I snagged this link off Anne Marie's blog. Peggy over at The Simple Woman's Cannery & Garden is having a little contest for some freebie canning goodies. As a very novice canner (did I say very? I mean VERY) and notorious penny pincher, I can't pass up the chance at getting my hands on some free canning supplies!

The first year I gardened I attempted to can some peach preserves (I have a tree) and some banana peppers. It was quite interesting. I was very pregnant (or should I say VERY) and it was summer. If you've never canned and plan on trying your hand at it, let me warn you that it gets very hot in the kitchen very fast! I don't suggest learning during pregnancy...

At any rate, I skipped over canning last year but bought Canning & Preserving for Dummies (I think I told Anne Marie it was the idiot's guide to canning...oh well, close enough!) I hope to find a good all fruit preserve recipe for my peaches (the regular sugar kind was horrifying! I always buy all fruit jams and oh my! It was so sweet my teeth ached), which are finally becoming mature! I should wind up with quite a few, so I'd liked to can them whole or sliced, as well. I'm a peach cobbler fanatic (honestly! I've made peach cobbler three times in the last week and a half). Mmmmm. I've also got my fingers crossed that my cucumbers will take this year (they were a failure last year) so I can try doing some pickles and relish.

In my dreams (really, I dream about this stuff) I'd love a pantry full of home canned, home grown food! Alas, I'm still learning to garden AND to can, so that's probably a ways off. I also need a pantry. Plastic shelves in the garage aren't quite what I see in my dreams, though they're working out at the moment.