{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} Canning and Baking

{Pretty}

Wingnut had his 45th birthday this week.  He is a pie guy and so we had this lovely lemon chess pie waiting for him when he got home from work.  You've never had lemon chess pie?  It is delicious and one of the easiest pies to make.  Check out the recipe I use at King Arthur Flour. (*notes--I add lemon zest to the filling as my own special touch.  I also do not use their pie crust recipe.  I've been testing pie crusts all summer and the one I've settled on is this single pie crust recipe from Foodnetwork)

{Happy}

I've always wanted to can but I've been too afraid to try.  I finally got up the courage and bought my supplies.  My first attempt was to pickle some of the peppers that seem prolific in my garden.

{Real}

Well maybe they weren't as prolific as I imagined.  I went through all the effort to can three small jars of pickled peppers.

{Real}

I made a few small errors.  I should have divided my peppers between just two jars and filled them more fully.  I also neglected to cover the boiling jars with 2 inches of water while processing.  I used a scant 1/2 inch covering.  The lids are secure and sealed, so I don't feel my errors were too detrimental.  I do know I will be growing a whole lot more peppers next year if I really want to get anything out of canning pickled peppers.