Bean Baking Day ~ Canned Grape Jelly

We did not get the 4 1/2 inches of predicted snow.  We did, however, get a layer of freezing rain.  You can see it on my clothesline.  The photo is not the greatest.  The wind was horrible this morning, and still is.

Today, I am baking up 2 lbs. of dry kidney beans, and 3 lbs. of dry black beans. 
That is all I can fit into each crock pot.  The goal for me, is to cook these on a wood stove, eliminating electric crock pots all together.

I'm glad I decided to can grape jelly yesterday.  With the crock pots on the counter tops, I don't have much room to work with today.  I still have pinto beans to cook up later.

You can see that my kitchen was very cold.  The steam was very visible on account of the unheated kitchen.  We heat the kitchen from the wood burning stove, which is in an adjacent room.

Canning my own jelly and jams are not only healthier, and less expensive, but another way for us to be self-reliant.  The goal is to make these from fresh grown fruits.  This jelly was made from concord grape juice that did not contain high fructose corn syrup.

Some of you may already do this, but after I sterilize my jars and lids, I place the pot on a hot pad.  We do not have a dishwasher to do this.  When I am done making the jelly, and they are boiling in the canner, I pour the hot water from the pan, into my sink to use for washing my dishes.

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~