Winter: Made in Summer

Tomatoes,

still bubbling hot in their jars, cool on the a checkered dishtowel.

The red is a sight to excite the eyes in the hot dragging days of late summer.

I love canning.

It gives a sense of accomplishment––lifting the jars from the boiling water and setting them to cool. I know they will make good meals in the winter ahead.

They will be labeled and sit in the pantry shelves waiting for a soup recipe or a spaghetti sauce I want to make.

They will still taste of summer and garden and long sunny happy days even in February when I am weary of winter.

So today, I peel tomatoes and load them into jars with a slurp and a few drips (and a half teaspoon of salt). Come winter, they will be waiting––and so good!