Canning and other stuff

I have been thinking about my grandmother a lot lately. She was a farm wife and she canned - I am told right up to the year she died. Anytime she was in the kitchen she was singing. She was such an amazing lady - one of my biggest regrets in life is that I lost her in the divorce of my parents as she was my father's mother. When my son was 2 we went to visit her so that he could meet his great-grandparents on that side of the family. She was a woman who lived grace and love. She was so happy as that year was the year that she had been married longer to her second husband than her first (who passed away before I was born) and the looks of love that passed between them made me hope for that kind of love when my husband and I reach our late 70s. I had a beautiful opportunity to build relationship with her as an adult, however life was just so busy and I never made the time - how I wish that I had. I am blessed to have the memories of her that I do, and with the grace that she walked in, I know she forgives me.


I have never really been one to do canning except the couple of years that I made salsa but this year I have spent time every weekend canning something or other. My darling husband had to build me shelves to hold it all and they will soon be full. Pickles and cherries and pickled carrots and salsa and tomatoes are all gracing these shelves and tonight my latest creation will be joining them. This one truly is my creation. I looked at a recipe to get ratios for the sugar, water and alcohol and for the timing but other than that everything is mine (my husband suggested the saskatoons and they really contribute a lot to the flavour).


My latest adventure this weekend is canned peaches with huckleberries and saskatoons. So yummy! I poached the fruit in a mixture of 1 part sugar, 1 part water and 1/4 part blueberry vodka (the alcohol cooks off), added some cinnamon (just enough to add flavour but not enough to be able to say it has it) and a splash of vanilla.

I kept some out for us to eat for desert last night and we poured it over vanilla ice cream - so good. The jars look really pretty too.