it a try. I should be receiving it soon. I'm so excited. Our garden did really well and we have tons of tomatos just waiting to be turned into sauce! : )
I just notice Benita posted! Please tell her I said hello. I have not had time to reopen a myspace yet. I sure miss everyone there. I'm sure as the weather turns colder and I'm spending more time indoors, I will have the time.
Have a great week!
Karen

~ ~ Ahrisha ~ ~ said...

Hi Cynthia~ ~Your jars look so pretty all decorated up. Isn't canning rewarding? After all the work you have lovely food to enjoy and share with others.
I've been doing some canning too come on over and see.
~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

Unknown said...

Hi Cynthia, Your projects always look so cute! Whenever I see anyone canning tomatoes or anything to do with tomatoes, I always think of the Doris Day movie where she was making catchup. It was the one with James Gardner and she was the spokes woman for a bar of soap.... anyway it was funny! : )

I usually make apple butter with my mom. She has a wonderful Ozark recipe.

Have a great day.
Liz

Graciela Fumasoni said...

HI CYNTHIA!!! HOLA CYNTHIA, TU BLOG ES MUY HERMOSO/YOUR BLOG IS VERY BEAUTIFUL!! BESOS FOR YOU, MELANIE AND BELLA, DESDE BS.AS., GRACIELA

Karen said...

Your tomato sauce looks so yummy and sweet in it's little jar. I haven't canned tomato sauce but I have made marinara and it is well worth the effort. I actually made ketchup a few days ago after having quite a few tomatoes and not wanting them to ruin. It turned out really well and actually tastes like a really good ketchup! If you ever want to can something easy-try using herbs to make jellies. It's so simple and doesn't involve a lot of prep work. Anyway, love your post and blog! Karen