Canning Time!

Fruits and vegetables at their peak means it's canning time. Preserving food has always been an important ingredient in the self sufficient lifestyle and in recent years is enjoying a resurgence. Turning backs on commercially processed foods concerned citizens are opting for the more wholesome choice of putting up their own canned goods.

Asparagus from Newcastle Fruit and Produce

At my local fruit stand, Newcastle Fruit and Produce, I purchased the last of the Yakima grown asparagus. One of our favorite recipes is for Pickled Asparagus and I can hardly keep jars on the shelf! This year we used a new recipe from the Ball book, "Complete Book of Home Preserving". I prefer the recipe given to me by my good friend, Barb from Yakima, but I seemed to have misplaced it so we were forced to try this one. They turned out good, just not as crisp as I like. 

On the same trip to the fruit stand I also purchase giant ripe mangos, 4 for $3. When my husband saw them he immediately got out our book and showed me the recipe for Mango Chutney...we went back to the fruit stand for more mangos so we could double the recipe (12 jars instead of 6) and set about the process.

Mango, onion, golden raisins, lemon, lime, cilantro and spices combine to make an incredibly sweet/sour and savory chutney with just a little heat from fresh ground ginger and crushed pepper flakes. 

In time we will be using our own homegrown fruits and veggies along with foraged fruits to build our larder of preserves but for now we are supporting our local farmer's markets to get us started. 

I have prepared a storage area in our wine cellar to show off the beautiful fruits of our labors. This past winter I took a trip to Second Use Salvage in South Park to look for a way to make a unique storage unit and this is what I found.

I cleaned it up and framed it in just as you would a regular window in a wall, only with screws to ensure it could hold the weight of many jars of preserves.

I then added trim painted with copper paint and a mocha wash then topped the design off with Italian pulls. 

Soon my cabinet will be bursting and I'll need to create a new space. Do you have a creative solution? Send me your ideas!