Canning! Can I really?

So It has been an interesting summer for my family's garden. We always plant about a hundred tomato plants. Last year we got so many tomatoes that we didn't know what to do with them all. This year they had a rough start. We had to baby them and ended up replacing several plants before they seemed to finally be on their way. Now with it being several weeks into the usual tomato season and still no ripe tomatoes, I have set my sights on a new plan. I have moved away from Cache Valley and the family's garden. My mother always does my canning for me and I help her. This works well because she is the canning queen and just tells me what to do and I always get lots of nice jars of tomato juice, stewed tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce. This year however I have decided to relieve my mother of some of her canning burden (my portion of it), and attempt to do it myself. Part of this ambition was sparked by the fact the I have a way to get my hands on some fantastic tomatoes. Matt and I have been working at his Aunt and Uncle's produce stands for a couple of weeks now. It works out really well because they let me bring Steven and Matt gets to be a farmer (which he loves). So I can get some tomatoes for a good deal from them. I had my mom give me the breakdown of all the steps for canning, and I borrowed some of her supplies. The rest I am borrowing from my mother in-law (she is in Finland and I'm pretty sure she won't be needing them).

So with any luck, by the end of the week, These jars will be full of beautiful tomato products. And with even more luck, they will all be sealed. As I was washing the jars in preparation for my big week of canning (they have been in storage for a while) I found this in one of the bottles:It's a little white thing (no idea what it is), but it is INSIDE the layers of glass. All sealed in there. I know this because I crammed my hand into the jar (visions of trapped raccoons or monkeys come to mind here) so I could pick it out.

On a completely different note, I love how exhausted Brandon gets after a weekend of camping. We just got back from a fabulous weekend in Bear Lake (pics and a post to come) and this is where Brandon has spent the entire day so far.