Sometimes I wonder if I'm really cut out for this. My husband keeps telling me for all my time and effort {and stress} that it would just be easier to go buy the food from the grocery store. But it really makes me sad to see fruit trees go unpicked, or garden produce going to waste. Especially since Mother Earth is so generous.
But then I take a good hard look at myself and I've let produce go to waste before I could get it preserved somehow, and I've burnt the lid of the dehydrator {long story, don't ask!}, and I've let the water burn out of the juicer not once but three times, ruined the pan and have probably poisoned the juice with burnt pan chemicals that will poison my family with botulism or something worse! {I should probably throw those bottles down the drain!}
The kitchen carnage of that poor ol' juice pan is what has me throwing in the towel of surrender this year. I'm officially declaring my canning season over!
But then I also realize it has been a HUGE experimental year filled with learning all sorts of new things.
I have finally figured out how to manage lots of hot bottles for the canner. I've learned that juicing is easy if you pay attention to the water level in the steamer section. Making sauces {like apple or pear sauce} is easy also. So is dehydration. I can handle those.
I've also learned that prep work is time consuming as is the actual processing time and that it requires my full attention. I can't be trying to do three or four things at once which ends up ruining a perfectly good juicer pan. I've also learned that if I'm not careful it can overtake my life while other important things are ignored or forgotten.
I've learned a lot about gardening too. I learned a ton about my property and its quirks and where the sun hits. I've learned about soils, compost and pruning.
So in the end, I'm grateful for the Independence Days challenge, it taught me a lot, but I did have a lot of troubles along the way. Someone please tell me it will get easier someday and that all my problems will be but distant memories come next year when we're ready to try this again!
And now, I need a good vacation!
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6 comments:
I found it interesting about paying attention to one thing. I multi-task in everything I do and yet with canning, for the most part, I'm "ALL THERE". I think it is probably one of the few times that I'm wholly devoted to any one thing. That's probably good for me.
It sounds like we had a similar "first year" and if you're like me, you have two thoughts: WOW. I rock! Look at these home-canned (fill in the blank). For me it's soup. And two: Next year will be sooooo much easier!
Peace to you.
Wow! You made soup??? Good for you! I haven't even tried to tackle anything like that yet! I'm still back on the basics like jams, jellies, and juices!
Our big problem is that we're not huge sweet eaters. (We're all about salt and fat!!!!) So I quickly made more sweets than we'll eat. It was by necessity that I had to move on! I posted a flickr slide show over at my house (on the right) and you can see some of the stuff I made this year. Peace!!!
It will get easier as you remember the mistakes and learn from them.... how's that?
The good news is that you can now hang Indian Corn on your door - it is the official sign that the harvest has been brought in and the season is over.
I'm still waiting for the season to be over. My kitchen is consumed with tomatoes and I have grapes to be processes. I just want to quilt.
I think we have all have had that first year Becca, and believe it or not...it does get easier lol
Blessings:)
I sure hope so Molly! I guess I'll just have to take your word for it! ;)
Verde, I almost thought you said you wanted to quit, but realized you said quilt instead! Gave me a good chuckle! Hang in there girl, you're almost done with the season! Then we can both hang up the indian corn. I really like that idea!
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