the story of how i DID NOT MEAN to can 38 quarts of peaches

this is the story 

of the 38 quarts of peaches 

i didn't mean to can.

here it goes...

our peaches ripened on our tree.

all 5 of them.

{thank you frost.}

sean said brigham city peaches and peach stand.

and i said two boxes, 

unless you can help me with an extra box for the peach raspberry jam?

this is what i said to him when he called from the peach stand.

and he was all "yeah! of course!"

{famous last words}

we like to can together you see.

so he bought three cups of raspberries too.

i was SO excited.

long story short,

sean went to take a nap to get rid of his headache,

{usually this requires ibu profien, a coke, and an hour snooze}

so i said i'd get started doing all of the prep work while he took care of his headache.

next thing i knew,

sean was barfing,

having hot and cold flashes,

body aches,

and i had three boxes of peaches we actually PAID for 

that had already been skinned, pitted, and halved.

and 4 kids at home on a sunday.

with a breastfeeding newborn.

it was either can them by myself or throw them all away.

i just wanted to cry,

but instead i put my shoulder to the wheel,

and let my kids watch movies for the rest of the day.

it wasn't pretty.

and at one point when dean didn't want to go to bed for the night i considered waking my neighbor andrea up in the middle of the night to help.

i did not, and dean finally fell asleep in the swing.

around midnight sean woke up for a gatorade and some nyquil,

and maybe i made him a piece of toast???

i can't remember...

38 quarts later at 1:30am i never wanted to see another peach in my whole entire life.

i'm sure glad i have them now,

all happily stacked downstairs in the cold storage by the water heater,

but i don't EVER want them to happen like that EVER again.

ahhhh!!!!

...

i give you,

my peach recipe,

courtesy of my neighbor julie who taught me how;)

the pictures make me laugh! 

notes: i don't make the syrup. i boil a pot of water and put 1/8c sugar {bc i don't really see why it needs any sugar really, but julie said to so i did} 

with 1/2tbls fruit fresh in each quart {so they don't turn brown in the bottles over the winter}, 

stack it with the peaches, and THEN ladle in boiling water to the half inch head space line.

no mess. you're welcome. also, process an extra 10 minutes for utah altitude.

canning "how to" here 

if you want to learn the ins and outs.

there's only one rule to canning.

the the is: FOLLOW THE RULES. 

TO THE T.

that's the only rule;)

the end.

i will go and do the things which the raspberry jam hath commanded. {pectin free canning recipe!}

once upon a time i tried a jam recipe that didn't call for pectin 

because i liked the picture on the pinterest pin for that recipe the best.

i am a marketers dream come true i tell you.

they had me a "free labels" basically.

also, despite having two freezers, 

the thought of making room 

or dedicating room to jam in plastic jam jars 

which might i add, i do NOT own, 

just overwhelms me.

anything to not have to leave my house folks.

ANYTHING.

this is why the freezer jam was nixed.

and so i sweat out the anxiety of not knowing 

if i was wasting 10 cups of fresh raspberries from costco 

on my stove this afternoon. 

i bottled them up,

processed them,

found their wrath on my shirt and in my hair, as every good canner does,

and then i waited.

and guys,

IT WORKED:)

raspberry jam recipe

{pectin free & for canning}

ingredients:

10 cups ripe raspberries

5 cups sugar 

{let's throw on a bonus cup of sugar here, 

and make it 6 cups of sugar or 7. whichever. 

just for those of us that are daring with our sweet teeth. 

yes, yes we should. But you go ahead and decide. 

i won't judge either way.}

directions:

{get your jars, rings, and water bath warming}

{click HERE for a canning "how to"}

1. 10 cups raspberries into pot, smash with potato masher.

2. add 5 cups sugar. mix well.

3. heat on high heat for 5 minutes. then heat on medium heat for another 30 minutes, 

stirring constantly.

put a netflix show on your phone, call your mom or your grandma,

but see here,

don't stop stirring that pot for more than a minute or two 

or it will burn and cake the bottom.

4. fill your jars, wipe your lids, put your lids and rings on, and process in a water bath for 15 minutes at sea level, 

and 25 minutes for those of us who like our air 

a little bit more thin out here in utah.

so basically tomorrow i'm going to drive to my friend's house to pick all of her raspberries,

as clearly i will go broke buying them from costco at this 10 cups for 3 pints rate.

nevertheless,

i will go and do the things which the raspberry jam hath commanded!

also, learn to spell rasberry raspberry.

amen.

{click here for the original pinterest recipe and "free labels" that had me at hello.}

sometimes nostalgia just isn't practical {PEACH SALSA RECIPE!!!}

canned peach salsa!

{you can make this without the vinegar and eat within 3 days if you don't want to can it.}

INGREDIENTS

7 cups ripe {but not over-ripe} peaches, peeled, diced, and set in colander to drain

1 1/4 cup red onion, diced

4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, loosely packed and chopped

1/2 cup white vinegar

2tbls honey

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. cop and prepare all ingredients.

2. combine them in large cooking pot, set aside.

3. bring your canner to almost boiling 

{pour a 1/4 cup vinegar in your canning bath water 

so your jars come out squeaky clean}, 

get your jars and rings hot, lids ready.

CLICK HERE for a more detailed canning HOW TO.

4. bring the salsa to a boil, then turn the heat back and let simmer for 3-5 minutes, no longer {don't want your peaches to get mushy and over cooked}.

5. set your hot jars out now, transfer salsa to hot jars, wipe rims, place lids and rings on.

6. process in a boiling hot water bath for 10 minutes {you can add 10 min. for salt lake county elevation or wherever you are if you want to be a rule follower, BUT i decided not to last year so my peaches wouldn't get mushy, and i didn't have any problems with sealing and storing. proceed at your own risk:)}

yields 4-5 pints.

**this recipe has quite the punch in the heat department, 

so if you want is less hot, back off of the cumin and jalapenos.**

and how do i chop all of those onions in peace you ask?

the way i have for last 6 years.

GOGGLES:)

.

.

.

.

.

i KNOW i'm not alone.

goggles courtesy of my high school swim team.

it appears my face has grown though,

because they pinch my nose more than they used to.

so totally worth it.

pain is gain.

pain is gain.

except next time,

i'm just going to get my grown up goggles out.

because

sometimes nostalgia just isn't practical.

SALSA CANNING RECIPE {no peeling necessary}

 SALSA CANNING RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

8 cups very ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped 

{do NOT peel or seed the tomatoes!--this is the BEST part of this recipe.

SAVES you steps, and gets your salsa going faster.}

2 1/2 cups yellow onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups mild green Anaheim-type peppers, chopped

1 cup jalapeno peppers, minced

6 garlic cloves, chopped

2 1/2 tsp cumin {1tsp if you don't like spicy}

2tsp black pepper

2tbls canning salt {also called pickling salt--no iodine}

1/3 cup white vinegar

15 oz tomato sauce

12 oz tomato paste

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. you can hand chop everything as directed above OR you can use a higher quality blender. we have a ninja, and that it was we do to save on time. if you want a chunky CHUNKY salsa, do hand chopping. 

if you don't mind a medium chunk then make things easier for yourself and USE YOUR BLENDER:).

2. if you are USING YOUR BLENDER the key is to layer things in the right order so that it doesn't end up in a pure liquid, unless you want a pure liquid salsa, and then it doesn't matter.

ONIONS

ANAHEIM PEPPERS

JALAPENOS

TOMATOES

{i recommend hand chopping the garlic 

b/c it just doesn't get chopped up well when you're pulsing the salsa.}

**if it doesn't all fit in one blender you can split it up, 

layering each time, 

or just do one layered batch of everything, 

and one of just tomatoes, 

pulsing less with the tomatoes b/c they are do delicate and "mush" faster.**

3. in a NON-ALUMINUM pot, mix everything together except for the lime juice and cilantro.

4. bring the mixture to a boil. continue boiling 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro.

6. fill six pint jars {or your choice of jars} with hot mixture 

{i prefer wide mouth pint jars for my salsa making}.

7. wipe rims and add lids and screw-bands.

8. process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes if you're doing pints,

or 25 minutes if you're doing quarts. 

{add 10 min. to either time if you live in utah for elevation.

for example: i process my pints for 25 minutes and my quarts for 35 minutes

click here for an elevation guide}.

{make sure the boiling water is deep enough to cover the jars by 

at least ONE INCH, and start timing when the water starts boiling after adding the jars.}

Click HERE for a CANNING "HOW TO"!

24 pints under our belt.

we want some more, we want some more!

my canning buddy is my favorite part.

church clothes, gloves, and all.

such a champ.

:):):)

applesauce {red hots}

i stayed in my pajamas the entire day today.

in fact, 

right now i am sitting here typing this in my pajamas.

however, 

have no fear,

i will be changing into a clean pair of underwear 

AND pajamas before i hop into bed tonight.

there are some lines i just won't cross,

bahahahaha.

we tried to watch conference all day, 

but i just don't get to pay as close of attention to it as i'd like.

despite the chaos of my kids i was still so very uplifted by so many of the speakers.

my favorite talk was by president uchtdorf,

who reminded us to slow down and not wear our "busy-ness" on our arms like a badge of honor. 

i spent 5 minutes during the opening song 

drawing little ties and ladies in shirts on a paper for brennan and max. 

in the hopes that they would color the tie or shirt of the person speaking.

it lasted for about 5 minutes before they were up and crazy again, 

so i guess it was good that i only spent 5 minutes making them.

tonight i nursed chase before i put him to bed.

my entire house smelled of applesauce cooking.

deep, rich, and sweet.

YUM.

this year i actually know how to can, 

as opposed to last year.

when i had no clue:)

we had our traditional scones and raspberry butter with hot chocolate for breakfast.

ran the kids around outside between sessions.

and cooked applesauce brewing in pots on my stove all afternoon.

it was an event!

my house has never smelled so delicious.

we let the kids help peel and core the apples.

an adventure to say the least.

brennan started.

then max pushed him off of his stool.

he yelled.

she screamed.

they agreed to do it "together."

which meant max pushed brennan off of his stool,

and it all started over again.

i convinced brennan to play on the computer while max had a turn,

then she got her feelings hurt AGAIN b/c the apple wasn't on right,

and thus wasn't peeling,

so i told her to wait a minute for me to get it on straight again.

she ended up stomping away, arms folded, 

yelling, "i mad at you mom!"

and i was left all alone peeling apples.

it was quiet for 5 minutes, and then brennan was back.

sean took over helping him,

and i took a seat on the other side of the counter and watched.

it was so cute.

brennan lasted almost 20 minutes with sean before we told him we were "done" and lured him back to the computer.

his poor little arms and hands were giving out.

the mind was willing, but the body wasn't able.

he told us he "wuvs apples this way."

i was beaming with happiness about all of it.

and couldn't get over how beautiful a peeled apple looks.

spiraling 'round and 'round like a good old fashioned slinky.

6 hours later, and i can hear my applesauce singing to me from behind,

pop!

pop! pop! pop!

pop!

pop!

pop! pop!

pop!

pop!

10 little red beauties all sealed up.

happy happy joy joy!

part 2 of our conference weekend tomorrow.

you won't want to miss it.

starring chase,

for your comedy relief.

{hint: 3rd time is HIS charm, not the charm.}