Rainy Days mean Canning

In mid-summer, it is really nice to have a cool day, dripping rain off & on, where you can heat up the kitchen a little and get some canning done. I'm heading to the farmers market this afternoon, and before I add more peaches to the freezer I decided that I needed to clear out more of that stored fruit. So this morning, I started off by making a batch of plum preserves. I love making preserves, no need to chop into small pieces, oh no, just stick the halved & pitted plums in the pot with a bunch of sugar and a little lemon juice, and cook away until it gets all thick and sticky. And then I decided that I really did need to make cranberry sauce, my most favorite condiment of all time, in quantity to have on hand. So I made a bunch of that too, with it's wonderful scents of cinnamon and dried orange peel. I wound up with five half-pints of plum preserves, and 6 pints of cranberry sauce. The basil was getting unruly, so I gave it a good hair cut and made a giant batch of basil. Giant enough that I got three quart-sized freezer bags full! I love putting up food. It will be wonderful to open jars or defrost baggies, and enjoy summer freshness while the snow flakes fall...