Jars!

Yesterday morning Gus and I drove down to my folks' place and proceeded to spend 2 full days preserving food. My mother has a bizarrely abundant garden that is overflowing with strawberries, green beans, squash, beets, and much much more.

We started with a trip to Fairsing Vineyard where we picked the most blackberries that I have ever seen in one place. After several hours my father actually had to count to three and say "everyone, put your last berry in your bucket, we're done." I was also attacked by a yellow jacket who stung me in an indecent location.

Blackberries becoming jam:

We then proceeded to pickle lots of roasted beets. These are the "refrigerator" version which are meant to be eaten within a couple of months. We also made a different recipe for long term storage. So curious, it is very possible that they will taste horribly.

The final count:

12 jars of blackberry jam (various sizes)

6 jars of dilly beans

6 quart jars of pickled beets (2 different recipes)

My mom also sent us home with a bowl of strawberries, 3 squash, frozen carrots, frozen roasted beets, and frozen green beans.