Preserving Summer 2012 {Naptime Simple Tips}

While we were in Cooperstown my Dad and I did a LOT of canning. It was so nice to have the time together in the kitchen, one of our favorite places, to catch up on life and exchange canning tips. After our canning marathon last year he sent me my first ever Ball Canning Set which I used all fall. This year he had me geeking out over my grandmother’s vintage Wear-Ever 17-quart aluminum cooking pot. When I finally located one on eBay he taught me how to actually use eBay (what can I say, I’ve never used it!) and he won it for me. Yay! Here is a summary of what we made this and the canning projects I have planned for fall! (Note: I’ll be taking the rest of the week off to concentrate on back to school insanity preparations, but will be back next Tuesday!)

1) Bread & Butter Pickles: We put up several quarts of these delicious pickles. It was a great batch this year!

2) Eternal Summer Apricot Jam: I made over a dozen half-pints of this delicious jam. I plan to use it for some gifties this fall…and eat the rest!

3) Peppermint Hot Chocolate Sauce: Wha??? Well, by December I’ll be in no mood to stand on my feet for more than five minutes at a time so I planned ahead and Christmas is all set!

4) Blueberry Pie Filling: I plan to make this as well as a big batch of Blueberry-Plum Butter in the Slow-Cooker later this week.

5) Apple Pie Filling: The last on my list, I plan to make a few quarts after we go apple picking this fall.

6) Strawberry Syrup: This was one of the first things I made from Marisa’s awesome book, Food in Jars.