I'm getting my Master Food Preserver Certification!

 You probably don't know me in person, but you don't have to know me to see how excited I am to be in class this week. I'm in the historic and oh-so-pretty little town of St George, Utah achieving a goal I've had for many years: to become certified as a Master Food Preserver! 

Here I am, holding the fresh apricots that my classroom partner Debbie and I processed using the hot-pack method. Aren't they lovely?

I've canned a ton of apricots over the years. I've canned Goldstrikes and Perfections...Moorparks and Tomcots...and I'm pretty sure I've never met an apricot I didn't like.

I've put them in my favorite jam from childhood (Apricot-Pineapple Preserves), great bastes for meat (Dried Apricot Conserve) and even infused vodka with 'em, but I don't think I've ever gotten more satisfaction from the simple act of putting an apricot into a Mason jar and processing it in a boiling water bath as I did today.  

I can't wait to go back to school tomorrow!