Peak in the Pantry

This morning I put away yesterday's canning work into our pantry.  I can't wait to fill up the rest of my shelves with more!  I love pics of pantries full of canning jars.  My sis has an Amish cookbook with a girl putting a jar onto a shelf just full of big jars.  It inspires me to work hard at canning the season's fresh produce to have year round.

My sister and her husband have a big garden.  During this time of year they are always very busy harvesting, canning, freezing, and whatever else goes into preserving food for the the winter season. They both work full time so the only real time they have to do a lot of work is on the weekend.  Which would explain why my sister invited me out to can on Labor day.

I was elated at just being able to help, learn a few things, and maybe bring home a few jars of tomatoes.  Much to my surprise when I got there she asked me what I wanted to do. I said.. "Well, I was just planning on helping you."  She said "We are canning for you today."  This blessed my heart more than she knows. I didn't know what to say!  They are so generous with their veggies. I wish we had something to give to them.  It is really humbling when others are so generous and  it is really inspiring to bless others in the same way.

Needless to say the above tomatoes under my relish are 12 beautiful cans of stewed tomatoes ready for all sorts of dishes for the coming cold season. What will my next canning adventure be?

Relishing in Relish!

Thanks to TammyLou over at All Recipes for this wonderful Cucumber Relish recipe! The official title is "The Best Relish I've ever Had"

Currently I am waiting on the last of my cans to pop to complete the canning process of this recipe. I could not wait to share this recipe with my readers.

I am really thankful that the canning process I used worked. My husband and I were given a big canning pot as a gift and we loved it, but were sorely disappointed when we read the label: "Do not use on glass or ceramic cook tops".

While preparing my things for canning the relish I went to get the pot only to remember our demise. So I needed to think resourcefully in order to make it work. Normally you are supposed to put space between the jars, but I decided to use my dutch oven and bring the jars to a boil in there. It worked out fine.

But we will need to wait until we are blessed with a gas stove one day to use this beauty: