Fruits of summer

Growing up, my family always grew a humongous garden.  We enjoyed family dinners full of fresh vegetables every evening in the summer.  I remember watching my mom spend countless hours above the stove stirring, peeling, blanching, and pickling various fruits and veggies to can them.  She has always kept a very impressive food storage, full of home- canned goodies.

The past few weeks I've spent an enormous amount of time trying my hand out at this time-old tradition that my mother so dearly loves.  I have to say - It's a lot of work!  But very rewarding.  I canned raspberry and sweet cherry jam.  I think I was spoiled growing up with homemade jam readily available, because I cannot stand the store-bought junk.   I definitely have a new appreciation for the time and energy that my mom put into each one of those lovely little bottles.  I tenderly cared for each little fruit from the beginning: picking them ripe off the tree/bush, washing, mashing/blending, cooking down with sugar, bottling, sealing in a water-bath, and finally now enjoying the fruits of my labor.  Delicious!!