apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I canned six pints of salsa last week, with only one left! So today I canned another batch, this time in 1/2 pint jars, to give to the kids' teachers as Christmas gifts. I will make another batch as soon as more tomatoes are ready, then I'll switch to spaghetti sauce.

I am afraid of canning and don't have the right equipment, so I am freezing as much produce as possible. I will probably make some tomato sauce, depending on the types of tomatoes we get from the CSA, but I mostly just freeze chopped tomatoes. I also just put up a half a bushel of peaches and I'm already looking forward to using them this winter. I wrote about it here: www.classiccookery.blogspot.com

We're not quite there, harvest-wise. When we are, I'll do the usual pickles, tomato sauce/canned whole tomatoes, etc.

I would love to do peaches in brandy but haven't found a recipe that lets me properly bottle them. They all say to store them in the fridge. Um, I don't have room in there!

This was my first year to have actual garden space, so I started small. All I have is hot peppers (serranos and Anaheims), bell peppers, and tomatoes, along with some herbs.

The tomatoes seem to be ripening one at a time, so I have been eating them basically straight from the plant. The hot peppers are drying, although I'm going to freeze some, and the herbs are being frozen also.

Next year, though, I'm going to buy a dehydrator, and there will be lots of fun to be had.

I just posted about some some peach chutney I canned: http://domesticreflections.blogspot.com/2008/07/i-finally-got-over-my-fear-of-canning.html.

We did some jams early. Reduced sugar strawberry and an amazing Balsamic/strawberry jam. Getting ready for hungarian peppers, beans, and tomatoes.

I am canning for the first time this year. I am using a pressure cooker to make sure the temperature is right. This is for the peaches, tomatoes, and peppers. I am freezing beans and chard. The herbs, and some tomatoes will be sundried.