Canning!

We picked blueberries this week.

Audra picked 14 berries (exactly: she counted) and then declared that I should fill up her bucket while she ate her snack in the shade.  Adelia wandered the row and crammed blueberries into her mouth but not so much into her bucket.  She also wanted me to fill her bucket.  Isaias sat in the shade of the blueberry bushes and ate blueberries the.entire.time.  I did not look at him once without seeing his mouth full.  My stomach hurt just looking at him.  But he was also (somehow) a hearty picker, so I was grateful.  Isaac was hot (it was awfully warm) and picked about 1/5 of a bucket but insisted it was more like 1/3.  :)  Ella picked steadily and cheerfully the entire time and about matched my own picking speed.  She won't eat a one but she loves to pick!

Washed blueberries on the table

***

This morning I was in the garden early, picking green beans and rhubarb.

With the rhubarb, I canned some jam:
4 jars of Rhubarb-Lemon jam, using this recipe.
4 jars of Blueberry-Rhubarb jam, adapting the above recipe.

I've been diligently recording everything in our Garden Notebook this year- which will be SO helpful come next year!- and these jars will be added to what I've already preserved this summer, listed below:
14 jars of Strawberry freezer jam
10 jars of Strawberry-Rhubarb jam, canned
13 jars of Raspberry freezer jam
4 jars of Peach-Raspberry freezer jam
Still to come: more Rhubarb jam and Blackberry jam.  Mmm!

I also canned 4 quarts of Dilly Beans today, using my mother-in-law's recipe, below:

Dilly Beans

For each quart-sized jar:
4 cloves garlic
4 heads of dill
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Boil:
2 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups vinegar
2 T salt
*the above will cover 2 quarts of beans, so adjust accordingly

Pour over beans, process in canner for 10 min.

These were my Dilly Bean helpers:

Proud dill farmer, and adder of garlic and dill to jars

Snipper and overall canning assistant, which included encouragement whenever there was a stressful moment.

Oh! And last week we canned 9 pints of green beans.  (Much more to come, judging by our garden.)

Audra, proudly cutting beans (into itty-bitty sizes) ;)