No way it's fall!

Ah the bounty! And such a glorious day. The combination of sunny, warm weather and a kitchen full of perfect summer vegetables contradicted the fact that tomorrow is Labor Day, the psychological beginning of fall. I say no way! Summer rules and I'm not giving it up.

This morning I canned six quarts of ratatouille. I call it Summer in a Jar because when I eat it in February I'm instantly transported to this glorious time of year. Ratatouille as Madeleine. My recipe departs somewhat from the traditional, mostly because I use whatever came in the CSA share that week. Today I started by sweating onions, garlic, peppers, and fennel in olive oil. I sauteed eggplant and zucchini in more olive oil, and blanched about 10 tomatoes.

Recently I've started layering my Summer in a Jar because it looks good. Bright red tomatoes against yellow summer squash against white onions and green peppers. Plus it helps me apportion things evenly. A sprig of basil in every jar, and then, to top it all off, a handful of lemon pear tomatoes in each.

I've never found a canning time for ratatouille, so I probably over-do it; I process for 1 hour, 25 minutes at 10 lbs. Don't take chances with home canning...it's way better to be safe (and maybe a little soggy) than sorry.

Thanks to the Shibaguyz for inspiration.