The Art Of Preserving

My love for Preserving and canning started about 16 years ago when we lived in Washington. Our boy was just 6 years old and our daughter was a newborn. Canning was always a fascination of mine from childhood I always enjoyed my Gramma Charlotte's canned goods whenever she would send our way. I also found a love for gardening and foraging from the land around us. It was a time I really learned how to bake and make jams and how to preserve fruit and make applesauce all on my own. I would pick the wild black berries and wild rhubarb or go to farms and pick fruit there. We were blessed with fruit trees over the years or used farmer's markets fruit to preserve. We also gleaned from our friends fruit trees and plants as well. It was from that first day on, that I fell in love with the art of canning and preserving. Every Spring and Summer I would start cookin' up the jams and preserving the fruit into Autumn I would be making applesauce and drying out fruit for snacks. We would enjoy our bounty throughout the Autumn/Winter months.

Throughout these years as my daughter was old enough to help out she too learned a lot about the process of preserving and canning. She would help me peel, cut, cook and can up loads and loads of pantry goodness. Last year we invited a few of her girlfriends and their mothers over for a Jamming Party...It was fun passing down this art to others. I have been blessed to teach a few other friends through the years how to do it themselves. And I hope to teach more as the years go on. It is so rewarding... My family enjoys good stuff from our own kitchen...We know where it came from and who made it and it is so much more healthier for you and better

 tasting than store bought stuff. There is no comparison.

This Spring and Summer will be sad for me....Since we are living in limbo at a temporary home I won't be able to can goods this year. Once we do find a new home, I am not sure I want to pack and transport all those jars. So for now I will stick to some small stuff or make things I will use before a move. I would very much like to inspire you with these photos of my canned goods to perhaps start canning and preserving your own goods too! Don't hesitate to message me if you have any questions on getting started etc... There are a lot of online sites or use Pinterest.com to find canning or preserving recipes. Once you start, you will fall in love with it. I promise!

It's also a great tool for teaching your kids this art. Involving them in the kitchen teaches them invaluable skills they would never learn outside the home. This is a perfect skill to learn for the newbie homesteading farmgirl too! Filling your pantry with the

 fruits of your labor is truly rewarding and your family will thank you for it!