Summer Canning like my momma

I remember my mother canning when I was a kid.  I remember her up at the crack of dawn and working in the hot kitchen all day.  Jar after jar lined up on the kitchen countertops.  I would hear the whistling of the canner, and the clinging of glass jars being washed in the kitchen sink.  I remember her sitting at the kitchen table trimming veggies and drinking sweetened sun tea with lots of ice.  She sent us three kids outside to play so we wouldn't be in her way or get hurt.  

We lived on a farm with cows, pigs, turkeys and some chickens.  We would go outside all day and play in the grass, on the swingset and then when it got hot, later in the day, we'd play with the water hose.

I now find myself sending the boys out to play or to their room to play with legos so my hubby and I can can.  He did most of it at first.  I was terrified of the canner.  My mother had some jars of tomatoes explode once.  There were tomatoes everywhere in the kitchen.  Luckily no one was hurt. ;)

I got over my fear as I watched my hubby last summer do the canning.  That was our first year so we didn't get much done.  We froze most of our tomatoes and beans.  

This year we have loads of yellow wax beans coming......and coming......and coming.  We just finished our 42 quart jars of them today. 





When I say finished, I mean finished for the day.  We have tons more to do.  When those are all picked, we'll till the garden and there will be time left this summer to plant another load.  We mainly harvest beans, cucumbers (for pickling), tomatoes, corn and sugar snap peas.

I never thought I'd be doing this.  As a teenager, I couldn't wait to get out on my own and move to the city.  Well, I've lived in the city ....... I wanted out!  So I found myself back in the country, canning....just like my momma did.