Not about biking

There's something about ditching our car that makes me feel very self-sufficient. I always ride around thinking how well prepared we'll be for the upcoming zombie apocalypse or fuel shortage, whichever comes first. Moving around town on our own power is so freeing. Lugging around a couple kids is a great workout. I'd like to see those roadies try and haul a 5 gallon water cooler on their carbon bike (ala Emily Finch). However, I digress, I wanted a post that wasn't about biking. Instead, it's about canning. 

I've had a pressure canner sitting in my closet for about three years now. It scared me. I've done water bath canning for jams and jellies but the thought of deadly botulism and explosions has kept me from giving more exciting recipes a try. Thankfully, I've got an amazing friend who also had an unused canner and was willing to hold my hand through the process (I love puns) of learning how to can together. 

Here is 14-quarts worth of vegetable soup.

Now the soup is processing.

Finished products!

Although we were up until about 3 am waiting for the pressure to drop and the jars to cool, this was an incredible feat for us! I feel like a new world of preserving food (and becoming even more self sufficient) has opened up for us. We had already quickly bathed local nectarines from the Farmer's Market in honey syrup earlier in the day (and they are delicious!)--that was easy peasy. This, however, was real veggie soup (meat was daunting for our first attempt) that will feed our family in the coming winter. It's a new way to save fresh foods for a nutritionally dense life. Next, we plan on trying chili and black beans. 

This is pineapple salsa with papaya but we could only find frozen, not fresh. It's a bit weird for my taste buds but the verdict is still out.