The arrival of autumn always makes me a little nostalgic for summer, but there are things I love about it, too. The crisp morning air, the fall colour—which we get a taste of, even here in the Pacific Northwest—but most of all I love fall produce. Apples are ripening on the trees, pumpkin patches are bright orange, and the farmers’ markets are brimming with cabbages and corn.
This year my daughter and I decided to try our hand at canning tomatoes. Those are the only things I buy in cans—everything else we eat is fresh and made from scratch—but as a two-time cancer survivor I’m becoming increasingly concerned about the carcinogenic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) found in the lining of almost all food cans.
So last weekend I purchased 35 pounds of tomatoes from a local organic farmer, borrowed my neighbor’s canning pot, bought two dozen jars with lids and rings, and looked up “how to can tomatoes” on the Internet. The
printable PDF file on this site is easy to follow and includes great illustrations.
On Sunday afternoon my daughter and I rolled up our sleeves and got to work. The job turned out to be a lot less work and a lot more fun than we expected. Three hours later we were admiring the fruits of our labor—sixteen quarts of tomatoes, chemical free and no salt added.
The only thing we couldn’t figure out was why on earth we weren’t doing this years ago.
Do you have a fall favorite? What about canning tips? Please share!
Until next time,
Lee
The Christmas Secret
November 1, 2011
www.leemckenzie.com
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