This afternoon I took the 33rd jar of applesauce out of the canner, cleaned up the mess, and hung the "closed" sign on the canning season for 2007. Although I no longer can and freeze as much as I used to when the family was all at home, I am always glad when the season is over and I can do other things. Is canning and freezing food worth all the work?
I would not have to can and freeze a year's supply of food each summer, but store-bought products do not hold a candle to homemade. And it is so nice to have my own private supermarket in the basement. Cooking does not require much pre-planning with meat in the freezer, potatoes and vegetables from the garden, and jars of canned fruit on the shelves in the basement. A couple months of canning yields enough convenience foods for the rest of the year.
I've been pushing to finish canning this week because I will have guests in the house the next two weeks. Five Good cousins are coming to look at their Lancaster County roots which go back to the 1700s. I will be running hither and yon with them, digging for information and looking at the places related to their family history. This comes at a just the right time--after I finish canning and before I start the next fall project. I'm going to be on vacation right here at home for the next two weeks. I'll consider it my reward for the summer's employment--and as a bonus I get to eat the fruits of my labor until next summer. It's a win/win situation.
No comments:
Post a Comment