It sure has been a while since I posted!  Daily chores seem to take a lot more time these days.  Gluten free eating is finally routine!  Gluten is found in so many processed foods that I read every label when shopping.  It truly is amazing what is in a lot of processed foods!  A lot of ingredients are to preservatives and some maintain the texture and color we expect. 

Speaking of preserving, it is spring and the chicks have grown a bit.  When I was young, this was the time that the farmers were culling the flocks and selling the roosters.  Mom used to buy them in bulk for canning.  I think that she didn't have to remove the feathers - thank goodness - as that is a tedious task.  She would get out the canning jars to be washed and buy new seals.  If memory serves she didn't use the pressure cooker for canning but a large canning pot.  She sterilized the jars in boiling water and lined them up on the counter.  Salted water covered the chicken in the jar then the seal and bands were tightened.  The complete cans were put in a rack in the water bath canning pot.  The water would be brought to a boil and then the timer would go on.  As to exact times, I don't remember but the chicken was always good and an easy way to save the spring excess for winter.  We also took the chicken on camping trips and we had a protein for dinner if Dad didn't catch a fish.

Before freezers were readily available, Mom used to can a lot!  Dad always had a huge garden so there was an excess of produce to put up for the winter.  Beans, peas, raspberries, carrots.  Potatoes and cabbages were kept in the root cellar and they stayed pretty tasty for most of the winter.  Imagine all our vegetables and fruits for the winter coming from Mom's shelves of canned goods.  Don't forget jams and jellies.  Whenever I am feeling sorry for myself as I must do my own baking, I remember the hot summer days with the caning pot boiling away and pull myself up by the boot straps and get on with the task.