September Harvest

I think September might be the busiest canning month. 

I bought another batch of peaches and they were terrible.  Same place, same kind, only this was the end of the season and they were already picked and on sale...and now I know why.  They were mushy, flavorless, and not juicy.  I make some peach syrup and ended up freezing most of them in batches to use in peach cobbler with the hope that cooking them with a bunch of spices and a little sweetener would make them more palatable.  The first ones I picked, right as the season opened, and let ripen up on the counter, were delicious!  Probably worth paying double.


I discovered that I can combine my love of chutney with barbecuing and use the chutney with some added basalmic vinegar and avocado oil into a tasty marinade.  (Since the family doesn't care for chutney as a spread.)

My tomatoes finally started to ripen.  I was getting a bit worried.  I am wearing an apron since that is an unidentifiable blob with a yellow things on top in the picture.

Two years ago (I think), I taught the kids to make baskets out of willow branches.  Evi still makes them on occasion.

Whoa, I expected to pick a couple of boxes of tomatoes and LOOK!  My mom also gave me her extras.  

Beautiful heirloom tomatoes!

Since I was canning during school, I would cut tomatoes, peppers, onions and then season and roast in the oven for several hours and then put in a stockpot until it was full and can it the next day (or two or three).  That way, I wasn't having to do anything but keep an eye on things and then can during the afternoon break or in the evening.




I bought this in July because I wanted to sauce the tomatoes and make a puree.  Phil helped me get it all set up and it is the best kitchen tool!  We bought a motor that hooks up to the hand crank so the only thing we have to do is chunk the tomatoes up and it pushes through the puree and leaves the skin and seeds behind.  We used it for charbroiled peppers too and added that to our sauce.


I have been canning for a good 6 weeks (running into mid October) sometimes doing several boxes, sometimes just one depending on when I picked and what my mom gave me.  I ended up with 41 quarts and 34 pints of sauce!!!  That gives me enough to use on a weekly basis to make chili, soup, or pasta sauce.

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