Canning- anyone?

My latest hobby started with finally reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver) in July. I was inspired to dig out my old canner. I started back at the beginning of August by making wild blueberry jam, and things kind of took off from there. Since then, my water bath canner from 20 years ago has been getting some major “stove-time”. I have canned peaches in light syrup, peach jam, plum chutney, autumn fruit jam (pears, apples, and peaches), crushed heirloom tomatoes, tomato sauce, bruschetta salsa, dill pickles, and bread and butter pickles. I ordered a food mill last weekend, after deciding that it is too much work to skin tomatoes by hand, and plan on using it to make applesauce.

Has anyone else re-discovered or discovered this “forgotten art” recently? I am just tickled pink with the Mason jars all lined up on my shelves, neatly labeled, and filled with luscious fruits and vegetables. I have also been drying tomatoes in the food dehydrator. I really like knowing exactly where this food came from, and how it was processed. I am also looking forward to pulling out a beautiful golden jar of peaches on a snowy, sub-zero winter morning, and remembering that warm August day when I put them up.