Last of the Good Stuff

Yesterday I opened my last jar of sweet pickles. The day before I used my last jar of caramel apple sauce. I do have several quarts of whole tomatoes left. What does all this mean and why am I telling you about it? It means it is time for me to start deciding what I want to plant in my garden this summer. Why am I telling you? Because I just want to share. I didn't know what to can last year really, I just guessed at what I thought we would need. It was a good place to start, but I found out what we really eat and what we really don't. This year I plan on making more applesauce, more sweet pickles, more dill pickles and switch to canning spaghetti sauce instead of whole tomatoes. I am also going to make my own sweet pickle and dill pickle relishes and try my hand at zuchinni relish. And mock pineapple, that interests me. This time of year, the planning of the garden, the washing of empty jars makes me feel excited to get started again. There is nothing like growing, preserving and eating your own food!