Canning

So I know it doesn't look all that impressive and it isn't organized like I want, but this is my pantry. Well at least it's one half of my pantry. What have I been doing lately? Isn't it obvious? When a batch of tomatoes ripens, I drag out the canner. When the peaches were at there peak? I dragged the canner out. After I picked raspberries? I dragged out the canner once again. We were lacking an apple tree to get free fruit off of this year, so I purchased a bushel off of a roadside stand on my way to McMinnville to buy the last Juicer/Steamer on the continental USA or so it seemed. So in between coring, peeling, and cooking apples, I steamed grapes for juice. I thought I might get a couple dozen quarts out of the vines at our house, tops. But what I realized is that I am poor judge of amounts. After canning 44 quarts of white grape juice and 10 quarts of concord grape juice, I took back my kitchen. 17 quarts of applesauce, 7 half pints of apple jelly (which is really apple syrup since I forgot to add pectin but it still tastes divine) and 54 quarts of juice, I think I need a little break...like eat a whole package of cookies break...like drop a bomb in the kitchen rather than do the dishes break...like just go buy new drip pans for the stove instead of scrubbing off the burnt on fruit sugar break....

But alas, we have grapes growing on the deck and over the trellis that still need to be picked....so in reality, I still have more to do. Hazelnuts to roast, grapes to pick and jelly to make. Don't get me wrong, I love fall. I love canning, so much so that my canner is starting to peel off it's impervious coating from the bottom...but part of me is doing this because I cannot stand seeing things go to waste. It makes me vomit a little in my mouth. All these luscious apple trees around my community with their windfall fruit circling around their roots, makes me want to cry. So if you hear of a lady who died from mushroom poisoning, that would be me. I think I am going to go out to the forest and forage for the little poisonous buggers just so I can feel like nothing is going to waste...did I mention that I have 2 huge crabapple trees that are calling my name?...Somebody save me from my insanity!!!!!