Contending for Canning Space (and Jars)

Summer in the Tyson Clark household sees the house fill with jars. Jam stacks up on the table waiting for a final wipe-down and storage in some cool dark place. Quarts packed with the sunset colors of apricots, peaches and nectarines pile up on counter tops and kitchen tables, awaiting the same fate. Kitchen space is at a premium, the early hours of the day devoted to storing away fruit for winter consumption and gifts. The cool parts of the day are best, when the un-airconditioned house can breathe out the fruity fumes  via fans without turning the indoors into a sweltering soup of sticky sweet odors. And so we can. It is very lucky for me that Rachel has cultivated friendships within market such that I got most of my ingredients for free.
The list goes like so:
Blackberry-strawberry syrup. I picked my own strawberries and blackberries

Strawberry syrup

Dill pickles, cucumbers from one neighboring vendor, and fresh grapes leaves from the farm

Spicy pickled beans, beans and jalapenos from neighboring vendors

Tomatoes, free of charge but requiring a little greening at the vines of the paste tomato plants

Salsa; homegrown onions, tomatoes, bartered jalapenos and cilantro

Lucky for me, people I know stash canning jars, and a delightful family friend lent me a water bath canner for my pursuits.

Other culinary pursuits

Some mention was made of making cheesecake. I'm coming to realize that if I'm entertaining an idea but not fully committed to it, I should keep it to myself. Like making cheesecake. Clearly I followed through, due in part to the enthusiasm of a certain Rachel sister. Things fancified from there on in. 

 For a while I've been wanting to foray more into Indian cuisine, and who better to trial my capabilities on but my family? Leonie, as I've mentioned, makes a killer Palak Paneer type dish. This includes making your own paneer, a mild cheese created by curdling milk and pressing the liquid from the solids.
This cheese, I made. I still can't believe how beautifully it turned out. I guess that's what comes of squishing the solids with ten pounds of sugar for several hours.

Palak paneer, chicken tikka masala, naan, lassis, chai, lady fingers (an okra dish) and an eggplant dish, the latter two provide by the lovey Aunty Nancy. JimE watched for unloved crumbs and begged for bits of tomato. We cooked the naan on a century old griddle from Uncle Syl's family, so he was with us in spirit. We ate in their beautiful back yard, it was in short, delightful.