well preserved...

i have said before that our backyard is a treasure in the way of fruit bearing trees...we have pear, fig, and pecan...and we used to have pomegranate (sshhh...don't tell about the used to part)...i have been itchin' to make some sort of jelly or preserves with some of these sweet little gems...

and i finally decided to do it!

i read just about all there is to know about canning and preserving...gathered all my supplies...and waited for about 3 weeks!!! i think i was just intimidated by the whole process! well, yesterday it was raining and the girls and i were just hanging at home...so i went for it!

i made fig preserves!

now, i don't really like figs...but from what my two tasters have told me...they turned out really well! i am so excited and now i think i have the confidence to try my hand at blueberry jam (since i now have another 9 pounds and this time they were free!!!)!

ok...so this is how it works! you take about 4 cups of figs...

i'm always reminded of my three little ones when i look at anything...i know - it's weird!!!

wash them in baking soda and water and then cut the stems off and add sugar, water, a pinch of salt, and some lemon slices. you can stand over your pot for many hours...or you can place the figs in a crock pot for about 4ish hours...and let them sit!!! (who has many hours to watch a pot when you have three littles?!?!)...

while the figs were hanging out in the crock, i got all my jars washed and ready...

once they have cooked in the crock pot, you then transfer the little sweeties into a pot on the stove top and cook them until the mixture thickens. i chose to mash mine but you can certainly can them whole!

this is pre-mash!

you have to keep your jars hot while you are preparing your preserves...and then when you're ready, you funnel your mixture in...

use your handy dandy tool to remove bubbles and fill the jars with a 1/4 inch space at the top, place lids on, then your bands, and put jars in a "granny bath" for about 10 minutes...

remove the jars and let cool for about 12-24 hours...and then marvel at the 4 1/2 jars that you produced...from way more than 4 1/2 hours of work!!!!! HA!

it doesn't matter though...i thoroughly enjoyed myself...and i'm glad that i was able to make something that was actually edible! jeffrey, who is not normally a fig person either, said he could actually eat some on a big buttermilk biscuit!!!!!

so far, our pecans have made for some delicious pies...and now our figs have made some "supposedly delicious" preserves...if i could just figure out how to make some out of our pears...

i just might be able to go into business!

i hope that i am able to make these preserves for many years to come...and "preserve" some memories for my sweet family while i'm at it!