Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Canning


Picking apples is only part of the job! Now, it is time to do something with them ...

A sweet friend offered to have my children over to play while I worked on apples - what a gift. Thank you, friend!


I made apple-pie filling and eight batches of applesauce! My children recently informed me that they don't like applesauce from the store - so I am making more in hopes of it lasting us a year!

I only know how to peel towards myself which creates long spirals of peels. How do you peel? :)

Remembering a book from my childhood that compares the 3 parts of an apple to the 3 parts of the Trinity.


Empty vessels standing ready waiting to be filled. Is my heart so ready to be filled by His Spirit?


Heating lids in a fun garage sale find from this summer!


So, do you can? What have you canned this year?

PS: My sweet blog friend, Katy, made those dishcloths - check out her etsy shop!

14 comments:

Katy said...

Just lovely! How sweet of your friend to watch the children so you could get your canning done! :)

I have been canning, as well. So far, I have canned green beans, italian beans, corn, and homemade spaghetti sauce! Yum! :) Isn't being a homemaker such a great job? Of course, there are the tedious tasks such as laundry and sweeping the floors....*but* then there are the moments, while canning, when you hear those jar lids seal with that fantastic *POP* sound and then see all the jars lined up on shelves....that is so rewarding, isn't it? :)

I hope your week is going well Monica!

Warmly,
Katy

Wendi said...

A peaceful time spent canning. Oh my! That is certainly a treat. :)

So far I have put up green beans, tomato juice, grape jelly and corn. I am looking forward to hitting the apple orchard. Your apple pie filling is the best! Megan has requested that I can some of the filling minus the apples to use as a dip.

~katie~ said...

Apple picking and canning looks like a marvelous time ~ I love your analogies to spiritual things in the process!! A testament to your daily walk with the Lord, and it really personifies a picture of 1 Corinthians 10:31! Thank you for letting the love of our Savior shine through everyday life! =) (And I'd never heard of that book about the trinity ~ I'm going to look it up for my kiddos right now!)

Susan Brant said...

Canned yesterday... my Italian tomato sauce. What a joy to spend that time in the kitchen and see the beautiful results!
I love your apple pie filling and will do that when I get back with my apples next week!
Susan

Annie said...

I love to can! So far, I've done whole and diced tomatoes, salsa, peaches and plenty of jam. Coming soon are applesauce, apple pie filling, apple butter (do you sense a theme?), pears, pear butter, and pumpkin butter. I've also frozen plenty of green beans and corn.

I have a little side business in which I sell homemade jams at our local farmers market. I *love* the look on children's faces when they get their first taste of homemade jam on a bite of homemade bread (also from the market), then turn to their parent and say, "This is so much better than what you get at the store!" I couldn't have said it better myself!

Enjoy you're time in the kitchen. Your family will thank you in January!

Julie said...

I, too, have been making lots of applesauce. Hurricane Irene fortunately brought no real damage to my area, but her winds did knock baskets of apples off our backyard trees. Of course, I hate to let them waste, so it's been days of applesaucing and making dried apples here.

I noticed you have a flat-top stove. So do I. I've been told it's not good to do canning on that kind of stove, but I haven't been able to find out why. Do you know anything about that?

Elaine said...

Loved the photos. I don't can, but love canned things... and love apples!!! What a treat for your family!

Bevy @ Treasured Up and Pondered said...

Love the blue jars... I've used some too last summer in my canning of pickled beets. They're such a treasure. And I agree here what Katy said about the reward of the POP - and the evidence of all your hardwork lined up along the shelves!!!

Hoping to get in some serious applesauce canning myself in the next couple of weeks.

Jenny's Heart said...

Your apples look so yummy! I have yet to can a thing this year, I am waiting for the fall weather to hit and then I will can some Apple Butter made EASY in the crock pot, I use Christy Jordan's receipe, it is so simple and yummy, I need to get some peaches and make some peach butter too.

Peggy said...

Today is my first canning of the year... garbanzo beans so we will have them ready for hummus during the winter. Depending on how things go this week once my folks get in I may put up a canner or two of tomato sauce as well. If I could find my vacuum sealer the tomato sauce would be going into the freezer. I just remembered I put a few 1/2 pints of corn relish earlier this summer.

Anonymous said...

Lovely ApPlEs ♥ I just love this season of harvesting and canning all the WoNdErFuL fruits of SuMmEr!

This year I have put up lots of berries, peaches, tomatoes, and pickles. Apples are yet to come here in Oregon:) but I need at least 90 quarts:)

It's such a BlEsSiNg to eat the fruits of our own labors.

Happy Harvest, Kelsey

Elise said...

I have canned and am sooo excited to go get some apples from the orchard so I can make more applesauce. One year my friend and I used your recipe, but we added cinnamon and didn't puree the apples as much. That made a very yummy chunky applesauce!!
How sweet of your friend!! I also have some of Katy's wash clothes-love them!!
Elise
Oh, I did make strawberry jam this year-a low sugar variety and it was nasty. Had to dump all that strawberry, time, and money down the trash. It was depressing. Next time I'll opt for the sugared up version!!

Mom said...

I used to can (as you know!), but haven't in quite awhile (though I do fill the freezer from our garden or farmers market). These are great photos of your canning day, and I love the comment about vessels waiting to be filled. Love you! Mom

Jennifer said...

I just canned for the first time today! I canned 10 quarts of tomatoes! I am so excited to use my home-canned produce this coming fall and winter. I bought a bunch of apples, so I am hoping to can applesauce as well :)