This week’s focus is gardening and preserving.  I received a copy of Food In Jars to review and it’s all I can look at these days.  We’ve been enjoying a lot of rain in the past few weeks which means area gardens are full of goodness just waiting to be enjoyed!  Over the weekend I noticed that the tomatoes still on the plants at Lowe’s are already beginning to ripen.  Wow!  Mine are not quite there yet but I’m anticipating the loveliness very soon.  Having an abundance of garden goodness translates into the need for preserving the extra.  That’s why I want to share this great book with you.  Food In Jars is a treat for the imagination. I’ve been following the blog for months now. Author Marisa McClellan makes it all seem so easy, the preserving of foods in cute little glass containers. The book Food in Jars (available from Running Press Books) is even better. The photos are so bright and big that I almost wanted to modgepodge them into my pantry.

Food In Jars almost has me ready to take the plunge into home canning. Almost. There is a cost involved with canning, of course. I’m a whole-hog kind of girl. Before taking on this project I need to have all my tools laid out before me. Right now I have some jars (need lids,) tongs but not canning tongs, and a couple of stockpots. My stove is glass top which I have heard is not canner-friendly. Hmmm…. I think I might try to hit a few yard sales for some secondhand canning equipment.

Still, I am intimidated. I am a visual learner, but also get a second benefit from verbal teaching. I want to HEAR the lesson, see it in process. I am also afraid of giving my family botulism. Yeah, I know she said it won’t happen, but she doesn’t know how bad I can screw things up. I mean, I am the girl who has cirrhosis and I never drink alcohol.  So forgive me if I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat when it comes to trusting myself to put safe food on the shelf for up to a year.  But really, these recipes are enough to make a believer out of me.  I love that many of McClellan’s recipes are outside of the box.   We’re not talking about simple strawberry  jam here; instead, she busts out ideas like Blueberry Butter or Spicy Pickled Cauliflower to tempt my tastebuds.

If you’re an experienced home canner you’ll probably be more than comfortable trying these recipes.  While I’m generally a proponent of getting books from the local library for free, this is a book that I like having on my shelf (or out in the open so others can enjoy it, too.)  As far as the canning goes, I’m about to take the plunge.  A newbie likes me takes a little extra time to get used to the water bath, so to speak.  I’ll keep you informed on my canning status!!