Pictured above are the results of my first attempt to can the Roma tomatoes we are growing in our vegetable garden this summer. A good friend with more canning experience came over yesterday and graciously helped me limp through the process.

These cans don't look like I expected them to, but then again, what do I know about canning, really? From everything I can gather, their seals appear to be perfect, intact, and the space in the jars isn't air so much as a vacuum...

But, to be sure, I am busy talking to all my canning friends about my concerns who are talking to all their canning friends to see what they say about my concerns. I am asking new questions based on my now (limited) experience and reading books and websites and sending photos like this out to experts online, all in an effort to learn as much as I can, no pun intended, to make sure this food is well preserved, but also as fresh as possible and (most importantly) safe for my family to eat.

Even with the stress of doing all this for the first time and having to learn so much, canning these jars was incredibly fun, believe it or not. I am a little surprised at how much fun it was. I thought I'd like canning, but I didn't think I'd like it as much as I think I will... if that makes any sense. I can't wait to have enough open space in my schedule to put up another batch. We're pulling more and more tomatoes out of the garden everyday, so I will actually need to try again pretty soon.