Getting acquainted with my new 'toys'!

Part of country life is preserving your harvest.

Last year was my first making jams and canning my garden produce.

I made strawberry jam, grape and pomegranate jelly, pickles, relish, salsa and canned tomatoes.

I got quite comfortable using my water bath canner and decided it was time to move ahead with other methods.  For Christmas I asked for, and received, a food dehydrator.

Here it is with my first attempt at dehydrating pineapple, apple and banana.

 

The banana's came out brown and not looking very appetizing. The apples turned out well, and the pineapple turned out amazing! Little Country Girl has requested dehydrated pineapple again and so I have since made another batch.  I think I'd also like to try making beef jerky and fruit roll ups in the future, and it will be great for drying herbs from the garden.

Another item I wanted to add to my arsenal was a pressure canner.

While I did not get one of those for Christmas, I did receive money that I used to purchase one.

Here is my new Presto 23 quart pressure canner!

I've got to admit I was more than a little intimidated by the whole idea, so I got it out of the box and read the booklet that was included. They suggested pouring 4 cups of water into the canner and following instructions to help understand it's operation. So that's exactly what I just did!

Now that I feel better about the whole process, I can't wait to can something!

 Who knew just boiling some water could inspire me so much?