A Day In The Kitchen

I quite literally mean a day. A whole day. I was over at my aunt's house yesterday canning and juicing. Originally, our plan was to make salsa for me to take back to school, but that plan changed when a friend of ours gave us pounds and pounds of apples. So then we decided to make apple sauce and then take a stab at apple butter.
Okay, now that I have said that.... This is what we actually did:

• 13.5 pints of salsa
• 10 half pints of jam
• 4 pints applesauce
• 6 pints apple butter
• 5 quarts of various juices
• Large bowl of fresh salsa

PHEW! I am tired just reading that list.... ha ha. Needless to say, that couldn't have been a breeze. All  of that took us about 9 hours to tackle. When I got home I needed to sit down; my back hurt! Can you say 'old woman'? ... That's how I felt lol. But I do have to say, the hours upon hours was way worth it. Now I have fooooood to take back to school with me!

If you have the chance/opportunity to can fresh veggies (granted you or someone you know has a garden) then I say DO IT. It was wayyyyy cheaper and tastes wayyyyyy better than what you get at the grocery stores. Plus, if you do it with someone like I did, you get to spend time with someone you care about! :-)

Jars and jars of salsa!