I was a canning mad woman last week! I felt like I was canning everything. Every day was something new. I made 2 kinds of pickles – dill and bread and butter, a spicy zucchini relish, Zucchini Jelly, plum jelly and zucchini pickles. I still have so much more to can!
Both the dill and bread and butter pickles were made from a packet I found at the grocery store. The dill didn’t seem to make much, but the bread and butter made a lot. I ran out of jars and lids before all of sauce was used up. We’ll have to wait a few weeks to see how these turned out, though. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I also made some zucchini pickles using the bread and butter mix. I’ve never had zucchini pickles, so I guess we’ll see how that turns out.
I made zucchini jelly, which is not as horrid as it sounds. I found this recipe on an amish site. You give it flavor with crushed canned pineapple and your choice of flavored jello mix. I made it with strawberry thinking that we all like strawberries. I didn’t realized until I was pouring the jello powder in that it’s imitation strawberry and really sweet. Next time, I’ll do cherry. There was a little left over that I didn’t can, so I put it on my littlest’s peanut butter sandwich. She must have liked it since she ate it all!
I still have a bunch of zucchini, which I think I will freeze for use this winter. I’ve been using the Ball Canning Book, which you can find at the grocery store for about $6, for most of my recipes.
The last thing I made or, I should say, tried to make was plum jam. It looks like it’s thickening up a little now, but I was afraid it turned out to be more like syrup. I ended up dumping pectin in the recipe when it was getting any thicker. I have so many plums left on my trees that I’m going to just use the recipe in the pectin package to make some more jam. The last time I made some, that’s what I used and it turned out really well.
I should be getting some apples pretty soon, so my plan is to make homemade apple sauce. I also found an apple pie mix that can be canned, so I plan on trying that, too. I found both of those recipes in the Ball Canning Book.
I bought more jars over the weekend, so I am fully prepared. Two things I realized this last week were the need for a funnel and jar tongs. I used regular tongs and an oven glove and burned myself more times than I care to admit. I also slopped a lot on my stove because I didn’t have a funnel. Just a word of advice, but I’m learning, right?
I’m hoping for some rain, so I can get out and pull a few weeds and start pulling up the dead plants in the garden. I think it’s about time to start digging potatoes as the plants look like they’re starting to die out. I’m also getting quite a slew of tomatoes and jalapenos, so I bought some cilantro this weekend and I’m ready to make salsa or pico.
Until next time, happy gardening!
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