What I've Been Canning Lately.

First of all, thank you all for your great advice on my last post. I'm trying to use it in a way that works for me. Now, onto something new. Last week I got a lot of canning done. I felt like I was living with Anne of Green Gables helping Marilla make preserves or something. Actually though, I picked up 15 lbs. of pickling cucumbers from a local lady and 22 lbs. of peaches from the orchard. I had wanted to get more cukes, even though 15 lbs. is a lot of little cucumbers, it seems that we always go through them so quickly, but that was all she had. 

I used old recipes from a Sunset canning book my Aunties had given me circa 1983. The original copyright date was in the 70s. I couldn't find any new pickling recipes that didn't have some weird mumbo jumbo added to the recipe. I just wanted plain ol' pickles. I pickled some whole, some spears, and some chips. I made some with jalapenos for a friend who enjoys spicy things, and some with apple cider vinegar for variation. 

It's been so hot lately that I didn't feel like picking my own peaches so I just bought a box of them from the orchard instead. I'm going to do it again in a few weeks when a new variety of peach is ready. 

I canned some peach halves in sauce, next time I'll know that I can fit more in the jar by squishing them down a little. This was my first time. Instead of going with a really sugar heavy sauce I substituted a lot of the sugar content for honey. I hope it turns out well. The jar on the right contains what was supposed to be peach jam but it wasn't cooking down correctly so I opted for peachsauce instead, like applesauce but with peaches. It's so good!