I have been a canning FOOL this fall. Cooking and cleaning are not things that I would consider domestic.....just regular, everyday stuff. But canning, preserving your freshly grown veggies. That, in my mind is domestic. I love having a garden. Although the constant battle with the weeds usually ends in me ignoring the garden for the later half of the summer paying only enough attention to keep it watered and take what I want from it. But I am always frustrated by how much ends up going to waste...back into the ground. Because a household of 2 can only eat so many peas, beans, squash, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, carrots............you get what I mean. I am making it my goal to conquer the preservation of more and more of the veggies each year until someday maybe there won't be as much waste. Either that or I will dedicate the entire thing to garlic, shallots and onion since they don't take much work at the end of the year. But if you have seen out garden you know that I would then produce more of those items than we could eat in a year. Some of the earlier veggies were picked and prepared but never made it to preservation this year. So sorry little beans and peas....I had good intentions.
I did manage to make tons and tons of apple sauce and apple pie filling (the apples were fresh but not from our trees...those are always stolen by the bears before I get to them),
blackrazz jam (berried from the truck in the parking lot), canned diced tomatoes (from our garden and my brothers), the onions are downstairs curing and the carrots are ready to be picked anytime and will be blanched and frozen for winter enjoyment (that is the plan anyway). I just planed garlic and shallots tonight for next year. Following my Uncles
Jamies gardening advice, he has two greenhouses and a big garden so when he tells me to do something I usually listen. We did lose quite a few tomatoes and all of our
tomatillos (first year growing them) to frost because I was trying to eek out every last day I could and then got lazy
even though I heard it was supposed to freeze. Next year to goal is to get the peas and beans in the freezer the day I pick them, otherwise they are destined to sit for weeks in the
refrigerator until I throw them away and get the tomatoes inside more quickly. I also need to make sure that we eat all of the stuff that I have canned and that it is not out of sight, out of mind on the shelves in the basement.
diced canned tomatoes
Root vegetables are now my new best friend. They are hearty, resilient and most of them take no work at all and can be stored and used all year long. Granted the carrots take some work but they are soooo beautiful. I can't wait to eat our onions and I really can't wait for our garlic and shallots next year. I think I might try potatoes as well.....one more thing I can just dig up, wash off and store. 
And Marks is now ....'Closed for the season..reason..freezin!'
If baking had been part of the course I would have won for sure with my mini cheesecakes!!
