Canning

 

My friend Deb brought me some wild plum jam that her company had purchased from a local vendor for a dinner.  Just had some & it was yummy.  

Growing up on a ranch, wild plum jelly was a staple in our house.  We had wild plums that grew on a creek bed that ran through the property & we'd all go down & pick into 5 gallon buckets.  Mom would boil them down to juice & then mom would make tons of jam to last for the year.  I checked with the current owner of the property a few years ago to see if there were plums & I could go pick but he told me they had all dried up or he'd be happy to let me.  So sad.

I've canned a couple of things over the years.  I made regular plum jam with Costco plums a couple of years ago & made cherry jam for my friend Deb last year.  A few years ago I made corn relish which was delish.  It made about 8 jars each time & I gave most away but not everyone likes things like this anymore.  And I don't eat many things like that anymore either.

Deb made pickles a couple of years.  She grew the cucumbers & made jars & jars of pickles.  She gave me a couple of bread & butter pickles, my favorite.  I think I still have a jar in the pantry.  I actually love pickles & if there is one on my plate, I eat it first. But it seriously never occurs me to open the refrigerator & put one on my plate. 

I wish I lived in an era where I canned & pickeled but if I did I'd be overrun.  I am making a big effort to cook at home everyday but even with that I can't really eat that much canned food.   Last year, for some reason, I had a freezer full of corn.  And it took months to eat it all. Today I have 1 bag of Birdseye corn in my freezer.  

My dad had jelly at at lease 1 meal every day.  On toast,biscuits, cornbread.  That was dessert even if there happened to be another dessert.  Both he & mom grew up in an era where it was a true treat. 

I'm thinking about making corn relish again.  It was so good & now that I can make beans (see Father's Day post) that relish would be really good with my beans.