Still Here

Last fall, I canned my first tomatoes. I followed the instructions in the “Ball Blue Book of Preserving” and yet, I’ve been putting off opening the tomatoes all winter. The literature about canning I’ve read is replete with horrific tales about botulism and how dangerous it can be. I was scared. So I did some more research and found that what you’re supposed to do is visually inspect your jars. If they’re still sealed and not foamy or bubbly or discolored, open them. Then give ‘em the sniff test. And then if they look good and there are no odors, just to be on the safe side, boil the hell out of them for 10 minutes.

So finally, we’ve used one jar of tomatoes. Of course I boiled them for 20 minutes instead of the recommended 10. I made spaghetti and pizza sauces and they were delicious. That was two days ago and we’re still here.