There were a couple of questions so I want to make sure everyone has all the info. Even those of you too shy to comment. At least I’m assuming there are a few more readers than those that comment.

Canning really is that easy. It takes a little bit of equipment, a bit of counter space, and a bunch of time. I’d say time is the biggest thing you’ll be giving to do canning. Oh, and if you’re buying your veggies and fruits, it’s a bit of an investment money wise but it will pay off over the winter months. You won’t be buying this stuff later on.

I did a couple of searches to find informational sites online for you
How to Can
and this one also has a listing of where you can get fresh produce in your state:
Pick your own - canning info
I also looked up a site that sells alot of the equipment.
Canning Equipment
Or you can simply get an all inclusive canning set. Not that you need a complete setup but sometimes it’s nice to have everything all in one set to get started.
Full Canning setup

I’m not recommending any specific site to buy your stuff from, and I’m also not saying you shouldn’t buy new online or wherever you can find it. I bought my boiling bath set at a yard sale. The Pressure canners are harder to find at a yard sale. The jars are usually on sale this time of year at places like True Value and Aubuchon Hardware stores. I checked the price in my area and Aubuchon was $2 per 12 pack cheaper than the grocery.

There are safety precautions, this is food after all. So read the sites I’ve listed or get a book from your library. THIS is a book that I have and I find it very helpful. I like the guide in the back the most. It runs through all the veggies and fruits and lists basic packing, canning methods, times and or pressures to can at. It’s the book that I have sitting out while I’m canning. Because I can never seem to remember this stuff year to year.

My job will be done if at least one of you out there gets into canning. I like to eat. I’m so not into domestic chores, but I love to eat. This is why I do all the cooking and canning like this. I like to know what’s in my food as opposed to buying it prepackaged. In any given grocery trip we buy very little if any pre-packaged foods. Sure it takes time up front to can but if you think about it, in the winter when I really get the bug to knit and spin, I don’t have as much prep cooking to do. I have cans of sauce or veggies for pasta, pickles for snacks, veggies for side dishes, fruits for smoothies or desserts, salsa for snacks or to go with a meal….

I’ll be back tomorrow with more knitting and fiber stuff.

As promised I’ve got a bunch of recipes for you. These are all canning recipes but you could always eat them right off.

Salsa
3 large tomatoes chopped
1 small onion minced
The juice from one half of a lime
A large handful of cilantro chopped well.
Many garlic cloves minced
Minced Jalapenos or hot pepper flakes to taste.

I just mix it all together. I used to add salt but then I decided the Lime was a way better addition. So I stopped adding the salt. This makes a chunky salsa. Of course if you like a thinner one, you can whiz it up in the blender. This recipe is my usual size if we have people coming over. For canning this fills about one quart so you can adjust your recipe accordingly. To can you can use a boiling Bath for 15 minutes

Bread and Butter Pickles
8 large sliced cucumbers OR Summer Squash
2 large onions sliced
1/4 cup salt
2 cups of Apple cider vinegar
2 tsp celery seed
2 tsp turmeric
1 cinnamon stick

Place your squash or cucumbers and onions in a large bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then rinse and transfer to a large cooking pot. Add in the rest of the ingredients. The usual recipe calls for sugar. If you feel it needs it once all your ingredients are together I recommend adding evaporated cane sugar or something that isn’t a processed white sugar. Personally though, I don’t add the sugar and it still comes out fairly sweet. Bring this to a boil and cook for 30 minutes making sure to keep stirring. In the beginning the liquid will not cover all the fruit but eventually as it cooks down it will.

The original recipe uses the cucumbers obviously. I just tried the summer squash on a whim and it comes out pretty good. The squash stays a little more firm and you can’t tell it’s not a cucumber, except that it’s a little more yellow. In the photo the cukes are on the right and the Squash is on the leftIf you’re canning it, this makes 4 pints and the Processing is by Boiling Bath for 15 minutes.

Tart Blueberry Jam
I’m not sure why but I’m really into the tart Jams and Jellies lately. This one is a great tart one. Especially since the berries I started out with were a little tart to begin with.

2 quarts of tart blueberries
1 lime - zest and juice of
1/2 cup brown rice syrup

Put this into a sauce pan and bring it to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes until it’s reduced and you thickens up into a Jam. If you’re canning it will make 5 half pints. The processing is a boiling Bath for 10 minutes in half pint jars.

I did absolutely NO canning over the long weekend. None, Zilch, Nada. I almost did some yesterday but then was tired and didn’t feel up to it so I sat back down and knit. I changed my mind about the cabled sweater I was working on. To do it in various sizes, I wanted to make a new chart for each size. I mean, why should the large sizes just have stst or something like that to fill in the sides? I wanted to knit instead of chart out the usual 6 sizes so I changed to something else.

I really like this new pattern combination I have in this sweater. I liked it so much I finished the back and have about 7 inches of the front done. You may be shocked that I didn’t start with the sleeves and I’m working this in pieces. Well, the pattern just came out better in pieces. As for the sleeves, it’s a modified drop shoulder. I’ll be picking up the stitches and knit the sleeves from the shoulder down.

As for the original cable idea I had, I’ll still do it. It’s one that’s been in my head for a long time. I saw a certain cable running up the middle of someones sweater at a hockey game last year. I quickly sketched out the cable. Her sweater of course needed more than just that one puny cable but it was the force that made me think of designing this sweater. It will get done eventually. It may just turn out that I’ll make the sweater for myself only so as not to lose the joy of knitting it. Sometimes coming up with a multi sized pattern is a good challenge that I readily welcome and sometimes it just detracts from the joy of knitting.

For now though, I’m thoroughly happy with the sweater I’m working on. I may have started other sweaters too. Indecision has a way of making me try to find something I love. I’ll talk about the other new projects soon.