It's In the Can

For the first time in a couple of years, there will be NO Disney princess running around our house for Halloween. That's because Dev chose a "Bat Witch" as her costume!  She seems thrilled with it & I'm glad we have a "warm" costume...I think we're going to need it next week.

We had a great report card and conference from her 1st months at school.  Apparently, someone has blossomed into quite the social butterfly.  Our only concern is that she's getting enough work done in the mornings.  Her teacher says she's very content to chat, write stories and color....flitting about the room with all her friends.  Although I'm glad to hear she's coming out of her shell a bit, we're refocusing her efforts in the morning towards more meaningful school work.


 

They say there's a first time for everything and this week was my first time canning.  I read Pioneer Woman's Advice and called my Mother-In-Law to see what she thought.  Turns out Pioneer Woman uses the basic "Ball" recipe, as does my MIL.  It took me about a week to gather everything I needed and I waited for the first cold, rainy day.  Turns out that day was yesterday!

See.  I was ready!!!



Overall, it was very easy and a lot of fun to make.  I most enjoy baking because of its' science-like qualities and canning is very similar.  At the last second, I read in the "Ball Bible" that it's important to measure the dry ingredients (sugar) exactly.  Sure enough, I had almost a 1/2 cup too much.

I think mashing up the strawberries was my favorite part.  I'm going to make another batch this weekend with Devin home, so she can see how much fun it is.




All fires burning!  The cold day made it nice to stand by the stove all morning.


Finished product!  I made 8 jars and had some extra for the fridge.  It tastes AMAZING!  There's no comparison to this and say, Smuckers.  This morning, I checked all the lids and they are concave and not popping or moving.  SUCCESS!  I did forget one step, to scrape off the jelly "scum" after boiling.  I guess I didn't see much of it, so I forgot.



So, I'm off to Costco ASAP to get more strawberries and hopefully some peaches.  These little jars will be perfect for our school Bake and Craft Sale in November.