Canning . . .

Canning. I am canning tomatoes today. A friend gave us tomatoes to can. The only problem I had with canning today - I looked in my cupboard for canning jars . . . I took them to PA! I have been reading about freezing tomatoes; so that's what I decided to do with them today. I'll let you know if I like to use frozen tomatoes in our soup.

My growing up years, this was a very important part of life. Canning. We spent hours picking and preparing both fruit and vegetables. We had a huge garden. My mom always said that we would never go hungry. We might not enjoy what was served but something tasty was on the table. Mom would stew tomatoes and we would put it on potatoes. We would make a gravy with the tomatoes. I have never made it again after I left home. I don't ever want to taste it again either. :-) Now I love stewed tomatoes, sometimes I have a real craving for them.

We would have rows and rows of canned product. I grumbled in those days! When I got married I told my mother that I had no intentions of canning. Soon after we got married she brought tomatoes to our apartment with some jars to help me get started. I did can what she brought to me that day but that's all I canned that summer.

My family would can our meat too. I must not have helped with this because I was in school. The Amish can meat in the winter because they don't have refrigeration. I only remember butchering a pig once. I know we must have butchered cows too but I don't remember anything about it.

Ed and I went off to Rhode Island a year after we were married; Ed attended Zion Bible Institute and I got a job. We were allowed to eat in the Bible School's cafeteria whenever we wanted too. (Or needed too). After the first year in Rhode Island, we went back to Transfer for the summer; Ed had taken a leave of absence from his job so he had a good job that summer. I started canning and canned whatever anyone would let me can and took it back to RI! We loved and ate everything we took back with us. We ate hamburgers and hot dogs so I would can hot peppers to help spice up the sandwiches. One batch I didn't wear gloves, I burned my hands badly! Yikes.