In Praise of Preserving.

Boy, howdy, nothing beats the ping of a freshly canned jar of goodies!

I’m sitting here listening for each of my five pint jars of spaghetti sauce to set with the familiar “Ping!” of a swooshing lid, and I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing on my day off.  (There went the fifth and final ping – now they sit untouched for a day!)

When I first started canning, I had Big Plans for all the preserving I was going to do from my heaping garden harvests.  But plans have a way of changing over time – I’m not denigrating the bounty that comes from my humble community garden plot, to be sure, but the fruits of my labor aren’t quite enough to can.  The only possible exception to this is my hot-pepper supply, which does yield enough to put into jars – if only they could stay in the house long enough for preservation!  They tend to make their way into our stomachs well before I’ve got the time and inclination to break out the hot-water bath.

So instead of preserving my own garden veggies, I’ve found great success in preserving the goodies that arrive each week in my CSA share from Great Country Farms.  From tomatoes to cucumbers to everything in between, I’ve really enjoyed saving some of summer’s bounty for the leaner, less fresh-friendly winter months.

When I don’t have quite enough from my CSA box to preserve – for instance, this week, I had half of the tomatoes I needed to make salsa and pasta sauce – I supplement from our Saturday farmer’s market.  At the peak of the season, the price is always right!  And the taste can’t be beat.

What’s more – and this is where canning truly is Recessionista – preserving food for later means we don’t waste nearly as much in our week-to-week menu plans.  If I know that LeeLee and I have a busy week coming up – a week when we won’t be able to dig into the CSA box or the fruit bowl quite as much as we usually do – I simply block out an hour or two sometime one day to preserve a batch of sauce, or jam, or whatever needs putting up.  No waste, tasty treats, and sometimes even some early Christmas gifts prepared!  (Strawberry jam and apple butter are mainstays in our holiday gift baskets.)

I’m taking a little staycation this week, so look for more photos and tales from the water-bath canner as I continue my food-preservation tour!  Next up: Peach-raspberry jam!

 :)