Preserving a little bit of summer

Can you believe it is August? I can't. But I am feeling the urge of the end of the summer... you know, when you think about all the things you had planned to do this summer and realize not many of them have worked out? When you think, man, I really haven't had a proper summer vacation, I haven't even been to the beach! (that one always makes me homesick and now that I live in the desert, its even worse). But I'm also thinking those thoughts about fall... you know, when you start dreaming about those cozy sweaters on the top shelf of your closet, when you crank the AC just so you can snuggle under a warm quilt, when you cast on for tweedy, cabley, rustic knitwear. The end of summer is always a contemplative time for me. To me, it represents the passing of time, the start of a new year - more so than the actual New Year does. This is probably because up until now, my life has - more or less- revolved around the school year. I can feel the passing of time during the transition between summer and fall more than any other time of the year. I like that feeling, thinking about the past and looking towards the future. But at the same time, enjoying the here and now - all the exhilarating sights and smells and flavors of the end of summer.

Listen: The End of the Summer



So to preserve a little bit of those sights, smells, and flavors of the end of the summer, I present to you my first adventure in canning:: peach/apricot butterscotch jam and beet pickles (both recipes courtesy of my awesome mom; fruits and vegetables courtesy of my awesome friends' gardens.)