Canning With A Two Year Old

Our garden has been quite productive lately. This weekend are old former neighbors let us harvest pears from their tree...it's an annual tradition. So with just under a gallon of tomatoes coming in each day why not throw in 36 pounds of pears. We are extremely grateful and extremely busy.

Did I mention we have....
a two year old?
A two year old boy?
A two year old boy with red hair?
A two year old boy with red hair in love with tractors?



Alright, now that we've established that, let's start canning. Today we started with our first load of pears for the day. Pealing 12 pounds of pears can make you a little, um, tired. Especially when you've already done 12 pounds the day before including a full 7 quarts of spaghetti sauce. (I'm using this as a disclaimer for  the following events)

When you decide to sit at the kitchen table to peal your pears guess what happens....everyone wants to sit at the table with you...(I heart kids)...So what happens when the two year old of the group wants to invade personal space to see what's going on? Yep, you guessed it, drool in the fruit fresh prep bowl. So mommy goes to make a new batch of fruit fresh and get back to work.

I've explained my outdoor canning area. Well it can get complicated. You see you need to move what you've prepared inside..well to your outside canning area. This means for brief periods I am ...outside. So what happens when you walk outside with a two year old inside? Yep, you guessed it, he gets the butcher knife to play with. But don't worry he was fine..as for mommy? She's taking down her Mommy of The Year Award.

So back to the outdoor canning area. So now said two year old son is positioned strategically in the "canning area". So what happens when he goes to examine the propane tank intake cap? Yep, you guessed it, he drops into the operating stove with two burners blazing. Mommy was able to retrieve the cap with her handy tongs that she also used to hold her Mommy of The Year Award over the open flame.

So that's pretty much what it's like to can with a two year old...it's pretty simple really.

Can Can Can

I've had a few friends ask me about canning. I really enjoy it, right now without kids, but I'm so looking forward to when they are older and can help out. There is just something about grabbing food from your yard and preserving it.






Last year I had fun making some pear preserves. The pears came from Jonathan's cousin's tree and the girls helped pick them. I love knowing the history of my food. That was a fun day too.








 So last summer/fall I did all of my canning inside our house. This summer we are in a small family house and it has been in the high 90's to 100's and the A/C is struggling. So we have a new set up.

This is just heaven! (I know it's sad) I had forgotten how much I like cooking on gas. It has three burners and can heat up the canners in no time.


I've even been able to run two canners at the same time!! Yeah, I'm pretty pathetic. I get a little too excited about this stuff.


I highly recommend setting up an outdoor kitchen. I'm looking forward to being able to have a nice set up with a water supply in the near future.


And if you're wondering, we still haven't heard anything on the property. Still praying and battling my hopes getting to far up.

Homemade Prego Spaghetti Sauce

Excellent result with this recipe and it tastes just like my favorite Prego!

4 T. olive oil
2 large minced garlic cloves
1 onion, very finely chopped
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. salt
7 cups chopped fresh from the garden tomatoes  (or 56 oz. canned crushed toms)
1 (28 oz.) can tomato paste
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Heat oil over medium low heat. Add garlic. Stir and cook until golden brown. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add onion and cook until soft and golden, stirring frequently. Add seasonings and tomatoes. Slowly bring to a boil on medium high heat. Let boil for 10 minutes, covered. Reduce to lowest heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.


Yield: 12 cups or 3 quarts canned

Canning: Fill hot sauce in hot jars and process in pressure canner for 25 minutes.

Note: I simmered my fresh tomatoes for 20 minutes but I'm not sure it would matter especially if you are canning the sauce as well.