I’m not sure how much more I’m going to do, but I’ve been trying for the last week or so to take advantage of all the fresh produce and start preserving some.
Stored away for the winter, we currently have:
frozen green peppers (sliced and chopped)
frozen chopped cabbage
pickled beets
frozen corn
canned tomato juice/soup
frozen peach pie filling (frozen in pie plates, then taken out, and wrapped); enough for 3 pies
It’s a lot of work. On one hand, I feel very proud and satisfied. On the other hand, I feel humbled and ridiculous, as I know so many women are doing so much more.
Even if it is a smallish amount, I’m happy to do it. The product that we end up with is the highest quality, made with love in our own kitchen, using local produce, in small batches.
I bought the sweet corn from a stand downtown, 3 dozen. Jacob and Grace helped me shuck.
I boiled the ears for 4 minutes and let cool on towels.
Sarah had an ear of corn for a snack.
I cut the kernels off the cobs, and scraped out the sweet, milky juices with the edge of my knife.
Grace helped me add melted butter to coat.
We ended up with four quarts of frozen corn.
We’re eating lots of corn on the cob with dinner lately. It is sooooooooooooooooooo delicious! I hope this frozen corn will taste just like it this winter. 
Carl (our gardening neighbor) brought me a bushel of tomatoes yesterday as I was working on the peach pie filling.
As soon as I got up this morning, I set to work making tomato sauce.
I tried to keep the little ones with me as much as possible, to keep them out of mischief. Seth helped me stir.
Sarah had a tomato with breakfast.
Hours and hours of chopping, boiling, straining, and boiling later, I ended up with 5 quarts of thin tomato sauce…useful for soup, recipes, or for cooking down for spaghetti sauce.
I also roasted a tray of tomatoes. I halved them, put fresh garlic and dried basil on top of each, salted and peppered, and drizzled with olive oil.
Roasted in a 400 degree oven until done.
Can I say? Absolutely superb. Velvety, intense, served on sour dough toast.
I wasn’t 100% successful in keeping children out of mischief.
Sarah got into the nail polish and I found her sitting on the children’s play table, painting her nails!
She said, “I painted my foot, and I painted my fingernail!” Thank goodness it was only the clear glittery kind and not red!
Good to be Home 
yay for you putting up so much produce. It’s a lot of work but you’re going to enjoy it later. Very few people can or put up veggies down here, maybe because we never have much over abundance due to the weather?
yummy, what wonderful food you are storing up. It all looks so delicious. It is fun to hear how much Sarah is talking now.
So fun! I have corn, peppers, peaches, and tomatoes as well. Feels so Tasha right? Love the idea of how you did the corn, I just blanched and froze.
I was so limited this summer for time, so I don’t have much done by way canning/freezing. Still have stuff from last year though. I love going to the freezer/fruit cellar and getting produce from the summer!! Your stuff looks great.Like how you say you kept the littles with you to keep them out of trouble….I do that too….LOL.
Don’t you dare feel ridiculous!!! That’s is some amazing work and like you said… Made with love and of good quality. Inspiring
Good for you!! It will feel so wonderful when you pull out these things in the winter. Way to go! I am starting to preserve this year, too, and I’m learning you just have to go little by little, one thing at a time. I have made tomato sauce twice, and have enough tomatoes again. Yes, it is SO much work to make sauce, but I think it will be worth it because we will use it a lot. Also, I LOVE the way you did your peach pie filling!! Would you be willing to share a how-to?
Everything looks luscious ~
Looks delicious! I have been considering starting to do some canning for food storage. I just need to invest in the tools to start. Oh yeah… and learn how!
We have a local farmer that plants a portion of his land with corn and offers it for free to whomever wants it. What a blessing!!!
You certainly know how to can/freeze some of your foods. I wonder if the color of the tomatoes (canned) will fade?I wrote a blog about a relative of tomato, the cherry tomato. I suppose you are more experienced with the large tomatoes?
The roasted tomatoes look wonderful!I have been canning and freezing too~ Oy but it is work!
hi shanda…….it’s lots of work, but what a wonderful sense of satisfaction! i’ve been getting lots of tomatoes, cucs, and peppers from my garden in the last 2 weeks, so i’ve been trying to keep up with it all, too. your corn looks especially yummy!
Everything looks delicious good job. We are slow here as there isn’t a whole lot to do the gardens for the most part are dry and almost dead. Cried over the sweet potatoes today they were beautiful. We hope to have some rain this weekend. Praying so!
Your corn and tomatoes look delicious – and I love those little toes of Sarah’s.
It is a very satisfying feeling to do the canning and freezing. I used to do all that in my younger years. Now I try to keep life simpler. My oldest daughter is carrying on the tradition, though, and she inherited my canner and all my jars when we moved to Denmark. Have you ever heard of a Foley food mill? I had one, and it was so helpful for straining out the seeds and skins. I loved it for homemade applesauce. I just washed, quartered and cooked the apples and then cranked the resulting goop through the food mill. All the seeds, skin, stems were taken out! SO easy! I have also read that many of the important antioxidants in fruits and veggies are right under the skin, so it is good when you can NOT to peel stuff. Anyway, I love the pics of your produce all lined up. Plums are also easy to can. You just prick them with a fork, pour hot syrup over them, and process them. They look so pretty in the jars, too! Too bad my family didn’t like them! LOL!
yummy!! I love fresh sweet corn. 🙂 it all looks delish!
time has passed by quickly! I remember reading your blog when you lil’ sarah was still in your womb. She’s more beautiful day after day.
i LOVE canning and preserving! but, this year, i have taken a break from it. with little Kate, i just decided it would be too much for me to handle, and i would miss out on moment when i could be snuggling my baby…oh, but seeing these beautiful pictures almost gives me the urge to try anyhow! 😉 no, next year, i can get back into it.and, you should definitely feel accomplished and satisfied in this labor of you hands!!have a great weekend, friend!♥