Ooh Yeah, I'm A Wild One

Pete's and my canning project is a practical approach to solving a number of problems and furthering a few causes. Let's review.

1. After Dad's death, we still have hundreds, if not thousands, of jars and bottles sitting in the garage in Virginia.

2. Dad's spice cabinet was full and now many herbs, spices and mysterious ingredients sit on my living room floor.

3. Pete and I both work two jobs and will have little opportunity to shop for holiday presents.

4. This is the family's first Christmas without Dad, who did the vast majority of food preparation for family events, including Miss Sasha's bridal shower.

5. Pete has an interest in developing his own recipes and his own flavors.

6. I am learning so much so fast I have hope that I might be able to learn again. This may mean the damage medication and depression did to my brain is not an insurmountable obstacle.

7. Pete and I like the idea of giving gifts we made as much as possible from materials grown by local farmers.

I am a shitty photographer but if I weren't you'd see these lovely, jewel-colored concoctions with better lighting. I moved a few things around to see if I could work out a better lighting scheme - but no. See these humble images and know that if you found yourself in Pete's tidy, utilitarian basement, you would see on the shelves a growing collection of vivid hues and startling textures in jars ranging from 4 oz. to 32 oz. - 1/2 cup to 1 quart. This jar at left is 1/2 cup, and that concoction is a lush, tropical green that makes my heart sing.

From top to bottom, these images bring us full circle: berry-wine jelly, herbes de Provence jelly and spicy peach barbecue sauce, kiwi daiquiri jam, and I think the berry-wine jam again. Try as I might, I could not photograph the sparkling garnet of the pomegranate jelly or the whole plum tomatoes and do their beauty any justice, and the basil tomato sauce proved utterly coy before the light of the flash bulb. Shortly after these I took these pictures, Pete said, "Hey, didja notice when you do this - see? - on your camera you can change the exposure?" No. Of course, I didn't know. I'm so busy being dazzled by the light.