It is the season for preserving all of our garden vegetables so today I thought I would share a recipe with you. Many of you have planted a garden for the first time or decided to try it again this year.

INGREDIENTS

• 7 tablespoons lemon juice
• about 28 Roma tomatoes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Start by setting out your canning station. You’ll need at least 7 pint canning jars, canning supplies, a water bath canner, a ladle and some towels.
2. Chop up all of your tomatoes into small pieces and keep them in a large bowl until you are finished.
3. They will create a lot of juice and that’s okay. We’re going to use it.
4. Before starting to fill your jars, pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into each one.
5. Now, using your canning funnel, fill each jar to the bottom of the neck of the jars with diced tomatoes and juice.
6. Wipe the rims of each jar with a damp washcloth to remove any liquid or food debris.
7. Now place a brand-new canning lid on each jar. If you are using brand-new jars, you can use the lids they came with.
8. Now place a ring on each jar. You’ll want to screw them on only to the point where you feel the least resistance. Do not tighten them, as air needs to be able to escape during the canning process.
9. Now fill your water bath canner half full with water and turn the heat to the highest setting below the biggest number.
10. Load all of your jars into your canner with your canning jar lifter.
11. Fill the canner with water until all jars are covered by at least an inch or two of water.
12. Cover and wait for a rolling boil.
13. When the water starts boiling rapidly, tilt the lid on your canner and turn the heat down a couple numbers. Set your timer for 35 minutes.
14. Your jars should remain in a rolling boil the entire cooking time to process correctly.
15. When the timer is up, carefully remove your jars with the jar lifter and set them aside on a towel to cool.
16. Your jars need to cool for a full 24 hours. As they start to seal, you’ll hear popping noises.
17. At this time, if you would like to load more jars into the canner, go for it and repeat the process again.
18. You’ll know the jars have sealed because the middle of the lids will be down and they will ping when you tap on the top.
19. If one or two did not seal, you’ll want to put them in the fridge and use within a couple days. If four or more have not sealed, you can reprocess them again with new lids.