holiday gift idea

Our garden didn't really do like we'd hoped this year. 

Also, I say that every year.

black raspberry jam

Have you seen the uber antique reality show "Pioneer Quest"? It was filmed in Canada in the early 2000s (See? It's practically vintage.), and the two couples chosen to participate had to live in the  middle of the Canadian prairie for a year, using only the tools and animals and clothes that would have been available in the mid-1800s. 

They built log cabins and learned how to plow a field with the help of two draft horses and canned venison and survived the coldest winter in 120 years by burning wood they split pretty much non-stop with their own two hands. 

Chris immediately decided we should re-up the show and started mentally rehearsing how he'd build a barn and where the chickens would stay and what to feed the cow and why hay wasn't enough to keep the horses from losing weight over the winter. 

I was just enthused he thought I could make it for a year living like a pioneer. Personally, the insane amount of mosquitoes, the poison ivy and the unending rain would have done me in about 30 seconds. I'd have been like those women you read about who went nuts living in their little shanties on the prairie and wandered off into blizzards with no coat, only to be found frozen to death months later. 

Yeah. I'm that girl. 

Since -- Lord willing -- we'll never star in a reality show that apparently didn't take off, canning is as close a second as I'll get. 

The ladies on Pioneer Quest canned meat and beans. I'm over here with blackberry jam -- blackberries courtesy of the neighbors -- and feeling pretty good about it. No one's asking me to stick diced partridge in a jar, and I'm not complaining about that. I didn't even have to split the neighbor's firewood for a winter in return for the berries. Winning!

Thanks to my mom's recipe, air conditioning, electricity to keep the stove nice and hot, and the Internet to remind me about headspace, our pantry is now filled with jam to sustain us during the long, hard winter. 

Or the winter where we'll sit in our warm house drinking hot coffee, not worrying a bit if the pig will survive the freezing weather or when the outhouse seat will thaw. 

We've got it pretty good after all, haven't we? 

Agreed. 

Black Raspberry Jam

5 cups prepared fruit (buy about 2 quarts fully ripe black raspberries)

1 box fruit pectin

1/2 tsp. butter

6 1/2 cups sugar

Bring canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready for use. 

Crush black raspberries thoroughly, one layer at a time. Strain half of pulp to remove some of the seeds, if desired. Measure 5 cups prepared fruit into 6-8 quart sauce pot. 

Stir pectin into prepared fruit in sauce pot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off any foam with a metal spoon. 

Ladle into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with lids. Screw bands tightly and place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner so that water covers jars by 1-2 inches. Cover. Bring water to a gentle boil. Process 10 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool. After jars have cooled, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary. 

zucchini relish - ball canning

There was one day every summer, when my mom was canning pickles, that the entire kitchen would reek of vinegar. 

Some people might use the verb "smell." But not me. No, I would definitely say it "reeked." 

As in, do you remember the green fog of death in the Ten Commandments movie? That was basically the smell of vinegar in the kitchen. 

I would even go so far as to forego meals for 24 hours not to have to enter the kitchen and smell that smell. And I love to eat. 

Obviously this had an impact on me, since I'm reliving it 25 years later. I can let things go. For real. Just apparently not that. Not that smell!

So when our garden exploded with zucchini, and I realized in the midst of canning Summer Bounty Zucchini Relish from the All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving that MY kitchen now smelled like vinegar, I had a little mom moment. It was like I'd finally arrived. Some day, my children, too, will hate the smell of a vinegary kitchen in the summertime. 

Sniffle. 

In the meantime, I burned a candle to counteract the smell (Hey, I never said I've grown to like it.) and made six times the size of a normal batch of relish and then stayed up until I heard the last jar lid ping.

(Is there a more beautiful sound? I say not.)

So, what have I learned during this smelly process? Don't let canning intimidate you. Find a way to use up that zucchini. Have tasty, homemade gifts to share with friends and family.

Oh. And wear a nose plug.

Summer Bounty Zucchini Relish

3 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 cups diced red, orange and yellow bell peppers
1/2 cup grated onion
2 T. Ball Salt for Pickling and Preserving
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
2 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seeds

Combine first 3 ingredients. Sprinkle with salt; cover with cold water. Let stand for 2 hours. Drain. Rinse. Drain again, pressing slightly to remove excess water.

Bring sugar and next 3 ingredients to a boil. Add drained veggies, and return to boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered 10 minutes.

Sadly hot relish into hot jar, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe jar rim. Center lid and apply band, adjusting to fingertip-tight. Place jar in boiling water bath, processing 10 minutes. Turn off heat. Remove lid, and let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool.