I am not one to strictly follow a recipe.  I rarely like to use true measurements.  I like to adjust as I go and learn along the way for what tastes best to me and my family.  I have learned that I don't have this liberty with canning.  There are acid levels and boiling times and more that need to be followed precisely to prevent spoilage.  I am not willing to let the hours of effort and work I put into canning go to waste just because I wanted to experiment!  (Not yet anyway.  Maybe some day...

I vividly remember the spicy dill pickles my Grandma Warburton canned every year.  I can taste the fake cinnamon apple rings my Grandma Baker canned every year.  I think I remember jams and a few other canned good, but nothing more specific than the make-me-pucker pickles and the zucchini  rings that were spiced and colored so you truly believed you were eating spiced apple rings at Christmas. 

Both of my grandmothers passed away in my early 20's.  I'm not sure why, but I was the grandchild c...

An unexpected surgery and lengthy recovery kept me out of my garden for a good portion of the summer.  My loving husband and boys got in the garden boxes to weed when I couldn't.  Garden experts @gardnhelp gave me advice on proper feeding/fertilizing of my tomato plants which grew large, but with little to no fruit.  I did what I could with limited physical activity and a schedule that never seemed to stop with family activities and work.

I admit I have had only small hope for the tomato plant...