You're supposed to goof up the first time

This weekend marked my first foray into the world of canning. It turned out pretty good. I had to switch horses midstream so to speak, because the recipe I got off the web ( I know, I know) didn't have consistent proportions of things throughout. I ended up using the recipe from the pectin box, and the jelly seems a little on the thick side, but the lids are solid, and it tastes good. I'll have to see what the texture is like in one of these jars, but it was a little gritty when I tasted what was on the funnel afterwards.

I was a little tense while doing this, and Mr W wandered in and said something like, "It's the first time, you're supposed to goof things up the first time". Wise one, that kid.

I also varied the sugar a bit between the two sets of four jars. 25% less sugar in the second batch. We'll see how that tastes.

It's good to get past the initial trepidation of canning and fears about food safety and that kind of thing. Now I feel confident to preserve some diced tomatoes, and perhaps do more jelly. The world is a bit more open for canning now. It takes a lot of time, but I do like the idea of saving food for later.


Here's the other thing I've been working on. My Passiflora vest. It's a slow go, but still enjoyable, and I'm resisting the urge to work on the pair of socks I've got on the needles so I can finish this. Probably another three weeks left on this one. I'm glad I went with the smaller size. I had originally knit about 2" of the next larger size, but realized at that point I had twisted the piece, so had to frog it, and off the needles, that size would have been too big. Phew! These things take up way too much time not to fit in the end.

I'm home this morning with Mr W, who starts school tomorrow, and had no day care today, so his dad and I are splitting the day. I've got work to do from here, and wistfully think how cool it would be to work from home... My boss says it's OK occasionally, so I might keep that in mind.