Canning

One of the reasons I bought a house...err....one of the first things I did once I owned a house was to start canning preserves. Dill pickles, chutneys, apple butter, apple sauce, dill pickles, apple pie in a jar, mixed pickles, marmalade, vanilla, fruit in alcohol, tomatoes, dill pickles... all have found their way into my hot water bath canner at one time or another over the past 4 years. I like canning not only because of the challenge of cooking in a slightly different way, but because everything we can ends up better tasting (rave review from friends and relatives begging for more every Christmas, birthday, and housewarming?!! attest to that) and because food is healthier when you make it yourself and you cut down on the chemical preservatives. Besides, who ever preferred a jar of store bought pickles over homemade? :p

This ends up being more of an addendum to my "culinary point of view" than an original post, because canning IS a big part of my cooking repertoire. August is always the biggest canning month, focusing around the dill pickles and my ever changing secret recipe (red chili flakes in any one's jars this year?) and usually the apple chutneys (regular? Kashmir? Bengal?) but marmalade, vanilla, fruit in alcohol, etc. can be done all year. Canning is still considered old fashioned to an extent, but that just makes it easier to accomplish - there's nothing complicated about pouring a recipe into a jar, sealing the cap, and submerging it in boiling water for a set length of time. Once again, great taste that can be accomplished in any kitchen!

Now if only this year's pickling cukes would hurry up and ripen... :p

UPDATED:
Oh, and since it relates... When my wife and I decided to start giving out canning as Christmas gifts, we realized that we would need labels and a name for our "establishment". While my initial attempts to work 'Dragonfire' into the name went nowhere, we brainstormed other possibilities that best fit the both of us, as well as the house and our philosophies. In the end, we christened ourselves "Apothecary Gardens". I have to admit the Shakespearean references didn't hurt either (Get thee to an apothecary! Err...wrong play! :p ) Hence the name of the blog, give or take a letter e...but I had to work in a reference to being a writer too, didn't I? (See John Gardner, espionage writer extrordinaire...)