I spent Thursday night at the Billy Bishop Legion. And not for the reasons you might think. No I was participating in a canning class put on by Village Vancouver and the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation, thanks to a Neighbourhood Small Grant.
We made Dilly Beans and blueberry jam. The kitchen was small and very warm, some of us escaped into the garden. Village Vancouver maintains a beautiful terraced veggie garden there. Others escaped into the beer garden. Anything to keep cool.
I found out the way I have been making my dill pickles may be hazardous to my health. It’s my grandma’s recipe. And she lived a very long time. My aunt has been using that recipe for decades too. But I’ll bet my recipe doesn’t make the cut for the book that will be produced out of this series of classes.
My mom is an avid canner. I grew up eating canned cherries, peaches, apricots, pears, you name it, she canned it. And yet I never had the desire to learn until recently. I’m heading up to the Okanagan for a family visit this week. I’m hoping mom will show me how to do peaches. We’re planning a family tomato and juice making day this fall too. No botulism in the family to date, so I will try to refrain from preaching the food safe methods I am learning.