Go For It (while you've got the opportunity)!

 So, I'm putting in a shameless plug for my neighbors at

Hurricane Valley Fruit Farms who are selling amazing peaches and tomatoes as we speak (not much longer on the tomatoes). And there are others as well that I'm certainly not ashamed of, including Annie Spendlove's family and more who sell local produce either at their own venues or at the Hurricane Farmers' Market (every Saturday morning on 100 West between State and 100 South).

I don't enjoy preserving fruit or vegetables if it involves any kind of heat, including spraying, thinning, picking or bottling when the sun is up or you're stuck in a hot kitchen. But I believe we will all experience times in of our lives, whether collectively or individually, when we will not only benefit from any produce we have 'put up', but also from the skills we've developed in doing so. And I'm just ignorant enough to say that if I can do it, you can do it. I invite you, if you don't already, to learn and practice harvesting, bottling, drying, freeze-drying or freezing something that grows...and then enjoying it later on.

Just to show you that I put my money...well, put something, I don't have that much money...where my mouth is, this year I determined to learn ways to preserve tomatoes. When I was a teenager my good friend's Mom, LaRene Barney used to make the most amazing chili sauce that I ever tasted. I've hankered for it over the years. So I made a call or two, wound up with the recipe, got some tomatoes from Ben Scow, and bottled some of my own. I also remember another good friend's Mom, Dorothy Ballard, used to make homemade ketchup that was to die for. So, I researched that recipe, combined it with some other ideas I found online, and now have in my storage some of the best ketchup you will ever taste. MaryAnn Furse got a favorite salsa recipe from her sister-in-law and figured out how to bottle that. To top it off, we re-learned how to bottle meat in a pressure canner in order to make room in our freezer for more peaches that we will slice up for morning smoothies. With all of these, we were a little nervous at first, but are now well-rewarded since store-bought doesn't hold a candle to any of them...flavor-wise or quality-wise. But that's not the only reason I'm doing all this bragging. Much more importantly, we have confidence in newfound abilities that come only with experience. There are plenty of resources, such as https://extension.usu.edu/preserve-the-harvest/canning, https://www.youtube.com/c/RoseRedHomestead, https://pubs.nmsu.edu/_e/E323/, https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/232397/homemade-ketchup/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhETAFMCzNc, and many others. But you have to turn off the "idiot lamp" long enough to make the investment of time and effort. If there comes a time when skills in preserving the harvest are needed, you'll be that much better off if you have a little experience under your belt and the tools to do it. I also believe that God will add blessings for those who actuate their gratitude by making an honest effort in any endeavor for good when the opportunity is provided. Don't do it out of guilt. Don't run faster than you have strength. But, to whatever degree possible, go for it! What've you got to loose?